Another weekend has passed and it seems Shang-Chi is still holding on to the top spot. It’s currently eyeing to end the Sunday with a total domestic of $176.1M after an incredible hold of 61%. It’s the second-best third weekend in September with $21M only beaten by the horror film It with $29.75M. The film is showing healthy legs and also benefits from a lack of competition. It went up against the new release of Clint Eastwood‘s Cry Macho, which is only eyeing around $4.7M over the three-day weekend. Unlike the Marvel Studios production, it’s also currently available via HBO Max and could see a strong drop on Sunday.
Currently, it looks like Ryan Reynold‘s Free Guy will take the second spot as it may pass the $5M mark this weekend. Other releases aren#t doing much better, as Cop Shop featuring Gerard Butler might miss hitting the $3M this weekend even with glowing reviews by critics. Its reception by viewers is telling a different story. It’s likely to end up on the sixth spot with horror films Candyman and Malignant ahead.
Shang-Chiand the Legend of the Ten Rings seem to indicate that the core audience is back in theatres, but not everything is quite where it used to be. Venom: Let There Be Carnage moved back to its October 1st release and with Dune on the horizon, the films might add some much-needed energy. The lack of a Chinese release is hurting some films, as it’s been the saving grace for F9: The Fast Saga and Godzilla vs. Kong. The latter pulled in almost around $200M from that market alone putting it ahead of the current domestic leaders.
Life is busy. Sometimes too busy to catch up on all the big news of the week. Never fear, The Pulse is here to get you all caught up on the biggest stories of the past week, September 13-18th.
Hit Monkey First Look, Release Date Revealed
Once upon a time, Marvel Entertainment gave the green light to a handful of animated series. Of those, only MODOK and Hit Monkey survived Kevin Feige’s ascendancy. While we’ll probably never see The Offenders event series, we can see Hit Monkey beginning on November 17th on Hulu. The show is rumored to be “hyper-violent”, so we might not see the Marvel Studios credits roll ahead of it, but it’s still looking like it’ll be a blast.
Serkis Says Spidey and Venom Meeting is “Gonna Happen”
Sony’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage screened last week and all the buzz (including from the studio, bizarrely enough) was about the post-credit scene that is rumored to hint at something fans have long hoped for: Spidey and Venom being in the same place. According to the film’s director, Andy Serkis, fans are eventually going to get what they hope for, saying “of course it’s gonna happen.” When? How? Why? Which Spidey? We’ll all find out together.
Krysten Ritter Wants to Join Charlie Cox in the MCU
Actress Krysten Ritter, who brought Marvel’s Jessica Jones to life on Netflix back in 2015, has decided that she’d like to not be done playing the character. Ritter, who was last seen as Jones in 2019’s third season of Jessica Jones, says she’d “absolutely just die to play Jessica again.” Nobody wants Ritter to die, but it’s great to know she’s up for returning to the role and reimagining the character like her Defenders co-star Charlie Cox totally for sure isn’t doing in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
‘THE PENGUIN’ Series in Development at HBO Max
Director Matt Reeves is definitely getting the chance to do some world building around his upcoming Batman film. The latest development, according to Deadline, is a streaming series focused on Colin Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot. That makes at least 2 series spinning out of 2022’s The Batman.
Improvisation is a common feature on most movie sets. Actors taking creative liberties with their dialogue and behavior has led to some of the most iconic lines and moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It includes the likes of the “I am Iron Man” bombshell from Iron Man and allegedly 80% of Taika Waititi‘s Thor: Ragnarok. Karen Gillan is no stranger to improvisation on sets, such as Avengers: Endgame‘s opening paper football scene with Iron Man and Nebula, but it seems her improvisation skills may have actually left their imprint all the way back in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Speaking to BBC’s Radio 1 this week, the Guardians of the Galaxy actress revealed that another iconic Nebula moment was the product of improvisation. When asked about her favorite lines from her career, she surprisingly said one of them was the “It’s not ripe” line from theGuardianssequel.
One that I noticed that people want me to always write on pictures is that improvised line actually from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which is “It’s not ripe.” It was improv-ed at the time, and that has stuck beyond anything else.
Karen Gillan
The Yaro root is a fruit Nebula spends most of the film chasing in vain. The Guardians repeatedly warn her that it’s not ripe and actively prevent her from taking a bite. Finally at the end of the film, Nebula sneaks her way into trying the fruit and inevitably spitting it out followed by the above-mentioned line.
How a Single Line Can Add More to the Story
Although it might seem like a small side joke, the Yaro root also doubles as a well-written piece of characterization for Nebula. Despite her being an antagonistic, bitter character, the Guardians are still looking out for her best interests, even with something as simple as eating fruit when it’s ready. When the head-strong Nebula rushes to get what she wants on her own terms, it ends up being premature and not what she wanted. The Yaro root is a reminder of how Nebula can benefit from learning to trust others instead of struggling to get by on her own and achieving less.
So even though it’s a small line from a silly gag, I think this line is actually rather important to her character arc. The meaning of the line makes it all the more impressive that it was an improvisation, especially when you consider that its director James Gunn has previously stated that about 99% of the final dialogue in his films are straight from the script. It’ll be interesting to see if her tendency for improvisation might come to the forefront with director Taika Watiti in Thor: Love and Thunder. As mentioned previously, he’s a fan of improvisation and perhaps he’ll get more of these character-developing scenes through improvisation.
If you are interested, you can check out the interview with Karen Gillan right here:
Back in January, we looked at one hypothetical 2022 release calendar for Marvel Studios. We’ve been through another round of production delays and release date shifts and with 2022 just a few months away, have a little bit better idea of when we might expect to see Marvel content next year. With that in mind, here’s version 2.0 of a totally made up and hypothetical way Marvel Studios 2022 release schedule might look.
Originally set to stream on Disney + in 2021, rumored production delays pushed Ms. Marvel’s MCU debut to 2022. With the number of streaming series Marvel Studios has to get through in 2022, it would seem like they’d want to kick off the new year with a bang, debuting Ms. Marvel as soon as possible, dropping the first of the expected 6 episodes on January 5th.
Now that Wednesdays are the new Fridays, we know that Marvel Studios has no aversion to dropping a new film while a series is streaming. With that in mind, it’s possible that the they get She-Hulk’s 10 episode run started as early as February 23rd, one week after an episode of Marvel Legends catches fans up on the stories of Bruce Banner and Emil Blonsky, two characters who will have big roles to play in the series.
While She-Hulk is in the middle of its run, fans will FINALLY get the sequel to 2016’s Doctor Strange on March 25th, 2022 when Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness hits theaters. Marvel Studios will almost certainly have a few episodes of Marvel Legends ready to view to prep fans to remind fans not only of what Stephen Strange, Wong and Mordo have been up to, but also to remind them of the journey of the film’s primary antagonist, the Scarlet Witch.
Right after She-Hulk finishes its extended run (remember, it’s 10 episodes and will stretch from late-February through late-April), fans will be able to head to theaters for the next chapter in the saga of the God of Thunder when Thor: Love and Thunder comes crashing in on May 6, 2022. Marvel Legends episodes covering the journeys of Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy are almost a sure thing and we’ll certainly need to catch up on Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who will have been absent from the MCU for almost a decade when this film releases.
From the God of Thunder to the avatar of the Egyptian God of the Moon…Marvel Studios Moon Knight, featuring Oscar Isaac in the lead role(s) could hit Disney Plus as early as May 11th. In our first draft, we had Moon Knight streaming about one month earlier, but with Ms. Marvel moving to 2022, it got pushed. Realistically, should Marvel Studios wish to do so, they could move Ms. Marvel to this slot, much closer to the character’s next appearance in November’s The Marvels.
We’re not sure if Marvel Studios will go this route, but interestingly enough the mythology of Moon Knight has some ties to the mythology of Black Panther. Should Kevin Feige and crew wish to make that explicit on screen, there could be some small connection between the two that would make Black Panther: Wakanda Forever fit nicely in order after the completion of Moon Knight’s expected 6-episode run. Wakanda Forever is one to keep an eye on as well, as production delays due to an injury to Letitia Wright have pushed the expected completion of principal photography into early 2022.
Marvel Studios intends for the animated series What If…? to occur annually and we know they’ve already done a lot of work on Season 2, so it’s likely it’ll be ready for a Summer 2022 debut. Season 1 was 9 episodes, so we’ll go with that for now and slot July 20th as the drop date for the first episode of Season 2, which will see the return of Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter and adapt a scenario from this year’s Black Widow film.
Marvel Studios seems to be aiming to have Secret Invasion ready to stream just ahead of The Marvels. Production on the series in kicking off in earnest in October in the UK, allowing for some actors to complete work on The Marvels before shifting over to Secret Invasion. If everything goes smoothly, the series should be ready for Disney Plus by September 28th, 2022, leaving a week to recover before the Captain Marvel sequel hits theaters on November 9, 2022. Truthfully, we have no confirmation that the two projects are tied together, but we’re pretending they are for the purposes of this experiment. Presumably, both of these projects would be preceded by some Marvel Legends episodes recapping the adventures of Nick Fury, Talos, Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau before telling the next chapters of their stories.
While Secret Invasion is doing it’s thing, Marvel Studios might have to find room to drop the first of its Holiday Specials. Rumor has it that the Halloween special might just feature Werewolf By Night, a character originally believed to be starring in his own streaming series. Production on the special is set to take place early next year, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have it ready to go for, let’s say, October 26th.
Even though the entire piece is hypothetical, this one has the greatest uncertainty. I’ve recently heard a rumor that production on Echo might get pushed JUST a bit, to April 2022, making it almost impossible for it to stream in 2022. Should it hold to its originally reported January 2022 date, however, we could easily see it debut on Disney Plus by November 16th.
Should the calendar hold, Marvel Studios could wrap up 2022 with its second holiday special, the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This one will film during production on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so it’ll be ready to drop whenever they choose, maybe even on December 28th, 2022!
All eyes are now on November’s release of Eternals, which will introduce the world to the earliest point in time of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We’ll get introduced to a brand new alien race that existed long before the Avengers were around. Director Chloé Zhao whipped up quite the cast which includes Game of Thrones‘ Richard Madden. He’ll take on the role of Ikaris, an important figure in the Marvel comics.
In an interview with Total Film, the actor revealed why he was interested in taking on the mantle and how the non-superhero aspects of this superhero drew his interest.
That’s why I was drawn to him. I don’t see him as a superhero I’ve seen before. I see him as a man first, and quite a complicated character, before a superhero. You know, superheroes have laser eyes. Superheroes can fly. So, there’s lots of parallels. But as a character, I’ve not seen anyone like him before.
Richard Madden
He also goes on to highlight how Chloé Zhao’s vision played a key role in his decision, as it is her vision of these characters that added that flair to draw him to the role.
The concept of these characters, and how deep Chloé wanted to go with these people who have been alive for so long, and have experienced so many different things. So that’s what really intrigued me – how these people interact with each other, and also the rest of the world when they’ve seen everything and done everything. That was kind of fascinating.
Richard Madden
Marvel Studio’s strength was always humanizing their characters. So, Zhao’s vision seems to fit perfectly into the way they’ve approached the MCU. He also teased that he would make a perfect leader for the Avengers, whose existence is still kept unknown to some degree, but confesses he can only make predictions for what the future holds for MCU.
Audiences have been praising Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings for the way it smoothly translates complicated comic ideas to the big screen. Among these adapted concepts was the function of the titular Ten Rings, which were simplified in the MCU for the sake of storytelling. However, Marvel VFX artist Sean Walker has revealed that this almost wasn’t the case. He explained in an interview with Comic Book:
The Ten Rings actually went through a range of color changes. At one point, each individual effect had its individual styled use of the Rings. For example, when Wenwu is creating a bustle out of them, or a whip, or projectiles, they actually had their own unique color scheme, they were all in a similar color palette.
Sean Walker
In the comics, the rings did not function as a singular unit like they do in the film. Instead, each ring had its own unique power and color-coding that its wearer could use at will. Walker’s comments indicate that the MCU almost stayed true to this before slimming the idea down. He continued to reveal that the different colors were almost used as a way to convey the story’s themes in a visual manner:
But in order to really clearly define this is Wenwu and this is Shang-Chi, we stuck to a much narrower color palette. So Shang-Chi’s colors actually mimic his mum’s color palette, so we looked to her for her greens and for yellows and greens. Especially in the initial fight between his parents.
Sean Walker
As anyone who has seen the movie would know, this range of color was eventually trimmed to just solid blue and orange. While the original idea was a good one, it’s probably for the best that the VFX team chose to simplify their effects. The result is a simple and appealing vision for the film’s climactic battle, and the rings functioning as a unit proved beneficial for the project’s action choreography.
There’s a lot to be excited about when a new Marvel Studios film hits theatres. Not only do we get a new entry in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, but get a new perspective on the world. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings introduced us to the dimension of Ta Lo, which introduced the world to the MCU’s first dragon. The existence of the Great Protector left us with many questions and it seems that there’s one aspect of the character we may have not noticed.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, one of the Weta Digital VFX supervisors, Sean Walker, revealed that they wanted to tie the film together with Easter eggs inspired by its theme of family. One of those being that the Great Protector’s eyes are based on Fala Chen, who plays Shang-Chi’s mother, Jing Li. They also tease that there are many other details that keep the character alive throughout the film.
We kept looking at Shang’s mother for reference for almost everything. Even the Dragon’s eyes were initially based off by Fala Chen’s eyes, the actress who played Shang’s mom.
Sean Walker
It’s a clever idea as his mother’s death plays an integral part in his journey, as it parallels that of Wenwu. His father’s grief lets him get manipulated by the Dweller in the Darkness while Shang-Chi works alongside the Great Protector. In a way, these two mystical creatures act as representations of what path they chose after her tragic death. It’s great to see how a simple Easter egg also can turn into a strong story-telling device similar to how Dormammu was played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange. It’ll be interesting to see what other hidden details are in the story.
Shang-Chi surprised many when one of its trailers revealed the grand return of Abomination. While we knew he’ll make an appearance in She-Hulk, we only heard that Tim Roth will reprise the role. There was no mention if he’ll show up in his human form, or if he’ll look similar to what he did in 2018’s The Incredible Hulk. The trailer changed all that when we got a more comic-accurate design for the character. Many didn’t even believe it was the same character at first, but the film’s recently released revealed that it is indeed the transformed Blonsky.
The new design still kept elements from the original, and Marvel Studios Senior Visual Development Artist, Anthony Francisco, took to Instagram to share a closer look at the character’s new design. He did get the more comic-accurate ears and green skin. Yet, the concept art reveals he still retains the protruding bones from his first design. It’s somewhat difficult to make out in the film but we might get a closer look once the Disney+ series drops.
It’s a great design and Marvel Studios likely will utilize these assets in the Disney+ series with some minor tweaks here or there. We’ll see if they point out the new design in the series, as Mark Ruffalo‘s Bruce Banner might be surprised. It would be perfect if Blonsky fights back by pointing out that he looks different from their last encounter. Hopefully, the wait isn’t too long until we get our first look at the legal comedy and the wacky part of the MCU it’ll introduce us to.
Marvel Cinematic Universe’s next threat seems to be emerging from within the multiverse. The ending of WandaVisionkicked off a new era that saw its expansion in Loki. While all eyes were on the newly introduced Kang, it seems the rumored foe of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness might have an early appearance. In the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, eagle-eyed fans may have spotted the first glimpse of Shuma-Gorath.
In the trailer, Doctor Strange creates a spell to wipe everyone’s memory of Peter Parker being Spider-Man. As it usually does, something goes wrong and it unleashes something from the multiverse. Eagle-eyed Twitter user @MSpector_JM noticed that in the rift you can spot a rather strange and familiar eyeball with what seems like tentacles. The design is very reminiscent of Shuma-Gorath and continues to tease his presence.
Rumors point to the multiversal being as the main threat in the upcoming sequel and it is after America Chavez’s abilities, who is confirmed to make her live-action debut in Multiverse of Madness. As such, Strange’s actions in No Way Home may break a hole in the newly established multiverse, which gives Shuma the power to finally find the source of power he requires to dominate every reality.
Yet, this brief tease may not be his actual debut within the MCU. Giant green tentacles can briefly be seen in the premiere episode of What If…?, as they try to break through a portal opened by Red Skull before being pushed back in by Captain Carter. He even has a showdown with a Variant of Doctor Strange in a later episode, where he fuses with him. As the show deals with the multiverse and the fact that tentacles are the only connective tissue besides the Watcher, it may be Shuma-Gorath.
Marvel Studios is building up to his full debut in next year’s Doctor Strange sequel. The various teases and this small detail in the Spider-Man trailer could hint at a post-credit sequence involving Strange facing the creature. While the trailer implies it was Peter’s nerves unleashing the multiversal villains, there’s a chance that this small glimpse builds up to the first confrontation as we learn the true reason why the multiverse broke in the first place.
It’s nothing new that the popular franchise would draw in negative criticism, especially with directors that focus more on the auteur aspect of cinema. Marvel Studios’ approach has proven successful, but is naturally not without its faults, especially in the earlier days. In an interview with the magazine El Mundos, the following remark was translated by Dune‘s director Denis Villeneuve while promoting his next tentpole film.
There are too many Marvel movies that are nothing more than a cut and paste of others.
Denis Villeneuve
It’s certainly a harsh statement in regard to Marvel Studio’s approach to filmmaking. Still, it’s not the first time this kind of remark has found its way online. Curious enough, there have been some potentially misleading translations surrounding this quote as the context was left out. Michelle Jaworski, a reporter for the Daily Dot, pointed out that the translation may be quite different:
As long as you feel a personality in a project, that it is an artistic object and that there is a will at work, it is not a question of money. But how we approach the cinema. The problem today…Well, if we’re talking about Marvel, the thing is, all these films are made from the same mold. Some filmmakers can add a little color to it, but they’re all cast in the same factory. It doesn’t take anything away from the movies, but they are formatted.
Denis Villeneuve
He then goes on to highlight that the Dune film is a personal one and how he tried to be more mainstream with his approach. The translation does offer a bit more context on it, as it’s less a downplay of Marvel’s films but rather that their approach generally sidelines the director. Ironically, there has been criticism on their Disney+ side where they supposedly take away roles from showrunners. The director has praised Chloé Zhao and even Marvel Studios for breaking their usual mold in an interview for Harper’s BAZAAR.
I’m your biggest fan. I think it’s genius that Marvel approached you because you’re the radical opposite of it aesthetically.
Denis Villeneuve
As such, it’s less an attack directed at Marvel Studios but rather the current approach to filmmaking that resulted from their success. It’s also come to a point where “Marvel” has become a generalized term for any franchise-focused production by auteurs. He praises Marvel Studios for taking this step and it may be a sign of his hope for a change within the industry.
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