Tag: Thor

How to Play Thor and Captain America in ‘Avengers’ Beta

It just doesn’t end for the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers game. More players are getting a chance to test out the Beta on various consoles. This limited players to four characters. You can only play as Ms. Marvel, Hulk, Iron Man, and Black Widow. Only during A-Day can players test out Thor and Captain America. Still, they were in the game’s code so some crafty players didn’t let that stop them. They found a way to play as both characters and access their various features. Here is some gameplay from YouTuber TonyBingGaming playing the patriotic hero:

If you are interested in checking out the costumes and skill trees, they have been shared on Reddit as well:

LEAKED Cap & Thor Costumes from Marvel Avengers Countdown on Twitter
byu/Overwatch3 inPlayAvengers

LEAKED CAP AND THOR SKILL TREES Preview
byu/Overwatch3 inPlayAvengers

As one can see from the gameplay, the glitch won’t give you the final build of the characters. Captain America has the hover ability of Iron Man, as he replaces him through the glitch. What stands out though is that their character cards and skill trees are included in the beta. these could still be from an earlier build of the game, as the introductions to the moves are missing. It is exciting though to think what the game lets you unlock as you play through it. There are quite a few costumes one can unlock for these characters with the “season pass”-inspired character card. It is quite impressive what the Internet can do when they get their hands on something. This certainly wasn’t planned to happen by developer Crystal Dynamics.

Source: YouTube (TonyBingGaming), Reddit (Costumes), Reddit (Skill Tree)

August 16, 2020
5 Marvel Comics Events Fit For the MCU

Marvel Comics most recent event series, Empyre, is in the midst of its run and has received mixed reviews to this point. It’s place in the long and storied history of Marvel’s major events will ultimately be determined by how it ends and what impact it has on the future of the line but I’ve already seen a lot of fans speculating how it could tie into the MCU down the road. While we’ll have to wait to see how that goes, let’s look at some other events that could also be great fits for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Secret Wars (2015-16) by Jonathan Hickman

Jonthan Hickman’s work has trended toward the cinematic and Secret Wars is probably the most definitive example of that: it is a story absolutely intended to be adapted to the screen. While a lot of people would argue that a film adaptation of this is over a decade away, I would counter that it might not take quite that long (though I do think the film might benefit from the decade long build up-complicated thoughts, I know). Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness is the first step towards this film becoming a reality and the addition of Disney + as a medium on which to tell additional stories will allow the requisite foundations to be laid.

The story itself is one of Marvel Comics all-time gems: as the Multiverse destroys itself, Doctor Doom saves fragments of each world and creates a new world where things are as he makes them but not everyone has forgotten their past lives. Now I see no road to a film adaptation that doesn’t go through Doom, but the idea of bringing characters from their disparate universes into one created by God Emperor Doom would certainly challenge, if not top, the Infinity Saga. Ten years from now will we see the Doctor Strange sequel as the beginning of the Secret Wars Saga? We could only be so lucky.

The Korvac Saga (1978) by Steve Gerber

One of my all-time favorite events that’s really more of just a long run in Avengers (issues 167-177), The Korvac Saga is a fascinating story that calls into question the nature of good and evil and refuses to give an answer, forcing the reader to look inward for the answer.

Michael Korvac, a spacetime refugee from an alternate universe where the Badoon turned him into a cyborg before he defeated them and tried to destroy Earth, arrives in the 616 universe where he immediately hacks into Galactus’ ship and finds himself loaded up with the Power Cosmic. Basically, Korvac finds himself with the power and knowledge of a god and heads to Earth planning to make it his own, personal paradise. The story, which sees the original 31st century Guardians of the Galaxy team up with the Avengers, forces the reader to think about what they would do should they have to power to truly “heal” the world. Why are the Avengers, a group that have spent their entire collective history fighting against evil, trying to stop Korvac from acting in a way that essentially completes their mission for them by eliminating it?

As I said in the open, the event will make you question your beliefs and might even make you a bit uncomfortable. It would take quite a bit of work to retcon the OG Guardians from hillbilly space pirates to the kind of heroes that they are here, especially Starhawk, but that’s a possibility when you have an entire multiverse of characters at your disposal. So yeah, there are a few things to work out, but this one is absolutely meant for the screen!

Siege (2009-10) by Brian Michael Bendis

As soon as we visited New Asgard in Avengers: Endgame, this one entered the realm of possibilities. Everything about New Asgard fits into the pre-existing politics of the MCU and it isn’t much of a stretch to consider that people are not going to feel good about a group of alien refugees living on Earth, especially if things go south there as I expect they will in Thor: Love and Thunder.

In the comics, Siege sees Norman Osborn, manipulated by Loki, invading Asgard which, at the time, is located in Broxton, Oklahoma. While it is increasingly unlikely we’ll see Osborn involved if Marvel Studios The-One-Above-All decides to adapt this even for the MCU, we can take comfort in knowing that the studio has already adapted some major events with some major changes and it’s worked out ok so far. In this case, I would fully expect General Ross and his Thunderbolts to be the aggressors; at the same time, I could easily be talked into Tom Hiddleston’s unreformed Loki finding his way into the mix, just like the comics. If there’s any reason I could come up with for seeing more of Hiddleston, it would be to see him in a purely evil role and that could be offered to him here.

Siege is a crazy, visceral event with some really memorable panels (Sentry ripping Ares in half is definitely the best example) and it includes a cast of characters that would be tough to assemble on screen in the current MCU, but given just how well it fits thematically, I think it’s got a decent shot of making the jump from page to screen.

Annihilation and Annihilation: Conquest (2006-08) by multiple writers

Annihilation was the comic event that brought me back into the fold as a Cosmic junky and, arguably, elevated Marvel’s Cosmic characters to a new level. It’s hard to follow up something as sprawling as Annihilation, but Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning not only did it but topped it with Annihilation: Conquest, an event that saw the return of Ultron and led to a new version of the Guardians of the Galaxy coming together, the team that ultimately inspired the MCU version that everyone has grown to love.

The two stories are truly massive, drawing in nearly every major Cosmic character, race and entity from Marvel’s vast stable and redefining some of them in ways that fans didn’t even know we needed. From Galactus to the Space Knights to the Shi’ar to the High Evolutionary, these events truly touched all the bases. Should they be adapted to the MCU, Disney + series may be a better fit than trying to squeeze them into a pair of 2.5 hour films and there’s certainly some work to do to get the existing universe from here to there, but it’s all doable and should absolutely be done.

The road to Annihilation begins with the introduction of the Fantastic Four and the Negative Zone, allowing for the cinematic debut of The Living Death Who Walks along with some other key characters. If you’ve read my 5-part Nova series, you know that Richard Rider would have a big part to play in these stories as well and, along with what would certainly be some new members of the Guardians, would bridge the gap to Conquest. The return of James Spader as Ultron there would be a major selling point for fans who felt he didn’t get his just due in Avengers: Age of Ultron and would also help tie the Earth-bound stories to the Cosmic corner. If Marvel Studios has any hopes of correcting course on their Cosmic stories, these two stories should be their North Star.

Rise of the Midnight Sons (1992) by multiple writers

A six-issue event that spanned five different title, Rise of the Midnight Sons brought together nine occult-related characters (also called the Mystic Nine) to take on Lilith, the mother of demons. While we are unlikely to see all nine original comic book members on the team should it appear in the MCU, it certainly seems like Kevin Feige could be lining up an adaptation. The effort to bring Ghost Rider and his associated mythology into the MCU proper, the development of Blade, which is almost certain to stick closer to the source material than the prior iterations, and the rumors some other “horror-based” characters such as Dracula, Werewolf By Night and others all at least give us hope.

The original event, to be honest, is a little all over the place, but that’s what happens sometimes when you have too many cooks in the kitchen and it’s something that could easily be straightened out by the studio. This story could easily be adapted into something nice like, Doctor Strange: The Rise of the Midnight Sons, and work as the same sort of event film for that franchise as Civil War did for Captain America. The big selling point for this is event would be the idea that it would serve as a launch pad for the other characters’ properties by giving them the spotlight in the film. I think we’d be likely to see it do for some characters what Civil War has done for Sam, Bucky, Zemo and Sharon. This one would be a VFX extravaganza, but it’s definitely something that would put butts in seats and be worthy of a few buckets of popcorn.

August 9, 2020
‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ To Start Filming Next Year

Tennis star Serena Williams spoke to Natalie Portman recently about the new NWSL team they co-own coming to L.A.. Luckily for us Serena asked Natalie about her playing Jane as The Mighty Thor in Thor Love and Thunder.

At first joking that filming hasn’t started yet but it gives her “more time to, you know, get jacked.” Natalie added that she’s “got the carbo loading down but not the leg exercises.” Then she dropped a confirmation of when and where she expects filming to begin.

“Very excited. We’re shooting in Australia at the beginning of next year.”

“Interested to see if I can actually gain muscle,” Natalie joked again. It seems as if she’s taking her Mighty Thor role very seriously despite the expectations of there being a lot of humor in the script similar to Thor Ragnarok. Natalie is a very committed actress so I expect she will do her best to “get jacked.”

As for the news that Thor Love and Thunder is expected to start filming in Australia at the beginning of next year, this is not surprising. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings needs to finish filming before Thor can begin. Plus the release date for the fourth Thor film was pushed back to early 2022 for that reason. However it is good to have the star actress confirm that she expects to need to be in “mighty” good shape for filming by early 2021 not later.

Fingers crossed that doesn’t get pushed back again.

Source: YouTube

July 26, 2020
What I Heard This Week: ‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’ To Film in Canada

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road. For instance, on February 19th, I wrote this piece relaying some rumors I’d heard about Marvel Studios updating its Disney Plus slate; the next day, the news broke that a special Disney Plus event would be held in London on March 5th where it is expected that Marvel Studios and Star Wars slates will be updated.

A thing I heard this week: Thor: Love and Thunder may shoot some scenes in Vancouver, British Columbia, aka Hollywood North.

Since the 1970s, Vancouver has been one of the world’s top production locations. While it hasn’t been a hot spot for Marvel Studios, Helstrom is filming there now and it looks like the plan is for Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder to do some work there as well. As far as I can tell, the plan is still for the bulk of the filming to take place in Australia and for additional filming to take place in Vancouver, among other locations. While I continue to search to find out if the film will be using studio space, my assumption is that they’re going to Vancouver to shoot locations and, to that end, there is no shortage of beautiful places from which to choose.

Thor: Love and Thunder is expected to kick off production in Australia this August and shoot through the end of the year.

February 28, 2020
What I Heard This Week: ‘LOKI’

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road.

A thing I heard this week: actress Angelica Ross was up for a role in the Disney Plus Marvel Studios series Loki.

The nature of the role is interesting as it is said to be a strong supporting role (aka the actor/actress who landed it will be in every episode) and because the studio was open to having either a male or female in the role, which is described as a “strong leader.”

The thing that I can’t be clear on is exactly what role it is. Earlier this week, a report indicated that Loki would feature Sera, a transgender angel associated primarily with Thor’s sister Angela. Given that Angelica Ross is a transgender actress, it’s easy to make the jump that this is the role she was up for, but there is no evidence to support such a conclusion at this time. Earlier this week, I reached out to representation for Ross to inquire about her association with this project, but at the time of publication, no response had been received.

As for Ross, her Instagram stories indicate that she has landed a physically demanding role as she has been working overtime with a personal trainer. However, while filming on Loki has been ongoing for a couple of weeks, Ross has not been in Atlanta, casting a shadow on any suspicions that she did land the role given the fact that she should appear in every episode. That said, it takes several weeks to film one episode, so there’s still a chance Ross can show up on time.

February 2, 2020
What I Heard This Week: Christian Bale’s Potential Role in ‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road.

With two different Disney Plus series under production at the same time, and films at various states of pre-production, rumors are running rampant and while it’s a ton of fun to sort through them all, not all of them make a ton of sense; however, I recently came across one that, while unverified, makes a lot of sense. It’s important to understand that, because I can’t verify this with a second source, I myself am treating it as a rumor which means, for the time being, I don’t believe it myself. It’s also important to understand that the information provided would be spoilery if did turn out to be true. So please read at your own risk and please make an effort to represent what you’ve read here as nothing more than a rumor. This isn’t a “hot scoop”, at least not yet. For now, they it is nothing more than a compelling rumor that should generate plenty of great discussion among the MCU fan community. With that having been said, read ahead if you chose…

In no way, shape or form should any of this be shared nor construed as confirmation of anything.

Things I heard this week: Christian Bale’s potential role in Thor: Love and Thunder is a mo-cap role.

I spoke to an agent yesterday and while he could not give any info on what the role was, he said, “I’ve just heard that Christian is doing it.”

Obviously that left me unsatisfied, so I kept digging around. The next part of the story is easily the best part, but CANNOT be confirmed as of this afternoon.

I went to another trusted source…very trusted…like the guy who told me that Widow and Iron Man would die in Avengers: Endgame and that Sam would get the shield. I asked him if he could look into it. He did. Here’s the rundown,

Source: “I’m hearing it’s for a mo-cap role but still looking into it.”

In my mind, this doesn’t rule our Dario Agger, but it doesn’t make him the best choice either. Happily, 3 minutes later…

Source: “Who’s Dario?”

Me: “Dario Agger. Is that who he is? Did someone tell you that?”

Source: “Yeah, but they also mentioned Beta Ray Bill.”

End of chat until I hear back.

So what did I take away from this (I almost said, what should YOU take away from it, but that seemed heavy handed):

This conversation between me and “source” is reminiscent of a lot of conversations we’ve had in the past. The reality is that even in Los Angeles, nobody other than Bale, his agent, some people at his agency and the people at Disney are 100% sure who he is playing. The mo-cap part is interesting because he could be Agger and still obviously have to mo-cap the Minotaur. Beta Ray Bill is obviously the greatest Cosmic character ever and there is nothing anyone can say to change that, but, is Bale really up for this or did my source’s source get the echo chamber effect, ie did someone read it online and mention it to him and now he thinks that’s who it is? I have no idea.

What I would feel comfortable saying is that Agger and BRB are legit options where some others aren’t. If it’s mo-cap, well that’s a very helpful clue to help solve the problem. It means a character like Gorr, while he would seem unlikely given how Waititi co-opted him for Hela, is certainly in the mix.

Of course Bale has stated in the past he wants nothing to do with more comic book movies and is notoriously difficult to work with on set, so a mo-cap role where his exposure to other human beings is limited makes THE MOST sense. I’m continuing to try to dig into this, but I have no false hopes of being the guy who breaks it. I am, however, happy to share the breadcrumbs and tidbits I turn up along the way.

January 7, 2020
4 Things We’d Love to See In Future ‘Thor’ Installments

Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy on MCU Exchange on November 6, 2017.

Thor: Ragnarok certainly revitalized the franchise and the character. Not only did it bring some of the more fantastical elements of the Thor comics to the screen, it also saw the character make some bold choices that lead to some major repercussions for him and the people of Asgard. We know we’ll see the God of Thunder again in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 and expect him to play a significant role. While it seems that those films will be the swan songs for stars like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, it is possible that Chris Hemsworth could continue on in the role; after all, Asgardians age awfully slowly, making Hemsworth one of the few MCU stars whose aging could work out just fine. Furthermore, Tessa Thompson’s turn as the Valkyrie did nothing other than continue her ascension as a star and leave us all wanting much, much more of the character. If Marvel Studios is so inclined, they could potentially use the massive success of Thor: Ragnarok as a springboard to launch not only more Thor films, but also films centered around the Valkyrie. The source material certainly provides enough great stories for several films so we put together a sampling of some that we think would look great on screen!

To Wake The Mangog!

One of the great Thor villains that we’ve still yet to see on screen is the great and immortal Mangog! Seen above in concept art from Thor: The Dark World. the Mangog is a villain for whom the time may actually be right given some of the dark revelations about Odin’s past. In the comics, the Mangog was the sole survivor of his kind with the rest of his race being killed by Odin as he is imprisoned in the depths of the Realm Eternal. Fueled by the their combined rage (“the hatred of a billion, billion beings) the Mangog is released by Ulik the Troll (another Thor baddie we’re dying to see!) and proves an equal in battle for the Odinson.

The Mangog is returning to the comics and the events of Thor: Ragnarok could actually have set the stage for his entry into the MCU. The destruction of Asgard by Surtur could be used to explain how the Mangog escaped prison and a film featuring him could give us some more of the true history of Asgard, one of the juiciest and underserved plot points in Thor: Ragnarok. Of course the Mangog would turn his rage on the new King of Asgard, giving Thor a foe that not only challenges him physically, but threatens his burgeoning rule as well.

Journey Into Mystery

If they are going to give Tessa Thompson her own franchise, and I REALLY think they should, I love this as the title. This is the title that introduced Thor to the Silver Age of comics and told young readers the “Tales of Asgard.” Interestingly enough, any movie featuring the Valkyrie, or Asgardians in general, doesn’t need to take place in the present day, giving Marvel Studios a plethora of options for Journey Into Mystery films. While the title might evoke images of Lady Sif for loyal readers, it’s pretty clear that the studio has larger plans for Thompson than for Jamie Alexander; however, that wouldn’t stop them from making an absolutely fantastic team up film with the two badasses!

We know that Thompson has pitched an all-female film to Marvel Studios and, at this point, we have to think the studio is open to it. This may not be the story she had in mind, but we’d love to see the Valkyrie team up with Sif. A couple of classic Thor villains come to mind as wonderful antagonists for such a film and while their team up would clearly be short-lived, we’d love to see Karnilla, the Norn Queen and Amora finally grace the big screen!

The Undying Ones

Outside of being an absolutely fantastic individual character, one of the great things about the Valkyrie being introduced into the MCU is that we are now just one character away from being able to assemble the comic book Defenders on screen. With Doctor Strange, Hulk and the Valkyrie in the mix, we just need Namor and we have the non-team many of us grew up reading about. It seems like the issues surrounding a Namor solo movie are similar to those associated with the Hulk, so introducing him in a team-up film is probably the only way to go. It also seems that the future of the MCU is in team ups of “unexpected combinations of characters” and this idea certainly falls under that umbrella.

First appearing in Doctor Strange #183 and Sub-Mariner #22, the Undying Ones, a group of inter-dimensional demons who used to rule the Earth, were the threat that brought the Defenders together. Whether it’s in the first Valkyrie film or a Doctor Strange sequel, this Lovecraftian horror movie is the type of genre-bending experiment that Marvel Studios seems more and more comfortable attempting. Thompson’s character already showed a fantastic rapport with Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner and would definitely be an interesting foil to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. Additionally, her irreverence would certainly grind Namor’s gears, cementing her as the centerpiece of this team up.

Gorr, The God Butcher

I’m aware that Thor: Ragnarok already introduced some facets of Jason Aaron’s incredible run on Thor: God of Thunder. While I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to which comics should be adapted into Marvel Studios films, I believe that Aaron’s Gorr arc is one of the finest Thor stories ever told. Those things considered, I feel that this is a story that can be told and told well at some point down the road, if Hemsworth chooses to stick around in the role (or if they recast someone else at some point).

In order for this story to be told, it probably makes sense that we are introduced to some other gods from other pantheons at some point. If future films introduce heroes such as Hercules and other characters like Ares and the Eternals, a story taking place in the future featuring an aged King Thor could be the fitting farewell to the character. The story of Gorr transcends time and space and would be perfect for the final, epic Thor story.

November 6, 2017