Disney+ has been seeing quite a bit of growth that made it a strong competitor. While Netflix still dominates the market, especially in the United States, the offerings based on existing IPs have been a strong marketable focus for the Disney-owned service. Marvel Studios and Star Wars offerings are at the forefront, but there is a stronger shift since their big cinema releases are making their way to the platform.
Overall, Disney+ has grown to a competitive size within a short period of time. It’s uncertain what the future has in store for it, as they try to find new ways to grow, but expansion is still at the forefront of most of these offerings. Netflix also has the advantage of beings years in the market but has been pushing much more to expand its IP collection. We’ll see what the future has in store for this competitive market.
It looks like Tim Burton is ready to work with his long-time composer once again for the upcoming Netflix series, Wednesday. Danny Elfman will lend his talent to create the themes and score the various episodes alongside Bates Motel‘s Scott Bacon. The series was ordered back in February, which will take a very different take on the classic franchise. Instead of family comedy, it’ll explore Wednesday Addams’ time as a student at Nevermore Academy. There she’ll end up trapped in a supernatural-infused mystery. Burton is set to direct multiple episodes and also is acting as an executive producer alongside showrunners Al Gough and Miles Millar.
It’s still a very unique approach to the iconic franchise, but with Burton‘s involvement, it seemed like a promising new take. We’ll see how gothic the project will go, but Elfman‘s inclusion is a motivating factor. His work always adds a little something special and it’ll definitely add the vibe that’ll make it stand out. They’ve always been a strong team since they worked on projects like the original 1989’s Batman, Batman Returns, The Nightmare BeforeChristmas, Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland remake, and many more.
The news of live-action adaptions gets met with very mixed reactions, as tackling a video game or animated series in this new format comes with many limitations. Fans are interested to see just how Netflix handles their live-action adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender, especially when you consider the first attempt from 2010 getting panned by critics and fans alike. This time around, it’s going to be a series, which works in its favor to explore the original’s story while also exploring new paths to really make the series stand on its own.
Showrunner Albert Kim and Netflix revealed some new casting today, which will surely excite fans of the original. Elizabeth Yu has been announced as Azula, the ruthless princess of the Fire Nation and sister to Prince Zuko. Maria Zhang has been cast as Suki, leader of the Kyoshi warriors and love interest of Sokka. Yvonne Chapman will play Avatar Kyoshi, who preceded Aang and will likely help guide him on his journey. Finally, Casey Camp-Horinek will play Gran Gran, Sokka, and Katara’s grandmother.
AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’s cast continues to grow: meet the actors who will play Azula, Suki, Yukari, Kyoshi, and Gran Gran. pic.twitter.com/pYx7cfhUVR
Azula’s addition is a bit surprising and might be premature. Many fans of the show are probably scratching their heads, as Azula does not play a big role in Book One of the series and only briefly shows up in the background at the very end. This feels like a situation that Netflix could’ve kept quiet and saved for a season finale stinger or post-credit scene. Yet, there’s a good chance that the series might include her earlier on to introduce one of their biggest threats early.
Of course, there’s the possibility that they are prioritizing one animated project per year, as such they gave I Am Groot the release spot. They might also announce it as a later addition at one point down the line, but it is curious that there’s no mention of it. They might’ve decided to change-ups strategies, as producing an entire season every year for the series might be a much larger uptaking than initially expected. We’ll see if any other announcements arrive later on, as The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is also absent in the listing. So, we’ll see if this is a definite list or we’ll see some changes throughout the year.
With Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox reprising their respective roles as Kingpin and Matt Murdock this week and rumors swirling that other cast members from the Netflix Defenders-verse series might join them, we decided to take a look at who should come back and who should be left behind. Note that this is not all-encompassing and that there’s no real metric here, much less any consistency. Sometimes we want the actor and not the role; other times we want the role but not the actor; other times we want neither. To make it easy, we cast a verdict on each character: recast the role, reboot the character with the same actor, retire the character or have the same actor reprise the same role. Because the world is hard, sometimes had to pick more than one.
The Big 4
Each of the following actors led at least 2 seasons of a solo series on Netflix as well as popping up in either Defenders or another series.
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle Whether or not Marvel Studios plans on using the Punisher in the near future is certainly a great topic for debate, but that debate is for another day. The topic here is whether or not Bernthal is the man for the job should they chose to bring the character into the MCU and, fortunately, there’s not much of debate to be had. As he almost always does, Bernthal inhabited the role of Castle in a way that many actors just couldn’t do. If we are going to see the Punisher again, it has to be Bernthal. Verdict: Reprise
Mike Colter as Luke Cage Colter is a case of Netflix missing the mark on why they cast the character. Colter is a solid actor. His work on CBS’s Evil has been excellent; however, he seems to be, in general, more comfortable in roles that require a more subdued persona and, to me, that’s just not Luke Cage. If Cage is coming back, the actor has to have BIG energy and charisma. The man lead the New Avengers and as much as I love Colter, I can’t see him effectively convincing Dr. Strange, Spider-Man and Captain Marvel that they should be following his orders. Verdict: Recast
Finn Jones as Danny Rand In a shared universe that includes Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi, there’s simply no place for Jones as the Iron Fist. While part of the problem with the character was the way he was written (Rand should be able to kick multiple asses all the time without ever having to use the Iron Fist), it’s impossible to give Jones a pass. He notably didn’t want to train and he’s also just not that great of an actor. If they give Rand another chance, it has to be with another actor. Verdict: Recast
Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones Ritter’s situation is nearly the opposite of Colter’s in that the role of Jones fits her specific talents incredibly well. She looks the part and believably acts the part. While the series ended on a really poor note, Ritter’s time as the character would make it incredibly hard to imagine someone else in the role. Verdict: Reprise
The Supporting Cast
Each of these characters played a major, supporting role in at least one season of the Defenders-verse series.
Vondie Curtis-Hall as Ben Urich After giving one of the best performances in Season 1 of Daredevil, Curtis-Hall didn’t get a chance to come back in the role because, well, Kingpin killed off the character. One of the best cases we can make for why the Netflix series should not be canon is so Curtis-Hall can return in a role that could expand beyond Daredevil’s stories and into the greater MCU. Verdict: Reprise
Rosario Dawson as Clarie Temple Keep the actress, ditch the character. Dawson is lights out in pretty much everything she does. Fans would love to see her jump into a bigger role like Mahershala Ali, who starred in Luke Cage, was able to do. Sorry, Claire, you stay behind, but bring Rosario into the MCU in a new role. Verdict: Retire
Scott Glenn as Stick One of the most unforgivable offenses made by Netflix over the course of their Defenders-verse series was their portrayal of the Hand. As Charles V. has said over and over again, “it’s really hard to screw up undead ninjas”, but they did it. If there’s one Daredevil-centric thing they could fix that would really spice up the whole MCU, it’s the Hand. And if the Hand is back, Stick should be back and if we’re getting Stick, it’s gotta be Scott Glenn. Verdict: Reboot
Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson Foggy is such an important part of the story of Matt Murdock that he absolutely must be involved in whatever stories are told going forward. Henson, however, never seemed the right fit and it’s almost certain a recast would land better with fans. Verdict: Recast
Jessica Henwick as Colleen Wing Henwick was one of the brightest stars over the two seasons of Iron Fist. It was recently revealed that she had to pass on a role in Shang-Chi in order to land her role in the upcoming Matrix sequel, so obviously Marvel Studios is keen to work with her again. Henwick should absolutely be in the MCU. Whether that’s as Collen Wing or in another role is the question. Should she enter into the MCU in another role, that would really make it hard to consider Iron Fist “canon”, however. There is certainly a great Daughters of the Dragon story to be tole with Wing and Misty Kinght, should they want to keep Henwick in a version of the same role. Verdict: Reprise
Simone Missick as Misty Knight Speaking of…Missick was dynamite as Misty Knight, bringing some of the charisma to Luke Cage that Colter did not. Seeing Missick return as Knight, perhaps to team up with Sam Wilson as she has recently in the comics would be fantastic. Verdict: Reprise
Debra Ann Woll as Karen Page The vote here is no, but not for the reasons you might think. Woll was great as Karen Page. She was better than great. But as the story of Matt Murdock/Daredevil moves on, Marvel Studios would be wise to move away from the dark, Frank Miller inspired arcs that we integral to the Netflix series and adapt some other authors’ work. Modern day runs by Charles Soule and Mark Waid would top the list and wouldn’t require more of Page, a character whose continued story would only continue to drag Matt through Hell. Verdict: Retire
Elodie Yung as Elektra Yung checked all the boxes as Elektra: sleek, sexy, dangerous and talented. If they should choose to do another story with the Hand or just with Elektra, it’d be hard to find someone who both looked and played the part as well as Yung. Bring her back! Verdict: Reprise
The Villains
Wilson Bethel as Bullseye Bethel’s time as Bullseye was just getting started when the plug was pulled on the Defenders-verse. He gave a great portrayal and would be fully capable of holding his own on screen again with Cox. Bring back Bullseye and bring back Bethel. Verdict: Reprise
Alice Eve as Typhoid Mary Eve seemed like an out of place casting at the time, but she did fine in the role. Moving forward, however, it seems appropriate to have an entirely different version of the character and I don’t think anyone would be upset to see a new actress in the role. Verdict: Rebootand Recast
Bob Gunton as Leland Owlsley Love Gunton, but he was playing the comic book Owl in the same way that Fra Fee is playing comic book Kazi, which is to say not at all. There is certainly room for the Owl in this newly carved out corner of organized crime in the MCU, but not for this version. A younger actor and totally different characterization are in order. Verdict: Rebootand Recast
Theo Rossi as “Shades” Alvarez You might think that with all the characters and actors we didn’t include on the list, that Rossi is a surprise. He might be but his son, Victor Alvarez, could join the MCU’s other young heroes down the road. Rossi was creepy and slimy in the role. It would only be a bit part if he came back, so let’s see him back so we can get to his much more important offspring. Verdict: Reprise
David Tennant as Purple Man Tennant joins D’Onofrio and Ali in the trinity of great Defender-verse performances as villains. Ali has moved into the MCU in larger role as Blade. D’Onofrio is back. It might be a stretch to bring Purple Man into the current MCU unless the want to do the big Breakout arc from New Avengers, but getting Tennant back on board in that role or any other would be fantastic. Verdict: Reprise
Wil Traval as Nuke Nope. Give us a real Nuke in a future Cap movie. Scrap the actor and forget the character ever existed. Verdict: Reboot and Recast
Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna Zurer was fire as Vanessa. Both the actress and the character were amazing. However, the MCU’s Kingpin isn’t going to have 13 hours of time to tell a bunch of personal stories, so unfortunately, unless we get a Kingpin series, neither Zurer or Vanessa need to make the jump. Verdict: Retire
Make sure to sound off in the comments on who you’d like to see reprise their roles and who you think should be left behind.
When I started the review series of the various episodes of Cowboy Bebop, I didn’t expect that the season finale review would turn into the series finale. Yet, as Netflix has decided not to continue with their work on the project, it seems like this is our take now. It looks like my planned piece on what they could improve on for the second season goes out the window, and it’s time to take a closer look at the final episode on the live-action take of this live-action adaptation and see if it somehow sticks the landing.
We continue where we left off with Spike in the eight-episode, as he awakens back in Ana’s jazz bar, where he finds out why she’s been walking in a cane. His friends come in for the rescue with probably one of my favorite moments. Jet realizes Spike is okay and goes on to give him a giant bear hug just shows how much he cares for him. All that only for the series pulls the rug from under us when he finds out his partner worked for the Syndicate and got his daughter kidnapped.
At that moment, it made you realize why he had a daughter in this adaptation. It was the perfect device to drag him into the final conflict, as most Western series focus strongly on having all story points come together in a finale. While it doesn’t hold the same weight as the original, the inclusion of others takes away from the personal moment that this storyline was in “Ballad of Fallen Angels.” It’s strange that most of the time they keep the cast separate, but this is the first time they force them back together in a story that is originally meant purely for Spike.
Still, we get some great moments like Spike and Jet’s exchange. Faye’s “last-minute” save was also a nice moment as she still came back for them, but it did make me question why in the world she managed to find a hint at her past in the same spot that Spike happened to fight Mad Pierrot. As they go out of their way to build connections that weren’t there before, this one felt a bit forced. It also brings the team together only to split them up again for what would’ve been a second season that seems like what the writers love doing.
Vicious and Spike get their confrontation and Alex Hassell’s take on the character ends up being the most cartoony in this entry. The faces he makes are quite hilarious, especially when he is in “stabby” mood – even if it feels like it undercuts the intensity he sometimes tries to convey. Still, his maniac personality remains consistent with what we learned about him from the previous episode and see it in action. Even if it feels like this version of Spike could wipe the floor with him normally.
The biggest departure is the twist at the end when Julia shows up, shoots Vicious and undermines their rivalry, and then decides she’ll become the Syndicate’s new ruler. While it would’ve opened up a potentially new direction for the series to make it stand out from the original, there is a certain lack of set-up about this betrayal. Yes, she was mad she lived in the shadow of Vicious and Spike never came to save her, but this is the case where knowing less might’ve made this character more interesting even if Elena Satine gives a great performance.
In the end, it doesn’t quite stick the landing but does offer at least a fun end to an overall enjoyable experience. It’s still sad that we won’t get more out of the series, but it did give us some exceptional performances from John Cho and Mustafah Shakir. It lacked the subtlety of the original in many ways and struggled quite a bit to find a balance between source material and making it its own, but there were some great ideas throughout. Here’s hoping this is a learning experience for Netflix and Tomorrow Studios when they start working onthe One Piece series.
So far, Hawkeye has been quite an enjoyable entry in the MCU’s ever-expanding library. It offers a more grounded storyline as Clint Barton faces the underbelly of New York City while having to take care of a young protégé. Kate Bishop joins him in his fight, as we explore his time as Ronin and the regret that is included with it, as well as the loss of his closest friend. Of course, can’t forget the addition of Yelena Belova to follow up her story from Black Widow and the confirmation of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s return as Wilson Fisk.
There’s a lot to unpack going into the finale and it seems the team behind the series is very aware of this. As it seems the upcoming sixth episode may be the longest of any Marvel Studios series. According to Amit Chaudhari, who has reported the length of episodes in the past, the final episode will not only be the longest of the series but also every Disney+ entry so far at 59 minutes.
It now dethrones Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s fifth episode “Truth” which clocked in at around 58 minutes. Keep in mind that depending on where you live, the credits are longer or shorter due to the international voice cast also getting included. Still, it’s an impressive length and hopefully a sign that we’re in for quite a lot. We still haven’t met Fisk in this series, as he was only showcased through an image on a phone. So, not only do we have to resolve the storylines set-up through both Hawkeyes, Maya Lopez, and the mysterious watch, but also get introduced to the series’ actual villain. It’ll be interesting to see how they wrap it all up with a nice bow.
After an Episode 3 tease, the closing moments of Episode 5 of Hawkeye officially introduced Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin into the series as an acquaintance of Eleanor Bishop. Called by name by Clint Barton, Kingpin is the big boss behind the Tracksuits and the “Uncle” of Maya Lopez. Kingpin, as it turns out, is a lot of things but the one thing he is not is the same character from the three seasons of Netflix’s Daredevil.
When he was first introduced in Season 1 of Daredevil in 2015, Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, was already a major player in the organized crime scene of New York City. Season 1 ended with Fisk in prison from where he began to suspect that Matt Murdock and Daredevil where one in the same. Fisk worked over agent Nadeem, found his way out of Ryker’s and was eventually freed and reunited with is love, Vanessa. The series wrapped following a major fight between Murdock and Fisk that ended with Fisk on his way to prison, again, his organization dismantled and Murdock having enough evidence to make sure Fisk would never see the light of day again, much less regain his status as Kingpin.
The events of Daredevil Season 3 took place in 2018, shortly before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. We know this Fisk wasn’t Blipped and that at some point between 2018 and 2023, he was a big deal in organized crime in New York and known as Kingpin. While a reasonable argument could be made that Fisk was broken out of prison during that time, him moving around in the open in 2024 and continuing to operate as Kingpin would represent a complete and utter failure on the part of Matt Murdock. By the time Hawkeye takes place in 2024, even if Murdock had been Blipped, he surely could have brought forth enough evidence to get Fisk back behind bars. More to the point, if following the Blip, Fisk was still actively running crime in New York where the one man who could bury him was around (we don’t know if Murdock was Blipped, but we know he’s around at the same time) he’d be a pretty incompetent Kingpin of crime. If this Kingpin is the Netflix Kingpin, the MCU Daredevil is already a moron…and so is the MCU Kingpin.
Of course fans of the Netflix character came out in droves today to point out just how much this Kingpin looks like the version who rocked the white suits in Daredevil. That version of the character was more of an all-white suit type of guy and, though it’s potato cam quality, that’s not they style of this all-new, all-different version of the character; the version we kind of saw today seemed to be more of an ascot-sporting, cane-wielding and quite possibly shade-of-purple pants wearing type of guy, much like the classic comic book version of the character. I’m not going to go back and rewatch all 39 episodes to make sure, but I don’t recall that Fisk being a fan of neckwear, which he certainly has as part of his ensemble here.
On the topic of style, Daredevil’s Wilson Fisk was a big cuff link guy. As seen below, he owned two dozen or so pairs of the handy accessories but, as you might remember, fancied one particular pair that he picked off the corpse of his dead father.
The first tease of this all-new, all-different version of Kingpin came in Episode 3 and, funny enough, they made sure to give us a look at this version’s cuff links.
And, as it turns out, not only was he not wearing his favorite pair (who doesn’t love wearing stuff that reminds them of the day they murdered their dad with a hammer?), he wasn’t wearing any of those in his possession last time we saw him. If the creators of Hawkeye wanted to send a VERY clear message to the fans of the Netflix Daredevil series, those cuff links would have been on FULL display in that tease. They weren’t because this isn’t that guy.
What Hawkeye has introduced is (as Loki taught us) a Variant of the character fans met in Daredevil. From what’s been revealed, Fisk didn’t seem to be returning to the “throne” during the Blip; it seems much more likely that he used that time to establish himself as the Kingpin by eliminating the remaining competition, including his best, good friend Willie Lopez. It’s important to note that it only benefits Marvel Studios to continue to obfuscate whether or not this Fisk and the Murdock that appears in Spider-Man: No Way Home are the same characters from the Netflix series. The hype, the discussion and debate only fan the flames of fandom. Maybe next week will deliver a clear answer, but don’t be surprised if the truth isn’t revealed until She-Hulk, or Echo, or never. But for now, there’s certainly enough evidence to rationally argue that Hawkeye has introduced a new version of a classic comic book character whose story is JUST getting started.
The Wizarding World is still going strong, with the latest entry in the Fantastic Beasts series set to hit theaters in April. However, it doesn’t seem like The Secrets of Dumbledore will be the final film in the wildly popular franchise that started with the original Harry Potter book and continued through at least eleven movies. In a recent conference hosted by Bloomberg, Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff commented on the future of Potter at the company:
We would love to develop more original Harry Potter series, and we regularly talk to J.K. Rowling and her team. It’s got to be right though. Whatever we do has to be true to the canon, and true to the ethos of the Wizarding World, and who Harry is.
Ann Sarnoff
The quote is especially interesting considering Sarnoff‘s use of the word “original”. Both of the series currently in existence, Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts, originate from literary works by author J.K. Rowling. The British writer is a controversial figure, but she’s remained very involved with the characters who made her famous.
Each Fantastic Beasts film has been plotted by the creative, who continues to expand her own universe through live-action projects. It would seem the plan is for this to continue, possibly with Rowling outlining completely new stories without any basis in literature. Fans will have to keep their eyes out for any possible announcements on the horizon. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is currently eyeing a release in theatres on April 15th.
Netflix’s main strategy has been to purchase various existing IPs to bring them to life. While they’ve seen quite a bit of success through their original adaptations, it never deterred the streamer from finding that property that’ll put them on the map in new ways. Well, it seems their next project will be an adaptation of David F. Walker‘s comic The Hated as a Western series. Michael Starrbury, who worked on When They See Us and Black & White.
He’ll take on the role of executive producer alongside Prime Universe Films’ Adrian Askariah, David F. Walker, and Sean Owolo. The project is part of Starrbury’s multi-year deal with the streamer, as he’s also bringing out a comedy The Come Up soon. The series will take place during a post-Civil War revisionist history, where we follow the bounty hunter Araminta Free. The U.S. didn’t unite but separated and she’s one of the few people specialized in crossing the border. It’ll be interesting to see this different take on history and how they tackle the project.
We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.
This website uses cookies
Websites store cookies to enhance functionality and personalise your experience. You can manage your preferences, but blocking some cookies may impact site performance and services.
Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.
Name
Description
Duration
Cookie Preferences
This cookie is used to store the user's cookie consent preferences.
30 days
These cookies are needed for adding comments on this website.
Name
Description
Duration
comment_author_email
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author_url
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
comment_author
Used to track the user across multiple sessions.
Session
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.
Pinterest Tag is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.
