Tag: TV

  • ‘Just Mercy’ Director of Photography Brett Pawlak Joins ‘Wonder Man’

    ‘Just Mercy’ Director of Photography Brett Pawlak Joins ‘Wonder Man’

    Production on Marvel Studios streaming series Wonder Man, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, looks to be getting underway in Los Angeles and while the cast has been growing by the day, the team behind the camera is also coming into focus. In a post on his Instagram, Wonder Man executive producer Destin Daniel Cretton has revealed that Brett Pawlak will serve as the series director of photography.

    A quick check of Pawlak’s resume, located on his website, confirms that Pawlak has taken the gig. Cretton and Pawlak are frequent collaborators with the two most notably teaming up on Just Mercy and the Disney Plus streaming series, American Born Chinese. Wonder Man is being written by Brooklyn 99‘s Andrew Guest and will be directed by a team consisting of Stella Meghie, James Ponsoldt and, potentially, Cretton. Of course, Cretton is also pretty busy writing the sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and preparing to direct Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, so he may choose to simply oversee the creative team of Wonder Man.

    Given Marvel Studios has been ordered to drastically slow down their output of streaming series, it’s unclear when Wonder Man may stream on Disney Plus but it doesn’t seem as though it could be any sooner than late 2024.

    Sources: Instagram, brettpawlak.com

  • ‘Secret Invasion’ Trailer Hints at the Skrulls Super Plans

    ‘Secret Invasion’ Trailer Hints at the Skrulls Super Plans

    The first full trailer for the upcoming Marvel Studios streaming series, Secret Invasion, debuted recently and gave fans a little better idea of what to expect from the show when it debuts on Disney Plus on June 21st. Though it won’t be a superhero cameo fest like its comic book counterpart, Marvel Studios Secret Invasion will have quite a bit in common with the 2008 crossover event by writer Brian Michael Bendis. Most notably, the central plot revolves around a faction of Skrulls who, after years (maybe decades?) of preparation, are prepared to take over Earth. The new trailer–just like the first teaser–certainly gives off all the vibes of a paranoia-laden spy-thriller but it also gives a little better glimpse into the plans of Kingsley Ben-Adir‘s Gravik which look to give the show a heavy dose of science fiction as well.

    Taking over Earth, even when they’ve infiltrated positions of power around the globe, won’t be easy for the Skrulls. They’ll need an army and while they may have the numbers necessary to put a sizeable one together, what’s known of them from Captain Marvel would hardly make the likes of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes shudder and so, they’ll need something more. Though it’s been the subject of rumors for some time now, it’s made clear in the new trailer that Gravik isn’t your average, ordinary shapeshifting Skrull but rather something a little more…super.

    Super-Skrulls have been part of Marvel Comics since 1963’s Fantastic Four #18 and while it’s not been confirmed just yet, it seems as though Gravik is the MCU’s beta Super-Skrull. Super-Skrulls are exactly what you probably think they are: Skrulls sporting super abilities beyond that of the average Skrull. In the comics, they come in two flavors: enhanced or cloned. Whether enhanced or cloned, Super-Skrulls in the comics have been either technologically or genetically altered to enable them to express super abilities taken from other beings. And in Secret Invasion, it seems that’s exactly what Gravik is up to.

    Seen first in the teaser for the series and then again in the new trailer, in his base in a decommissioned nuclear power site in Russia, Gravik has a secret room containing dozens–maybe hundreds–of bodies, each of whom has a very interesting looking device attached to their bodies. Is this essentially a farm where cloned Super-Skrulls are waiting to be awakened and sent into action? If so, what’s stopping Gravik from sending them out to take over Earth? The answer to that seems to be tied a machine that he’s shown to be building in the teaser and the trailer. Should he complete that, he’d have an army of Super-Skrulls ready to take on Earth’s heroes when they answer the call.

    The trailer also provides some insight into where Gravik is collecting the specimens he intends to use to power up these Super-Skrulls. After first appearing in the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming, The United States Department of Damage Control conveniently popped up in Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Following the Chitauri invasion of Earth, Damage Control was given oversight over any and all alien artifacts from the Battle of New York. It would stand to reason that they’ve also followed the Avengers around the United States clearing up their messes following their major skirmishes. During Phase 4, it was also established that they have a supermax prison where Emil Blonsky and the Ms. Marvel villains known as the Clandestines were held. The infiltration of Damage Control could be a potential disaster…and that’s exactly what the Secret Invasion trailer indicates has happened.

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is cull-1024x483.png

    While a trailer often presents things taken out of context, it sure looks like Gravik’s Skrulls have been busy getting their hands on all kinds of things they can use to power up their army of Super-Skrulls. The screenshot above may indicate that they were able obtain the hand of Cull Obsidian, a member of Thanos’ Black Order who aided him in acquiring the Infinity Stones on Earth. Cull Obsidian possessed incredible strength, speed, stamina and durability while also demonstrating the ability to heal quickly from injuries–standard, run-of-the-mill superpowers. It seems very likely that Gravik would use the DNA from the sample to provide his army of Super-Skrulls with those powers as their baseline before adding who knows what else to the mix. With the resources of Damage Control, it’s terrifying to think what Gravik could be cooking up and if he’s successful in creating an entire army of Super-Skrulls, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes might not be enough to stop them.

    With Nick Fury refusing to call his “super friends” for help in Secret Invasion, it’ll be interesting to see what the old spy pulls out of his bag of tricks to stop Gravik’s plans to take over the Earth!

  • ‘Secret Invasion’: Marvel Studios Rolls Out New Synopsis, Cast of New Streaming Series

    ‘Secret Invasion’: Marvel Studios Rolls Out New Synopsis, Cast of New Streaming Series

    Who do you trust? That question will be at the center of Marvel Studios latest streaming series, Secret Invasion, when it hits Disney Plus beginning June 21st. Unlike its comic book namesake, Marvel Studios Secret Invasion won’t be an epic, Avengers crossover event but rather a paranoia-laden spy thriller with the spy of all spies, Nick Fury, right in the middle of it all. Marvel Studios recently rolled out the first full trailer for the new series and also provided an official synopsis and partial cast list for the show!

    In Marvel Studios’ new series “Secret Invasion,” set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.

    Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury will be joined by Talos, once again brought to life by Ben Mendelsohn. They will be joined by fellow MCU returnees Cobie Smulders as Maria Hill, Martin Freeman as Everett Ross and Don Cheadle as James Rhodes. Kingsley Ben-Adir joins the MCU as Gravik, the leader of an extremist faction of Skrulls that includes Emilia Clarke‘s G’iah, the daughter of Talos, and Killian Scott, whose Skrull character has not been officially named but has been referred to as Fiz in various reports. Charlayne Woodard, who is rumored to play Nick Fury’s wife, Priscilla, Samuel Adewunmi, Dermot Mulroney, Christopher McDonald, Katie Finneran and Olivia Colman, who will play MI6 operative Sonya Falsworth, were also revealed to be part of the cast.

    Ali Selim (Manhunt, Condor) directed and executive-produced Secret Invasion, along with fellow executive producers Kevin Feige, Jonathan Schwartz, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Samuel L. Jackson, Kyle Bradstreet and Brian Tucker. Bradstreet is also the head writer, and Jennifer L. Booth, Allana Williams and Brant Englestein serve as co-executive producers.

  • Marvel Studios Confirms When ‘Secret Invasion’ Will Launch on Disney Plus

    Marvel Studios Confirms When ‘Secret Invasion’ Will Launch on Disney Plus

    Recently a listing on Disney Plus indicated that Marvel Studios upcoming streaming series, Secret Invasion, was set for a June 21st debut. Shortly after word of the listing begin to circulate online, the listing and any reference to the streaming project was removed from the service. Now, ahead of a new trailer for the series, the release date has been confirmed by a new poster for the project.

    Sporting the familiar “Who Do You Trust?” tagline from the comic book crossover event, the new poster features a fascinating image of Nick Fury’s face intercut with a Skrull…and a release date!As indicated by the recent D+ listing, Secret Invasion will kick off its 6-episode run on June 21st.

    The streaming series will see Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn‘s Talos try to stop the takeover of Earth by an extremist faction of Skrulls led by Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik and Emilia Clarke‘s G’iah, the daughter of Talos. Rather than calling in Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Fury will rely on a team comprised of Talos, Cobie Smulders‘ Maria Hill, Martin Freeman‘s Everett Ross, Don Cheadle‘s James Rhodes and, sometimes, Olivia Colman’s Sonya Falsworth to stop the Skrulls from claiming Earth for their own.

  • New Marvel Studios’ ‘Legends’ Episodes to Release in April

    New Marvel Studios’ ‘Legends’ Episodes to Release in April

    Marvel Studios: Legends was first announced in late 2020, ahead of the release of WandaVision on Disney+. The series was meant to act as a recap for first-time viewers and kicked off with episodes highlighting Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Episodes of the series were released all throughout Phase 4, highlighting notable events of the Infinity Saga and moments that defined who our beloved characters were.

    Earlier this year, Season 2 of Legends was announced with the onset of Phase 5, starting with episodes featuring characters from the Ant-Man franchise. The next episodes coming to this series have now been confirmed, bringing the episode count to 9.

    In an official “Next On Disney+ | April 2023” video by Disney+, it was confirmed that episodes 4-9 of Legends will release on April 28, one week before Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters. Although the titles of the episodes haven’t been officially confirmed, the episodes will likely focus on Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Gamora, and Drax, the founding members of the Guardians.

    Legends

    The Guardians were previously featured in Legends episodes for The Guardians Of The Galaxy Holiday Special.

    As of now, the following episodes of Marvel Studios: Legends are available to stream on Disney+:

    • “Wanda Maximoff”
    • “Vision”
    • “Falcon”
    • “The Winter Soldier”
    • “Zemo”
    • “Sharon Carter”
    • “Loki”
    • “The Tesseract”
    • “Black Widow”
    • “Peggy Carter”
    • “The Avengers Initiative”
    • “The Ravagers”
    • “The Ten Rings”
    • “Hawkeye”
    • “Doctor Strange”
    • “Wong”
    • “Scarlet Witch”
    • “Thor”
    • “Jane Foster”
    • “Valkryie”
    • “Bruce Banner”
    • “King T’Challa”
    • “Princess Shuri”
    • “The Dora Milaje”
    • “Mantis”
    • “Drax”

    Source: Disney+

  • New Hint at Possible ‘One Piece’s Netflix Release Date Surfaces

    New Hint at Possible ‘One Piece’s Netflix Release Date Surfaces

    We’re still anxiously waiting for an update on the live-action adaptation of One Piece that is heading to Netflix. Since the poster reveals in January, the project has been silent but that isn’t too uncommon in how Netflix promotes most of its projects. So, we only have a tease of the main cast’s costumes from behind. The biggest rumor, however, that followed was a hint at a late August release on the streaming platform for One Piece that still hasn’t been confirmed.

    Interestingly enough, a new article from the South African newspaper, The Saturday Star, features an interview with Nojiko actress Chioma Antoinette Umeala. As shared by the actress on her personal Instagram account, the article seemingly adds to the fact that the series might be getting an August release with the following statement.

    She also appears as Nojiko in One Piece, a live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga story, to be released on Netflix in August.

    Keep in mind, this is still not an official confirmation that the series will release in August. Netflix has yet to release any specific time and they commonly won’t do so until around two months before a series’ release. There’s a good chance that they simply took the recent rumor as confirmed and added it to the article. It’s not the first time something like this has happened but there’s always a chance some information was accidentally shared in the process. So, we’ll just have to wait for that official confirmation and if they really release it in August, we might find out in June.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast Reunites for Netflix Anime Series

    ‘Scott Pilgrim’ Cast Reunites for Netflix Anime Series

    The cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is reuniting for Netflix’s anime series of the same name, lending their voices to their characters. The series features Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Brie Larson, and eleven original cast members.

    Bryan Lee O’Malley is joining forces with BenDavid Grabinski to write and executive produce the project. “We can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to see what our partners at Science SARU and we have been cooking up,” O’Malley said in a statement given to Variety, adding “It’s going to be a wild ride.” Edgar Wright, the film’s director, co-writer, and producer, is also adding his name to the executive producer list.

    Scott Pilgrim vs. The World follows Scott, a struggling musician in Toronto, Canada who has his sights on landing a record deal but falls in love with a girl with insanely evil ex-partners. A release date for the project is pending.

    Source: Variety

  • Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis Campaigns for ‘One Piece’ Role

    Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis Campaigns for ‘One Piece’ Role

    We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on when we can finally see Matt Owens and Steven Maeda‘s attempt at bringing Eiiichiro Oda‘s iconic One Piece series into live-action. The passionate team behind the project makes this an anime adaptation that should not be missed out on with the potential to break the ongoing curse of adopting the medium.

    Even though we haven’t even seen the first season, there are already some talks about who else could take on an iconic role further down the line. One of the biggest fan castings was of long-time One Piece fan Jamie Lee Curtis getting a chance to play Dr. Kureha. Even her daughter, Ruby Guest, said she’d be interested as Chopper is her favorite Straw Hat and now it seems the recent Oscar winner isn’t wasting any time to get cast.

    Curtis took to her personal Twitter account to seemingly start campaigning for the role with the hashtag #CurtisforKureha. She even added an image of the character with her face on it, which highlights just how great this potential casting would be for the series, and an opportunity to have an Oscar winner of all people join this high-profile Netflix series.

    https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis/status/1641909128640757761

    Emily Rudd, who plays Nami in the live-action adaptation, even took to Twitter further push that she should be cast in the project. So far non of the showrunners have reacted but they’ll be keeping their eyes on the actress once they know they can move forward with a second season, which would feature the character. We already have hints that they started work on a second season in case of renewal by Netflix. So, here’s hoping the series pulls in those record-breaking numbers that the streaming service is looking for.

    Source: Twitter

  • Ed Harris Reportedly Joins Marvel Studios ‘Wonder Man’

    Ed Harris Reportedly Joins Marvel Studios ‘Wonder Man’

    Marvel Studios streaming series Wonder Man, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, is gearing up for production and continues to add to its already stellar cast. Demetrius Grosse was recently confirmed to have joined the series as Eric Williams, the brother of Abdul-Mateen‘s Simon and the villain known as the Grim Reaper, but it’s been known for some time now that Wonder Man will feature another villain. In late 2022, rumors swirled that Bob Odenkirk was offered the role of Simon’s agent, a role that was later revealed to be the primary antagonist of the project. Unfortunately, Odenkirk and Marvel Studios didn’t strike a deal but they did find a very capable replacement.

    According to YouTube personality Jeff Snieder, Westworld’s Man in Black, Ed Harris, has joined Wonder Man as Simon’s agent, Neal Saroyan. Murphy’s Multiverse first posited that Neal Saroyan was the identity of the character and the villain of the piece shortly after Odenkirk’s name was circulated in association with the project.

    The 72-year-old Harris is one of Hollywood’s most well-respected method actors and capable of turning any role into a memorable one. Harris has played memorable villains in The Rock, Enemy at the Gates, The Truman Show and National Treasure: Book of Secrets as well as a chilling performance in A History of Violence. He’ll certainly bring something special to the role, though it looks as though it will be quite some time before audiences get to see exactly what that is. Marvel Studios has dramatically slowed the streaming pipeline and Wonder Man isn’t expected to stream until late 2024 at the earliest.

    Source: YouTube

  • Marvel Confirms the Identity of Emilia Clarke’s ‘Secret Invastion’ Character

    Marvel Confirms the Identity of Emilia Clarke’s ‘Secret Invastion’ Character

    The identity of Emilia Clarke‘s character in the upcoming Marvel Studios streaming series, Secret Invasion, has been the subject of rumors and speculation since it was announced that the actress had joined the project. She’s been said to be playing Veranke, Abigail Brand and, more recently, said to be a Skrull named G’iah by insider Daniel RPK. Not everyone can be right…or can they?…but now Marvel Studios has made it official via a special look at the series from Vanity Fair.

    As shared by Daniel RPK, Clarke is playing the Skrull G’iah, the daughter of Talos, who audiences first met in 2019’s Captain Marvel. “Remember when Ben [Mendelsohn] was there with his wife and daughter? She’s the little Skrull girl grown up. She’s his daughter,” revealed Secret Invasion star Samuel L. Jackson. The character of G’iah was first introduced in Marvel Comics in 2019’s Meet the Skrulls, which has long been rumored to have partially inspired Marvel Studios streaming series.

    While the identity of Clarke’s character may not be a huge surprise (Marvel Studios made it pretty clear at the end of Captain Marvel that the character would return in some way), her role in the project might be: she’s part of an extremist group of Skrulls, led by Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik, who believed Talos had failed them, decided to stop waiting to find a new home and have begun taking over Earth. “It’s hardened her for sure. There’s a kind of punk feeling that you get from this girl,” said Clarke of growing up amidst the Kree-Skrull War as the daughter of a Skrullian leader. “She’s a refugee kid who’s had Talos for a dad, you know what I mean? Maybe the fact that we didn’t know he had a kid up until this point tells you everything you need to know about their relationship. There is a lot of angst and pain and anger and resentment. The group themselves are kind of anti-Talos.

    These people promised a lot of stuff a long time ago, and not a lot has happened. So understandably, a certain amount of resentment has been built. There’s a lot of emotions that live within her, and there’s a lot of confrontational aspects to her character that have come from circumstance. You understand why she has the feelings that she does.

    Emilia Clarke

    Secret Invasion will certainly paint these extremist Skrulls in a different–and much more comic-accurate–light than in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home where they were victims of an ongoing war and even allies to humanity. Now that Gravik’s extremist faction is ready to move to the next step of their takeover of Earth, having G’iah and Talos on opposite sides will make for a very compelling arc when the series hits Disney Plus in June.

    Source: Vanity Fair