Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuted this weekend to high acclaim and box office success. Fans are now finally able to witness the ambitious, emotional, and impressive cinematic feat for themselves after years of real-world grief and production difficulties. Despite the success, earlier this week director Ryan Coogler revealed that a Black Panther 3 might not be such a sure thing—at least with him at the helm. And for those tracking potential Avengers: Secret Wars directors, Coogler says he has had no conversations about the job.
Fans of Black Panther and its sequel should be happy to hear that Marvel Studios has confirmed that there are multiple Disney+ projects in the works based on Wakanda. According to Marvel Studios EP Nate Moore, some of the series in mind would involve existing characters, such as the Okoye-centric project that’s been in development for some time, while others would focus on characters “that would be completely new.”
Some of the week’s biggest news involved everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Though it hasn’t been officially announced, the buzz around Sony and Marvel Studios reaching a new deal to continue their collaborative efforts to co-produce Spider-Man films has been at an all-time high this week. The deal, should it be reached, would allow Marvel Studios to get to work on developing new Spidey films with Sony and for them to negotiate a deal with star Tom Holland that would allow him to appear in non-Spidey films.
But other Spider-Man projects have been in the news as well. Daniel Kaluuya was revealed to be voicing Spider-Punk in the upcoming Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and there are rumors that the animated film will feature Spider-Men from major franchises, such as Tom Holland’s, Tobey Maguire’s, and Andrew Garfield’s heroes. For those interested in the never-made Maguire universe Spider-Man 4, we learned this week that Angelina Jolie almost played a villain in the film, and new details emerged about the origin and death of the Vulture in it.
In Deadpool 3 news: in an interview with Sirius XM’s Stars, Ryan Reynolds explained that he, Hugh Jackman, and director Shawn Levy are “up to our necks in prep,” that the film is still being written, and that he will be wrapped up in production on it for the next two years. The actor then added that shooting on the film, which he called “the easy part”, is expected to take place “just before Summer.” Interestingly, new rumors suggest that Owen Wilson’s Mobius will appear in the film as well as the 2005 Fantastic Four team. Perhaps Chris Evans’ return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe will not be as Steve Rogers after all. The Marvel Studios Fantastic Four film in development is rumored to be eyeing a January 2024 production start. Shawn Levy fans will be excited that the director will direct a Star Wars film after he’s done with Deadpool 3.
Agatha: Coven of Chaos casting and character news continues to be the gift that keeps on giving. While the debate on the subject seemed a bit silly, Joe Locke’s role in the upcoming Disney+ series is seeming confirmed as Wiccan at this point. The show added Sasheer Zamata and Eric André to its cast, and a new report may have revealed that Morgan Le Fay will be the main villain of Coven of Chaos.
Daredevil: Born Again is one of three Disney Plus streaming series set to film in the first half of 2023, joining Agatha: Coven of Chaos and Wonder Man. Early word had the Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio-led Daredevil series headed to New York City for production, returning to the familiar locations fans grew accustomed to over 3 seasons of the Netflix series. Production is expected to last nearly all of 2023, beginning in February and wrapping in December.
Indiana Jones is set to make a big comeback with the upcoming fifth film starring Harrison Ford in the iconic role once again. Yet, it seems that Disney is not interested in leaving it with just that single project. According to a new report by Variety, it seems they are also hoping to develop a Disney+ series based on the iconic archaeologist’s globe-trotting adventures. They don’t have a writer or showrunner in place. So, it’s not a definite project at the moment but definitely something they are looking into.
The John Wick franchise is continuing to grow, as not only are we getting a TV spinoff that explores the early days of the iconic hotel chain but also a female-led spinoff only known as Ballerina as of now. It’s unclear if this new cinematic franchise will receive an original naming to tie it all together, but it does seem like the franchise’s iconic star, Keanu Reeves, is set to join the production of the upcoming spinoff.
Lastly, a very heartbreaking exclusive about the upcoming live-action Lilo & Stitch movie revealed that the iconic character Cobra Bubbles will be replaced. Of course, news that one of the greatest Disney animated films of all time would be receiving the latest live-action treatment was distressing enough. Still, the fact that Agent Bubbles was not deemed worthy of making the cut is absolutely absurd and a crushing blow to any reasonable-minded person. Perhaps the only post-1990s 2D Disney animated films to actually become a classic, Lilo & Stitch is a journey that spans space, friendship, and family. The film boasts an amazing soundtrack as well, and it is unclear how a live-action film could ever do it justice. Bubbles was a pillar of the original film, serving as the social worker constantly threatening to separate Lilo and her sister, Nani, as Nani does her best as a teenage older sister and pseudo-single-parent after the two’s parents die tragically as per Disney tradition. It is near impossible to see how a remake that forsakes Bubbles could be the Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride that the beloved Lilo & Stitch embodies. Disney apparently forgot the film’s most famous quote: “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
