Saturday, January 30, 2021

Marvel News & Notes



The fourth episode of WandaVision (about 27 minutes) is our first non-sitcom focused sojourn. It serves as a quick catch-up for what's been happening outside of Wanda's reality. Monica Rambeau gets a hastily established backstory (a member of SWORD--which was created by her mother--who was Snapped with her mother dying off-screen in the interim. Not enough time is spent to feel the emotional impact of the dead mother and the episode fails the 'show don't tell' rule, either due to a lack of time or because Monica doesn't warrant the attention. We then establish who Darcy is with Jimmy Woo in a supporting role for both characters. The primary reveal is that Wanda is in control of her reality and that she's somehow animated a visibly dead Vision--she makes it clear to Vision that this is the only place that she can have a life with him. The show is saddled with a flat performance from Josh Stamberg (Tyler), which is a first for the show.

One thing that isn't resolved from the episode: what missing person was Woo looking for when he stumbled across Westview? While Agatha Harkness would have been the obvious choice, Woo says he's looking for a man, so it can't be her. The most likely candidate would be the as-yet unseen Ralph.

Another point of curiosity is why Wanda believes Westview is the only place she and Vision can be together. This implies her power itself is not enough to maintain him, otherwise they wouldn't be locked in a geographic location. Darcy's comments about CMBR could imply the Infinity Stones are part of what makes it possible, but we don't know how that can be since Thanos atomized them elsewhere. Murphy (link below) believes this background energy is actually just a sign of magic--something the Ancient One talked about in Doctor Strange. This is plausible and would define Agatha's role as the person who taught Wanda its use (I'll again repeat that Murphy disagrees with one of his sources about who Agatha is, cf). This poses the question of why Agatha is caught inside Westview, and it could be that she's trying to stop Wanda but isn't strong enough to face her directly.

Can we put the Mephisto/villain ideas to bed? Is Wanda the antagonist of the series? That would fit the spirit of House of M, which is the primary source material for the show. What I don't think is that Wanda is the villain of the Multiverse arc, which means the show has to set-up some other foe and end with Wanda more or less a hero. In that sense, I believe there's a villain either impacting what's going on or who is released because of what Wanda is doing.

One of the theories floating around is that Wanda will do a reverse House of M and unlock mutant abilities around the world. No one has talked about why she would do that, but if there's substance to the theory, perhaps it's to create allies as she tries to prevent her reality from being dragged back into the real world.

I mentioned last week that we could quickly debunk a 4chan post that had dropped because of specific predictions in it. Debunking is where we're at because the run times of the last two episodes are wrong (close for episode three, but way off for episode four). This poster was a big Agents of SHIELD pusher, so keep that in mind for the Sutton scoop below. Run time also casts serious doubt on a long MCU-wide 4chan post from a few weeks earlier.

After the episode dropped we had our first major leak, as clips from what looks like the trailer for episode six appeared. This short amount of footage includes major spoilers and have people speculating it might force Marvel to drop two episodes next week instead of one (a decision I'd welcome). What's been seen confirms elements that have long been speculated, but don't give away the entire plot. I won't discuss the specifics yet--I'll wait to see how heavily they marinate amongst the fandom first (all the big scoopers have refused to discuss it thus far).


Sutton jumps into the recent sentiment that Killmonger will become the new Black Panther (his scoop coming after an interview released by People where the actor said he'd love to return). Sutton has not given up on his idea that Shuri will ultimately receive the title later (link below), but admitted there were issues with simply handing it to a character who hasn't earned it (he didn't add, but I will, she also lacks flaws and a character arc). Sutton's idea is that Killmonger gets the title, but winds up training Shuri for the role subsequently. Killmonger, would also replace Black Panther as the romantic partner for Storm. Sutton is unsure how the character could return, but the Multiverse is the simplest explanation. Whether the scoop is correct or not, I think the general idea is excellent--while M'Baku could work (he's a more developed character than Shuri and actually competed for the title), the character hasn't impacted the public the same way. What's almost as interesting to me is that in November, when Sutton made his initial scoop for Shuri, he talked about how 'now was the time' for her, that the zeitgeist was demanding it--apparently that demand didn't last two months. LotLB's Tim (link above) is correct that she works much better as Black Panther's 'guy in the chair'--a role where she doesn't require an arc (or flaws).


I discussed before how Sutton has been pushing content from Small Screen--he's now doing the same for Giant Freaking Robot (cf). Dietsch's scoop is that Emily Blunt is in negotiations for a hero role in the MCU--he guesses it will be for Susan Storm. Sutton adds no new information to this, simply hoping Blunt is cast. It's a plausible guess (if negotiations are indeed occurring), albeit there are other roles that would suit her that are on the slate (Clea comes to mind). The only potential downside to the Blunt/Krasinski rumours are their ages (37/41)--that's not particularly old, but it does eliminate a few things you could do with a younger Fantastic Four (I don't see it as an impediment, just something of note).


Sutton says we'll be seeing a rebooted Hellstrom in the MCU:
With the goal in mind of exploring the MCU’s darker corners, Hellstrom will be tweaked to be the son of Mephisto. After all, Mephisto is Marvel’s version of Satan, and in the comic books Hellstrom is nicknamed the Son of Satan. … From what I’ve been told, Marvel Studios wants a Hellstrom that is more comic accurate. … Helstrom star Tom Austen will be recast. Feige wants a fresh coat of paint with the property. It is not known when and where Hellstrom would reappear under Feige’s creative guidance. Mephisto will make his debut first, possibly on WandaVision. Hellstrom is going to follow. Sources added that Hellstrom’s sister, Satana, would be rebooted as well. Sydney Lemmon played her on Helstrom.
Virtually no one watched Hulu's Helstrom--a dead letter as Marvel Entertainment's plans were cancelled by Feige and it aired only because it was too far along in production. The basic idea of the MCU using the character is an old one from Sutton (cf), who has long believed Feige will take over the basic Jeph Loeb idea of delving into the supernatural (an MCU Blade provides a certain amount of support for the idea--all the major scoopers have at least speculated about it).


Sutton put out a baffling scoop where he claims Agents of SHIELD will be continued (continuity intact!) on Disney+. I want to quote the key parts:
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is being discussed to return to Disney+ with new episodes and its previous continuity intact. According to insiders, the ABC TV series could be resurrected with a number of its old cast brought back. This time, the show will delve deeper into the MCU. ... On September 2, 2019 [before the termination of Marvel Entertinament], I scooped on the 3 Buck Theater YouTube channel that S.W.O.R.D. was in development on Disney+ for a show. I’m now told that it will not replace AOS. ... Talks are early still, and nobody seems to know, or at least reveal, how much of the ABC cast will be retained. I’ve heard that some actors will either end up on the new AOS series or with S.W.O.R.D., with Bennet among the most likely. ... Whereas AOS was limited in terms of its budget, that clearly won’t be the case here. If the show is greenlit, it will not be cheap and feature several MCU heavyweights. Just as important, they want it to pick up where the original left off.
There are a number of puzzling elements within this, but let's address something I heard when this idea was questioned: that AoS had good ratings if you factor in all viewings. This is an odd claim because ABC wanted to cancel the show after five seasons (not something that happens to shows with a big audience), but no numbers were provided, so I did the logical thing and looked at them (it's all publicly available) and compared. Let's start with Netflix:


For context, the third season of Daredevil had approximately 30 million viewers (source). I think we all acknowledge the Netflix shows were much more successful than other superhero shows of their era, so what's a more fair comparison? The only option seems to be CW-shows (despite having a smaller available audience):
Supergirl season two (source): 3.55
The Flash season five (source): 3.49
AoS season six (source): 3.23
Supergirl season three (source): 2.94 (-0.61)
AoS season seven (source): 2.48 (-0.75)
The Flash season six (source): 2.23 (-1.26)

In terms of raw numbers late season AoS compares pretty well to The Flash, which surprised me, but all these shows suffer from cascading failure the longer they drag on. More importantly, The Flash has far more resonance amongst fans--how do we know? Just one example: popular YTer Charlie Schneider covers comicbook media on his channel and has produced unending videos for The Flash (even during its moribund sixth season). Agents of SHIELD, conversely, received just two videos for each of its last two seasons (three of which were trailer reviews). Charlie is an AoS fan--he wants to cover it--but the interest isn't there. While he's one example, the basic idea is echoed when you scroll through similar channels. What does the above demonstrate? 1) There was a modest-sized AoS fanbase, but 2) it can't support creator content (which is another way of saying it doesn't have legs--a true cult following). With the numbers argument out of the way, let's move forward and address the substance of the scoop.

Sutton, along with many other Marvel scoopers, have a passion for the show (or at least Chloe Bennet), something I've discussed before (cf). I bring this up because it feels like that emotional attachment effects their coverage of the IP. One of the issues I have with the scoop is how can it be MCU proper if its continuity is intact? The show was never properly part of the MCU and its later development is completely detached. Just like the other Marvel Entertainment IP, Feige won't impose the demand on casual fans to watch prior content (136-episodes!). It's also incongruous to expect a SWORD and SHIELD show (the narrative overlap is cumbersome). It has also been pointed out (in response to the scoop) that AoS started airing on Netflix this summer so that Marvel would have to wait for that to end before it could continue regardless. The other baffling idea is: why would only AoS get its continuity honored, when all the other Multiverse elements we're hearing about (Netflix, Sony, Fox) are different iterations allowing for either soft reboots or to say goodbye? The possibilities that could make this work are both denied by Sutton:
  • 1) Rebooting the show as part of the MCU (even though the organization already has a full arc within the MCU)
  • 2) Leaving it outside the MCU-proper to continue on as it was (despite a shrinking audience)
The idea baffles me--while Disney wants programming on their platform, everyone who likes AoS is already signed up for Disney+ and isn't going anywhere because we have weekly MCU content. A renewed AoS does not drive or keep subscribers, making it economically pointless. If he's right I'll happily eat crow when it happens, but right now it seems highly implausible.


There's a 4chan post going around and it quickly became apparent that the author of it isn't pretending to have scoops about Spider-Man 3, but rather has taken all the things he's heard that he believes are credible and squeezed it into a long post--as such, it's kind of fun to go through:

["Confirmed" By which I think he means via set photos etc this is all set--it isn't really, so we can take this as what he believes to be confirmed through official means]
>Peter Parker has convinced most of the public that he is not Spider-Man and returns to New York City with Aunt May on Christmas to reconnect with [Michelle], Ned Leeds and Flash Thompson. [It's strange to gloss over what's likely the initial arc of the film like this]
>J. Jonah Jameson claims that Spider-Man murdered Mysterio and the government covered it up. The public is split between those who believe the Daily Bugle and those that do not. [Why this is placed after 'most of the public' has been convinced, I have no idea]
>Doctor Strange recruits Spider-Man for a special mission in the aftermath of the Scarlet Witch “cracking open” the Multiverse in WandaVision and mentors him through his struggles. The mission leads Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to meet Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man.
>Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus and Jamie Foxx’s Electro are among the supervillains from parallel universes who end up in the MCU because of the Scarlet Witch. They are not playing the same characters from Spider-Man 2 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but rather alternative versions with new designs and different personalities. Electro, for example, won’t be blue.
>Martin Starr and Hannibal Buress are set to return as Peter’s teachers Mr. Harrington and Coach Wilson, and Midtown High will reportedly play a “pivotal” role in the movie.
>Casting is underway for Ned’s grandmother, a police detective, a federal agent, a tabloid paparazzi, Midtown students and a character codenamed “Fritz”, described as “an old man who just wants to be left alone”.
>Most of the movie follows Holland’s Peter. The encounter between the three Spider-Men only happens in the third act. [I have heard this before, but for the life of me cannot find the reference]
["Rumoured"]
>Peter’s mission is to find “The Benefactor” who is assembling universe-displaced supervillains. In addition to Doctor Octopus and Electro, there is also Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman and Michael Mando’s Scorpion, among others, with weapons provided by Spencer Smythe. Peter goes up against them all in the third act, so Doctor Strange recruits Maguire’s and Garfield’s Spider-Men to help him. [This is a strange idea because Strange could easily beat the Sinister Six on his own; the idea of the Benefactor is a very old Daniel (via GWW)) scoop we already know is wrong because the idea of Osborn was a guess for a role which filmed in 2019; the Smythe idea is from Murphy (see below)]
>Kirsten Dunst and Emma Stone would return as Mary-Jane Watson and Gwen Stacy for brief cameos. Maguire’s Peter would be married to his MJ and have a daughter, while Garfield’s Peter briefly reunites with a parallel Gwen after losing his own. Stone’s pregnancy might lead to her appearance being cut. [I have not heard these specifics before, outside of the issues with Stone's pregnancy--given that everything here appears to have a source however, someone must have said it previously]
>Charlie Cox would briefly appear as Peter’s lawyer Matt Murdock, but never actually suit up as Daredevil. [Most scoopers have merely expressed that they don't know if he'll suit up or not]
>The Spider-Slayers would appear as robotic drones created by Smythe to assist the Sinister Six. [This idea comes from Murphycf 4chan; there's a 4chan post including the bots that precedes Murphy's, but seems unrelated]
>Michael Keaton’s Vulture and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio would return. While Vulture would have a larger role and maybe even integrate the Sinister Six, Mysterio would only be featured in flashbacks revealing a connection between him and The Benefactor.
>Kraven was reportedly the main villain for the first two acts, hired by The Benefactor to prevent Spider-Man from interfering, and with Marvel Studios eyeing a “Joel Kinnaman type” for the role, but it is now unclear whether he is still involved due to the Sony-produced spinoff directed by J.C. Chandor. [The poster is unaware that Sony's Kraven project pre-dates Spider-Man 3 (announced in August, 2018), unless they believe the inactivity until the new writers were announced this August meant Sony had given up on the project in the interim (for which there's no evidence to support that idea); the Kinnaman idea comes from Murphy who speculated a casting call as being for Kraven]
>Dane DeHaan’s Green Goblin is reportedly one of the villains. DeHaan recently denied it, but he could just be trying to keep his appearance a secret. Unlike the others, he would be playing the same character from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. [His potential involvement comes from Daniel]
>Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn is reportedly one of the villains. Unlike the others, he would be playing the MCU’s Norman Osborn, like J.K. Simmons, and would appear in future projects. Osborn would be revealed as The Benefactor. [From Daniel's rumours which was then echoed by 4chan]
>The title is Spider-Man: Homeworlds. [This is an Erik Voss idea]
>Garfield would have roughly 20 minutes of screentime and actually appear before the third act, while Maguire would have around 15 minutes. Sony reportedly also wants Maguire to play Holland’s Uncle Ben in flashbacks. [The screen time comes from 4chan; the Uncle Ben is from Daniel who claims that's what Amy Pascal wants]
>Dunst and Stone would have roughly 5 minutes of screentime each. Sony reportedly wants Stone to play Spider-Gwen in her appearance, if it happens. [cf the link above for screentime]
>Cox would have roughly 10 minutes of screentime. [Echoing a recent 4chan post]
>Benedict Cumberbatch would have around 15 minutes of screentime, appearing three times throughout the movie (Sending Peter on his mission, checking in on him twice, and arriving in the end with the Spider-Men). [That's actually four appearances; the screen time and appearance count is similar to a recent long 4chan post]
>Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch would briefly appear as Strange's new apprentice, helping him return the universe-displaced people to their homeworlds.
>Tom Hardy’s Venom and Jared Leto’s Morbius would briefly appear, confirming that they are “adjacent” to the MCU and setting up Tom Holland's apperance in Venom 3. [cf the frequently mentioned 4chan post for Venom's brief appearance]
>Marvel Studios' Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man 4 are reportedly being filmed back-to-back, which could explain the abundance of character and storylines as they would be spread across two movies. [From Caleb Williams a week ago, although the rationale is the poster's; a cf from Daniel's rumours]
Most of this material is from Daniel (directly or indirectly), and while the way it's laid out is the posters own version of what's come before, it doesn't amount to much.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Marvel News & Notes


The third episode of WandaVision (just 24 minutes minus credits/recap), which was included with the first two episodes for early reviewers, is a mixed bag (I enjoyed it more the second time). It does the most to push the plot forward, but the comedy is the weakest thus far. The jokes aren't rooted in the 70s, nor is that era important to events (it has that Wonder Woman 1984's sense where the time period seems superfluous). The pacing problems caused by the adherence to sitcom tropes continue, but we are getting somewhere. The show would be better off if it either strengthened the mystery element (make it more tangibly involved), or abandoned it (going back and forth between Wanda and SWORD). As it is, since we don't see the SWORD side, we're left with a generic comedy that's spinning its wheels due to a lack of dramatic tension (Wanda's easy dismissal of any threat to her fantasy makes those threats seem empty). As I've said before, this might not be a problem once the entire series is out, but it does means all three initial episodes are easily skipped for those who want to re-watch the show (which is problematic).


Marvel's recent advertising is pushing that we'll get answers soon--this seems to be in response to casual fans struggling to become engaged. I wanted to see if there's a way back-up that theory (thus the graph), but at least through Trends its not blindingly apparent. If there is disengagement, what's the source? Beyond possible confusion, the show hasn't established stakes. As I mentioned above, Wanda's goals aren't being threatened. While these threats will come, none of that helps the dramatic tension of what we've had thus far. Some general context: the three episodes combined are just 73 minutes (100 if you include credits and recaps), leaving 287 (or 260) minutes remaining--we know each series is six hours. This opening feels like a prolonged prologue that's irrelevant going forward that's a weakness in story structure. In the end it may not matter--if the rest of the show is excellent it's fine to have a middling beginning, but I hope Marvel is paying attention and will improve the sitcom formula for She-Hulk.


Drew Dietsch of Giant Freakin Robot (a site I've never heard of) says that Jon Bernthal will return as the Punisher, but it will be a complete reboot, jettisoning the convoluted Netflix continuity. Dietsch isn't known as a scooper, but Sutton believes him (echoing it on his own site) and certainly the basic idea fits what I've thought (that you have to dump the Netflix specifics). If this is true, it means rebooting the character in a way that doesn't follow what we saw on Netflix (most of which, while inspired by the comics, was unique, leaving the original material available). Dietsch claims this will be a solo vehicle, not a supporting role, but he's uncertain on which platform (Disney+ etc). Sutton is pushing the character for Hulu. Neither seems aware that Hulu is being integrated into Star which itself will be part of Disney+, so even if the branding is different the character is going to be available on Disney+.

A broader point about the Netflix iterations of Marvel characters: the stories were quite far afield from the comic originals, meaning the MCU loses out on very little in avoiding what's come before (the main losses, to my mind, are the first two seasons of Karen Page, the Meachums, and the first season of the Kingpin--the former pair are actually better than their comicbook basis and the latter is simply an interesting take on the character).


Last January Patrick Stewart confirmed he had talks with Kevin Feige about playing Professor X (we learned Hugh Jackman had discussions with him as well--I can't recall if it was confirmed to be about Wolverine, but that's been the assumption). This must have been intended for Multiverse reasons and poses a question I haven't seen anyone address: given that Feige wants Fox connections for the event, who else would he talk to from those films? Jackman and Stewart are the faces of the first generation of Fox films (you can see screen times here), leaving only Ian McKellen (Magneto) as another serious option. To me that suggests they'll lean into the second generation of films and if that's the case, then Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are the obvious contenders (although we know Evan Peters is in WandaVision in some capacity). Other choices could be made with different characters, but from what we've seen with Sony, Marvel wants marquee players from the past to anchor those appearances and the Fox films leaned heavily on a small number of characters.


Daniel says Sony is considering a Scorpian movie--it's starting to feel like either Sony or Daniel are just drawing IP out of a hat at this point.

Speaking of Daniel, here's more from his rumour file (it seems worthwhile to record what he thinks could be true despite the label):
  • Shang-Chi is being positioned like Black Panther as a huge figure in the MCU [Daniel's phrasing could imply instead of Black Panther, but that might not be intended; I'm still dubious Marvel can make a martial arts film work]
  • RDJ will return to interact with Reed Richards [This is probably based on Illuminati rumours (Sutton last January and Daniel in July)]
  • Christian Bale will return for more films after Thor 4
  • Doctor Octopus will appear post-Spider-Man 3 [This is an odd idea, although I could see Sony wanting to do it--perhaps for the never ending plans for Sinister Six]
  • Sam will fight Evil Cap in the future
  • Coulson will return to present day Marvel [Not sure what the point would be--he's had a full character arc]
  • If the current Sony Marvel films fail, Sony Pictures will be forced to sell the Spidey rights back to Marvel by their corporate overlords
Insider?

We have another self-proclaimed scooper, trumpeted this time by people on Reddit. The person claims to have been a source for Charles Murphy on WandaVision (the information coming from a source they know)--mods have accepted this and no one has disputed it, so it seems accurate. I scrolled through their predictions and here are a couple (as expected they spend much of their time screaming at people--something almost ubiquitous with scoopers):
  • Agnes is actually Nightmare [This is interesting because it's not Murphy's theory, which suggests neither actually knows her role]
  • Evan Peters is Quicksilver [Common assumption]
As far as I can tell, this person only has inside information on WandaVision (they have discussed Spider-Man 3 items, but in context there's no specific claim that the information is their knowledge). The Peters idea isn't unique, but the notion of Agatha Harkness being Nightmare isn't something I've seen suggested (even if the latter character appearing is common). I think we have to accept that, at least for the show, the person does have incomplete inside information (albeit, only one piece remaining is of interest).


Given that the MCU might reference Marvel Entertainment properties (Netflix and the ABC shows), I was thinking about how they could approach it. The official MCU references from Netflix largely stop after the Avengers (so 2012); Agents of SHIELD stays meaningfully faithful through Age of Ultron (2015) before becoming increasingly ancillary. Because of the events of Endgame, there are breaks in 2012 and 2014 (Loki's escape and Thanos disappearing), meaning these folk could have been part of the MCU up until that point (retroactively making their own continuity more consistent). I'm probably grasping at straws, but for points of synergy that's the best I can do (granted, brief cameos don't require a specific explanation).


I realize this is far afield from both the MCU and comics, but the broader ideas about prequels and casting may have some relevance.

When The Witcher: Blood Origin was announced back in July I had mixed feelings about it (the title sounds like a teen vampire franchise, but that's neither here nor there). As a rule I don't like prequels because they lack narrative tension, but in this case Netflix had no choice--you can't do a sequel to The Witcher when you haven't finished Geralt's story. I thought picking ancient history was the best choice for a prequel (even if that decision blew-up in the face of the Game of Thrones prequel Bloodmoon, another show that sounds like a teen vampire franchise). Sapkowski's lore isn't as defined as George R. R. Martin's, so there's less chance of upsetting fans when creating a story for the period. With that said, the weakest part of The Witcher was the writing, so I have little faith that something from Lauren Hissrich is going to work (credit for the success of that show is down to the actors).

I was thinking about their first casting announcement (Jodie Turner-Smith): why go that route, why start with her? We can see the opposite approach with House of the Dragon, where the show went with very safe announcements that included a 'name' of sorts before announcing Danny Sapani. For Blood Origin, the showrunner and executives knew ahead of time that this announcement would annoy the fanbase (they saw the same thing with Anya Chalotra), so why put the actress through it? The only thing I can come up with is it's a deliberate PR move to generate discussion. The showrunner expects hate and the backlash guarantees not just extra coverage, but positive coverage (instead of a little blurb about so-and-so cast in a spinoff no on cares about). This wouldn't be my approach--Amazon's decision with Lord of the Rings to announce palatable actors followed by group announcements is a better way to have your cake and eat it too. Personally, I think there's no reason to complain about the choice unless we get the accompanying casting confusion from The Wheel of Time (which looks like a CW show set in present day). Casting won't make or break the show regardless--it needs good writing, which I'm not expecting.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Marvel News & Notes


A reader provided me with a couple of links I hadn't seen before. Let's start with this, a supposed Tweet from Rodri Martin where he claims he's dubbing the voice of Evan Peters as Quicksilver in WandaVision. Martin did the Spanish dubbing for Peters in the Fox films, so it's a done deal, right? Not exactly, because this kind of thing can be faked. We have some clues that it was manufactured--he's referred to as Pietro in the Tweet and Fox films only called him Peter; there have also been issues validating the Twitter handle. We have a recent example of a fake similar to this from just two months ago, so we're in the weeds on its veracity. To the basic point, having Evans reprise the role can work via the Multiverse, but only in that context. Incidentally, after this image floated around the Internet for a few days, Daniel jumped in to say Peters had the role.


The same reader sent me this, which is being claimed as proof Richard E. Grant's role in Loki is as an Older Loki. I'm assuming this is meant to come from IMDB Pro, because it's not how stunt performers are listed on IMDB (the line would typically read: "stunt double: Richard E. Grant (1 episode, 2021)". This type of screen grab is easily faked--that doesn't mean it is, just that we can't automatically take it at face value.


Matt Damon will be in Thor 4, but no one knows how much or in what role. Given how pointless (if funny) his cameo was in Thor 3, I'm indifferent to it. The only theory I've seen is that Gorr wants to kill him because he played a god...in a play. Seems like a stretch to me, but its wacky enough that Taiki might like the idea.


Deadline (Andreeva) reports that Ginger Gonzaga has joined the cast of She-Hulk to play the titular character's best friend. We know from the casting call that this is 'Susie', a 30ish role slotted for a BIPOC with a preference for Asian-Americans. The 37-year old Gonzaga is half-Filipino and has the requisite background in comedy. An interesting question to ask, because I've noticed it in a lot of Marvel casting calls, is why the MCU seems to be trending towards Asian supporting actors for their diversity quotient. The kneejerk reaction would be to say its for the Chinese market, but there's no specific push for Chinese actors, so I don't buy that. Everything boils down to economics, but I'm unsure what the angle is (I'm assuming its related to internal market research).


Production List claims Secret Invasion will begin filming in April and I see no reason to argue the date. According to the site the project summary is: "While in the grips of paranoia, Earth’s mightiest heroes have to band together to fight off an armada of Skrull ships carrying an army of super-charged alien warriors." Not much of this fits the 'secret' part of the title, but perhaps it's simply describing the ending (if its accurate).

After this came out Murphy, who doesn't reference PL, talked about how it seems as though the series is going to be produced sooner than later because the production company created for it was created before the others. As an interesting add, he notes that there's one more production company than known Marvel projects, meaning there's an IP on its way that has yet to be announced.


Caleb Williams claims Spider-Man 4 will be shot back-to-back with Spider-Man 3. Williams is another presumed Daniel-information peddler, although he's isn't claiming this is a scoop but simply something he's heard.


The above Tweet is a result of WGTC-clone Full Circle Cinema making up a rumour in 2019. We know this is clickbait because those characters were not being cast then, so why did Murphy poke his head into the debate? I'll let you figure that out, but his point is that the Holocaust is just another genocide and therefore can be replaced by any other such event is relevant because of thought I had about Moon Knight: I thought--and, ironically, so did Murphy--that casting a Jewish actor as Marc Spector would be important to Marvel. As it turns out, that's not the case. After the casting was announced, I theorized that one of the reasons for this was that there were plenty of Jewish actors already in the MCU which may have trivialized that representation. The other possibility, and this is why I included the preamble above, is that Marvel may simply see everything in broad sets of 'types'--Moon Knight therefore isn't so much Jewish as he is 'diverse'. If that's correct, perhaps Murphy's idea that they see the Holocaust not as a specific event but as a 'type' (to be equated with events like the Armenian Genocide etc), is correct--meaning what I saw as a tone deaf and possibly offensive comment was simply accurate. It will be a couple of years before we find out, but I thought it was worth mentioning.




Sutton dropped a pair of scoops:

1) Ghost Rider, when he appears in the MCU, will be possessed by Mephisto, with the latter to debut or be revealed in WandaVision, planting the seeds for Ghost Rider.

Funnily enough, a Redditor back in December, 2019, proposed that Ghost Rider would appear in WandaVision--not what Sutton is claiming, but it's the only prior connection I'm aware of between the show and the character. Sutton has been consistent about which iteration of Ghost Rider is coming (Johnny Blaze), but the ideas above are new (while not contradicting his basic idea of first appearing in Blade and being a member of the Midnight Sons).

2) Actor Tanner Buchanan is being considered for Iceman in Spider-Man 4 (as you'll recall, Sutton believes that film will borrow from the animated Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends and, as such, include that character along with Firestar). Note the language he uses here:
"Sources have revealed to me that Iceman could be among the first X-Men cast for Disney. His debut is being discussed for an upcoming Spider-Man movie. … Insiders stress that no negotiations have yet begun with the actor, and he hasn’t been approached yet. … Which Spider-Man movie will feature Iceman, Buchanan or not, remains to be seen." 
That's four caveats--maybe the character will appear in the upcoming film and maybe with that actor who hasn't been approached yet. As scoops go, that's about as shaky as it gets, but the basic idea has been very consistent from Sutton (cf, with the concept originating with LotLB's TBK).




From his rumour file, Daniel brings us this:
  • Daredevil will be mostly rebooted. Same actor and character but some parts of his show and the other Netflix shows will be ignored [This comment caused so much confusion he added this clarification outside his rumour file: "Only stuff they will ignore is everything related to the Defenders. Kingpin's history with Daredevil will remain"]
  • Dracula to have a Disney+ show [This is an old idea that originates with LotLB in 2019, cf]
  • "Evans in talks for 3 different MCU projects. Heard Hydra Cap from another earth and real Cap in the past fighting with Wolverine are two of them."
  • Feige wants Jennifer Lawrence in Doctor Strange 2 as Mystique [Odd]
  • Doctor Strange will fight Wanda and Hydra Cap in Doctor Strange 2 [The former is a common rumour, but I still believe WandaVision will have a nominally happy ending]
Originally Daniel was reporting a rumour about Daredevil, but since his clarification was separate from that, I have no idea what he's saying about the quality of the information. There's no universe where I want the entire second season of Daredevil canon (specifically the goofy Elektra story and the actress playing her--given the integration that has into the plot of The Defenders, perhaps it deletes her as well).

As for the Wolverine theory: I hope not. I hate prequels at the best of times and I never liked Wolverine's revised (2003) origin (whose only purpose seemed to be to Americanize the character). The general idea isn't Daniel's--it's been floating around for awhile. I hadn't heard the Hydra Cap theory before (it seems redundant given the scene in Endgame--how much can you really do with Evil Cap, especially if you have John Walker essentially playing that role in Falcon and the Winter Soldier?). In general, the endless prequel theories miss the point that there's no narrative purpose to reliving old Cap stories or events--it doesn't move the MCU forward. Let's also remember Fox already did a similar Wolverine-origin film and Feige doesn't like repeating things.

Incidentally, Daniel's decision to constantly flood news/rumours has worked in terms of his Patreon, as his numbers have soared.


Going back to our friendly reader, he linked a 4chan post from November that I hadn't seen before. Let's go through it (I'm only going to comment on elements that are unique or significant):
WandaVision
The main villain is Nightmare.
Evan Peters appears as Quicksilver. [See the supposed Tweet above, although this idea is far older than the 4chan post]
Doctor Strange appears.
9 episodes of varied lenght.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
The main villains are the Baron Zemo and the Flag Smashers, an anti-government radical group.
Carl Lumbly plays Isaiah Bradley, the black Captain America.
Elijah Richardson plays Eli Bradley, Isaiah's grandson who becomes Patriot.
6 episodes of 40-60 minutes.

Loki
Jack Veal plays Kid Loki.
Richard E. Grant plays Old Loki. [See the supposed screen grab above]
The main villain is Loki's daughter Enchantress, played by Sophia Di Martino. [I don't recall hearing that she's his daughter anywhere else; the general sentiment is that she's Lady Loki (set photos and the trailer seem to confirm that)]
6 episodes of 40-60 minutes.

Hawkeye
The main villain is crime lord Madame Masque, played by Vera Farmiga. [We've known since October, from The Direct (aka Daniel), that she's in the show; the Farmiga speculation is new, but already debunked--Variety reported she's playing Kate's mother--barring, I suppose, that her mother is also the villain]
Trickshot, Hawkeye’s evil brother, will appear.
6 episodes of 40-60 minutes.

Ms. Marvel
Captain Marvel will appear in one episode.
The Inhumans will appear in several episodes.
10 episodes of 30-40 minutes.

Moon Knight
Raoul Bushman, Werewolf By Night, Stained Glass Scarlet and Dracula will appear.
Egyptian actors are being cast to play different versions of Khonshu in Moon Knight’s visions. [I've never heard this theory before; while it's interesting, I don't buy it]
The show will be action-heavy with lots of big stunts.
6 episodes of 40-60 minutes.

She-Hulk
The Leader will appear in one episode.
Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock will appear in one episode.
Kristen Ritter's Jessica Jones will appear in one episode.
Bruce Banner’s abusive childhood will be explored. [What?]
10 episodes of 30 minutes.

Armor Wars
Ensemble show led by War Machine
Ironheart will be introduced here ahead of her spinoff. [It's not clear from the slate that her show comes after, although I think that makes more sense]
Sam Rockwell in talks to return as Justin Hammer.
Robert Downey Jr. in talks to cameo as Tony Stark.
6 episodes of 40-60 minutes.

Ironheart
RDJ is in talks to voice Ironheart's suit A.I.
Episode count TBD.

Secret Invasion
Ensemble show led by Nick Fury and Talos.
Won't be as massive as the comic event and focus on "political paranoia" as the Skrulls seek to replace world leaders rather than superheroes.
Hulkling will be introduced. [Last January TI (aka Daniel) reported that he would be introduced in WandaVision]
Captain Marvel will appear.
6 episodes of 40-60 minutes.

Young Avengers
Disney+'s biggest and most expensive Marvel series.
Preliminary lineup is Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Wiccan, Speed, Hulkling, Stature and Patriot
Episode count TBD
Most of this consists of prior rumours, with Armor Wars, Ironheart, and Young Avengers having no new information whatsoever. I think we can safely ignore it.

Speaking of 4chan, here's yet another post (which, because of its specificity, we may be able to debunk on Friday); this person is claiming a leaker provided them with this information:

WandaVision

  • Episode 3 is 36 minutes (with credits), features a Brady Bunch style opening sequence
  • Episode 4 is 45 minutes (with credits), plenty of Jimmy and Darcy screen time in second half.
  • Doctor Strange will appear in the final episode.
  • Mephisto's presence will be felt, but the main villain/the heavy of the series is an original/composite character.
  • Billed as a single-season miniseries.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier

  • All six episodes are almost exactly one hour long (with credits).
  • The Flag Smashers are the main villains. Songbird is the big bad's main henchwoman, played by Erin Kellyman. Leader is Guy Thierrault, played by Carl Lumbly. [I've never heard this theory for Lumbly before--the near universal assumption is that he's playing Isaiah Bradley]
  • Zemo has a history with Guy. Bucky guilt-trips him into helping him and Sam. He suffers another tragedy which sets him up as a major villain in the future. [Can you guilt-trip a guy who was a member of a Sokovian death squad?]
  • John Walker is an absolute nutjob. Think Homelander [The Boys] inside Cap's body.
  • Features a flashback scene of Steve and Sam before Civil War. [As far as we know, Steve won't appear in the show, but a flashback isn't unreasonable]
  • Will feature a massive battle in the streets of a currently-in-rebuild Sokovia.
  • Billed as a single-season miniseries.

Loki

  • Very standalone. While it will feature a lot of cameos and references, it will do its own thing rather than connect or set something up. [I don't believe that--integration is what defines the MCU]
  • Six episodes, ranging from 35 to 60 minutes.
  • A surprisingly dark tone, but with a lot of expected humor. Much of it will come from Loki's numerous failed attempts to con and escape the TVA.
  • The main villain is potentially another, way worse Loki. The TVA is using 2012 Loki to find and catch him.
  • The hooded figure is one of the Enchanters Three. [Not sure what this reference is--there are a group of four called Enchanters, but otherwise I could find nothing related]
  • The TVA is an odds with SWORD. [I can't imagine how]
  • "Vote Loki" is a con that Loki is playing on the TVA. It's supposedly the funniest thing Marvel Studios has ever filmed.
  • Billed as a multi-season series.

Hawkeye

  • Filming is 90% complete, post-production about half. They are doing both simultaneously due to Covid.
  • Planned to be seven episodes. Length unknown.
  • Adrianne Palicki will return as Bobbi Morse/Mockingbird. Size of role unknown. [This is a Devin Colson rumour from October]
  • Will reference Agents of SHIELD quite a bit. [We can hope not]
  • Will also have flashbacks of Clint's time with SHIELD. Leaker thinks they might squeeze in a few AoS characters for these scenes. No word if Clark Gregg will return.

Ms. Marvel

  • VERY early in production. Script being written as they shoot. Still casting. Might not make 2021 date. [It's been filming for over two months--the idea of missing its release date is absurd]
  • Like the Spidey films, it's specifically aiming for a teenage audience, but everyone can enjoy.
  • Will reference/connect to Agents of SHIELD. Leaker guesses those fish pills might play a role. [I seriously doubt it; the pills are presumably a reference to something from the ABC show]
  • Some creatives at Marvel are thinking of reintroducing Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in the series. Supposedly, Kamala will meet a lot of established heroes throughout the first season. Nothing set in stone. [Tonally it's hard to think of characters less appropriate other than the Punisher and Deadpool]
  • Lol, all other leaks are bullshit because the series is too early into production for anything substantial to get out. [Let me restate: it's been filming for over two months]
Clearly this guy loved Agents of SHIELD. It's amazing how desperate that tiny fanbase is for continuation (consider MCU Exchange's Charles Villanueva nuking himself in August when he claimed only characters from AoS would carry on into the MCU as opposed to those from Netflix)--seven seasons isn't enough? That aside, I think we can dismiss this as inside information--one of the basic problems is its specificity--why does he only have the run times for episodes 3 and 4 of WandaVision? Pretty odd not to have the full list.


TI (Nebens), aka Daniel, reports that Sony is developing a film for the obscure character Dusk (similar, in a way, to Daniel's self-reported claim that Stunner was in development). Sony has a habit of announcing projects that go nowhere and with no talent is attached, the likelihood of it manifesting is low.


I wanted to briefly touch on my expectations for the Snyder Cut (and the possible Ayer Cut). For me, Snyder is a B-grade Christopher Nolan--a distinctive director visually who is clueless about plot. Given that, I don't expect the Snyder Cut to be a good film, but I do think it will be a coherent vision with the usual Snyderian mishmash of good moments mixed with headache-inducing plot problems. I'm not as familiar with Ayer, but suspect we'll get something similar from his cut of Suicide Squad--the film won't be 'good', but it will be more coherent. I'm glad there's a chance both of these items will appear simply because the Frankensteinian mess we received from WB execs/Joss Whedon--while unintentionally hilarious at points--is boring and bombastic (I suspect the reason Whedon took the Justice League assignment was to get Batgirl, incidentally). I'd like the Snyder Cut to do well just in the hope that it will nudge the DCEU into something more coherent. With the recent move to make it a four-hour movie, however (instead of a mini-series), I just don't know how many people will ultimately watch the film.

A related note: it's funny what you discover when you research things. Unbeknownst to me, the Snyder supporters (and by that I mean the Youtube fan community that's grown around releasing his film) has been at war (cf) with Andy Signore (of Fandom Wire, but best known from his days at Screen Junkies). This battle has allowed Matt Jarbo (who made his name in GamerGate before becoming a pariah for false flagging people) to become an ancillary figure within the Snyder community because he has a beef with Signore (possibly over Star Wars, but I'm not sure). This is much ado about nothing--Youtubers fighting one another is par for the course, but this specific drama had escaped my notice until now.


While I referenced this in the past, I apparently never went through it in detail and since its come up again I wanted to address it. Some of you are aware that after the Roger Wardell Twitter feed went silent (mid-2019), a new account (WardellRoger) cropped up and started posting about the MCU. I haven't mentioned the account in a long time because there's good evidence that it's fake, but let's go over that evidence (this was put together by Pierre Chanliau, then a Reddit mod, now a writer for The Direct):
1.) The username is reversed from the typical username, @RogerWardell
Well, that's odd. Why the sudden reversal? It's almost like someone grabbed this account name because the normal one was already taken since...
2.) @RogerWardell has not been deleted
You'd think after making a new account they'd delete the last one first, right? I mean...
3.) They've actually deleted their account in the past, while retaining @RogerWardell
Someone actually very helpfully pointed out to me that the username @RogerWardell has been used in the past by means of the wayback machine. Notice that THIS @RogwerWardell was created in 2012 while the one today was made in 2018.
It looks like they deleted their account (likely an easier way, in their mind, to wipe the tweets) and then proceeded to quickly grab @RogerWardell again and made that new account.
4.) This new account...doesn't know how to use the # hashtag at all...
This one is what make it fake the most.
This new account keeps using the @ sign instead of the # hashtag key when posting tweets. Something that @RogerWardell did all the time CORRECTLY.
This is pretty damning--you have to resort to special pleading to answer his points (what possible benefit could Wardell have in changing accounts so superficially--if he wanted to hide that it was him, he'd make a completely different account). Funnily enough, within the last 24-hours WardellRoger actually changed his Twitter handle (perhaps he's been debunked enough that there's no point in pretending to be the real deal anymore).

For those of you who aren't familiar with the real Wardell's background, here's a biography of sorts I found and posted back in 2019:
There were two accounts, RogerWardell and RogerWardell2. RogerWardell stopped posting regularly around 2015 [in May], prior to Age of Ultron’s release and even then, he only ever posted information rarely [fourteen Tweets in three years ]. RogerWardell2 popped up prior to Age of Ultron’s release and remained active for years posting all kinds of shit while the original RogerWardell account continued to tweet rarely and then vanished from Twitter completely. I followed both accounts during this time. RogerWardell’s information always ended up being legit while RogerWardell2’s information was completely fake nonsense. The fact this new RogerWardell ended up tweeting accurate information leads me to believe he is the original RogerWardell.
The RogerWardell2 account sounds exactly like the WardellRoger account--neither can shutup. While I have not used the wayback machine to investigate Wardell's veracity from 2012-15, Chanliau has. While not 100% accurate [19-5 currently], he clearly has access to genuine inside information and doesn't spam scoops. There's no comparing that to the unending stream from the alternative accounts.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Marvel News & Notes


I was in a rush to get the Chris Evans news out last time--I included some thoughts, but I've had more time to absorb it and, as such, have further speculation.

One thing Deadline didn't tackle (nor did I) is why now. Why is Evans being signed now? If his return is a few years down the line, there's no need for negotiations--what are the circumstances?

Currently Evans is filming Don't Look Up (which wraps in February). He's then set to appear in The Gray Man (directed by the Russo brothers), another Netflix product, which was meant to start in January--if that's still the case, then Evans would presumably jump from one production to another. I doubt the work would impact him having cameos, but it makes it likely that he's occupied until May or June.

What MCU productions are happening right now? Spider-Man 3 (completing in March), Doctor Strange 2 (filming put on hold in January due to Covid restrictions in the UK), Thor 4 (beginning in January), Ms. Marvel (since November), and Hawkeye (since December). Productions that begin soon are Moon Knight (March), She-Hulk (ibid), and Black Panther 2 (June or July).

One of the key points in the Deadline article is that the deal was for films, so we can exclude the Disney+ shows (Sutton believes he's too expensive for streaming--clearly not if he's currently filming back-to-back Netflix films). If it's for films, then it points in very specific directions. If this isn't Old Man Steve, we're looking at either:
  • Resurrected Steve (via Wanda) - Highly unlikely (why stop at just that resurrection?)
  • Zombie Steve - Evans isn't required (and it's being done in What If? already)
  • Alt-Steve from another Multiverse - This is what I think is most likely (specifically the Steve from the universe where Thanos disappeared in 2014 to die in the main MCU)
Where would we see that character? Doctor Strange 2 makes the most sense, although it's possible Spider-Man 3 could also serve (granted, that film is so crowded it's unlikely). I don't see a fit for Thor 4 or Black Panther 2, neither of which have obvious mechanisms to involve him (one is in space, the other focused on Wakanda--although Black Panther 2 could use him for marketing).

What about the Murphy rumour about Nomad? Strictly speaking we don't know whether this is for a Disney+ show or a film, but if its the latter there doesn't seem to be any urgency to get him signed now (due to the announced schedule), but it's also clear he was signed for films. When I first saw the Nomad story, I assumed it was a Bucky-vehicle, but in terms of developing Steve Rogers as a character, the role of Nomad would make sense. Would I like to see a Steve film where he's Nomad? Yes. What's the most logical place to introduce him? Doctor Strange 2. Wouldn't that impact Falcon becoming Cap? Not at all, but it does give the MCU a chance to give Steve back the shield later if they want (as they always do in the comics because, no matter who else plays the role, fans want Steve to have it in the end--I've gone over the problem with successor characters before). With all that said, Occam's Razor would say Nomad is a Bucky Disney+ vehicle and Evans is back as an Alt-Cap without getting his own IP.


The first two episodes of WandaVision dropped and I've been trying to get a sense of how the broader fanbase is reacting (as expected, the hardcore fans loved it--you'd have to fail very hard to get any other result). Before I dig into that, what do I think?

I was very concerned with the sitcom premise--not just the 'why' element (which I think is on shaky ground), but I'm not generally a fan of the medium and have no nostalgia for it whatsoever. I also thought Pleasantville was a terrible film and that's an obvious influence. However, the episodes work well enough as sitcoms. The humour is what you'd expect and while the opening of episode one is weak, the comedy is satisfying enough to ride along while looking for the hints of what's really happening.

I think the first two episodes are too self-indulgent. Once the full series is out, I imagine most people re-watching it will skip these episodes--nothing significant happens in them. This is weakness and while it won't effect the overall impact of the show, I think showrunner Jac Schaffer was too in love with her premise (this is a hint as to why her Black Widow script was obliterated and successively re-written by two different writers). We know Marvel is aware of this weakness, because they sent the first three episodes to previewers--undoubtedly wanting to provide them more of a payoff.

How was it received? That's not easy to assess, but it's RT score is relatively low (82%) and in a sampling of reviews from those not clearly on the MCU train I've heard disappointment/frustration with the pacing. The two episodes combined (minus their lengthy credits, opening, and pointless recap) are a mere 49-minutes (21 and 28), so roughly the first episode of a typical streaming show. I think this slow pace would be forgiven if the payoff expected in the third was included, but that's not how Marvel decided to release it. Will stronger, more frenetic episodes change the minds of those with muted responses? Probably, but it's not the strong start expected (I understand wanting to keep up the mystery, but it's clear in the first episode what SWORD is doing, so including some of that in the second episode would have helped). The reception might also indicate that audiences expect more from the MCU than they do from Star Wars (whose Mandalorian had far worse opening episodes, but was embraced anyway).

Let's dive into the substance of the show--what we've learned about the plot of WandaVision. At the moment I think it's hard to discern between easter eggs and what's tangible to the show.
  • We're shown, in the second ad, the Hydra symbol with the Strucker logo--this could be a callback to Winter Soldier/Age of Ultron (as far as we know, Hydra is extinct); Vision appears to be wearing this watch during the magic act
  • There's an easter egg for the Grim Reaper in the animated intro in the second episode (a character who only came up once in rumours, from 4chan back in November of 2019)
  • On Wanda's wall is artwork that exactly copies the Hydra base where she received her powers
  • We get a couple of devil references that could point to Mephisto (from Dottie and Agatha Harkness in the committee scene)
  • A statue of Whizzer is likely just a nod to comicbook inspiration (the character was unrecognizably used in Jessica Jones season two)
  • Wonder Man appears among a mass of artwork in the background of the featurette released after the episodes (the speculation is that the character might appear, as he nearly did in Guardians 2, although not likely to be played by Nathan Fillion). He has a connection to both lead characters in the comics, both personally and as members of the West Coast Avengers--alternatively he might simply be there because he's part of the source material for the show (the image could be meant to throw fans off--Marvel is well aware of how scrutinized their backgrounds are--think of the unused footage from Infinity War that was included in marketing prior to its released)
There have been a host of theories in the wake of this, from dreaming (if so, how are people entering the reality?) to variations of the source material. I noted many breakdowns missed that anyone/anything entering Wanda's reality is transformed to suit it (the SWORD helicopter becomes a toy, Monica loses her memory, etc)--this also applies to the beekeeper people think is either one of the show's villains or an AIM-agent. To me it's clear he's a SWORD agent dressed in protective gear that was transformed into the beekeeper outfit to fit the new reality he arrived in. From trailer footage we know we'll get to see the SWORD-side of these events in subsequent episodes.

What is the plot? The surface of it isn't in doubt--Wanda is within her own bubble reality, either of her own accord or (much more likely) under the influence of someone. Agatha Harkness is aware of this on some level, but its unclear if her various hints are to help or hinder (she distracts Wanda from the helicopter, but she also drops clues about how fake the situation is). SWORD believes this is being done to her, but that's less clear (the simpler story to tell is that she is a victim). In a sense which villain is impacting the events doesn't matter--I think the idea of Nightmare is unlikely because there have been no hints for him at all, so I'm content to lean on Mephisto. What's blindingly obvious is whoever is involved wants her to have children (this would fit the Mephisto plot in the lore).

After the episode aired Andy Signore (Fandom Wire) claims Evan Peters appearance is as Quicksilver in the show. If so, this would presumably exclude Aaron Taylor-Johnson from appearing, but as I've said before about Signore, he doesn't have a track record to give his scoops credence yet.

There's a long 4chan rumour about the rest of the plot that I'll include below with other rumours.


THR (Borys Kit) reports that Ethan Hawke is in negotiations to play the main villain in Moon Knight. Which villain he could be is unclear, but what I find interesting is the approach Marvel is taking here. Unlike with Ms. Marvel, they are signing 'name' actors to push forward an otherwise obscure IP--probably because Moon Knight looks like it will lack pre-existing MCU stars, so by signing well-known talent, it adds some zip. Many people have also pointed out that, until recently, Hawke had a negative opinion about superhero films--it's unclear if he's changed his mind or simply wants the work (given how busy he is, I'm assuming it's the former).



Brandon Davis says Charlie Cox has been seen on the set of Spider-Man 3, although it's unclear if he's there as Daredevil or Matt Murdock. Davis' later headline said he'd wrapped filming, although that's not actually stated in the article.

Going back to the idea of the Netflix characters returning (en masse or in part), we still have no idea what the plan is. Is this appearance the same approach with the old Sony characters (including them as a waive goodbye)? I've pointed out before that, other than Finn Jones, these are all older actors--that doesn't make their inclusion impossible, but limits the kind of stories you can tell (and for how long you can tell them). All of the actors are available and willing, but what do you do with them? Briefly:
  • Jon Bernthal (45 in September) - Filming King Richard; attached to the TV-show American Gigalo (pre-production)
  • Mike Colter (45 in August) - Part of the TV-series Evil
  • Krysten Ritter (40 in December) - Currently filming Nightbooks; if it's picked up, also on the TV-show The Coldest Case
  • Charlie Cox (39 in December) - Currently filming the TV-series Kin
  • Finn Jones (33 in March) - In two TV shows (I'm unsure if either is continuing), Dickinson and Swimming with Sharks
The schedules wouldn't preclude appearances, but might preclude leading their own vehicles. I don't think you bring back the Netflix shows. The final seasons of Punisher, Jessica Jones (whose second season was also awful), and Luke Cage were all poor, and Iron Fist, while it improved, its essence is being copied by Shang-Chi (the film has a lot of similarities with the first season). Only Daredevil, whose third season (while not as good as the first) was on decent footing, is theoretically an option. None of them were very coherently entrenched in the MCU so, to me at least, if you want to use them it's far better to either reboot them or have the actors play different iterations of the characters (confusing, but a possibility). We also don't know what the priority is from the MCU for these characters--other than Daredevil and Punisher, this is marginal IP. I'd argue there's nothing left to do with Jessica Jones, whose best material appeared in her excellent first season. Cage and Iron Fist work best as Heroes for Hire, but how quickly would you need that in your Disney+ lineup, and what does it lead into? As for the Punisher, who is always popular, he's a tough act to put on Disney in any form--and what, really, are you going to do with him in the broader MCU-context? These aren't easy questions to answer.

The other thing that's worth noting is that the Charlie Cox rumours began with a very specific claim (cameo as Spider-Man's lawyer--via curmudgeon Jeremy Conrad--who apparently now spends his time playing Fortnite on Youtube), which appears to be absolutely correct. None of the other claims, including those about Daredevil, have been as remotely specific. It's scattershot scoops from across the spectrum that heavily fits the personal tastes of those putting them out--this makes them very hard to judge.

On a personal note, it would highly amuse me if the MCU brought back Finn Jones, just so I could watch all the Marvel personalities froth at the mouth.


Signore is offering another supposed scoop, this one for Black Panther 2:
We’re told that currently, the film’s opening will feature Chadwick’s Black Panther character in costume, for a short, respectful tribute, and send off to the character. The specifics of that scene are still being decided on. But T’Challa will pass on. This will leave the state of Wakanda and the throne in disarray. We’re told many characters will vie for the throne, but ultimately one will prevail. We’ve learned Shuri will become the next Black Panther.
Deep-sea Wakandan divers, will uncover the lost city of Atlantis. Black Panther 2 will feature the war of two hidden societies, Wakanda vs Atlantis. This will prompt the MCU debut of fan-favorite character Namor the Sub-Mariner. We’re told a big portion of the film will be underwater, which production was already preparing rigs and costumes for before Boseman’s passing. That water-heavy production plan has not changed. All of this connects to our previous exclusive, that someone bigger is pulling the strings to spark these warring societies…Doctor Doom.
Most of this isn't new info in terms of rumour (Shuri as Black Panther (cf), Namor as the antagonist (cf), even Doctor Doom (cf)). What is new is the mechanism for the conflict (always an oddity since Wakanda isn't on the coast of Africa and Namor is the ruler of the sea). After this dropped, Reilly Johnson (also for Fandom Wire) added that Killmonger will return for the film (how and in what capacity he isn't sure, but that would add some zest to what I feel is a limp roster).


We have some 4chan for Blade (my comments in pink):
The movie follows Blade as he attempts to prevent Dracula from obtaining the Darkhold, an ancient book of spells, which Dracula plans to use to make his followers invincible and conquer the world. The Darkhold had been hidden on another dimension for centuries, but resurfaces on Earth after the Scarlet Witch disrupts the Multiverse. [Since May Sutton has had Dracula in the film then spinning off to his own Disney+ series, although the first to suggest this was LotLB (TBK) in July of 2019, who said he would appear in Blade and be played by Wesley Snipes; the idea of the Darkhold as a mechanism was first proposed by Reddit in July, which claimed it would be created by Chthon and released in WandaVision, with Dracula becoming the main villain in Blade (Sutton had this on an R&D list in June, but not as part of a coherent idea); 4chan this January echoed the latter idea]
The key to the Darkhold is Elsa Bloodstone, a young woman whose family has guarded the Darkhold for generations [unclear if this is also in another dimension]. Blade rescues her from Dracula’s followers and becomes her protector, mentor and surrogate father. Their relationship will be the emotional core of the movie, which has been described as a “supernatural superhero The Professional”. [Back in May K. C. Walsh said Elsa was in the MCU's supernatural plans, but not how; self-proclaimed scooper Joshua Munn also said this in May, likely copying Walsh, but specifying that she'd appear in Bladelast October Daniel said there were TV plans for her, but because of the timing and vagueness it's not clear if this is actually Sutton's information and related to the cancelled ABC show; there were rumours of the character as part of The Midnight Sons from Reddit in February]
The villains are Dracula, Deacon Frost and Cullen Bloodstone. Frost is Dracula’s enforcer and the vampire who attacked Blade’s pregnant mother and caused Blade to become a Dhampir [half-vampire]. Cullen is Elsa’s older brother who was corrupted by Dracula into betraying his family. The Brides of Dracula are also featured as a trio of deadly assassins.
The supporting characters include Jamal Afari, Marianne Afari, Gabriel Afari, Safron Caulder and Jim Landry. Jamal is an aging blind vampire hunter and Blade’s mentor. Marianne is Jamal’s daughter and Blade’s surrogate sister who runs a nightclub with criminal connections. Gabriel is Marianne’s son and a talented musician who develops a bond with Elsa. Caulder is Blade’s ex-girlfriend who works as a police detective, and Landry is her partner. [None of these characters have come up before]
Blade’s powers include enhanced senses, rapid healing, peak physical attributes and immunity to sunlight, and he is less of a martial artist and more of a tactical operator [not a bad idea to keep him distinct from Shang-Chi]. He is also Creole rather than British, and the movie mainly takes place in New Orleans.
The directors eyed by Marvel Studios are Barry Jenkins, Terence Nance, Rick Famuyiwa and Gina Prince-Bythewood. [Famuyiwa is a very busy man, committed to four future projects; Prince-Bythewood is the erstwhile director of Sony's dead production, Silver & Black]
While casting won’t really begin until they have a director, Anya Taylor-Joy, Elle Fanning and Samara Weaving have been named as templates for the casting of Elsa Bloodstone, and there is active interest in casting Regina King as Marianne Afari and Morgan Freeman as Jamal Afari.
For Dracula, producers plan to cast an A-lister, with some possibilities including Joaquin Phoenix, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Daniel Craig and Mark Strong, among others.
No decision has been made yet, but there is active discussion on the possibility of making it a lower budget R-rated movie not as ingrained to the greater MCU as the more conventional projects, not unlike what is being planned for Deadpool.
I've seen the first two Blade films, but never read the comic, so I'm in the weeds on the lore. His final comment--about it possibly not being as ingrained in the MCU--does not fit what we've heard lately about Deadpool. One of the problems with 'adjacent' content is you're signaling to fans that they can skip it, and that hasn't been Feige's approach with anything, so I don't buy it. I'm also leery of the rescue narrative--a man rescuing a woman these days could be criticized (although perhaps a POC rescuing a white woman isn't as bad--I'm not sure how that fits within those sensibilities). With that said, it's not a bad premise and isn't overly dependent on scoopers, we just have no reason (yet) to believe the poster.


Speaking of 4chan, here we have a supposed scoop about Ant-Man 3 (again, comments in pink):
Release date currently set for October 7, 2022.
Luis, Kurt, Dave, Paxton, and Maggie return. Ghost and Bill Foster also have roles in the film. [About a year ago we heard Dave was being removed from the film because of the outrage over his virginity checks of his daughter--whether that's considered on the level of Deadpool's T. J. Miller's MeToo/Amtram issues, I don't know; otherwise we'd all expect these characters to return]
Road Trip style movie to the quantum realm vs Kang.
Robbie Baldwin [aka Speedball] is introduced as Cassie’s boyfriend. Timothée Chalamet is the name I heard wanted for the role. [The character hasn't come up very often, but Sutton has put him on two R&D lists (August and November), the latter was associated with Darkhawk, so doesn't seem relevant here [Later: this is an old Fake Roger Wardell rumour]]
Reed Richards is introduced in a small, yet pivotal role. They’re talking to Krasinski about the role. [Back in April Grace Randolph suggested the team would debut here and both Murphy and Conrad echoed it, although Deadline (same link) called the idea hogwash]
[Peyton] Reed and Rudd want Rick Moranis for a cameo.
There's almost no substance to this. The first two points are generally understood, the fourth has a predecessor, and the fifth is irrelevant, so the only news would be the inclusion of Speedball which, I mean, why not? Doesn't add much and says nothing about the narrative.


THR interviewed Ben Affleck and in the midst of that he said this:
Fucking Kevin Feige is absolutely, you have to say, the greatest producer, most successful producer who ever lived. He's the only guy in the world who, if he told me, 'I know what the audience wants! This is what we're doing!' I would believe him 100%. That fucker knows his audience like no producer (ever), he’s a genius. Kevin is like a ringmaster at the circus, he knows exactly how much to wink at the audience, exactly when to pull at the heartstrings, exactly when to do the effects, how many jokes, what the sensibility, what the tone is. Because people didn’t know to run away from the pajamas or embrace it, or make it serious.
In light of this Sutton has hinted he knows something--an Affleck appearance in the MCU? Would they bring back his hilariously horrible Daredevil via Fox, or give him an actual role? Who knows. Sutton hasn't expanded on his oblique comment and no one else has said anything, so it remains food for thought.


Let's update our Daniel rumour file (so keep in mind, he calls these rumours):
  • Doctor Strange 2 will feature vampires and werewolves [This would set the table for Blade I suppose]
  • Marvel wants Henry Cavill for Captain Britain [A perfect fit if they can get him]
  • Marvel changed their mind about Deadpool and he'll now carry his Fox roots with him into the MCU [Something I've always assumed]
  • Storm will cameo in Thor 4 [What on earth for?]
  • Marvel will have a POC team of heroes [I believe it's called Black Panther and Shang-Chi, but jokes aside, this looks like a monthly WGTC headline]
Speaking of rumours, here is the long plot summary of the rest of WandaVision from our friends at 4chan (the 1,000 word summary below would require access to the entire plot--either through viewing the episodes, seeing the script, or having one or the other described in detail to the poster); comments, as always, in pink:
Wanda is a SWORD agent after Endgame which you might already know includes Darcy, Jimmy Woo and Monica Rambeau. [I'll credit it with something unique: I've never seen Wanda described as a SWORD agent before]
Woo was recruited from FBI to SWORD to keep check on superpowered beings after Sokovia Accords lost influence. [The logic is lost on me--Woo's background is failing to discover Scott Lang was able to escape him; and why would the Accords be losing influence?]
Wanda was sent to investigate as a SWORD agent..but she was also a part of the team to keep check on her. [Investigate what?]
Wanda as of now is placed in a real illusion. The sitcom world she sees is real with real people of the town – but one can't see so from the outside. [I can forgive him poor word choice here ('a real illusion')--I know what he means]
Wanda came in contact with Mysterio who allowed her to gain Vision back and live a peaceful life – based on sitcoms she used to watch as a kid. [He means Mephisto, not the Spider-Man villain--see below]
Mephisto will stay close to the couple and keep watch over them (he is in the rabbit currently). His plan is to obtain Wanda's kids in the hopes they'll be powerful sorcerers he can control. He deems Wanda too dangerous to control in the long run. [There's no evidence magic is hereditary in the MCU (yet)]
Sword is trying to maintain contact with Wanda who is lost in her subconscious. Whenever she realises it, she rejects it.
The entire show isn't gonna be a sitcom as marketed. We'll see Wanda fighting Sword near the end until Woo manage to make her realise that she's lying to herself. [Actually, the marketing has repeatedly said the end of the show is like a typical MCU-film]
The couple will face numerous villains in the final episodes – the ones who were manipulating them...!
Kathryn Hahn's Agnes is Agatha Harkess. She was a witch who was given away by her son (I'm not sure if her son will appear onscreen or not) and was burnt alive. [Referencing her son in the comics. Nicholas Scratch]
She too made a deal with Mephisto who allowed her to live. She befriended Wanda for her children but will become an actual friend to her.
However by the end she [Agatha] will be possessed by Nightmare who'd take advantage of Wanda's powers to break open the Multiversal seal – which will of course carry forward to DS2. [So the poster imagines both Mephisto and Nightmare appearing]
Dottie will be revealed to be Clea. [I certainly hope not]
Grim Reaper will act as RalphAgatha's "husband" who Vision would go against in the climax.
Sword has a special device which was implanted on Wanda before she was sent. Essentially the events going on are being translated by her subconscious as a sitcom which can be seen by Sword agents (like Darcy) who are confused about what's happening with Wanda. [One of the major confusions here is where was Wanda sent?]
Monica managed to enter Wanda's town while she was asleep in a helicopter. Sword will again try to break in.
Monica would try to help Wanda realise the truth after getting her conscious back, but Wanda will get pissed off when she says her Vision isn't real and will throw her away from the town (to the outside world) using her powers.
Quicksilver will return! And I know it sounds stupid, but Evan Peters is playing him. Aaron will appear in a couple of episodes. [The poster later says Peters appears when Johnson gets 're-cast' in the illusion--an odd idea]
Wanda slowly starts remembering a few people of the outside world (including her brother). She is trying to figure out if she had a sibling herself, finding it weird why she wouldn't remember him.
Meanwhile her subconscious starts to associate powers of the heroes she has known to random civilians of town.
She has twins Billy and Tommy who also have powers. One of them has superspeed and she remembers her brother (but not fully).
There's one more. Vision will feel a bit weird none of the kids look like him. So they'd create a daughter based off Vision (Viv). [This idea, of not just having the twins in the show, only comes from one place: a Sutton R&D list for both WandaVision and Doctor Strange 2]
Quicksilver returns played by Aaron. However the presence of a real dead dude starts breaking the illusion.
Grim Reaper (Ralph) will be revealed and he befriends Quicksilver. He'll get him written out of the show and Quicksilver gets recast to Evan Peters.
The only one who finds it off is Viv. She is confused why Quicksilver doesn't look the former one. She tries to make others realise that. But they think she hates her uncle.
There will be a rerun of all the sitcom episodes. Wanda will break out from her illusion midway in the show to her actual living room in her subconscious.
Vision here is nothing but a puppet. At this point Wanda realises the entire illusion but she gets heartbroken realising her children weren't real.
She flips the channels to find her children again and decides to enter the sitcom-y world once again.
Darcy will end up there too and she will reveal Vision the entire truth (having watched all the sitcom episodes and analysed what causes the changes). [If Vision is a puppet, how does that help? The other problem with this idea is that in the trailers we've seen Agatha reveal this truth to him]
Wanda will be unwilling to leave her world even after her fight against the Sword stops.
Mephisto will take control of Quicksilver's body. Agatha will turn on him.
Wanda will try to send Quickie back to his universe in the end with Agatha's help but Nightmare will use it as an opportunity to seize control of Agatha.
The Nightmare part will only be revealed to the audience (not Wanda herself). Story carries over.
There are flashbacks of Wanda's life. A lot of which are seen by Darcy who tries to understand the extent of her trauma.
Yes Aaron will appear in flashbacks. Wanda will be shown a lot of these in the final episodes where she'd also find how the Mind Stone just unlocked her innate powers.
Evan Peters will tell how in his universe Mutants are pretty common (just a tease).
The ads in the show are all related to her trauma. There will be ads about Pietro's death, Lagos explosion and even a vacuum cleaner based on Thanos.
The couple in each of the ads is her parents who are acting as stand-ins for events based off her trauma.
Vision will help Wanda accept the reality and move on. He gives her his farewell and fights Grim Reaper, hoping to destroy the dome after sacrificing his life. [Vision just sacrificed himself to save Wanda in Infinity War, so this is redundant; we'll also see, below, that apparently he didn't sacrifice himself]
Wanda saves Vision in a scene which mirrors Age of Ultron. He will return back to real world along with their children, Agatha, Quickie and rest of the town/Sword.
Wanda is happy Vision is alive and sings a song to him, but it turns out he is effectively rebooted after the fight. Unable to bring his memories back, Sword leaves with Vision.
Her children are also hidden by Nightmare-Agatha. Wanda gets torn and tries to move on, unaware to her Nightmare is opening up the Multiverse for unknown reasons.
Despite its length this is ultimately preposterous. The poster is trying to cram in everything he's heard about the show and, in the end, abandons even sense.


Daniel offers us a Sony rumour:
An all-female team-up with Black Cat, Silver Sable, Silk, Jackpot, Spider-Woman and more is in development at Sony
This sounds very much like Amy Pascal (not just the plan itself, but to do it Justice League-style without building the characters up first). Keep in mind most of this IP has been 'in development' for at least three years in various iterations, so this has the same likelihood of appearing as their original proposals. I asked Sutton about this and he dismissed it ("they had issues with even pairing Silver Sable and Black Cat").

After this dropped Daniel said Sony is developing a Stunner (Angelina Brancale) film. She is a very deep cut (a minor villain no one has heard of). I don't believe that either.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)