I'm disappointed that Iron Fist has been cancelled. While this likely means the show is gone forever, some are speculating it will migrate over to the Disney streaming service--I doubt that's possible given that last December Netflix claimed they owned the IP. Another theory is that the character will be brought over to Luke Cage, either simply joining that show or it becoming Heroes for Hire (a good idea, but one with no factual basis as yet). I frankly have no idea what this means--Finn Jones' social media hasn't offered any clues, but I would like both Danny Rand and Ward Meachum (along with Typhoid Mary) to remain active participants in the Netflix MCU. Their disappearance, if they are indeed gone, could be explained by the Snapture--the limited self-referential nature of the Netflix properties makes it easier to ignore a cancelled show.
Some people are speculating that the show was axed to make room for something else, but Marvel isn't providing Netflix new IP, so if that's true it could only be with something they already own--what could that be? I suspect we'll find out sooner than later because Netflix has already received a lot of criticism from Marvel fans for not planning a Defenders 2, so even with Daredevil season hype I think they'll need some sort of positive PR to go along with this.
[Update: Entertainment Weekly says the following: "EW confirmed the character will continue to appear in the Marvel universe." That is a very strong statement--he will continue--note they said the 'character' which leaves wiggle room that it's not Finn Jones--they also said the 'Marvel Universe' which could mean the MCU or Disney's streaming service rather than Netflix.]
With the news that the Avengers 4 reshoots have wrapped (apologies are on offer for any theorists who believed post-Fox acquisitions would appear in the film), a now deleted Reddit thread purporting to describe the trailer for Avengers 4 has appeared. We have a copy of its content here (since then other imitating threads, like this, have popped up). While it's difficult to say how valid it is, the contents are worth exploring:
The trailer starts off showing the damaged Infinity Gauntlet in a field on the farm planet [where we last saw Thanos]. As the camera focuses in on the Gauntlet, we hear Tony’s voice: “We were destined to lose.” Epic music score starts. The Quinjet is shown landing in a Wakandan wasteland as we hear Steve Rogers say: “We have come so far.” Tony and Nebula step off the jet as the remaining Avengers approach. Steve has a look of relief and says: “Tony”. Tony, seemingly defeated, shakes his head and gives a friendly smirk back to Cap. Marvel Studios Logo appears.
We get a glimpse of the Battle of New York from 2012 Avengers. Loki is shown looking shocked and baffled as he is on top of the Stark tower. There is a flash of a blue light as the camera pans back. (Cuts to black) Next we see the Wakandan throne with M’Baku at the helm. He’s surrounded by his new kingsguard. (A mix of the hill tribe and Dora Milaje). Shuri and Banner are seen working on a new project in the lab. Black Widow, in full gear, is in Hawkeye’s family home from Age of Ultron. Basically everything is thrown all over the place and broken. Nat is studying some type of map with multiple photos and locations on it. A quick shot of Thanos is shown with a long sword, walking down an alleyway in New York City. The next shot is a dark hooded figure with glowing eyes, aiming a bow and arrow before shooting towards the camera.
This matches the widely publicized leaks that include the Battle of New York and it is likely that Marvel will show them in a trailer as a way of deflating them as a spoiler (as they did for Infinity War trailers). The image of Thanos with a sword matches art leaked earlier in the year and the idea that Hawkeye's family has been Snapped is widely speculated (including by me).
(1-2 visuals of the Quantum Realm) Scott Lang (no suit) is shown running through a park dodging explosions. (Shot of Space) Thor and Valkyrie are aboard a Kree ship. Thor says: “If the stories are true, you’re our universe’s last hope. If such a thing even exists anymore”. The next shot is an older, determined Tony Stark walking through the new SHIELD HQ’s (Avengers Facility in upstate New York). He’s in full SHIELD attire and carrying an orange briefcase. Banner (wearing spandex) is seen running from something, looking terrified. The next shot is Ant-Man appearing out of a flash of light and landing in a desolate place. We see it from his point of view from inside his helmet. He looks left to right and to his left again and says: “What in the-“.
The Scott Lang shot is interesting because there were leaked photos of him running through a neighbourhood, not a park, so its potentially a hint of either confirming or dismissing the entire leak. The Thor/Valkyrie-pairing fits rumours we've heard. The Kree ship could hint at Captain Marvel or someone like Kronos (also rumoured); I vaguely recalled a rumour about a ship and indeed there are two, here and here, although neither are tied to Thor or the Kree.
(Camera focuses on Vormir and its stars) Next, a shot of Rocket and Nebula modifying some new weapons in the lab. Rocket says “When can we try this bad boy out?” They both smile at each other and fist-bump. We get our first glimpse of Iron Man in his red and gold nanotech armor. Hulk falls from the sky and lands in front of him. Thanos, in full armor, smiles. Hulk smiles back. The next shot is in Japan. War Machine, Nat, and Steve (in their full Avengers gear) are surrounded by The Yakuza. Hawkeye (Ronin) walks through everybody from behind them and approaches the Avengers. There’s an intense exchange of looks between Clint and Natasha (Next shot is at the Sanctum) Wong is communicating with Dr. Strange’s soul via portal. (Cuts to black) Grey haired Tony Stark and Ant-Man are in a post-apocalyptic NYC. The screen flashes back and forth multiple times through multiple scenes.
The Yakuza-element fits other rumours we've heard (specifically attached to Hawkeye, as I went over in my aforementioned article). The scene with Wong matches nothing I've seen discussed--note the comment doesn't say Soul Stone, but see below. There have been hints that Strange is more involved in Avengers 4 than the other Snapped heroes, but it's never been clear how exactly. I'm not sure what to make of a post-apocalyptic NYC--does it refer to the damage after the 2012 Battle or something in the future?
We see Captain Marvel floating with her fists on fire and her eyes lit up. Thanos in the soul stone with young Gamora screaming at him. [There's no punctuation here but this appears to be a separate scene] Loki and Thor fighting off Chitauri together. And Tony handing Steve a brand new shield in the Wakandan throne room. (Cuts back to Tony and Scott) Tony opens the orange briefcase as Scott hands him an illuminated bracelet. Tony asks: “How?… Is this even possible?” (Iron Man and Ant-Man are shown travelling through the Quantum Realm. Tony and Scott are back in the battle of New York from 2012). The final shot before the title reveal is an Infinity Stone disappearing from Thanos’ damaged gauntlet. He abruptly gets up and puts on his armor. His face goes from extremely infuriated to a menacing smile.
Title reveal: Avengers: Annihilation
The bracelets match the leaks mentioned above while a Stone disappearing from the Gauntlet fits my theory that the goal of the film is to prevent the Snap from happening in the first place (it's also a way to motivate Thanos to stop what's happening). We see confirmation of Conrad's rumour about the title. Loki's role is interesting--fans saddened by his death in Infinity War would love seeing him active and helping the Avengers.
Stinger: The Hulk is training at the new SHIELD facility with Black Widow and Steve. Steve notices that Hulk has been training non-stop as of late, so he asks why. Hulk responds in Banner’s normal voice with: “My rematch is coming real soon, I can feel it!”There's not much to glean from this final element as its fairly generic and also what we expect from Banner given the leaked artwork showing 'Professor Hulk'.
To sum up, most of what's described here could easily fit into well-written speculation from the information that's already out there. At the same time, there's nothing that immediately decries it as a fake--it's not overly stuffed with leaked elements or fan theories and it broadly fits the prevailing narratives known about the film. In the end I think it's plausibly a description of the trailer, but nothing about it comes across as definitively true. Because the coverage of it has been limited I don't think Marvel is going to feel pressured to release the trailer early (unlike Captain Marvel, at least according to rumours), so I suspect we won't see it until December.
This is just speculative musing, but I've been trying to decide if Ant-Man and the Wasp made enough money for Disney to make a third film. To try and get a sense of that I looked at the increases of individual IP's (ie, not Avengers films) to see how each series has done (with the percentage increase in brackets):
Captain America: 370k, 714k (92.9%), 1.153k (61.4%)
Thor: 449k, 644k (30.2%), 854k (32.6%)
Iron Man: 585k, 624k (6.66%), 1.215k (94.7%)
Ant-Man: 519k, 622k (19.8%)
Guardians: 773k, 864k (11.7%)
We can argue that Cap has an unfair advantage because Civil War is more like Avengers 2.5, but in terms of independent IP it's not that different from Ragnarok (Cap/Iron Man vs Thor/Hulk). Obviously the crossover impacted the numbers, but not to the point where it makes the comparison irrelevant. The most surprising thing, I think, is how small a boost Guardians received--I've mentioned previously that I think the sequel suffered from Gunn writing it by himself (he does humour wonderfully, but the other elements of storytelling definitely suffer)--this is borne out, I believe, in that lackluster increase. Iron Man 2 also had a very mild increase, but not only is that a weak film it took place at a very different time--before the MCU was the MCU, in some ways. While Guardians is lower than Ant-Man, it's also starting on much stronger financial ground, so no matter how you slice it the franchise is not where the MCU (or Disney) wants it.
I think a third Ant-Man is in trouble. Despite appearing in Civil War (to boost his profile) and despite being family friendly and adding established stars (a grossly underutilized Michelle Pfeiffer along with Laurence Fishburne), the sequel made less than Doctor Strange--a more bizarre property with a less bankable lead. It's going to be interesting to follow and see whether the character fades into a costar (much like his comicbook counterpart) or if there's another film coming for him in Phase Four.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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