Marvel News

'Tis the season of rumours as we're still not even at the midway point between Far From Home and Black Widow. We've moved from people speculating about which IP are coming to speculating about casting and story--we'll comb through the latest wreckage, looking for what's plausible and what's not. We'll start off with what limited actual news we have first.

Shang-Chi director Destin Cretton talked to Collider about the film and there's one pertinent quote among the fluff:

I think particularly for our first Asian/Asian American step into the MCU, that tone [The Matrix] feels right.

To me that suggests a heavily stylized look along with a focus on big action pieces. 4chan also weighed in on Shang-Chi:

• Shang-Chi is recruited by the MI6 to prevent his father, The Mandarin, from retrieving the legendary Ten Rings in order to conquer the world.
• Shang-Chi is aided by MI6 agents Clive Reston and Leiko Wu. Sam Claflin is in final talks to play Reston, while Jessica Henwick has recently been approached to play Wu. Pierce Brosnan is in talks for the director of the MI6, Jack Tarr. [Discussing Film put up a casting call in August about a female Chinese-American secret agent--perhaps Wu?]
• The Mandarin’s enforcers include Shang-Chi’s half-siblings Cursed Lotus and Moving Shadow, deadly assassin M'Nai and mad scientist Lancaster Zhang. Awkwafina is cast as Cursed Lotus, while Joe Taslim has been approached for Moving Shadow. David Gyasy is in advanced talks for M’Nai, and BD Wong is cast as Zhu.
• Constance Wu is in talks for Mei Ling, Shang-Chi's mother.
• Samuel L. Jackson will appear as Nick Fury.
• The dragon Fing Fang Foom will appear in the movie. [LotLB have been pushing for Fing Fan Foom for awhile (August and possibly earlier).]

This has different casting than the 4chan post from last week; Henwick is half-Chinese, so certainly fits the profile, although like all casting speculation I take it with a grain of salt. I'm unfamiliar with the Shang-Chi roster and lore so it's hard to judge what little we've heard about it. I do think having an MCU heavy-hitter (like Fury) makes a lot of sense to anchor an obscure IP. It also appears they'll share Black Panther and Captain Marvel's approach of having a stand-in for the audience to be introduced into the world of the IP (either through Fury or more likely through the MI6 characters). How much, if at all, the current Chinese issues with Hong Kong will impact the film I don't know--the MCU has worked hard to meet the needs of China so I expect nothing controversial.

Ruben Fleischer, director of Venom (who doesn't understand why it was critically panned), talked about being happy to see another director (Andy Serkis) take over the sequel. I don't believe that at all, but he added the following:

That’s where it’s all going to lead [Tom Holland's Spider-Man in a Venom film]. And that’s the exciting thing, because we changed the origin of Venom … in the comics, he evolved from Spider-Man but because of the Marvel-Sony thing we weren’t able to that. And so the thing I think it’s building towards, and will be exciting to see, is when they actually do confront each other.

The key part of this is "I think," because Fleischer isn't part of the process for the future of Venom so has no inside knowledge. Despite that, many (Conrad and others) are proclaiming this means a crossover is coming in the future (Murphy says it's been inevitable for years, but that Venom won't be part of the MCU). Such an event becomes simple without the Disney deal, although Feige's comments about the current (two-picture) deal also imply a crossover. What Fleischer said isn't the smoking gun for a crossover, he's simply saying what he thinks.

Daniel says they are casting She-Hulk. Charles Murphy re-Tweeted this rather than responding, which suggests Murphy doesn't have specific related information and he's simply supporting his buddy. Because virtually all the Marvel scoopers get along with Daniel there's not much pushback against him (this is different for DC-material, but I've haven't delved into that much--the only time is here).

More from Daniel's Patreon posts were posted on Reddit (in the comments) which was also summarized by Conrad (below is the former, which I believe is a direct quote):

"So from what I hear the first half of WandaVision every episode will play an homage to a different era of sitcoms. So at first it's just the two of them, Wanda and Vision, then the next episode they have babies, then it's a family sitcom and the babies are all grown up. The second half when everything is revealed will be a straight up Marvel movie. And when it is all said and done Wanda and Vision's kids will be alive in the main timeline and we'll get two more members of the Young Avengers."

One of these would certainly be the heavily rumoured Wiccan, the other is probably Speed. In the comics these are not Vision's children (his are the synthetic Vivian and Vin, who are not Wanda's), but the children they have together never become heroes (and both die). I don't find either New Avenger particularly interesting, but their inclusion is certainly plausible (the former in particular because he's LGBT).

The 4chan rumours continue, this time about Doctor Strange 2:

• Film will indeed be a horror film. Scott [Derrickson] pitched the first one as horror but Disney wanted to play it safe for Stephen [Strange]'s first outing. Now that he is an established character, Marvel is ready to take a risk. [This is plausible, but the why isn't that important]
• As confirmed in SDCC, it will be PG-13. [There was never any doubt about that]
• It will indeed be a direct tie-in to WandaVision. Wanda will go insane after the events of the series and splits open the multiverse. Stephen is torn between killing her or trying to redeem her since he knows she is a good person deep down. He will also need to find a way to repair the shattered multiverse before everything goes to shit. Wanda will get a brand new look in this movie that is scary and will highlight the "witch" part of her character. It will include the crown. I'm also hearing her hair will be black. I think we're getting a Gothic Wanda. [This matches the plot speculation we've seen of the show echoing House of M etc.]
• Monica Rambeau, Darcy Lewis, and Jimmy Woo will be a part of the movie as well [as in, carried over from WandaVision]. People have been speculating how Monica gets powers in the MCU. Monica will get killed in WandaVision, but Stephen enters a universe where Maria Rambeau gets blasted by the Space Stone instead of Carol Danvers. Maria was pregnant at the time (she didn't know), and Monica inherited her mother's powers and became Photon when she grew up. [This could tie-in to my theory that Monica is the inspiration for Ms. Marvel]
• New characters include Clea, a seasoned sorcerer from the Hong Kong Sanctum that Stephen falls in love with. Jericho Drumm, a necromancer from the London Sanctum whose parents were evil voodooists. Returning is Wong, the Ancient One, and Christine. [Roger Wardell gave us the Clea, Voodoo, and Ancient One scoops back in December; with a 4chan post in May adding Wong and Christine--it's hard to imagine the IP without them.]
• The main villains will be Nightmare [long rumoured because Derrickson talked about him incessantly during the lead-up to the first Doctor Strange], an interdimensional demon who feeds on people's fears. He is eating at Wanda, influencing her terror and making her go insane. Agatha Harkness, a disciple for Nightmare who is proficient in witchcraft. And Shuma Gorath, a big eyeball. [A 4chan rumour in January had Harkness in WandaVision, but no one else I'm aware of had the eyeball.]
• Whoever ends up playing Wiccan from WandaVision will also be in the movie, assisting Doctor Strange. [Rumours about Wiccan go back at least to January and WGTC, who we now know were simply speculating as New Avengers rumours go back to Murphy's old scoop about Cassie Lang in Endgame in April, 2018, if not further; the most recent is from LotLB about a month ago.]
• Marvel Zombies will play a big part in the movie, and Stephen will spend some time there trying to find a McGuffin. We will see Zombie Cap, Zombie Iron Man, and a Zombie Doctor Strange. The sorcerers will battle a Zombie Hulk. The animated series What If...? will be a sequel of sorts to [the film]. Alternate timelines we see here will be fully explored in the show.

This actually matches many of the rumours we've heard, although the last part comes across as less credible (albeit, zombie versions wouldn't require the original actors in the roles). It sounds plausible, if a bit crowded, but could simply be speculation. It was followed by another, much shorter 4chan rumour about the film:

• The Scarlet Witch creates the “Multiverse of Madness” after falling under the influence of Nightmare. Doctor Strange must rescue her to prevent the collapse of reality.
• Strange assembles a team of sorcerers to help him navigate the Multiverse of Madness, consisted of Wong, Mordo, Clea and Drumm [Doctor Voodoo]. Strange and Mordo clash on whether Wanda can be saved or must be executed. Strange and Clea develop a bond. Wong and Drumm have an unlikely friendship.
• Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong and Chiwetel Ejiofor are returning. Rebecca Ferguson and Aldis Hodge are in talks for Clea and Drumm. Tilda Swinton will make an appearance as the Ancient One.
• Several high-profile male and female actors are being discussed for Nightmare, including Eva Green, Emily Blunt, Claire Foy, Vanessa Kirby, Natalie Dormer, Ewan McGregor, James McAvoy, Cillian Murphy, Dan Stevens and Jared Leto.

While much briefer than the first, it follows the same basic framework of the various rumours we've heard. The only difference is that Clea isn't specifically described as Asian. The inclusion of Mordo has been less common (4chan in May), but would make sense if the story is right. Ultimately, we're still early enough in this process that all this could simply be fan speculation (although it is at least plausible).

We also have a 4chan rumour about a Nova film:

• Marvel is planning a Nova movie for Phase 5. The film is set be released sometime in 2023.
• Film is titled Nova: The Fall Of Xandar, with the events of course being set weeks before Infinity War.
• Adam McKay, Travis Knight, and Jon Watts are the favorites to direct. The first draft of the script is being written right now.
• Richard Rider and a genderbent Sam Alexander are the two main characters. The film will have a buddy cop vibe.
• Casting has not began yet but Marvel has an idea for who they want for Sam and Richard.
• Marvel is looking at Breanna Yde [16] and Isabela Moner [18] for Sam Fun Fact: Moner was wanted for a role in Black Widow before that role was written out.
• Marvel wants an actor of any ethnicity for the role of Richard Rider. Kevin Feige’s list of potential actors who could take the role include: Zac Efron, Harry Styles, James Marsden, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Timothée Chalamet, and John Boyega.
• John C Riley and Glenn Close are expected to return as Dey and Nova Prime.
• Cancerverse is introduced. [I was unfamiliar with this, but it's a 2010 invention of a universe where Death has been defeated]
• Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana have brief appearances as Quill and Gamora

While we've heard Nova rumours for a long time, I find this hard to credit. Doing a prequel for a film from five years ago is beyond redundant--flashbacks to the event would be fine, but an entire film just wouldn't work. Gender bending the relatively unpopular Sam Alexander is a good idea, although I'm unfamiliar with either actress proposed, so have no opinion about them. Race swapping Richard Rider makes sense within the MCU context (because Xandar was portrayed with diversity), although up until this point Kevin Feige has never swapped a lead character (which doesn't mean it can't happen, simply that it would be a first). I don't think there's a big toy market for Nova, which means making changes is easier.

A Redditor (in a now removed post) said the following about Loki:

• Amora The Enchantress will be the main antagonist of the series, and she will return in Thor: Love and Thunder.
• The Wrecking Crew will serve as supporting antagonists, and will get their powers from Enchantress.
• The series will feature Loki traveling through history to try and redeem himself.
• At some point in the series, Loki will become worthy of Mjolnir.
• The series will end with him winding up in 2023 in our reality, just in time for him to appear in Thor: Love and Thunder.

For a show we've known about for over a year and whose production is around the corner, it's surprising how few specifics have come out about it. The antagonists included are classic characters from the Thor IP, which makes them both appropriate, but also easy to speculate about. The focus of the story echoes a 4chan post from January which talked about Loki needing to persuade the Norns to not send his soul to Hel and is a vast improvement over the exceedingly dull story we got from Murphy around the same time (which focused on Young Loki). I think the post is plausible, but we'll need to hear more before we can truly judge it.

Full Circle Cinema, the site responsible for ridiculous clickbait related to the X-Men not long ago, has put out what they claim Daniel RPK is saying (something I can't confirm): Liv Tyler's Betty Ross will appear in She-Hulk. This is presumably via his Patreon, as he hasn't put it on his social feed. There were rumours about Betty appearing in both Infinity War and Endgame, which were baseless, but that was before I was keeping tabs on the rumour-mongers so I don't know where they came from (it's easy speculation to make for a Hulk-related property).

A quick debunking: back in August Film & Television Industry Alliance (which I'd never heard of) said WandaVision would be filming September 21st--not so much!

Speaking of debunked, after my adventure in assessing WGTC, I went through the data I have on others. With Conrad I couldn't find an actual scoop since The Eternals last year; with Lords of the Long Box, while it's still early, the established track record suggests their information is actually speculation based on what comicbook speculating insiders are buying--nothing, yet, implies actual inside information; Sutton I don't have enough information on yet and while I haven't tracked GWW very thoroughly, they are in WGTC territory with what I do have (zero scoops thus far).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)