Marvel News & Notes

Richard Madden posted on Instagram that The Eternals has wrapped filming (which began back in July). I bring this up less for that news and more to address one of the common refrains about the film: the lazy comparisons to Guardians of the Galaxy (encouraged, for marketing reasons, by Feige). Let's be clear that these are very different IP. Guardians is based on the 2008 reboot of the IP by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, which was composed of relatively well-known Marvel characters unattached to it previously. Eternals is nothing like that, as not even the limited Gaiman run (06-07) could salvage an IP that's never been popular. These are enormously obscure characters even within comicdom and whatever cache they might have had with that limited readership is mostly buried beneath a cast that's visually unrecognizable (with the exception of Ikaris and Thena). In fairness to Marvel, the look of the Guardians was also changed (Drax in particular), but on the whole it's not hard to recognize them. The opposing argument would be because no one knows the property, changes are much more easily made, which is true. The concern for the film is because we know the MCU brand by itself isn't enough to make people come to theaters (just ask Peyton Reed), a bloated cast without a bankable star (Jolie hasn't had a hit since 2014) means The Eternals could be in trouble. The original 2020 plan, no doubt, was to have Guardians 3 play in the summer and lead into Eternals, giving it a boost. Instead, the film will have to stand on its own, which means it will need good trailers and word of mouth.

Zachary from TI says Clea is confirmed for Doctor Strange 2 (which seems true--Wardell broke her involvement back in December, 2018, and see below), but Zachary's reasoning is looser than the other TI scoops. Here's his version of the casting breakdown: "female lead at the center of the narrative. The age range is from late 20’s to early 40’s … needing to have “leading lady” qualities." We don't yet know that Clea is at the center of the narrative, or how she's related to the story at all.

After this was published Murphy talked about something he heard from one source months ago: that Emily Blunt met with Marvel while filming Jungle Cruise (May-September). He doesn't know if she was signed, turned them down, or what the specifics were and no one other source has confirmed the meeting. His speculation is that maybe she was approached for the role of Clea (fan-casting has given her the role of Susan Storm for years). For those who don't know, she was unable (due to scheduling) to take the role of Black Widow, so is very familiar with Marvel. I wonder if this meeting is why both Conrad and GWW claimed last June that a Fantastic Four film was coming in 2022 (my reasoning being: having heard Marvel met with Blunt they guessed she was approached for a role in it). This idea was (the Fantastic Four in the near future) debunked by Roger Wardell (same link) at that time, which is the only time I'm aware of that he directly went out of his way to debunk something.

When you think, big picture, about the popular John Krasinski/Emily Blunt casting, it's dependent on the Fantastic Four being introduced in their mature phase (presumably arriving via the multiverse)--I don't think Feige wants that. I think he wants Marvel's first family near or at their beginning, which means the 40/36 year old actors are a good ten years too old for those roles. With that said, there's a home at Marvel for both actors in other capacities if they wish. I wonder if the Clea character is robust enough for Blunt (on the surface she seems pretty obscure). One other potential problem with Murphy's casting theory is that it runs against Wardell's claim (admittedly from before the script was written) that the character would be raced swapped to Asian. Perhaps, given the flood of diverse castings elsewhere, Marvel will cast her as she is in the comics.

After this new dropped TI confirmed Mordo's return, saying they've seen a breakdown that includes him as one of five leading roles (this breakdown also, they claim, confirms Clea--according to it neither she nor Brother Voodoo have been cast yet). Sadly they don't quote the breakdown, so we can't verify their speculation. Mordo's inclusion matches a 4chan leak from May that also included Christine Palmer and Wong, calling Mordo a sympathetic antagonist.

We have confirmation from Murphy that Leiko Wu, Clive Reston, and Jack Tarr will appear in Shang-Chi (which is getting ready to start filming). According to what was posted, Shang-Chi worked for MI-6, but has left the organization. Reston (45-50) is his old partner and married to Leiko (26-39), while Tarr (30-49) is someone who enjoys a good fight--all three are believed to have been cast.

These characters have come up before, as back in October a 4chan post mentioned all three, but did not have the age brackets for them (given the actors they suggested for the roles), which either means they learned of it without context or were making educated guesses. This rumour was echoed by LotLB in January (I believe it was Sutton's list; in that list they mention the love connection). There was a slightly earlier October 4chan post that only mentioned Wu (saying Jamie Chung was in the role). We can take this opportunity to debunk a Reddit post from the same time that claimed to know the plot of the film (wrong because it has Reston et al as members of SHIELD--a lot of old posts mention it instead of SWORD, but MI-6 is a completely different organization).

Murphy Tweeted that Guardians 3 will be a February, 2023 release. Normally, when he makes a change to his release schedule, he includes an accompanying article with his reasoning, but that hasn't happened yet, but unlike his Captain Marvel 2 date this doesn't have a question mark attached. Is he right? We shall see.

Conrad posted a rumour saying that the Valkyrie Mist is in the works for the MCU--she's an incredibly minor Claremont character with just 7 appearances (who hasn't appeared since 1993). She's associated with the New Mutants, but Conrad says (and I agree) that they are due for a long reboot after the Fox film appears, so she'll be appearing in some other context. Conrad guesses that she'll appear in Thor 4, but I wonder if she's meant for the Loki show (it certainly reminds me of his scoop about the show seeking a double for a blond character, which matches Mist--his guess was Enchantress). Conrad's speculation isn't completely random, as the character's story arc includes interactions with Loki.

If Conrad's surmise is true, I wonder what it portends for the Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie--a character shuffled off into semi-irrelevance as Queen of Asgard in Endgame (she'll have a role to play in Ragnarok, but given the other rumoured characters being added it's unlikely to be a large one).

Murphy speculates Isaiah Bradley may be joining Falcon and the Winter Soldier. His theory is based on an IMDB listing for Dr. Wilfred Nagel--he's another scientist attempting to replicate Erksine's super soldier formula that was given to Steve Rogers. In this case it's tested on hundreds of African-Americans and Bradley is the only success--but it causes him all sorts of problems. The storyline seems intended to echo the Tuskegee syphilis experiment carried out by the CIA. Could this guess be true? It's certainly possible, although the crowd of characters believed to be appearing in the show gets larger every day and you have to wonder if there's enough time to pay back a story like this.

Conrad re-posted an image from Reddit that hints at Flag-Smasher appearing in the show due to an image of some graffiti found on set (he thinks it's the Karl Morgenthau version). I'm less interested in that then this comment from him:

"For a while it’s been known that the militant group, and long time Captain America villains, U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. would make an appearance…. …if U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. is in the series (and there’s no reason to doubt it based on sources)…."

This idea only comes from one place and has not been widely repeated since (although Murphy believes its substance about Loki and Conrad wrote about it at the time): a 4chan post that I covered last January. In doing research I found another post that's clearly based on it and thought I'd go through it and illustrate the minor differences between the two:

• Loki: Rumor has it that the series will actually follow the dead Loki narrating his trajectory. Much of the story will be with the younger version of Loki, which means that Tom Hiddleston will not be the only actor to play the character. In addition, Frigga will have great role in the series. The younger version of Thor will also appear. Scenes with Odin will not show the face of actor Anthony Hopkins. Loki will narrate the tragic trajectory for the Norns, trying to save his soul from Hel. Karnilla and Ulik will be the villains of the series.

The substance is exactly the same as the post I linked above, although we have good reason to doubt its veracity since Tom Hiddleston is clearly not just a narrator (keeping in mind this says 'rumour').

• Vision and the Scarlet Witch: Vision will indeed be rebuilt in Avengers: End Game. In the series he and Wanda will try to live a normal life in the suburbs of New York. But now Vision will no longer be linked to the mind stone, causing a cold and emotionless version. To try to turn him into the Vision he once knew, Wanda began to study the mystic arts and try a spell that will have disastrous results. Vision will pass much of the series in its human form, and Wanda will realize that a shadowy spirit possessed him. The witch Agatha Harkness will be in the series, revealing to Wanda some mysteries of its past. Another subplot of the series will be the public disapproval of the relationship between Wanda and Vision. The villain of the series will be a neighbor who also disapproves of their relationship. He will eventually be possessed by the same spirit that took Vision, becoming the Grim Reaper. Dominic West (300) is currently considered the actor for the role.

The only substantive difference from the link above is the inclusion of Grim Reaper (echoed months later in November by another 4channer). There are errors here about when Vision is reborn that are identical to the linked post.

• Winter Soldier & Falcon: will be deeply attached to Marvel Studios' Phase 4, possibly helping to build themes for the future of the films. The plot should accompany the two heroes being recruited by the new SHIELD to prevent the anarchic group Ultimatum. In the series the group wants to implement a plan formerly developed by HYDRA. The leak says the series will feature other characters such as Nick Fury, Agent 13 and General Ross. Another big problem for the Soldier and the Falcon: they will also have to deal with John Walker, a soldier recruited by the United States to become a new Captain America, but who will slowly go mad and become a threat.

This has the exact same substance. This second post is largely a summary of the one I discussed a year ago, which is the original, but it's good to keep tabs on these things because rumours can spring from them. If we do see Ultimatum having Flag-Smasher is a strong possibility.

TI's Mike Marchant says Sera is being auditioned for Loki: "The role is being described as a major supporting character set to appear not only on the series but possibly in future MCU movies as well." GWW broke that the character would appear last August, but assumed it was for Thor 4 (something Murphy disagreed with at the time, believing she would be in Loki). She's Marvel's most prominent transgendered character and a recent creation (2015 via Kieron Gillen), with a strong connection to Asgard (in the comics she's dating Angela, Thor's sister). That's not to say she's popular, but she's an important landmark for Marvel. Most believe we won't see Angela because Hela has already taken the role of secret sister to Thor, but the simple way around this problem is by having Angela exist out in the multiverse rather than be from MCU Prime.

Brandon Davis (of ComicBook.com), who doesn't generally have scoops, claimed Owen Wilson will play a role in Loki (he doesn't know what that role is, but apparently a major one), and this was subsequently confirmed by Deadline. I have no idea if this will be a one-off for Wilson or if he has some future in the MCU (I'd lean towards not). The 51-year old doesn't have the cache he did ten years ago, but has the comedic chops to help add some zest to the show. The only theory I've seen on who he will play thus far is from Reddit, suggesting he'll be the Eric Masters version of Thunderstrike,

Murphy says the search for Kamala Khan is ongoing. He'd heard an actress had been found almost a month ago, but has since learned Marvel is still looking. He thinks this new information means they either couldn't make a deal with with that actress or his source was wrong. I'd lean towards the latter (what young actress would turn down an iconic role like this?).

Another character Conrad says is coming is Ripper (specifically the African-American character), who is from the Moon Knight IP and is where Conrad thinks he'll appear. The character is so minor that his entry in the Marvel wiki is incomplete outside his first appearance in 1994. The character is part of the Hellbent, servants of the god Set who opposes Khonshu. The Ripper is one of over a dozen characters and of no significance within the comic he appears in, so if Conrad is right the significance seems to be that Seth the Immortal is an antagonist in the series. Seth is from the final arc of Terry Kavanagh's 90s run of Marc Specter: Moon Knight and hasn't appeared since. The basic story of the character is he's a Templar whose order is guarding the Hellbent, but broke his faith due to a hunger for power. Whether the show will follow that story or not is uncertain, but it's not hard to see its basic elements as the framework for a more dynamic story that might tie in to things like Blade etc.

LotLB (part one and part two) with a non-Sutton reserve list for a Thunderbolts series on Disney+ (in the midst of the video Tim disavowed Daniel without providing reasons, despite having briefly been friendly with him--from the subtext it seems related to the fight with Murphy last year):

• Moonstone (Karla Sofen) - the character has some similarities to Carol Danvers, but Marvel doesn't have to go that way with her
• Fixer (Norbert Ebersol) - an old school Marvel villain (there are other versions of him)
• Jolt - Murphy speculated she was coming recently
• Andreas Von Strucker (aka Swordsman) - Kinda Culty speculated he'd appear about a month ago
• Ghost - the character has appeared already so I think the idea here is of her return (even though LotLB talked about the male version)
• Paladin - possibly tied up with the Daredevil IP; back in August LotLB claimed he was slated for Moon Knight (that failure doesn't inherently debunk the idea--it's possible the character is intended for use somewhere and they were simply wrong in guessing where)
• Beetle (Abner Jenkins) - another old school Marvel villain--uses a mech suit (there are other versions of the character)

One thing said during the stream, which is true, is that many MCU scoopers make their hay via one-sheets (casting calls) from Marvel--they take the sheets and try to match them with their comic knowledge to make educated guesses--this applies to most (not to Wardell, who is either an insider or has actual inside sources, or to Murphy after his time at MCU Exchange, as he has external sources with inside information--agents, an minimum).

We have another Redditor claiming to scoop Moon Knight (all errors are his own):

• The show will be a true psychological thriller with fantasy elements included in it
• The show will be where Mr.Robot(tv show) meets mcu. Its not like it has same story elements from mr robot but it has same themes from mr robot like in the show the protagonist suffers from multiple personality disorder and turns into vigilante hacker but in moon knight the protagonist becomes vigilante superhero/antihero
• the show will be a very different when compared to typical superhero movies/tv shows
• His origin story will be similar to the comic origins with tiny changes
• Marc Spector is the first mcu superhero to be flawed and his judgements will be unexpected and scary
• his intentions and motivations will be both unexpected and also cruel
• the show plays on the question of if konshu is real or fake till the end
• the show follows non linear story telling of flash forwards and flashbacks with neo noir elements sprinkled through out the series
• the show also contains jaw dropping moments from beginning to end
• the show will be dark, gritty ,edgy ,scary and crazy with wall to wall action elements and will maintain suspense elements through out the show with unexpected twists and turns and will make us guessing what happens next till the end
• bushman,frenchie,marlene,werewolf by knight(main villan) will appear in the series with stained glass scarlet playing a key role and carries an unexpected twist
• All three moon knight personalities(marc spector, jake lockley and steven grant) will appear and those transitions from one personality to other will be intresting and shows how screwed he is at psychological level
• its based on both ellis and bemis run on moon knight (2014 and 2018)
• the show will be mostly grounded but references all mcu incidents through out the episodes
• Daniel Radcliffe is not confirmed to play moon knight but is one of the actors on final list

This is mostly just descriptors filled with the kind of general speculation we've heard in Moon Knight rumours going back for years (it seems specifically cribbed from a 4chan rumour from November). The tone the post suggests is reminiscent of Noah Hawley's Legion, which seems far afield of the MCU range. It's safe to expect Khonshu and the other usual suspects from the IP to appear, so there's nothing new here and I think it's just speculation.

In the midst of writing a theory post about Phase Four I had an itch to look over the various fictional Places in Marvel that are on/near Earth (I touched on a couple previously, but have included them here as well). It turns out there are a ton of these, so I've included only those that seem potentially significant/interesting in some way; those which have already appeared in the MCU are in green (in brackets I include who had/has the rights to them if its not Marvel):
The Savage Land - Antarctica; home to Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, and many others; a large tropical area filled with dinosaurs and exotic peoples (Fox)
Atlantis - sunken continent in the Atlantic Ocean; the Marvel version is the home of Namor (Universal)*
Lemuria - sunken continent in the Indian Ocean; home of the Deviants
Wakanda - has moved around, but in the MCU it's the north end of Lake Turkana (near South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia); the home of Black Panther
Burunda - between Angola and Namibia; home of Bushman (Moon Knight IP)
Genosha - island between the Seychelles and Madagascar; originally a place where mutants were enslaved for the betterment of their human masters (Fox)
Latveria - small part of Hungary; homeland of Doctor Doom (Fox)
Attilan - the city of the Inhumans has moved around (Atlantic Ocean, Himalayas, the Moon, outer space, and New Attilan is between New York and New Jersey)
Symkaria - small part of Hungary; homeland of Silver Sable (Sony)
Transia - located between Romania and Serbia; birthplace of Wanda and Pietro; prison of Chthon (Sovokia seems to have replaced this in the MCU)
Sokovia - between Slovakia and Czech Republic; invented for the MCU
Kamar-Taj - near to, next to, or in Nepal; home to the Ancient One
Madripoor - island near Singapore; well-known hangout for Wolverine
Krakoa - island that is also a mutant; a major part of the Hickman House of X story (Fox)
Narobia - as above; ruled by Princess Zanda (Black Panther IP)
*Atlantis isn't a concept that can be held by copyright, but it's attached to the Namor character

We have Madripoor coming in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, presumably Lemuria in The Eternals, Attilan in Ms. Marvel, possibly Burunda in Moon Knight, and so on. It will be interesting to see how Marvel adapts these places and which are given prominence.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)