Marvel News & Notes

I mentioned not long ago that Murphy had changed his projected MCU release dates without explanation. He's put some of them back up again and his 2022 film slate now looks like this:
February - Ant-Man 3

May - Black Panther 2 (the official date from Marvel)

July - Captain Marvel 2

October - Blade

The only change is the fourth film, suggesting he's quite confident about Ant-Man 3 and Captain Marvel 2. Afterwards a supposed Hasbro Tweet suggested just four Disney+ shows in 2021 (meaning She-Hulk and Moon Knight would air in 2022). I find it a bit hard to believe--why rush production of the latter two (both beginning filming before Hawkeye) if they won't air until the following year? Murphy claims we'll get a revised slate announced on March 5th, so if that's true we won't have long to wait for clarification.

We got official confirmation of Captain Marvel 2 (not that we needed it at this stage). The name of the production is "Warbird," which could be a throwaway name that references one of Carol Danvers former aliases, or it could be a reference to the 90s Kurt Busiek run where, after losing some of her powers, Carol struggles to deal with it and becomes an alcoholic. I don't think we'll see the latter affliction (it was cut from Tony Stark's storyline), but some struggle would allow the character to grow. This scenario could come about if we're getting Rogue's origin of stealing her powers, although Carol could also take on the alias of Binary, but I think Warbird is more likely since in her current form she's already at Binary's power level. For those unfamiliar with the variation, the Binary identity (with adjusted power set) is what Chris Claremont did with her in the 80s after Rogue stole her initial powers (those of Captain Marvel).

Deadline reports that 68-year old Carl Lumbly is part of the Falcon and Winter Soldier cast, with speculation giving him the role of Isaiah Bradley (cf).

There was an interesting double post on Reddit I wanted to go over. Here's the first:

• Hey guys! I don’t know tooo many specifics about the general plot, but I was partially involved with editing the Expanding The Universe teaser and got to see some of what’s already been filmed for Falcon. Few key plot points:
• Ross will reappear to restrict Sam from being the new Cap due to his accords violations [This echoes 4chan from November along with general speculation]
• Zemo will attempt to trigger Bucky, who then pretends to be in Hydra mode before emptying the gun and saying he doesn’t do that anymore. [We haven't heard this idea before, although this scene was shown in the teaser]
• We will see some footage of Sam training in the air force Falcon Program.
• During what seems like a crucial battle, it appears Zemo discovers one last trigger word--a deactivation code, knocking out Bucky instantly and presumably killing him. We then see Sam pick up the shield for the first time since being confronted by Ross. [This is also new]
• Oh, and with the news about the possible Isaiah [Bradley] casting I just want to add that I 100% believe that. It just hasn’t been filmed, so I haven’t seen it. [His speculation]

This could be made up, but it feels credible to me (it hasn't been taken off the boards last I checked). His information is limited and fits the general shape of the narrative as we understand it (although the observations don't really push beyond what we've already seen or heard). If it's not a scoop it's at least plausible speculation.

And the second post from the Reddit user mentioned above is:

• [I] got to see quite a bit of footage from both Falcon and Wandavision. I don’t have a concrete idea of Wandavision’s plot based on the footage I’ve seen outside of my own nerd-knowledge, but here’s what I have seen.
• [Wanda's] Twins.. duh. [Confirmed through the teaser]
• The Agatha Harkness rumors are 100% true. She enters Wanda’s fantasy as her “neighbor” and eventually infiltrates the delusion in unclear ways, but she appeared to be an anti-hero from what I saw. [The idea of Agatha being their neighbour comes from 4chan in November]
• There’s a shirtless Vision scene. He’s in boxers. This isn’t relevant to the plot it’s just.. a lot to process and I’m warning you all.
• Monica Rambeau! She’s kickass and will be a fan favorite for sure but I’m worried her fate won’t be as great.. a clip I saw showed her getting presumably mortally wounded in battle. [This idea matches a 4chan post from October that's largely about Doctor Strange 2]
• The sitcom concept is insane. Each episode has a different cheesy intro based on what sitcom it’s emulating and it’s insane. [This fits all rumours as well as comments from the lead actors; the three eras depicted in the teaser were the 50s, 70s, and late 80s/early 90s]
• Hints at Pietro’s return? [His return fits the more recent plot rumours, beginning in November, although speculation goes back much earlier]
• Again, can’t say I know much but what I do know is cool as hell.

The comments seem credible to me (he's not claiming anything radical, but also not anything beyond what's within the parameters of what's known). As with Falcon above, it could be speculation, but if it is, it's plausible.

TI's Braxter offers up details for Loki's supporting cast, with a mix of paraphrase and the actual listing (the errors are his):

• Male Lead – There is no age specified. Looking for name talent. Likely with sense of humor. This role will have options for the series and for film. The role needed for 5 or 6 episodes.
• Female 2 – Looking for a female in the 30 to late 50’s age range. This role is open to all races. Needed for 6 episode run.
• Casey – Open to any ethnicity or gender. Casey is a good natured, yet exhausted intern. Extremely likeable. Great comedy skills. Casey’s entire career has been spent indoors and always does things by the books even when things are out of their control. A supporting character needed for 4 episodes
• John – John is male. Open to all ethnicities in the 27 to 36-year old range. Contentious and combative soldier with an axe to grind. Presumptuous and ominous. A supporting role. Needed for 4 episodes

He understandably believes that Owen Wilson has the lead male role above (given the fame of the actor). 'Female 2' could fit either Sophia Di Martino (who was the first member of the cast announced back in November) or Gugu Mbatha-Raw. We don't know any other actors who've been cast, so we can't (yet) guess at who 'Casey' or 'John' is (I agree with Braxter that the former is almost certainly a TVA agent; the latter could be as well, possibly Justice Peace). There's no sign of other rumoured characters (Sera etc).

Murphy speculates that Owen Wilson is playing Kang in Loki, which is interesting because he hates this idea, but it makes sense to him. As someone with no attachment to Kang, I'm indifferent to who plays him. In the midst of his speculation he said the following:

I’ve been hearing recently that some changes to the future of the MCU took place as recently as October of 2019

This echoes Conrad back in September, who said such planning was about to take place. What's interesting is that it means Black Widow and Eternals were planned without that future fully laid out (although tweaks and reshoots can easily fill that gap).

We have competing scoops about the same thing: both GWW and Daniel claim that Red Hulk is coming to the MCU. Daniel did not know when and where, but GWW said it will be in She-Hulk and be General Ross. William Hurt will turn 70 shortly, but as a CGI role he can handle it (at least for a little while). Hurt is a massive fan of the Hulk IP, which is likely why he signed on for The Incredible Hulk and returned in Civil War. Rumours about this go back to WGTC (of all people) in August (repeated by LotLB and others, cf), although the seeds were planted by Wardell much earlier when he revealed The Thunderbolts (with Ross) were coming. After these stories dropped, Conrad presented his own rumour that we'll see Red Hulk in The Thunderbolts.

We got some clarity about those Elsa Bloodstone rumours that have been floating around (beginning with Reddit/Daniel in October and then repeated a couple of weeks ago on Reddit). She was intended to have her own show on ABC [here's a link that works] (this is what LotLB thought would be a Dakota North show, cf), although that's been cancelled since Feige took over Marvel Entertainment.

LotLB's latest video says a Gambit-series is coming (Disney+/Hulu), echoing what they said back in August; no Rogue is planned for the show; the associated spec list:

• Thieves Guild - a group Gambit was part of prior to his time with the X-Men
• Etienne Marceaux - a childhood friend who dies when Gambit is young
• Marauders - originally a villain group created by Mister Sinister with a long history vs the X-Men
• Candra - an External (a group of immortal mutants) who founds both the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild
• Pig - a mutant crime boss who engaged in human trafficking (just one appearance)
• Belladonna - a love interest and fellow mutant
• Scrambler - a member of the Marauders

Is this plausible? Absolutely, although I don't see a reason to rush into Gambit (depending on what kind of X-Men team the MCU is building towards--you can see my expectations from a few months ago via the link).

A very different Redditor posted this rumour:

• Hello, guys! So, I am a Marvel insider, and my source has told me some exciting info about the future of one particular villain. The villain in question is none other than the boss himself, Victor Von Doom.
• Ideas for him are mostly in the discussion phase for the moment, but there is one thing that has officially been decided: Doctor Doom will debut in the Black Panther sequel as the main antagonist. However, before that, he may debut in a Disney+ miniseries that could take multiple elements from Noah Hawley’s cancelled movie. [The Doom in BP2 idea goes back to Reddit in December and later echoed by 4chan; the Noah Hawley project was declared dead back in August]
• As for the character’s origin, he will have ties to the Fantastic Four and Reed Richards, and his origin story depends on the route Marvel decides to take with the first family. However, one element that is being discussed is him being a citizen of Sokovia who, following the events of Age of Ultron and Civil War, takes his country’s misfortune as an opportunity to rebuild it in his image, then begins to conquer smaller countries while they’re weakened during the “Blip”.
• After that, Doom will essentially take Loki’s place in the MCU. He will be a recurring antagonist in multiple movies who also helps the good guys when it serves his best interest. However, Secret Wars is being discussed as the next major MCU event and, if it happens, Doom will not only be the main villain, but he’ll be an even bigger threat than Thanos.

The poster seems to be trying to emulate the style of the one above, but I think it's just a fan speculating based on some popular rumours and comic lore (I don't find it credible).

A bit of trivia, but Murphy seems to have deleted his Reddit account--I'm not sure why (I suppose we could ask why he bothered creating one in the first place, but Conrad does it too--a lot of scoopers like getting down in the trenches and arguing).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)