Marvel News & Notes

It's no surprise that during the current pandemic the film's release has been delayed. How Disney will adjust is not yet known--if they want to wait for worldwide that delay may be considerable, however, if they decide to go on a case-by-case basis it won't be far off the original date for some places. Given the long gap between it and The Eternals I don't think even a substantial delay will really matter.

Murphy speculates Richard E. Grant will play the Immortus version of Kang in Loki and I can't help but be reminded of his Limbo hint back in October (possibly alluding to just the LLC for Loki, but that hint also brought me to this version of Kang). Daniel said in February that Kang was coming (which echoed Sutton about a week before and Reddit a month before that--link above). Could that be Grant's role? It's plausible.

Daniel claims "MODOK is on the new list of characters to use in an upcoming Marvel project that will shoot in the coming year." Conrad wonders if he'll appear in Ant-Man 3, because Peyton Reed is a fan of the character. AIM, the organization MODOK controls, has been shown in the Black Widow trailer, which is a direct hint. If true this also means the animated MODOK is (as expected) completely irrelevant in relation to the MCU.

Daniel also says Squadron Supreme is in development. Back in February he said some of the members would appear in Loki, which echoed what Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston speculation (same link). Daniel doesn't say whether it would be a film or a Disney+ show (the latter seems more probable). If this is true it's surprising how much non-FOX IP is being developed, given that (particularly for mutants) there's so much fodder that would suit the Disney+ model (if we can do Squadron Supreme then give me Alpha Flight!). Naturally, it may all be waiting for Phase Five.

Murphy talked about Spider-Woman on his podcast:

The last that I heard, they were at least having conversations with Sony about trying to make it a co-opt. I know that Feige is at least interested in making a Jessica Drew movie with Sony [my emphasis].

Both Daniel and TI have said Sony is (independently) developing a Jessica Drew Spider-Woman film, so what's going on? GWW (same link) suggests that the news isn't that clear cut and what they saw the project is likely the Madame Web film (which is something Sony has already announced). GWW's conclusion makes sense to me, but Murphy himself (same link) seemed to buy into the idea--if so, what is his recent comment about? Either Murphy thinks the Sony announcement is in conjunction with Feige (so believes the scoops with an added element), doesn't believe the scoops and that something may be brewing behind the scenes, or he believes Sony is currently pushing a project that Feige will try to get in on via a new deal. Personally, a Sony-driven Jessica Drew project even with Feige is of limited interest. I don't mind Peter Parker's limited interactions with the MCU, but Jessica Drew is much more integrated into the wider Marvel universe (her connection with Spider-Man is relatively weak), so by locking her into Sony's little corner I think a lot of potential would be lost. Assuming, that is, that the deal Feige strikes would be the same for her (which it may not be, given that Marvel actually owns part of the IP).

LotLB repeated something they've been saying since the summer: that Charlie Cox's Daredevil will return (in a Hulu TV-series). This became pertinent, in concept at least, because independently Kevin Smith discussed Cox's return (revealing afterward the news blew-up that he got it from MCU Direct, who in turn almost certainly got it from Conrad--the ultimate progenitor of the idea). Tangentially, one thing I didn't mention back then (when dismissing it because of the rights situation--ie, Marvel only has access in November and Spider-Man 3 films July-October) is a potential way around the rights situation: if Cox still has an MCU appearance on his contract. We know he did when he initially signed and, if that's still in effect, that might allow him to appear before the Netflix window closes. Of course, by appearing he'd validate the Netflix material as canon and I don't think Feige will do that (his appearance would also exclude doing any stories about the character when he's younger--Cox turns 38 this year). Ultimately, Smith had no inside information when talking about it, so we're in the exact same situation we were when Conrad's old rumour came out in the summer.

LotLB also said that Glyph will appear in Moon Knight, which is an adjustment to what he said in January (that she'd appear in Helstrom). The idea of that character appearing isn't their scoop, as Bleeding Cool indicated it last April (in a Hulu context), which I mentioned via the link. Although they haven't stated it explicitly, it seems like their ideas for what Jeph Loeb was doing on Hulu are being shifted over to Disney+ IP like Moon Knight with the same intent (we don't know that Feige is taking that approach, just that LotLB thinks he is).

A Twitter account purporting to be Roger Wardell has popped up. The known, verified account hasn't Tweeted since June and unlike this one is following no one. Accounts pretending to be Wardell are not new and a sleuth on Reddit has already provided evidence this one is fake, but to keep tabs on rumours here's the content:

• The Changing People [a term introduced in Neil Gaiman's run], called the Deviants by the Eternals, will have a crucial role to play in more than just one movie. Altered backstory and appereance [appearance] of the race will surprise many. Their descendants are heading into Phase 4 soon enough.
• David Morrissey [56] and Robert Odenkirk [58] being eyed for the role of Norman Osborn. However, his Green Goblin alter-ego will not be happening anytime soon.
• General Ross believes he can control everything from the backseat. His pride and ambitions backFIRE badly as a new Leader shows up. Both Weapon Plus program and Extremis virus bring the long-awaited arrival of a Red Hulk.
• A version of Thor Corps will make its way into upcoming Thor 4. Notable members of the team included Beta Ray Bill, Dargo Ktor, Thunderstrike, Simon Walterson/Throg, Groot, Gamora, Sif, Angela and Storm. Roger Norvell character to appear in New Asgard.

The first and third rumours seem at least plausible to me (I'm iffy on the Leader, but saying it's a new actor is on-target). I've mentioned frequently that the Eternals IP is not popular and the Deviants that come from it are (in comic terms) basically nobodies. I bring this up because, thus far, Marvel has not promoted a little-known part of an IP to any significance, which (on its surface) makes the idea dubious. The second bullet point fits the general framing of Osborn rumours, but both actors strike me as too old. The account doesn't suggest Osborn as a new major villain for the MCU, which makes sense given the contractual situation with Sony (Mikey Sutton was asked about this and said it's not true). The fourth point is the most problematic to me--it's incredibly busy with characters (all from Hickman's Secret Wars) and includes Storm who, unless she's introduced in Black Panther 2 beforehand, is not how you introduce an iconic X-Men.

There have been a flood of rumours from 4chan and Reddit whose premise is: 'I know a guy.' Most of these are ridiculous (although on rare occasions the poster is able to prove themselves to mods), but it's not that different from general rumours. To keep tabs on the trends I'll continue to include the ones that get some buzz (as I was finishing editing this Murphy Tweeted this out: "If you ever wondered if 'scoopers' had legit access or not, feel free to pay attention (starting 2 weeks ago) to how it goes now. I'm not getting anything because there is nothing to get. It's all shut down. Places still churning out multiple scoops per day though..." Don't take that as an absolute--there's news folks have sat on and the people at home aren't idle or lost the ability to communicate, but it adds some grains of salt to what we hear).

4chan on Phase Four:

• Black Widow is getting pushed back due to Coronavirus. End Credits scene includes Jeremy Renner [Hawkeye]
• Ajak and Sprite die in Eternals. The Phastos kiss scene has been discussed being cut but no final decisions. [A scene explicitly showing Valkyrie's sexuality was cut from Ragnarok]
• Shang-Chi will introduce Fin Fang Foom. Jospeh Fiennes, Sam Claflin, and Zhang Ziyi are cast as Reston, Jack Tarr, and Leiko Wu. Michelle Yeoh plays an evil scientist named Zhang [The casting ideas are similar to a 4chan post in January].
• Cillian Murphy is in negotiations to play Nightmare in Multiverse of Madness. Emma Watson is being looked at for Clea, with Malachi Kirby in negotiations for Voodoo. Isabela Merced is cast as America Chavez. Ted Raimi and Bruce Campbell have cameos.
• Spider Man 3 will be titled Home Run. Scorpion and Kraven are the main villains. Joe Keery and Jane Lynch are being looked at for roles. Henry Cavill or Jason Mamoa wanted for Kraven, but have to sign a non compete clause if interested. [This is ridiculous for latter as he's going to be filming a sequel to Aquaman]
• Christian Bale is playing Dario Agger in Love and Thunder. Groot and Rocket have supporting roles. Jodie Comer and Ryan Gosling are in final negotiations for roles.
• Ant Man 3 will be about Cassie leaving her family to be an Avenger, with Scott and Hope trying to stop her. MODOK is the villain.
• Micheal B Jordan is back in Black Panther 2. A-List actor wanted for the villain.
• Captain Marvel 2 will introduce Nova. Abigail Brand will appear.
• Blade is looking to cast many Oscar Nominees as the cast.

This is a mishmash of rumours with fan casting. The idea of killing Sprite alone destroys the credibility, as family friendly Marvel is not killing off a child character in her first appearance (if at all).

4chan weighs in on Thor 4:

• Christian Bale is playing the main villain, Gorr. In this version, Gorr is an alien whose race was slaughtered by Hela. He blames the Asgardians and, after years of searching, retrieved the Necrosword to wipe them out.
• Thor is having intergalactic adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy when Gorr attacks and wounds him, then announces that he will kill the remaining Asgardians on Earth. Thor goes there to protect them with Rocket and Groot.
• Thor can’t find Gorr, so he’s forced to ask Jane Foster for help. Gorr’s sword is powered by dark energy, and Jane might be able to trace it. Jane is now working for S.W.O.R.D., and director Abigail Brand is not happy when Thor shows up needing help.
• Thor, Jane and Brand go New Asgard, where they reunite with Valkyrie and time-displaced Loki, who ends up a prisoner there after whatever happens on his spinoff series. Along with Loki is a new time-displaced Mjolnir that doesn’t answer to Thor because it’s under a “different spell”.
• Gorr tricked Thor into leading him to New Asgard and destroys it with his army of “shadow berserkers”. During the chaos, Jane wields Mjolnir and fends off Gorr for the time being.
• Brand places the Asgardians under S.W.O.R.D.’s protection at an outpost near a small town in Oklahoma. Thor trains Jane to control Mjolnir and they reconnect. Valkyrie and Brand also develop a bond.
• Loki escapes and join forces with Gorr to use Jane’s research on dark energy and harness it through the Necrosword to defeat Thor. Dark energy has time-altering properties that Loki wants.
• All leads to major battle between Thor and Jane against Gorr across time and space, while Valkyrie and Brand lead the Asgardians and S.W.O.R.D. in battle against the Shadow Berserkers to defend humanity.
• During the battle, Rocket and Groot must deal with a dark energy singularity that Gorr creates before it consumes the planet, and Loki pursues his own agenda.
• Gorr will be mocap, but his pre-Necrosword form is going to be human-looking. The dark energy mutates him, and he becomes more monstrous as he absorbs more of it.
• Brand is the other major role left to cast, Marvel Studios is looking at actresses like Jodie Comer and Vanessa Kirby for the role since the character is supposed to appear in several movies like Nick Fury.
• Rocket and Groot are supporting characters, the rest of the Guardians (Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis and Nebula) are cameos. There’s some talks about having them join the final battle, but nothing final. Gamora won’t show up because her story is reserved for Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
• Same comedic tone as Thor: Ragnarok. The idea is to leave the door open for Hemsworth and Portman to return for more, but also wrap up their character arcs in case they decide to stop after this.
• Gorr is going to kill either Korg or Miek during the attack on New Asgard. Waititi still hasn't decided on who (Korg would be more impactful, but he likes playing the character).

One of my issues with this idea is the Asgardians being under threat of annihilation again. This was the plot of Ragnarok and Thanos cut down the population even more--there's only so many ways to skin a cat and I'd like to think Taika isn't that repetitive. At least the plot is much more coherent than the post that follows.

More 4chan on Thor 4:

• Yes, Christian Bale is playing Dario Agger. He is only signed for this film.
• Thor goes with Rocket and Groot on a journey. The journey backfires and they land on Earth. Thor reunites with Jane Foster, who now works at Roxxon after everything in her life fell apart. Life in New Asgard is going well until Agger threatens Valkyrie.
• Jane gets a replica of Mjolnir built by Etiri.
• Thor forms a new Revengers team which consists of himself, Jane, Beta Ray Bill, Korg, Meik, Rocket, Groot, Valkyrie, Angela and Kid Loki.
• Angela (Jodie Comer) is an Asgardian refuge who shows romantic feelings for Valkyrie.
• Ryan Gosling is playing Beta Ray Bill, who was exiled on Sakaar by the Grandmaster.
• Kid Loki is being played by Finn Wolfhard. The reasoning on why Kid Loki is around will be explained in the Loki TV series, which Wolfhard signed on to be in the final episode of.
• Quill, Drax, Mantis, and Nebula have cameos at the beginning and end of the film. Gamora isn't mentioned at all.

This is a bunch of ideas that lacks an essential: motive. Why is Minotaur (Agger) threatening New Asgard? What journey was Thor on? Why or how does Jane earn Mjolnir? It looks like a bunch of rumours cobbled together without an actual story attached.

Reddit scoop on Spider-Man 3:

• Tom Holland recently met with Sony and Marvel Studios to discuss the third Spider-Man film. I was able to find out some key information about the movie from my sources. A lot of this stuff has been speculated amongst fans, and correlates to some rumors that I heard wayyy back. Obviously I have no proof, so you guys don't have to believe this. But I'm pretty confident what I heard was accurate.
• First thing's first: the film has eight villains. Yes, eight. Kraven is the main villain. He hunts Spider-Man for the prize just like in the comics [I'm not clear if he means as his personal goal of hunting the most dangerous things, as a mercenary mark, or what]. Yes, Sony is still planning a Kraven solo film [a film whose development hasn't moved forward since 2018]. Side antagonists include Scorpion, Vulture, Shocker, Tinkerer, Mysterio, Prowler, and Silver Sable. It sounds overwhelming but it works out pretty well ["It just works," Todd Howard]. Kraven is independent and doing his own thing. Scorpion forms the Sinister Six so everyone is working as a team (he also assembles an army of extra goons that also want revenge against Spider-Man). Silver Sable is a bounty hunter who allies with Peter after finding out he is innocent, but that comes later. Silver Sable will go on to star in her own television series with Black Cat on Crackle [the streaming service is partially owned by Sony; for the Amy Pascal-lead Silver & Black projects, see below]
• The film is a cat and mouse extravaganza set a week after Far From Home. Peter is a man on the run with a whole city out for his blood. His abilities, alliances, and skills are put to the ultimate test.
• The Avengers co-star is War Machine, with Don Cheadle reprising his role. Rhodey feels obligated to help Peter because of how much Tony cared for him. Returning characters include MJ [Michelle], Aunt May, Peter's peers, and JJJ [J. Jonah Jameson].
• Sony will be casting Jessica Drew soon. I'm guessing she appears in some sort of mid credits stinger, but eh.
• Filming starts shortly before SDCC in July, and will end shortly after Thanksgiving [the same timeframe as Far From Home].
• There was discussions of a contract extention [extension between Sony-Marvel]. Feige wants to play ball with Sony and keep Spidey (and eventually Spider-Woman) in the MCU. A second trilogy is definitely on the table. Feige wants to have a longform storytelling arc with Peter and follow his adventures into college and beyond. Holland is also willing to do it, but it will all depend on what Sony decides.

Normally I'd dismiss this, but it has some odd specifics (why a week after Far From Home?). It's almost certainly speculation, but despite how overloaded it is, it's not as immediately implausible as the posts above.

Reddit on Midnight Sons:

• Feige is interested in Midnight Sons. A movie or series, I don't know. [This team-up idea goes all the way back to Deadline in April as the plan for Hulu, before Marvel Entertainment lost its control of the TV-side and has a long, long history in the rumour mill, coming from many scoopers (LotLB, Sutton, Daniel, and even Murphy)]
• He intends to have Wandavision and Doctor Strange 2 open the door to the paranormal side of the MCU. Mephisto will be introduced in Wandavision but have a bigger role in DS2. Blade and Moon Knight will start building up toward Midnight Sons. He will introduce Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider along the way. We'll hear about Ghost Rider either this year or next year. [As above the return of Ghost Rider goes back to Loeb's original Hulu plans, although which version has seesawed within the rumour-mill; Ketch is less commonly brought up, with the only reference I can find being from 4chan in January where it was said he has a cameo in Doctor Strange 2]

This is quite similar to a Reddit post (link above), with the only difference being Ketch himself.

A Redditor on Starjammers:

• I learned this info from my source who works in hollywood. I cant mention where my source works but my source knows this kinda info. According to my source a project based on marvel comics team Starjammers is in early stages of development. 
• It is unclear if its gonna be a movie or a d+ show.
• The project will be where pirates of caribbean (in space) meets cowboy bebop and marvel studios are searching for various concepts and ideas to make this project look unique.
• But according to my source this will be a part of cosmic story set in the MCU which will be started by Eternals and will be continued by CM2 and GOTG vol3 and several cosmic based projects the studio is developing.

I think this is nonsense, but could generate Starjammers rumours.

The Spidey post above is an excuse to briefly update the status of various Sony projects (excluding those already filmed or in production, ie, Morbius and Venom 2); I've included the Sony exec responsible in brackets, keeping in mind only Palak Patel's projects have gone forward thus far (they are listed in chronological order by announcement--those in red have had no news in a long time, those in green seem to still be moving forward):

• The Sinister Six (Arad) - cancelled in 2015, but Pascal said in 2018 the project was back on when director Drew Goddard was available (keep in mind Pascal says a lot of things); Goddard signed a four-picture deal with Fox last year after Pascal's comments, which is now in Marvel's hands, so Sony is at Feige's mercy to produce his film (there's been no news since Pascal's comment)
• Silver & Black (Pascal) - cancelled in 2018 (due, apparently, to Feige objecting to the use of Norman Osborn in the film); Pascal indicated last year that the film was back on, but beyond her words there have been no updates
• Kraven the Hunter (Arad) - Richard Wenk was hired to write a screenplay in 2018, but the writer hasn't talked about the project since the fall of that year; the film has no director and Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts wants to use the character, so it seems more or less dead
• Nightwatch (Arad) - in 2018 Luke Cage showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker was writing the script, but there haven't been any formal updates (I have a vague recollection of Coker saying he hadn't worked on it in quite some time, but as I can't find that comment take that with a grain of salt); no director is attached
• Silk (Pascal) - announced in 2018 when they were seeking a writer; there has been no news since and with the character slated for animation it's presumed dead
• Jackpot (Arad) - announced in 2018 when they were seeking a writer; there has been no news since
• Black Cat (Pascal) - born out of the cancelled S&B, there was no news until Pascal said the original project was back on a few months later
• Silver Sable (Pascal) - born out of the cancelled S&B, there was no news until Pascal said the original project was back on a few months later
• Madame Web (Patel) - writers were hired this September for the film; it lacks a director
• Unknown Robert Orci project (Patel) - "The property comes from a different corner of the Marvel universe that Sony has access to," which is a difficult statement to parse other than the implication is it's not as explicitly attached to Spider-Man (which is hard to imagine since he's the source of all the Sony IP); it could be Madame Web for all we know

As I've said repeatedly over the last couple of years, thus far only the projects that Patel is heading have made it to screen. My speculation is that the Arad/Pascal live action projects are just sops to their enormous egos and that Sony has no intention of funding them--other than occasionally hiring writers Sony has put no money towards the A/P projects and I see no sign of that changing. Given that, most of the slate above is meaningless.

A bit of housekeeping: I think the source for Sutton's old Valkyrie show rumour was speculation based on the Jane Foster Valkyrie comic that launched back in July.

An LotLB note: the gang held an auction recently (pretty common for YT channels that cover comic speculation) and I was interested in the books being sold which included: the classic (70s) Ms. Marvel run, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and a lot of Excalibur and Ghost Rider books. These are all failed (or at minimum, delayed) specs--the former is worthless because the MCU Carol Danvers is ignoring her original history; the next is an animated show on Hulu that's not connected to the MCU; and the third and fourth are at best a long way away. It's significant that they bought books they were specing on and that they've given up on those particular IPs (to some extent, at least).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)