Marvel News & Notes

Christopher Marc (of HN Entertainment, but writing for The Ronin, which I've never heard of) speculates Falcon and the Winter Soldier's release will be delayed until 2021. His reasoning is interesting, since rather than the mechanics--when the show will shoot in the Czech Republic (October) and the necessary post-production of those re-shoots (along with WandaVision's expected release)--he suggests that Disney won't want it competing with The Mandalorian (the idea would be to spread out subscription hype and avoid competing for an audience). I'm not convinced by the argument, specifically in the case of the MCU, where the shows are meant to lead-in or follow-up to particular IP (Falcon is tied to Black Widow). I think Feige can call his shot here, although the general idea (delay until 2021) is feasible depending on the interplay between the two Disney+ shows (as in, how they are meant to connect).

Murphy found an audition video for an actress trying (and failing) to land the America Chavez role and this confirmed two things: 1) As rumoured, she's appearing in Doctor Strange 2, 2) Daniel's recent casting sheet is an updated one from TI's in January (same link; the older casting sheet was certainly given to them by Daniel, cf). I'm unfamiliar with the character, so news about her does nothing for me (I'll have to see her in action). This goes for the majority of modern characters, most of whom seem like derivative imitations of older, iconic versions, and aimed at a YA audience. Hopefully in translating them to screen the MCU can give them the gravitas to avoid that narrow appeal. A note to add here: her young age means there's no way Marvel will address her sexuality in this appearance.

Murphy also came across something he believes hints at a forthcoming Fantastic Four and possibly Blade (or Spider-Woman) films:

Disney registered two companies: Solve Everything Productions and Grass-Fed Productions. … There was no evidence to confirm that either of these two production companies were for Marvel Studios projects. I contacted several sources and went down some well-beaten paths but was unable to find the type of confirmation I’m happy with.

He goes on to make a solid argument for a connection between 'Solve Everything' and Hickman's run on Fantastic Four, with a much more tenuous connection for 'Grass-Fed' and Blade. He followed this up with another post where he was able to confirm that 'Grass-Fed' was for Marvel Studios and, along with the Blade possibility, considered that it could be Spider-Woman (see below) if it's being co-produced with Disney (the rights of Jessica Drew are split between the two companies, cf, where the costume and spider-related powers are owned by Sony, while everything else is at Marvel). There have been other iterations of Spider-Woman that Sony could use without the MCU, so this arrangement only works if it's the Jessica Drew version. The situation is very complicated and I'll explore it fully below, but needless to say, Blade is a much simpler option.

As part of the promotion for his new magazine/website, Sutton put out a scoop saying that Silver Surfer will begin his MCU iteration as a villain (not just for the Fantastic Four, but possibly for Thor). This is new information from him (although he also repeats what he's said before)--could it be true? Sure, but there's not enough meat to address it as is.

Sutton says the build towards Galactus as a primary antagonist will be gradual, with him only becoming the focus in the third Fantastic Four film. As per the comics, Silver Surfer will be his initial Herald, but will betray him and be replaced by Johnny Storm's girlfriend Frankie Raye (who does so to save the planet). This is in the early phases of consideration at Marvel, with no script written or directors attached, just the basic story outlined. Galactus will then have a larger role in a Secret Wars event (in May Sutton focused on Doom for that event, but that doesn't exclude Galactus from it).

Way back in September Sutton had Galactus attached to Nova and an Annihilation story, which I asked him about, and he says that Secret Wars (and that story) occur after the above (he does, incidentally, give the same outline for Silver Surfer in the old scoop). In December he mentioned the Frankie Raye storyline (which echoed LotLB in August via their original source). Certainly a slow build to the character makes a lot of sense and allows a proper Surfer origin story.

Sutton says the rumoured Midnight Sons will appear in Blade 2, with Johnny Blaze making a cameo in the first Blade. The roster for the group is: Blade, Ghost Rider, Jennifer Kale, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, and Glyph. This lineup represents a change from his original iteration in January (which was Blade, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Moon Knight, and Helstrom)--I think that lineup was Marvel Entertainment's original pitch after the Netflix cancellations and thus quite dated. In early May Sutton added Charlie Cox's Daredevil to the roster, and a few weeks later removed Moon Knight (saying Feige wanted him for the Avengers instead). So 50% of the roster remains the same and it's gone from 100% male to a 4-2 split, which is far more plausible. Do I think an IP like this is coming from the MCU? It's plausible--it gives Blade somewhere to go--and this cast of B-list characters fits thematically.

A few tracking notes: Kale has only come up once before (in September from LotLB's original source); Glyph was part of Jeph Loeb's original plans (cf), with LotLB Tweeting out in January (same link) that she was going to be spun off Helstrom (without saying which source that came from); then in March LotLB said she was going to appear in Moon Knight (an idea that may still be current).

Sutton says this will be the Avengers lineup for their fifth film (splitting them between grounded and cosmic, but later in the scoop adding a possible West Coast Avengers, separating out the New Avengers as a separate thing, and never going into the cosmic lineup, although he offered some semblance of one back in May):

• Grounded: Spider-Man, Moon Knight, Luke Cage, and Daredevil; also possibly Black Knight, Iron Heart, and Nova
  
• West Coast: Vision, Wanda, War Machine, Ant-Man

This feels disjointed (wouldn't Nova be on the unnamed cosmic roster?). Sutton does say this is still being discussed and is planned to evolve and change over time. There's a bit of confusion on Luke Cage because Sutton said he'd be part of New Avengers, but I think he meant the new iteration of the Avengers (as that makes a lot more sense), rather than the YA team that name is associated with. I always thought (conceptually) the West Coast Avengers was a weird idea and if that's being discussed I don't think it will go anywhere. We also have a broader issue--two of the actors included here (Don Cheadle and Paul Rudd) are getting very old for the superhero game (turning 56 and currently 51), so I'm particularly dubious that Cheadle will be around for the next Avengers.

Sutton says Marvel has interest in developing Strange Academy (in film or animation, which is an odd dichotomy). He says it would be like a Marvel Hogwarts featuring magic characters--the kind of thing which can only be awful or entertaining (but sounds like something appealing to a young audience).

Disney Insider writer Skyler Shuler (another former That Hashtag Show writer who also wrote for HN Entertainment) included a throwaway comment in an article that Captain Marvel directors Fleck and Boden will 'probably' direct the Ms. Marvel show. I hadn't heard that anywhere else and wonder where that's sourced (no one has come out to either support or deny it). Both directors are available (neither has done anything since the Mrs. America mini-series), for whatever that's worth.

Charles Villanueva neatly copy/pastes (not literally) most of my points about the problem with the Netflix characters appearing in the MCU, but pulls back at other ME IP because he can't give up on Quake. Look at these two comments:

Kevin Feige likely has his own idea of K’un L’un and Shou Lao, his own take on Frank Miller‘s iconic Hand/Bullseye/Elektra saga, his own version of Luke Cage that is primed for the Avengers [what this assertion is based on I have no idea, but it agrees with Sutton above], and his own vision of how he wants these characters to be. It’s hard to imagine any interest from Kevin Feige in continuing and tieing [tying] into stories that he had no hand in shaping.

Now that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has ended and in light of rumors of a S.W.O.R.D. Disney+ show happening [Sutton, LotLB, GWW, Reddit, 4chan, cf], Chloe Bennet reprising her role as Quake is certainly a possibility 

I've mentioned many times before that I have no idea why it's so difficult for superfans to give up on the Quake dream--the arguments for the Netflix characters apply--why on earth would Feige want to complicate his life with a character from a show barely anyone watched (see the graph above) and whose entire story is something he outright rejects? To reboot the character with the same actress only causes headaches (yes you can use the multiverse to do so, but why give Jeph Loeb a connection to the MCU?)--far easier, if he ever wants to use the character, to reboot her and start fresh. This would not be, unlike Daredevil, a way to generate buzz (assuming you think the MCU needs buzz).

Speaking of Daredevil, as part of the launch, Sutton repeated his claim that Charlie Cox would return to the role (providing no new evidence or speculation, just the same points we've heard before). As I said then, I don't buy it (for many, many reasons). Keep in mind I'm not saying it's impossible, just that I don't believe Feige will do it.

A post from a friend of Murphy's (Edward Rose) goes on at length at a 'discovery' via talking to customer support on Disney+ that there are more plans to put films on premiere access. The 'surprise' is due to Bob Chapek saying Mulan's release there was a 'one-off,' but really, is this a surprise? Exclusive content has always been the way to drive subscribers to streaming and if people will pay an additional fee for feature films, why wouldn't Disney shoot for the moon? The implication I think Rose is trying to make is that maybe we'll see Marvel films like this one day, but that's preposterous--MCU films are too expensive and too profitable for the limited gains on-offer (Mulan's sacrifice to the streaming gods seems due to how poorly Disney expects it to perform in theaters, otherwise the incredibly expensive film would have been dragged in front of audiences no matter what). There may be a future where streaming makes enough money to support tent-pole films, but it's not the reality right now.

Deadline reports that Olivia Wilde has signed to direct a female-lead Marvel film for Sony, which will have a script from Katie Silberman and is being produced by Amy Pascal. I've gone over previously that none of Pascal (or Avi Arad's) Sony-Marvel projects have gone into production, meaning if this is purely a Sony effort it's unlikely to happen. The project (speculated to be Spider-Woman) seemingly will have to wait until Wilde finishes a film for Universal that has Pascal and the same writer attached (something Deadline gave no title or date for).

So we can dismiss this, right? We can't because of the Murphy comments above (about a hypothetical MCU joint production). Let's briefly go over the Spider-Woman background among scoopers in terms of what's going on:

• January 2019 - Murphy reports that Jessica Drew was originally in Far From Home, but was cut and replaced by Nick Fury and Maria Hill (meaning the MCU has had her in mind for awhile)
• October - Sutton (who has good contacts at Sony) puts Jessica Drew on a long-term spec list (which means an R&D list)
• February - A guy who is part of The Super Suit Show (which I've never heard of; his creation Free World Comic has been suspended by Twitter for violations, which is odd to say the least), who is considered a reliable source by Murphy, said a movie was coming
• February - Daniel says the film was in the works two months earlier
• February (same link) - TI says Sony is eyeing Michelle MacLaren to direct (which, if true, went nowhere--she's currently set to direct episodes of Coyote)
• February (same link) - Murphy says the project is via Pascal/Rachel O'Connor, who have been involved in the MCU Spidey films
• February (same link) - Murphy says they are looking for a 25-35 year old actress for the role
• March - Murphy said Feige was interested in making a Jessica Drew film with Sony and that talks had occurred
• June - Murphy, re-visiting the issue, clarifies that the February documentation is unequivocal that Sony (with or without the MCU) is working on a Jessica Drew Spider-Woman film

If Murphy is correct (and I see no reason to doubt him) and this is the Jessica Drew iteration of the character, it's hard not to imagine it's being done by Feige and the MCU. The only alternative view of this is if the new deal signed in the fall gave Sony permission to do it on their own or they are doing the character without the usual comicbook background. What's confusing the issue for me is that the MCU hasn't been at all involved in promoting the project, which you'd think they would if they're involved. Ultimately, it's hard to parse which way this will go.

Following this news (also from Deadline) we learned the long moribund Kraven the Hunter film was in talks with director J. C. Chandor to join the project. This film is Avi Arad's, so to repeat, nothing from Arad has been produced up to now. Chandor might be working on the TV-series The Connection first, although it's not clear what happened to his 'first-look' deal that he signed three years ago (IMDB says it's planned for this year, but I couldn't find confirmation for that). Regardless, I wouldn't see this project as 'coming soon' based on this news.

My original opinion on this was that it's an inexpensive attempt by Sony to put pressure on Disney--'hey, we don't need you--we've got our own Marvel staple of characters'--all in an effort to get a better deal once the current one expires (this approach only works if the upcoming films perform well). Then I said there's an outside chance that Sony wants to sell Sony Pictures to Marvel and this is a way to drive up the price, but there's no real rush for Disney to do so since the Spider-Man IP can't go to anyone else. The ambiguity of Spider-Woman makes it less clear how coordinated this is, although ultimately the broader points remain the same.

I briefly want to touch on an unrelated story to make a broader point that at some point will apply to MCU IP. Deadline reports Netflix has cancelled the second season of The Society and not renewed I Am Not Okay With This, blaming the pandemic. This is what I want to address from Nellie Andreeva's article:

both [shows were] well received by critics and fans and had strong support at Netflix

I do not believe the middle part of that statement at all--if fans were flocking to the shows, both would be moving forward. This kind of unsupported statement is something I see all the time in a Marvel context, where declared fan enthusiasm has no supporting facts and it drives me crazy. A hit show does not get cancelled. The only reason Netflix gets rid of a show is because it no longer drives subscription numbers (or, rarely, for reasons of corporate competition, ala Daredevil, but that doesn't apply here). Occasionally, the immense cost of a show (ala genre entertainment like Star Trek: Discovery, Westworld, The Witcher, or Amazon's Lord of the Rings prequel) demands multiple seasons to recoup the investment, which in turn gives us endless articles proclaiming how successful they are no matter what the truth is. Critical darlings do occasionally get renewed despite public disinterest, but these are typically cheap productions, some sort of flagship, or the pet project of a powerful executive. To sum up: someone simply saying a show is popular doesn't hold water without the numbers to back it up and if you don't see those numbers I'd be highly suspicious that whatever argument you're reading is baseless.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)