Marvel News & Notes

Disney has officially delayed Black Widow to May, Shang-Chi to July, and The Eternals all the way to November of 2021. The latter decision is the most interesting, because it strikes me as a sign of a lack of confidence in the (already completed) film. Shang-Chi, currently filming, is a much more traditional superhero outing and I suspect its meant (along with Disney+ shows) to provide a push for an IP that's made no dent for casual fans at all. It's also an confirmation that Black Widow was never going to tie-in to The Eternals and I wonder if anything does, given that it was meant to premiere prior to all the Disney+ shows other than Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which clearly has nothing to do with it). The enormous gap also enables additional testing, re-shoots, and changes if necessary. The moves crush the absurd idea of Black Widow premiering on Disney+ (proposed by Conrad, Murphy, and others). Mulan's anemic performance on the platform aside, it also tanked in Chinese theaters (indicating it would have failed in a traditional American release as well; not a good sign for Niki Caro's career), but something as profitable as the MCU was never going to streaming without appearing in theaters first.

The WandaVision trailer did not carry our understanding of the show forward very much (with the Indonesian version, now pulled, providing a date of October 30th--in error, as that's The Mandalorian's date). It wasn't as effective as the brief teaser we saw months ago. What it does do is offer a possible reason for the Grim Reaper rumours (eg), which seem to have informed part of Vision's story (cf)--I don't mean that I think that character will necessarily appear, simply that he does in the source material being used. We also see shots of Vision with the Mind Stone still in his head, which is interesting (since Thanos destroyed it, the stone and the Vision with it are creations by Wanda). Fred Melamed and Debra Jo Rupp appear in the trailer during the 1950s segment, and I agree with the sentiment that both are reflections of Wanda's subconscious.

We also received confirmation that WandaVision will premiere before Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The change has to do with the comparative amount of re-shoots required, as Falcon and the Winter Soldier has changed part of its plot in light of Covid (the expensive and extensive risk aversion is nothing new from Marvel).

Murphy offers this insight into the show:

[M]uch like in the Vision Quest arc [1989], [Vision] finds his memories are not intact; in fact, he has absolutely no recollection of his demise at the hands of Wanda (nor, apparently much of the time following the work done on him by Shuri) and it falls on the shoulders of Kat Denning’s Darcy to fill in the blanks. We don’t quite know how Darcy and Vision end up crossing paths but we’ve heard from sources that Darcy ends up being a key figure in getting Vision back on his feet. One scene described to us has Darcy informing a very confused Vision of the tragic circumstances of his death. And so whatever series of events that have transpired since the last time we saw her, Darcy somehow ends up working on piecing the Vision back together again.

Given that he says 'sources' (plural) he's quite confident about Darcy's role with Vision.

Daniel says Marvel is considering a number of options for alternate versions of MCU characters to appear in Doctor Strange 2, including Tom Cruise as Tony Stark. I'm dubious of this information, as other than when he's pulling things from Production Weekly, Daniel's accuracy is wonky at best (it looks like something gleaned from forums or word of mouth from friends). Cruise, as far as I can recall, has never worked with Disney, and most of his film work over the last twenty years are with either Universal or Paramount--a trend that seems highly intentional.

I get to eat some humble pie here as Variety reports that a Nick Fury show is being developed with Disney plus (with Kyle Bradstreet serving as the writer and EP--he's best known for Mr. Robot). This is interesting for a number of reasons, but first, we have to credit our old friend Conrad as he was the first to talk about this as a show back in October of 2018 (something Peter Sciretta from Slash Film vigorously disputed at the time). Since then Daniel (two January's ago) and then LotLB (last August) said the same thing. What I wonder is, could this be the Agents of SWORD show (as in, will it perform the same function)? It seems highly probable given the set-up in Spider-Man: Far From Home. My objection to a Fury-series was Jackson's age and how his character arc was already over. However, if the point of the show is SWORD then there's somewhere for it to go and younger characters for him to pass the torch too (Abigail Brand is the most logical, but it's not necessarily her). My guess, then, is that Fury's name is being used to sell a SWORD show (perhaps we'll see the characters from WandaVision, by which I mean Monica Rambeau, Darcy, and Woo, continuing in this context). I'll add that I don't think Fury, by himself, is much of a draw to casual audiences--there will need to be an additional hook (character) to push it forward. And, although it goes without saying, the fanboys are already retreading their Chloe Bennet articles (cf) in light of the news.

THR reports that Ms. Marvel has hired directors Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Meera Menon. The former pair directed the limp Sony sequel Bad Boys for Life, Obaid-Chinoy is an award winning documentary filmmaker, and Menon comes from television. Of the four, Obaid-Chinoy is the only Pakistani contributor (Menon is Indian while Arbi/Fallah are second-generation Moroccans from Belgium). This kind of broad net fits Marvel's approach to diversity--it's not as targeted as it could be (the edict clearly being Desi/Arab Muslims rather than Pakistanis specifically)--designed to silence those who spend their days screaming into the internet. While I'm sure a few cinephiles would disagree with me, but in general I think directors for television don't matter (the writing team and the actors make the magic). I'd argue a director's importance for film is also overstated, but less so.

Murphy notes a casting call for a 16-20 white actress and a 27-33 African-American actress, assuming they are for the supporting characters Zoe (a friend of Kamala's) and Tyesha (her future sister-in-law). I see no reason to question his surmise, although as an outsider so much of the cast seems trivial (see below). The IP seems roughly templated on classic Spider-Man with a cast echoing Black Panther, which isn't a bad way to go, but in the former case that cast wound up either with abilities or falling off (which isn't the case for Ms. Marvel). I'm curious how the MCU projects her forward, as so much of the elements attached to the IP seem superfluous.

After the two posts above the entire casting grid was dropped (via Production Weekly; the errors below are from our transcriber; we can see this has been around for at least a couple of months as we get our woke descriptive seen in August):

Start Date: Nov. 2020
Wrap Date: May 2021
Format: 1 Hour
Casting Director: Krista Husar, Sarah Finn, Kathleen Chopin
Producer: Sana Amanat, Jenna Berger
Writer/Showrunner: Bisha K. Ali

[Dex]
Lead Male
Pakistani male 17 - 25 years old, can have American or Pakistani accent.

[Female Lead]
Female (15-20)
Pakistani female 15 - 20 years old, born and raised in New Jersey.

[Male Lead]
Pakistani male, 17-25 yrs old, can have American or Pakistani accent. 

[Matteo]
Recurring Male 16 - 23, open ethnicity, a loyal friend, he's grounded, smart and tech-savvy with a great sense of humor. 4/6 eps. Jasjit Williams (Testing)

[TBA Female Role Lead]
Female Pakistani
Undisclosed Female Role. Pakistani. LEAD

[Willow]
Recurring Female (16-20)
American teenager of Turkish, Moroccan or Arab descent, she's a hijabi Muslim, woke, popular, stylish and smart. Active in student organizations, she loves to be in charge. 4/6 episodes

[Omar]
Recurring Male (24-29)
Mid to late 20s, Pakistani American, a practicing Muslim and self-proclaimed wiser older brother. He's modern and spirited. 4/6 episodes. Saagar Shaikh (Testing)

[Celeste]
Female (40-69)
40s-60s, Pakistani, a practicing Muslim, Celeste is a caring mother with a sharp wit. She can be overprotective of her daughter, but everything she does is driven by the love she has for her children. 6/6 eps

[Neil]
Male (40-69)
40s-60s, Pakistani, a loving, warm father and practicing Muslim with a big heart and an even bigger mouth. He's supportive and protective of his children and is the family's consummate storyteller. He is a poet and a romantic at heart. 4/6 eps

[Sierra] [Clearly Murphy's Tyesha]
27-33, Black, witty, levelheaded and outgoing woman who is not afraid of following her own path. She's a hijabi Muslim with a lot of personality and lover of all things 'nerd.'  4/6 episodes.

[Jessica] [Murphy's Zoe]
16-20, white, outspoken, popular and queer. She's a social butterfly, always invited to the best parties and up on the latest gossip. She may seem like your typical high school “it” girl, but there’s depth and loyalty to her that you might not expect. 4/6 episodes

[Kamran]

[Villain]

[TBA Male Role Cameo]
Undisclosed Male Role. 35-55, open ethnicity. CAMEO (Will Have Options)

As someone unfamiliar with the IP, this reads like an After School Special (or a singing/dancing number away from High School Musical) and cannot appeal to a general audience that way. There's no obvious tie with a popular element from the MCU so, if none exists, I can only assume Marvel is hoping the Avengers video game (released earlier this month and starring Kamala Khan) is enough to generate casual interest. I can't judge it until we've seen some footage (and that's a long way away), but on the surface, this is an easy pass for me (by which I mean, I think I can skip watching it and miss absolutely nothing that will matter for the broader MCU).

Lizzie Hill believes social media activity from Loki actress Sophia Di Martino means that actor Jack Veal is playing Kid Loki in the series--this discovery is not her's, as this Brazilian Twitter account put it out four days earlier, a fact that caused the expected social media meltdown over credit. The logic from both is: there was a casting call for a boy and a girl for a recurring role (the latter being Cailey Fleming as "Sylvie") and they believe Veal looks like Tom Hiddleston, ergo.... What's interesting to me is that this cast listing (widely known among scoopers) was not included in the Loki list dropped by The Illuminerdi (via Daniel) back in February (the only public reflection of it is from March via IMDB Pro). The idea of Kid Loki appearing goes back to Murphy in January, 2019, but given how wrong most of that information is, he was clearly speculating. I'm not at all a fan of using successor characters when the original is still around and I'm also not big on kid characters in general (they can work--like Carrie Henn in Aliens--but more often than not they don't). Could they be right? Maybe, but the odds are just as good that the actor is playing Loki in a flashback or as Loki revisits his youth via the TVA (this is something the Twitter user also points out).

Following this there was a post on Reddit which repeated the casting list for Loki via Daniel from February, except as-is rather than the Danielian summary TI used (the analysis is also new, being a mix of the poster's and the Twitter user he's summarizing); I've left the errors in.

"Male Leader - No age specified. Looking for a talent with a name. Probably with a sense of humor. This role will have the options (to appear) in another series and film. Needed for at least 5 or 6 episodes". The only cast member who matches this description perfectly is Richard E. Grant. Lokis2br speculates that it might be Mr. Mobius (and his various clones such as Mr. Paradox, Mr. Tesseract and Mr. Orobourous). Previously I believed that the character he's playing is some sort of Old Man Loki or even All-Father Loki from alternative timeline where Thor is a bad guy. Nonetheless, Mr. Mobius is the most likely at this point. [I have no strong opinions here since I'm not that familiar with the IP]
"John - John is a man. Open to all ethnicities of 27 - 36 age group. A contentious and combative soldier with an axe. Narrow-minded and menacing. A supporting role. Required for 4 episodes". Lokis2br implies that the casting calls for Justice Peace. I know that there is no match when it comes to his age but Owen Wilson's resemblance to that character is truly uncanny. Besides, he looks much younger than he really is. [This doesn't sound like an Owen Wilson character at all]
"Casey - Open to any ethnicity or gender. Casey is a good-natured but exhausted intern. Nice and funny. His entire career was spent at home and he always does things through (with a help of?) books, even under danger (pressure?). A supporting character for 4 episodes". There is actually a character called Casey and it's pretty obscure one. In the comics he/she is that interdimentional frog/turtle-looking alien who is sort of time and space conductor helping you in jumps between many different timelines. This one will be just my own assumption here and very long shot at this point but I believe that Casey will be played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw. [I don't agree with the poster's surmise at all]
"Woman 2 - Looking for a woman in the 30 to 50 age group. This role is open to all races. Needed for 6 episodes". Not muuch information but Lokis2br believes that this one is for Chronomonitors. They are the central system of the TVA base of operations and can take any form they want, just like Enoch (Chronicom) in AoS [Agents of SHIELD]. I believe that it's somehow plausible. 6 episodes makes a whole series so it must be the TVA's agent/employe and not just some random no-name. However, that description can be anything else, including Minutemen. Apparently Isabelle Fretheim is playing one of them. It also implies that there was another casting call for Woman 1. [I have no insight here]

This last comment is a reminder that I somehow missed Murphy's scoop from March that includes the Minutemen, with Isabelle Fretheim and her husband Chris Brewster appearing in Loki. This miss on my part explains Sutton's belief that Westerns will play a role in the time travelling plots to come, as the Minutemen's second comic book appearance involves that element (they were used originally in the Fantastic Four in 1991, but when they returned for Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine in 2010-11 is when we get Westerns). Sutton, who is typically aware of what comics Marvel is researching, presumably saw this and extrapolated. As for what the Minutemen are, they are timeline enforcement (not connected, in the comics, to the TVA, but with a similar function).

One amusing side note about the above: apparently on the boards Sutton's name is such an anathema that any association (which apparently the Twitter user has) is cause for derision--anecdotally this seems to be because most (or all) of the mods are friends of Daniel's. Why anyone has an emotional stake in scoopers I have no idea--from my perspective, accuracy is what matters most (which is why I still bother keeping tabs on Conrad, as even though he's almost always wrong, he has been right in the past).

The Direct (Chanliau), by which we mean Daniel, reports a casting call for Moon Knight:

• 20-40 (years old), White male. A stereotypical good looking, overly enthusiastic, less intelligent than average but still lovable. Actor must be fluent in French.
• 20-35 (years old), all ethnicities, female. A manipulative operative in a secret organization, capable of going from cool and tough to warm and friendly in a heartbeat.

The first is certainly Frenchie, the best friend (why he's described as dumb I have no idea--someone is a fan of Jacques Clouseau perhaps); the latter is speculated to be Moon Knight's love interest, Marlene, but if that's correct she's undergone a major change to become unrecognizable, as neither the secret organization nor being manipulative are associated with her. I think the latter guess is wrong. What it could be for is Stained Glass Scarlett (cf), whom we've known about since last September (Sutton, confirmed later by Daniel) and the descriptors for her sound like what came out of 4chan in August.

The Illuminerdi (Timberlake), by which we mean (again) Daniel, offers up this casting call [After this was posted, The Disney Insider editor said it was an old casting sheet and he's seen a newer one calling for an actor in the 25-40 range]:

Spector was a former pugilist, mercenary, and CIA agent. He’s double-crossed by his boss, Raoul Bushman, after they find a mysterious archaeological site, which Bushman planned to loot for his own selfish means. Near death, Spector comes into contact with Khonshu, an Egyptian moon god, who offers him another chance to live, in return for becoming his avatar on this world. Spector accepts the deal and is reborn with superhuman powers. He then returns to the U.S. and accumulates immense wealth after investing his earnings as a mercenary and becomes the crimefighter known as “Moon Knight.” Spector also created multiple identities, including the alias of millionaire Steven Grant to misdirect people from his mercenary history and Jake Lockley, a low-key taxicab driver that helps him keep a closer ear to the streets and criminal elements.

This is very different from a Moon Knight suffering from mental illness (matching the scoop from Sutton above, which also fits my theory--see below). The call is looking for an actor between 40-50 with (56-year old) Keanu Reeves as the right kind of fit. This is a much, much older pitch than I expected. If true it means the character is not meant to be front and center for very long, but more of a Nick Fury-style mentor. Assuming TI is repeating the Reeves part correctly (they don't quote it, so we can't be sure), it repeats a twice-repeated rumour:

• July, 2019 - LotLB (TBK) said this was one of the roles Marvel was considering for him
• May - K. C. Walsh (GWW) repeated the idea on social media (he's not a scooper, so this would have come from his now former GWW buddies who are friends with Daniel)

Others have said Reeves will not have this role (eg Reddit). I don't see the point in Marvel limiting their options like this and I don't see a hole in his schedule to allow it--Moon Knight will start filming soon and Reeves is locked up in several productions as is. Another consideration is that Reeves isn't Jewish and the casting rumours beyond him have all centered around Jewish actors (Murphy keeps torturing us with terrible ideas in that respect).

To briefly go over why I suspect Marvel won't lead into Moon Knight's multiple personalities: 1) It's been done (Legion, season two of Iron Fist, etc), 2) It doesn't seem on-brand for Disney+ which is trying to be as 'family-friendly' as possible, 3) The 'is he or isn't he crazy' motif can't last very long before it has to be resolved--and then what? 4) Pushing the mystical side of him fits much more into where Phase Four is going--it can tie-in nicely with Doctor Strange or even Blade, whereas his personal demons don't lend themselves to the other parts of the MCU.

As an aside: I think the Jonathan Majors casting (if it's for the Rama-Tut version of Kang as speculated, or simply all of Kang's aspects) means we're unlikely to get Egyptian casting for Khonshu (as I've pointed out before, Marvel's diversity is about pleasing American audiences rather than satisfying the demographics impacted by particular roles, with Gilgamesh being a particularly painful example).

Sutton says Marvel is having internal discussions about Gwendoline Christie for the role of Veranke in Captain Marvel 2. He's been pushing Veranke since last September. Christie is certainly available (whatever heat she gained from Game of Thrones seems to have cooled), but Sutton has an iffy track record when it comes to casting, so grains of salt required.

Sutton also says Katheryn Winnick is being considered for several roles, including the possibility of Enchantress in Thor 4. Winnick campaigned to be Captain Marvel back in 2012 (if only), so there's interest on her end, and she's currently working for Disney (ABC's Big Sky), which wouldn't exclude film or Disney+ work. At her age (42), I think she's better suited for a role like Emma Frost, but if Marvel ever uses that character its years away. As I mentioned above, I'd take casting rumours like this with many grains of salt.

Sutton commented on the idea of Marvel's interest in Harry Styles (in reference to the Kris Tapley rumour), saying it exists but not as Starfox (due to that character's questionable behaviour in the comics, something I was unaware of until now).

To add to the casting speculation, Daniel claims Marvel has talked to Mark Wahlberg, which I can only hope is not true unless it's for a cameo. For me, at least, certain actors are such big personalities that they overwhelm any role they play (Stallone is a good example of that), and I don't like them in roles that don't simply echo that persona.

4chan (certainly the same poster from last week, tweaking that information; errors are his)

Moon knight is marketed as a psychological horror, based on Jeff lemires run.
Marvel what if might take fan requests, as long as people don’t ask for stupid shit, like what if quicksilver and scarlet witch had babies, or something.
Kevin feige is using Shang chi to create an iron fist style story, since the rights didn’t expire. [This is frankly bizarre, since while Iron Fist has an iconic tournament of champions, that concept is hardly attached to his IP]
Disney wants marvel or Star Wars to make a competitor for friends/community/parks and rec. on Disney plus. This is because friends is the number one show on HBO MAX, and Disney plus needs their equivalent to increase subscribers. [This is trying to explain the bizarre comment from his previous post]
Marvel max is going to be their home for r-rated movies. The more risqué the script, the lower the budget they will get. For example, deadpool 3 would get a really high budget since it’s been proven to succeed, but a movie with rape scenes, or is very political would get a pretty low budget. [The idea of Marvel having or insinuating rape scenes is, to say the least, ridiculous]
James Gunn wants to do an X-force movie. It would be R-rated, and he would have full creative control. [I have vague recollections of someone making a comment about Gunn and X-Force, but as I can't find it, take it with a grain of salt--quite meaningless at this point though, since I don't think Gunn will be with the MCU after Guardians 3]
Vince Gilligan was approached by Kevin feige. [Award winning writer etc, unfortunately responsible for the screenplay of the Will Smith film Hancock]
a Blade and Spider-Man team up is in the works. It’ll be made by the bad boys for life producers. It’s still in very early pre production, so don’t get your hopes up. [Ms. Marvel directors Arbi & Fallah; the question here is: why?]
Family guy wants to spoof the marvel movies like they did Star Wars. Remember, since buying fox, family guy is now a Disney property.

This is, simply put, a farrago of nonsense. I include it here to keep tabs on its bizarre ideas.

With all the casting rumours above I wanted to briefly revisit a common one: Giancarlo Esposito (passim). Esposito recently hinted about plans for a season four of The Mandalorian, implying his involvement. If that's true, it doesn't preclude him from a role in the MCU, but it definitely cuts down on his availability (and thus, the odds). If he ever appears, given his age, I see him in either a villain or supporting role (think Erik Selvig for the latter)--whether he'd want that I have no idea.

Some thoughts given the Ms. Marvel news above and general Young Avengers content (Kinda Culty's latest goes through the latter): it seems like part of Marvel's Disney+ strategy is to undercut DC's CW shows. Those shows are aimed at a primarily female tween/teenage audience (eg), with attempts to broaden failing to hit home. Of the shows, The Flash has the widest appeal, but even it is small potatoes compared to other hit TV or streaming shows (something very evident from the lack of wall-to-wall coverage for it that you see for hot IP). If the appeal is limited, why target it?

I can think of a couple of reasons: 1) it's the only demographic where DC actually competes with Marvel, 2) it's a high spending demographic and Disney cares about toys. Strategically and on the economic front, it makes sense. With that said, it's concerning to me because CW shows are not appealing at all--it's bowdlerized American television--something the MCU has largely avoided despite the limitations of a PG framework. The concern is we'll start to get the same limited framework on Disney+ and once you start doing that the umbrella effect of the brand fails--that happened to Marvel Entertainment and I can only hope Feige is going to inject more into the YA content (unless he wants the shows to be demographically specific, which seems unlikely)--time will tell.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Just Jared published pictures that confirm the rumours that Batroc will appear in Falcon and the Winter Soldier (these rumours did not come from the usual suspects, but from Reddit and 4chan in February, although the evidence for it comes a month earlier from Georges St. Pierre's Instagram and, of all places Weekly Planet). How this impacts similar rumours about him appearing in Shang-Chi is unclear (does he transition to that film, or was he placed there as an educated guess?).

Other set photos and footage confirmed Sharon Carter's appearance, although given that Deadline said as much over a year ago it's no surprise.

Deadline (Justin Kroll) says Jonathan Majors has joined the cast of Ant-Man 3, speculating that his role is that of Kang the Conqueror (subsequently confirmed by THR, albeit Borys Kit occasionally faceplants with MCU info). Kang has been heavy in the MCU rumour-mill for awhile (see below). One of the struggles for the Ant-Man franchise has been making casual MCU fans care--both prior films are financial anomalies (Shazam confirms, I think, that superhero fans do not want films overtly aimed at children) and Kang could add some tension to what has been the most lighthearted Marvel series. As for the casting itself, I've never seen Majors act, so I have no opinion (the general consensus is he was picked to play the Rama-Tut version of Kang, and while Majors neither looks nor is Egyptian, that's irrelevant to Marvel).

The Kang rumours:

• October - Murphy made his 'Limbo' hint for Ant-Man 3, which could hint at Kang, but is oblique enough he can't be credited with the scoop (he's never explained it that I've seen)
• November - 4chan says Kang will appear in Ant-Man 3
• January - Reddit says Kang will connect the Fantastic Four and Avengers (see Sutton below)
• February - Sutton says Kang is the next Avengers-threat villain (involving time travel that includes Westerns, see TBK below, and the Fantastic Four) 
• February - Daniel says Kang will appear in Loki
• February - Murphy speculates that Owen Wilson is playing the character (see Sutton below)
• February - TBK (via LotLB) believe Western-themed characters will appear as part of the Kang plot 
• March - Murphy speculated that Richard E. Grant had the role in Loki
  
• May - Sutton implies Kang will appear in Moon Knight
• July - Reddit included the character in Moon Knight
• July - Sutton says Owen Wilson has the role in Loki [I asked Sutton about this after the news broke and he said he thought there could be different iterations of the character--that seems extremely unlikely to me, but food for thought]
• August - Sutton says Kang will be the first major villain to hit the MCU going forward

There are a few things to note here: Murphy's seemingly wild guesses on who has the role indicate he didn't see a current casting breakdown (both his surmises were Caucasian and the role was clearly intended for an African-American). There is nothing of substance from Daniel, which means he also didn't have access to casting calls. Sutton is guilty of either Conrad-esque 'borrowing' or being very late in reporting on his info, as his basic Kang idea is predated by Reddit and he adds a very late copy of Murphy's Wilson surmise (something he must have been aware of). What's distinctive from Sutton is the Western element and putting him in Moon Knight, which will be interesting to follow going forward. There is nothing from Conrad here, which isn't a surprise.

Sources tell Variety that Disney is looking to shift Black Widow's release date due to the anemic box office performance for films in general. They say a change is "likely" and cast doubt (as I have) that the film will go the Disney+ route.

The Direct, with Daniel as their source (not stated, but we know that's where their information comes from), says She-Hulk will begin production in February. The original date for the show was July, so that's a delay of about seven months due to the pandemic.

Not surprisingly, shortly after that The Illuminerdi (who also get their info from Daniel), said they heard the role has been cast (as it has, see below).

Deadline (Kroll) reports that director Kat Coiro will direct some of the episodes of She-Hulk. At the end of the article Kroll suggests all the currently filming Disney+ series will air next year, but this seems like an aside rather than him scooping a revelation (and he seems to be incorrect as there's every indication that WandaVision will still air in 2020).

Deadline (Kroll again) scooped that Canadian actress Tatiana Maslany has the role of She-Hulk. No one, to my knowledge, suggested her for the role. Maslany is 34, which is on the high end of the revised casting list for the show, but on the low end of the original list (I'd guessed an actress around 30). The casting debunks Sutton's claim in August that Alison Brie had landed the role. I've never seen Maslany act, so I have no strong reaction to her in the role (even visually you can't judge if, as in the comic, she's going to be green or CGI for most of the show).

Sutton says "initial discussions for a new contract [for Charlie Cox] with Marvel Studios are expected in December." This continues his steady narrative of Netflix's Daredevil crossing over into the MCU (or, at least, the same actor in the same role appearing as such). No matter how many people parrot this idea (Daniel and Conrad, to name two) I don't buy it. The benefits of bringing him back are small and cause complications--it's much easier to recast and move forward.

In a deleted Tweet Kris Tapley said Harry Styles would be in an upcoming Marvel film. Tapley said the same thing about WWE star Becky Lynch back in May, but as he has no track record I can't say if he knows what he's talking about or not (I'd lean towards not).

Also on the casting speculation front, 4chan says 56-year old Sandra Bullock is being looked at for the role of Abigail Brand, which would be an older re-imagining of the character. The poster says she's being sought because she's a 'big name'--I'd agree she's a name, but she hasn't been a draw in decades; there's also a long, proud tradition of 'names' being proposed for roles and it going nowhere--worth keeping in mind.

Sutton Q&A:

• Agents of SWORD will be used as a prelude to Secret Invasion which leads into Captain Marvel 2; he doesn't think Rich Johnston's scoop (of that event being on Disney+) makes much sense due to the scale [The implication from Johnston, presumably, would be for a much smaller scale event]
• Repeated that some of the Agents of SHIELD characters will appear in the MCU (on SWORD) [I go over the issues with this here]

4chan

• She-Hulk is described as Better Call Saul, but with a lighter tone, and more of a focus outside of lawyering.
• The actress that is going to play Ms. Marvel is most likely going to be on the older side of 15-20. So maybe 18-20. This is because whoever plays Ms. Marvel is going to get harassed online no matter what.
• Ryan Reynolds had pitched Deadpool Kills the Fox Marvel Universe to marvel studios a while ago. [This idea would only make sense if the various Fox actors still had contracts left on their deals, otherwise I can't imagine they'd return for something like this]
• The only marvel Netflix characters that Kevin Feige is interested in, are Daredevil and Punisher. [Returning Netflix characters is a popular rumour, however, this specific pairing is almost certainly from Sutton]
• Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel are going to both offer religious themes, but Moon Knight especially. [The theme for Kamala Khan is very much on brand, but a bit out there for Moon Knight whose usually schtick is his multiple personality disorder]
• Moon Knight is pushing the limits of its pg-13 rating, and is faithful to the source material.
• Some of the Disney Plus shows are going to team up, eventually to create a super hero team. It’s still being discussed on which characters are going to team up, but it’s reportedly going to be Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel. Ms. Marvel would play a by the books hero, while Moon Knight is not. Think of a good cop bad cop dynamic, a lot more light harded [hearted] than Moon Knight's solo show, but still features character development. Other team ups are not known at the moment. [This is a very odd combination, but given how potentially silly Kamala could be, the gravitas of Moon Knight would help]
• Sony wants Carnage or Venom to be in Deadpool 3, but not Spider-Man.
• MODOK’S animated show [for Hulu] is going to be a workplace comedy, very similar to Archer. [Given that this is a Jeph Loeb show, how it functions seems largely irrelevant]
• Marvel is looking to make binge able, 30 minute comedies, to compete with Friends. They want a show that is less like Friends tho, and more like Community and Parks and Rec. [I have no idea what the poster means--Friends ended in 2004 and the genre itself is long past its peak]
• Marvel is trying to develop a Marvel Ruins miniseries for Hulu [1995; a two-issue parody from Warren Ellis]. [Why?]

 While the post doesn't debunk itself, it has a lot of puzzling features that make me doubt it.

Murphy acolyte Joseph Aberl wonders if an off-hand comment from Olivia Wilde about Spider-Woman is confirmation of Feige's (and the MCU's) involvement: "Listen to me try to avoid Kevin Feige's pellet gun." Is this playful? Does it mean anything? She could have given a straightforward 'no', of course, although we have the tradition of Amy Pascal trying to associate Sony projects with the MCU even when they're not. I'd call it suggestive, but not definitive.

Fandomwire (Devin Colson), not a site known for scoops, says Sony is developing a Spider-Girl film (the Anya Corazon iteration). For those keeping track at home, the number of 'in development' projects at Sony is ridiculous--Sony can't afford all these productions as active, so this rumour needs to be taken with very large grains of salt.

It seemed like the Ray Fisher accusations about Joss Whedon had died since nothing had come out in the months since, but finally Jason Momoa specifically echoed them on his Instagram (without going into specifics).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

The eulogies continue to rain down after the tragic and unexpected death of Chadwick Boseman. What does this mean for Black Panther 2? THR weighed in and I want to quote the key parts of the article:

Unbeknownst to anyone at the studio, the Black Panther star had been battling colon cancer privately for four-plus years … A source close to Boseman [said he] was convinced until about a week before his death that he was going to beat cancer. No one involved with Black Panther was aware [of the illness], says a source.

This means that Ryan Coogler did not take Boseman's condition into account when he wrote the script, so there's no plan in place to deal with what's happened. At first blush I didn't think the MCU would recast the character, but I'm slightly less certain now. Without Black Panther (ie, the character we've known since Civil War), the film likely requires a complete re-write--something the MCU can normally turn around very quickly (eg Black Widow), but since this is Coogler's film it's unlikely Marvel would use their usual script doctors to do so. Will this impact the May, 2022, release date? I think it's likely, but perhaps not substantially--it could be swapped with Captain Marvel 2 (July) or the untitled film slated for October. The popular scuttlebutt is to have Shuri take over the role and that's the simplest solution, even though other options exist (M'Baku comes to mind). If the film does go the Shuri-direction then the focus should be on her earning the role, albeit that repeats the beats of the first Black Panther (which I don't think Marvel would like). Another difficulty you'd run into with Shuri is losing a future romance with Storm as well as losing the immediate romance with Nakia (the impact for Storm is trivial, since there are other routes to take her, but it's a major blow to Nakia). Shuri is also a very different kind of character--lighthearted and meant to be the 'brains' to Black Panther's brawn, which is almost certainly a poor fit for whatever Coogler wants from his protagonist (M'Baku fits this much better, but I think it's unlikely Marvel goes in that direction). Another issue for the IP is that Black Panther is surrounded by strong, smart female supporting characters--this loses its charm if the lead is a female in the same mold (leaving us with just tertiary male characters in Everett Ross and M'Baku). It's a difficult situation and I don't expect a resolution any time soon.

Daniel says the casting for Ms. Marvel is complete and an announcement is coming soon (he does not know who landed the role). This hasn't been echoed (or denied) by anyone. We know the search for an actress began as early as last September (Conrad claiming in January that it was down to just a few actresses, which seems like a bad guess at this point). The length of the search suggests it has been a torturous process for the MCU. Why the struggle? My surmise is because they limited the actress pool to Pakistani-American actresses (Pakistan or the diaspora is a much vaster pool to draw from than the half million Pakistani-Americans). I'd want to think that any actress who can speak with an American accent would be up for the role, but I don't know that. The long process again makes me wonder if Marvel will care to have her be from her given ethnic background in the comics (by which I mean, the background within Pakistan's varied community).

Richard Nebens (writing for The Direct, although still part of The Illuminerdi) reports that Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah will direct at least one episode of Ms. Marvel (I've gone over before how all of Nebens' information seems to come from Daniel). That aside, as I'm unfamiliar with the directors work, my only reaction is the choice seems very on-brand with the MCU's general approach.

This news was followed by Trey Tobias (also for The Direct) saying Jasjit Williams and Saagar Shaikh are in talks for the show and while he doesn't know for what roles, speculates that the former is for Bruno Carrelli and the latter for Aamir Khan. Again, this information seems to be coming from Daniel, but echoes the idea that casting is being finalized for the show.

Conrad put out a rambling exclusive that's short on exclusivity. He opens ponderously with two things we've heard many times before:

• 1) Mandarin acts as a mentor for Shang-Chi [previously covered four times, in chronological order: Reddit (Oct*), 4chan (Jan), 4chan (Mar), 4chan (May)]
• 2) Fin Fang Foom will be in the movie [cf LotLB (previously from the following: TBK, Aug/19), 4chan (Oct), Reddit (Oct*), 4chan (Jan), 4chan (Mar), Daniel (Mar), 4chan (Mar), 4chan (May)]

*Murphy thought this was a credible leak
Conrad only references 4chan as a source--without specifying which--yet another admission (passim) that he's lied before with his repeated assertions that he doesn't read 4chan. What Conrad says that is actually new is this:

it appears that concept of a magical trinity will continue in [Shang-Chi] where there is a trio of wizards who are tasked with keeping Fin Fang Foom dormant

This is a weird way to preface a scoop ('it appears'?), but that aside, the idea thematically echoes Foom's first appearance where his tomb is guarded (although not by wizards). Conrad adds speculation that Mordo's rumoured appearance is how Fin Fang Foom gets free (referring to either the January or May 4chan posts above, both of which include Mordo). The idea is that the sorcerers keeping Foom imprisoned are killed by Mordo, which isn't a bad theory, although that would suggest Mordo is a more major character in the film than we have any evidence for.

Conrad appears to have figured out that you don't have to be Charles Murphy to follow actors on Instagram and wonders if this picture of Benedict Wong with Simu Liu (Shang-Chi) is a hint that Wong will appear in the film. I can't recall hearing this specific rumour before, although it would certainly fit what the MCU is doing with Shang-Chi.

Conrad says Wiccan and Speed will appear in Doctor Strange. I'm not sure who thought any differently, but that aside, in October we had the same idea from 4chan and again in December (neither specifically mentioned Speed, but it's hard to imagine the one brother without the other). Conrad claims he has a source for this, but does he? The weight of the evidence is no, given his track record.

An aside on Conrad: he's been pushing the Black Widow-on-Disney+ narrative (mostly on social media, but also on his site). This idea has always been preposterous (barring a complete pandemic shutdown in the US, which I'd deem impossible at this point). I bring this up because he was trumpeting Mulan's success on Disney+ (initially it was trending on the site), and then the reality of it under performing came out. I mentioned last time that, from my perspective, the only reason Mulan was being dumped on Disney+ was because exec's believed it would bomb at the box office, so by calling this an 'experiment' they can justify the expensive dumpster fire as a 'mistake' to put on streaming--it's all about saving face with investors.

Daniel says there's no Strange Academy project coming from the MCU and that the X-Men will serve the 'Hogwarts' function for the MCU (implying a very young cast). He didn't provide a source for this information and I don't think there is one--I believe he's saying this purely to take a shot at Sutton's steady rumour to the contrary (cf). I actually agree with Daniel (at least in terms of no Strange Academy), but don't believe he has any actual insight and is simply guessing.

I haven't watched New Rockstars in a long time, so I don't typically know what Erik Voss is theorizing. However, Kinda Culty mentioned a theory Voss put out back in March: that Natasha would be returning as Black Widow. This is not an idea unique to Voss. Way back in October Sutton said she'll return for Black Widow 2 (which would include Charlie Cox's Daredevil); then in January he explained that Scarlet Witch will resurrect Nat (it's not clear when--contextually after Doctor Strange 2; LotLB's Tim said she pulls her soul from the Soul Stone, which I think is his own surmise rather than Sutton's). I didn't include either of these posts in my Black Widow Theory article because they weren't about that film, but this isn't the end to these theories, as THR's Richard Newby (in January) also theorized how Nat could return, but in his version it's via Taskmaster being her clone. I don't think Voss is aware of Sutton/LotLB, but he certainly reads THR and while Newby's theory is ridiculous (because we know O-T Fagbenle is playing the role), it may have planted the seed.

Let's just briefly go over why I think this idea is wrong:

• Scarlett Johansson says she's dead (while leaving the door open in the same way RDJ and others have of multiverse/alternative universe shenanigans)
• The marketing wank has been pushing Yelena Belova as the new iteration of the character
• Nat has had a full character arc--her solo film isn't really about her past because we know what her past was like, instead it's setting the table for Yelena
• Preserving the weight of Endgame: undoing, just a year later, the impact of Endgame would hurt all forthcoming stakes in MCU films--a character dying will mean nothing

While Johansson is much younger than RDJ and could have a much longer career with Marvel, on a story and character level there's no need for more Natasha. I happen to think Hawkeye should have died in Endgame instead, since that character is in the same position, but is much less interesting (as evidenced by his show being an immediate passing of the torch to Kate Bishop--even more so in the marketing wank), but that's not the world we live in.

Sutton talks about Young Avengers (casually asserting that Hailee Steinfeld has been cast as Kate Bishop, which is not yet confirmed, cf), saying the team will be the aforementioned, Statue (Cassie Lang), Wanda's children (above), Patriot, America Chavez, Hulkling, Amadeus Cho, and Iron Lad and be faithful to the comics (other than the lineup, as this isn't the initial group). Sutton says that Cho won't be given his Hulk-form any time soon (very redundant given Hulkling and the actual Hulk still around), and instead be the genius to help the group and begin by meeting Cassie Lang. He says the arc "The Children's Crusade" is being considered, which sounds crazy on the surface, but tweaking those involved could make it work. The basic idea of the team appearing not new, but the story and Cho specifics are. I've had no interest in this--successor characters rarely work and kid characters even less so, but I'll keep an open mind until we start seeing specifics.

Another Sutton Q&A (there's not much to delve into):

• Starting the Fantastic Four in the 1960s is still on the table, but he doesn't think that's the path the MCU will take [This addresses a very old rumour whose origins lie in the Peyton Reed film for Fox that was never developed (mirroring exactly what happened with the old Black Widow rumours based on the David Hayter script for Lionsgate]
• Casting for Fantastic Four has not begun (therefore the rumour about Katheryn Winnick as Sue Storm is false) [In July he repeated that Emily Blunt and John Krasinski were the frontrunners]
• No current plan to replace Hulk with the Amadeus Cho or other versions [This has been very clear given Mark Ruffalo's comments about talking to Feige about future projects]
• Brian Cranston is not on the list of actors being considered for Doctor Doom; Sutton says he has heard rumours about Cranston as Harry Osborn [At 64 it's becoming too late to cast Cranston in a major, long term role]
• Has not heard about Venom appearing in Sony's Kraven film
• No Psylocke in Shang-Chi or any time soon [This question offered the opportunity for Sutton to comment on whether Kwannon would be a thing or not, which is basically about what version of Betsy Braddock we'd see, but he didn't address it. I've mentioned before that I dislike Claremont's decision to change Betsy into a boring Wolverine-clone, and it's clear Jonathan Hickman shares my opinion as he immediately separated Betsy from Kwannon's body]

New Mutants has landed and received the expected critical pounding (it was at 23%, now 32%; Dark Phoenix sits at 22%, although the latter has a slightly better audience score). I'm curious how much the film cost, as Maisie Williams told Variety that it was an 80 million dollar movie--close to Shazam (100 million), but with less spent on marketing. It can't break even (it's only made 20 million), but in general has met the expectations of a film that Disney should have buried. When you think of the final output from Fox with their Marvel properties its an awful track record (the exceptions being those films least impacted by the studio--the first Deadpool and Logan).

Deadline's Nellie Andreeva (passim) had this to say:

I hear Sony is in talks with Amazon to be the SVOD distributor of the high-profile package of shows, which includes multiple titles. The first, which was identified by Sony Pictures TV about a year ago and had been in development at the studio, is Silk. … Sources close to the situation cautioned that the complex talks are still in early stages and there are major issues that need to be resolved. Some of them have to do with a complicated web of multi-platform rights for the various characters. No one would comment, but I hear the proposed suite of Marvel series is expected to land on a linear platform first before heading to Amazon for streaming.

The fan reporting on this has been awful, with most claiming this is a done deal, so let's break it down into digestible chunks:

• Sony is looking to use Amazon as its streaming service for a package of shows which Andreeva says is similar in concept to the package Marvel Entertainment sold to Netflix years ago; Silk is part of this package (originally announced as a film from Amy Pascal)
• Not only is the deal not done, but the rights situation is not sorted out either (which is extremely puzzling because my understanding was those rights were sorted out years ago and then leaked as part of the Sony hack)
• She says the series will land on a 'linear platform' before going to Amazon--I find this baffling--what other platform?

How do you pitch a product when you don't know if you can sell it first? This sounds a great deal like posturing ahead of their short term deal with Disney expiring. It's similar in tone to how Tom Rothman approached the disastrous re-negotiation this past summer and I expect it to be just as empty as his threats to walkaway were then.

Sutton put out a couple of Sony related scoops: he echoes Murphy's information about Jessica Drew and Spider-Woman, saying it's not clear that a new deal with the MCU has been struck to make it happen, just that talks did occur (none of this is new); what is new is that he says the complications with Silk (referenced above) are related to Disney--his implication is that the MCU might be involved with the production, but mine would be that the rights on streaming are likely not settled in the agreement. I've said it before that Sutton clearly does have an inside source at Sony, but it's much less clear to me that the same can be said for the MCU.

With all the DCEU news I thought I'd briefly go over my impressions, as my investment (never very high) has been lessening over time due to the overall weak quality of the films (I've already skipped a couple).

• Wonder Woman 1984 - The first Wonder Woman was a mishmash of Captain America: The First Avenger and Thor, held up by a strong second act and Chris Pine; nothing about the sequel has interested me--it's one of the strangest prequels imaginable--Why the 80s? Why dress-up Pedro Pascal like Donald Trump? Why 47-year old Kristen Wiig as an action-oriented CGI villain? It's baffling. A film like this can only succeed or bomb, there's no in between.
• The Snyder Cut - I don't think what we'll get will be good, abstractly, but it will be far more coherent than the theatrical release (presumably similar to the extended Batman v Superman, which is to say it has good moments, but a plot full of holes); how casual fans react will be interesting to monitor
• Suicide Squad - I have no interest in this whatsoever (my anticipation level is similar to the first Suicide Squad); it might be a fun movie, looking like a weird CW/Deadpool mishmash, but it's only going to win on comedy for me
• Black Adam - I don't know the character and haven't seen enough to have an opinion on it; I think it's odd putting so much effort into 48-year old Dwayne Johnson, who (as he follows the arc of similar action stars) is hitting the twilight of his career
• Mat Reeves Batman - When announced I was excited to hear that, for the first time, an emphasis would be put on Batman as a detective; everything since has diminished my interest; the first trailer was surprisingly generic; my mind could be changed and I'm still intent on seeing it
• The Flash - My interest in the film is purely in Michael Keaton's Batman and Batfleck; nothing else about the film (or IP) interests for me (it is interesting that Ezra Miller is skating on assaulting a woman in Iceland in April--caught on film, but no one talks about it and it has been scrubbed from his Wikipedia page)
• Shazam 2 - I haven't seen the first film and don't expect to see the sequel; films overtly aimed at children aren't my thing
• Aquaman 2 - The first film was a big budget B-movie, with a plot that makes no sense but fun to see (literally a fun, dumb movie); I expect something similar for the sequel and I'll probably see it unless things go sideways in production; it's interesting that WB is backing Amber Heard given her messy situation with Johnny Depp--my guess is they think the public either isn't paying attention to it or is split down the middle, so there's not much harm in the status quo

I don't usually delve into the culture war unless it's pertinent, but because of its direct impact on the entertainment business I wanted to mention Midnight's Edge video about what's going on inside Disney in relation to it. While Andre indulges in clickbait from time-to-time, in this video he avoids jumping over the cliff with other outrage YTers and cautions against the idea that financial stress at Disney is leading to a change of politics--rather, he claims a need for profitability will tone down political messaging and virtue signalling to a point (specifically talking about Star Wars). I agree with him about a change in the former, but not the latter (since it has worked so well for the MCU). I think for Marvel fans we're in for no change at all until something bombs for that reason--the limp, almost incoherent reference to sexism in the military in Captain Marvel is about as 'extreme' as you're going to get (replicated, I'd guess, in soft messaging in Falcon and the Winter Soldier about institutional/historic racism in the military--likely deflected to some rogue group). How you feel about any of this is going to be highly personal, but I am interested to see how many more films will take the Ghostbusters or Harley Quinn route of leaning into the messaging and fighting with fans, versus the softer MCU approach.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)