Marvel News & Notes

Discussing Film writer Frankie (not Jacob Fisher, who usually does the MCU scoops for DF) posted an interesting Tweet:

Spider-Man 4 with Tobey [Maguire] isn’t happening, but I have a feeling Andrew [Garfield] is gonna steal the show and some form of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 will take shape...

So we have one claim (no Maguire after Spider-Man 3) and one guess (some sort of trilogy wrap-up for Garfield). Following the most recent information, Maguire was apparently harder to sign, but what would the MCU do with the (largely retired from acting) 45-year old beyond a multiverse nod? The future for Tom Holland's story is him getting older, which are the stories his predecessors already told, so having them around conflicts with a distinctive future (I don't see anything further with Garfield, although Sony could want the 27-year old as part of a Miles Morales-vehicle). How much either will appear in the film is also uncertain, as GWW's Walsh says it's just cameos and Sutton claims they don't appear until the second-half of the film (I fully expect Sony's hamfisted advertising to giveaway the surprises of the film before it comes out). There's only so much screen time, so I'd be surprised to see much of either (although see below).

On the subject of Spider-Man 3, it looks like we can officially debunk Thomas Polito's theory from November (he argued against a Spider-Verse film and for an adaptation of Breakout). Given the confirmation of the various iterations of Spider-Man, Polito's idea seems busted (this strikes me as another indication of a falling out with Daniel, who was his source when he was at GWW).

While we're debunking (and still with the Spider-Man IP), I should note that Sutton, also in November, said there would be no Daredevil in Spider-Man 3--less than a month later Murphy (well, Villaneuva, but through Murphy's site) confirmed that he would appear. Sutton did say at the time that Daredevil was coming to the IP, but it looks like he's wrong on the specifics of when. This is another character that I expect to have a very short cameo (again, just how much screen time is there?).

I'm always interested in how effective marketing is, as well as measuring general public interest in general. The above takes the Disney+ shows that are upcoming and puts them against one another to measure that interest (keeping in mind Google Trends is just one form of measurement). You'll note I used 'Kamala Khan' for Ms. Marvel because that seems a more effective way to track that character (granting that the Avengers video game is impacting what you see). The marketing for WandaVision is at full blast, so naturally it's ahead, but it was ahead before the pandemic as its initial teaser was received better than the one for Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I think because WandaVision is pushing the nostalgia button so hard it hits the mark for casual audiences. There hasn't been a spike for Ms. Marvel (the one you see is for the game), and in general the response to Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been the most muted otherwise (likely because the characters leading the show aren't anyone's favourites, unlike Loki or Wanda). The Hawkeye bump is partially from the game (which includes Kate Bishop), and partially the Steinfeld casting, but otherwise has garnered less interest than Falcon thus far.

Sutton believes, given some sleuthing from a Twitter user, that Loki will be around for various human tragedies including that of Pompeii. It's certainly possible, given the nod to D. B. Cooper (not a tragedy per se, but certainly a historical mystery), although I do think there's a limit to how much historical time travelling you can do with the character before it runs out of steam.

We have a long LONG 4chan post that's making the rounds (I've highlighted in bold what's not public information and/or confirmed by the serious scoopers; my thoughts are in pink with a summary at the end; here and there I've fixed the language for clarity, but some of that 4chan literary charm remains):

WandaVision

-I was told it would be 9 40 minute episodes

-Features Aaron-Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver for 2 episodes. I was told one will be a flashback scene and another where he is a neighbor to Wanda. I was told he is still dead [We've certainly had no indication of a full return for Quicksilver; I've heard the neighbour story before, but can't track down from where--given that, it was probably Reddit or 4chan]

-Expect a lot of cameos regarding sitcom legends like Debra Jo Rupp in the first trailer
-A few more surprise cameos regarding characters on the scale of a Darcy or Jimmy Woo
-Has a small dance number and magic show
-Monica Rambeau has a surprisingly prominent role and she gets her powers sometime in the show [This is the first time I've seen it said that she gets her powers in the show--not a huge surprise, but worth noting]
-Each episode is split going between SWORD stuff outside the bubble and Westview Wanda stuff
-Hulkling has a small role with SWORD here and sets up Young Avengers with Wiccan and Speed
-I was told that Vision will not show up again past this show [The first time I've seen this stated--Vision has always been peripheral to the MCU, so losing him doesn't effect much (if true)]
-Evan Peters will be only in 1-2 episodes as a big villain in this. Not sure who. My guess is from what I have heard either Mephisto or Nightmare. I've heard that they may even combine the characters [This is apparently an old Grace Randolph theory; it's plausible if he's not an alternate Quicksilver; the idea of the two villains being the heavies in the show is not unique to the poster]
-Doctor Strange appears sometime in the final episode

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
-6 hour long episodes Episodes
-Will be the show with the most logistical pieces of the post-Snap world
-Sharon [Carter] and Bucky will have a romantic spark
-Bucky and Sam each have their own villain they deal with. Sam is dealing with John Walker (US Agent) and his group including Lamar Hoskins [Battlestar]. Bucky is dealing with Zemo
-Zemo is more of a side antagonist and even an anti-hero/villain [Our writer doesn't seem  clear on what anti-hero means, but I believe that's the expected role for the character]
-The main villain of the show isn't in the show a lot but it's Flag-Smasher. Erin Kellyman's character is Songbird and she works for Flag-Smasher
-Thunderbolt Ross will appear throughout this
-More familiar faces will return in small-minor roles [It's not clear if he means cameos from significant or minor characters]
-Will feature Sam's family
-There are so many surprises in store in this series regarding a certain type of human and a virus… [Presumably hinting at mutants]
-NO Old Man Steve Rogers cameo tho it was a very real possibility at one point in time

Black Widow (Btw I've seen it)
-Ross appears throughout the film. One of the post credit scenes is Ross attempting to recruit a detained Yelena Belova to a government formed task force aka Thunderbolts
-Taskmaster isn't a top-tier MCU villain. But he's the most Bad Ass
-Taskmaster uses fighting styles, weapons and iconic moves from Cap, Bucky, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Spider Man
-Red Guardian is more comedic relief but he's formidable [and] has some of the most action in any MCU film
-You'll know why Budapest is different from Clint and Nat's perspectives
-This will go streaming. Yes at Investor's day they said theatrical but they expect it to go streaming [Popular speculation, but what would be the point at this stage when the Disney+ shows will already be running to drive up subscriber numbers? I don't think this kind of internal information would ever leave the inner circle]
-For me it's not a top-tier MCU movie but it wasn't far off. 8.8/10. They took some parts from Mission Impossible and [Captain America: Winter Soldier], put some great heart into it and it was just really great. Fun to see the spy genre in the MCU again

Loki
-8 episodes long (40-50 minutes each)
-Marvel have plans to do a 2nd season and possibly a 3rd with the 2nd shooting early 2022
-This will tie somewhat into [Doctor Strange 2] but Loki won't be in that movie or in Thor 4 [This runs counter to what's generally speculated]
-Features a lot of Rick and Morty type of elements… [I'm not sure what the poster means here, other than perhaps things being episodic and involving a lot of travel]
-One of the most standalone things in the MCU
-Kang's MCU debut is in 1 episode
-Features some familiar faces in some cool places [Again, no sense of whether these are major or minor faces]
-A certain cosmic being is who the TVA work for
-All I'll say is the episode in the 70s will be one of the best episodes on TV next year [We know from the trailer this is the D. B. Cooper homage]
-Sophia Di Martino as Lady Loki will be a fan favorite

Shang-Chi
-Includes the most hand-to-hand combat in any MCU film
-People have been sleeping on Tony Leung as the Mandarin [Have they? It would be more accurate to say the public is indifferent to Shang-Chi at the moment]
-It will feature 1-2 cameos of familiar faces within the MCU [Same vagueness as previously]
-This is NOT set during the Snap
-A tournament featuring many different familiar "beings" will be the main 2nd act of the movie
-Fin Fang Foom will appear
-The film will only require small amounts of reshoots

Eternals
-I heard [the] most recent cut of the movie is 2 hours 19 minutes
-Kit Harrington as Black Knight and Gemma Chan as Sersi are the best couple in the MCU [This kind of hyperbole sounds like marketing, but he could just be fanboying]
-Ties into Thanos' origin
-It's the most beautifully shot and looking MCU film
-Will span thousands of years
-A character in this is getting a spinoff Disney Plus show [The most logical choice here would be Black Knight, as we know Marvel has had plans for him for awhile]
-Kro is the villain
-Ikaris and Sersi are the ones who bring the team all back together
-The Eternals have been sitting in the background for the entirety of the MCU and some cool stuff will be revealed in their involvement in previous movie events like Avengers, Black Panther, Thor 2, and Endgame
-Thena and Gilgamesh are the odd ones out of the group due to something that occurred in Babylon
-Sprite is sort of a anti-hero, has her own agenda
-Barry Keoghan as Druig is a huge get imo
-Celestials will have a great presence and scenes in this
-This movie will have 2 weeks of reshoots and additional filming sometime in late February

Spider Man 3
-I Expect this to be a VERY long movie from what I was told
-It is [called] Spider-Man: Homeworlds [This is apparently an Eric Voss idea]
-It apparently has the most dark and gritty moments in a Spider-Man movie
-Picks up right where we left off
-Bounty put on Spidey's head
-This ties into WandaVision. Won't spoil the link [Presumably Wanda opening up the multiverse is the link]
-Doctor Strange is in the movie for only 8-12 minutes. 2 or 3 scenes really. Cumberbatch was on set for 2 weeks and all his stuff is done from what I understand [This would match RDJ's work for the first Spider-Man film]
-Matt Murdock played by Charlie Cox will show up. I wasn't told if he will be in the Daredevil costume or if he will be Peter's Lawyer or maybe both. All I was told is that he has a small role in this. If I had to guess anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Wasn't told that but that's my guess

-Kraven is the main villain. Scorpion is the secondary villain played by Michael Mando from the end of Homecoming
-I have not heard who will play Kraven tho I heard a bunch of A-list names being floated
-JJ is sort of another villain as he has these Spider Slayer bots chase Peter though the city. Btw plenty of JK Simmons as JJ in this
-The multiverse brings in Electro played by Foxx, this isn't the exact same one from TASM 2 but will have a new look that is more along the lines of a combo of Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man PS4. I was told he was the 2nd biggest villain after Kraven. Foxx hasn't shot his stuff yet
-Alfred Molina is back as Otto Octavius and has a new look but is just one new scene and a fight scene. His stuff is already done and in the can. One of the first things they shot [This kind of cameo is what I expect from most of those appearing from the old Sony films]

-Thomas Haden Church is a very brief cameo as Sandman literally 40 seconds from what I was told
-Keaton's Vulture comes into play later in the film where more is revealed. They somewhat struggled to get him into this due to him being busy personally and also being a big part of the Flash movie as Batman. From what I was told he will do his scenes and then go right into filming Flash
-Mysterio is revealed to be alive and working under Osborne
-Willem Dafoe will be the MCU's Norman Osborne. He has a great new look. I was very surprised they went this route but if he didn't already play him in the Raimi movies oh my god it's perfect. From that perspective it's great [This is extremely odd if true, since he already played the role; this is also a rumour Daniel put out previously that I'd missed prior to originally posting this]

-Maguire will have about 10-15 minutes total. Garfield will have a bit more than Maguire probably more like 20 minutes. I think fans of each will enjoy what they get. Tom [Holland] and Andrew [Garfield] are apparently amazing on screen together. Maguire signed on a few days before shooting started. He hasn't shot all of his stuff yet
-Dunst and Emma Stone are very brief cameos at the end of the film
-These Spider-Men aren't the exact same versions in their movies. You'll see what I mean but it doesn't take anything away
-[Tom] Hardy Venom makes a 5-second cameo. Feige is very against it happening btw [Hardy appearing is a pretty popular rumour--I'm not sure how Feige would oppose it and yet it would happen anyway]
-Both Marvel and Sony have found [ie cast] their Miles Morales. I don't know for sure if he is in this movie (I doubt it) but will appear sometime soon due to being cast. Was gonna put this further down but because it has a possibility to be in this I'll put it here. If i had to guess it'd be a post-credits scene [No one else has claimed he's been cast, but there are scoopers pushing his arrival]

Ms. Marvel
-Coming September 2021
-8 episodes
-Will be a starting point for introducing the Inhumans into the MCU Proper
-Captain Marvel will be in 1 of the later episodes
-This was apparently their most broad and difficult casting yet and They think Iman will be a huge star and they found the next big thing
-Features Kamala in Highschool
-Will feature a lot of Avengers merch throughout
-Will have some great fan fiction sequences in animation [Yikes]
-Really leans into teen comedy and some coming of age
-Filming will be done in February

Hawkeye
-If i had to guess this will be out in mid to late November
-8 hour long Episodes
-Will be the last appearance of Clint Barton in the MCU [Given Renner's age and the limited popularity of the character, this makes sense]
-Clint will lose his hearing and is what makes him set out to find Kate
-Pulls Heavily from Fraction Run (essentially is a direct adaptation in many regards)
-Clown will be the main antagonist
-One villain hasn't been named yet
-Swordsman is only in flashbacks
-Features Track Suit Mafia and Echo
-Yelena will have a decent role here
-More Ronin-action from his time during the Snap
-Half the of the early episodes will be more Clint as the main character and the other later half will be more Kate Bishop
-Fiege and Marvel are in love with the script and Hailee as Kate Bishop. (I would bet this will be the best series)
-They will finish shooting sometime in March

She-Hulk
-Is expected to arrive first quarter of 2022
-Will be 10 30-40 minute episodes majority of them directed by Corio
-They are open for this to be multiple seasons
-All of the cases that Jennifer Walters deals with are Super Hero based
-Some familiar faces are even on trial and represented by Jennifer Walters
-Has a lot of random appearances of characters
-Hulk/Banner will be a supporting character in the show appearing in 3-4 of the episodes
-Titania is a villain [A bit of a no-brainer, but not something any scooper has really confirmed]
-The Leader and Abomination return
-Plan on a Rematch of Hulk vs Abomination [I have no idea why they'd do that]
-Thunderbolt Ross has a sizable role in this

Moon Knight
-Is expected to arrive in the 2nd quarter of 2022 (My Guess Mid April)
-Oscar Issac [Isaac] actually was their 2nd choice…
-8 episodes
-Will explore all his identities in very unique and interesting ways
-Will be darker than most MCU projects
-Villains are the Committee, Dracula, and Stained Glass Scarlet and sets up Bushman [The former has never come up before, while Dracula hasn't been put here specifically]
-An Avenger in Los Angeles will briefly show up in this [I'm not clear on who he's hinting at]
-Oh and you will see the scene [This goes over my head, but is presumably a reference to the IP]
-I feel like big Moon Knight fans will be pleased with this show but they are limited due to not being able to go full Hard R on this but it is more edgy than most MCU project and the humor that will be used is very minimal
-Goes into Production in Late February

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
-Derrickson left because of not wanting to include America Chavez and wanted more horror than Marvel would allow and wanted more villains than Marvel wanted. Other than America Chavez being there and the amount of total horror it will be pretty similar to what Derrickson would have made [I frankly don't believe Chavez played any role in him leaving--that sounds like spin to me]
-There is a fair amount of horror sequences which is what really excited Raimi and brought him aboard
-Sam Raimi given pretty much full creative control on a lot of the aspects of the movie [Full creative control when the poster says it's essentially the same movie Derrickson was making?]
-There will be a LOT of multiverse cameos that I don't want to ruin cause they are great
-Clea and Drumm [Doctor Voodoo] will be secondary supporting characters along with Xochitl Gomez as Miss America [aka America Chavez]
-They wanted Charlize Theron to be Clea but she passed on the role [This is a recent Daniel rumour I didn't bother posting; Theron is a great actress, but she's 45 and very busy, so not someone I'd approach if there was a future for the character--clearly Marvel does get excited by award winning actors irrespective of fit]
-I have been told they are cast but I have no clue who is played
-Evan Peters' character from WandaVison will be one of the villains
-Scarlet Witch will be the 2nd lead
-Mordo is in the film but he only is in the first 20-25 minutes
-Bruce Campbell will of course cameo
-Sets up Evil Interdimensional beings like Dormammu joining forces with one another
-There will be 2-3 jaw dropping terrifying but exciting action sequences. One includes the group having to fight Zombie version of the Avengers including Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Vision, Falcon
-There is one great small cross over scene [With what?]
-This will utilize the Volume Stage Craft used in the Mandolorian
-They have been shooting for a little under 2 months. Majority of it so far has been the beginning of the movie. I was told that they haven't shot anything with Xochtil Gomez yet

Thor Love and Thunder
-Hearing Taika has outdone himself with this one
-Really appears to be a Rom Com like Taika said [Sounds painful on its surface]
-Is expected to be a VERY long movie
-Features Jane's cancer storyline from the comics
-Valkyrie has a sub plot regarding a love interest in the character Director [Abigail] Brand of SWORD [Rumours about a love story for Valkyrie and Brand appearing at not new]
-Earth-based SWORD is involved a decent amount in the movie
-They go to just about every realm
-All of the Guardians besides Gamora appear and They are in the beginning and the end of the movie
-Korg has a bigger role
-Sif will be back in a small role
-Beta Rey Bill is in the movie and their voice actor choice is perfect
-Small Hulk cameo in the beginning
-Will also utilize Stage Craft
-Will shoot in January down in Australia and also do some filming in Vancouver

Black Panther 2

-They kept the 2nd one under wraps very well prior to Chadwick's passing. From what I can tell they aren't changing too much in terms of the villains and the story. Obviously they are replacing T'challa so there is some restructuring and shuffling around in that regard
-Coogler was very adamant from the beginning to not recast T'Challa. Feige's plan was to do recast from the start though it was controversial among the inner circles. They started talking about what to do with the sequel in early October. They discussed Shuri taking over the mantle along with M'Baku and Nakia and even having two characters be Black Panther. They even considered doing a prequel at one point [This kind of thing--the inner debates of the people in charge at Marvel--isn't something the poster would ever be privy too--it's a lowkey shot at Feige, suggesting the poster has some attachment to someone else (perhaps casting director Sarah Finn or producer Victoria Alonso)]
-Apparently Marvel was going to bump off the film a bit to maybe have clearer heads prevail and continue on with T'Challa but they didn't want to lose Coogler

-Marvel had decided that they were going to allow to have Coogler have M'Baku or Shuri Black Panther. At one point Coogler decided that it would he would take M'baku but he had been pushing to want to go a different and more unique and original direction from the beginning. He brought it up again before it was too late to go back and Feige agreed. Since November he has been retooling the script and making this new character [This is a lucrative idea for Coogler, since as the creator he'll receive residuals for as long as he's used by Marvel]
-So… Shuri and M'Baku will NOT be Black Panther but both will be the main supporting characters in the film.
-T'Challa will not die. I was told he his basically written out. Don't know in what way or what it means. [I don't know what it means either]
-The Black Panther mantle will be dawned by an original character created by Coogler. He will be the lead of the film and will be King and Black Panther moving forward. He was described to me as a strong, quiet, powerful but also broken young man with a very unique back story. I was told he was a member of the Miner or River tribe. Apparently a relative of Nakia. Marvel isn't letting out there plans for this until the last second. [Abstractly this would be a good approach--create a new character to assume the role]

-Okoye and Nakia will have a smaller roles than before. They were probably the 3rd and 4th biggest characters arguably in the first movie so having Shuri and M'Baku get more to do moves them down the pecking order a bit
-Doctor Doom is a smaller secondary villain (The actor is still in talks but I think fans will love him) [While rumoured for the film, no one has suggested he's a secondary villain]
-Namor is the main villain and will be played by Tenoch Heurta [Referencing the recent THR report that does not name the role the actor was in talks for]
-Instead of Atlantis it will be called Lemuria (Deviants under water city from the comics) [The idea, presumably, would be to avoid confusion with DC and Aquaman]
-I was told it is essentially a 3-way War between Wakanda, Latveria and Lemuria [The fact that none share a border or are even close to one another means the battle would be over something else--technology/resources presumably]
-Martin Freeman will return as Agent Ross

Blade
-Will come out October 2022
-I heard this is aiming to be a very heavy PG-13 but Feige is pushing it to be R only on a violence and gore level
-They have their writers signed on
-Marvel wants to get Guillermo Del Toro to Direct (quite unlikely) but also has Barry Jenkins in mind who is working on Lion King 2 for Disney. Also has Terrence Nance on their list along with the Bad Boys For Life directors who are currently working on Ms. Marvel [Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah]. Would be a quick turnaround for them once Ms. Marvel finishes shooting
-Mahershala Ali did some test footage as Blade over Zoom in quarantine and apparently it is perfect
-Dracula is apparently the villain

Secret Invasion
-5-episode Event Mini Series that will act as a Prequel to Captain Marvel 2
-Nick Fury along with Talos will be the leads
-Deals with evil Skrulls infiltrating earth
-Maria Hill will be featured
-Will have multiple other Avengers characters including Captain Marvel, Falcon and Bucky [While the latter could be assumed, they haven't specifically been thrown into this show by anyone previously]
-This will begin filming in June

Captain Marvel 2
-Marvel feels very confident in the direction they are going with Carol Danvers
-Apparently has more of a team-up film feel [If  confident with Danvers, why a team approach?]
-Monica Rambeau as Spectrum has a big supporting role
-Ms. Marvel will have a small role [As expected]
-War Machine plays [has] a decent role
-Carol and Rhodey romance [This would be incredibly creepy given the 25-year age difference, but apparently in the comics this happened which is why the poster is including it--common sense would dictate it's not going to happen]
-Fury and Hill will return alongside with Talos and his wife
-Features the Nova Corps and another Space empire [There have been rumours about Nova debuting in the film, but those were detached from the Corps playing a significant role]
-Jude Law is returning [A good thing if true, as he was wasted in Captain Marvel]
-Sets up the Ultimates [I'm not clear on what he means here--my first thought was the Ultimate universe, but given that this takes place after Doctor Strange 2, that doesn't seem likely]

Ironheart
-Pepper and Morgan will have brief appearances
-They are taking a bit of a different approach to her character than in the comics [This is a smart choice as she's an unpopular Mary Sue in the comics]
-looks like it may debut late 2022 early 2023
-Will shoot late this year

Armor Wars
-Sometime in 2023
-Is a very political show
-I was told that Rhodes will be in some form of government position
-Rockwell will be back as Hammer
-I'd expect Crimson Dynamo and Detroit Steel to show up probably
-Will explore a bit of what Rhodes did during the Snap which was explored while developing Endgame
-Ironheart will be featured
-Will shoot late this year or early next year

Ant Man and the Wasp Quantumania
-Will come out February 2023
-Described to me as a family road trip to the Quantum Realm while also having an Oceans Eleven type feel to it [That's a jarring combination]
-This will explore all of the Quantum Realm and answer a lot of unanswered questions
-Kang played by Jonathan Majors will have a decent role but will not be the main antagonist this time around but Marvel has HUGE plans for him. (Yes they absolutely nailed this casting) [All the scoopers are assuming Kang is the main villain, so it's odd to see him posited as a secondary antagonist]
-Ant-Man mentors Cassie as Stature
-The Young Avengers are featured in the movie. (Hulkling, Ironheart, Wiccan, Speed, Ms. Marvel, Miss America, Kate Bishop, Stature)
-They recasted Emma Furhmann due to wanting a bigger name and they felt Newton was more talented. Also Emma is in college so maybe that had something to do with it as well [Is there a single fan out there who will show up just because it's Newton over Fuhrmann?]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
(This was all stuff I was told in 2018 before Gunn was fired, hired for TSS and rehired for Vol 3)
-It is believed to be Gunn's best script as people who read that have cried which I believe is public knowledge so speculate on what that means [Let us recall Batman v Superman received a standing ovation at WB before release]
-Thor plays a minor role
-Adam Warlock, Ayesha and the High Evolutionary are the villains
-The previous 2 movies had Peter Quill as the lead. This one has is very much a Rocket lead movie [If true this makes a lot of sense--Quill has already had his character arc]
-Gunn already had Mark Hamill playing the High Evolutionary
-I haven't heard anything about how 2014 Gamora plays into this so we can only speculate
-This production will be used to shoot live action and mo cap stuff for the I am Groot shorts series. This series of shorts will take place after vol 2. They will also use the production to shoot the holiday special. It is going to be set after vol 2 and before Infinity War. It is rumored to be 45 minutes long

Spider-Woman
-Will be in the MCU and will come out sometime in 2023
-Marvel and Sony came together early this year in January and agreed to Co Produce a Spider-Woman movie with Olivia Wilde to direct
-They are looking at a lot of actresses to play Jessica Drew but the big names I heard were Naomi Scott and Daisy Ridley [We can all pray that Ridley is not considered; Scott would be in line with Pascal's tendencies]
-Will be true to her origin
-Would guess pending anything moving back I think this comes out in 2023

The Fantastic Four
-Will be out sometime in 2023
-John Watts was their first choice after his pitch
-No idea on any story stuff
-Regarding Krasinski, Marvel met with him early in lockdown and it was described to me as going "very well" (If you wanna know I think it is likely he'll be Mister Fantastic. Wouldn't put $1000 on it But I'd put $50 on it)
-I also know they met with Blunt as well. (Have no idea if it was for F4)

Mutants

-Mutants will pop up in such projects as Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel 2, Deadpool 3 and She-Hulk. Don't expect any full on X-Men related project (Besides Deadpool) until 2024 or 2025 [Others have suggested a sprinkling of mutants going forward, but without all these specifics--I have heard about a mutant appearing in Shang-Chi and the Deadpool franchise already has mutants in it]
-You will see 2-3 big X-Men characters pop up before they are in a X-Men titled project [This is the right way to do it]
-Here's a really juicy one. When they get around to X-Men. They want there to be an ongoing Wolverine series. They want the Russo Brothers to showrun it. I'm told they want this series to be many seasons long. They want this to be like THE biggest Marvel show in terms of hype like a GoT and Breaking Bad [An interesting idea--normally I'd say Wolverine is too big for TV, but given how important streaming is now, he'd bring in the audience--the Russo brothers are the right people to helm it (not just due to talent, but because they would respect the material moreso than Marvel typically does)]

-Marvel wants to get Hugh Jackman to play a role in the MCU and also cameo in Doctor Strange 2 and Deadpool movies as Wolverine

Avengers 5
-Marvel is interested in Joss Whedon to return to write and direct Avengers 5 and to have it released in May 2024. They want to see what happens with the Ray Fisher Warner Bros. investigation before they decide anything with Whedon [This isn't a new rumour, but given all the issues with Fisher, I don't think it will happen]
-I'm going to be clear here. Other than Whedon possibly being a candidate I've heard nothing about the plot, title, and roster of characters. What I'm about to say is PURE speculation using stuff that I know personally. I believe that this will feature elements of Dark Reign. In the comics "Dark Reign" deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the ramifications thereof [This was a popular rumour in 2019]

As comprehensive as this is, it's restrained for 4chan (or Reddit), but at the same time bloated with information that's already public and the posters speculation and fanboyism. This was written by a very specific kind of fanboy--there's no criticism of the MCU whatsoever--everything is fantastic and is going to be loved. For the most part he's claiming this is second-hand information ("I heard", "apparently", and "I was told", etc), but he claims firsthand knowledge about Black Widow (despite oddly saying nothing new about it). Despite the avalanche of text above, the primary insights are for four IP: WandaVision, Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, and Ant-Man 3. There is nothing new for Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, The Eternals, Ms. Marvel, Blade, Spider-Woman, Fantastic Four, Avengers 5, and (arguably) Secret Invasion.

What are the biggest claims from this? Let's briefly list them out (roughly in order of importance):

• Wolverine Disney+ show desired with the Russo Brothers running it
• [Black Knight] Disney+ show
• Original character being created to be the new Black Panther
• Evan Peters is Nightmare or Mephisto (in WandaVision and carrying over into Doctor Strange 2)
• Doctor Doom as a secondary villain in Black Panther 2
• Rocket the lead character in Guardians 3
• Willem Dafoe as the MCU Norman Osborn
• Miles Morales cast
• No Loki in Doctor Strange 2 or Thor 4
• Hawkeye is Hawkeye's last MCU appearance
• Dracula as a villain in Moon Knight
• Kang not the lead villain in Ant-Man 3
• Carol and Rhodes romance in Captain Marvel 2
• Monica gets her powers in WandaVision

I don't want to repeat myself too much, but the top claim is plausible and I think the Russos' can do whatever they want at Marvel after all their success. Black Knight is my assumption for an Eternals spinoff, given that we know the MCU is interested in doing more with him. There are some puzzling things here--the horrifying romance tops the list (try to get that image out of your mind). The big question is, however, do I buy it? Is this legit?

Things like this on 4chan and Reddit are occasionally credible, but Occam's Razor is going to deflate the balloon and I think its highly unlikely. I believe the author cobbled together various scoops, along with the news, and interlaced his own interpretations--most of which, in fairness, are plausible. His production information is what's most persuasive to me (it's so oddly specific) and might hint at access (first or secondhand) to Production Weekly.

One of the nice things about DC shoving Matt Reeves' Batman-film into its own universe is it makes it easier to ignore. The only good thing that came out of the post-Snyder chaos is there was no obligation to keep track of WB's confusing approach to their properties and whatever cohesion AT&T might be imposing now is limited to certain projects. I was initially excited about the Reeves film because he claimed there would be an emphasis on Batman as a detective (a much ignored element of the character), but since then everything I've seen and heard about the film has watered down my interest. I'm not sure what needs to happen to get me back into DC--seeing Michael Keaton return is exciting in theory, but the quality of DC films has been so generally horrendous it's hard to have faith that he'll be used appropriately.

I was curious, given all the hype, how much The Mandalorian was penetrating into the general public versus other massive genre shows. The above is via Google Trends and I put the Disney+ show against HBO's Game of Thrones and Netflix's The Witcher and Stranger Things. Clearly, despite obvious success, this is not yet dinner table fodder (like GOT), or something that attracts broad interest like the two Netflix shows. Instead, The Mandalorian seems to be tickling the substantial but niche fanbase, with slightly less excitement than the first season (at least via this measurement) and a stronger bias in English-speaking countries than the IP has overall. As someone who couldn't get through the first season, but has friends who enjoy it (I know people who watch it only for Baby Yoda), it's an interesting phenomena to keep track of.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)