Marvel News & Notes

Deadline (Justin Kroll) dropped a bomb today: Chris Evans is in negotiations to return to the MCU as Steve Rogers (but not, apparently, Captain America). What is Evans returning for? Murphy connects it to his Nomad scoop from a month ago (which would only work if this is a Steve from an alternate reality, since Old Man Steve Rogers is in no shape to go adventuring--the fit works as a post-Civil War Steve who never stopping his fight against the Accords and, thus, the Nomad-reality). HN Entertainment's Christopher Marc speculates it's for an Invaders series, which is contradicted by Kroll's reporting--he's not coming back to be Captain America--The Invaders are WW2-era, btw. To me Murphy's idea makes more sense, but see Sutton's idea below.

One thing this signing does is make me think RDJ returning for Ironheart (as a voice) isn't as unlikely as I believed. Like Evans, I suspect he can be persuaded, albeit he's more expensive. This could also open the door to Natasha returning as Black Widow. If the door is being opened by the Multiverse, that means dead characters can come back as alternative versions of themselves. I'd welcome back both Evans and Scarlett Johansson, who have a lot left to give as actors (RDJ is, I think, much more 'done' as his character).

Forbes' Paul Tassi isn't someone whose opinions interest me (so he hasn't come up here before), but he did cite something interesting: the general interest in WandaVision (as tracked by Parrot Analytics, a subscription site that collates social media numbers) is greater than The Mandalorian:

Tassi doesn't include the comparable number and the show doesn't hit the 'exceptional' category on the chart (context would be useful, but that's not Tassi's approach), but it's interesting. Some of that difference has to be based on the brand appeal (by which I mean, the MCU is more marketable than Star Wars), but also illustrates that the marketing for the show has been fairly successful.

Speaking of the show, I put out my scooper collation for it along with my thoughts and speculations.

I mentioned previously that I thought the idea of shrinking the Black Panther story (of focusing--again--on Wakanda) wasn't a great idea. However, it appears that's the film we're getting, as Feige said himself (to Deadline). I'm not saying this can't work, but the room for error shrinks the more you shrink the terrain of the narrative. Much of the success of Black Panther was because of its ties to the world beyond Wakanda (specifically America, where it enjoyed the most box office success), so I'm curious how a film without that (and Chadwick) does.

Speaking of Black Panther 2, Andy Signore is repeating the 4chan claim that Doctor Doom will debut in the film (he doesn't specify him as a secondary villain, mind you). The last (and only) time I covered Signore previously was on a supposed scoop (May) that's already has issues through erroneous casting (Awkafina as Fah Lo Suee when she's playing Katy). This doesn't inherently mean the rumour isn't true, just that Signore isn't a proven scooper.

Incidentally, an idea I hadn't heard before about the potential casting of Tenoch Huerta (via THR) is that he could be playing White Tiger. This would fit who is being cast, if nothing else.

THR (Borys Kit) says May Calamawy will have a 'key role' in Moon Knight. I'm unfamiliar with the 34-year old actress, so I have no strong reaction to her casting.

Sutton has put out a scoop:

It was revealed to me that a discussed scenario is She-Hulk, in her real identity of attorney Jennifer Walters, defending the Juggernaut in a case against Bruce Banner, the Hulk. … More mutants will be appearing in She-Hulk but the Juggernaut is the only one I’ve uncovered at this point. Keep in mind that I’m not sure if the Juggernaut will appear in the first season.

This would be an oddly drab introduction for the Juggernaut (if that's what this is), although Marvel may feel like his ridiculous use in Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Last Stand means he doesn't require a more weighty intro into the MCU.

Speaking of Sutton, he says his idea about the return of Chris Evans as Captain America in Secret Wars is confirmed. I saw that before I saw the Deadline article (above), so was confused, but now I get it. Here's what he says:

Secret Wars will be Marvel Studios’ biggest project, a line-wide crossover, a series of MCU films and Disney+ TV series telling a different part of the story until they are all linked together in the cinematic finale(s). Besides trying to bring back Robert Downey Jr. as an parallel Earth Tony Stark, there are talks of having Chris Evans return as the older Steve Rogers. ... Given that this is all in the brainstorming stages, what remains from these talks remains to be seen. … This would give Evans and RDJ the opportunity to finally meet some of the Fox superheroes and bad guys they didn’t get the chance to before Disney regained their rights. There is also the potential of Evans as Rogers being introduced to his Human Torch from the multiverse, part of Fox’s Fantastic Four.

This basic idea goes back to LotLB (TBK) in August of 2019 (with Secret Wars as the next culmination event that would include the Netflix and--at the time--Hulu characters). Sutton then repeated this idea two months later, with some slants of his own, updating it a year later where he included returning Fox characters (the idea of RDJ returning, as an alt-Tony Stark who is part of the Illuminati, he put out in May)--Sutton also told me in August that Secret Wars will occur after an Annihilation-event. What about other scoopers? In November, 4chan claimed it was coming, with the alt-Stark a result of 2014 Thanos disappearing; last January Murphy said he thought the MCU was going that way, but had no proof; in February Reddit said Secret Wars was being discussed with Doctor Doom as the heavy; finally, in November, Walsh (GWW) was hinting at it in the future.

Where there's smoke, there's fire? It's a plausible event--it has two successful comic runs, iconic moments, involves the entire Marvel Universe, and isn't dependent on an X-Men villain (there simply isn't time to have one as a Phase-ending villain). I buy it, even if I don't know how many of the specifics we're hearing will come to pass (clearly Evans is not signing on for Secret Wars right now, even if its an option in the future). This, to me, would be the reason to introduce the Fantastic Four first (even though the X-Men are a much bigger IP)--it also allows you to lean-in on the original MCU IP one last time. The Eternals let's you set the table for Galactus while Doom crosses over with a lot of characters outside the Fantastic Four IP. The pieces are there, albeit years away.

Back to Feige, in his various interviews he's talked about episode length and it echoes what we've heard before:

We're looking at it as developing them as either six hour-episodes, or nine or 10 half-hour episodes. So, for instance, WandaVision started that way and Falcon and the Winter Soldier as 30 minutes, but because it's streaming, it's Disney+, and the rules have blurred over the years, yes. Some can be 23 minutes. Some can be much longer than that. But She-Hulk, for instance, is being developed as 10 30-minute episodes. Some will be longer and some will be shorter. Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is being developed as six 40-50-minute episodes.

As a general rule, drama does not work well with shorter episodes (there's not enough time for proper plot or character development), while comedy favours a shorter run time. Given that, you can look at the expected runtimes to see where Marvel is putting the emphasis in that paradigm for each show.

One of the great irritants of Disney+ is the model they've adopted of torturing audiences with weekly releases, rather than Netflix's much more satisfying model of dropping an entire season at once. While The Mandalorian may have served as a proof of concept, we'd be getting this from Marvel regardless, because the major issue streaming services have (that aren't Netflix) is subscriber retention. Without a deep and varied catalogue of content available, streaming services that are being buoyed by one big show simply can't maintain (or grow) their subscriber base (HBO has suffered horrendously since the end of Game of Thrones), so Disney+ is trying to dribble out content as slowly as possible to lock down their base. It's a good strategy, but it drives me nuts--I've always hated weekly TV.

I explored a new possible Marvel scooper last week. To answer the query briefly: no, it's not, but I think it's an interesting exploration of someone trying to push into the business.

Brandon Davis (of ComicBook.com) joins the chorus echoing Daredevil's return. It seems moot at this point, since it's already confirmed, but he's another voice to add.

Speaking of Twitter users, another has jumped in to say a re-cast Iron Fist is on its way (this is a very old rumour from Daniel/Sutton). Food for thought, but I wouldn't put much stock in the scooper yet.

Daniel claims Sony wants an Electro spinoff from Spider-Man 3, which boggles the mind. This can't be a solo project, given how poorly the character was originally received (and why put an IP on the back of a 53-year old actor?).

Going back to RPK, back in November he started a 'Rumour' section that he updates (without dates, which is annoying)--a section he's tired of people reporting on the same level as his other news. These are all his Marvel-related elements from that section (with my thoughts in pink):

• Amber Heard meeting with Marvel [for Sue Storm] [I mentioned this previously as one of Daniel's rumours; in short its possible that a meeting occurred, but I don't think Marvel would be interested]
• Heroes will turn on Scarlet Witch and drive her to madness [This is kind of pointless, since her own show or, at the latest, Doctor Strange 2 is going to resolve her issues]
• Tobey Maguire wants 15 million to return for Spider-Man 3 [I've seen this figure elsewhere, but that doesn't mean its true]
• Scarlett Johansson in talks to cameo in Hawkeye [Plausible, probably in flashback, although if we're getting back Steve Rogers it might just be alt-Natasha]
• RDJ wants back into the MCU because things haven't gone well since [The guy has made one movie--I don't think that creates desperation]
• Liv Tyler in talks to return to the MCU as a female Red Hulk [That would make more sense than the elderly Ross--Tyler is 43, Hurt is 70]
• Willem Dafoe in talks for cameos in Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2 [Why Daniel thinks so much of the cast from Spider-Man 3 could be in Doctor Strange 2 I don't know--yes the movies are connected, but there's only so much screen time]
• Marvel thinking of having M'Baku as Black Panther rather than Shuri [This would be in light of the latter's anti-vaccine comments]
• Spider-Man 3 will have three different Green Goblins [He includes Leeds' Hobgoblin as one of them; Plausible]
• Groot turns into a human for a bit in Thor 4 [Why bother?]
• Leonardo DiCaprio had talks with Marvel to play an alt-universe Spider-Man in Doctor Strange 2 [This is 4chan/Reddit 101: (Insert name of popular actor) for cameo in upcoming film]
• Marvel/Sony thinking of killing of Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in Doctor Strange 2 or Spider-Man 3 [This is a strange idea--no pun intended]
• Emily Blunt in talks to cameo in Doctor Strange 2 possibly as an Elseworld Black Widow [This idea is not Daniel's, but doesn't come from any of the usual places; you can see Daniel's heavy roots in DC as he uses their terminology for the multiverse ('Elseworld')]
• Feige wants Marvel to have a majority of female/PoC heroes [This is clickbait--WGTC does this kind of thing all the time--(Insert character name) to be played by PoC]
• RDJ wants to return for multiple Marvel projects [Does he?]
• RDJ talks for Ironheart and Armor Wars [Plausible; I think if Marvel pays him enough, he'll do it]
• Doctor Octopus and Norman Osborn will return for Spider-Man 4 [I highly doubt it--I think the visitors from films past will be one and done]
• Young Avengers will have the biggest Disney+ budget [I discussed this previously as a no-brainer since it's the only team-based show on the slate--Secret Invasion seems to have a smaller scale than you'd think (thus far)]
• Doctor Strange 2 will be a horror movie [How is this a rumour?]
• Holland wants to be in Deadpool 3 and R-rated Sony fair so he can let loose [Even if this is true I don't think he will be allowed to indulge]
• Willem Dafoe will be the MCU's Norman Osborn [This claim was made on the giant 4chan post I discussed previously, but Daniel seems to have said it first--above--Dafoe could do it, but it would be odd to have him do it again after having that role already]
• Strange will fight Wanda in Doctor Strange 2 [This is Comics 101; the heroes need to fight]
• Thor will get a Guardians-like one-off on Disney+ [Maybe?]
• Valkyrie will have a crush on Captain Marvel [I think this is unlikely since Brie isn't bi and the LGBT community doesn't like representation from straight actors]
• Jackman/Reynolds have talked about a cameo for the former [This isn't really news]
• Talks for a Wanda cameo and RDJ flashback/hologram cameo in Spider-Man 3 [Plausible, but I doubt it--there's no need for a further goodbye for RDJ and the cast is crowded as it is]
• Krysten Ritter had talks to cameo in She-Hulk [Plausible; one of Murphy's cronies copied the rumour afterwards (citing it) without adding anything to it]
• Marvel wants to change the Punisher logo because Trumpian rioters used it [This is ridiculous, but possible--given how popular the character and logo is with the military, however, I don't think it will happen--comic fans of the character would also hate it]
• Old Man Logan Elseworld discussions [The logic would be to create an excuse for Jackman to return to Wolverine, but not only do I think he's not interested in that, I suspect Marvel would like their iteration to have room to grow from outside Jackman's shadow]

Different people have different opinions about Sutton as an scooper, but he's always been polite and straight with me and (right or wrong) puts out what he believes are genuine scoops. That said, occasionally I think he stretches a bit for credit and that's the case in regards to the confirmation from Feige that Deadpool will both be in the MCU and R-rated (link). He reported this as fact this October and I didn't mention it for the same reason I don't see this as his scoop. Why? Bob Iger spent a two years telling anyone and everyone this exact same thing while the Fox purchase was in process. That's not to say there weren't people who theorized this wouldn't be the case, but (much like the Kate Bishop casting) scoopers are patting themselves on the back for what was already confirmed (in the latter case, by a Variety scoop). I get the need to showcase 'wins' in the scooper game, but for me the only story here would be if Iger was wrong and we were getting the character either as PG or in some adjacent universe (that's a scoop). Sutton should be prouder over the Steve Rogers news (and I imagine he is).

I've been watching the Ray Fisher story at WB since it started, wondering where it would go. It seemed like we'd hit the end of the road with Whedon removing himself from his own show, Berg gone, Johns safely ensconced within HBO Max, Hamada getting a new deal, and the investigation concluding. The drama, however, is not over. As long expected, Cyborg has been removed from the Flash film and in reaction to it Fisher went nuclear, targeting Johns and Hamada in a long response to the move. Almost more interesting than the specifics are the fan reactions--supporters of the Snyder cut are appalled, people opposed to it relieved, and the Fandom Menace (the outrage Youtubers mostly focused on Star Wars) are also happy. I find the whole thing bizarre--no one on the outside is privy to what the investigation discovered, thus none of us are in any position to judge whether appropriate action was taken or not. Nevertheless, Fisher is clearly willing to go down swinging, which must be driving the WB nuts (particularly as they need Fisher until the Snyder Cut is released).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)