Amidst all the rumours we received some genuine news via Deadline (Mike Fleming Jr.), as Ryan Coogler is going to produce a Wakanda show for Disney+ (we don't know the title, just that it will be about the place). What's interesting is that the speculation for Black Panther 2 has also been focused on Wakanda--I'm not sure how much drama you can squeeze from a location that lacks villains or internal problems (the latter being resolved in Black Panther). With that said, this kind of show is the perfect place to develop new characters and the supporting cast of the IP, but I'm not sure which character will anchor it (Okoye? M'Baku? Nakia?). I'd guess whatever we get will be inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates' stories, although Coogler seems comfortable creating his own content. This is a smart move by Marvel--Black Panther was enormously popular in the US and its much easier to capitalize on that via streaming than with the long wait between films.
After I wrote the above, Sutton claims the show will focus on the Dora Milaje (which means Okoye is the ostensibly lead)--or at least, a show will, as he remains uncertain if it's the first Coogler will produce. I'm doubtful there's more than one show about Wakanda planned (as I mentioned above, I think the amount of available material for that location is limited), but we shall see.
Kevin Feige was quoted by Variety saying it won't be long before we get a Southeast-Asian superhero. He could mean Kate Bishop, since Hailee Steinfeld is part-Filipino and Hawkeye is currently filming. Tim (LotLB) and Murphy both believe he means an Agents of Atlas project is coming (Murphy having made this prediction months ago when he was convinced Shang-Chi filming in San Francisco meant setting up the IP--a mistake also made by Daniel, GWW, and HN Entertainment, with Murphy admitting he was wrong with that inference later). It's worth noting the comic roster for the team is primarily East Asian, although that doesn't impede the speculation. I think the idea is plausible, particularly as I'm dubious Shang-Chi can support a film franchise (a team on Disney+ is a safe transition); the Shang-Chi IP has made no waves thus far and martial arts films have struggled the last two decades.
Don Cheadle told a podcast that he'd be appearing in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Such an appearance makes sense, but no one had predicted it previously. I'm guessing it's a cameo or minor role.
Daniel, for whatever reason, decided to Tweet out a casting call for Doctor Strange 2, which he dropped as a full casting list the next day (I've included just what's new and relevant):
[NEW FEMALE ROLE] Lead Female (30 - 45) contemporary to Benedict [Cumberbatch][BLACK/AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE ROLE] Lead Male (25 - 45) Black; Should “feel like a star”. Not necessarily a physical part, but a great actor. Read a TON of guys in this category for ETERNALS, etc, and has a good sense of our guys. [The latter comment seems like an addition Daniel added]
Most people believe the female part is Clea, a role that must already be cast because filming has begun. The other is clearly Brother Voodoo. We've known the two characters are coming for over two years (via Roger Wardell), but scoopers have been all over the place with vague speculation for the roles. One thing that may have changed since Wardell's scoop is Clea being swapped to Asian--with Shang-Chi, The Eternals, and other added Asian characters since that scoop, the requirement may be moot (all the speculation for her has been white actresses, but almost none of that has come from anyone reputable).
There's been a lot of speculation about what role Evan Peters has in WandaVision. A new rumour I bring up because I haven't seen it before is that he's playing Wonder Man. We've had a couple of easter eggs for the character, who (in the comics) is heavily tied to Vision. There's no real evidence to support this--as in, nothing specifically connecting the hints to the actor--but I wanted to mention it as something that's beyond the usual Quicksilver/Mephisto/Nightmare rumours.
Sources tell me that there is no reboot in development as of yet; however, that will eventually change. ... Kevin Feige was apparently a fan of Jessica Jones. Despite that, insiders add we should not expect a continuation of the Netflix episodes. Rather, Marvel’s Jessica Jones will be handled more like she was in the Alias comic book by writer Brian Michael Bendis....This is very consistent with both how Sutton has presented the return of the Netflix IP (rebooted with the same actors--other than Iron Fist), and his framing of what Marvel is planning (everything being more like the comics). I'm not sure you can portray Jessica Jones like in the comics and be different from the Netflix portrayal. What I think you could do is use the character after her origin--have her already in a relationship with Luke Cage and functioning as a supporting element in other people's mediums (such as Heroes for Hire). I don't think there's much territory to work with in her own vehicle given that the meatiest parts of the IP have been used. Could I see the character appearing? Yes. Do I think she'll get her own show? No.
A Cinemex Twitter feed is claiming Harry Styles is in The Eternals. This isn't the first time we've heard something like this, as back in September Kris Tapley also claimed he would appear in an upcoming MCU film, but the Tweet was put out on Styles' birthday, so it could just be clickbait.
The Direct's Nebens' is speculating that actor Isaiah Knott's character in WandaVision will be Hulkling. The rumours about Hulkling in the show go back to last year when a casting call was looking for a 16-23 male to play a Skrull (who needs help from SWORD to remain safely on Earth). The inference is that this call is related to another where Marvel was seeking a 15-20 male to play the role in an upcoming production that year. I'm not familiar with the actor, I'm not familiar with the character, and my interest would be zero if I wasn't writing about the MCU. That said, could this be accurate? I don't think so--Knott has almost no acting experience and if he has the role we can waive goodbye to Amadeus Cho (two male Asian Hulk's is beyond redundant).
- the 80’s episode will see the introduction of Evan Peters as Quicksilver. He plays an “Uncle Jesse” type character from Full House.
- his introduction is a scene where Wanda opens the front door and is shocked to see him. The audience claps and whistles when he walks through the door.
- his appearance is the first sign of the Multiverse “breaking”.
- Vision is not actually Vision. Wanda tried to bring him back to life several times but can’t without the mind Stone. She’s approached by a witch named Agnes who offers her a deal to bring Vision back.
- Little does Wanda know that in order to bring “Vision” back to life, Agnes steals the mind and soul of Simon Williams, and places it on Vision’s dead body, brainwashing him into thinking he’s actually Vision. [See the speculation above, although it wouldn't fit this idea]
- Simon Williams had been in protective custody for testifying against his brother. He’s a former actor. [His brother is the Grim Reaper]
- Agnes occasionally serves as the vessel for Mephisto (in the show, Mephisto is actually more like an amalgamation of Nightmare and Mephisto). By the end, she ends up betraying Mephisto to try and save Wanda. [We saw the combined villain idea a month ago in 4chan]
- The Grim Reaper (a character I’d never heard of before) is the main physical threat by the end, and serves as another of Mephisto’s enforcers
- by the end, Simon Williams is restored to his original form, now having gained energy based powers similar to Monica [Rambeau].
- Doctor Strange appears and ends up taking Wanda on as his student so she can take control of her newfound, enormous power.
- the main threat is resolved by the end but shows that the multiverse is breaking
I don't buy the post--it comes across as speculation--but it does have variation from what we usually see.
Sutton put out a follow-up article on an Agents of SHIELD revival (cf) saying that because the show airs on Disney+ in some places, and because the SWORD elements of WandaVision are reminiscent of AoS, and because AoS had huge ratings for its first episode, we're getting a continuance on Disney+. This is odd and reminds me of his convoluted argument for Netflix inclusions in the MCU. The thing is, he was right about Netflix characters appearing (at least with Charlie Cox), so are we in a similar situation--where he has good information but poor reasoning to justify it? I'd love to say no, since I find the idea unappealing, but we can't fully discount it yet.
More Daniel rumours:
- RDJ is fine with appearing on Disney+ [Daniel has now reported both sides of this equation, meaning he can declare victory no matter what]
- Brie Larson wants all the leads in Captain Marvel 2 to be women [This looks like WGTC clickbait, but if true then, again, a project like A-Force is redundant]
- MCU wants a solo film for an openly gay hero [A show I can see; I'm not sure the international market is ready for a film--time will tell]
- Ryan Reynolds wants LGBT characters in the Deadpool franchise [Daniel seems to have forgotten there are already two such characters in it--three if you include Deadpool himself--this kind of thing is why I consider a lot of his rumours just lazy clickbait]
I was talking to a friend of mine about Captain Marvel 2 and we were discussing how Marvel might try to fix the character (clearly Carol Danvers needs more development). In that process director Nia DaCosta's Twitter feed came to my attention because she mentioned Witcher 3 (not something I would have guessed interested her). I noticed that DaCosta had deleted most of her Twitter history when Marvel hired her (it now only goes back to mid-summer). What remains is very safe and my guess is she was told to keep her social media chatter as generic as possible. As we all know, nothing is ever fully deleted and you can see some of her posts via the Way Back Machine. It's pretty tame--less inflammatory than the average Marvel scooper--deleting it is a smart move nonetheless, given the shitstorm that follows her star (Brie Larson). None of this says anything about what kind of director she is--in a way that doesn't matter, since Marvel has no problem using ghost directors to shepherd the accredited person along (the same goes for writers), but I'll give her kudos for not wasting her energy screaming at people online. Incidentally, my guess for Captain Marvel changes are either they'll push her into Superman territory (godlike power with a code who runs into issues because of the loved ones she has to protect), or they'll give her some flaws she has to overcome (the situation for 99% of the superheroes we have). We know changes are coming because Feige completely overhauled the IP (new writer, director, and supporting cast).
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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