Nebens (presumably via Daniel) says that development of an X-Men film currently titled Mutants is underway. Murphy echoed the article and this is assuredly the project he proclaimed with excitement back in 2019 (saying it was for May, 2024, but refusing to say what it was). Unfortunately, without specifics this isn't that exciting--I'd certainly hope by now Marvel was working on the X-Men IP, given that it was the most significant Marvel element purchased with Fox. Assuming I'm right about Murphy's scoop (what it was for, and what else could it be really?), that means the release date for the film was decided more than a year and a half ago. How much time has been spent on the specifics? I'm less sure of that--Feige typically gives his director's a lot of freedom, but you have to wonder about the X-Men since they are tied so intimately to his career. I believe the Russo brothers, who have been asking for this (or, at least, Wolverine) will get their wish, and I believe their public comments form the basis of Sutton's various scoops about the IP.
We had multiple reports (THR and Variety) confirming what's been long expected: TI's Dave won't be back for Ant-Man 3 (due, presumably, to the bizarre story about he and his daughter that came out in late 2019, cf). This has no impact on me at all, as Scott Lang's trio of friends--so important in the first Ant-Man--were superfluous in the sequel.
Daniel dropped casting info for Secret Invasion that he let run in The Illuminerdi (Julia Delbel) first:
[Villain]
Male series regular, between the ages of 50-60 years. Secret Invasion’s main antagonist.
[Female Role 1]
40-50 years, series regular. Will share many scenes with Jackson’s Nick Fury.
[Female Role 2]
20s-30s, strong supporting role to be played by a younger female actor
Delbel believes the villain is the emperor of the Skrulls (despite their positive portrayal in the MCU) and the younger character is Abigail Brand (long rumoured, beginning a year ago on 4chan, continuing with Sutton, and then more 4chan). The idea of Brand is plausible because of her association with SWORD in the comics. However, I'm less convinced we'll get Skrulls as villains--the MCU likes to simplify and with the Kree already established as villains, I think the inclination will be to have them be the invaders.
Daniel dropped casting calls for Blade in two batches:
[RUBY]
Female, African-American, 15 years old (submit ages 13-17)
Thoughtful, serious, and burdened by growing up in a complex world. Strong Supporting role.[LUCY] 20sLUCY is a tough young woman who has been on the run after her mother's tragic death under mysterious circumstances. She is tired of living off the grid.[BETSY] 20 to 29 years old, Black/African American female.A sensible and serious aspiring heroine. Strong comedy skills a must!
Scoopers are speculating 'Ruby' is this Blade's daughter (something he doesn't have in the comics, but was planned for in 2015 before getting cancelled because the authors of the idea were white). I don't think the character needs to be his daughter to be relevant, nor is the information comprehensive enough to know if that's the angle being pursued or not. 'Lucy' has no racial designation, which is a bit surprising (I thought Blade would go full Black Panther with a mostly African-America/black cast other than the villains).
Speaking of casting lists, Walsh seemed to offer a correction to the baffling Captain Marvel 2 drop from Daniel previously. I mentioned how bizarre it was to have Thimothee Chalamet and Michael B. Jordan paired as a 'type', but in Walsh's version of this listing it's Jordan and John Boyega, which makes much more sense (this has lead he and others to speculate this is for Blue Marvel--a character scoopers are hyped for--hype that's shared by no one else). What's funny to me is that this exact pairing was used for a casting leak for J. J. Abrams' Superman. Boyega and Jordan aren't very similar (they suggest two very different iterations of the character), but this could be a product of lazy shorthand from casting directors for 'established African-American/black talent'.
Following this an anonymous writer for That Hashtag Show recycled the Korvac-as-villain rumour for Captain Marvel 2 from Redditor TMSM (back in 2019, something LotLB specifically debunked at the time). THS adds an interesting detail I hadn't heard before: Korvac was part of the original script for the film from Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, and Nicole Pearlman. The directors are no longer part of the picture and the script has been re-written by Megan McDonnell (one of the writers for WandaVision), so what THS seems to be reporting on is an old script that we can't rely on. Food for thought.
a recurring character ... under the codename A’Dood. She is a 20-30 year old female described as a mysterious shapeshifter that embraces Earth’s pop culture. Enjoying the way she lives life, she uses her power in any way that she can to make her happy, including to get herself power, money, and attention. She will reportedly be in two of the ten episodes of She-Hulk.
His speculation is that this is Jazinda, a Skrull who became friends with She-Hulk in the comics. As someone with virtually no familiarity with the IP, it's as good a guess as any.
Set photos revealed Melissa McCarthy will appear as fake Hela in Thor 4 (for yet another stage scene--we've known this is coming for awhile because Matt Damon and Sam Neill were in Australia to shoot scenes for the film).
Speaking of Thor 4, we had a 4chan post about it--some of it was repeating what we've heard before, but here's what was new:
- Thor is in space, going on adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s fit again, they all have new looks and are basically intergalactic rock stars.
- Gorr is an alien warrior with a vendetta against the gods for not saving his people and slaughtering them across the universe with the Necrosword.
- Thor and Jane meet with Lady Sif in an ice planet (probably Svartalfheim) where she was dumped by Loki-as-Odin years before. She has a new look and a bad attitude.
- The Guardians of the Galaxy are not in it much, but they appear throughout the film instead of just one scene.
- Loki doesn’t appear to be in the movie, though some earlier rumors said he would appear and be the one who brings Jane’s Mjolnir from a parallel timeline. The same source didn’t know about Evan Peters appearing in WandaVision, so there is still a chance.
- The movie’s central theme is love and how it affects people. Thor is determined to save Jane and Jane enjoys being with Thor again and sharing his power, but they both ultimately have to come to terms with the fact she will die soon and they’re just avoiding the inevitable. The movie ends on a bittersweet note with Thor and Jane accepting that and just enjoying the time they have left.
- Sif is still secretly in love with Thor and dies for him in the end. [While this would make her appearing pointless, it's exactly what happened to the old supporting cast in Ragnarok]
- Valkyrie struggles to open up to love after losing the love of her life (that blonde Valkyrie that died for her in the Ragnarok flashbacks).
- Even Gorr is driven by the family that he lost because of the gods’ neglect.
If the movie ends with Jane dying (implied or shown), I'll be a happy camper. This isn't our only 4chan post, however, as we also have this:
- Storyboarder working on a fraction of the film, but I've gotten snippets from other contractors to help with consistency.
- There's concept art for Beta Ray Bill in a major role - only other new character I've seen is High Evolutionary (unsure how big the role is though) plus Gorr and Jane Thor. Groot is back to full size, Sif is buff now. All the main cast from GotG & Ragnarok are back in very small roles, including Grand Master and Topaz. No Loki in the art that I've seen but I'm sure he'll show up. [One of the trends from 4chan is describing Sif as 'buff' or 'angry'--the former might be related to set photos, like the one of Jane after her Marvel workout regime, but don't take these similarities as a sign of validity, just that 4chan tends to copy itself]
- Some art includes War Machine to block scenes but I sincerely doubt he's in the film - I think he's being used as a stand-in for Beta Ray Bill, they're around the same size. [This comment is surprisingly nuanced for 4chan]
- Jane Thor will be introduced in What If...? and will be an alternate version of the character. In the core MCU universe, Jane died. [Echoing a death for her above]
- It's a running gag that Thor wants to settle down with one of his romantic interests – Jane, Sif, Valkyrie – but they're all badass and doing fine without him, so he's left in the lurch. [This sounds bizarre--the latter is a lesbian and Thor likes strong women, so why is this a problem? Of course, we're dealing with the 4channer's language in describing this, so that may be the disconnect]
- The big story (that's being segmented up and kept secret) is that rifts in the universe cause variants of Asgardian gods to get pulled into Thor's reality. He crosses paths with many Mjolnir-wielders from alternate timelines that help him find his "purpose". Gorr kills some of them, calling them abominations – the finale hero moment is the many hammer-wielders teaming up against Gorr. Throg gets some nice hero moments. Taika apparently loves Throg. [Throg is Frog Thor]
- Valkyrie has a running gag where she's a promiscuous with all types of characters; it's implied she hooks up with Captain Marvel (30 second cameo, tops), Korg, Jane Thor, and a Valkyrie from another timeline. [While this doesn't sound like something we'd ever see in a Marvel film, Peter Quill and Tony Stark have moments like this--albeit, both are a very long time ago and were used for character arcs rather than laughs; this is functionally the exact opposite of her arc as described in the earlier 4chan post]
- One ending shows Thor realizing his purpose is to carry the mantle no matter what happens in his universe – being a symbol is bigger than his personal journey. He accepts being a drifter trying to help people but not worrying about his purpose too much. I'm skeptical – there are multiple endings being prepped. [This echoes his ending in Endgame, so is certainly not how it ends]
It's not inherently implausible and doesn't directly contradict anything we've heard, but grains of salt required.
TI's Caitlin Tyrrell posted a casting call for Adam Warlock that I presume is courtesy of Daniel and Production Weekly:
a thirty year-old Caucasian man, who is described as both a “super hero type” and a “Zac Efron type”, as Adam Warlock.
This echoes something from 4chan back in May, 2019, except they claimed Efron himself (who turns 34 this year) was being sought for the role (with another 4chan post that September claiming Efron had actually met with James Gunn about the role). Immediately after this dropped, James Gunn (who likes to run his mouth on Twitter--he reminds me of the old quote about Winston Churchill: magnificent in defeat, insufferable in victory) who shot it down. Typically denials from actors are seen as meaningless, but director comments are given more weight (even though they have the exact same reason to lie). I have no strong opinion on this, other than I think Gunn is being ridiculous when he complains about the 'Caucasian' element since Ayesha is played by a white actress. His argument that it can be anyone under gold paint is one of those 'yes, but' statements that means absolutely nothing--Marvel could cast any ethnicity, but doing so would run contrary to the aesthetic they've used for the Sovereign (possible, but unlikely).
Christopher Marc (HN Entertainment) discovered a Marvel LLC which he believed was an Avengers project (Daniel saying Avengers 5), which he added will shoot scenes in the UK (he did not say when). Both were wrong, however, as it was pointed out the LLC was for Guardians 3 (the filming plan is likely accurate).
I can strongly confirm Tobey [Maguire] and Andrew [Garfield] are in this. I haven't seen any CG scenes but the concept art looks really cool. A lot of what has been filmed is the actors in front of blue screen. There's a villain introduced at the very start of the film, you guys have seen him before in Spider-Man but never as a main villain, only teased. They work together from multiverses. i don't think it's been clearly explained how but Doctor Strange knows and he is hiding something from Peter. Peter wants to know but is told it isn't safe for him to know, similar moment to Peter complaining about Iron man treating him like a kid [Homecoming], except with Strange. he also tries to fit in with people knowing he is spiderman. He isn't able to go to school anymore. His friends quit school too and he pretends to not be associated with them. Sad scene in a store where he wants to talk to Ned and [Michelle] but doesn't because other people are there. That's all I'll share for now
Nothing about this sticks out as implausible, but we have to take it with the usual grains of salt for 4chan.
We have a purported scoop from Reddit that's also about Spider-Man 3, but repeated on Twitter with the Twitter user claiming this Redditor got the plot of Endgame correct. I can't find the Redditor nor verify their past success, but I thought it was worth going over:
- The film begins where Far From Home ended with police chasing after Spider-Man and Michelle. Both Aunt May and Happy are arrested. Ned hides the Iron-Spider suit in his refrigerator
- Jamie Foxx is a new version of Matt Dillon (Electro) who is working for Hammer Industries. According to this he does not take on the [villain] role yet. [I find this very hard to believe]
- The villain is Kraven, speculated to be played by Gerald Butler [While incredibly busy, Butler does have space in his schedule for this]
- Alfred Molina is playing senator Robert Kelly [who appeared in the first X-Men film], the main opponent of super powered beings [Everyone assumes he's playing Doctor Octopus, but after our brush with Evan Peters this can't be ruled out]
- Jimmy Woo appears to help Peter Parker under orders from Nick Fury (this would be a WandaVision connection)
- Charlie Cox plays Matt Murdock, appears as Peter's lawyer, and fights with him without his costume [Cox spent the better part of three Netflix seasons fighting without his custom, which makes me doubt this]
- An astral version of Doctor Strange helps Peter out
- None of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Emma Stone appear in the film [The former two have been seen on-set]
Some of this seems plausible, but I don't believe it because Maguire and Garfield have been seen on-set--this would require them to appear in a sequel film after the Multiverse problems are wrapped up in Doctor Strange 2. This latter claim lands this in the debunked column.
A couple of Daniel rumours:
- RDJ wants to appear with Deadpool
- Wanda and White Vision will be a couple
- White Vision will learn how to be human again
- Doctor Strange 2 will have multiple Captain America's
- Feige is letting Reynolds do what he wants with Deadpool 3 [This is such an odd thing for Daniel to say since Fox already let him do what he wanted with Deadpool 2 and he made a worse movie]
- Ned will go crazy in Spider-Man 3
The speculation about Vision is quite common; I don't think RDJ is impacted by Deadpool at all.
Bulleye
Mister Fear (Larry Cranston veresion)
The Jester
Machinesmith
Stilt-Man
Elektra (Sutton says they might bring back Elodie Yung, despite the fact she can't act)
Paladin
Bushwacker
Dakota North (Tim repeated the ABC story, apparently unaware that it was debunked two years ago)
In light of what happened with Evan Peters (and see below), I'm curious to see how Sutton's prediction for Cox works out later this year.
Sutton about the Punisher: show coming to Star, R-rated, comic accurate villains--none of this is new. The only point of the post, from what I can tell, was for Sutton to argue that just because Feige's only upcoming R-rated venture was mandated by Bob Iger, there's no reason to think that (despite going PG with Blade) he won't push for that with shows on Star. He may be right, but we have no reason to think so yet, since Feige didn't say we will see R-rated MCU ventures, just that we could.
Sutton says we will see Evan Peters in Doctor Strange 2 and that he is, indeed, Quicksilver from the Fox films (something Sutton has said before; other fans have echoed this)--that the Ralph-reveal was a fake in WandaVision and that he's Jimmy Woo's missing person. This would make for a more satisfying answer, but if Doctor Strange 2 is being written for fans who did not watch the show, this is hard to credit (especially with both the showrunner and director going on at length about their reasons for it not being Quicksilver; there's also Conrad's point (cf) about the extra cost of doing so). Peters' was seen on-set filming WandaVision, so we'll know sooner than later if this is true from set photos (and toys).
Sutton again talks about Strange Academy (cf), stressing that it's not currently in development, just being discussed (from what I can tell, it's mostly being discussed by Sutton). He repeats that Wanda will be one of the teachers (something I don't recall previously--I don't believe in the scoop LotLB dropped that that was specified); repeats that he believes the impetus is that by aping Harry Potter, that money will roll in. He also says Cloak and Dagger might appear on the show, which seems odd since neither are magic users (I do like the characters, however, but wouldn't want to see the Freeform cast return). A friend of mine thinks the HP connection is a good thing for Marvel to try to tap into, but I remain doubtful.
- Repeated his (newer) assertion that the Netflix continuity will not be continued in the MCU
- Wanda and Hellstrom will be among the teachers at Strange Academy [For the former see above, but the latter is new]
- Black Cat will appear in Spider-Man 4, echoing what he said back in December [It's worth noting that in September Deadline reported Sony was in negotiations with Amazon to be its platform for Marvel shows which would (presumably) include Black Cat (barring a provision in a new deal with Disney)--for more about this, see below]
- Repeated that Miles Morales is probably going to be a Sony character while Peter Parker remains the MCU Spider-Man [This was echoed to some extent by the pseudonymous That Hashtag Show author 'Professor Hulk' afterwards--see below)]
The THS story referenced above says the following:
Marvel is looking to create two Spider-Man franchises. One will continue Peter Parker’s story, this time with him in university. The other will focus on Miles Morales. It’s said that Marvel is keen to use Miles in their upcoming Young Avengers project, and see a lot of value in him.
The writer cites two sources and I think I can deduce both of them. One is Caleb Williams (who claims Spider-Man 4 will film back-to-back with Spider-Man 3; whether Williams' post is via Daniel or something on his own I can't say, but THS echoes this); the other is Sutton, who has made the exact same claim (two franchises coexisting), except in his version Miles is a Sony project, not within the MCU. This is even clearer with the Young Avengers claim, as that's exactly what Sutton said back in October. The writer did not contact Sutton about any of this, but I don't know if that's true for Williams. This deflates the value of the content and makes me believe the writer's scoops are simply things gleaned from online (time will tell).
The fallout for WandaVision continues as fanboys have gone into making pseudo-apology videos (eg) for the elements of that didn't work (even ScreenCrush, which has bent over backwards for the show, struggles with the messaging of Wanda's departure from Westview). The narrative is shifting towards 'hey, don't worry, Falcon and the Winter Soldier won't have these issue.' I'll reiterate (as I did in my review) that WandaVision is a good show, but had elements that were either poorly thought out or executed, and that these have been bothersome enough to impact the general audience. The last time there was pushback against Marvel we had a creative change made (Captain Marvel switched directors) and while there's no planned sequel to the show, I'm thinking we'll see the MCU move away from Jac Schaeffer and Bohner-moments.
I mentioned in my last post the Reddit drama where a source used by Murphy for WandaVision had harassed another poster off the site last summer. When this came to light there was a strong backlash and the poster Murphy was using deleted their Reddit account. This person is key reason why Murphy made erroneous scoops for WandaVision, and I'm curious what information they provided to convince him (and Reddit mods) of their veracity. Speaking of scoopers, I've posted my scooper article (for those interested).
I mentioned this above, but wanted to go through the September report from Variety that suggested Sony's Silk project (originally a film) was being shopped as a show with Amazon being the likely partner. This runs contrary to other supposed scoops and Daniel has recently said that Adeline Rudolph has been met with as the possible lead in the role, reaffirming Amazon as its home, pawning off the larger details to Nebens that include the showrunner. Back in May Sutton said Silk would be on Disney+, then in September (after the Variety story dropped) that there were complications with this deal due to the rights situation. If that's the case (and he was repeating the opinion of Deadline), these have been resolved (perhaps part of the new deal signed by Sony and Disney, assuming that's occurred). As a Sony production, we can happily ignore this minor IP as being irrelevant to the MCU.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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