Marvel News & Notes

It's a bit late to say, but the final Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailer was the best of the lot and, at least from the marketing, it appears that Erin Kellyman's character is being portrayed as the central villain--something I assume is a fake out (even though showrunner Malcolm Spellman has implied we won't get such things on the same level as WandaVision).

The easiest/simplest story for the show to tell is this: Falcon gives up the shield, someone else gets it who fails, Falcon takes up the shield and succeeds. What I'd love to see is something that pushes beyond that (although the show can still work if it sticks to that framework). To me at least, the more interesting choice is to have Falcon ultimately reject the shield and the role to be his own man--someone who doesn't need either institutional or Cap's approval for what he does--he can inspire people by his own deeds without wearing another uniform. With that said, I don't think the MCU has the temerity to go there.

As for the first episode: it's a good to excellent opening for the show. Broadly, the most consistently effective and impactful scenes were those with Bucky. Emotionally the beats of Bucky's story hit consistently and his painful internal conflict was evident both in the writing and performance. Let's go through it all point-by-point (roughly 26 minutes of Falcon and 14 minutes of Bucky):

• (10min) Falcon has a by-the-numbers intro (intended to echo the opening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier)--that's not to say it isn't well executed, and it's nice to see GSP again (as Batroc), but Falcon never seems to be in any real danger so there's no meaningful stakes involved--it's pure spectacle
• (2min) I was happy to see the Flag-smashers introduced early in the show, eliminating the lack of narrative urgency that plagued WandaVision's first two episodes; using Torres as the link for Falcon to get further involved is good storytelling, even though the supporting character currently lacks depth
• (4min) The speech about Steve Rogers and the shield is well done, as is War Machine's brief appearance; the scene nicely sets-up the 'surprise' conclusion of the episode
• (10min) The sequence of Bucky's flashback to being the Winter Soldier, shifting to his therapy session (which has better humour than the brief tease in the trailers), then his interaction with the father of the kid he'd killed setting him up on a date is all excellent
• (3min) Falcon's initial interaction with his sister and her kids is a bit stiff, but otherwise is fine and sets up the loan scene
• (4min) Bucky's date and his trying but failing to tell the old man what he did is excellent--Sebastian Stan nails the internal struggle
• (1min) Falcon at the house feels much more natural and there's chemistry between he and Sarah
• (2min) The Switzerland scene with the Flag-smashers' is pretty generic, but effective--delivering on the earlier set-up without fully unveiling what's going on
• (3min) The bank loan sequence reminded me of a 1984 SNL sketch from Eddie Murphy--the memory stripped the scene of most of its intended potency
• (3min) We then have Torres explaining to Falcon what's happening, followed by the John Walker reveal as the new Captain America--I'd expected more build-up to the latter, but I can understand wanting the impact of surprise as a motivating factor for Falcon

The episode was much more satisfying than what we got from WandaVision, and that's largely due to narrative drive and pacing. Unlike in WandaVision, which spent four episodes simply setting itself up, here we understand who the characters are, what they want, and the situation that's going to complicate those desires. While this sounds like basic storytelling--and it is--WandaVision instead leaned on mystery boxes and pent up anticipation to generate tension.

The writing for the show is good, if not at the level of what its imitating (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). The show isn't quite as brave as it could be, using the limp Libya=bad in the opener (fitting what I've said forever: the MCU will always remain friendly to the US military in what's depicted). That's a minor quibble however, and I'm looking forward to the next episode.

I did see a minor but consistent gripe from fanboys about the show: too slow, not enough action. This shed light on how Michael Bay became successful, as clearly there is a market for brainless entertainment that has explosions at regular intervals.

Deadline (Andreeva) reports that Kingsley Ben-Adir has joined the Secret Invasion cast for what she believes is the main villain role. The 35-year old is much younger than the listing Daniel posted recently (which called for an actor ages 50-60), so we'll have to wait and see if Andreeva's guess is correct (if he's an alien under makeup I don't think the age is important).

Murphy believes actor Carlos Navarro is in Hawkeye, either as a member of the Track Suit Mafia or as a detective. He deduces this from social media activity and IMDB and what he suggests is plausible. I like that Murphy (at least here) backed away from making definitive statements about who he is, given how poorly some of his recent speculation has gone (Erin Kellyman springs to mind).

Daniel dropped part of a casting grid for Marvel without being sure of the project (his guess that it's Moon Knight must be correct given the filming dates):

Dates: April 2021 - September 2021
[EDDIE SILVER] Eddie Silver - Male, 40-50s, Latinx, Jewish, A protective father who's concerned for his son's well-being but also harboring a dark side
[WILLOW SILVER] Female, 40-50s, Latinx, Jewish, A mother who's fiercely loving but broken by grief.

The shows that begin filming in April are Moon Knight and She-Hulk, and with Oscar Isaac playing Moon Knight (who is Jewish), the sleuthing isn't that difficult. The pair are presumably the lead's parents in flashbacks given that Isaac is 42.

Showrunner Malcolm Spellman told Heroic Hollywood that he'd love to reboot Deathlok. I don't think, even on a Disney+ level, that the character is engaging enough to work on his own. However, as part of something else (if Spellman's work on Falcon and the Winter Soldier remains good), why not? [This is the old, debunked Deadline rumour about a Deathlok film]

Sutton, or rather Lauder repeated by Sutton, reports that Emily Blunt has turned down the role of Sue Storm, apparently due to the long term commitment required. This sounds familiar, like I've heard this story before from last spring, but I can't immediately place it.

Sutton repeated the idea (December, 2019) of a Journey into Mystery series that would include Hercules as part of an ensemble show (he's previously mentioned Sif and The Warriors Three, despite the latter trio being dead). [The Sutton R&D list from last summer]

Speaking of Sutton, he also talked about the Thunderbolts, saying they could have a Disney+ series that might have ties to Daredevil and be spun off Falcon and the Winter Soldier. That's a lot of hesitation from him, but later in the article he says the Thunderbolts are definitively coming as a Disney+ show, spinning off F&tWS. I have no idea why the article opens with prevarications and then jumps to the definitive later--your guess is as good as mine. Mikey says the character Paladin might be part of the team--Paladin is an old favourite among Sutton speculation, as he claimed he'd appear in F&tWS. That aside, the idea of the Thunderbolts is amongst the oldest scoops we have for Phase Four, with the redoubtable insider Roger Wardell saying as much back in 2018.

On his discord, Murphy said there's a cut scene from WandaVision that confirms Ralph Bohner was Jimmy Woo's missing person. Why this was cut is unclear, just as is the point of doing it in the first place. The fandom is now in high gear suggesting the MCU at minimum retcon that he is someone significant because of how disappointed they are in what they got. Speaking of that future, let's assume for the moment we do get more Evan Peters: if Ralph was indeed an actor, one role he might have is that of Wonder Man (who was also an actor).

Dietsch claims Christopher Nolan has had talks with Marvel about directing an MCU film. While talks may have occurred, I doubt Nolan would agree to the constraints of the MCU--he chafed at lesser restrictions at WB, so why accept them here?

More Daniel rumours:

• Jim Carry had talks to appear in Deadpool 3
• Blade is smaller scale than a typical MCU film
• Marvel still has plans for the Ravagers

The middle rumour is plausible, but the other two are not.

4chan on Ant-Man 3:

• Kang is a mad scientist from the future who uses quantum energy to travel through time and build an army to conquer Earth in the present. His actions disrupt the Quantum Realm and attract the attention of the Ant-Family.
• Scott and Hope are together but having problems because he is dedicated to fighting crime and she is focused on rebuilding Pym Technologies. Scott is also struggling to reconnect with Cassie after missing five years of her life.
• Cassie wants to be a superhero and has been training in secret, but Scott doesn’t want her risking her life and this creates some conflict between them. Cassie ends up stealing the prototype Stinger suit developed by Hope and proving her worth in the fight against Kang.
• Part of the movie takes place at the Quantum Realm, where Kang has a base of operations. He kidnaps Hank at one point in order to learn more about the Pym Particles and Hope and Janet have to rescue him while Scott and Cassie deal with Kang.
• In the third act, Kang recruits doubles of himself from different points in time to help him fight the Ant-Family, and there is a big battle against extradimensional monsters from the Quantum Realm that cross over into the real world.
• Luis, Maggie and Paxton will return, and there are discussions to include Bill Foster as well. Kurt and Dave won’t be back, and neither will Ghost, at least in this film.
• In addition to Kathryn Newton as Cassie and Jonathan Majors as Kang, Austin Abrams is in negotiations to play Cassie’s boyfriend Mike and Bill Hader is eyed to play Hope’s business rival George Tarleton

Take celebrity casting with grains of salt, but on the surface this is plausible, if unlikely. As-is, the film doesn't feature the expected Young Avengers appearance or the occasionally rumoured Fantastic Four--that separates it from a lot of other rumours we've seen.

As always, more from our friends at 4chan

• Black Widow has been finished since March last year. No reshoots, no rewrites, nothing new added at all over the last year.
• Ben Kingsley has a cameo in Shang Chi and the Legend off the Ten Rings. Wong has a minor role and Fin Fang Foom is the villain in the final act. [Common speculation]
• Harry Styles is Starfox in Eternals in a small yet memorable role. Diego Luna is voicing Kro, Thena’s ex husband. Will plant the seeds for several cosmic Marvel properties. [The former is a Kris Tapley rumour from September; I haven't heard the Luna idea before]
• No Way Home is being kept secret similar to Endgame, in fact probably more. Tobey and Andrew are obviously in the film. Sinister Six consists of Kraven, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, and Doc Ock. [Common speculation]
• Multiverse of Madness is scariest MCU film to date. No Clea and Voodoo. Villain is being kept secret. [Clea and Voodoo come from Roger Wardell and have been echoed by all the various big scoopers--Daniel had them on a Production Weekly casting sheet for the show, so barring changes, this is highly implausible]
• Grandmaster is in Love and Thunder. Lena Headey is playing Valkyrie’s Queen. [The former is common speculation, the latter I haven't heard before--this would have to be a Queen from the Multiverse, since all of Valkyrie's cohort is dead]
• Kilmonger is going to be brought back as the new Black Panther. Tenoch Huerta is playing Namor. Denzel Washington is in talks for a role. [The former is common speculation, the latter I hadn't heard before, while the one in the middle that's actually my speculation from November]
• Captain Marvel 2 has more of a creative voice than the first. John Boyega is playing Blue Marvel, with Clive Owen playing Yon Rogg’s brother. Of course, Jude Law is returning. [I don't know what that first comment is supposed to mean; Boyega comes up in a lot of rumours, but it's not clear if his unhappiness with Disney in regards to Star Wars would apply to Marvel as well; regardless, his inclusion is an obvious reference to the Production Weekly drop via Daniel and K. C. Walsh (cf), which simply referred to Boyega as a 'type'; the same post also relates to Owen]
• Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a very big scale family movie. Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer are back in small roles. Set for Early 2023.
• Blade is searching for directors right now. One of the names brought up is Shaka King. Kiki Layne, Janalle Monae, and Delroy Lindo are in talks for supporting roles. October 7th, 2022 is the set release date. [Shake King came up via Joshua Munn, and we know he just makes things up, however, we can't be sure this post is inspired by him]
• Deadpool 3 is looking for its title and Director. Title will be something creative while Marvel is interested in Robert Rodriguez, while Ryan Reynolds wants his Free Guy and Adam Project director Shawn Levy.
• Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 casting won’t start for a long while until James Gunn finishes Peacemaker. Stakar and Ayesha come back in bigger roles.
• Fantastic Four are looking for additional writers alongside Jon Watts.
• Mutants is set for around 2025. A-Force and Nova movies are also in active development. [The 2025 date is new; Nova rumours are primordial--in October, 2019, Daniel said it was in active development, which Murphy echoed in January a few months later; Sutton has talked about the character incessantly, but I don't believe has ever said it's in active development; A-Force talk begins with LotLB (TBK) back in June, 2019, which Sutton then echoed the following July]
• Marvel and Feige have interest in Millie Bobby Brown, Saoirse Ronan, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Liam Hemsworth, Jonathan Groff, Anya Taylor Joy, Rege Jean Page, Ana De Armas, Gary Oldman, and Keanu Reeves for future roles in upcoming projects. There’s word around that Henry Cavill and Marvel have talked about a role after the Superman reboot news.
• Falcon and the Winter Solider has several MCU cameos. Ross and Zola are some of them. [Everyone expects Ross to appear; Zola would require a flashback or recording, which isn't difficult to imagine]
• Loki is most crazy yet fun MCU series yet. Richard E Grant is playing Old Loki while Sophie Di Martino is playing Enchantress. [We've heard these rumours before (eg and eg), although other suggestions have been made for Martino (eg) and set photos we've seen have her dressed as Loki, albeit that doesn't exclude this possibility; with Grant we know he only appears in one episode]
• There is talk about dropping all 12 episodes of What If? At once. [This seems likely as the interest in this series is close to non-existent]
• Ms. Marvel is really heartwarming.
• Hawkeye is very intense yet fun.
• Liv Tyler returns as Betty Ross in She-Hulk. Abomination and Titania are the main villains. [The former is an old Daniel rumour from October, 2019; Feige confirmed Abomination appearing a few months ago; the latter has been common speculation]
• Moon Knight is the most serious and dark of any MCU property yet. Naomi Scott is in talks for a role. [Scott's name has come up in casting rumours before, but not specifically for Moon Knight]
• Cobie Smulders returns as Maria Hill in Secret Invasion. Ralph Fiennes and Sarah Paulson are being looked at for major roles. [Fiennes doesn't do much television, although his recent film repertoire could suggest he's more open to it; Paulson seems more plausible to me, as over the last few years the MCU has pushed hard to hire older actresses]
• Ironheart will feature Morgan Stark. [I haven't heard this idea before, but presumably it's only possible if she's from the multiverse; it would be a smart way to try to deflect negativity from how poorly the comic book version of Ironheart has been received]
• Armor Wars features the long awaited return of Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer. [This is common speculation]
• The Wakanda series will be a prequel about the foundations of Wakanda. [I hope this isn't true--prequels lack stakes]

I think this is a collection of wishful thinking and other people's rumours.

Speaking of 4chan, there was a post dropped that is apparently a creative extension of what a supposed Twitter on Twitter has said. In his Tweets this person has referred to themselves as "we" when talking about the account, referenced sources (some good, some bad), said they have access to some information, but aren't a big scooper like Murphy or Daniel; it's also clear English is not their first language. A few notable predictions (keeping in mind that everything after Namor is in the 'discussion' category that Sutton loves so much; the wonky formatting is from the poster):

• February 7th - Namor casting tests in process

I don't believe this at all--nothing that's about to film would require him.

Doctor Strange 2

• -The second WandaVision post-credits scene is set in Sokovia and is part of a scene from the movie
• -Agatha will return.
• -Mordo will return as a "nice guy" to take advantage of Wanda. He will also be responsible for the villains' plot.
• -Mordo will be a Nightmare henchman. They will be the main villains.
• -Mordo wants the Darkhold, which is being used by Wanda for personal issues.
• -There will be a huge scene for a union of interdimensional villains after the multiverse collapses.
• -White Vision will not appear in this film and will return in Armor Wars.

I've heard the Armor Wars rumour before, but haven't referenced it here (it's not from any of the notable scoopers). Otherwise I think the bulk of this is wrong--would Wanda really trust someone like Mordo right after being fooled by Agatha? I don't think so.

"The Mutants"

• -"The Mutants" is not just a name for a movie, but rather for a project to insert mutants into the MCU, starting with solo characters developed in other movies and series, until the first mutant movie happens.
• -The first film will have a direct connection to Eternals and may focus on Moira MacTaggart and Charles Xavier, both with their journeys until they meet.
• -There is a requirement and concern that the film focus more on social issues about minorities than any other issue.
• The goal is to bring mutants naturally into the universe. There will be no crossover of universes or anything like that.
• -There may be a mention about mutants feeling free to reveal themselves to the world and fight crimes after Tony Stark reveals himself as Iron Man.
• There will be a whole construction to humans starting to hate people with superpowers in the MCU as events are happening, and the first factor will be the blip.
• -The first antagonists considered in the discussions are the Brotherhood of Mutants.
• The first X-Men team will be inspired by First Class comics.
• -The first mutant may appear in 2021 in the MCU

Broadly I don't buy this. Moira and Xavier can't be the main focus of a film--that's too inside baseball for casual fans, nor is Marvel going to retread the ground Fox already covered with First Class.

Fantastic Four

• -The film already has its screenwriters.
• -The team will appear first in Ant-Man: Quantumania.
• -The film is being planned for after Secret Invasion and will may be connected to the series.
• -The first antagonists being discussed are Super-Skrull and Psycho-Man
• -Reed and Sue may be a scientists at Pym Technologies and secretly study about the Quantum Realm and parallel dimensions
• -Hank Pym will be a regular character in the film. Janet, Scott and Hope considered for a short appearance.
• -There are discussions about having two versions of Hank Pym: the original and a skrull.
• -Spider-Man will also appear.
• -The team's origin is connected to the Quantum Realm. They consider including the Microverse as well.
• -Victor Von Doom may be included and have a connection with Reed.
• -Latveria will be mentioned earlier in the MCU. Doctor Doom will have his own series on Disney+. [This is a primordial rumour that begins with Daniel back in 2019]
• -The intention is to bring Baxter Building and Reed and Sue's children in a sequel.

If the first two sets of rumours aren't accurate there's no reason to think this set is. It's not horribly implausible, but I don't think it's authentic inside info.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)