Marvel News & Notes

The Shang-Chi leaks continue, as more toy images have dropped, although like the last it doesn't add anything to what we know (we're shown Fin Fang Foom, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), Katy (Awkwafina), Wenwu aka The Mandarin (Tony Leung), Jiang Li (Fala Chen), Death Dealer (unknown), Razor Fist (Florian Munteanu), and Xialing (Meng'er Zhang)).

Two months ago Crazy Days and Nights suggested Rege-Jean Page was up for Black Panther 2's titular role (ie, the new Black Panther, being the Kasper Cole version). This came up again on Twitter with the person wondering if this role was why Page left his show Bridgerton. I know nothing about the show, but heard his character's arc was done. That aside, it's unclear if there's any truth behind the original rumour.

Fandango's Erik Davis says that Gugu Mbatha-Raw is playing Judge Renslayer in Loki and Wunmi Mosaku is playing Hunter B-15. We've known Mbatha-Raw was in the cast for quite some time, but not her specific role; Mosaku I hadn't seen rumoured before. Apparently Renslayer is a love interest for Kang, so theories are springing up that Loki will tease the character--it's certainly plausible.

When the Echo show was announced I speculated it would have an association with Daredevil (the obvious thematic one, as well as her connection in the comics--she is one of his romantic partners), in part because the show requires additional zip to gain public interest (no one has any idea who Echo is and the actress playing her, Alaqua Cox, is a complete unknown). Sutton weighs in with very similar thoughts:

Charlie Cox’ Daredevil is being planned to appear on the Echo Disney Plus series. … Sources close to me said … that Charlie Cox’ participation in the Spider-Man sequel won’t be a large role; furthermore, he might not be in costume, either. As Marvel Studios continues to develop the new Daredevil program for Disney Plus, it’s looking like [he] will move in his furniture in the MCU with the Echo show initially. …they are discussing for Echo to set up his new continuity in the MCU. … Their romantic relationship will apparently be shown on her TV series, too. Marvel Studios will establish Daredevil’s MCU transition in Echo. … His Netflix history looks to be forgotten.

If you read this carefully Mikey is speculating that he'll appear in Echo ("it's looking like"), but I agree with him that this is exactly what the show needs to garner interest. It would also be a way to separate Cox from his two Netflix love interests (both of his early comic book loves: Karen Page and Elektra; Deborah Ann Woll's performance was so good it's unlikely we'll get an MCU version of her (as Feige dislikes repetition), but Elodie Yung's and Jennifer Garner's terrible renditions of Elektra leave the door open for rebooting (it seems unlikely we'll get anything comic accurate however, as Cox is old enough to make a romance with a young Greek woman out of bounds). Speaking of romances, I don't know if the age differences between the Cox's (38 for Charlie, 23 for Alaqua) matter to Marvel or not. The alternative scenario is that Daredevil performs the mentor role (similar to Hawkeye for Kate Bishop), although I don't think the parallel works since Jeremy Renner has been kicking around the MCU for ten years and, technically, Daredevil will just have been introduced.

We've learned Captain Marvel 2 will begin filming next week. I remain curious what buzz the film will have, given the mixed reception of the first film and what was (for me) a lackluster introduction for Monica Rambeau in WandaVision. That means there's a heavy dependence on Ms. Marvel and that's a show I'm concerned will be too niche for most Marvel fans--time will tell.

Deadline (Andreeva) reports that Renee Elise Goldsberry is going to co-star in She-Hulk (playing "Amelia"). I remain skeptical Marvel can make a sitcom format work for the MCU, but we can hope they do. As for Goldsberry, I'm unfamiliar, so have no reaction to her joining the cast.

India Today (Vibha Maru) reports that Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar is going to appear in an MCU production that everyone believes is Ms. Marvel (he's in Bangkok shooting his scenes). Given the on-location shooting, this is surely a one-episode appearance.

A new description of the film has dropped: "Trained since childhood by the mysterious Ten Rings Organization, Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn back into his father's web." Nothing about this is surprising, although it confirms Shang-Chi's relationship with the Mandarin.

We have a rumour from Daniel considered good enough not to be pushed into the ghetto of his rumour section: he says the Darkhold will have a big impact on the MCU going forward. We've been hearing about the Darkhold all the way back to June when Sutton had it on an R&D list for WandaVision and Doctor Strange 2. When I asked Sutton about it he said it will help inform the horror side of the MCU with a particularly large impact on Ghost Rider.

Dietsch claims Sony is trying to persuade Sam Raimi to direct Spider-Man 4 with Tobey Maguire. Sutton chimes in and says Sony wants to see how No Way Home performs before actually pursuing the idea. Sony's desires aside, it's not clear either Raimi or Maguire would wish to return--Spider-Man 3 is a laughably bad movie and while there are ways to move past it, what's the point at this stage? Well, clearly money (something Sony is making painfully obvious by floating the idea of remaking The Last of Us), but I don't think there's much appetite for it from the public.

We had a pretty big 4chan leak that's from a few weeks back that I only just discovered (it post-dates the Gemma Chan story in late February and is possibly post-Echo news and Falcon episode one, but is pre-The Eternals leak). The post claims to cover much of the MCU and its substance is cribbed or an update of a different 4chan post from January--probably from the same author (I've highlighted what's different in green, while in red are parts from the original post that aren't included); I've fixed some of the poor writing:

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

The show with the most logistical pieces of the post-Snap world and will also explore some of what life was like during the snap for key characters. Sharon and Bucky will have a romantic spark that I think fans will be all for. 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. Bucky is dealing with Zemo. [Zemo is more of a side antagonist and even an anti-hero] Overall villains of the show are the flag smashers lead by Carly Morgantheau [The main villain of the show isn't in the show a lot but it's Flag-smasher ... Kellyman's character is Songbird]. Thunderbolt Ross will appear in this [appear throughout this]. [More familiar faces will return in small-minor roles] Explores some of Bucky’s PTSD and a lot of Sam Wilson’s backstory including meeting his family. There is a very relevant political message here. It does explore Isaiah Bradley history and features Elijah Bradley. Yelena will NOT be featured in this. Flag Smashers main goal is to obtain a virus to wipe out half the world. Ends up doing something else. This show has the big reveals and surprises that WandaVision was thought to have… [No Old Man Steve Rogers cameo tho it was a very real possibility at one point in time]

We've seen no sign of romantic sparks for Sharon and Bucky; Kellyman isn't Songbird; Flag-smasher arguably isn't the main villain (seemingly it's Power Broker); and there's no sign of a virus.

Black Widow

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 going to be 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. 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 {to}streaming] I think from what I heard this will be a very well liked MCU film [For me it's not a top-tier MCU movie but it wasn't far off. 8/10. They took some parts from Mission: Impossible and Captain America 2, put some great heart into it and it was just really great. Fun to see the spy genre again.]. Scarlet gives her best Natasha performance.

This has no substantive changes other than deleting the erroneous streaming prediction. None of the comments are very specific, which suggests it's just speculation. In the original post they claimed to have seen the film, but this is far too vague to bear that out (which is likely why they cut that out).

Loki

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 show is really about learning the rules of the multiverse and different timelines. Features a lot of Rick and Morty type of elements. One of the most stand alone things in the MCU due to the fact it’s off a different timeline. [Kang's MCU debut is in 1 episode.] The episode in the 70s will be one of the best episodes on TV next year. Saw a brief glimpse of it in the trailer. Will have Frigga and Sif returning for an episode. [Features some familiar faces in some cool places. A certain cosmic being is who the TVA work for.] Sophia Di Martino as Lady Loki will be a fan favorite.

We've lost the prediction of a third season, Kang's debut, the cosmic being, and rather than hinting at familiar faces it predicts them. The only true specific that remains are the appearances.

Shang-Chi

This does not take place during the Snap. Most hand to hand combat in an MCU movie. A giant tournament that features Asgardians, Inhumans, and others is the main 2nd act of the film. [A tournament featuring many different 'beings' will be the main 2nd act of the movie. It will feature 1-2 cameos of familiar faces within the MCU] Fin Fang Foom is the big 3rd act set piece [Fin Fang Foom will appear]. It really deepens the mythology of the ten rings and who the Mandarin is. People have slept on the fact that the real Mandarin is the main villain in this. Has a big surprise appearance. Trailer will come in early April when Black widow marketing ramps up. [The film only requires small amounts of reshoots]

Other than the trailer appearance, which is nearly busted, the changes are cosmetic. Yet again there's very little here that's specific.

Ms. Marvel

This is one of the shows that ties into events from Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The show will be more lighthearted than most MCU stuff but it by no means in Disney channel level of lightheartedness [Really leans into teen comedy and some coming of age]. Will be the true starting point for Inhumans in the MCU. Kamala is a true fan of the Avengers and that is shown in the awesome fan fiction sequences and her wearing a bunch of Avengers merch [fan fiction sequences in animation]. Captain Marvel has a small appearance [in 1 of the later episodes]. [Marvel thinks Iman Vellani is the next big thing.]

The only significant change is the Falcon connection, which is currently hard to imagine (and that's the only specific here).

Eternals

Already considered the best looking MCU film. Celestials have a big presence and their scenes are spectacular. People have slept on Kit Harrington being Black Knight who is one of the leads of the movie [Kit Harrington as Black Knight and Gemma Chan as Sersi are the best couple in the MCU]. It features a young Thanos for a brief scene and gives more back story to his origin which includes a very big guest appearance/cameo. Eternals have been sitting in the background the whole time in the MCU and some cool stuff will be revealed in their involvement in previous movie events like Avengers 1, Cap 2, Thor 2, Captain Marvel and Endgame [Avengers, Black Panther, Thor 2, and Endgame]. Thena and Gilgamesh have a very conflicted relationship with the rest of the group [Thena and Gilgamesh are the odd ones out of the group due to something that occurred in Babylon]. The villain is Kro who is considered the only somewhat weak point of the film. They did have to shift some things around regarding the ending due to Gemma Chan being somewhat problematic on the set. Nothing that alters the film entirely. Quite a small but very different change. She still is slated to appear in other things moving forward but her role maybe diminished a bit. [A character in this is getting a spinoff Disney Plus show. Sprite is sort of a anti-hero, has her own agenda.]

The Chan story clearly impacted the narrative here, as the praise for her is cut and we get the long explanation of what's happened to her story. It's curious they cut the spinoff idea, as well as the different list of films being referenced. This is, again, incredibly vague, but there are enough specifics that it can be quickly debunked.

Hawkeye

It is thought to be the best series in production. Gives us more of a glimpse of Clint during the snap. Huge Ronin set piece. Hawkeye is getting older and he loses his hearing. Seeks out to find Kate Bishop in New York. There is a flashback scene of her as a child watching the battle of New York from Avengers 1. Clown is the main villain along with the Tracksuit Mafia also in the mix. Show also focuses on Echo and really develops her character. Explores a lot about Clint’s origin. Swordsman is a big part [Swordsman only in flashbacks]. Yelena plays a big role in one episode [Yelena will have a decent role here]. Costume is similar to Clint’s Ronin costume. First half of the show is more Clint driven and later half is more Kate driven. [Will be the last appearance of Clint Barton in the MCU. Pulls heavily from the Fraction run (essentially a direct adaptation in many regards). Feige and Marvel are in love with the script and Hailee as Kate Bishop.]

A pretty significant change to remove the end of Barton's career as a prediction; it also cuts down on the acting hyperbole (perhaps a little gun shy after the Chan story). We have enough specifics that this will be an easy one to judge as well.

Spiderman No Way Home

The story picks up immediately where Far From Home ends. The movie spans over the course of 6 months to Christmas time. Peter is on the run along with Ned and [Michelle]. City on lockdown. Spiderman chased through the city. In huge action sequence with these robots chasing him. It does introduce Uncle Ben to the MCU. It’s not Maguire playing him. Involves a court scene featuring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock. It seems that it is a new Daredevil/soft reboot due to having someone else playing Foggy. [I wasn't told if {Cox} will be in the Daredevil costume of if he will be Peter's lawyer or maybe both. All I was told is that he has a small role in this.] There’s also a scene in a prison. Kraven is the “main” villain. Jeffery Dean Morgan will play him [I have not heard who will play Kraven]. The multiverse plays a pretty decent factor in the film. Jamie Foxx and Micheal Mando play Electro and Scorpion [Scorpion is the secondary villain; I was told {Electro} was the 2nd biggest villain after Kraven]. Electro is from another universe but not the TASM universe due to him having a completely different look that’s more along the lines of the comics and the PS4 game. Molina is back as Doc Ock from the Raimiverse along with Thomas Haden Church as Sandman [Molina...has a new look but is in just one scene and a fight scene. Church is a very brief cameo as Sandman literally 40 seconds from what I was told]. Micheal Keaton returns as Vulture. Mysterio is revealed to be alive and working for Osborn played by Willem Dafoe. Maguire and Garfield Spiderman show up in the 3rd act. Doctor Strange has a role in that happening [Doctor Strange is in the movie for only 8-12 minutes. 2 or 3 scenes really]. Tony Stark isn’t as prevalent in this film but there are definitely mentions to him throughout the film but not as much as FFH. [It is {called} Homeworlds. It apparently has the most dark and gritty moments in a Spider-Man movie. Bounty put on Spidey's head. This ties into WandaVision. JJ is sort of another villain as he has these Spider Slayer bots chase Peter through the city. Btw plenty of JK Simmons as JJ in this. Holland and Garfield are amazing together. 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. Dunst and Emma Stone are very brief cameos at the end of the film. Tom Hardy's Venom makes a 5-second cameo. Feige is very against it happening. Marvel and Sony have cast 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.]

This features the most changes of all the prior predictions. The wrong title call is understandably cut, but I'm not sure why the WandaVision connection is cut since that seems true. The timespan addition is certainly due to set leaks that showed the film taking place during Christmas.

She-Hulk

10 episode series. First episode ends with Walters’ accident. They are going to do some 4th wall breaking. Bruce Banner/Hulk is in 4 episodes [in 3-4 episodes]. They are going to un nerf Hulk in this show. He’ll be as strong as ever and his arm will be back to around normal size but still very much discolored and scarred. Banner will be in some sort of politician role. Abomination does return and has a big show down with She-Hulk and Hulk in episode 8. Titania is the main villain. The Leader has a small role in this but seems that he will be a future villain in a 2nd season which they are likely to do. All the cases that Jennifer Walters works on are hero based. Few different Avengers and characters show up and some even are represented by Walters herself . Notably Wasp, War Machine, Bucky along with Matt Murdock, Jessica Jones and Jimmy Woo also appearing [Some familiar faces are even on trial and represented by Jennifer Walters. Has a lot of random appearances of characters]. This show might come out later than people expect to do this having a lot of VFX. March seems a bit early. Would think it'd be summer 2022 [is expected to arrive first quarter of 2022. Thunderbolt Ross has a sizeable role in this.]

This seems to be just a massaging of the original post. You'll notice that the original post had Ross as a major component yet again, but here he's been removed entirely.

I didn't include the episode count/lengths the original post included. The post also lacks comments on Moon Knight, Doctor Strange 2, Thor 4, Black Panther 2, Blade, Secret Invasion, Captain Marvel 2, Ironheart, Armor Wars, Ant-Man 3, Guardians 3, Spider-Woman, The Fantastic Four, Mutants, and Avengers 5. The WandaVision predictions were wrong enough in important areas to show the poster did not have inside information (for it, at least). This, and other errors above, make me believe this is just another speculator in the mold of Joshua Munn and the Wardell imitators (I think the odds are good that this is Munn).

Speaking of 4chan, we have another post to look at (I've cleaned up some of the typos):

• I've worked on films (Antman 2, Black Widow) and kept in touch with people who are on various sides of a-lot of the productions. This may not all be right cause Marvel has fake storyboards, scripts everything.
• Doctor Strange 2: Mordo is only in the first 25 minutes [The screen time matches the January 4chan post mentioned above, but this post doesn't seem dependent on it]. He's a sort of catalyst for what's to come. Mephisto is a side villain which mainly plays into Wanda's part in the movie dealing with getting her kids back. The two actors were in London but have since finished. They are apparently starting on this big sequence where Strange and the team fight zombie versions of the Avengers. I'm sure there is more but I've seen Hulk and Iron Man Zombie looks. I've seen concept are and storyboard of Clea, Drumm and what looks like to me Nightmare. [Concept art for the film leaked in late March] Looks like they'll finish sometime next month.
• She-Hulk: This is one I'm personally close with. Many different characters appear from episode to episode. I know that Murdock, Jessica Jones, Wasp, Darcy appear along with War Machine [This list varies from the one above, although they share commonalities]. They have done pre vis on some Hulk and She-Hulk vs Abomination. I did see the look for She-Hulk and I think fans will be really happy with it.
• Black Panther 2: This one I'm less in the know on due to this one being really under lock and key. They have done a lot of pre production on an Underwater city. Namor seems to be in it [A common rumour]. Also saw some stuff that seemed like they would be doing Doctor Doom with these robots that enovke a bit of him [While Doom has been rumoured before, like the January 4channer, the bots aren't from there]. I honestly cannot tell who will be the Black Panther. I think that's the biggest secret they are keeping. I've seen it all from Shuri, Nakia, M'Baku to Killmonger. Someone said they think it will be an original character created by Coogler and maybe that's why it's so secretive [The "someone" who said this is the January 4channer above]. I'd put my money on Shuri if I'm being honest
• Spider-Man: No Way Home: The new suit is great it's sort of goes back to the red with blue but has a new spider design. He mainly wears his red and black suit in the film along with some brief stints in the iron spider. I was informed that Maguire and Garfield would show up towards the end. Dafoe is back. Gyllenhaal has been at the set. Seen a photo of Spider-Man vs Kraven played by Jeffery Dean Morgan. [The Kraven casting matches the above 4chan post]
• Some stuff I've heard about in the future: Young Avengers series; Illuminati series; Wolverine series [All common speculation]

It seems like the poster read the January 4chan post, but is working from memory, because the above does not share much from that post's lengthy comments on these IP. With that said, there's nothing here that screams credibility, as most of the post is based on common speculation rather than the specifics you get from genuine leaks.

Multiple reports (Deadline and Variety) have come out about Sony and the deal they've just struck for the streaming rights for their material. This has been poorly reported in the fandom, so here are the specific details from the trades:

• Netflix won a two-year bidding war for the US rights (my emphasis) to stream Sony's theatrical releases (believed to be a billion for a 4-year deal)
• Netflix also has a first-look agreement for all direct-to-streaming movies from Sony
• The deal requires Netflix to commit to a certain number of Sony titles (presumably referring to the aforementioned films)
• Netflix will also license an unspecified number of older Sony films
• Sony is working on another theatrical movie licensing pact outside of the Netflix agreement
• Netflix already had a deal with Sony for all its animated releases
• Sony indicated it has no intention of plunging into the streaming wars

What's important about the deal for our purposes is that it doesn't invalidate the story from Variety back in September that a Silk show was being shopped to Amazon (a project that was a film in 2018 and last May Sutton believed was coming to Disney+ as a show). Sony could still be producing a show with someone other than Netflix (Amazon is likely enough), although if that deal fell through it could become a direct-to-streaming film on Netflix. One of the things evident about the Amy Pascal-lead Silk is the difficulty in finding investors to back it--the above locks in a commitment from someone with money.

Ray Fisher finally went through the details of events at WB during Justice League reshoots and I'm not sure that did him any favours (although I'm glad he discussed it openly). There's no smoking gun and the interactions come across as creative differences (and Joss Whedon's gigantic ego).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)