Marvel News

I was sick all weekend so this is coming out a little late, but as expected a ton of news came out of D23, so let's go through point-by-point:

• Black Panther 2 will be released in May, 2022 (the year is no surprise, although there was speculation it would be in February to match the original); it was not clear to me if it was a Phase Four or Five film (I've seen people put it in the latter, but there's nothing official)
• Deadline reported that Kit Harrington is set to join the MCU, but didn't suggest or hint in what capacity; I guessed he would be in The Eternals and that proved to be the case (playing the long-rumoued Black Knight--none of the rumours about him placed him here--Wardell's was speculative so isn't debunked, 4chan is up in the air, and Conrad's was already debunked as he had him in Endgame). Daniel says he'll be one of the leads and it will be a love story between he and Sersi (see below)--let's hope at no point Kit says "You're my queen." The casting is a bit on the nose, but we'll see what they do with it. As for Daniel's veracity, he's hit & miss, but this seems like a safe assumption.
• They announced Gemma Chan as Sersi (which means Umberto Gonzalez's old rumour was correct--the character was race-swapped--credit where it's due), and Barry Keoghan is Druig. It will be weird seeing Chan in back-to-back movies (Captain Marvel came out this year, The Eternals is next year), but it's certainly a much more substantial role than what she was given as part of Starforce.
• THR broke the Ms. Marvel Disney+ story just prior to the announcement at D23. We've known for over a year that something with Kamala Khan was coming after Feige confirmed it in an interview, albeit he wasn't clear at the time if it would be a film or a show (most agree the latter makes more sense for the character). What's interesting is that it seems the show will pre-date Captain Marvel 2, which (if that holds up) is an interesting choice (I've been thinking for awhile that she'll be inspired by the Monica Rambeau iteration of Captain Marvel rather than the Carol Danvers-version--gets them away from White Saviour complaints and gives Rambeau a purpose for being in WandaVision).
• It was announced that Wyatt Russell (son of Kurt) is playing US Agent in Falcon & the Winter Soldier. LotLB are the only ones I'm aware of who had US Agent in the show, although they bizarrely said Henry Cavill would play him (this prediction would be more impressive if they hadn't, a month later, said he'd appear on Hulu instead). It's clear Russell's character will be the government sponsored replacement of Captain America who Falcon will ultimately supplant. This remains the show I'm most interested in thus far.
• It was announced that Sharon Carter will be in the show, confirming the Deadline story from May that had scooped Zemo's involvement as well. I wouldn't say her inclusion specifically excites me, but there is potential for her character (perhaps as a romantic option for either).
• On the surprising front, Darcy (Thor and Thor: The Dark World) and Agent Woo (Ant-Man and the Wasp) will appear in WandaVision--I quite like Kat Dennings, so I'm happy to have her back in the MCU, but Woo's one-note character will need an upgrade; Matt Shakman will direct and I'm still lost on what the show is going to look like (humour is emphasized, but not the only element).
• Kate Herron was announced as the director of Loki.
• We are getting a Moon Knight show after at least six straight years of rumours; the last of those were from 4chan in January and LotLB in July; unsurprisingly it will not be R-rated, but I don't see that as a problem (the comics themselves were rarely in that category); LotLB claims Feige pulled him from Hulu recently, but he's going to go back after this series (so, again, Tim's consistent confusion on the corporate politics between Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios--believing it's a Loeb/Feige thing as opposed to an Ike Perlmutter/Feige thing)
• We're also getting a She-Hulk show, which as far as I know only LotLB predicted back in July (this is not the same rumour as Conrad's at that time, which in his case was her as a second lawyer option for a Spider-Man sequel)--this is a big middle finger to Universal who controls her movie distribution rights--my instincts says she'll be race-swapped, but casting hasn't started yet
• An animated Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends show (matching the LotLB prediction from a couple of days earlier, although they had this is a Sony project)--this is the middle finger to Sony who, without Marvel, can't make TV shows of their own (perhaps we'll finally see Firestar, who seems unlikely to appear elsewhere). I don't really care about animated stuff (there's also a Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur show coming out), other than they buried Dazzler on one and I'd rather have her in live action

What's apparent from all this is that the Sony/Disney negotiations did not impact what was announced--none of this seemed thrown together at the last minute. What's interesting about what we heard is that they've all been long-rumoured (eg) and are all IP the MCU controlled before the Fox acquisition. What was surprising is that everything above seems to be for Phase Four, despite being told at SDCC that we had the complete lineup already. Could there be more films in that Phase? I think only if they want to push it into 2022 (which they could).

No one seems to have reflected on Feige changing his mind about Phases. He said they were going to move away from that label, but clearly decided it was impossible to do so since it was so ingrained in the public's mind (for my sake I'm glad, although I wonder if the desire to move away from it was to avoid having to punctuate each with a team-up film).

One of my concerns about The Eternals is how bloated the cast is (the two leads aren't in the picture above). That's eleven characters--it's simply not possible for all of them to get much screen time, so I wonder how many will get Starforced into oblivion. My assumption is that Sprite is there just for a few one-liners, but if Black Knight and Sersi are the focus, with Druig as the villain, who else gets a spotlight? I have to imagine Angelina Jolie doesn't join to be a bit player, so Thena and presumably Richard Madden's Ikaris will get significant screen time, How much will we see of Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo, Selma Hajek's Ajak, Lauren Ridloff's Makkari, Brian Tyree Henry's Phastos, and Don Lee's Gilgamesh? I haven't read the Neil Gaiman run that seems to be the basis of the film (see below), so I can't add insight from that perspective, but going by prior experience with Marvel there's only enough focus for 5-6 characters.

Charlie posted an explainer for what he believes The Eternals story will be about, saying it's based on Gaiman's run on the comic (which is funny since so many people, like Charles Murphy, are saying they would be based on the Kirby original--the MCU likes Kirby's aesthetic, but to this point have ignored his stories). The MCU-version will be about 35,000 years old rather than a million like the original comics (this fits the 4chan leak in March which, as far as it goes, remains accurate). The Gaiman conceit is that most of the Eternals don't know that they are Eternals--Ikaris starts to remember who he is. In that run Thena (who doesn't remember who she is) is working for Stark Industries (in context presumably being run by Pepper Potts or some surrogate). The villains in Gaiman's story are the Celestials, which Charlie believes is the eventual "Thanos-level" event. Keep in mind, Charlie doesn't have inside information, he's not a scooper, so take this with a grain of salt (will the film need the Eternals to not know who they are?). To me, however, it was always more likely Marvel would go for the more modern take (that's Feige's preference, in terms of story and character--there's nothing of Carol Danvers' pre-2012 history at all in her film, for instance).

Taika Waititi has debunked Deadline's report (Anthony D'Alessandro) that he'd completed his script for Thor 4. This is the same reporter at Deadline who erroneously claimed Doctor Strange 2 would be a 2020 release--worth keeping in mind going forward.

GWW is reporting that the MCU will be having the Werewolf by Night character debut in an upcoming show (their guess is Moon Knight, which is plausible). This echoes LotLB's news months ago that a show would be on Hulu with this character as a lead. While Tim's confusion over the Loeb/Feige split is exasperating, and it's possible he's simply making guesses with his predictions, quite a few very odd and specific scoops of his are coming to fruition at least in part. Food for thought. My theory about Tim at the moment? His source hear's about IP that's being considered and makes educated guesses over how.

In terms of the general reaction to the Disney/Sony split, I was surprised John Campea joined the Sony side as I wasn't aware of his attachment to them (unlike his former employer Warner Brothers). He's always gone full Kevin Smith with his unobjective adoration for LucasFilm, but his Marvel coverage has been tinged with bizarre bits of criticism, something I'd assumed was related to connections at Fox. He deliberately avoided bringing up some of the necessary context of the split and relied on a known Sony shill for all his information, so take that for what it's worth (god knows, you shouldn't be watching him--let me suffer for you).

One argument Campea makes (which would run contrary to Midnight's Edge story in July) is that so long as Sony finances the MCU films they retain the intellectual copyright--this would be why they'd reject Disney paying for some of those costs (presumably language in an agreement could prevent the IP from being threatened, but that's not something he addresses). His argument, then, is that by allowing co-financing Sony would find itself in the situation ME describes in their video (characters in dispute, therefore Sony can't use them). No article I've seen has echoed this opinion, so take it with a Campea-sized grain of salt.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News

Deadline is reporting the following (this long quote is necessary to provide full information; I've included clarifications and corrections in square brackets):

A dispute that has taken place over the past few months at the top of Disney and Sony has essentially nixed [Kevin] Feige, and the future involvement of Marvel from the Spider-Man universe, sources said. … Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios [actually 30/70 via THR], and there were discussions that this might extend to other films in the Spider-Man universe. Sony turned that offer down flat.... Led by Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra, Sony just simply didn’t want to share its biggest franchise. Sony proposed keeping the arrangement going under the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross [ie opening weekend], sources said. Disney refused. {UPDATE: Sony insiders counter that Rothman did offer compromises but Disney declined [no one has clarified what these compromises were, making me doubt this comment from Sony].} … Sources said Disney’s top brass for the past several months has sought new terms for Feige and the Marvel cross-pollination to continue. As the Spider-Man relationship grew, Feige and Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman spoke about the possibility of a wider involvement in the Sony-controlled Spider-man universe, which contains 900 characters. … Sources said that Sony reasoned that they will be fine, without Feige. The creative template has been set on the Spider-Man films, and Watt and Holland are in place along with Amy Pascal, who became producer with Feige after she exited [was fired from the position due to the Sony hacks and forced to apologize for racist comments made therein] the executive suite after presiding over the previous Spider-Man iterations directed by Sam Raimi and Marc Webb as Sony Pictures chief. ... [S]ources note that Venom was a problem picture and far from the polished product that grossed $856 million worldwide, until Rothman himself spent a good long time in the editing room helping to get it there.

There are a couple of things to be aware of before we delve into the specifics. First, the author of the piece (Mike Fleming) is known to be Sony's chosen way of leaking information (something learned via the Sony hacks), which is why Fleming spends so much time praising the garrulous Rothman. Secondly, Tom Rothman, among his other foibles, was the man at Fox who prevented Ryan Reynolds from making Deadpool for years (the film only happened after he was pushed out of Fox in 2012, having kept the film down since 2004). Rothman has an enormous ego and it's clear that he leaked this information (LotLB and Andre agree with this), presumably with the intent to create backlash against Marvel and force them to come closer to Sony's terms. Rothman's decision blew-up in his face and Marvel holds all the cards--with the acquisition of Fox they have more than enough IP to live without Spider-Man (if a controversial Captain Marvel made more at the box office than Far From Home, what is Marvel giving up?).

After the immediate and overwhelming blowback (including Sony's stock taking a dive), stories started to filter out (eg) that negotiations weren't done and that the two sides were quite close to a deal (Andre claims 30/70 is on the table from Sony, but this is in error as that's what Disney has asked for and Sony is rejecting). Sony falsely put out a story that Disney was demanding a 50/50 profit share and that has, to a small degree, garnered them sympathy. One of the versions of events claims the only impasse was over a producer credit, but this is preposterous (LotLB claims the negotiations recommenced after the initial news dropped and are going well, for whatever that's worth). Matt Donnelly from Variety attempts to sum up the situation, but his article is confused and filled with self-contradictions related to the contradictory reports.

What do I think will happen? Rothman is stubborn (eg his approach to Deadpool or passing on things like Ted), so the possibility remains Sony will walk away and hope that inserting Tom Holland into the Sonyverse will work. Certainly in terms of retaining the rights to the IP, assuming Midnight's Edge story in July is correct, allowing the MCU a stronger hand in what happens going forward would put Sony in desperate straights if (later) they want to break the arrangement. The time to move away from Marvel would be now, but publicly and likely financially such a move would be a disaster. In the end, I think, Disney will get most of what it wants from Sony and Spider-Man will remain in the MCU (echoed here). Personally, I have no real attachment to the character (I was an X-Men fan primarily), so I'm indifferent to the result, but I do like many of the characters associated with the IP, so would love the MCU to have influence (if not outright control) over them.

There is a ticking clock for Sony as they are releasing a director's cut of Far From Home into theaters for Labour Day weekend. This will underperform if the public believes there is no deal. It may also be one of the reasons Disney is confident playing hardball, since there's nothing Spider-Man-relevant that's pressing on their end.

One related thing that's been debated in regards to this is Tom Holland and Tom Watt's contract situation. I've heard it said that the former has two films left on his deal and the latter one, while I've also heard that each has a one film option, which if correct means neither are signed. Holland (and his girlfriend Zendaya) both unfollowed Sony on Instagram when this broke which, if it means anything, is probably the most they can do to publicly protest a change. [According to this Watt's doesn't even have an option remaining and Holland simply has the option for a third Spidey-film.]

One thing this story means, regardless of whether the break occurs or not, is that Richard Rushfield's scoop in The Ankler was completely false--making a billion dollars did not automatically lock in Marvel to a third Spider-Man film (something LotLB claimed was false at the time).

This situation also seemingly debunks the multitude of Norman Osborn rumours: GWW's speculation that the character was being cast (June and August, speculation Jeremy Conrad echoed); 4chan posts from January and May that claimed he'd be a major antagonist in the MCU going forward (apparently Grace Randolph also said this, but as I don't follow her I'm getting that second hand); and TMSM's claim that there were shots of Osborn actually filmed for Far From Home (July), and even Murphy claims he'd heard things. LotLB (among others including myself) found all these ideas extremely unlikely given the rights situation.

An incidental note: I didn't realize until this story broke that Adam Barnhardt (at Comicbook.com) is a Sony shill--something to keep in mind going forward.

Charles Murphy says that Black Panther 2 will begin filming in January, 2021, and Doctor Strange 2 in late April, 2020. I don't recall hearing dates for these films previously, but Charles doesn't present them as a scoop so I assume that's been discussed elsewhere. He also says that Shang-Chi's filming has been pushed to January (originally he said it would be filming in the fall).

Martin Freeman thinks he'll be in the next Black Panther (for whatever that's worth) and that it will be filming in 2021.

Last time I went over the Fandomwire scoop about how the Loki series would tie-in with the rest of the MCU (which was echoed by Charlie Schneider); the normally garrulous Murphy believes the speculation makes sense. He also believes the transgender casting call (from GWW) is for Sera, but that she'll be in the Loki show rather than a film (still within the Thor-franchise, as the character is).

Discussing Film says Matt Shakman is in talks to direct one of the Disney+ shows--given the timeline it's either WandaVision or Loki.

Murphy thinks GWW's "Asian" casting call is for Shang-Chi. He speculates it could even be related to K'un Lun, which is a great example of why his speculation is so unreliable, as the MCU won't get the rights back to Iron Fist until the fall, 2020. As an aside, some of his opinions are headscratchers as well--he's one of the only people I've heard that prefer Deadpool 2 over Deadpool.

A brief thought: I wonder if Sony's Morbius film played a part in the MCU's interest in making Blade?

Kinda Culty's latest video suggests a Wolverine movie (by the Russo's) will be our introductory mutant film. I think that's plausible and certainly the Russo's can write their own ticket given their track record. With that said, I'm not sure what film will come first--it could simply be an X-Men movie.

He also argues that The Eternals will set-up the idea of mutants, but that its premise makes it unlikely the MCU would use the same idea for mutants (hidden but always around, particularly as that's likely the story of Namor and Atlantis). I'm less convinced by his belief that a small number of mutants have existed for awhile to make room for characters like Professor X and Apocalypse. My problem with this idea is it's hard to fathom some of the core mutants not taking part in Endgame if they were around. He echoes my theory that the Snaps are the primary trigger for activating mutants around the world. I also agree that it's easy to retroactively make Wanda and Quicksilver mutants by saying the Mind Stone triggered their X-gene.

Just a related note: a revised version of my MCU X-Men article is in process and should be out soon.

Conrad says a 'big' series is coming to Disney+, but has no idea what it is (he includes a lot of speculation, including one that's similar to LotLB's: X-Factor Investigations), or when it will be announced.

Here are the latest batches (one, two, three, and four) of LotLB news (taken with a grain of salt):

• His source "The Black Knight" is someone who contacted him on Instagram four or five months ago (March-April), liked his content, and hates Grace Randolph (which they bonded over); TBK convinced him that his inside information was real (specifically mentioning info he had on Captain Marvel and Shang-Chi through spec purchases); he since said TBK has been an industry insider for about thirty years (so the 90s), writing for comicbooks along with editorials about them
• LotLB is a comic shop owner, so he benefit's from the speculation he discusses on his channel (to some extent at least)--I don't recall him naming his shop on the channel, so if that's his angle he's not pushing it much [Correction: I misunderstood what was said here as Tim does not own a shop]
• He repeated his belief that Marvel Entertainment and the MCU will be connected--a lovely idea, but he's still the only one saying it (it's either a tremendous scope or tremendously embarrassing)--his explanation (the fourth video) is that Bob Iger has forced this arrangement because it will help them take on Netflix (I don't really follow his logic)
• Claims Marvel has a Plan A and Plan B for D23: believes (like Andre below) that the former is to talk about The Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and their plans for Spider-Man (see below), but never went into their Plan B
• Said that there are plans for a new Spider-Man six-picture deal which would follow the final film of his high school trilogy if a deal with the MCU is reached--a Sony trilogy would follow him in his college years and feature the characters from Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends (see below), with three MCU appearances including two Avengers films and The Fantastic Four; apparently Marvel's new offer is to give Sony the rights to make TV shows based on the IP (along with the 30/70 split and the MCU gaining creative control over the IP on film)
• Says Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) will return to the MCU from another multiverse, later clarifying that's if the actor is willing to return, otherwise the role will be re-cast
• Claims an actor is auditioning for Nova (I looked for anyone else reporting this and found nothing), saying they were in their 20s and had been in a Christopher Nolan film
• Changed his New Mutants show rumour to Disney+ from Hulu, which makes a lot more sense
• Reiterated his rumour from a couple of months ago (which I ignored at the time) that the tie-in event on Hulu will be Marvel Zombies
• Unrelated to the MCU, he claims Sony is working on Scarlet Spider, Spider-Man 2099, and a reboot of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends TV shows (the latter seemingly would not occur if they were to appear on film), all of which will be impossible if the Marvel deal isn't renewed

There's been a Streisand Effect ever since LotLB lost his channel--various people have made a point of either including or referencing his content. His own theory is that he channel was deleted due to Youtube's recent alterations of their terms of service (based on music that was on his channel).

Andre suggests we'll get Phase Five hints at D23; he speculates this will be the case because the properties announced for Phase Four don't have enough cache (take that with a grain of salt). [Amusingly the Charles' agree with the result of this idea--a big announcement--although they say if it happens it would be to draw attention away from the Sony-Disney split--this kind of thing would also, for different reasons, match LotLB's theory above.]

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)