Marvel News

Re-shoots for Black Widow have begun (presumably for routine pick-ups). I'd expect these to last at least a couple of weeks.

Variety reported that Sam Raimi is in talks to direct Doctor Strange 2 and shortly thereafter he was confirmed in that role. Raimi hasn't directed a feature film in seven years (Oz the Great the Powerful), and hasn't had a hit since 2007's Spider-Man 3 (despite how poorly that film is viewed, it was financially successful). Buried in the article was that Rachel McAdams, Christine Palmer, would not be returning, which lends even more credence that Clea will be the love interest for Strange in the film. It's not clear why McAdams isn't being included (as in, was it a choice by the filmmakers or the actress--I have a feeling the MCU is trying to steer clear of love interests without powers and that may be why she's gone--my idea is wanting to stay away from companions or love interests who require rescuing).

Speaking of changes, the film is getting a re-write, as Loki's Michael Waldron has been given that task. Murphy reported back in January that Scott Derrickson's buddy C. Robert Cargill was writing the script, but Cargill himself has debunked that, adding that he and Derrickson's version of the film was never written, so that the October script by Jade Bartlett was the first stab at the story. Murphy has admitted the error, although he hasn't offered an explanation for how it was made. This re-write is something Marvel has done for every film initially written by a female writer thus far:

• James Gunn's re-write of Nicole Perlman's Guardians of the Galaxy (she maintained her writing credit)
• Four of five female writers of Captain Marvel were dropped to just story credits as the co-directors made significant changes (Geneva Robertson-Dworet is the only one whose work remained)
• Eric Pearson's re-write (the second) of Jac Schaffer's Black Widow script
• The aforementioned Waldron's re-write of Jade Barlett's script (it's not clear if Barlett will get more than a story credit, although the implication is that's all she'd get)

Re-writes aren't uncommon for Marvel (12 of 25 thus far, or 12 of 20 if you exclude Markus and McFeely), but it's interesting that all the scripts written by women have failed to make it intact to filming. This reminds me of stories from almost a decade ago that Marvel was struggling to find women interested in writing their films (plenty of female film writers were out there, but the genre didn't appeal to them). My guess is we're seeing the early days of Feige giving opportunities that haven't yet hit the mark yet (I think Perlman deserves a lot of credit for the first Guardians film, as the Gunn-only sequel was a marked step down in quality--the comedy remained excellent, the everything else was worse). In time this will change, it just seems to be the growing pains of assembling filmmakers for the task (it's similar, I think, to finding female directors for the films--a struggle that largely seems over).

Murphy speculates that Super-Midnight will appear in Shang-Chi. If he's correct, that '98% Asian' comment from Feige is starting to look like hyperbole. This also sounds like GWW's story from July that guessed Midnight Sun was coming to the film (the latter is African, the former African-American, but both are from the 70s iteration of the IP and have very similar names).

Variety reports that Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has joined Thor 4's writing staff. For me this is two bits of news: the announcement itself, and that Taika Waititi wanted a co-writer. I've gone over before how his derision of Kyle/Yost/Pearson script of Ragnarok doesn't hold up if you look at the script, so it will be interesting to see how his (and Robinson's) compares.

Daniel has echoed Bleeding Cool's claim that a Brian Michael Bendis-based Secret Invasion Disney+ series is coming and will lead into Captain Marvel 2. Rich Johnston's post said 'tie-in,' not 'lead-in,' so I'm not sure if that's Daniel's interpretation or Conrad's (whose link is above). If the language is correct and the show is leading into CM2, then it's coming relatively soon (2022 presumably). There's nothing from Daniel that wasn't in Johnston's original, so he seems to be just repeating it.

Mikey Sutton's latest:

• Kevin Feige has big plans for Rogue, as she's one of his personal favorite X-Men characters.
• Rogue will first appear as [an] antagonist, and may first appear as a member of the Brotherhood [of evil Mutants] or Marauders. (No script has been written yet, this is just brainstorming.) While Captain Marvel 2 is being discussed, it's not certain.
• Kevin Feige wants to put Magneto in [on] the back burner for a little bit, and the Brotherhood's first leader may be someone else. [If this is true we can scratch those rumours about him appearing in WandaVision, which I don't think are credible anyway]
• Captain Marvel 2 will introduce Nova, and he will be the Richard Rider version.
• Nova will be an agent of SWORD who is working under Nick Fury.
• Richard will be set up for a larger role. Marvel is searching for an actor in Tom Holland's age range, as they're interested in a friendship between Nova and Spider-Man.

Rogue is one of my favourite X-Men as well, but I have no idea if Sutton's claim about Feige is true. I've speculated (and hoped) she'd debut as a villain, since it's such a formative part of her background and Fox never used it. The idea of Magneto on the back burner is pretty common speculation (from myself and others), since thus far Feige has steered away from what others have done before (thus Michelle as the love interest for Peter Parker instead of either Gwen Stacey or Mary Jane Watson). Most speculation picks the Richard Rider version of Nova, although I have no idea why a friendship with Spider-Man is relevant so long as Sony controls the character (although associating him with a character who can't appear in Sony films does make life more difficult for Sony).

Sutton then put out another split YT scoop (part one and part two):

• The Sentry is coming, probably to Disney+
• Kang is being considered as the next Avengers villain, intended to unite the Fantastic Four with the former; half will be sent to 2099, the other half to the old west where they meet the Two-Gun Kid

We've had two prior Sentry rumours: one from 4chan back last January (as a possible Disney+ show), and then LotLB put him on a long term spec list in September (in essence, Sutton is simply repeating the 4chan rumour 13-months later). The broad idea of Kang is identical to a Reddit post from January (FF+Avengers team-up), but it didn't have the 2099/old west element (the latter echoes LotLB in July as they claimed something Western-themed was coming to Hulu). As someone who has been following Sutton's material for the last six months or so, it's hard not to think that he simply repeats information gleaned from elsewhere.

LotLB says the Alejandra Jones-version of Ghost Rider is coming to Blade. The idea of this version of the character appearing is something Tim floated back in September (echoing 4chan at the time--same link). LotLB didn't specify where she would appear then, while the 4channer had her in Doctor Strange 2. This runs counter to what their buddy Sutton said less than a month ago (that it would be the Johnny Blaze-iteration). Side note about Sutton: he seems to have cut out Matt Jarbo from his YT scoops (it's not clear if that's due to Jarbo's colourful past or something else).

Speaking of 4chan, the guy who wrote the post referenced above has updated it:

• As I previously reported, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will feature the first Ghost Rider in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from an alternative universe.
• Marvel Studios was going to cast for the role of "Ghost Rider" between November or December of last year, and a last minute decision was made by Kevin and his team about actress Bella Thorne playing the role of Alejandra Jones, the female Ghost Rider.
• Now, that's not to be. I did said [say] that the role was not set in stone.
• Kevin recently subjected on February a change to the direction of the story, a swap for actress Letitia Wright to play a female version of Black Panther from another universe. A Female Black Panther will take on the role that was going to be played by the female version of Ghost Rider in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness.
• Daniel Ketch was indeed chosen for a small cameo in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness interpreted by actor Brett Dalton also known for his role as Agent Grant Ward and Hive in the ABC Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series.
• The appearance of Daniel Ketch won't be major for the plot, so don't expect him to flame on. Whether the character will return for future installments is yet to be seen.

This boils down to: they were going to have the female Ghost Rider as a supporting character in Doctor Strange 2, but changed their minds and are having a female Black Panther instead, with a small cameo by a male Ghost Rider. Given how many characters are supposed to be in DS2 I have no idea how much screen time you have for a female Black Panther, which seems like a waste. A cameo for Ghost Rider only makes sense if you are going to do something with him (which the poster assumes they will). I don't buy it, but time will tell.

LotLB re-posted their first second scoop video from May (the original was deleted with the rest of the channel in the summer). I wasn't watching at the time, so thought I'd include what was said to keep tabs on their predictions:

• His original source ('The Black Knight') verified himself by showing screen shots of him, among other things, predicting Brie Larson as Captain Marvel and that Shang-Chi was coming; he was a writing for a number of magazines in the 1980-1990s, and was now working on a new comicbook (in another video they apparently bonded over a mutual hatred of Grace Randolph) [Echoed in August]
• Man-Thing for Hulu, who will join Ghost Rider, Helstrom, and Satana as the Spirits of Vengeance (uncertain if he will get his own show) [The former repeated in August and picked up by Daniel in October; the team-up idea is straight out of a Deadline article, which Sutton repeated in October with a plot added, and in January with the name changed to Midnight Sons and an adjusted roster: no Helstrom or Satana, but Blade and Moon Knight added]
• Villains for the Ghost Rider Hulu show: Scarecrow and Orb [Repeated in August]
• Dwayne Johnson as Namor, appearing in Black Panther 2 (where Atlantis attacks Wakanda), with this related to difficulties in negotiations with DC over Black Adam [Repeated in June]
• Peyton Reed in talks to direct Fantastic Four (whose story will pull from Lee, Byrne, and Hickman) [They said Feige rejected his 1960s idea for the team, but that he was still in talks in August]
• Hercules in Thor 4 (using the recent No Road Home iteration of the character) [Repeated in July]
• A lot of Hickman for Phase Four and Five generally, specifying his work with the Avengers and Fantastic Four [Repeated in August]
• The Thunderbolts is not something Feige is that interested in--if it appears it will be on TV [Repeated this in June, but by September had them coming to Disney+]
• Spiderverse live-action film made by Marvel for Sony [Not repeated as far as I can tell]
• DC streaming service in trouble (the idea being that it would be folded into the WB's streaming service) [ibid]

Nearly all this information was repeated subsequently. The Johnson-as-Namor rumours never truly go away, but when Black Adam finally got a production date they dried up. Sutton has picked up only one of these ideas (the former Hulu team-up plan that was broken by Deadline and Bleeding Cool back in April).

A Redditor had two posts which seem to be slightly re-packaged old rumours:

• The Midnight Sons are coming to the MCU! My source has told me that, in addition the upcoming Helstrom limited series, Marvel TV Studios is planning miniseries for Werewolf by Night, Man-Thing and Elsa Bloodstone in order to further set up the team.
• The group's roster will be led by Blade, and also include Moon Knight, Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch), Werewolf by Night, Daimon [Hellstrom] and Ana Helstrom [meaning Satana], Man-Thing, Elsa Bloodstone and The Punisher. Mephisto will be the main antagonist of the movie, and a 2024/2025 release date is likely.
• Currently, Marvel is negotiating a new deal with Netflix, and things are looking good. With Marvel TV now rebranded, several Defenders-related projects are already in development.
• The first Defenders-related project is a fourth and likely final season of Daredevil. Kingpin, Elektra and Bullseye will all return, and it will take place in the post-Endgame timeline. It's in very early stages of development, as are the other projects.
• The second is a Heroes for Hire series, which is being written to have a lighter tone than either of the two previous shows. In order to distance it from the Iron Fist series, Danny Rand will be recast. The first season will feature Luke and Danny protecting a mutant (Marvel is undecided on who that mutant will be) from the main villain.
• The third is a final season for Punisher, which will feature none other than The Hood as the main villain. It will tie into Marvel's supernatural projects, and set up Punisher to join the Midnight Sons

The Midnight Sons roster is very similar to the Spirits of Vengeance roster from LotLB in May (above), but with Elsa Bloodstone added (via Reddit/Daniel in October). Both LotLB and Conrad have floated the idea of Netflix characters being shifted into the MCU-proper (Hulu etc), but recasting Danny Rand is an LotLB special (I didn't note it at the time, but Sutton repeated it in November).

Back to the central substance: there are four unique things above: the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider, having the Punisher as part of the team, Mephisto as the enemy of Sons of Midnight, and a new deal with Netflix. I find the latter idea preposterous--what possible benefit could there be for Marvel in that instance? While Feige would retain creative control over the IP, it makes no sense at all to air shows on a competitor instead of Disney-owned Hulu or FX etc.  I think the entire post is a guess based on the merger of Marvel Entertainment with Marvel Studios (I mentioned previously that LotLB's scoop of it all coming together was correct, but they had no idea how it was being implemented, so their various predictions based on that were all over the place and mostly wrong). The poster seems to be suffering from similar confusion, as its been clear for quite some time that the Netflix IP will simply be a footnote of Marvel history.

We got some clarity on where the new scoopers, The Illuminerdi, come from: they are former That Hashtag Show employees (ergo former coworkers of Murphy's, although I don't recall them having specific scoops while he was there).

A Morbius plot leak has hit Reddit from someone who was able to convince the moderators it might be real (that doesn't guarantee that it is, just that they found the idea plausible). I'm not interested in the film so much as what it says happens with Adrian Toomes. According to the post, Toomes is being held in San Quentin State Prison where a riot allows he (and Mac Gargin) to escape--Toomes tells Morbius he's putting a team together (ie, the Sinister Six), but the latter declines. This fits with Sony's long desire to put such a film together (that idea was already teased in Homecoming). The script also features Netflix-like references to the MCU (Toomes mentions the Blip, for example).

Speaking of Sony, they've announced an untitled film for October, 2021. Given how Sony likes their films two years apart (ie the MCU Spider-Man films, 2017-19-21, as well as their own Venom productions, 2018-20), I suspect it's a second Morbius.

I was not expecting Birds of Prey to open as poorly as it did--33 million is roughly 60% of Shazam's lukewarm opening and on par with Dark Phoenix. The film has no real competition in theaters, but if it lacks legs this could be the second bomb for the DCEU (after Justice League, whose budget ballooned when Whedon reshot most of the film). I have to wonder how much worse it would have been without critical praise (initially 90%, but has pulled it back to 80%).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Murphy removed his predicted dates for both Captain Marvel 2 (July/22) and Guardians 3 (Feb/23) without explanation. His CM2 date always had a question mark next to it, but GotG3 did not, so there's no clarity on why as yet. When I last made my predictions for the upcoming schedule, I had these two films in the opposite positions (Guardians struck me as a summer release, which was its original slot (May, 2020), while CM made its hay in February previously, so why not leave it there?). From my list the biggest question is whether Deadpool 3 is going to 'count' as part of the MCU. There's also a possibility I didn't entertain, which is that Avengers 5 could be in the July, 2022 slot. The reasoning for that would be it's three years after Endgame and we've had those films at three-year intervals. In that time it appears as though the Young Avengers, The Thunderbolts, and all the Phase Four plots will have moved forward, so a crescendo for them isn't out of the question.

TI's Braxter Timberlake says they've learned that Christian Bale's role in Thor 4, which he hasn't signed for yet, is as the lead villain who is an alien. This doesn't narrow it down very much, or debunk anyone's prior speculation. What it does do is provide a bit more clarity over what kind of character he'd be playing.

Afterwards a Redditor claimed Bale was playing Mangog after Ryan Gosling turned it down (the Gosling idea, not specific to this role, showed up in 4chan posts back in September and October, for whatever that's worth). Mangog is a very old (1968), minor, weird character who certainly has the power to be a threat, but seems a bit far off the beaten track to be a major villain.

Kinda Culty thinks John Walker will be the leader of the Thunderbolts rather than Zemo, with the latter forming the MCU-version of the Masters of Evil instead. The reasoning is good because Zemo hates the Avengers and an Avenger-like group isn't likely to appeal to him. The possibility of him joining the group with the purpose of subverting it remains, of course.

KC also indulged in some casting speculation: Noah Mills as Beetle or Atlas; Desmond Chiam as Fixer. Both of these characters were on LotLB's spec list in my previous post, but KC isn't getting the idea from them, instead he's looking at the comic roster of the team and connecting the dots.

One interesting thing revealed by IMDB (via stunt credits that are unlikely to be faked) is that the Yakuza will make an appearance in the show. They are little used in Marvel (Hawkeye was hunting them down in Endgame), but where they do appear they are usually connected with Daredevil (who remains locked behind the Netflix wall for another nine months) and Wolverine. The latter connection fits both the Madripoor setting and the Weapons Plus program. The MCU is putting a lot of easter eggs for the premier mutant in this show and I'm curious why that is. I don't expect him to appear or even necessarily be alluded too, but this is a lot of Wolverine-fluff for a seemingly unrelated show.

One of the likely reasons why Madripoor is being used in the show is that it has no extradition treaties with other countries, so if Zemo escapes captivity in Germany he can't legally be removed from Madripoor by SWORD, General Ross, or anyone else.

Bob Iger has confirmed the show will air in December, long after Falcon and the Winter Soldier airs in August (far longer than it needs to be--perhaps making space for whatever Star Wars offering is on Disney+). I'm unsure if this three month gap between shows is intended to be the norm, although having them debut between films makes sense. I think the minimum number of MCU shows a year is four (matching the films), but there's really no reason they couldn't add more.

The teaser for WandaVision confirmed Wiccan and Speed will appear. Rumours about their inclusion go all the way back to when the show was announced in 2018 (since it was borrowing comic elements that included them).

The Time Variance Authority (TVA) was confirmed via the Loki teaser. It's an obscure group with a big mission: monitoring realities throughout the multiverse and attempting to keep temporal interference to a minimum. They have no strong association with Loki in the comics, but do with Thor (and, oddly, She-Hulk); they are also connected to Kang the Conqueror (a subject of popular rumour). Justice Peace is the most commonly appearing member of the TVA. The group has not come up in any rumours about Loki, which is a reminder that we've had almost no rumours about the show. In comparative terms, the Disney+ shows have (thus far) featured far fewer leaks than the films.

On a personal note, I don't share the enthusiasm for Kang--in part because he was never in the comics I read so he doesn't touch on the stories I feel attached too. This doesn't mean he can't be a fantastic foe. I'm not (yet) convinced the TVA guarantees his involvement at some point.

Murphy put out a rumour that Angelica Ross was up for a roll in Loki that he thinks was for Sera (passim), although he's uncertain if she landed the role because she's not in Atlanta where the show is filming (the role is thought to be involved in every episode).

Speaking of rumours, a Redditor claims the following about the show:

• Morgan Le Fay will appear in the series [Echoes KC's speculation in November]
• Owen Wilson will play TVA agent Justice Peace [See above]
• Mr. Alternity will be in the series in a minor role [Another TVA member]
• Kid Thor will appear in the show but will be turned into a frog by 2012 Loki [Echoing the idea of Kid Loki appearing; the transformation that echoes Thor #364 and a line from Ragnarok]
• Cul Borson will appear as one of the villains

The latter has come up before in speculation about Thor 4 (because of his role in the Jane Foster storyline being adapted, and the Fear Itself storyline that involved time travel), but I apparently did not mention him by name. He is Odin's older brother (now dead in the MCU). The strikes me as someone's speculation.

Speaking of Owen Wilson speculation, I've now seen a rumour that he'll play an older version of Loki (which seems a bit of a stretch to me).

TI's Braxter Timberlake says Ms. Marvel's filming date is shifting from April to August [the latter date matches a 4chan post from November], but the cast is being locked in for a year of filming even though the show only needs four months of shooting. His surmise is that the cast is being kept for Captain Marvel 2 (the implication being it will begin filming at the beginning of 2021). The other possibility, not brought up by Braxter, is that they need to be available for an unannounced New Avengers show (or film).

Conrad says Trickshot and the Tracksuit Mafia will appear in Hawkeye (he also reiterates there's no delay in production). The idea of the former goes back to 4chan in January (echoed in May, same link), although both of those posts had the Hood as the main antagonist.

Conrad claims Rick Jones is coming to the MCU, but he doesn't know in what film or show. His first suggestion is Captain Marvel 2, but I find that very improbable (she's space-based and the IP is trying hard to be very female-centric). I think She-Hulk is a more logical choice, since the character is often attached to the Hulk IP (he was in the original Incredible Hulk script and is referenced in that film, but Edward Norton wrote him out).

Conrad is also floating the idea that Crossbones will return to the MCU. While this is possible (despite dying in Civil War), I don't know what the point would be. Why bring him back? What purpose would it serve? How can Crossbones evolve in a way that makes him something other than just another thug?

We have our first 4chan post about Captain Marvel 2:

• Not much is know [known]. This topics have been talked about in the "room" multiple times, it would seemed the board is going to keep this [these] ideas.
• What's left of Nova Corp after the planet's destruction at the hands of Thanos will be involve [involved] in the movie. There are some concepts not used in Infinity War that will be used at the beginning of this movie.
• Richard Rider's daughter, Beth (Elizabeth) Rider will be NOVA [Nova] in the MCU and will be a sub-antagonist of Captain Marvel.
• Beth Rider won't the only survivor of Xandar.
• Talonar will be the villain of the movie. Robert Rider [who is] Beth's uncle.
• Beth and Carol will develop a romantic relationship through out the movie.
• Talos will gained [gain] the ability to copy other characters powers. [Ala Super-Skrull]
• They want Jane Foster's Thor to make a cameo in the movie, Marvel wants to build A-Force with Carol Danvers as their leader. Talos won't be part of A-Force because it will be an all woman team.

I think the 4channer is guessing. While there is a precedent for using another iteration of an IP rather than the first, Guardians isn't comparable to Nova. We know Marvel has discussed A-Force (even if it's difficult to figure out where the men are in that instance), although I'm not sure how serious they are (the comics haven't been popular). I can't find a Beth Rider anywhere, so she seems to be an invention of the poster. I have no idea what benefit there would be in having Talos become the Super-Skrull, since the latter is a classic Fantastic Four villain.

Mikey Sutton has put out a Fantastic Four scoop:

• Marvel's plans for the team are FAR different than any previous interpretations. [Feige has said as much]
• Rather than simply a team of superheroes, they are a family of explorers. This will be emphasized in the MCU.
• Their first MCU solo movie will feature them traveling through strange lands, worlds and dimensions.
• Their origin will also be tweaked, as they'll get their powers on a journey to the Negative Zone, which may or may not be a pocket dimension within the Quantum Realm. [This and the idea below come from a July Cosmic Book News post]
• Their official introduction will come in the upcoming third Ant-Man film.
• Marvel has huge plans for Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer and even Galactus. However, in order to maintain a sense of freshness with their interpretation, Marvel wants to make Mole Man the antagonist of the first film. [This idea comes from a 4chan post back in December]
• Peter Parker will actually try to join the team, and eventually become Reed Richards' new protege. [This is an idea Sutton initially floated back in September]
• John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are STILL at the top of Marvel's list for Reed and Sue Richards.
• Development on the project is pretty early, but it is happening.
• There are plans for the FF to meet the rebooted Inhumans in a sequel.

The idea of not using Doctor Doom right away goes back to the discredited WGTC in March (something Conrad echoed six months later without citing them), and the basic framework of the origin itself comes from a place of no reputation (Cosmic Book News). The idea of the group being  stuck in the Quantum Realm would permit them to having been born in the 60s, but I'm not sure how doing that would benefit them being thrust into the present.

The Twitter feed of a guy who writes comics that's claimed to be given credence by Murphy said he heard Jessica Drew was coming. This brings up a number of things I want to get into. I became aware of the Tweet because it was repeated on Reddit and the OP defined it as being specifically Jessica Drew and not Spider-Woman due to rights issues:

OP: I say "Jessica Drew" because the "Spider-Woman" name is technically webbed up at Sony, while Marvel have no such restrictions with the character outside of her costume. Meanwhile, there's no confirmation if it's SUMC or MCU, or if it's a movie or a show, so I'm not including it in the headline. Without Sony agreeing to anything, Marvel Studios can use the character of Jessica Drew, but they don't have a greenlight to use the name "Spider-Woman", or the character's Spider-based superpower set. Sony can use all of that, but they can't reference the character's ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA (which Marvel can). Sony can also use the name "Spider-Woman" for other characters to which that name applies, like Gwen Stacy in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It's basically the same thing as what happened with Quicksilver, albeit more complicated. Or how Fox used a version of Madame Hydra in The Wolverine, sans the HYDRA ties and imagery. And if Sony and Marvel play nice with each other, then no restrictions should apply to either of them, and they can make full use of Jessica Drew, the Spider-Woman, with no creative limitations in either of their movies. (Although with the SUMC stuff, I doubt that they have any real plans to tie S.H.I.E.L.D. or HYDRA into their stories.)
Other 1: From what I understand a lot of this is a mix between just a handshake agreement and courtroom-based mutually assured destruction. Like, if an MCU-set SWORD show wanted to use Jessica Drew, and Sony wanted to sue to stop them because they had plans to use her as Spider-Woman, Disney could use the excuse you laid out and feasibly defend their use, which would be an expensive loss for Sony, and vice-versa. Exactly like you said with the Maximoffs; they *are* Mutants, which was Fox's argument for owning them, but they were Avengers before they were X-Men, which was Marvel's argument. Instead of starting expensive courtroom battles without a guarantee of victory, they'd rather just work out a way that both parties will be happy. Throw in the fact that by all accounts Sony and Marvel are very happy with each other and this new agreement (even if Feige is annoyed that he doesn't get all his toys) and this seems reasonable.
Other 2: Aida was Madame Hydra in Agents of Shield season 4.
Other 1: Right, because Marvel Studios has the rights to that title. Fox, somehow, was able to use the basic character archetype (beautiful woman with poison makeup in charge of a shadowy organization), as long as they didn't reference the Hydra elements.

The Tweet comes just a few days after the discredited WGTC posted an article saying the character was coming to Sony (not making a distinction between the names). This story made the rounds, but there's no reason to take WGTC seriously, so do we have any solid evidence to help us?

Back in 2018 Deadline reported that an animated 'Spider-Women' film was being made, whose details Vanity Fair filled in a couple of months: it would include Spider-Gwen, Jessica Drew, and Cindy Moon (aka Silk). The project has a director (Lauren Montgomery) and screenwriter (Bek Smith), but no date and no further news has come out since--this is presumably irrelevant because the rights to animation are different than live action. All the live action films for Sony, thus far, have been under Palak Patel's guidance--his only plans for a female character are Madame Web (which has writers attached, but no director or date), who is a completely unrelated character.

As I went over last October, Sony has a track record of announcing projects for their Marvel IP and then simply abandoning them (Silk, Jackpot, Nightwatch, etc). There's reason to believe we get these announcements for two reasons: 1) to put pressure on Marvel to play ball, 2) to satiate the enormous egos of Pascal and Avid Arad (all their live action projects never go anywhere). Sony Pictures is struggling financially as films keep bombing or failing to meet expectations (the Zombieland sequel, the Jumanji sequel, Charlie's Angels, etc). Marvel IP helps stir up investment and announcing them and hiring writers is a cheap way to do so.

Back to the point: why are we theoretically getting a Madame Web film (a character no one has ever heard of) if Sony could produce a Spider-Woman film? I don't think Rothman is dumb enough to give the animated branch precedence (particularly when Venom outperformed Spider-Verse almost 3-to-1). We've never even had rumours of a Sony live-action version of Jessica Drew so we have to ask the question: why is that? I'm inclined to agree with the Redditor's breakdown of the rights, otherwise she should have been at the forefront of Sony's hypothetical lineup (particularly as, despite her name, she's not strongly associated with Peter Parker). That doesn't mean the specific rumour is correct, however.

Murphy reported last January that Jessica Drew was originally in Far From Home, but was replaced by Nick Fury and Maria Hill. That's a joint Sony production, but the version of the character we'd see is very much in line with the Marvel rights described above (without her costume or powers, but all the other elements Marvel is said to own). We don't know why she was removed (was it at someone's insistence, or did the story function better as is?), and because of the IP we don't know if she was only available because it was a Sony film.

Back to the scoop itself: my belief is that the Twitter user saw the WGTC rumour circulated elsewhere, or heard something about the animated project at Sony, and is referring to that. As-is, there's nothing to suggest it's MCU-related until we hear more, but it did serve as an interesting launching point for looking at the rights situation of the character.

The New York Times reports that Disney+ has accumulated 28.6 million subscribers, exceeding Disney's largest expectations. There are reasons for Disney to trumpet any result it gets and the article doesn't offer any interpretation or larger context for the information, but it's something to be aware of.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Richard Madden posted on Instagram that The Eternals has wrapped filming (which began back in July). I bring this up less for that news and more to address one of the common refrains about the film: the lazy comparisons to Guardians of the Galaxy (encouraged, for marketing reasons, by Feige). Let's be clear that these are very different IP. Guardians is based on the 2008 reboot of the IP by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, which was composed of relatively well-known Marvel characters unattached to it previously. Eternals is nothing like that, as not even the limited Gaiman run (06-07) could salvage an IP that's never been popular. These are enormously obscure characters even within comicdom and whatever cache they might have had with that limited readership is mostly buried beneath a cast that's visually unrecognizable (with the exception of Ikaris and Thena). In fairness to Marvel, the look of the Guardians was also changed (Drax in particular), but on the whole it's not hard to recognize them. The opposing argument would be because no one knows the property, changes are much more easily made, which is true. The concern for the film is because we know the MCU brand by itself isn't enough to make people come to theaters (just ask Peyton Reed), a bloated cast without a bankable star (Jolie hasn't had a hit since 2014) means The Eternals could be in trouble. The original 2020 plan, no doubt, was to have Guardians 3 play in the summer and lead into Eternals, giving it a boost. Instead, the film will have to stand on its own, which means it will need good trailers and word of mouth.

Zachary from TI says Clea is confirmed for Doctor Strange 2 (which seems true--Wardell broke her involvement back in December, 2018, and see below), but Zachary's reasoning is looser than the other TI scoops. Here's his version of the casting breakdown: "female lead at the center of the narrative. The age range is from late 20’s to early 40’s … needing to have “leading lady” qualities." We don't yet know that Clea is at the center of the narrative, or how she's related to the story at all.

After this was published Murphy talked about something he heard from one source months ago: that Emily Blunt met with Marvel while filming Jungle Cruise (May-September). He doesn't know if she was signed, turned them down, or what the specifics were and no one other source has confirmed the meeting. His speculation is that maybe she was approached for the role of Clea (fan-casting has given her the role of Susan Storm for years). For those who don't know, she was unable (due to scheduling) to take the role of Black Widow, so is very familiar with Marvel. I wonder if this meeting is why both Conrad and GWW claimed last June that a Fantastic Four film was coming in 2022 (my reasoning being: having heard Marvel met with Blunt they guessed she was approached for a role in it). This idea was (the Fantastic Four in the near future) debunked by Roger Wardell (same link) at that time, which is the only time I'm aware of that he directly went out of his way to debunk something.

When you think, big picture, about the popular John Krasinski/Emily Blunt casting, it's dependent on the Fantastic Four being introduced in their mature phase (presumably arriving via the multiverse)--I don't think Feige wants that. I think he wants Marvel's first family near or at their beginning, which means the 40/36 year old actors are a good ten years too old for those roles. With that said, there's a home at Marvel for both actors in other capacities if they wish. I wonder if the Clea character is robust enough for Blunt (on the surface she seems pretty obscure). One other potential problem with Murphy's casting theory is that it runs against Wardell's claim (admittedly from before the script was written) that the character would be raced swapped to Asian. Perhaps, given the flood of diverse castings elsewhere, Marvel will cast her as she is in the comics.

After this new dropped TI confirmed Mordo's return, saying they've seen a breakdown that includes him as one of five leading roles (this breakdown also, they claim, confirms Clea--according to it neither she nor Brother Voodoo have been cast yet). Sadly they don't quote the breakdown, so we can't verify their speculation. Mordo's inclusion matches a 4chan leak from May that also included Christine Palmer and Wong, calling Mordo a sympathetic antagonist.

We have confirmation from Murphy that Leiko Wu, Clive Reston, and Jack Tarr will appear in Shang-Chi (which is getting ready to start filming). According to what was posted, Shang-Chi worked for MI-6, but has left the organization. Reston (45-50) is his old partner and married to Leiko (26-39), while Tarr (30-49) is someone who enjoys a good fight--all three are believed to have been cast.

These characters have come up before, as back in October a 4chan post mentioned all three, but did not have the age brackets for them (given the actors they suggested for the roles), which either means they learned of it without context or were making educated guesses. This rumour was echoed by LotLB in January (I believe it was Sutton's list; in that list they mention the love connection). There was a slightly earlier October 4chan post that only mentioned Wu (saying Jamie Chung was in the role). We can take this opportunity to debunk a Reddit post from the same time that claimed to know the plot of the film (wrong because it has Reston et al as members of SHIELD--a lot of old posts mention it instead of SWORD, but MI-6 is a completely different organization).

Murphy Tweeted that Guardians 3 will be a February, 2023 release. Normally, when he makes a change to his release schedule, he includes an accompanying article with his reasoning, but that hasn't happened yet, but unlike his Captain Marvel 2 date this doesn't have a question mark attached. Is he right? We shall see.

Conrad posted a rumour saying that the Valkyrie Mist is in the works for the MCU--she's an incredibly minor Claremont character with just 7 appearances (who hasn't appeared since 1993). She's associated with the New Mutants, but Conrad says (and I agree) that they are due for a long reboot after the Fox film appears, so she'll be appearing in some other context. Conrad guesses that she'll appear in Thor 4, but I wonder if she's meant for the Loki show (it certainly reminds me of his scoop about the show seeking a double for a blond character, which matches Mist--his guess was Enchantress). Conrad's speculation isn't completely random, as the character's story arc includes interactions with Loki.

If Conrad's surmise is true, I wonder what it portends for the Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie--a character shuffled off into semi-irrelevance as Queen of Asgard in Endgame (she'll have a role to play in Ragnarok, but given the other rumoured characters being added it's unlikely to be a large one).

Murphy speculates Isaiah Bradley may be joining Falcon and the Winter Soldier. His theory is based on an IMDB listing for Dr. Wilfred Nagel--he's another scientist attempting to replicate Erksine's super soldier formula that was given to Steve Rogers. In this case it's tested on hundreds of African-Americans and Bradley is the only success--but it causes him all sorts of problems. The storyline seems intended to echo the Tuskegee syphilis experiment carried out by the CIA. Could this guess be true? It's certainly possible, although the crowd of characters believed to be appearing in the show gets larger every day and you have to wonder if there's enough time to pay back a story like this.

Conrad re-posted an image from Reddit that hints at Flag-Smasher appearing in the show due to an image of some graffiti found on set (he thinks it's the Karl Morgenthau version). I'm less interested in that then this comment from him:

"For a while it’s been known that the militant group, and long time Captain America villains, U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. would make an appearance…. …if U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. is in the series (and there’s no reason to doubt it based on sources)…."

This idea only comes from one place and has not been widely repeated since (although Murphy believes its substance about Loki and Conrad wrote about it at the time): a 4chan post that I covered last January. In doing research I found another post that's clearly based on it and thought I'd go through it and illustrate the minor differences between the two:

• Loki: Rumor has it that the series will actually follow the dead Loki narrating his trajectory. Much of the story will be with the younger version of Loki, which means that Tom Hiddleston will not be the only actor to play the character. In addition, Frigga will have great role in the series. The younger version of Thor will also appear. Scenes with Odin will not show the face of actor Anthony Hopkins. Loki will narrate the tragic trajectory for the Norns, trying to save his soul from Hel. Karnilla and Ulik will be the villains of the series.

The substance is exactly the same as the post I linked above, although we have good reason to doubt its veracity since Tom Hiddleston is clearly not just a narrator (keeping in mind this says 'rumour').

• Vision and the Scarlet Witch: Vision will indeed be rebuilt in Avengers: End Game. In the series he and Wanda will try to live a normal life in the suburbs of New York. But now Vision will no longer be linked to the mind stone, causing a cold and emotionless version. To try to turn him into the Vision he once knew, Wanda began to study the mystic arts and try a spell that will have disastrous results. Vision will pass much of the series in its human form, and Wanda will realize that a shadowy spirit possessed him. The witch Agatha Harkness will be in the series, revealing to Wanda some mysteries of its past. Another subplot of the series will be the public disapproval of the relationship between Wanda and Vision. The villain of the series will be a neighbor who also disapproves of their relationship. He will eventually be possessed by the same spirit that took Vision, becoming the Grim Reaper. Dominic West (300) is currently considered the actor for the role.

The only substantive difference from the link above is the inclusion of Grim Reaper (echoed months later in November by another 4channer). There are errors here about when Vision is reborn that are identical to the linked post.

• Winter Soldier & Falcon: will be deeply attached to Marvel Studios' Phase 4, possibly helping to build themes for the future of the films. The plot should accompany the two heroes being recruited by the new SHIELD to prevent the anarchic group Ultimatum. In the series the group wants to implement a plan formerly developed by HYDRA. The leak says the series will feature other characters such as Nick Fury, Agent 13 and General Ross. Another big problem for the Soldier and the Falcon: they will also have to deal with John Walker, a soldier recruited by the United States to become a new Captain America, but who will slowly go mad and become a threat.

This has the exact same substance. This second post is largely a summary of the one I discussed a year ago, which is the original, but it's good to keep tabs on these things because rumours can spring from them. If we do see Ultimatum having Flag-Smasher is a strong possibility.

TI's Mike Marchant says Sera is being auditioned for Loki: "The role is being described as a major supporting character set to appear not only on the series but possibly in future MCU movies as well." GWW broke that the character would appear last August, but assumed it was for Thor 4 (something Murphy disagreed with at the time, believing she would be in Loki). She's Marvel's most prominent transgendered character and a recent creation (2015 via Kieron Gillen), with a strong connection to Asgard (in the comics she's dating Angela, Thor's sister). That's not to say she's popular, but she's an important landmark for Marvel. Most believe we won't see Angela because Hela has already taken the role of secret sister to Thor, but the simple way around this problem is by having Angela exist out in the multiverse rather than be from MCU Prime.

Brandon Davis (of ComicBook.com), who doesn't generally have scoops, claimed Owen Wilson will play a role in Loki (he doesn't know what that role is, but apparently a major one), and this was subsequently confirmed by Deadline. I have no idea if this will be a one-off for Wilson or if he has some future in the MCU (I'd lean towards not). The 51-year old doesn't have the cache he did ten years ago, but has the comedic chops to help add some zest to the show. The only theory I've seen on who he will play thus far is from Reddit, suggesting he'll be the Eric Masters version of Thunderstrike,

Murphy says the search for Kamala Khan is ongoing. He'd heard an actress had been found almost a month ago, but has since learned Marvel is still looking. He thinks this new information means they either couldn't make a deal with with that actress or his source was wrong. I'd lean towards the latter (what young actress would turn down an iconic role like this?).

Another character Conrad says is coming is Ripper (specifically the African-American character), who is from the Moon Knight IP and is where Conrad thinks he'll appear. The character is so minor that his entry in the Marvel wiki is incomplete outside his first appearance in 1994. The character is part of the Hellbent, servants of the god Set who opposes Khonshu. The Ripper is one of over a dozen characters and of no significance within the comic he appears in, so if Conrad is right the significance seems to be that Seth the Immortal is an antagonist in the series. Seth is from the final arc of Terry Kavanagh's 90s run of Marc Specter: Moon Knight and hasn't appeared since. The basic story of the character is he's a Templar whose order is guarding the Hellbent, but broke his faith due to a hunger for power. Whether the show will follow that story or not is uncertain, but it's not hard to see its basic elements as the framework for a more dynamic story that might tie in to things like Blade etc.

LotLB (part one and part two) with a non-Sutton reserve list for a Thunderbolts series on Disney+ (in the midst of the video Tim disavowed Daniel without providing reasons, despite having briefly been friendly with him--from the subtext it seems related to the fight with Murphy last year):

• Moonstone (Karla Sofen) - the character has some similarities to Carol Danvers, but Marvel doesn't have to go that way with her
• Fixer (Norbert Ebersol) - an old school Marvel villain (there are other versions of him)
• Jolt - Murphy speculated she was coming recently
• Andreas Von Strucker (aka Swordsman) - Kinda Culty speculated he'd appear about a month ago
• Ghost - the character has appeared already so I think the idea here is of her return (even though LotLB talked about the male version)
• Paladin - possibly tied up with the Daredevil IP; back in August LotLB claimed he was slated for Moon Knight (that failure doesn't inherently debunk the idea--it's possible the character is intended for use somewhere and they were simply wrong in guessing where)
• Beetle (Abner Jenkins) - another old school Marvel villain--uses a mech suit (there are other versions of the character)

One thing said during the stream, which is true, is that many MCU scoopers make their hay via one-sheets (casting calls) from Marvel--they take the sheets and try to match them with their comic knowledge to make educated guesses--this applies to most (not to Wardell, who is either an insider or has actual inside sources, or to Murphy after his time at MCU Exchange, as he has external sources with inside information--agents, an minimum).

We have another Redditor claiming to scoop Moon Knight (all errors are his own):

• The show will be a true psychological thriller with fantasy elements included in it
• The show will be where Mr.Robot(tv show) meets mcu. Its not like it has same story elements from mr robot but it has same themes from mr robot like in the show the protagonist suffers from multiple personality disorder and turns into vigilante hacker but in moon knight the protagonist becomes vigilante superhero/antihero
• the show will be a very different when compared to typical superhero movies/tv shows
• His origin story will be similar to the comic origins with tiny changes
• Marc Spector is the first mcu superhero to be flawed and his judgements will be unexpected and scary
• his intentions and motivations will be both unexpected and also cruel
• the show plays on the question of if konshu is real or fake till the end
• the show follows non linear story telling of flash forwards and flashbacks with neo noir elements sprinkled through out the series
• the show also contains jaw dropping moments from beginning to end
• the show will be dark, gritty ,edgy ,scary and crazy with wall to wall action elements and will maintain suspense elements through out the show with unexpected twists and turns and will make us guessing what happens next till the end
• bushman,frenchie,marlene,werewolf by knight(main villan) will appear in the series with stained glass scarlet playing a key role and carries an unexpected twist
• All three moon knight personalities(marc spector, jake lockley and steven grant) will appear and those transitions from one personality to other will be intresting and shows how screwed he is at psychological level
• its based on both ellis and bemis run on moon knight (2014 and 2018)
• the show will be mostly grounded but references all mcu incidents through out the episodes
• Daniel Radcliffe is not confirmed to play moon knight but is one of the actors on final list

This is mostly just descriptors filled with the kind of general speculation we've heard in Moon Knight rumours going back for years (it seems specifically cribbed from a 4chan rumour from November). The tone the post suggests is reminiscent of Noah Hawley's Legion, which seems far afield of the MCU range. It's safe to expect Khonshu and the other usual suspects from the IP to appear, so there's nothing new here and I think it's just speculation.

In the midst of writing a theory post about Phase Four I had an itch to look over the various fictional Places in Marvel that are on/near Earth (I touched on a couple previously, but have included them here as well). It turns out there are a ton of these, so I've included only those that seem potentially significant/interesting in some way; those which have already appeared in the MCU are in green (in brackets I include who had/has the rights to them if its not Marvel):
The Savage Land - Antarctica; home to Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, and many others; a large tropical area filled with dinosaurs and exotic peoples (Fox)
Atlantis - sunken continent in the Atlantic Ocean; the Marvel version is the home of Namor (Universal)*
Lemuria - sunken continent in the Indian Ocean; home of the Deviants
Wakanda - has moved around, but in the MCU it's the north end of Lake Turkana (near South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia); the home of Black Panther
Burunda - between Angola and Namibia; home of Bushman (Moon Knight IP)
Genosha - island between the Seychelles and Madagascar; originally a place where mutants were enslaved for the betterment of their human masters (Fox)
Latveria - small part of Hungary; homeland of Doctor Doom (Fox)
Attilan - the city of the Inhumans has moved around (Atlantic Ocean, Himalayas, the Moon, outer space, and New Attilan is between New York and New Jersey)
Symkaria - small part of Hungary; homeland of Silver Sable (Sony)
Transia - located between Romania and Serbia; birthplace of Wanda and Pietro; prison of Chthon (Sovokia seems to have replaced this in the MCU)
Sokovia - between Slovakia and Czech Republic; invented for the MCU
Kamar-Taj - near to, next to, or in Nepal; home to the Ancient One
Madripoor - island near Singapore; well-known hangout for Wolverine
Krakoa - island that is also a mutant; a major part of the Hickman House of X story (Fox)
Narobia - as above; ruled by Princess Zanda (Black Panther IP)
*Atlantis isn't a concept that can be held by copyright, but it's attached to the Namor character

We have Madripoor coming in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, presumably Lemuria in The Eternals, Attilan in Ms. Marvel, possibly Burunda in Moon Knight, and so on. It will be interesting to see how Marvel adapts these places and which are given prominence.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)