Marvel News & Notes

Deadline (Justin Kroll) dropped a bomb today: Chris Evans is in negotiations to return to the MCU as Steve Rogers (but not, apparently, Captain America). What is Evans returning for? Murphy connects it to his Nomad scoop from a month ago (which would only work if this is a Steve from an alternate reality, since Old Man Steve Rogers is in no shape to go adventuring--the fit works as a post-Civil War Steve who never stopping his fight against the Accords and, thus, the Nomad-reality). HN Entertainment's Christopher Marc speculates it's for an Invaders series, which is contradicted by Kroll's reporting--he's not coming back to be Captain America--The Invaders are WW2-era, btw. To me Murphy's idea makes more sense, but see Sutton's idea below.

One thing this signing does is make me think RDJ returning for Ironheart (as a voice) isn't as unlikely as I believed. Like Evans, I suspect he can be persuaded, albeit he's more expensive. This could also open the door to Natasha returning as Black Widow. If the door is being opened by the Multiverse, that means dead characters can come back as alternative versions of themselves. I'd welcome back both Evans and Scarlett Johansson, who have a lot left to give as actors (RDJ is, I think, much more 'done' as his character).

Forbes' Paul Tassi isn't someone whose opinions interest me (so he hasn't come up here before), but he did cite something interesting: the general interest in WandaVision (as tracked by Parrot Analytics, a subscription site that collates social media numbers) is greater than The Mandalorian:

Tassi doesn't include the comparable number and the show doesn't hit the 'exceptional' category on the chart (context would be useful, but that's not Tassi's approach), but it's interesting. Some of that difference has to be based on the brand appeal (by which I mean, the MCU is more marketable than Star Wars), but also illustrates that the marketing for the show has been fairly successful.

Speaking of the show, I put out my scooper collation for it along with my thoughts and speculations.

I mentioned previously that I thought the idea of shrinking the Black Panther story (of focusing--again--on Wakanda) wasn't a great idea. However, it appears that's the film we're getting, as Feige said himself (to Deadline). I'm not saying this can't work, but the room for error shrinks the more you shrink the terrain of the narrative. Much of the success of Black Panther was because of its ties to the world beyond Wakanda (specifically America, where it enjoyed the most box office success), so I'm curious how a film without that (and Chadwick) does.

Speaking of Black Panther 2, Andy Signore is repeating the 4chan claim that Doctor Doom will debut in the film (he doesn't specify him as a secondary villain, mind you). The last (and only) time I covered Signore previously was on a supposed scoop (May) that's already has issues through erroneous casting (Awkafina as Fah Lo Suee when she's playing Katy). This doesn't inherently mean the rumour isn't true, just that Signore isn't a proven scooper.

Incidentally, an idea I hadn't heard before about the potential casting of Tenoch Huerta (via THR) is that he could be playing White Tiger. This would fit who is being cast, if nothing else.

THR (Borys Kit) says May Calamawy will have a 'key role' in Moon Knight. I'm unfamiliar with the 34-year old actress, so I have no strong reaction to her casting.

Sutton has put out a scoop:

It was revealed to me that a discussed scenario is She-Hulk, in her real identity of attorney Jennifer Walters, defending the Juggernaut in a case against Bruce Banner, the Hulk. … More mutants will be appearing in She-Hulk but the Juggernaut is the only one I’ve uncovered at this point. Keep in mind that I’m not sure if the Juggernaut will appear in the first season.

This would be an oddly drab introduction for the Juggernaut (if that's what this is), although Marvel may feel like his ridiculous use in Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Last Stand means he doesn't require a more weighty intro into the MCU.

Speaking of Sutton, he says his idea about the return of Chris Evans as Captain America in Secret Wars is confirmed. I saw that before I saw the Deadline article (above), so was confused, but now I get it. Here's what he says:

Secret Wars will be Marvel Studios’ biggest project, a line-wide crossover, a series of MCU films and Disney+ TV series telling a different part of the story until they are all linked together in the cinematic finale(s). Besides trying to bring back Robert Downey Jr. as an parallel Earth Tony Stark, there are talks of having Chris Evans return as the older Steve Rogers. ... Given that this is all in the brainstorming stages, what remains from these talks remains to be seen. … This would give Evans and RDJ the opportunity to finally meet some of the Fox superheroes and bad guys they didn’t get the chance to before Disney regained their rights. There is also the potential of Evans as Rogers being introduced to his Human Torch from the multiverse, part of Fox’s Fantastic Four.

This basic idea goes back to LotLB (TBK) in August of 2019 (with Secret Wars as the next culmination event that would include the Netflix and--at the time--Hulu characters). Sutton then repeated this idea two months later, with some slants of his own, updating it a year later where he included returning Fox characters (the idea of RDJ returning, as an alt-Tony Stark who is part of the Illuminati, he put out in May)--Sutton also told me in August that Secret Wars will occur after an Annihilation-event. What about other scoopers? In November, 4chan claimed it was coming, with the alt-Stark a result of 2014 Thanos disappearing; last January Murphy said he thought the MCU was going that way, but had no proof; in February Reddit said Secret Wars was being discussed with Doctor Doom as the heavy; finally, in November, Walsh (GWW) was hinting at it in the future.

Where there's smoke, there's fire? It's a plausible event--it has two successful comic runs, iconic moments, involves the entire Marvel Universe, and isn't dependent on an X-Men villain (there simply isn't time to have one as a Phase-ending villain). I buy it, even if I don't know how many of the specifics we're hearing will come to pass (clearly Evans is not signing on for Secret Wars right now, even if its an option in the future). This, to me, would be the reason to introduce the Fantastic Four first (even though the X-Men are a much bigger IP)--it also allows you to lean-in on the original MCU IP one last time. The Eternals let's you set the table for Galactus while Doom crosses over with a lot of characters outside the Fantastic Four IP. The pieces are there, albeit years away.

Back to Feige, in his various interviews he's talked about episode length and it echoes what we've heard before:

We're looking at it as developing them as either six hour-episodes, or nine or 10 half-hour episodes. So, for instance, WandaVision started that way and Falcon and the Winter Soldier as 30 minutes, but because it's streaming, it's Disney+, and the rules have blurred over the years, yes. Some can be 23 minutes. Some can be much longer than that. But She-Hulk, for instance, is being developed as 10 30-minute episodes. Some will be longer and some will be shorter. Loki, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is being developed as six 40-50-minute episodes.

As a general rule, drama does not work well with shorter episodes (there's not enough time for proper plot or character development), while comedy favours a shorter run time. Given that, you can look at the expected runtimes to see where Marvel is putting the emphasis in that paradigm for each show.

One of the great irritants of Disney+ is the model they've adopted of torturing audiences with weekly releases, rather than Netflix's much more satisfying model of dropping an entire season at once. While The Mandalorian may have served as a proof of concept, we'd be getting this from Marvel regardless, because the major issue streaming services have (that aren't Netflix) is subscriber retention. Without a deep and varied catalogue of content available, streaming services that are being buoyed by one big show simply can't maintain (or grow) their subscriber base (HBO has suffered horrendously since the end of Game of Thrones), so Disney+ is trying to dribble out content as slowly as possible to lock down their base. It's a good strategy, but it drives me nuts--I've always hated weekly TV.

I explored a new possible Marvel scooper last week. To answer the query briefly: no, it's not, but I think it's an interesting exploration of someone trying to push into the business.

Brandon Davis (of ComicBook.com) joins the chorus echoing Daredevil's return. It seems moot at this point, since it's already confirmed, but he's another voice to add.

Speaking of Twitter users, another has jumped in to say a re-cast Iron Fist is on its way (this is a very old rumour from Daniel/Sutton). Food for thought, but I wouldn't put much stock in the scooper yet.

Daniel claims Sony wants an Electro spinoff from Spider-Man 3, which boggles the mind. This can't be a solo project, given how poorly the character was originally received (and why put an IP on the back of a 53-year old actor?).

Going back to RPK, back in November he started a 'Rumour' section that he updates (without dates, which is annoying)--a section he's tired of people reporting on the same level as his other news. These are all his Marvel-related elements from that section (with my thoughts in pink):

• Amber Heard meeting with Marvel [for Sue Storm] [I mentioned this previously as one of Daniel's rumours; in short its possible that a meeting occurred, but I don't think Marvel would be interested]
• Heroes will turn on Scarlet Witch and drive her to madness [This is kind of pointless, since her own show or, at the latest, Doctor Strange 2 is going to resolve her issues]
• Tobey Maguire wants 15 million to return for Spider-Man 3 [I've seen this figure elsewhere, but that doesn't mean its true]
• Scarlett Johansson in talks to cameo in Hawkeye [Plausible, probably in flashback, although if we're getting back Steve Rogers it might just be alt-Natasha]
• RDJ wants back into the MCU because things haven't gone well since [The guy has made one movie--I don't think that creates desperation]
• Liv Tyler in talks to return to the MCU as a female Red Hulk [That would make more sense than the elderly Ross--Tyler is 43, Hurt is 70]
• Willem Dafoe in talks for cameos in Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2 [Why Daniel thinks so much of the cast from Spider-Man 3 could be in Doctor Strange 2 I don't know--yes the movies are connected, but there's only so much screen time]
• Marvel thinking of having M'Baku as Black Panther rather than Shuri [This would be in light of the latter's anti-vaccine comments]
• Spider-Man 3 will have three different Green Goblins [He includes Leeds' Hobgoblin as one of them; Plausible]
• Groot turns into a human for a bit in Thor 4 [Why bother?]
• Leonardo DiCaprio had talks with Marvel to play an alt-universe Spider-Man in Doctor Strange 2 [This is 4chan/Reddit 101: (Insert name of popular actor) for cameo in upcoming film]
• Marvel/Sony thinking of killing of Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane Watson in Doctor Strange 2 or Spider-Man 3 [This is a strange idea--no pun intended]
• Emily Blunt in talks to cameo in Doctor Strange 2 possibly as an Elseworld Black Widow [This idea is not Daniel's, but doesn't come from any of the usual places; you can see Daniel's heavy roots in DC as he uses their terminology for the multiverse ('Elseworld')]
• Feige wants Marvel to have a majority of female/PoC heroes [This is clickbait--WGTC does this kind of thing all the time--(Insert character name) to be played by PoC]
• RDJ wants to return for multiple Marvel projects [Does he?]
• RDJ talks for Ironheart and Armor Wars [Plausible; I think if Marvel pays him enough, he'll do it]
• Doctor Octopus and Norman Osborn will return for Spider-Man 4 [I highly doubt it--I think the visitors from films past will be one and done]
• Young Avengers will have the biggest Disney+ budget [I discussed this previously as a no-brainer since it's the only team-based show on the slate--Secret Invasion seems to have a smaller scale than you'd think (thus far)]
• Doctor Strange 2 will be a horror movie [How is this a rumour?]
• Holland wants to be in Deadpool 3 and R-rated Sony fair so he can let loose [Even if this is true I don't think he will be allowed to indulge]
• Willem Dafoe will be the MCU's Norman Osborn [This claim was made on the giant 4chan post I discussed previously, but Daniel seems to have said it first--above--Dafoe could do it, but it would be odd to have him do it again after having that role already]
• Strange will fight Wanda in Doctor Strange 2 [This is Comics 101; the heroes need to fight]
• Thor will get a Guardians-like one-off on Disney+ [Maybe?]
• Valkyrie will have a crush on Captain Marvel [I think this is unlikely since Brie isn't bi and the LGBT community doesn't like representation from straight actors]
• Jackman/Reynolds have talked about a cameo for the former [This isn't really news]
• Talks for a Wanda cameo and RDJ flashback/hologram cameo in Spider-Man 3 [Plausible, but I doubt it--there's no need for a further goodbye for RDJ and the cast is crowded as it is]
• Krysten Ritter had talks to cameo in She-Hulk [Plausible; one of Murphy's cronies copied the rumour afterwards (citing it) without adding anything to it]
• Marvel wants to change the Punisher logo because Trumpian rioters used it [This is ridiculous, but possible--given how popular the character and logo is with the military, however, I don't think it will happen--comic fans of the character would also hate it]
• Old Man Logan Elseworld discussions [The logic would be to create an excuse for Jackman to return to Wolverine, but not only do I think he's not interested in that, I suspect Marvel would like their iteration to have room to grow from outside Jackman's shadow]

Different people have different opinions about Sutton as an scooper, but he's always been polite and straight with me and (right or wrong) puts out what he believes are genuine scoops. That said, occasionally I think he stretches a bit for credit and that's the case in regards to the confirmation from Feige that Deadpool will both be in the MCU and R-rated (link). He reported this as fact this October and I didn't mention it for the same reason I don't see this as his scoop. Why? Bob Iger spent a two years telling anyone and everyone this exact same thing while the Fox purchase was in process. That's not to say there weren't people who theorized this wouldn't be the case, but (much like the Kate Bishop casting) scoopers are patting themselves on the back for what was already confirmed (in the latter case, by a Variety scoop). I get the need to showcase 'wins' in the scooper game, but for me the only story here would be if Iger was wrong and we were getting the character either as PG or in some adjacent universe (that's a scoop). Sutton should be prouder over the Steve Rogers news (and I imagine he is).

I've been watching the Ray Fisher story at WB since it started, wondering where it would go. It seemed like we'd hit the end of the road with Whedon removing himself from his own show, Berg gone, Johns safely ensconced within HBO Max, Hamada getting a new deal, and the investigation concluding. The drama, however, is not over. As long expected, Cyborg has been removed from the Flash film and in reaction to it Fisher went nuclear, targeting Johns and Hamada in a long response to the move. Almost more interesting than the specifics are the fan reactions--supporters of the Snyder cut are appalled, people opposed to it relieved, and the Fandom Menace (the outrage Youtubers mostly focused on Star Wars) are also happy. I find the whole thing bizarre--no one on the outside is privy to what the investigation discovered, thus none of us are in any position to judge whether appropriate action was taken or not. Nevertheless, Fisher is clearly willing to go down swinging, which must be driving the WB nuts (particularly as they need Fisher until the Snyder Cut is released).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

MCU Theory Files: WandaVision

This is the third in a series of rumour collections about specific MCU IP. The intention is to track and collate scoops, look at the trends, and examine the information. This is a curated collected from those scoopers with either good track records or who haven't been fully debunked (along with selected Reddit/4chan threads that gained significant buzz).

For simplicity's sake I'm using acronyms for the most cited scoopers: RW (insider Roger Wardell), CM (Charles Murphy, who runs his own site), D (Daniel RPK, who has a Patreon and gets most of his info from Production Weekly), TI (The Iluminerdi, who seem to get all their information from Daniel), JC (Jeremy Conrad, who runs his own site--possibly out of the game now), DF (Discussing Film), MS (Mikey Sutton, who uses his own site Geekosity), GWW (Geeks World Wide, who have Daniel as their primary source), LotLB (Lords of the Long Box, used here only for their unique source 'The Black Knight'), The Direct (who also have Daniel as their source), R (Reddit), and 4C (4chan); I use (AS) to represent the consensus view among scoopers where applicable; when one of these luminaries is speculating or mentions something they can't confirm, I've added a small "s" to the acronym (eg, CMs). Not all of the above appear on this list, as not all of them have scooped for the IP, but I've included them to illustrate who I pay attention too--occasionally I'll cite someone not on this list (like Screen Rant), but they aren't tracked routinely because they aren't notable for scoops.

Any errors that follow are my own (please let me know so I can fix them); if there are any significant omissions, I'll happily add them.

The Basics

• Confirmed Character: Scarlet Witch, Vision, Monica Rambeau, Jimmy Woo, Darcy Lewis, Wiccan, Speed, Agatha Harkness (AS)
• Rumoured Characters Appearing: Doctor Strange (AS), Quicksilver (AS, audition leak), Unknown role (Evan Peters, set photos, CM), Hulkling (D, GWW), Chthon (Sutton, R, 4C), Mephisto (CMs, Grace Randolph, 4chan), Nightmare (CMs, 4chan), Bova Ayrshire (Sutton), Vin and Viv (Sutton), Darkhold (Sutton), Amadeus Cho (Sutton), She-Hulk (LotLBs), Agents of SHIELD cameos (R), Maria Rambeau (4C), Ultron (4C), The Grim Reaper (4C), Mordo (R), Magneto (R), Magda (R), Mephisto (R), Ghost Rider (R), Shuma-Gorath (R), Brother Voodoo (R), Clea (R), John Walker (IMDB, since removed)
• Showrunner: Jac Schaeffer (limited credits; her Black Widow script required two emergency re-writes, reducing her credit to 'story by')
• Set Notes: what looks like a flashback with witches including both Wanda and Agatha Harkness; Evan Peters was photographed on-set
• Audition Leaks: kids auditioning to play Wanda's kids reference an uncle (presumably Pietro)
• Official synopsis: "[Two leads] living their ideal suburban lives, begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems."

Other confirmed elements: The show will set-up Doctor Strange 2 (in which Wanda will appear).

Safe assumptions: The plot will include elements of Brian Michael Bendis' House of M (2005), Tom King's Vision (2015-16), and John Byrne's Vision Quest (1989), with the emphasis on shifting Wanda fully into her role as the Scarlet Witch, as well as give Vision an appropriate send-off or transition after his death in Infinity War (he remains the least utilized Phase Two character).

The Scoops

I like colour-coding, so: blue is via official sources or the trades, green is confirmed, and red is debunked; my comments are confined to brackets and are in pink. Dates are largely representative of when I posted about it, unless those dates are not close to the original. I will note that there have been far fewer set leaks from WandaVision then from Falcon and the Winter Soldier, such that we know far more about the latter than the former.

• (January) THR reports that Black Widow writer Jac Schaeffer will be the showrunner
• (January) 4C: Vision is reborn in Avengers: Endgame and reunites with Scarlet Witch. They attempt to lead normal lives in the suburbs of New York, but Vision is no longer connected to the Mind Stone and is therefore cold and emotionless. Scarlet Witch attempts to use her powers, which are connected to the Mind Stone, to restore Vision’s “soul”, with disastrous results. Described as a “psychological thriller”, light on action and heavy on atmosphere, and exploring the lead characters’ personal issues. Vision will be in human form for most of it and become the antagonist, as Scarlet Witch slowly realizes she accidentally allowed a dark spirit to possess him. Agatha Harkness will be featured as a mysterious figure attempting to reveal to Scarlet Witch secrets of her past, and there will be a subplot about the public’s backlash against human/machine relations once the true nature of Vision and Scarlet Witch’s relationship is revealed [Nearly all of this seems debunked to me, but there's still some wiggle room so we'll have to wait and see]
• (April) Elizabeth Olsen confirms the series will film in the fall
• (May) 4C: echoes the above briefly (Vision gets rebuilt, Wanda tries to give him a soul and he instead gets possessed by a dark force. More of a psychological thriller with a 1950's aesthetic. Wanda and Vision end up living in the suburbs where the neighborhood is racist against Wanda's robosexuality. The witch Agatha Harkness might appear) [See above]
• (August): Film & Television Alliance says filming will begin September 21st
• (October) D: the first three episodes will mirror different eras of sitcoms, beginning with Wanda and Vision as a couple, as parents of babies, and then as parents of children; the final three episodes will be like an MCU film and at the end the kids (Wiccan and Speed) will be alive in the main MCU timeline
• (October) 4C (same link and mostly about Doctor Strange 2): Wanda creates the Multiverse of Madness in her show
• (October) R: Wanda creates a pocket dimension that includes Vision and her children--Pietro (aka Quicksilver) is also alive; Agatha Harkness is the main villain and a disciple of Nightmare
• (October) Sutton: The show will help set-up an adaptation of Hickman's 2015 Secret Wars
• (November) 4C: Wanda is depressed and homeless and runs into a disguised Agatha Harkness who offers her a deal--to create a pocket dimension that's a perfect world for Wanda; in that world Vision is alive and they have two children (Wiccan and Speed); Agatha plans to kill her once the two children are older; Jimmy Woo recruits Darcy and Monica Rambeau to solve a case involving Agatha, which leads them to the pocket dimension; Ultron, Doctor Strange, and Maria Rambeau will all cameo; Chthon and the Grim Reaper are Agatha's minions [This also seems completely false]
• (December) CM: one source says Nightmare has been cast and will be the main villain
• (December) R: she's given sorcery classes by Agatha Harkness in disguise; enters a perfect life with Vision that involves leaving the prime timeline (resurrecting Pietro in it)--this is noticed by SWORD who invite Jimmy and Darcy to help investigate; they find the disguised Agatha and figure out who she is; at the same time Monica discovers that people around the world are suffering from terrible nightmares; Wanda gives birth to twins who have powers and Agatha helps her with them; Vision is possessed by Mephisto which causes the couple to battle villains; Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy discover that Nightmare is responsible for Agatha's actions having blackmailed her--they are transferred into Wanda's reality; Agatha realizes she's been discovered and attacks, killing Vision--Wanda freaks out and merges her reality with the main MCU reality--Doctor Strange becomes aware of this and helps Wanda control her powers, but she's seized by Nightmare; the various supporting heroes help her battle herself for control and she eventually pushes Nightmare out; Strange becomes Wanda's tutor and Nightmare's ultimate plan is revealed [This also doesn't seem to match what we know]
• (December) Murphy (same link): Josh Stamberg has a small supporting role as an FBI agent
• (December) R: (Transitions into Doctor Strange 2 without indicating where that transition occurs): Wanda creates a pocket dimension to help her deal with her grief; Vision and Pietro are alive; Agatha Harkness is working with Chthon; Jimmy and Darcy are working for the FBI and investigating Wanda's disappearance; Wanda is somehow tempted by Chthon and this opens the door for his master Nightmare; Nightmare takes control of Wanda; Baron Mordo is helping Nightmare because he's promised to get rid of sorcerers; Brother Voodoo and Clea are from other Sanctums and recruited by Doctor Strange to help; Shuma-Gorath is another crony of Nightmare's; Ghost Rider may have a cameo [There's no evidence of Mordo, Voodoo, or Clea in the production]
• (January) LotLB reported a rumour that She-Hulk will appear and break the fourth wall [Given when she was cast, this seems highly unlikely]
• (January) Daniel Hulkling coming
• (January) TI Hulkling confirmed (described as a Skrull needing help from SWORD)
• (February) R: Wiccan & Speed; Agatha enters Wanda’s fantasy as her “neighbor” and eventually infiltrates the delusion in unclear ways, but she appeared to be an anti-hero from what I saw; Monica Rambeau...is kickass and will be a fan favorite...but I’m worried her fate won’t be as great.. a clip I saw showed her getting presumably mortally wounded in battle. The sitcom concept is insane. Each episode has a different cheesy intro based on what sitcom it’s emulating and it’s insane. Hints at Pietro’s return.
• (May) 4C: There are some really psychedelic pictures. ... ...the scene where Kathryn Hahn grabs Wanda from the reality she finds herself in, and it was the Brady Bunch's pastel from the 80s, and from the real world, which is dark and chaotic. Another scene in which Kat Dennings [Darcy] dresses as a cleaner and forces her into an astral project [projection] so she can exit the role she was housed in. The show seems to be half sitcom, half blockbuster. The last and last scene was their living room and their kids, but everything exploded. Seeing many different versions of Vision, their children, Randall Park [Jimmy Woo], Wanda yells and explodes with different dimensions and red lights
• (May) 4C (very very long, so paraphrased): A doctor wants to reunite with his dead wife and daughter. Features Hulk and Pym talking about time travel opening up multiverses. Wanda is living off the grid and its implied she hasn’t used her powers since Endgame. She uses her powers to create an image of Vision and freaks out. SWORD is looking for Wanda, so [Monica Rambeau]) [and otheres?) meet with her--explaining they need to reassemble the most powerful Avengers for the next Thanos-level threat. Wanda says she’s not ready and flees. The doctor has followed her and they talk--he has a support facility for those struggling with the Blip and she agrees to go with him. He gives her a room and meets Kathryn Hahn [Agatha Harkness] who is also be treated. Wanda watches some shows and it flashes back to her and Quicksilver as kids watching them. Darcy is also at the facility and she and Wanda talk. The doctor urges Wanda's psychiatrist to try and trigger Wanda by bringing up Vision--Agatha is also working for the doctor--and this makes Wanda upset and she wants to leave the facility, but Agatha is able to calm her down. Jimmy Woo, in the meantime, has figured out that Wanda is with the doctor. [The poster never calls Hahn's character Agatha, but I filled it in just to keep naming consistent. The plot seems utterly preposterous]
• (May) 4C: The beginning is that Wanda is living a secret life in Europe away from the government and agents. One day the agents find her (Monica [Rambeau] from Captain Marvel) and want her to help America just in case there is another invasion. However in the shadows is a former Hydra doctor from The Winter Soldier who also help in the past be a psychologist for Wanda in Sarcarvia [Sokovia] and he pleads with Wanda to join him in his facility. So they meet on a train when she escapes the agents and she goes to America with him under the conditional he is to help her make peace with her hauntings. There she meets a lot of people including but not limited to Darcy from Thor who is also have hauntings of the past, her spouse who died of cancer in Endgame. So, they become friends and watch old American shows for memories. These memories is when the doctor breaks Wanda from her refusal to speak of the Avengers and she becomes upset to leave to Europe, but she keeps there for more money (I hate this part, seriously.) The secret is that the Hydra doctor wants to go to the Endgame version of the past to live with his dead mother and daughter. So he will make force Wanda to open a portal to that past, but first, she needs to use her powers. So they send her with electricity and tie her up to the machines that help people with their bad memories of the past.
• (June) CM Evan Peters will appear in an unknown role (he guesses Quicksilver, although includes the possibility of villains like Mephisto)--his appearance was confirmed when he was photographed on-set
• (June) Grace Randolph repeats the Mephisto idea (doesn't claim its confirmed, just that it's common speculation)
• (June) Sutton puts out a WandaVision/Doctor Strange 2 spec list: Bova Ayrshire; Viv and Vin; Agatha Harkness; the Darkhold; Chthon; Ghost Boxes (objects); Amadeus Cho; and Clea
• (June) Hill the show will have more than six episodes (based on a stunt person's CV)
• (July) Murphy says the 'Vision Quest' storyline from John Byrne's West Coast Avengers has influenced the show, as there's a subplot where Vision's disassembled body is having to be gathered to be put back together again
• (September) Murphy says Darcy will be key in recovering Vision's lost memories
• (November) Daniel says Aaron-Taylor Johnson will return as Quicksilver, later clarifying this confirmation is due to toy leaks that look like the actor [there was also a leaked audition tape for Wanda's kids leaked months earlier that referenced an 'uncle']
• (November) Sutton says WandaVision will confirm that Wanda (and her brother) are mutants
• (January) 4chan claims Quicksilver (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) will appear twice--once in a flashback and once as Wanda's neighbour; Monica will get her powers in the show; this is Vision's last appearance in the MCU; Evan Peters is either Nightmare or Mephisto

Analysis

When we last saw Jimmy Woo he was in the FBI and in charge of Ant-Man's house arrest in Ant-Man 2; Darcy has been out of commission since 2014's Thor 2 (when she was still Jane Foster's intern), and Monica we've only seen as a child in Captain Marvel (where she got to play games with a young Skrull). The only past that seems relevant is Darcy's, since it has changed the least. How involved each of them are also isn't clear--Kat Dennings is a pretty popular actress; Monica is part of the Captain Marvel IP and will need the show to help develop her for Captain Marvel 2; as for Woo, I suspect Marvel likes the actor and, needing a law enforcer for the show and wanting someone fans might recognize, went back to Randall Park.

The premise is clear: Wanda is going to create a reality where Vision exists and they have a fairy tale relationship (the sitcom version of one), but SWORD has to disrupt them and bring her back to reality (the assumption is that her reality warping is causing problems outside her little neighbourhood). At the end of this process we'll get her kids drawn into the main universe to help set-up the Young Avengers, while her reality warping sets up Doctor Strange 2.

One of the puzzling elements of the show is why Wanda's relives sitcom eras her character would be too young to have grown up with (Elizabeth Olsen was born in 1989)--I'm curious if we'll get an in-universe reason for that, or if the show simply hopes we'll bathe in the nostalgia and not think about it.

I believe the plot leaks above are all guesses, so what do we know? Murphy's revelation that Vision will need to be reassembled poses the question: does this occur before Wanda's sitcom adventures, or does that happen while she's living in her altered reality? Could Woo and the others be trying to find and assemble the real thing while Wanda has recreated Vision on her own? We don't know, but the likelihood is the latter.

We're also unsure about Agatha Harkness' function in the show. While sometimes a villain, given that we aren't getting Doctor Strange in his role from House of M, I think we'll get a mentor relationship from her and she'll take the Strange role. If that's correct it means we don't know the main villain. The idea that it could be Nightmare or Mephisto is plausible, although as more interesting characters than the upcoming Kang I'm not sure Marvel would risk diminishing the Jonathan Majors character.

As for Quicksilver, it makes sense for Wanda to bring back Aaron Taylor-Johnson's version (Johnson had space in his schedule to shoot scenes, but has denied being involved). Whatever the case, I don't think any version of Quicksilver is likely to last beyond the series, since Speed is essentially the same character and, however uninteresting he might be, I don't think the MCU wants to duplicate speedsters.

I'm dubious that the MCU will stick with the traditional idea of Magneto as Wanda's father--the comics retconned that relationship recently (when the rights were at Fox), but it's far simpler to keep the retcon (at least for this series--maybe in Multiverse of Madness we'll get the change). Some have suggested Scarlet Witch will be the antagonist in Doctor Strange 2, but I disagree. I think her actions will be the source of the conflict, but that her show will end (at least nominally) happily--other than Infinity War, all MCU productions end that way.

The above is pretty rambling. To sum up, The function of the show is to bring forward Scarlet Witch as her comicbook self and kickstart the Multiverse (for Doctor Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3). I think its highly likely that the villain for Doctor Strange 2 will be introduced in the show, but whether this is our Thanos-like antagonist for Phase Four or not is uncertain.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

A New Marvel Insider?

I just became aware of a self-professed scooping Twitter user going by the name Gilian Dudley, and as the material seemed familiar, I went through it. The idea of an anonymous Twitter user posting scoops is not new, but since the advent of a real insider (Roger Wardell) there seems to be no end of them (here's another--barely coherent, but with more followers than Dudley's). And who wouldn't want a new MCU insider? However, in this case, I believe the account was created by wannabe scooper Joshua Munn, but let's go over it so you can judge for yourselves.

The Twitter account became active in May and stopped Tweeting in October (presumably due to a lack of traction). What prompted its creation is unclear, but it's around this time that Munn was spamming his content on Mikey Sutton videos. Here are his Tweets with my notes in pink (unless otherwise noted, each piece of information was repeated by Munn in the link above):

May 19

Christian Bale playing Gorr - While popular speculation, it did not begin here, as 4chan (March) and Reddit (May) beat the account to the punch; amusingly, the big scoopers all missed out here, as Murphy thought he was playing Minotaur, Sutton believed there were no plans for Gorr in the film, and LotLB's Tim had him in the role of Norman Osborn (from their varying accounts, it seems like fake casting calls or scripts were being passed around, while Murphy got bamboozled by the words of an agent)

Jodie Comer cast as Angela and will have a romance with Valkyrie with a Fawlty Towers sequel where the pair un around Asgard trying to make ends meet - The same 4chan post from March (above) also had Comer in the role, but without the storyline attached; a different 4chan post (same link) does have the idea of the romance included; Munn does not include the Fawlty Towers/sequel element in his Sutton-spammed material

Thandie Newton in negotiations for Clea - I've only seen this from Munn [Funnily enough, she is our new Cassie Lang]

Doctor Strange 2 post-credit sets up Blade with Christine Palmer moving to London to start up an unconventional surgery - I've only seen this from Munn

Sinking of Atlantis featured in Eternals animated flashback - I've only seen this from Munn

Early drafts of Black Panther 2 include Storm as a Serengeti princess whose nation is enlisted by Wakanda to fight Atlantis - I've only seen this from Munn

Captain Marvel 2's working title is Onslaught and intended to be a Ragnarok-like overhaul of the character; to include Nick Fury, Talos, and Monica Rambeau; no Kree or Jude Law - I've only seen this from Munn

Captain Marvel 2 will include Abigail Brand who will be teased in WandaVision with a potential cameo in Thor 4 - I've only seen this from Munn

Captain Marvel 2's main villain are the Brood who were sent by the Shi'ar; film possibly setting up Secret Invasion featuring Spectrum (aka Monica Rambeau), Veranke; also possibly setting up a Nova/SWORD series - I've only seen this from Munn, although the idea of Veranke probably comes from Sutton (September; same Munn link)

Shadowcat to be introduced in Guardians 3 as a SWORD agent tracking down a powerful weapon; Israeli actress sought - I've only seen this from Munn, albeit subsequently (July) Sutton also said she'd be part of SWORD

Thor and Angela with small roles in Guardians 3; Gunn wants Winona Ryder to voice Lylla - I've only seen this from Munn

Blade film to follow detective team of monster hunters recruited by MI6 following the destruction of the London Sanctum - I've only seen this from Munn

Early outline of Blade by Michael Waldron includes Elsa Bloodstone, Peter Wisdom, Hannibal King, Frank Drake, and Rachel Van Helsing; main villain in Blade is Lilith, who possess Christine Palmer's body; Court of Lilith to feature -Many of the elements predate this (see the link), with the exceptions of King, Drake, and Van Helsing; the idea of Waldron having written a draft is also something I haven't seen elsewhere

Doctor Strange may have a small supporting role in Blade - Munn has changed this from 'may have' to 'will have' in his Sutton-spam

Emily Blunt met with Marvel for Clea, but they [presumably Marvel] went a different direction - The news that Blunt passed on Clea was a rumour put out by Murphy months earlier (see the link)

Kelly Hu in the mix for Psylocke; potential small cameo as Lady Mandarin in Shang-Chi as an opponent in the tournament - This is an old WGTC rumour (see the link)

Ryan Coogler wanted Kraven for Black Panther 2, but Sony is using him in Spider-Man 3 - Pretty common speculation

Marvel wants Olivia Wilde for Young Avengers series - I've only seen this from Munn

May 20

Fantastic Four in early development with David Callaham [Wonder Woman 1984] scripting based on a story by Jac Schaffer [whose script for Black Widow required two emergency re-writes]; Whedon, Paul Feig [!]; Lord/Miller eyed to helm trilogy - I've only seen this from Munn (he corrected the spelling of Feig's name in the link--I fixed it here for him)

Everything that follows was posted after his lengthy comments on the YT channels that were putting out Sutton's scoops, so we can't directly compare, only track to see if there are antecedents to his claims.

May 26

Liani Samuels plays Taskmaster's daughter who died due to Nat's actions in flashbacks, giving him a revenge motive - I've never heard this before, but as a story beat it would generate sympathy for Taskmaster

Serpent Society has a key role in Falcon and the Winter Soldier; Erin Kellyman playing Diamondback - The idea of the group being in the show goes back to 4chan (March), although the notion of Diamondback is older (also 4chan in November); Kellyman's involvement was confirmed shortly before this (by Hill via set photos)

The Grapplers feature in Falcon and the Winter Soldier - The idea of the group appearing goes back to Murphy (March)

Viper teased in Madripoor scenes in Falcon and the Winter Soldier - I've never heard this before, although as I pointed out when Madripoor was revealed last January (via set photos), she's associated with it

Fala Chen playing MI6 operative in Shang-Chi and will have a small role in Blade - Subsequently debunked, as she's playing Jiang Li, but the idea seems to have been ripped from Murphy who made this erroneous speculation just prior to the Tweet

Owen Wilson playing a character called Moby in Loki; Sophia Di Martino playing Justice Love; TVA will have a major role in the MCU going forward - He's not far off Mr. Mobius, although I might be giving him too much credit; both guesses seem original

Wilson and Di Martino may show up in Doctor Strange 2 and Guardians 3 - I've never heard this before (the latter seems highly improbable)

TVA tracking Wanda in WandaVision; enlist Doctor Strange to stop her in Doctor Strange 2; Zombieverse to feature - The latter was just echoed on 4chan, but otherwise these are unique (I'm not sure why you need the TVA tracking her when we know SWORD already is from the trailers)

The Benefactor being cast for Ant-Man 3; will be the main villain in Young Avengers Disney+ series; Olivia Wilde eyed to helm and star as Ravonna - I've never heard this before; the idea of 'the benefactor' is an old GWW scoop (ie, Daniel) from June, 2019, albeit without the same context

The Benefactor is one of Kang's identities, who will serve as the next Thanos-level villain; versions of Kang will appear in various projects going forward - The latter idea is pretty common speculation, but the former is unique

Fantastic Four retconned origin will be set-up in Loki as TVA agents--initial costume will riff on Justice Peace costumes - I've never heard this before

Guardians 3 hunting a weapon called the Ret-Con stolen from the TVA; SWORD also tracking it and sending Shadowcat to intercept - As cheesy as James Gunn is, the Ret-Con? Really? The Shadowcat idea is a repeat of what's above

Mojoverse Disney+ series in development to feature Longshot and Dazzler - I've never heard this before; Sutton had Longshot as part of an Excalibur trilogy back in November, 2019

Thor Corps series in development - While the idea of a series is unique, the Corps itself was first proposed by LotLB (TBK) in September, 2019, then echoed over a year later by Sutton

Luke Evans, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Gerard Butler in the mix to play main villain of Spider-Man 3 - This specific group isn't familiar in this context

May 27

Marvel wants Matt Smith to play Young Kang and Richard E. Grant for Older Kang; both playing prominent roles across the MCU - The erroneous Grant speculation was Murphy's two months earlier

June 20

Zoe Kazan is being eyed to play Moondragon (Drax's daughter) in Guardians 3 - I've never heard this before

June 21

Winona Ryder signed to play Lylla in Guardians 3 - No one else has confirmed or suggested this

August 5

Aasiya Shah cast as Kamala Khan - Debunked less than two months later (oddly enough, while that event would have been the logical time to shut down the account, predictions continued afterwards)

Marvel are actively casting for a 35-40 yr old female lead for an undisclosed feature film. The character is described as “a complex, fiercely intelligent woman juggling her peculiar powers whilst trying to keep her family in one piece.” Actresses being eyed for the role include Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Jessica Paré, Claire Foy, Alison Sudol & Jodie Whittaker - This looks like descriptors taken from Production Weekly, but aren't repeated anywhere

Marvel are actively casting for a 35-45 yr old male lead for an undisclosed feature film. The character is described as “an idiosyncratic yet charismatic leading man with scientific zeal.” Actors being eyed for the role include Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jon Hamm, Dan Stevens, Ryan Gosling, Patrick Wilson, and Oscar Isaac - As above

September 17

Marvel looking at a Dev Patel-type to play Beast in a SWORD series; Patel and Kunal Nayyar are among a list of actors being considered - The casting is unique, but the idea of Beast in SWORD comes from Sutton (July)

Marvel courting Sandra Bolluck for Abigail Brand - This is directly from 4chan at about the same time (one could be copying the other, or it's the same person)

September 20

Roseanne Liang to direct the first few episodes of Moon Knight - This was recently debunked

September 21

Shaka King in talks to direct Blade - Never heard this before

September 22

Betty Gilpin is in final talks to play Betty Ross in She-Hulk - As above

October 7

Claire Danes circling the role of Abigail Brand - As above

October 29

Claire Foy in final negotiations for Clea - As above

To me it's clear that Munn runs the Gilian Dudley account. For most of you, Munn's name is unfamiliar and there's good reason for that--as I said above, he's a wannabe scooper--but rather than follow Murphy's path of combing through social media and casting calls, he leans on the reports of others (primarily Sutton and Murphy) and his own concocted ideas. This is what he's said about himself:

I've been dropping and debunking scoops for a year now I'm REALLY on the inside. A lot of these scoops here [meaning the Sutton scoops he was commenting on] are my ideas wink wink. I started got a job at Disney Marvel Studios [about a year ago and] a lot these leaks are ideas I've actually pitched.

This is a preposterous thing to claim (which makes me think it's a teenager or someone in their early 20s), but Munn doesn't seem to have learned his lesson after a scoop he put out for Captain Marvel blew up in his face (the same Munn link). When I asked Sutton about him he called Munn 'a serial liar' and that fits his biographical claims. I thought he'd disappeared into the ether, but at least up to October he was still out there, posting his material.

Not all of his ideas are terrible, incidentally, and its interesting that none of the other equally vacuous sites have echoed them. We can, at least, put to rest the idea that this account is anything other than a fanboy's speculation.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Discussing Film writer Frankie (not Jacob Fisher, who usually does the MCU scoops for DF) posted an interesting Tweet:

Spider-Man 4 with Tobey [Maguire] isn’t happening, but I have a feeling Andrew [Garfield] is gonna steal the show and some form of The Amazing Spider-Man 3 will take shape...

So we have one claim (no Maguire after Spider-Man 3) and one guess (some sort of trilogy wrap-up for Garfield). Following the most recent information, Maguire was apparently harder to sign, but what would the MCU do with the (largely retired from acting) 45-year old beyond a multiverse nod? The future for Tom Holland's story is him getting older, which are the stories his predecessors already told, so having them around conflicts with a distinctive future (I don't see anything further with Garfield, although Sony could want the 27-year old as part of a Miles Morales-vehicle). How much either will appear in the film is also uncertain, as GWW's Walsh says it's just cameos and Sutton claims they don't appear until the second-half of the film (I fully expect Sony's hamfisted advertising to giveaway the surprises of the film before it comes out). There's only so much screen time, so I'd be surprised to see much of either (although see below).

On the subject of Spider-Man 3, it looks like we can officially debunk Thomas Polito's theory from November (he argued against a Spider-Verse film and for an adaptation of Breakout). Given the confirmation of the various iterations of Spider-Man, Polito's idea seems busted (this strikes me as another indication of a falling out with Daniel, who was his source when he was at GWW).

While we're debunking (and still with the Spider-Man IP), I should note that Sutton, also in November, said there would be no Daredevil in Spider-Man 3--less than a month later Murphy (well, Villaneuva, but through Murphy's site) confirmed that he would appear. Sutton did say at the time that Daredevil was coming to the IP, but it looks like he's wrong on the specifics of when. This is another character that I expect to have a very short cameo (again, just how much screen time is there?).

I'm always interested in how effective marketing is, as well as measuring general public interest in general. The above takes the Disney+ shows that are upcoming and puts them against one another to measure that interest (keeping in mind Google Trends is just one form of measurement). You'll note I used 'Kamala Khan' for Ms. Marvel because that seems a more effective way to track that character (granting that the Avengers video game is impacting what you see). The marketing for WandaVision is at full blast, so naturally it's ahead, but it was ahead before the pandemic as its initial teaser was received better than the one for Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I think because WandaVision is pushing the nostalgia button so hard it hits the mark for casual audiences. There hasn't been a spike for Ms. Marvel (the one you see is for the game), and in general the response to Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been the most muted otherwise (likely because the characters leading the show aren't anyone's favourites, unlike Loki or Wanda). The Hawkeye bump is partially from the game (which includes Kate Bishop), and partially the Steinfeld casting, but otherwise has garnered less interest than Falcon thus far.

Sutton believes, given some sleuthing from a Twitter user, that Loki will be around for various human tragedies including that of Pompeii. It's certainly possible, given the nod to D. B. Cooper (not a tragedy per se, but certainly a historical mystery), although I do think there's a limit to how much historical time travelling you can do with the character before it runs out of steam.

We have a long LONG 4chan post that's making the rounds (I've highlighted in bold what's not public information and/or confirmed by the serious scoopers; my thoughts are in pink with a summary at the end; here and there I've fixed the language for clarity, but some of that 4chan literary charm remains):

WandaVision

-I was told it would be 9 40 minute episodes

-Features Aaron-Taylor Johnson as Quicksilver for 2 episodes. I was told one will be a flashback scene and another where he is a neighbor to Wanda. I was told he is still dead [We've certainly had no indication of a full return for Quicksilver; I've heard the neighbour story before, but can't track down from where--given that, it was probably Reddit or 4chan]

-Expect a lot of cameos regarding sitcom legends like Debra Jo Rupp in the first trailer
-A few more surprise cameos regarding characters on the scale of a Darcy or Jimmy Woo
-Has a small dance number and magic show
-Monica Rambeau has a surprisingly prominent role and she gets her powers sometime in the show [This is the first time I've seen it said that she gets her powers in the show--not a huge surprise, but worth noting]
-Each episode is split going between SWORD stuff outside the bubble and Westview Wanda stuff
-Hulkling has a small role with SWORD here and sets up Young Avengers with Wiccan and Speed
-I was told that Vision will not show up again past this show [The first time I've seen this stated--Vision has always been peripheral to the MCU, so losing him doesn't effect much (if true)]
-Evan Peters will be only in 1-2 episodes as a big villain in this. Not sure who. My guess is from what I have heard either Mephisto or Nightmare. I've heard that they may even combine the characters [This is apparently an old Grace Randolph theory; it's plausible if he's not an alternate Quicksilver; the idea of the two villains being the heavies in the show is not unique to the poster]
-Doctor Strange appears sometime in the final episode

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
-6 hour long episodes Episodes
-Will be the show with the most logistical pieces of the post-Snap world
-Sharon [Carter] and Bucky will have a romantic spark
-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 [Battlestar]. Bucky is dealing with Zemo
-Zemo is more of a side antagonist and even an anti-hero/villain [Our writer doesn't seem  clear on what anti-hero means, but I believe that's the expected role for the character]
-The main villain of the show isn't in the show a lot but it's Flag-Smasher. Erin Kellyman's character is Songbird and she works for Flag-Smasher
-Thunderbolt Ross will appear throughout this
-More familiar faces will return in small-minor roles [It's not clear if he means cameos from significant or minor characters]
-Will feature Sam's family
-There are so many surprises in store in this series regarding a certain type of human and a virus… [Presumably hinting at mutants]
-NO Old Man Steve Rogers cameo tho it was a very real possibility at one point in time

Black Widow (Btw I've seen it)
-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 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 [and] 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 streaming. Yes at Investor's day they said theatrical but they expect it to go streaming [Popular speculation, but what would be the point at this stage when the Disney+ shows will already be running to drive up subscriber numbers? I don't think this kind of internal information would ever leave the inner circle]
-For me it's not a top-tier MCU movie but it wasn't far off. 8.8/10. They took some parts from Mission Impossible and [Captain America: Winter Soldier], put some great heart into it and it was just really great. Fun to see the spy genre in the MCU again

Loki
-8 episodes long (40-50 minutes each)
-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 runs counter to what's generally speculated]
-Features a lot of Rick and Morty type of elements… [I'm not sure what the poster means here, other than perhaps things being episodic and involving a lot of travel]
-One of the most standalone things in the MCU
-Kang's MCU debut is in 1 episode
-Features some familiar faces in some cool places [Again, no sense of whether these are major or minor faces]
-A certain cosmic being is who the TVA work for
-All I'll say is the episode in the 70s will be one of the best episodes on TV next year [We know from the trailer this is the D. B. Cooper homage]
-Sophia Di Martino as Lady Loki will be a fan favorite

Shang-Chi
-Includes the most hand-to-hand combat in any MCU film
-People have been sleeping on Tony Leung as the Mandarin [Have they? It would be more accurate to say the public is indifferent to Shang-Chi at the moment]
-It will feature 1-2 cameos of familiar faces within the MCU [Same vagueness as previously]
-This is NOT set during the Snap
-A tournament featuring many different familiar "beings" will be the main 2nd act of the movie
-Fin Fang Foom will appear
-The film will only require small amounts of reshoots

Eternals
-I heard [the] most recent cut of the movie is 2 hours 19 minutes
-Kit Harrington as Black Knight and Gemma Chan as Sersi are the best couple in the MCU [This kind of hyperbole sounds like marketing, but he could just be fanboying]
-Ties into Thanos' origin
-It's the most beautifully shot and looking MCU film
-Will span thousands of years
-A character in this is getting a spinoff Disney Plus show [The most logical choice here would be Black Knight, as we know Marvel has had plans for him for awhile]
-Kro is the villain
-Ikaris and Sersi are the ones who bring the team all back together
-The Eternals have been sitting in the background for the entirety of the MCU and some cool stuff will be revealed in their involvement in previous movie events like Avengers, Black Panther, Thor 2, and Endgame
-Thena and Gilgamesh are the odd ones out of the group due to something that occurred in Babylon
-Sprite is sort of a anti-hero, has her own agenda
-Barry Keoghan as Druig is a huge get imo
-Celestials will have a great presence and scenes in this
-This movie will have 2 weeks of reshoots and additional filming sometime in late February

Spider Man 3
-I Expect this to be a VERY long movie from what I was told
-It is [called] Spider-Man: Homeworlds [This is apparently an Eric Voss idea]
-It apparently has the most dark and gritty moments in a Spider-Man movie
-Picks up right where we left off
-Bounty put on Spidey's head
-This ties into WandaVision. Won't spoil the link [Presumably Wanda opening up the multiverse is the link]
-Doctor Strange is in the movie for only 8-12 minutes. 2 or 3 scenes really. Cumberbatch was on set for 2 weeks and all his stuff is done from what I understand [This would match RDJ's work for the first Spider-Man film]
-Matt Murdock played by Charlie Cox will show up. I wasn't told if he will be in the Daredevil costume or if he will be Peter's Lawyer or maybe both. All I was told is that he has a small role in this. If I had to guess anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Wasn't told that but that's my guess

-Kraven is the main villain. Scorpion is the secondary villain played by Michael Mando from the end of Homecoming
-I have not heard who will play Kraven tho I heard a bunch of A-list names being floated
-JJ is sort of another villain as he has these Spider Slayer bots chase Peter though the city. Btw plenty of JK Simmons as JJ in this
-The multiverse brings in Electro played by Foxx, this isn't the exact same one from TASM 2 but will have a new look that is more along the lines of a combo of Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man PS4. I was told he was the 2nd biggest villain after Kraven. Foxx hasn't shot his stuff yet
-Alfred Molina is back as Otto Octavius and has a new look but is just one new scene and a fight scene. His stuff is already done and in the can. One of the first things they shot [This kind of cameo is what I expect from most of those appearing from the old Sony films]

-Thomas Haden Church is a very brief cameo as Sandman literally 40 seconds from what I was told
-Keaton's Vulture comes into play later in the film where more is revealed. They somewhat struggled to get him into this due to him being busy personally and also being a big part of the Flash movie as Batman. From what I was told he will do his scenes and then go right into filming Flash
-Mysterio is revealed to be alive and working under Osborne
-Willem Dafoe will be the MCU's Norman Osborne. He has a great new look. I was very surprised they went this route but if he didn't already play him in the Raimi movies oh my god it's perfect. From that perspective it's great [This is extremely odd if true, since he already played the role; this is also a rumour Daniel put out previously that I'd missed prior to originally posting this]

-Maguire will have about 10-15 minutes total. Garfield will have a bit more than Maguire probably more like 20 minutes. I think fans of each will enjoy what they get. Tom [Holland] and Andrew [Garfield] are apparently amazing on screen together. Maguire signed on a few days before shooting started. He hasn't shot all of his stuff yet
-Dunst and Emma Stone are very brief cameos at the end of the film
-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
-[Tom] Hardy Venom makes a 5-second cameo. Feige is very against it happening btw [Hardy appearing is a pretty popular rumour--I'm not sure how Feige would oppose it and yet it would happen anyway]
-Both Marvel and Sony have found [ie cast] their 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. Was gonna put this further down but because it has a possibility to be in this I'll put it here. If i had to guess it'd be a post-credits scene [No one else has claimed he's been cast, but there are scoopers pushing his arrival]

Ms. Marvel
-Coming September 2021
-8 episodes
-Will be a starting point for introducing the Inhumans into the MCU Proper
-Captain Marvel will be in 1 of the later episodes
-This was apparently their most broad and difficult casting yet and They think Iman will be a huge star and they found the next big thing
-Features Kamala in Highschool
-Will feature a lot of Avengers merch throughout
-Will have some great fan fiction sequences in animation [Yikes]
-Really leans into teen comedy and some coming of age
-Filming will be done in February

Hawkeye
-If i had to guess this will be out in mid to late November
-8 hour long Episodes
-Will be the last appearance of Clint Barton in the MCU [Given Renner's age and the limited popularity of the character, this makes sense]
-Clint will lose his hearing and is what makes him set out to find Kate
-Pulls Heavily from Fraction Run (essentially is a direct adaptation in many regards)
-Clown will be the main antagonist
-One villain hasn't been named yet
-Swordsman is only in flashbacks
-Features Track Suit Mafia and Echo
-Yelena will have a decent role here
-More Ronin-action from his time during the Snap
-Half the of the early episodes will be more Clint as the main character and the other later half will be more Kate Bishop
-Fiege and Marvel are in love with the script and Hailee as Kate Bishop. (I would bet this will be the best series)
-They will finish shooting sometime in March

She-Hulk
-Is expected to arrive first quarter of 2022
-Will be 10 30-40 minute episodes majority of them directed by Corio
-They are open for this to be multiple seasons
-All of the cases that Jennifer Walters deals with are Super Hero based
-Some familiar faces are even on trial and represented by Jennifer Walters
-Has a lot of random appearances of characters
-Hulk/Banner will be a supporting character in the show appearing in 3-4 of the episodes
-Titania is a villain [A bit of a no-brainer, but not something any scooper has really confirmed]
-The Leader and Abomination return
-Plan on a Rematch of Hulk vs Abomination [I have no idea why they'd do that]
-Thunderbolt Ross has a sizable role in this

Moon Knight
-Is expected to arrive in the 2nd quarter of 2022 (My Guess Mid April)
-Oscar Issac [Isaac] actually was their 2nd choice…
-8 episodes
-Will explore all his identities in very unique and interesting ways
-Will be darker than most MCU projects
-Villains are the Committee, Dracula, and Stained Glass Scarlet and sets up Bushman [The former has never come up before, while Dracula hasn't been put here specifically]
-An Avenger in Los Angeles will briefly show up in this [I'm not clear on who he's hinting at]
-Oh and you will see the scene [This goes over my head, but is presumably a reference to the IP]
-I feel like big Moon Knight fans will be pleased with this show but they are limited due to not being able to go full Hard R on this but it is more edgy than most MCU project and the humor that will be used is very minimal
-Goes into Production in Late February

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
-Derrickson left because of not wanting to include America Chavez and wanted more horror than Marvel would allow and wanted more villains than Marvel wanted. Other than America Chavez being there and the amount of total horror it will be pretty similar to what Derrickson would have made [I frankly don't believe Chavez played any role in him leaving--that sounds like spin to me]
-There is a fair amount of horror sequences which is what really excited Raimi and brought him aboard
-Sam Raimi given pretty much full creative control on a lot of the aspects of the movie [Full creative control when the poster says it's essentially the same movie Derrickson was making?]
-There will be a LOT of multiverse cameos that I don't want to ruin cause they are great
-Clea and Drumm [Doctor Voodoo] will be secondary supporting characters along with Xochitl Gomez as Miss America [aka America Chavez]
-They wanted Charlize Theron to be Clea but she passed on the role [This is a recent Daniel rumour I didn't bother posting; Theron is a great actress, but she's 45 and very busy, so not someone I'd approach if there was a future for the character--clearly Marvel does get excited by award winning actors irrespective of fit]
-I have been told they are cast but I have no clue who is played
-Evan Peters' character from WandaVison will be one of the villains
-Scarlet Witch will be the 2nd lead
-Mordo is in the film but he only is in the first 20-25 minutes
-Bruce Campbell will of course cameo
-Sets up Evil Interdimensional beings like Dormammu joining forces with one another
-There will be 2-3 jaw dropping terrifying but exciting action sequences. One includes the group having to fight Zombie version of the Avengers including Iron Man, Cap, Hulk, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, Vision, Falcon
-There is one great small cross over scene [With what?]
-This will utilize the Volume Stage Craft used in the Mandolorian
-They have been shooting for a little under 2 months. Majority of it so far has been the beginning of the movie. I was told that they haven't shot anything with Xochtil Gomez yet

Thor Love and Thunder
-Hearing Taika has outdone himself with this one
-Really appears to be a Rom Com like Taika said [Sounds painful on its surface]
-Is expected to be a VERY long movie
-Features Jane's cancer storyline from the comics
-Valkyrie has a sub plot regarding a love interest in the character Director [Abigail] Brand of SWORD [Rumours about a love story for Valkyrie and Brand appearing at not new]
-Earth-based SWORD is involved a decent amount in the movie
-They go to just about every realm
-All of the Guardians besides Gamora appear and They are in the beginning and the end of the movie
-Korg has a bigger role
-Sif will be back in a small role
-Beta Rey Bill is in the movie and their voice actor choice is perfect
-Small Hulk cameo in the beginning
-Will also utilize Stage Craft
-Will shoot in January down in Australia and also do some filming in Vancouver

Black Panther 2

-They kept the 2nd one under wraps very well prior to Chadwick's passing. From what I can tell they aren't changing too much in terms of the villains and the story. Obviously they are replacing T'challa so there is some restructuring and shuffling around in that regard
-Coogler was very adamant from the beginning to not recast T'Challa. Feige's plan was to do recast from the start though it was controversial among the inner circles. They started talking about what to do with the sequel in early October. They discussed Shuri taking over the mantle along with M'Baku and Nakia and even having two characters be Black Panther. They even considered doing a prequel at one point [This kind of thing--the inner debates of the people in charge at Marvel--isn't something the poster would ever be privy too--it's a lowkey shot at Feige, suggesting the poster has some attachment to someone else (perhaps casting director Sarah Finn or producer Victoria Alonso)]
-Apparently Marvel was going to bump off the film a bit to maybe have clearer heads prevail and continue on with T'Challa but they didn't want to lose Coogler

-Marvel had decided that they were going to allow to have Coogler have M'Baku or Shuri Black Panther. At one point Coogler decided that it would he would take M'baku but he had been pushing to want to go a different and more unique and original direction from the beginning. He brought it up again before it was too late to go back and Feige agreed. Since November he has been retooling the script and making this new character [This is a lucrative idea for Coogler, since as the creator he'll receive residuals for as long as he's used by Marvel]
-So… Shuri and M'Baku will NOT be Black Panther but both will be the main supporting characters in the film.
-T'Challa will not die. I was told he his basically written out. Don't know in what way or what it means. [I don't know what it means either]
-The Black Panther mantle will be dawned by an original character created by Coogler. He will be the lead of the film and will be King and Black Panther moving forward. He was described to me as a strong, quiet, powerful but also broken young man with a very unique back story. I was told he was a member of the Miner or River tribe. Apparently a relative of Nakia. Marvel isn't letting out there plans for this until the last second. [Abstractly this would be a good approach--create a new character to assume the role]

-Okoye and Nakia will have a smaller roles than before. They were probably the 3rd and 4th biggest characters arguably in the first movie so having Shuri and M'Baku get more to do moves them down the pecking order a bit
-Doctor Doom is a smaller secondary villain (The actor is still in talks but I think fans will love him) [While rumoured for the film, no one has suggested he's a secondary villain]
-Namor is the main villain and will be played by Tenoch Heurta [Referencing the recent THR report that does not name the role the actor was in talks for]
-Instead of Atlantis it will be called Lemuria (Deviants under water city from the comics) [The idea, presumably, would be to avoid confusion with DC and Aquaman]
-I was told it is essentially a 3-way War between Wakanda, Latveria and Lemuria [The fact that none share a border or are even close to one another means the battle would be over something else--technology/resources presumably]
-Martin Freeman will return as Agent Ross

Blade
-Will come out October 2022
-I heard this is aiming to be a very heavy PG-13 but Feige is pushing it to be R only on a violence and gore level
-They have their writers signed on
-Marvel wants to get Guillermo Del Toro to Direct (quite unlikely) but also has Barry Jenkins in mind who is working on Lion King 2 for Disney. Also has Terrence Nance on their list along with the Bad Boys For Life directors who are currently working on Ms. Marvel [Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah]. Would be a quick turnaround for them once Ms. Marvel finishes shooting
-Mahershala Ali did some test footage as Blade over Zoom in quarantine and apparently it is perfect
-Dracula is apparently the villain

Secret Invasion
-5-episode Event Mini Series that will act as a Prequel to Captain Marvel 2
-Nick Fury along with Talos will be the leads
-Deals with evil Skrulls infiltrating earth
-Maria Hill will be featured
-Will have multiple other Avengers characters including Captain Marvel, Falcon and Bucky [While the latter could be assumed, they haven't specifically been thrown into this show by anyone previously]
-This will begin filming in June

Captain Marvel 2
-Marvel feels very confident in the direction they are going with Carol Danvers
-Apparently has more of a team-up film feel [If  confident with Danvers, why a team approach?]
-Monica Rambeau as Spectrum has a big supporting role
-Ms. Marvel will have a small role [As expected]
-War Machine plays [has] a decent role
-Carol and Rhodey romance [This would be incredibly creepy given the 25-year age difference, but apparently in the comics this happened which is why the poster is including it--common sense would dictate it's not going to happen]
-Fury and Hill will return alongside with Talos and his wife
-Features the Nova Corps and another Space empire [There have been rumours about Nova debuting in the film, but those were detached from the Corps playing a significant role]
-Jude Law is returning [A good thing if true, as he was wasted in Captain Marvel]
-Sets up the Ultimates [I'm not clear on what he means here--my first thought was the Ultimate universe, but given that this takes place after Doctor Strange 2, that doesn't seem likely]

Ironheart
-Pepper and Morgan will have brief appearances
-They are taking a bit of a different approach to her character than in the comics [This is a smart choice as she's an unpopular Mary Sue in the comics]
-looks like it may debut late 2022 early 2023
-Will shoot late this year

Armor Wars
-Sometime in 2023
-Is a very political show
-I was told that Rhodes will be in some form of government position
-Rockwell will be back as Hammer
-I'd expect Crimson Dynamo and Detroit Steel to show up probably
-Will explore a bit of what Rhodes did during the Snap which was explored while developing Endgame
-Ironheart will be featured
-Will shoot late this year or early next year

Ant Man and the Wasp Quantumania
-Will come out February 2023
-Described to me as a family road trip to the Quantum Realm while also having an Oceans Eleven type feel to it [That's a jarring combination]
-This will explore all of the Quantum Realm and answer a lot of unanswered questions
-Kang played by Jonathan Majors will have a decent role but will not be the main antagonist this time around but Marvel has HUGE plans for him. (Yes they absolutely nailed this casting) [All the scoopers are assuming Kang is the main villain, so it's odd to see him posited as a secondary antagonist]
-Ant-Man mentors Cassie as Stature
-The Young Avengers are featured in the movie. (Hulkling, Ironheart, Wiccan, Speed, Ms. Marvel, Miss America, Kate Bishop, Stature)
-They recasted Emma Furhmann due to wanting a bigger name and they felt Newton was more talented. Also Emma is in college so maybe that had something to do with it as well [Is there a single fan out there who will show up just because it's Newton over Fuhrmann?]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
(This was all stuff I was told in 2018 before Gunn was fired, hired for TSS and rehired for Vol 3)
-It is believed to be Gunn's best script as people who read that have cried which I believe is public knowledge so speculate on what that means [Let us recall Batman v Superman received a standing ovation at WB before release]
-Thor plays a minor role
-Adam Warlock, Ayesha and the High Evolutionary are the villains
-The previous 2 movies had Peter Quill as the lead. This one has is very much a Rocket lead movie [If true this makes a lot of sense--Quill has already had his character arc]
-Gunn already had Mark Hamill playing the High Evolutionary
-I haven't heard anything about how 2014 Gamora plays into this so we can only speculate
-This production will be used to shoot live action and mo cap stuff for the I am Groot shorts series. This series of shorts will take place after vol 2. They will also use the production to shoot the holiday special. It is going to be set after vol 2 and before Infinity War. It is rumored to be 45 minutes long

Spider-Woman
-Will be in the MCU and will come out sometime in 2023
-Marvel and Sony came together early this year in January and agreed to Co Produce a Spider-Woman movie with Olivia Wilde to direct
-They are looking at a lot of actresses to play Jessica Drew but the big names I heard were Naomi Scott and Daisy Ridley [We can all pray that Ridley is not considered; Scott would be in line with Pascal's tendencies]
-Will be true to her origin
-Would guess pending anything moving back I think this comes out in 2023

The Fantastic Four
-Will be out sometime in 2023
-John Watts was their first choice after his pitch
-No idea on any story stuff
-Regarding Krasinski, Marvel met with him early in lockdown and it was described to me as going "very well" (If you wanna know I think it is likely he'll be Mister Fantastic. Wouldn't put $1000 on it But I'd put $50 on it)
-I also know they met with Blunt as well. (Have no idea if it was for F4)

Mutants

-Mutants will pop up in such projects as Shang-Chi, Captain Marvel 2, Deadpool 3 and She-Hulk. Don't expect any full on X-Men related project (Besides Deadpool) until 2024 or 2025 [Others have suggested a sprinkling of mutants going forward, but without all these specifics--I have heard about a mutant appearing in Shang-Chi and the Deadpool franchise already has mutants in it]
-You will see 2-3 big X-Men characters pop up before they are in a X-Men titled project [This is the right way to do it]
-Here's a really juicy one. When they get around to X-Men. They want there to be an ongoing Wolverine series. They want the Russo Brothers to showrun it. I'm told they want this series to be many seasons long. They want this to be like THE biggest Marvel show in terms of hype like a GoT and Breaking Bad [An interesting idea--normally I'd say Wolverine is too big for TV, but given how important streaming is now, he'd bring in the audience--the Russo brothers are the right people to helm it (not just due to talent, but because they would respect the material moreso than Marvel typically does)]

-Marvel wants to get Hugh Jackman to play a role in the MCU and also cameo in Doctor Strange 2 and Deadpool movies as Wolverine

Avengers 5
-Marvel is interested in Joss Whedon to return to write and direct Avengers 5 and to have it released in May 2024. They want to see what happens with the Ray Fisher Warner Bros. investigation before they decide anything with Whedon [This isn't a new rumour, but given all the issues with Fisher, I don't think it will happen]
-I'm going to be clear here. Other than Whedon possibly being a candidate I've heard nothing about the plot, title, and roster of characters. What I'm about to say is PURE speculation using stuff that I know personally. I believe that this will feature elements of Dark Reign. In the comics "Dark Reign" deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which led to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title "Dark Reign" refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the ramifications thereof [This was a popular rumour in 2019]

As comprehensive as this is, it's restrained for 4chan (or Reddit), but at the same time bloated with information that's already public and the posters speculation and fanboyism. This was written by a very specific kind of fanboy--there's no criticism of the MCU whatsoever--everything is fantastic and is going to be loved. For the most part he's claiming this is second-hand information ("I heard", "apparently", and "I was told", etc), but he claims firsthand knowledge about Black Widow (despite oddly saying nothing new about it). Despite the avalanche of text above, the primary insights are for four IP: WandaVision, Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, and Ant-Man 3. There is nothing new for Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, The Eternals, Ms. Marvel, Blade, Spider-Woman, Fantastic Four, Avengers 5, and (arguably) Secret Invasion.

What are the biggest claims from this? Let's briefly list them out (roughly in order of importance):

• Wolverine Disney+ show desired with the Russo Brothers running it
• [Black Knight] Disney+ show
• Original character being created to be the new Black Panther
• Evan Peters is Nightmare or Mephisto (in WandaVision and carrying over into Doctor Strange 2)
• Doctor Doom as a secondary villain in Black Panther 2
• Rocket the lead character in Guardians 3
• Willem Dafoe as the MCU Norman Osborn
• Miles Morales cast
• No Loki in Doctor Strange 2 or Thor 4
• Hawkeye is Hawkeye's last MCU appearance
• Dracula as a villain in Moon Knight
• Kang not the lead villain in Ant-Man 3
• Carol and Rhodes romance in Captain Marvel 2
• Monica gets her powers in WandaVision

I don't want to repeat myself too much, but the top claim is plausible and I think the Russos' can do whatever they want at Marvel after all their success. Black Knight is my assumption for an Eternals spinoff, given that we know the MCU is interested in doing more with him. There are some puzzling things here--the horrifying romance tops the list (try to get that image out of your mind). The big question is, however, do I buy it? Is this legit?

Things like this on 4chan and Reddit are occasionally credible, but Occam's Razor is going to deflate the balloon and I think its highly unlikely. I believe the author cobbled together various scoops, along with the news, and interlaced his own interpretations--most of which, in fairness, are plausible. His production information is what's most persuasive to me (it's so oddly specific) and might hint at access (first or secondhand) to Production Weekly.

One of the nice things about DC shoving Matt Reeves' Batman-film into its own universe is it makes it easier to ignore. The only good thing that came out of the post-Snyder chaos is there was no obligation to keep track of WB's confusing approach to their properties and whatever cohesion AT&T might be imposing now is limited to certain projects. I was initially excited about the Reeves film because he claimed there would be an emphasis on Batman as a detective (a much ignored element of the character), but since then everything I've seen and heard about the film has watered down my interest. I'm not sure what needs to happen to get me back into DC--seeing Michael Keaton return is exciting in theory, but the quality of DC films has been so generally horrendous it's hard to have faith that he'll be used appropriately.

I was curious, given all the hype, how much The Mandalorian was penetrating into the general public versus other massive genre shows. The above is via Google Trends and I put the Disney+ show against HBO's Game of Thrones and Netflix's The Witcher and Stranger Things. Clearly, despite obvious success, this is not yet dinner table fodder (like GOT), or something that attracts broad interest like the two Netflix shows. Instead, The Mandalorian seems to be tickling the substantial but niche fanbase, with slightly less excitement than the first season (at least via this measurement) and a stronger bias in English-speaking countries than the IP has overall. As someone who couldn't get through the first season, but has friends who enjoy it (I know people who watch it only for Baby Yoda), it's an interesting phenomena to keep track of.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)