Marvel News & Notes

Episode six has come and gone so let's go over it. According to Kevin Feige, this is the last of the short episodes--it clocks in at 29 minutes (bringing the show's tally up to 162 minus credits etc) [An interjection after I posted this: I leaned on Small Screen to do their research for this, but in doing it myself I've learned Lauder simply accepted a Facebook post at face value that linked an old Collider interview with Matt Shakman--all that's said there is confirmation by the director that the entire show is about six hours, which is not the same thing as three remaining longer episodes (Shakman actually refused to comment about episode length)]. It's a good episode, but not as strong as episode five (Evan Peters stands out with an excellent performance). At this point we're far enough into the show to make some general statements about what has worked and what hasn't.

The Good

The story and performances centered on Wanda and Vision in Westview are superb (even if the sitcom humour isn't always on target); the two actors have been fantastic, with the supporting cast doing a wonderful job (the only exception being Julian Hilliard's Wiccan, but that's a minor point). All have easily managed the transition back and forth between sitcom and drama, providing a strong backbone that spurs the show forward. Both Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany standout as the best performers on the show.

The Mediocre

Despite its importance to plot, everything with SWORD has been average, occasionally stooping to lazy for the sake of the plot. None of the performances hit the level of Westview, with Randall Park's Jimmy Woo as the strongest component (granting he's not being asked to do much and can't elevate the performances around him). Darcy has been surprisingly hit and miss and that's clearly down to the writing--she has inexplicable tonal shifts and lacks development. Teyonah Paris (Moncia) has been fine, but once removed from Westview hasn't been asked to show any range, so (like the rest of the actors here) is simply flat. It seems clear the writers were more interested in Westview and spent very little time fleshing out the SWORD characters.

The Bad

Josh Stamberg's Tyler Hayward is distractingly bad (a rare miss from casting director Sarah Finn)--dragging down the mediocre writing for SWORD as well as the performers around him. His performance is flat and uninteresting. His villainy--SWORD doing dastardly things (ala SHIELD in Winter Soldier)--comes across as cartoony because he poses no threat whatsoever to Wanda--he can't even effectively threaten the Woo trio, preventing him from adding tension to the situation (he's almost at Jacques Clouseau levels of incompetence). There's nothing wrong with the character type (he is, in many ways, a clone of Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce, but he lacks both the acting ability and the development to make for an interesting antagonist). We are blessed that he's almost certainly disposable and not our primary antagonist.

Monica Rambeau's Superhero Origin

Does the show successfully set-up Monica as a character to invest in? Not yet. She's been an adequate supporting character (more effective in Westview than out), but lacks dramatic tension and internal conflict (she just learned her mother died and it's had no impact on her whatsoever). This isn't a fatal flaw because it's not the Monica Rambeau show, but currently she's too one-dimensional--our only hint at depth being her surprising reaction to Carol Danvers. Functionally there's nothing separating her from Jimmy Woo, which is a problem (I suppose Jimmy has the leg-up because he can do card tricks). The show missed an easy point of conflict by giving her a past relationship with Hayward that would add tension to the SWORD scenes (granting that Stamberg probably can't make that work). One thing I'm very curious about is how the MCU will handle her power levels--there's been a lot of power creep and the universe is much more interesting when fewer characters can tackle Thanos easily (in terms of villain resolutions, Doctor Strange is one of the most satisfying--Strange can't defeat Dormammu, so has to outsmart him). The best heroes have to pay a price for what they do, and Monica's mother dying off-screen doesn't cut it--there is, however still time to sort that out.

Back to the Episode

The Westview story, particularly what we got from both Vision and Quicksilver (see below) was excellent. The low point remains the drama with SWORD (the trio getting kicked out is cartoonish and I'm not sure how/when Darcy became a hacker--I don't remember that being part of her character in the first two Thor films). I think--or at least hope--the ending of SWORD's containment will nudge that part of the story into a more interesting paradigm.

Quicksilver

Who is Evan Peters playing? On one level, the show is selling that he's playing the Aaron Taylor-Johnson iteration of the character (we see him riddled with bullets ala Age of Ultron), but I don't think we can take that at face value. Why is Quicksilver hyper aware of what's happening in the town when Vision is oblivious? Those two are the proper comparison, because they are the only dead characters who have reappeared. Vision can't even remember being a member of the Avengers, but not only does Quicksilver know his own past (to some extent at least--he dodges Wanda testing that fully), he knows that Vision died--how? We also have Pietro's easy acceptance of what Wanda is doing (holding thousands captive to participate in her Shangri-La). These oddities have me wondering if he's actually Nightmare or Mephisto--it would explain the hyper awareness, showing himself as dead to Wanda, and encouraging the continuance of the horror that the citizens of Westview are enduring. The show certainly needs an antagonist with the power to threaten Wanda (as opposed to the limp efforts of Hayward) to keep the dramatic tension high.

The Engineer

It looks like we'll finally meet Monica's aerospace engineer, who may or may not be impacted by the expanded hex zone (whether Darcy will be empowered by passing through it or not is unclear). The fan noise for the role is mostly Reed Richards (or Doctor Doom or even Beast), but I think K. C. Walsh's hint that it's the unremarkable Blue Marvel is more likely--that could be why so many scoopers are pushing for a character virtually no one has heard of (cf)--apparently he has a romance with Monica in the comics, which would give him relevance. On the positive side, we can dispense with the mundane option of it being the random Skrull that Monica befriended in Captain Marvel, not only because it appears this is a male character, but there's no reason to spend two episodes building up a reveal for a character no one remembers.

Lauder is claiming that Ultron will make an appearance in WandaVision. This is plausible speculation, since the show is heavily focused on dealing with Wanda's past trauma (it's not a unique idea, but none of the bigger scoopers have pushed it).

After the superbowl trailer dropped, Daniel claimed Erin Kellyman is playing a gender-swapped Flag-smasher (which turned out not to be a scoop by him, but rather something revealed via a toy leak). This represents another case of Murphy's speculation gone array (in October he believed Noah Mills had the role, which joins his twice wrongly speculated guesses over who was Songbird). I bring this up just to remind fans there's a big difference between what Murphy puts out as scoops versus his speculation.

We had a supposed leak on 4chan that, while almost certainly false, is at least restrained (this is long):

Trailers have shown almost nothing of the show. Everything in the trailers is from the first episode except Madripoor and the shot of Zemo with his mask in hand from the newest trailer (which is ironically from the last episode)

Therapy sessions are a bookend for the show, every episode starts/is intercut with them. Ross is watching. [Unclear if he means General Ross or Everett Ross]

Flagsmasher is not a major character, just a side character used by Zemo as a distraction. Show in general follows a villain of the week format with the exception of Zemo who is built across the 6 episodes.

Steve Rogers does not die (at least not in this show). There is a funeral, but it's for General Ross (he's not really dead, but going underground)

John Walker is referred to as Captain America throughout his run with the shield. At one point he is referred to in dialogue as "a US Agent" but that's it. He's not a full on villain, he genuinely wants what's best for the country but he follows orders to a fault and has crippling PTSD.

Race is a HEAVY theme in the show. Sam isn't allowed the shield because of the Sokovia Accords, but the real reason is because he is black. When Walker goes off the reservation and beats Eli Bradley in front of cameras, the government tries to give Sam the shield for good PR. This almost leads Sam to forsaking the government entirely but Rhodey brings him back. [I don't buy this at all--see below]

Show doesn't really set Rhodey up for Armor Wars at all.

Bucky's arc is atonement and becoming a human again in the small ways he can. Sharon helps him with this immensely. [I don't buy this either, as Civil War already encapsulates this--what the show seems to be doing is asking the question: who is Bucky now that he's no longer the Winter Soldier and Steve is gone?]

The 5 years after the snap are explored heavily, as is the impact of coming back to a changed world.

Omega Red [Desmond Chiam] and Batroc the Leaper are indeed in the show. They are the villains of episode 3, which is the Madripoor episode. Omega Red is pretty nerfed for the MCU but there's a canon reason. The word "mutant" is never said. [The Omega Red rumour goes back a year to Reddit]

Songbird does NOT appear. Neither do the Inhumans in any capacity. There's also no tie in to Black Widow, at least not one that I noticed. [The first and third are meant to address common assumptions about the show, but the middle point baffles me as I haven't heard them included in rumours]

Zemo's plan is to rid the world of superheros. He escaped and inspired people like Flagsmasher during the snap. He uses the events of WandaVision, John Walker's downfall, and the public uncertainty regarding the snap to radicalize an army.

Sam ends up begrudgingly accepting the role as Captain America but that's because he does it for himself.

Bucky and Sharon end up together. It works better than you think I promise. Sharon is a highlight of the show and one of the most capable characters.

Ross is trying to recreate the super solider serum again, which leads to Red Hulk. Last scene (not post credits, haven't seen that) is an intelligent Red Hulk approaching Zemo after Zemo has just been microchipped with a bomb in his neck to recruit him for Thunderbolts.

Bucky joins the new Shield with Sharon at the end. Sam seeks to reform the Avengers. [I'm doubtful of a reformed SHIELD--what's the point when you have SWORD and already gave SHIELD a full arc?]

Episode 1: details aftermath of Endgame, Sam relinquishes the shield to the government and John Walker, Flagsmashers are trying to steal bioweapon. With Sharon's help they stop them. Zemo revealed to be the villian

Episode 2: John Walker is sent after Zemo. Sam and Bucky continue to butt heads. The three of them have a fight and Zemo gets away. They come back together and catch Zemo

Episode 3. Captured Zemo leads them to Madripoor, they shake Walker in the streets. Batroc and Omega Red attack them in a bar. Zemo escapes on a speedboat, makes a public broadcast

Episode 4: Zemo followers rise up in the streets which leads to vigilantism. Patriot is the main focus. Him and Walker take on a gang together, but he intervenes to stop Walker from killing them and Walker brutalizes him. This was Zemo's plan. Sam meets with Rhodey to discuss being a black superhero [The poster has completely forgotten about Battlestar--you'll see his comment about him below--so has inserted Patroit, an obscure Young Avengers character no one has rumoured for the show]

Episode 5. Sam still refuses to accept the shield. Everyone gets a turn with it, including Sharon as they finish off the Flashsmasher gang. Walker tries to make amends

Episode 6. Sam accepts the role as Captain America. Him, Bucky, Sharon, Walker and Patriot suit up together and take on Zemo in his Alaskan shipping boat base where he plans to launch his bioweapon from [In general these summaries are much too vague to be authentic--no one summarizes like this--interesting moments stand out and get pointed at]

The meat of the show is over 6 months later [after Endgame]

Omega Red's design is I'd say 70% comic accurate, 30% tacticool like most MCU costume design. Unnecessary lines all over. The reveal of his tentacles is very cool though. Even with unfinished VFX

Thunderbolts are set up at the end. The Flashsmashers cult is a bit like the OG comic Thunderbolts visually and ability wise

Says he does not know why Patriot is appearing instead of Battlestar

Noah Mills plays one of the flag-smashers

Zemo kills Erin Kellyman's character

It's basically [Falcon's] show

Zemo does get a sword, but he doesn't use it until the last episode, and its just a vibranium arm [Presumably he means its made of the metal]

My main objection to this is how slight it is on details--what's described is too vague. I don't think Marvel would ever have one of their main characters (in this case, Ross) or the US military reject someone because of their race--the reason for the latter is because of their close relationship (I mentioned it last time in regards to how they dodged sexism in the military for Captain Marvel); the reason not to paint Ross with that brush is pretty obvious (and you'd also have to ask, why haven't we seen this character trait before?).

Tom Drew (The Direct; which, as we've gone over, gets their information from Daniel) says that Adam Hugill has joined the cast of Doctor Strange 2, likely playing the alien minotaur Rintrah who has magical abilities. This is a very obscure character and it will be interesting to see what we get if this is true.

Daniel posted a casting call for Black Panther 2 (verified by Murphy afterwards--in both cases this is from Production Weekly):

[ZYANYA]
Female, 20s-40s, Mayan. Fierce, cunning, a great warrior. Physical training or fight/dance experience is a plus. Strong Supporting role. [Daniel doesn't include it, but via Murphy writer Joseph Aberl, we know they are not restricting the search to just Mayans, but any indigenous person from the Americas--reminiscent of the broad net used to cast Kamala Khan]
[CADMAEL]
Male, 20s-40s, Mayan. 6'0" or taller. Powerful, strong, a loyal warrior and formidable presence. Any fight or stunts experience is a huge plus. Strong Supporting role. [Same stipulation as above]

No one has any clue who these characters are (they might be unique, but I doubt it--Marvel likes using source material--I think they are race-swapped). In terms of disparate connections, indigenous people from the Americas is pretty good. What this might be is a re-writing of Namor and his people--so using those with an indigenous background rather than the expected Asian swap. I'm speculating, but if I'm right, I feel like the decision to greenlight Shang-Chi impacted a lot of expected Asian swaps. The idea itself is an interesting one, because outside of Alpha Flight there aren't many notable indigenous characters in Marvel. Following this chain of logic, perhaps these characters are Namora (his cousin) or Namorita (another cousin) and someone like Llyron (granduncle, which may be too old, but a male relative is what I'm getting at)--ie, members of the Atlantean noble family. It's worth pointing out that it's been argued we're getting White Tiger rather than Namor in the film (cf), and that would suggest these characters are associated with him, but Hector Ayala is Hispanic with no known connection to the Mayans, so I'm doubtful. It will be interesting to see developments going forward, but colour me intrigued. (It would be interesting if a revived Killmonger provided weapons to the Mayans to fight the American-backed Mexican government for autonomy--think of the Zapatista uprising--but Marvel would never do that.)

Speaking of Daniel, he posted casting calls for She-Hulk's parents while intentionally obfuscating a third call for a character dubbed "Parker" (a 30s-40s male character who has a strong supporting role and is possible love interest). I don't know why Daniel didn't provide the full information for Parker, but I'm guessing that description will trickle out via one of his buddies elsewhere.

Skyler Shuler (DisInsider) says Keanu Reeves was approached by Sony for Kraven months ago but turned it down--food for thought.

I failed to mention in December that Dominique Thorne had been cast as Ironheart (I held off thinking we might get more news, but at this point it's time to discuss it). The casting is reminiscent of Iman Vellani for Ms. Marvel in that both are unknown and not actresses you'd expect to lead their own show--much riskier picks than Kate Bishop actress Hailee Steinfeld--I'm curious how they will be received.

For quite some time Sutton has suggested that Joss Whedon was under consideration for a few different Marvel IP (X-Men, Excalibur, and Agents of SWORD). This always seemed unlikely to me given his wife's revelations in conjunction with the Ray Fisher drama, but now that Charisma Carpenter has repeated her accusations with additional details (most of her costars coming out with either similar stories or in support), the MCU won't touch Whedon.

Assessing an Old Leak

Specifically I wanted to address one from early 2019 via 4chan, a leak thought to be authentic by both Murphy and Conrad. Before we go through it, let me point out that minor variations aren't concerning in terms of assessment, because this was posted nine months before any of the shows started filming.

WandaVision

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. This project has been 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. High-caliber actresses like Frances Conroy, Vanessa Redgrave and Dianne West have already been approached for Harkness.

While we still have up to half the runtime of the show to come, most of this seems to be wrong. The Tom King-element (rejection of their relationship by the public) isn't evident at all, there's no direct hint of Agatha reminding Wanda of her past, any sense that Vision will become a villain, and the tone hasn't hit the psychological thriller mark (its been mysterious, not frightening). If this was an idea at Marvel, it doesn't seem like something Jac Schaeffer would pitch. I suspect the entirety of this is wrong, but I can't be definitive about it yet. What this looks like to me is someone looking at the source material and making their best guess.

Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Falcon & The Winter Soldier will be deeply ingrained in the events of Phase 4, and features Falcon and Winter Soldier being recruited by SHIELD to prevent anarchist group Ultimatum from enforcing a secret plan developed by Hydra to destroy the United Nations. The duo must also deal with John Walker [aka U.S. Agent], a soldier recruited by the U.S. government to become the new Captain America, who slowly goes insane and becomes a threat. The project is described as a “spy thriller” with lots of twists and turns, and it relies heavily on Falcon and Bucky’s dynamic, in the same vein as Lethal Weapon or 48 Hours. Emily VanCamp's Sharon Carter will be the team’s contact with SHIELD, and Samuel L. Jackson will make appearances as Nick Fury. William Hurt is also in talks to appear as Secretary Thaddeus Ross

Besides using SHIELD rather than SWORD, much of this is plausible, although the description is vague beyond the specific plot against the UN. I'm dubious of the Hydra connection (a group that has had a full arc in the MCU already), and there's no mention of Zemo (who has a major role). Because of how ephemeral the description is, it's difficult to verify or debunk, but to me it looks like speculation.

Loki

Loki meets the Norns after his death in Avengers: Infinity War and must persuade them to spare his soul from Hel. Tom Hiddleston will appear in bookend scenes and narrate throughout, but the blunt of the story is about Loki’s youth and the events that led him down the path of evil, with a new actor playing young Loki. One name that has been frequently brought up is Fionn Whitehead from Dunkirk and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. We will also see young Thor, and Rene Russo will have a big role as their mother Frigga. Odin will be away on a mission for most of the story, and the few times he appears, his face will be obscured, with Anthony Hopkins ADR-ing the dialogue. The sorceress Karnilla and the barbarian Ulik will be the main antagonists.

The entirety of this is wrong--I'm extremely puzzled why the poster ignored the rather obvious escape by Loki in Endgame and chose the afterlife as his method of adventure. There's not much else to say about this, as it's clear Marvel was always going to use the 2012 Loki as the backdrop for the show.

Hawkeye

Early development. Pitched as a “caper” about Hawkeye coming out of retirement to help aspiring vigilante Kate Bishop after she gets in trouble with the organized crime while using his name. Hawkeye’s family would be heavily featured, and Linda Cardellini is willing to return, but Jeremy Renner is still studying his options. The Hood would be the main antagonist, with Trickshot as his enforcer.

The poster is correct about the source material being used (what else could you do with an aging Hawkeye originally intended to die in Endgame?), but he seems to have the orientation wrong (it's Kate's family that seems to be featured, not Clint's), so this smacks of speculation.

War Machine (Armor Wars)

Early development. Pitched as a “sci-fi thriller” about Colonel James Rhodes pushing the boundaries of his own humanity as he investigates the theft of Stark Industries’ technologies and uncovers a conspiracy masterminded by an elusive organization that is providing criminals and terrorists with cybernetic enhancements. Envisioned as a “deep dive” into War Machine’s often overlooked lore, introducing his sister Jeanette Rhodes, girlfriend Glenda Sandoval, and friends Suzi Endo and Jake Oh, with Parnell Jacobs and Stewart Clarke as villains. Limiting factors are the budget and Don Cheadle’s schedule.

We know so little about Armor Wars that it's difficult to comment on these predictions. One thing that's apparent is that Marvel understood that a War Machine-titled project was a dead end, so have leaned on a classic Iron Man story instead. As yet, however, we have no idea what the scope of the story is. Given that everything above seems like fan speculation, we can safely dismiss it.

Sif (Nothing on the slate)

Early development. Pitched as a “sidequel” about Lady Sif’s journey across the Nine Realms after being betrayed and exiled by Loki masquerading as Odin. Beta Ray Bill would be featured as one of Lady Sif’s companions in her journey, and the Enchantress would be the main antagonist. Jamie Alexander is willing to return, but they are still figuring out a schedule that doesn’t conflict with her TV show Blindspot.

We have no evidence for this at all, although Sif (who was supposed to die in Ragnarok) is returning for Thor 4 (in what capacity we have no idea). Blindspot is no longer an issue, but Sif can't support her own show--alternatives like Thor Corps are possible, but that's just speculation. There is some evidence to support the idea that Marvel considered something for her at the time, because Discussing Film put out the idea prior to the 4chan post. However, if it was considered, it must not have been for very long, since there's no sign of it on the slate and Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Secret Invasion, and Ironheart have already bypassed it. 

Other

These are the six projects in active development, but several other ideas are being discussed, like spin-offs about Rocket & Groot, Agent 13 (aka Sharon Carter), Nebula and Okoye; prequels about Hank Pym and the Ravagers, and even new properties unlikely to get feature movies, like Moon Knight and The Sentry. There will probably be several X-Men projects once the rights fully revert later this year.

The Rocket & Groot idea was not new (Murphy talked about it previously), while most of the rest are ideas we can dismiss (Sharon Carter, Nebula, Ravagers, and a Hank Pym prequel are all DOA and unlikely to ever have been seriously considered). Okoye will probably be featured in the Wakanda show, but I'm not going to credit the poster for that since these are all being presented as solo vehicles. Moon Knight was one of the most heavily rumoured IP's for Marvel so without specifics, there's also no credit for including it. My belief is that the poster had no inside information--that what we see above is fan speculation (Murphy/Conrad seem to be crediting it simply because they liked the ideas).

I brought this up in my last post, but thought it worth repeating: Sutton has been revamping Geekosity and as part of that process reposting a ton of his old material. I find this odd and I'll be curious to see if he reposts the content that's already been debunked or if the cleansing will wipe that slate clean.

I mentioned awhile ago that it seems like WB is doing all it can to prevent Ava DuVernay from making New Gods. The director keeps committing to new projects and was recently announced to be helming a new one for the CW. This is the fourth she's taken since being announced as the director of New Gods, which means that film is far, far away. I think WB wants her to leave of her own accord rather than make the film--in part, no doubt, because the MCU is doing her film with The Eternals.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

The Superbowl Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailer was mostly an echo of what we've seen before, but with two elements that stood out to me:

• 1) Zemo's declaration that he doesn't believe superheroes should exist. This fits his motivations from Civil War and seemingly makes him the antagonist; I still feel he's more likely to be an anti-hero who eventually becomes part of the Thunderbolts.
• 2) Scoopers are pulling back from the idea of Erin Kellyman playing Songbird (Murphy, who is the source of the idea, is now saying that's not who she is)--if that's correct, perhaps she's based on one of the rumoured Grappler characters (cf, Gladiatrix, Cowgirl, and Battleaxe, who all have red hair), or more likely someone entirely different.

The latter point is, incidentally, a good example of how Murphy's attempts to connect the dots do not always work (let us recall Kellyman was the second person he picked as Songbird). Fans tend to give his speculation the same weight as his scoops, when the two are very different (as he points out himself).

The trailers make Falcon's arc seem very clear: he considers the shield, rejects it because of its secret history, Bucky reminds him people need a symbol of hope and after John Walker fails, he takes up the Cap title. That said, we are still unclear what's happening with Bucky or what Marvel wants to do with the John Walker character (if anything). In the comics Walker is ultimately redeemable, but the simpler route is to make him a villain. I have no idea what they want to do with Bucky, but given how young and popular Sebastian Stan is (he turns 39 this year), I expect him to have a future, but where do you take the Winter Soldier? I'm hoping for some unexpected twists in the show--it would be interesting for Falcon to reject the shield because he doesn't need it to inspire people, but I don't think Marvel will go there (or, at least, not in this show--I feel like the crescendo for him is becoming the new Cap).

A final note: I expect any criticism of the military in the show (which we're expecting in relation to super soldier experiments in the past) will be minimal or deflected onto a rogue element. I believe this is the case because Marvel has a good relationship with the military and goes out of their way to avoid any serious criticism (as seen in the milquetoast nods to sexism in Captain Marvel).

We received some interesting insight from WandaVision showrunner Jac Schaeffer about why Evan Peters was included in the show:

We loved the idea of [bringing him back]. And then we were like, how in the world are we going to make this make logical sense? Like, how do we justify this? Because that's the thing, you can hatch a million great ideas, but to make them land, to make them be grounded, to make them feel organic to the larger story. … And we had long had the idea of the trope of the brother, or the relative, or whoever comes to town and like, stirs things up with the family--that sitcom trope. … I think Kevin [Feige] wanted to make sure that there was a reason for it, that it made sense. And I hope that's what we did.

It seems like what Schaeffer was most excited about was the sitcom trope itself, not specifically Quicksilver or the Evan Peters version of him. It's also clear Feige's interaction with the idea wasn't a grand scheme to introduce mutants or the Fox IP, but simply that whatever Schaeffer did in the show made sense. This is deflating for all the complicated theories about Peters (meaning we can almost certainly say goodbye to the Magneto theory).

I wonder what Marvel is going to take away from the response to the show thus far. When you comb through the numbers what's clear is the sitcom element received a muted response--something very relevant for the upcoming She-Hulk--however, the mystery element, the parts that fit firmly into the MCU's umbrella, have succeeded. We've seen a similar trend, if less clearly, in the response to Black Widow's marketing (reactions to the humour are mixed, but reactions to the dramatic moments are strong). The lesson isn't to steer away from comedy, but I think the dated, by-the-numbers jokes need to be scaled back (particularly in moments that lack dramatic tension).

One thing I haven't seen pointed out about the cast, and this is a very minor thing, is Schaeffer's connection to Emma Caulfield Ford--the latter was the lead actress in Schaeffer's first film Timer (2009), which is likely why she was approached to be part of WandaVision.

Something I've been wondering is why Schaeffer's Black Widow script required two emergency re-writes (such that she only received a story credit). My guess is that Schaeffer is primarily a comedy writer--that's where her sensibilities are--but Black Widow is a very grounded character and her script couldn't get there (requiring the late, emergency changes to the film). The writing in WandaVision has been solid, although Tyler Hayward (perhaps simply because of the actor) is an exception.

Multiple sources (Daniel, The Illuminerdi, Andy Signore, etc) are reporting that Keanu Reeves has been offered the part of Kraven the Hunter (for a Sony solo film--the supposedly upcoming J. C. Chandor film). It's certainly a role the actor can fill, albeit at his age (56) the character won't be around for long. While Reeves is ubiquitous in rumours, none of the scoopers have put him in this role (there's a 4chan post from October that has him in the role, but that post contains other errors, so it's likely a lucky guess). Sutton had Keanu as part of a Ghost Rider series less than two months ago (that article has been deleted, although it may reappear when Sutton finishes updating Geekosity), which Daniel (in his rumour pile) also put out recently. Until we have something official we can't really assess what's going on.

Dietsch claims Chris Evans is returning to the MCU to play not just Steve Rogers, but to reprise his Fox role as Johnny Storm. He also believes that Jessica Alba is being asked to return. I frankly don't believe this--nods to the Fox X-Men have some cache, but the Fox Fantastic Four is terrible and having Evans play two characters pushes the boundary of confusion for audiences.

Speaking of Dietsch, I want to point out a couple of habits he has that are ringing alarm bells for me: 1) He echoes the WGTC habit of repeating in every post that his information comes from a source that gave him information on a pair of limited specifics, 2) He talks about how the information he has lines up with previous scoops (of course they do, they all come from the same person). I'm not drawing conclusions yet, but given how closely these tendencies align with WGTC I wanted to mention them.

Lauder says Feige wants to bring back Mike Colter as Luke Cage and his source believes he's meant to be involved in the Moon Knight series. Sutton has signal boosted the story (as he has, I believe, with all of Lauder's work), as it roughly echoes what he's said. The rumours about the various Netflix characters are persistent, but how does this help the MCU (cf)? With Charlie Cox and perhaps Jon Bernthal, you can argue they add some excitement if they appear, but I don't think that's true otherwise (or for any character from AoS etc). To me this only make sense if there's a limited future envisioned--if Luke Cage is meant to appear once or twice and be done (Colter is an older actor, after all). It's much, much easier to recast the actor, both to get more mileage out of the IP and to avoid any confusion over Netflix continuity.

Dietsch is not afraid of hyperbole, which in fairness to him is an issue for most scoopers (reliable or not). We see this in his 'expose' of who will appear in Secret Invasion: the announced Fury and Talos, along with the expected Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, Ms. Marvel, and the odd add of Quake (cf). This is a cast list you or I could have assembled--it's pretty basic speculation. He adds that this list of characters "are in the running", which means it's not even confirmed, but the kicker for me is this: "Marvel wants Secret Invasion to be the kind of mega-event [like] the Avengers film series." This is absurd--if Marvel thought this was an Avengers-level event it wouldn't be airing on Disney+.

KC likes my theory (although I doubt he got it from me) of Wonder Man being used as the basis to bring Vision back to life (or whatever life he currently has within Westview). For this theory to have any weight we need to definitively see Wonder Man soon--the next episode most likely--or its far too late to introduce him (assuming he's to be an active character within the show). We certainly need an antagonist to show up soon--since I'm assuming Wanda is not the ultimate villain--but that revelation can wait a little longer.

Sutton appears to be doing some spring cleaning as he recycled his old Iron Fist (link below) and Inhumans (cf) scoops on Geekosity. The most interesting element to me is that he wrote he's unsure if Inhumans will debut in Ms. Marvel, something I considered largely settled amongst scoopers (if she's going to be an Inhuman, surely that's their introduction--someone must have pointed this out to Sutton, as in a follow-up he echoes that sentiment while recycling his old idea of Vin Diesel as Black Bolt--link above). Mikey can't resist bringing up AoS again (suggesting its continuity will be maintained for the rebooted Inhumans), an idea I'll continue to reject. The other element of note is he's adding a new justification for the Iron Fist reboot: Cobra Kai. Sutton believes the success of the show (now on Netflix), has created renewed interest in the property. This is an odd thing to add, because he gave the exact same scoop without that justification previously and it's not like Cobra Kai is new. He seems to be suggesting the original interest had died down for unknown reasons, but the third season of Cobra Kai reignited it--I find that hard to believe, since that show has been popular since its debut in 2018 (so if nothing has changed with it, why would it change opinions on Iron Fist?).

A couple more rumours from Daniel:

• Ironheart will be bisexual [I have no idea if she is or isn't in the comic--I don't really care because I don't care about the character; granted, this could be another WGTC-style clickbait rumour, as Daniel makes these kinds of claims regularly]
• Keanu Reeves is still up for Ghost Rider despite Daniel's own scoop that he's Kraven [Try to figure that one out]

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Episode five clocks in at just under 33 minutes, making it the longest episode thus far and bringing the show's run-time to 133 minutes (minus credits etc), which implies there's a lot more content to come. The piecemeal approach isn't something I particularly enjoy, but the following episodes should be meatier. Both this episode and the previous have worked hard to payoff the plot and judging from reactions these have ramped up interest and excitement.

As for the episode itself, it's the first where we're truly shifting back and forth between Wanda's reality and SWORD, which works better for tension. We also see a more aware Vision--the leaked episode six footage giving us a good idea of where that leads (the other spoiler from that, the appearance of Evan Peters, is no longer a spoiler). Speaking of Peters, it turns out the oldest and most persistent rumour that he's Quicksilver is correct--what's not clear is why. Not only is Peters not the MCU's original Quicksilver, it's not clear he's the Fox version either (at least, not exactly). Peters has the hair coloration and colour-scheme of Aaron-Taylor Johnson (the hair is part silver rather than the full Fox silver); the accent is also different from Fox (perhaps hinting at the kind of changes we'll see in other Multiverse characters). Peters also knows who Wanda is--there is no Wanda in the Fox universe. There are a number of possible explanations for this (Wanda forcing it doesn't make sense--if she was consciously involved he'd be far more similar to the MCU Quicksilver). As for why it's the Peters version, I think it's because her brother died eight years ago and she can't bring him back (one of the points of Sparky's death), so instead we get a Quicksilver from another reality. The possibility remains that Evans is simply playing a role--that he's another character pretending to be Quicksilver--but for the moment we have no evidence for that. Occam's Razor is that he's simply the Fox Quicksilver and any variation can be explained away.

Another mystery which aerospace engineer did Monica wants to contact? It's unlikely to be a generic character or else the show would have revealed the name, but who could it be? I've seen all sorts of speculation (mostly from the Fantastic Four IP, like Reed Richards), but I suspect it's someone more innocuous--perhaps a character associated with SWORD. We also still have no idea who the missing person Woo was looking for is--they have yet to be named, which implies it's important. It appears as though within the SWORD storyline, only Monica is getting an arc, with Woo and Darcy remaining in support.

Stamberg's distractingly weak performance continues. Lacking depth, Tyler will hopefully be jettisoned soon (I assume he won't survive the show). I was intrigued by the drama hinted at between Monica and Captain Marvel (my guess is there's resentment over Carol abandoning earth for space), as that's not expected. I was less happy with the Thanos comments, as one of the only weak points in Endgame is Carol fighting Thanos (someone whose powers are derived from the Space Stone should not be able to go toe-to-toe with the completed Infinity Gauntlet--this isn't an issue for Wanda, whose powers are simply unlocked or enhanced by the Mind Stone and has a strong emotional reason to fight him).

I like the approach they've taken with Vision, although I wonder if he's really Vision when he remembers nothing before his life in Westview. He's clearly not a puppet, as he can act and think independently, but how can that be? If Wanda can't resurrect him, how is he functioning? There's some wiggle room for Wonder Man here--as the consciousness grafted into Vision's body--but our tangible hints for him are lacking. It's also interesting that Wanda admits that she doesn't know how the Westview situation started (or, at least, doesn't remember).

I believe we can put to rest the many theories based on the ads within the show. This episode's was so unmistakable that we can safely say all four are simply expressions of past grief Wanda is dealing with. I don't like the theory that the two people in the ads are her parents--while the woman could be her mother, the man could not (unless he's an adopted father). This brings up the possibility that she was adopted, in which case anyone could have had the role and there's room for an MCU Magneto.

Something no one is asking: if Fury is in charge of SWORD, why was he permitting experimentation on Vision's body? If that was done without Fury's knowledge, how and why? I doubt these questions will be answered in the show, but I haven't seen anyone bring them up (the simplest answer is that in the three weeks since he was brought back from the Snap he's not up to speed).

In the wake of the episode Sutton said the following:

The source revealed to me that her goal is to reunite with her family in this bubble sitcom world of hers. In WandaVision, she explained to her two boys that she cannot resurrect the dead. Given that limitation, she plucks her sibling from another reality, which explains the appearance of Peters. In Age of Ultron, the Scarlet Witch discovered that her parents were killed.... In the continuity of WandaVision, her dad had no powers. In the Fox universe, her father was Magneto. Since she is not capable of bring back that dad from the dead, into the multiverse she will go. The source told me that both Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, both of whom played Magneto for Fox, were approached to return as Magneto in WandaVision. It is not known which actor accepted to appear in WandaVision or if the producers decided not to pursue that option.

The idea is plausible--we know Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman were approached for something similar. I can't see McKellen turning it down, but I don't know who they would approach first (I mentioned previously I'd rather see Fassbender)--I address the idea more below.

Something no one is asking is why SWORD isn't approaching any of the surviving Avengers for assistance. I think we can address most of that fairly quickly given the situation post-Endgame.

• Dead - Iron Man, Black Widow
• Injured/retired - Hulk, Captain America, Black Panther (due to whatever is happening with that character)
• In space - Thor, Captain Marvel
• On the run/grounded - Falcon, Bucky, War Machine (presumed), Hawkeye (presumed for his activities post-Infinity War)
• Unknown - Ant-Man, Wasp, Spider-Man

The three remaining have no association with Wanda and Peter Parker is too young regardless. I'm not including Fury because while he'd be a better operation manager than Tyler, he has no relationship with Wanda to work with.

For the last few days people have been trying to parse what Elizabeth Olsen meant with her answer for if WandaVision will have a 'Luke Skywalker' level cameo (something generally merged with Paul Bettany's comment that he gets to act with someone he's always wanted to work with). My favourite bit of speculation related to this is Magneto (it would certainly match the "I am your father" moment from Empire Strikes Back), although whether he would be played by Michael Fassbender or Ian McKellen is unclear (I'd rather see Fassbender--McKellen's already the aged and embittered iteration). Whether that's really what Olsen meant and whether that's attached to Bettany's comment, we really don't know--both actors might think that Peters' appearance qualifies (and why wouldn't they?). Episode five definitely added fuel to this fire.

A bit unrelated, but a comment came up via the show that I want to address: one of Murphy's buddies mentioned that the Young Avengers are fan-favourites and this is simply not true. The team doesn't register on popularity lists and can't support their own comic. I see this kind of lazy shorthand from fan sites all the time and it drives me nuts--if you are going to make a claim like that, back it up.

We had our first apparent merchandizing leak for Falcon and Winter Soldier, with a shirt that proclaims Sharon Carter is wanted for breaking the Sokovia Accords. If true, this means both Bucky and Falcon are also on the run (they've also broken the Accords).

Daniel dropped a casting list for Spider-Man 3 (it looks like it's from the fall, if not earlier; I've included just the interesting bits):

[PETER PARKER / SPIDERMAN 2] IN TALKS: Tobey Maguire
[PETER PARKER / SPIDERMAN 3] IN TALKS: Andrew Garfield
[GREEN GOBLIN / NORMAN OSBORN] ATTACHED: Willem Dafoe
[DOCTOR OCTOPUS] ATTACHED: Alfred Molina
[SANDMAN] ATTACHED: Thomas Hayden Church
[ELECTRO] ATTACHED: Jamie Fox
[UNDISCLOSED VILLAIN 1] ATTACHED: Undisclosed Actor
[UNDISCLOSED VILLAIN 2] ATTACHED: Undisclosed Actor
[UNDISCLOSED VILLAIN 3] ATTACHED: Undisclosed Actor
[MARY JANE WATSON] IN TALKS: Kirsten Dunst
[GWEN STACY] IN TALKS: Emma Stone
[AGENT] Neutral 30s - 60s Male or Female.
They want someone who feels intimidating, not physically, but the last person you would want to be interrogated by. Ideally a strong theatre actor. Considering all ethnicities and it would be fun if this character felt like a New Yorker.  Offer Out To Undisclosed Actor. Prototype EDIE FALCO
[DETECTIVE]
Male BIPOC, age is fluid
Interest In MICHAEL K WILLIAMS

The latter two roles seem superfluous given how much screen time will be eaten-up by all the Multiverse characters (as well as Doctor Strange and Wanda). This doesn't tell us much, which is probably why Daniel finally released it (it confirms Church's appearance). There's also missing characters from this list (the aforementioned MCU heavies, as well as people like Charlie Cox). For those concerned about Emma Stone's pregnancy, that could easily be written into the character (as for why she's alive, given that she died in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, the Multiverse can answer the question). I'll reiterate that I think the Sony IP appearances are one-and-done for the MCU.

After this dropped a Redditor put up posts from someone else that mods approved of--someone whose friend works as part of the Marvel crew on Spider-Man 3. This original poster deleted everything subsequently, but the key points were recorded:

• The first scene is a news broadcast discussion, kinda like a debate, about Spider-Man accusations. They also talk about Peter Parker. They plan to do a running gag where New Yorkers give their opinion on Spider-Man (similar to that scene in Spider-Man 1 with people giving their opinions on the street)
• Spider-Man saves a disabled woman.
• The set built for the third act took almost 3 months to build. They're going all out.
• Peter Parker's relationship with Michelle will not continue beyond this film.

The most interesting element to me is jettisoning Michelle. I would thrilled to say goodbye to her (a thinly written character inserted for romance; Zendaya is a lot like Natalie Portman for me--less is more, but preferably none)--the idea would also match Sutton's belief that in his college years, Spider-Man is in the midst of a love triangle involving Firestar and Black Cat. That aside, these are plausible ideas and while we can't say definitively that this is valid, at least Reddit mods thought the guy was credible.

Andy Signore says there are two Disney+ series' coming from Coogler: one is the Wakanda-based one we've heard of, but the other will focus on Killmonger. The latter only makes sense to me if the character is not the next Black Panther (or the leading protagonist), otherwise he'd surely be saved for films.

In a related note, Crazy Days and Nights claims Rege-Jean Page is being considered as the lead protagonist in Black Panther 2. I've never heard of the site before and its primary content is Hollywood gossip (which may or may not be real). Regardless, no one else has suggested the actor, so it's something to keep an eye on.

Sutton offered an update to his old Hulk vs Wolverine film idea (cf). The change is that now the Red Hulk will also appear in the film pursuing Bruce Banner--this being General Ross (despite William Hurt's age--granted, the actor only needs to provide the voice). Sutton says this won't be Red Hulk's reveal--that will happen in an earlier show/film.

Dietsch continues the flag-waving for Chloe Bennet, saying Quake is "in consideration' to be part of the cast in Secret Invasion. This rumour comes from one source whose supposed prior scoops aren't that impressive. With that said, could the MCU use the actress and character? Yes. My opposition to the idea is Sutton's notion that AoS continuity will be rammed into the universe--something no one wants.

In a very minor update (cf), Sutton says Moon Knight will fight Luke Cage for some reason (presumably the heroes-must-fight trope)--both seemingly part of the new Avengers lineup. Sutton says the former will be brought into the group for his knowledge about Kang, while admitting he has no idea if Mike Colter will return to play Luke Cage (this hesitation about Colter was not the case a year ago).

Murphy was wondering who is the next leader of SWORD (understandably dismissive of Tyler) and offers five potential choices:

• Monica Rambeau - I don't think the role would suit the future superhero, especially if the plans are to have her available to join Carol on adventures
• Carol Danvers - This makes no sense whatsoever
• Abigail Brand - A popular character in rumours, but Murphy points out that she's a mutant which may put her on hold (this seems less of a hang-up given Peters' appearance in WandaVision)
• Henry Gyrich - If Marvel wants to set up SWORD in a sinister way, this would make perfect sense
• Adam Brashear - Sutton gave us Blue Marvel rumours this summer and I could see it (with or without powers); if so I suspect the MCU will clean-up his convoluted background (he's like Neil Breen in Double Down) and lower his power level

In the grand scheme of things I don't care who has the role--I have no investment in SWORD--but Gyrich seems like the most fun character to use if the organization is going to have a villainous slant.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Amidst all the rumours we received some genuine news via Deadline (Mike Fleming Jr.), as Ryan Coogler is going to produce a Wakanda show for Disney+ (we don't know the title, just that it will be about the place). What's interesting is that the speculation for Black Panther 2 has also been focused on Wakanda--I'm not sure how much drama you can squeeze from a location that lacks villains or internal problems (the latter being resolved in Black Panther). With that said, this kind of show is the perfect place to develop new characters and the supporting cast of the IP, but I'm not sure which character will anchor it (Okoye? M'Baku? Nakia?). I'd guess whatever we get will be inspired by Ta-Nehisi Coates' stories, although Coogler seems comfortable creating his own content. This is a smart move by Marvel--Black Panther was enormously popular in the US and its much easier to capitalize on that via streaming than with the long wait between films.

After I wrote the above, Sutton claims the show will focus on the Dora Milaje (which means Okoye is the ostensibly lead)--or at least, a show will, as he remains uncertain if it's the first Coogler will produce. I'm doubtful there's more than one show about Wakanda planned (as I mentioned above, I think the amount of available material for that location is limited), but we shall see.

Kevin Feige was quoted by Variety saying it won't be long before we get a Southeast-Asian superhero. He could mean Kate Bishop, since Hailee Steinfeld is part-Filipino and Hawkeye is currently filming. Tim (LotLB) and Murphy both believe he means an Agents of Atlas project is coming (Murphy having made this prediction months ago when he was convinced Shang-Chi filming in San Francisco meant setting up the IP--a mistake also made by Daniel, GWW, and HN Entertainment, with Murphy admitting he was wrong with that inference later). It's worth noting the comic roster for the team is primarily East Asian, although that doesn't impede the speculation. I think the idea is plausible, particularly as I'm dubious Shang-Chi can support a film franchise (a team on Disney+ is a safe transition); the Shang-Chi IP has made no waves thus far and martial arts films have struggled the last two decades.

Don Cheadle told a podcast that he'd be appearing in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Such an appearance makes sense, but no one had predicted it previously. I'm guessing it's a cameo or minor role.

Daniel, for whatever reason, decided to Tweet out a casting call for Doctor Strange 2, which he dropped as a full casting list the next day (I've included just what's new and relevant):

[NEW FEMALE ROLE] Lead Female (30 - 45) contemporary to Benedict [Cumberbatch]

[BLACK/AFRICAN-AMERICAN MALE ROLE] Lead Male (25 - 45) Black; Should “feel like a star”. Not necessarily a physical part, but a great actor. Read a TON of guys in this category for ETERNALS, etc, and has a good sense of our guys. [The latter comment seems like an addition Daniel added]

Most people believe the female part is Clea, a role that must already be cast because filming has begun. The other is clearly Brother Voodoo. We've known the two characters are coming for over two years (via Roger Wardell), but scoopers have been all over the place with vague speculation for the roles. One thing that may have changed since Wardell's scoop is Clea being swapped to Asian--with Shang-Chi, The Eternals, and other added Asian characters since that scoop, the requirement may be moot (all the speculation for her has been white actresses, but almost none of that has come from anyone reputable).

There's been a lot of speculation about what role Evan Peters has in WandaVision. A new rumour I bring up because I haven't seen it before is that he's playing Wonder Man. We've had a couple of easter eggs for the character, who (in the comics) is heavily tied to Vision. There's no real evidence to support this--as in, nothing specifically connecting the hints to the actor--but I wanted to mention it as something that's beyond the usual Quicksilver/Mephisto/Nightmare rumours.

Sutton talks about the return of Jessica Jones with Krysten Ritter in the role:

Sources tell me that there is no reboot in development as of yet; however, that will eventually change. ... Kevin Feige was apparently a fan of Jessica Jones. Despite that, insiders add we should not expect a continuation of the Netflix episodes. Rather, Marvel’s Jessica Jones will be handled more like she was in the Alias comic book by writer Brian Michael Bendis....

This is very consistent with both how Sutton has presented the return of the Netflix IP (rebooted with the same actors--other than Iron Fist), and his framing of what Marvel is planning (everything being more like the comics). I'm not sure you can portray Jessica Jones like in the comics and be different from the Netflix portrayal. What I think you could do is use the character after her origin--have her already in a relationship with Luke Cage and functioning as a supporting element in other people's mediums (such as Heroes for Hire). I don't think there's much territory to work with in her own vehicle given that the meatiest parts of the IP have been used. Could I see the character appearing? Yes. Do I think she'll get her own show? No.

A Cinemex Twitter feed is claiming Harry Styles is in The Eternals. This isn't the first time we've heard something like this, as back in September Kris Tapley also claimed he would appear in an upcoming MCU film, but the Tweet was put out on Styles' birthday, so it could just be clickbait.

The Direct's Nebens' is speculating that actor Isaiah Knott's character in WandaVision will be Hulkling. The rumours about Hulkling in the show go back to last year when a casting call was looking for a 16-23 male to play a Skrull (who needs help from SWORD to remain safely on Earth). The inference is that this call is related to another where Marvel was seeking a 15-20 male to play the role in an upcoming production that year. I'm not familiar with the actor, I'm not familiar with the character, and my interest would be zero if I wasn't writing about the MCU. That said, could this be accurate? I don't think so--Knott has almost no acting experience and if he has the role we can waive goodbye to Amadeus Cho (two male Asian Hulk's is beyond redundant).

We have another 4chan post about WandaVision:

• the 80’s episode will see the introduction of Evan Peters as Quicksilver. He plays an “Uncle Jesse” type character from Full House.
• his introduction is a scene where Wanda opens the front door and is shocked to see him. The audience claps and whistles when he walks through the door.
• his appearance is the first sign of the Multiverse “breaking”.
• Vision is not actually Vision. Wanda tried to bring him back to life several times but can’t without the mind Stone. She’s approached by a witch named Agnes who offers her a deal to bring Vision back.
• Little does Wanda know that in order to bring “Vision” back to life, Agnes steals the mind and soul of Simon Williams, and places it on Vision’s dead body, brainwashing him into thinking he’s actually Vision. [See the speculation above, although it wouldn't fit this idea]
• Simon Williams had been in protective custody for testifying against his brother. He’s a former actor. [His brother is the Grim Reaper]
• Agnes occasionally serves as the vessel for Mephisto (in the show, Mephisto is actually more like an amalgamation of Nightmare and Mephisto). By the end, she ends up betraying Mephisto to try and save Wanda. [We saw the combined villain idea a month ago in 4chan]
• The Grim Reaper (a character I’d never heard of before) is the main physical threat by the end, and serves as another of Mephisto’s enforcers
• by the end, Simon Williams is restored to his original form, now having gained energy based powers similar to Monica [Rambeau].
• Doctor Strange appears and ends up taking Wanda on as his student so she can take control of her newfound, enormous power.
• the main threat is resolved by the end but shows that the multiverse is breaking

I don't buy the post--it comes across as speculation--but it does have variation from what we usually see.

Sutton put out a follow-up article on an Agents of SHIELD revival (cf) saying that because the show airs on Disney+ in some places, and because the SWORD elements of WandaVision are reminiscent of AoS, and because AoS had huge ratings for its first episode, we're getting a continuance on Disney+. This is odd and reminds me of his convoluted argument for Netflix inclusions in the MCU. The thing is, he was right about Netflix characters appearing (at least with Charlie Cox), so are we in a similar situation--where he has good information but poor reasoning to justify it? I'd love to say no, since I find the idea unappealing, but we can't fully discount it yet.

More Daniel rumours:

• RDJ is fine with appearing on Disney+ [Daniel has now reported both sides of this equation, meaning he can declare victory no matter what]
• Brie Larson wants all the leads in Captain Marvel 2 to be women [This looks like WGTC clickbait, but if true then, again, a project like A-Force is redundant]
• MCU wants a solo film for an openly gay hero [A show I can see; I'm not sure the international market is ready for a film--time will tell]
• Ryan Reynolds wants LGBT characters in the Deadpool franchise [Daniel seems to have forgotten there are already two such characters in it--three if you include Deadpool himself--this kind of thing is why I consider a lot of his rumours just lazy clickbait]

I was talking to a friend of mine about Captain Marvel 2 and we were discussing how Marvel might try to fix the character (clearly Carol Danvers needs more development). In that process director Nia DaCosta's Twitter feed came to my attention because she mentioned Witcher 3 (not something I would have guessed interested her). I noticed that DaCosta had deleted most of her Twitter history when Marvel hired her (it now only goes back to mid-summer). What remains is very safe and my guess is she was told to keep her social media chatter as generic as possible. As we all know, nothing is ever fully deleted and you can see some of her posts via the Way Back Machine. It's pretty tame--less inflammatory than the average Marvel scooper--deleting it is a smart move nonetheless, given the shitstorm that follows her star (Brie Larson). None of this says anything about what kind of director she is--in a way that doesn't matter, since Marvel has no problem using ghost directors to shepherd the accredited person along (the same goes for writers), but I'll give her kudos for not wasting her energy screaming at people online. Incidentally, my guess for Captain Marvel changes are either they'll push her into Superman territory (godlike power with a code who runs into issues because of the loved ones she has to protect), or they'll give her some flaws she has to overcome (the situation for 99% of the superheroes we have). We know changes are coming because Feige completely overhauled the IP (new writer, director, and supporting cast).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)