Marvel News & Notes

It's a bit late to say, but the final Falcon and the Winter Soldier trailer was the best of the lot and, at least from the marketing, it appears that Erin Kellyman's character is being portrayed as the central villain--something I assume is a fake out (even though showrunner Malcolm Spellman has implied we won't get such things on the same level as WandaVision).

The easiest/simplest story for the show to tell is this: Falcon gives up the shield, someone else gets it who fails, Falcon takes up the shield and succeeds. What I'd love to see is something that pushes beyond that (although the show can still work if it sticks to that framework). To me at least, the more interesting choice is to have Falcon ultimately reject the shield and the role to be his own man--someone who doesn't need either institutional or Cap's approval for what he does--he can inspire people by his own deeds without wearing another uniform. With that said, I don't think the MCU has the temerity to go there.

As for the first episode: it's a good to excellent opening for the show. Broadly, the most consistently effective and impactful scenes were those with Bucky. Emotionally the beats of Bucky's story hit consistently and his painful internal conflict was evident both in the writing and performance. Let's go through it all point-by-point (roughly 26 minutes of Falcon and 14 minutes of Bucky):

• (10min) Falcon has a by-the-numbers intro (intended to echo the opening of Captain America: The Winter Soldier)--that's not to say it isn't well executed, and it's nice to see GSP again (as Batroc), but Falcon never seems to be in any real danger so there's no meaningful stakes involved--it's pure spectacle
• (2min) I was happy to see the Flag-smashers introduced early in the show, eliminating the lack of narrative urgency that plagued WandaVision's first two episodes; using Torres as the link for Falcon to get further involved is good storytelling, even though the supporting character currently lacks depth
• (4min) The speech about Steve Rogers and the shield is well done, as is War Machine's brief appearance; the scene nicely sets-up the 'surprise' conclusion of the episode
• (10min) The sequence of Bucky's flashback to being the Winter Soldier, shifting to his therapy session (which has better humour than the brief tease in the trailers), then his interaction with the father of the kid he'd killed setting him up on a date is all excellent
• (3min) Falcon's initial interaction with his sister and her kids is a bit stiff, but otherwise is fine and sets up the loan scene
• (4min) Bucky's date and his trying but failing to tell the old man what he did is excellent--Sebastian Stan nails the internal struggle
• (1min) Falcon at the house feels much more natural and there's chemistry between he and Sarah
• (2min) The Switzerland scene with the Flag-smashers' is pretty generic, but effective--delivering on the earlier set-up without fully unveiling what's going on
• (3min) The bank loan sequence reminded me of a 1984 SNL sketch from Eddie Murphy--the memory stripped the scene of most of its intended potency
• (3min) We then have Torres explaining to Falcon what's happening, followed by the John Walker reveal as the new Captain America--I'd expected more build-up to the latter, but I can understand wanting the impact of surprise as a motivating factor for Falcon

The episode was much more satisfying than what we got from WandaVision, and that's largely due to narrative drive and pacing. Unlike in WandaVision, which spent four episodes simply setting itself up, here we understand who the characters are, what they want, and the situation that's going to complicate those desires. While this sounds like basic storytelling--and it is--WandaVision instead leaned on mystery boxes and pent up anticipation to generate tension.

The writing for the show is good, if not at the level of what its imitating (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). The show isn't quite as brave as it could be, using the limp Libya=bad in the opener (fitting what I've said forever: the MCU will always remain friendly to the US military in what's depicted). That's a minor quibble however, and I'm looking forward to the next episode.

I did see a minor but consistent gripe from fanboys about the show: too slow, not enough action. This shed light on how Michael Bay became successful, as clearly there is a market for brainless entertainment that has explosions at regular intervals.

Deadline (Andreeva) reports that Kingsley Ben-Adir has joined the Secret Invasion cast for what she believes is the main villain role. The 35-year old is much younger than the listing Daniel posted recently (which called for an actor ages 50-60), so we'll have to wait and see if Andreeva's guess is correct (if he's an alien under makeup I don't think the age is important).

Murphy believes actor Carlos Navarro is in Hawkeye, either as a member of the Track Suit Mafia or as a detective. He deduces this from social media activity and IMDB and what he suggests is plausible. I like that Murphy (at least here) backed away from making definitive statements about who he is, given how poorly some of his recent speculation has gone (Erin Kellyman springs to mind).

Daniel dropped part of a casting grid for Marvel without being sure of the project (his guess that it's Moon Knight must be correct given the filming dates):

Dates: April 2021 - September 2021
[EDDIE SILVER] Eddie Silver - Male, 40-50s, Latinx, Jewish, A protective father who's concerned for his son's well-being but also harboring a dark side
[WILLOW SILVER] Female, 40-50s, Latinx, Jewish, A mother who's fiercely loving but broken by grief.

The shows that begin filming in April are Moon Knight and She-Hulk, and with Oscar Isaac playing Moon Knight (who is Jewish), the sleuthing isn't that difficult. The pair are presumably the lead's parents in flashbacks given that Isaac is 42.

Showrunner Malcolm Spellman told Heroic Hollywood that he'd love to reboot Deathlok. I don't think, even on a Disney+ level, that the character is engaging enough to work on his own. However, as part of something else (if Spellman's work on Falcon and the Winter Soldier remains good), why not? [This is the old, debunked Deadline rumour about a Deathlok film]

Sutton, or rather Lauder repeated by Sutton, reports that Emily Blunt has turned down the role of Sue Storm, apparently due to the long term commitment required. This sounds familiar, like I've heard this story before from last spring, but I can't immediately place it.

Sutton repeated the idea (December, 2019) of a Journey into Mystery series that would include Hercules as part of an ensemble show (he's previously mentioned Sif and The Warriors Three, despite the latter trio being dead). [The Sutton R&D list from last summer]

Speaking of Sutton, he also talked about the Thunderbolts, saying they could have a Disney+ series that might have ties to Daredevil and be spun off Falcon and the Winter Soldier. That's a lot of hesitation from him, but later in the article he says the Thunderbolts are definitively coming as a Disney+ show, spinning off F&tWS. I have no idea why the article opens with prevarications and then jumps to the definitive later--your guess is as good as mine. Mikey says the character Paladin might be part of the team--Paladin is an old favourite among Sutton speculation, as he claimed he'd appear in F&tWS. That aside, the idea of the Thunderbolts is amongst the oldest scoops we have for Phase Four, with the redoubtable insider Roger Wardell saying as much back in 2018.

On his discord, Murphy said there's a cut scene from WandaVision that confirms Ralph Bohner was Jimmy Woo's missing person. Why this was cut is unclear, just as is the point of doing it in the first place. The fandom is now in high gear suggesting the MCU at minimum retcon that he is someone significant because of how disappointed they are in what they got. Speaking of that future, let's assume for the moment we do get more Evan Peters: if Ralph was indeed an actor, one role he might have is that of Wonder Man (who was also an actor).

Dietsch claims Christopher Nolan has had talks with Marvel about directing an MCU film. While talks may have occurred, I doubt Nolan would agree to the constraints of the MCU--he chafed at lesser restrictions at WB, so why accept them here?

More Daniel rumours:

• Jim Carry had talks to appear in Deadpool 3
• Blade is smaller scale than a typical MCU film
• Marvel still has plans for the Ravagers

The middle rumour is plausible, but the other two are not.

4chan on Ant-Man 3:

• Kang is a mad scientist from the future who uses quantum energy to travel through time and build an army to conquer Earth in the present. His actions disrupt the Quantum Realm and attract the attention of the Ant-Family.
• Scott and Hope are together but having problems because he is dedicated to fighting crime and she is focused on rebuilding Pym Technologies. Scott is also struggling to reconnect with Cassie after missing five years of her life.
• Cassie wants to be a superhero and has been training in secret, but Scott doesn’t want her risking her life and this creates some conflict between them. Cassie ends up stealing the prototype Stinger suit developed by Hope and proving her worth in the fight against Kang.
• Part of the movie takes place at the Quantum Realm, where Kang has a base of operations. He kidnaps Hank at one point in order to learn more about the Pym Particles and Hope and Janet have to rescue him while Scott and Cassie deal with Kang.
• In the third act, Kang recruits doubles of himself from different points in time to help him fight the Ant-Family, and there is a big battle against extradimensional monsters from the Quantum Realm that cross over into the real world.
• Luis, Maggie and Paxton will return, and there are discussions to include Bill Foster as well. Kurt and Dave won’t be back, and neither will Ghost, at least in this film.
• In addition to Kathryn Newton as Cassie and Jonathan Majors as Kang, Austin Abrams is in negotiations to play Cassie’s boyfriend Mike and Bill Hader is eyed to play Hope’s business rival George Tarleton

Take celebrity casting with grains of salt, but on the surface this is plausible, if unlikely. As-is, the film doesn't feature the expected Young Avengers appearance or the occasionally rumoured Fantastic Four--that separates it from a lot of other rumours we've seen.

As always, more from our friends at 4chan

• Black Widow has been finished since March last year. No reshoots, no rewrites, nothing new added at all over the last year.
• Ben Kingsley has a cameo in Shang Chi and the Legend off the Ten Rings. Wong has a minor role and Fin Fang Foom is the villain in the final act. [Common speculation]
• Harry Styles is Starfox in Eternals in a small yet memorable role. Diego Luna is voicing Kro, Thena’s ex husband. Will plant the seeds for several cosmic Marvel properties. [The former is a Kris Tapley rumour from September; I haven't heard the Luna idea before]
• No Way Home is being kept secret similar to Endgame, in fact probably more. Tobey and Andrew are obviously in the film. Sinister Six consists of Kraven, Vulture, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, and Doc Ock. [Common speculation]
• Multiverse of Madness is scariest MCU film to date. No Clea and Voodoo. Villain is being kept secret. [Clea and Voodoo come from Roger Wardell and have been echoed by all the various big scoopers--Daniel had them on a Production Weekly casting sheet for the show, so barring changes, this is highly implausible]
• Grandmaster is in Love and Thunder. Lena Headey is playing Valkyrie’s Queen. [The former is common speculation, the latter I haven't heard before--this would have to be a Queen from the Multiverse, since all of Valkyrie's cohort is dead]
• Kilmonger is going to be brought back as the new Black Panther. Tenoch Huerta is playing Namor. Denzel Washington is in talks for a role. [The former is common speculation, the latter I hadn't heard before, while the one in the middle that's actually my speculation from November]
• Captain Marvel 2 has more of a creative voice than the first. John Boyega is playing Blue Marvel, with Clive Owen playing Yon Rogg’s brother. Of course, Jude Law is returning. [I don't know what that first comment is supposed to mean; Boyega comes up in a lot of rumours, but it's not clear if his unhappiness with Disney in regards to Star Wars would apply to Marvel as well; regardless, his inclusion is an obvious reference to the Production Weekly drop via Daniel and K. C. Walsh (cf), which simply referred to Boyega as a 'type'; the same post also relates to Owen]
• Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a very big scale family movie. Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer are back in small roles. Set for Early 2023.
• Blade is searching for directors right now. One of the names brought up is Shaka King. Kiki Layne, Janalle Monae, and Delroy Lindo are in talks for supporting roles. October 7th, 2022 is the set release date. [Shake King came up via Joshua Munn, and we know he just makes things up, however, we can't be sure this post is inspired by him]
• Deadpool 3 is looking for its title and Director. Title will be something creative while Marvel is interested in Robert Rodriguez, while Ryan Reynolds wants his Free Guy and Adam Project director Shawn Levy.
• Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3 casting won’t start for a long while until James Gunn finishes Peacemaker. Stakar and Ayesha come back in bigger roles.
• Fantastic Four are looking for additional writers alongside Jon Watts.
• Mutants is set for around 2025. A-Force and Nova movies are also in active development. [The 2025 date is new; Nova rumours are primordial--in October, 2019, Daniel said it was in active development, which Murphy echoed in January a few months later; Sutton has talked about the character incessantly, but I don't believe has ever said it's in active development; A-Force talk begins with LotLB (TBK) back in June, 2019, which Sutton then echoed the following July]
• Marvel and Feige have interest in Millie Bobby Brown, Saoirse Ronan, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Liam Hemsworth, Jonathan Groff, Anya Taylor Joy, Rege Jean Page, Ana De Armas, Gary Oldman, and Keanu Reeves for future roles in upcoming projects. There’s word around that Henry Cavill and Marvel have talked about a role after the Superman reboot news.
• Falcon and the Winter Solider has several MCU cameos. Ross and Zola are some of them. [Everyone expects Ross to appear; Zola would require a flashback or recording, which isn't difficult to imagine]
• Loki is most crazy yet fun MCU series yet. Richard E Grant is playing Old Loki while Sophie Di Martino is playing Enchantress. [We've heard these rumours before (eg and eg), although other suggestions have been made for Martino (eg) and set photos we've seen have her dressed as Loki, albeit that doesn't exclude this possibility; with Grant we know he only appears in one episode]
• There is talk about dropping all 12 episodes of What If? At once. [This seems likely as the interest in this series is close to non-existent]
• Ms. Marvel is really heartwarming.
• Hawkeye is very intense yet fun.
• Liv Tyler returns as Betty Ross in She-Hulk. Abomination and Titania are the main villains. [The former is an old Daniel rumour from October, 2019; Feige confirmed Abomination appearing a few months ago; the latter has been common speculation]
• Moon Knight is the most serious and dark of any MCU property yet. Naomi Scott is in talks for a role. [Scott's name has come up in casting rumours before, but not specifically for Moon Knight]
• Cobie Smulders returns as Maria Hill in Secret Invasion. Ralph Fiennes and Sarah Paulson are being looked at for major roles. [Fiennes doesn't do much television, although his recent film repertoire could suggest he's more open to it; Paulson seems more plausible to me, as over the last few years the MCU has pushed hard to hire older actresses]
• Ironheart will feature Morgan Stark. [I haven't heard this idea before, but presumably it's only possible if she's from the multiverse; it would be a smart way to try to deflect negativity from how poorly the comic book version of Ironheart has been received]
• Armor Wars features the long awaited return of Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer. [This is common speculation]
• The Wakanda series will be a prequel about the foundations of Wakanda. [I hope this isn't true--prequels lack stakes]

I think this is a collection of wishful thinking and other people's rumours.

Speaking of 4chan, there was a post dropped that is apparently a creative extension of what a supposed Twitter on Twitter has said. In his Tweets this person has referred to themselves as "we" when talking about the account, referenced sources (some good, some bad), said they have access to some information, but aren't a big scooper like Murphy or Daniel; it's also clear English is not their first language. A few notable predictions (keeping in mind that everything after Namor is in the 'discussion' category that Sutton loves so much; the wonky formatting is from the poster):

• February 7th - Namor casting tests in process

I don't believe this at all--nothing that's about to film would require him.

Doctor Strange 2

• -The second WandaVision post-credits scene is set in Sokovia and is part of a scene from the movie
• -Agatha will return.
• -Mordo will return as a "nice guy" to take advantage of Wanda. He will also be responsible for the villains' plot.
• -Mordo will be a Nightmare henchman. They will be the main villains.
• -Mordo wants the Darkhold, which is being used by Wanda for personal issues.
• -There will be a huge scene for a union of interdimensional villains after the multiverse collapses.
• -White Vision will not appear in this film and will return in Armor Wars.

I've heard the Armor Wars rumour before, but haven't referenced it here (it's not from any of the notable scoopers). Otherwise I think the bulk of this is wrong--would Wanda really trust someone like Mordo right after being fooled by Agatha? I don't think so.

"The Mutants"

• -"The Mutants" is not just a name for a movie, but rather for a project to insert mutants into the MCU, starting with solo characters developed in other movies and series, until the first mutant movie happens.
• -The first film will have a direct connection to Eternals and may focus on Moira MacTaggart and Charles Xavier, both with their journeys until they meet.
• -There is a requirement and concern that the film focus more on social issues about minorities than any other issue.
• The goal is to bring mutants naturally into the universe. There will be no crossover of universes or anything like that.
• -There may be a mention about mutants feeling free to reveal themselves to the world and fight crimes after Tony Stark reveals himself as Iron Man.
• There will be a whole construction to humans starting to hate people with superpowers in the MCU as events are happening, and the first factor will be the blip.
• -The first antagonists considered in the discussions are the Brotherhood of Mutants.
• The first X-Men team will be inspired by First Class comics.
• -The first mutant may appear in 2021 in the MCU

Broadly I don't buy this. Moira and Xavier can't be the main focus of a film--that's too inside baseball for casual fans, nor is Marvel going to retread the ground Fox already covered with First Class.

Fantastic Four

• -The film already has its screenwriters.
• -The team will appear first in Ant-Man: Quantumania.
• -The film is being planned for after Secret Invasion and will may be connected to the series.
• -The first antagonists being discussed are Super-Skrull and Psycho-Man
• -Reed and Sue may be a scientists at Pym Technologies and secretly study about the Quantum Realm and parallel dimensions
• -Hank Pym will be a regular character in the film. Janet, Scott and Hope considered for a short appearance.
• -There are discussions about having two versions of Hank Pym: the original and a skrull.
• -Spider-Man will also appear.
• -The team's origin is connected to the Quantum Realm. They consider including the Microverse as well.
• -Victor Von Doom may be included and have a connection with Reed.
• -Latveria will be mentioned earlier in the MCU. Doctor Doom will have his own series on Disney+. [This is a primordial rumour that begins with Daniel back in 2019]
• -The intention is to bring Baxter Building and Reed and Sue's children in a sequel.

If the first two sets of rumours aren't accurate there's no reason to think this set is. It's not horribly implausible, but I don't think it's authentic inside info.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Wolverine's Convoluted Origin

I've talked about this before (in my Alpha Flight article), but in light of a conversation with Youtuber Kinda Culty I wanted to go over Wolverine's origin. Right now the iconic character's origin is a mess (eg). I want to look at where it all began and where I hope the MCU goes with it. What's worth noting is that from writers Wein through Claremont and Byrne, his origin is very straightforward. Unfortunately, when he unexpectedly became one of Marvel's most popular characters, adding to that origin became profitable and allowed different authors to add their own tweaks to the character.

1974

Len Wein (Hulk 181) - Wolverine is sent by the Canadian government to put a stop to the fight between the Hulk and Wendigo in Quebec

1975

Len Wein (Giant-Sized X-Men 1) - Wolverine is in a secret government facility in Quebec where he's known as Weapon X; Xavier offers him freedom from government service by joining the X-Men, something his government superiors don't appreciate

1978

Chris Claremont (X-Men 109) - James Hudson (Weapon Alpha, later Vindicator then Guardian) is sent by the Canadian government to recover Wolverine; Wolverine mentions the two were virtually brothers in the past

1979

Claremont/John Byrne (X-Men 120-121) - Alpha Flight's HQ is now in Ottawa (rather than Quebec); the group is sent to retrieve Wolverine; Wolverine describes Alpha Flight (and himself in the past) as government agents, with Hudson as the lead and the one who took the Xavier-role of recruiting a group of mutants; Wolverine says psychologists believed he was an uncontrollable psycho, but Hudson didn't go along with that; in Hudson's internal monologue he says he never wanted to lead the group, wishing that for Wolverine; Sasquatch refers to Wolverine as 'captain'; Wolverine indicates Hudson gave him no choice in being changed (presuming he means the adamantium procedure); Hudson indicates that when he found Wolverine, he was a feral wildchild that he and his wife gave a home

1980

Tom DeFalco (Machine Man 18) - Department H is in charge of Alpha Flight

Claremont/Byrne (X-Men 139-140) - Wolverine visits Heather in Ottawa wanting to make peace with Hudson; Wolverine reveals his name is Logan to Nightcrawler (and, thus, the X-Men), although it's appeared in prior thought bubbles and Heather was aware of it; the idea of Hudson wanting Wolverine to lead Alpha Flight is repeated; Department H re-confirmed; Hudson and some other Alpha Flight members are seeking a creature Wolverine recognizes as the Wendigo; Wolverine mentions being 'James Bond' for Canada for quite some time after first fighting the Wendigo (but before joining the X-Men); Wolverine mentions that Hudson's suit was designed to protect him from Wolverine's claws; Snowbird calls Wolverine a good leader; Wolverine recalls being nursed back to health by Hudson and Heather years ago--having been frozen, starved, and near death; he hates the adamantium treatment that followed, believing it turned him into a killer; the government had him perform brutal, dirty assignments and Wolverine can't forgive them for that; after the Wendigo is stopped Hudson declares Wolverine a free man who can come and go as he pleases; Alpha Flight and Department H are disbanded for budgetary reasons (leading into the Alpha Flight comic)

1981

Claremont (X-Men 147) - Re-asserts that Hudson and Heather helped Wolverine be something other than a berserker, but that the government considered him an unredeemable psycho

1984

Byrne (Alpha Flight 17) - Flashback to when Wolverine leaves for the X-Men; Hudson repeats that he wanted Wolverine to be the leader, but that he was too aggressive to take on the role; referred to as Weapon X; mentions years of therapy for Wolverine; Wolverine refers to Hudson as his closest friend; Wolverine says he hated the world for making him what he was and hated himself for letting it (this is prior to being helped by the pair); Wolverine is said to be older than the pair; reiteration that Weapon X is government property along with being accorded certain protections by being a government agent; Wolverine implies that Puck worked as a special agent for someone other than the Canadian government in the past, but contextually it must be after Wolverine became a government agent

Here is where the road to confusion and insanity begins (the following isn't comprehensive, since this isn't meant to be encyclopedic):

1986

Bill Mantlo (Alpha Flight 33) - Retconned origin: Wolverine attacks Hudson/Heather in full health and is knocked out when Heather shoots him from pointblank range; Wolverine already has his claws, but they seem to be a recent addition; mentions having been in the Devil's Brigade (World War 2); claims he became a government agent to create space between he and Heather, which makes little sense given him being both Weapon X and a core part of the developing Alpha Flight; in Mantlo's version, Lord Dark Wind (Kenji Oyama) was responsible for creating adamantium and Hudson was knowingly part of the process of experimenting on Wolverine when that process was stolen (the latter a variation on the '79 assertion), arranging for his attack on he and Heather--this element is preposterous given Hudson's prior portrayals; some of this retcon remains (Devil's Brigade particularly), but not the darker portrayal of Hudson

1991

Larry Hama (Wolverine vol.2 49) - Wolverine and Sabretooth are around for JKF's assassination

1997

Roger Stern (Untold Tales of Spider-Man 1) - Worked with Peter Parker's parents at the CIA

1998

Steve Seagle (Alpha Flight vol.2 8) - Adding to Mantlo's iteration, but this entire bit of history seems to have subsequently been ignored or retconned away

2001

Paul Jenkins/Bill Jemas/Joe Quesada (Wolverine: The Origin) - A large number of bad ideas for his pre-history (the James Howlett/19th century nonsense)

2006

Daniel Way (Wolverine vol.3 40) - Interactions with the Winter Soldier, yet another love interest in Japan including yet another child (the fascination Marvel writers have with Claremont's passing story of Logan and Mariko apparently requires endless repetition, despite Claremont understanding that events work best when you move on from them)

2007

Jeph Loeb (Wolverine vol.3 53) - Romulus, the Hand, more Sabretooth, yet another love in Silver Fox

2011

Jason Aaron (Wolverine vol.4 14) - Wolverine fathered a bunch of children who later pursue him

There's so much more of this nonsense. Relationships, children, interactions with history (both real world and Marvel)--far, far too much to either make sense or even be useful. It's a convoluted mess that strips any grounded past for Wolverine. Essentially, if someone farted in Marvel's history, Wolverine was there to smell it.

Summarizing the Initial Origin

This is, from what I can tell, the commonly understood history of Wolverine up through the end of Byrne's run on Alpha Flight (November, 1985). While there was one or two minor tweaks, but the basic beats of the story do not change and are very straightforward:

• Name: Logan ('Wolverine' is a nickname prior to becoming an X-Men; very few people initially know 'Logan')
• Designation: Weapon X (which he drops when he joins the X-Men)
• Background: An almost feral creature who had basically lost his mind (his past before being found is never concretely touched on); psychologists think he's a lost cause and presumably want to institutionalize him, but Hudson disagrees and he and his wife help him recover, which requires years of therapy
• Weapon X: Byrne seems to have changed his mind, because initially Hudson is part of the process of Wolverine being given the adamantium treatment, but he removed that connection (likely because it doesn't jive with the Hudson being Logan's best friend--something he continues to say long after he joined the X-Men). As Weapon X, Wolverine spent time as a secret agent ('James Bond')--doing the dirty jobs for the government and spending long stretches out of the country. Hudson wanted him to lead Alpha Flight, but ultimately thought Logan was too temperamental to assume the role (despite members of Alpha Flight considering him a good leader); he's referred to as 'captain', which makes little sense with how the term is used by the Canadian military (we can't expect Byrne to be much of an expert, despite being Canadian), so he's using it casually. This general unhappiness with his role causes Wolverine to accept Xavier's offer, but he did so with no acrimony towards his former colleagues at Alpha Flight (opposing, only, their mission to retrieve him)--this attitude would make no sense if Hudson had forced him to endure experimentation
• Sundry: Wolverine had a crush on Heather that he recognized was fruitless and destructive, so did his best to bury it (this is certainly meant to echo his crush on Jean Grey, as the two are of a type in both being young redheads already in a relationship)

Timeline

(Marvel time and real time don't correlate, but for simplicity's sake we'll treat 1974 as the baseline for his fight with the Hulk)

• c.1965 - 17-year old Heather McNeil becomes the secretary of James Hudson (who is in his late 20s or early 30s); the two quickly become a couple and get married
• c.1967 - The couple rescue Logan from starvation and cold; psychologists believe he's a lost cause, but the couple work to bring him out of savagery, making the trio very close (the alternative beginning where he's shot by Heather or Hudson and then helped could also work, but I think it's less effective); I've set this a couple of years after Heather and James meet because he leaves Am-Cam Petroleum with the suit he designed early on
• c.1970 - Hudson brings him into Department H as the Canadian government tries to build it's own Avengers; Logan receives the adamantium treatment at the behest of those in charge (something forced upon him and that he resents); he's given the Weapon X designation, becomes part of Alpha Flight, and serves as 'James Bond' for the Canadian government; I've given a few years for Wolverine's recovery, psychological development, and experimentation
• 1974 - Fights the Hulk at the behest of the government; Alpha Flight would exist at this stage, although perhaps who would lead it is still in doubt
• 1975 - Wolverine accepts Charles Xavier's offer to join the X-Men, wanting to be free of government control; at this stage Hudson is in his late 30s or early 40s (probably the former), putting Heather in her late 20s

Comics play fast and loose with time and ages, so take these as approximations. The thing is, the above works. It's not overly complicated (essential for the MCU) and includes all the background and motivation you need for the character. The problem I have with subsequent changes is that it pushes the timeline back beyond any sensibility, stuffing it full of largely American events and rendering his original origin largely meaningless (possibly the intention).

As much as I prefer the earlier origin, I have my doubts we'll see it--Canada is too small a market to be very appealing and their are no points to be scored with critics for representation from it. What I do believe is that the MCU will simplify the current mess into something with this kind of symmetry. I think how much of the good stuff we get depends entirely on whether Marvel wants to use Alpha Flight or not (you can see some fan casting for them here). If they skip the Canadian team, then some amalgam of this with the later changes will be used--he could simply be Weapon X without Alpha Flight (granted that's essentially what Fox did). What works in my favour is the prior choices by Fox, leaving the original version intact and unmolested for the MCU to dive into.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News & Notes

Nebens (presumably via Daniel) says that development of an X-Men film currently titled Mutants is underway. Murphy echoed the article and this is assuredly the project he proclaimed with excitement back in 2019 (saying it was for May, 2024, but refusing to say what it was). Unfortunately, without specifics this isn't that exciting--I'd certainly hope by now Marvel was working on the X-Men IP, given that it was the most significant Marvel element purchased with Fox. Assuming I'm right about Murphy's scoop (what it was for, and what else could it be really?), that means the release date for the film was decided more than a year and a half ago. How much time has been spent on the specifics? I'm less sure of that--Feige typically gives his director's a lot of freedom, but you have to wonder about the X-Men since they are tied so intimately to his career. I believe the Russo brothers, who have been asking for this (or, at least, Wolverine) will get their wish, and I believe their public comments form the basis of Sutton's various scoops about the IP.

We had multiple reports (THR and Variety) confirming what's been long expected: TI's Dave won't be back for Ant-Man 3 (due, presumably, to the bizarre story about he and his daughter that came out in late 2019, cf). This has no impact on me at all, as Scott Lang's trio of friends--so important in the first Ant-Man--were superfluous in the sequel.

Daniel dropped casting info for Secret Invasion that he let run in The Illuminerdi (Julia Delbel) first:

[Villain]
Male series regular, between the ages of 50-60 years. Secret Invasion’s main antagonist.
[Female Role 1]
40-50 years, series regular. Will share many scenes with Jackson’s Nick Fury.
[Female Role 2]
20s-30s, strong supporting role to be played by a younger female actor

Delbel believes the villain is the emperor of the Skrulls (despite their positive portrayal in the MCU) and the younger character is Abigail Brand (long rumoured, beginning a year ago on 4chan, continuing with Sutton, and then more 4chan). The idea of Brand is plausible because of her association with SWORD in the comics. However, I'm less convinced we'll get Skrulls as villains--the MCU likes to simplify and with the Kree already established as villains, I think the inclination will be to have them be the invaders.

Daniel dropped casting calls for Blade in two batches:

[RUBY]
Female, African-American, 15 years old (submit ages 13-17)
Thoughtful, serious, and burdened by growing up in a complex world. Strong Supporting role.

[LUCY] 20s

LUCY is a tough young woman who has been on the run after her mother's tragic death under mysterious circumstances. She is tired of living off the grid.

[BETSY] 20 to 29 years old, Black/African American female.

A sensible and serious aspiring heroine. Strong comedy skills a must!

Scoopers are speculating 'Ruby' is this Blade's daughter (something he doesn't have in the comics, but was planned for in 2015 before getting cancelled because the authors of the idea were white). I don't think the character needs to be his daughter to be relevant, nor is the information comprehensive enough to know if that's the angle being pursued or not. 'Lucy' has no racial designation, which is a bit surprising (I thought Blade would go full Black Panther with a mostly African-America/black cast other than the villains).

Speaking of casting lists, Walsh seemed to offer a correction to the baffling Captain Marvel 2 drop from Daniel previously. I mentioned how bizarre it was to have Thimothee Chalamet and Michael B. Jordan paired as a 'type', but in Walsh's version of this listing it's Jordan and John Boyega, which makes much more sense (this has lead he and others to speculate this is for Blue Marvel--a character scoopers are hyped for--hype that's shared by no one else). What's funny to me is that this exact pairing was used for a casting leak for J. J. Abrams' Superman. Boyega and Jordan aren't very similar (they suggest two very different iterations of the character), but this could be a product of lazy shorthand from casting directors for 'established African-American/black talent'.

Following this an anonymous writer for That Hashtag Show recycled the Korvac-as-villain rumour for Captain Marvel 2 from Redditor TMSM (back in 2019, something LotLB specifically debunked at the time). THS adds an interesting detail I hadn't heard before: Korvac was part of the original script for the film from Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, and Nicole Pearlman. The directors are no longer part of the picture and the script has been re-written by Megan McDonnell (one of the writers for WandaVision), so what THS seems to be reporting on is an old script that we can't rely on. Food for thought.

Nebens (Daniel) had a casting call for She-Hulk:

a recurring character ... under the codename A’Dood. She is a 20-30 year old female described as a mysterious shapeshifter that embraces Earth’s pop culture. Enjoying the way she lives life, she uses her power in any way that she can to make her happy, including to get herself power, money, and attention. She will reportedly be in two of the ten episodes of She-Hulk.

His speculation is that this is Jazinda, a Skrull who became friends with She-Hulk in the comics. As someone with virtually no familiarity with the IP, it's as good a guess as any.

Set photos revealed Melissa McCarthy will appear as fake Hela in Thor 4 (for yet another stage scene--we've known this is coming for awhile because Matt Damon and Sam Neill were in Australia to shoot scenes for the film).

Speaking of Thor 4, we had a 4chan post about it--some of it was repeating what we've heard before, but here's what was new:

• Thor is in space, going on adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy. He’s fit again, they all have new looks and are basically intergalactic rock stars.
• Gorr is an alien warrior with a vendetta against the gods for not saving his people and slaughtering them across the universe with the Necrosword.
• Thor and Jane meet with Lady Sif in an ice planet (probably Svartalfheim) where she was dumped by Loki-as-Odin years before. She has a new look and a bad attitude.
• The Guardians of the Galaxy are not in it much, but they appear throughout the film instead of just one scene.
• Loki doesn’t appear to be in the movie, though some earlier rumors said he would appear and be the one who brings Jane’s Mjolnir from a parallel timeline. The same source didn’t know about Evan Peters appearing in WandaVision, so there is still a chance.
• The movie’s central theme is love and how it affects people. Thor is determined to save Jane and Jane enjoys being with Thor again and sharing his power, but they both ultimately have to come to terms with the fact she will die soon and they’re just avoiding the inevitable. The movie ends on a bittersweet note with Thor and Jane accepting that and just enjoying the time they have left.
• Sif is still secretly in love with Thor and dies for him in the end. [While this would make her appearing pointless, it's exactly what happened to the old supporting cast in Ragnarok]
• Valkyrie struggles to open up to love after losing the love of her life (that blonde Valkyrie that died for her in the Ragnarok flashbacks).
• Even Gorr is driven by the family that he lost because of the gods’ neglect.

If the movie ends with Jane dying (implied or shown), I'll be a happy camper. This isn't our only 4chan post, however, as we also have this:

• Storyboarder working on a fraction of the film, but I've gotten snippets from other contractors to help with consistency.
• There's concept art for Beta Ray Bill in a major role - only other new character I've seen is High Evolutionary (unsure how big the role is though) plus Gorr and Jane Thor. Groot is back to full size, Sif is buff now. All the main cast from GotG & Ragnarok are back in very small roles, including Grand Master and Topaz. No Loki in the art that I've seen but I'm sure he'll show up. [One of the trends from 4chan is describing Sif as 'buff' or 'angry'--the former might be related to set photos, like the one of Jane after her Marvel workout regime, but don't take these similarities as a sign of validity, just that 4chan tends to copy itself]
• Some art includes War Machine to block scenes but I sincerely doubt he's in the film - I think he's being used as a stand-in for Beta Ray Bill, they're around the same size. [This comment is surprisingly nuanced for 4chan]
• Jane Thor will be introduced in What If...? and will be an alternate version of the character. In the core MCU universe, Jane died. [Echoing a death for her above]
• It's a running gag that Thor wants to settle down with one of his romantic interests – Jane, Sif, Valkyrie – but they're all badass and doing fine without him, so he's left in the lurch. [This sounds bizarre--the latter is a lesbian and Thor likes strong women, so why is this a problem? Of course, we're dealing with the 4channer's language in describing this, so that may be the disconnect]
• The big story (that's being segmented up and kept secret) is that rifts in the universe cause variants of Asgardian gods to get pulled into Thor's reality. He crosses paths with many Mjolnir-wielders from alternate timelines that help him find his "purpose". Gorr kills some of them, calling them abominations – the finale hero moment is the many hammer-wielders teaming up against Gorr. Throg gets some nice hero moments. Taika apparently loves Throg. [Throg is Frog Thor]
• Valkyrie has a running gag where she's a promiscuous with all types of characters; it's implied she hooks up with Captain Marvel (30 second cameo, tops), Korg, Jane Thor, and a Valkyrie from another timeline. [While this doesn't sound like something we'd ever see in a Marvel film, Peter Quill and Tony Stark have moments like this--albeit, both are a very long time ago and were used for character arcs rather than laughs; this is functionally the exact opposite of her arc as described in the earlier 4chan post]
• One ending shows Thor realizing his purpose is to carry the mantle no matter what happens in his universe – being a symbol is bigger than his personal journey. He accepts being a drifter trying to help people but not worrying about his purpose too much. I'm skeptical – there are multiple endings being prepped. [This echoes his ending in Endgame, so is certainly not how it ends]

It's not inherently implausible and doesn't directly contradict anything we've heard, but grains of salt required.

TI's Caitlin Tyrrell posted a casting call for Adam Warlock that I presume is courtesy of Daniel and Production Weekly:

a thirty year-old Caucasian man, who is described as both a “super hero type” and a “Zac Efron type”, as Adam Warlock.

This echoes something from 4chan back in May, 2019, except they claimed Efron himself (who turns 34 this year) was being sought for the role (with another 4chan post that September claiming Efron had actually met with James Gunn about the role). Immediately after this dropped, James Gunn (who likes to run his mouth on Twitter--he reminds me of the old quote about Winston Churchill: magnificent in defeat, insufferable in victory) who shot it down. Typically denials from actors are seen as meaningless, but director comments are given more weight (even though they have the exact same reason to lie). I have no strong opinion on this, other than I think Gunn is being ridiculous when he complains about the 'Caucasian' element since Ayesha is played by a white actress. His argument that it can be anyone under gold paint is one of those 'yes, but' statements that means absolutely nothing--Marvel could cast any ethnicity, but doing so would run contrary to the aesthetic they've used for the Sovereign (possible, but unlikely).

Christopher Marc (HN Entertainment) discovered a Marvel LLC which he believed was an Avengers project (Daniel saying Avengers 5), which he added will shoot scenes in the UK (he did not say when). Both were wrong, however, as it was pointed out the LLC was for Guardians 3 (the filming plan is likely accurate).

We had a fairly restrained scoop from 4chan about Spider-Man 3:

I can strongly confirm Tobey [Maguire] and Andrew [Garfield] are in this. I haven't seen any CG scenes but the concept art looks really cool. A lot of what has been filmed is the actors in front of blue screen. There's a villain introduced at the very start of the film, you guys have seen him before in Spider-Man but never as a main villain, only teased. They work together from multiverses. i don't think it's been clearly explained how but Doctor Strange knows and he is hiding something from Peter. Peter wants to know but is told it isn't safe for him to know, similar moment to Peter complaining about Iron man treating him like a kid [Homecoming], except with Strange. he also tries to fit in with people knowing he is spiderman. He isn't able to go to school anymore. His friends quit school too and he pretends to not be associated with them. Sad scene in a store where he wants to talk to Ned and [Michelle] but doesn't because other people are there. That's all I'll share for now

Nothing about this sticks out as implausible, but we have to take it with the usual grains of salt for 4chan.

We have a purported scoop from Reddit that's also about Spider-Man 3, but repeated on Twitter with the Twitter user claiming this Redditor got the plot of Endgame correct. I can't find the Redditor nor verify their past success, but I thought it was worth going over:

• The film begins where Far From Home ended with police chasing after Spider-Man and Michelle. Both Aunt May and Happy are arrested. Ned hides the Iron-Spider suit in his refrigerator
• Jamie Foxx is a new version of Matt Dillon (Electro) who is working for Hammer Industries. According to this he does not take on the [villain] role yet. [I find this very hard to believe]
• The villain is Kraven, speculated to be played by Gerald Butler [While incredibly busy, Butler does have space in his schedule for this]
• Alfred Molina is playing senator Robert Kelly [who appeared in the first X-Men film], the main opponent of super powered beings [Everyone assumes he's playing Doctor Octopus, but after our brush with Evan Peters this can't be ruled out]
• Jimmy Woo appears to help Peter Parker under orders from Nick Fury (this would be a WandaVision connection)
• Charlie Cox plays Matt Murdock, appears as Peter's lawyer, and fights with him without his costume [Cox spent the better part of three Netflix seasons fighting without his custom, which makes me doubt this]
• An astral version of Doctor Strange helps Peter out
• None of Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Emma Stone appear in the film [The former two have been seen on-set]

Some of this seems plausible, but I don't believe it because Maguire and Garfield have been seen on-set--this would require them to appear in a sequel film after the Multiverse problems are wrapped up in Doctor Strange 2. This latter claim lands this in the debunked column.

A couple of Daniel rumours:

• RDJ wants to appear with Deadpool
• Wanda and White Vision will be a couple
• White Vision will learn how to be human again
• Doctor Strange 2 will have multiple Captain America's
• Feige is letting Reynolds do what he wants with Deadpool 3 [This is such an odd thing for Daniel to say since Fox already let him do what he wanted with Deadpool 2 and he made a worse movie]
• Ned will go crazy in Spider-Man 3

The speculation about Vision is quite common; I don't think RDJ is impacted by Deadpool at all.

Sutton R&D for Daredevil (this echoes, but doesn't fully repeat, what he said two weeks ago):

Bulleye

Mister Fear (Larry Cranston veresion)

The Jester

Machinesmith

Stilt-Man

Elektra (Sutton says they might bring back Elodie Yung, despite the fact she can't act)

Paladin

Bushwacker

Dakota North (Tim repeated the ABC story, apparently unaware that it was debunked two years ago)

In light of what happened with Evan Peters (and see below), I'm curious to see how Sutton's prediction for Cox works out later this year.

Sutton about the Punisher: show coming to Star, R-rated, comic accurate villains--none of this is new. The only point of the post, from what I can tell, was for Sutton to argue that just because Feige's only upcoming R-rated venture was mandated by Bob Iger, there's no reason to think that (despite going PG with Blade) he won't push for that with shows on Star. He may be right, but we have no reason to think so yet, since Feige didn't say we will see R-rated MCU ventures, just that we could.

Sutton says we will see Evan Peters in Doctor Strange 2 and that he is, indeed, Quicksilver from the Fox films (something Sutton has said before; other fans have echoed this)--that the Ralph-reveal was a fake in WandaVision and that he's Jimmy Woo's missing person. This would make for a more satisfying answer, but if Doctor Strange 2 is being written for fans who did not watch the show, this is hard to credit (especially with both the showrunner and director going on at length about their reasons for it not being Quicksilver; there's also Conrad's point (cf) about the extra cost of doing so). Peters' was seen on-set filming WandaVision, so we'll know sooner than later if this is true from set photos (and toys).

Sutton again talks about Strange Academy (cf), stressing that it's not currently in development, just being discussed (from what I can tell, it's mostly being discussed by Sutton). He repeats that Wanda will be one of the teachers (something I don't recall previously--I don't believe in the scoop LotLB dropped that that was specified); repeats that he believes the impetus is that by aping Harry Potter, that money will roll in. He also says Cloak and Dagger might appear on the show, which seems odd since neither are magic users (I do like the characters, however, but wouldn't want to see the Freeform cast return). A friend of mine thinks the HP connection is a good thing for Marvel to try to tap into, but I remain doubtful.

Sutton Q&A (nearly all repetition)

• Repeated his (newer) assertion that the Netflix continuity will not be continued in the MCU
• Wanda and Hellstrom will be among the teachers at Strange Academy [For the former see above, but the latter is new]
• Black Cat will appear in Spider-Man 4, echoing what he said back in December [It's worth noting that in September Deadline reported Sony was in negotiations with Amazon to be its platform for Marvel shows which would (presumably) include Black Cat (barring a provision in a new deal with Disney)--for more about this, see below]
• Repeated that Miles Morales is probably going to be a Sony character while Peter Parker remains the MCU Spider-Man [This was echoed to some extent by the pseudonymous That Hashtag Show author 'Professor Hulk' afterwards--see below)]

The THS story referenced above says the following:

Marvel is looking to create two Spider-Man franchises. One will continue Peter Parker’s story, this time with him in university. The other will focus on Miles Morales. It’s said that Marvel is keen to use Miles in their upcoming Young Avengers project, and see a lot of value in him.

The writer cites two sources and I think I can deduce both of them. One is Caleb Williams (who claims Spider-Man 4 will film back-to-back with Spider-Man 3; whether Williams' post is via Daniel or something on his own I can't say, but THS echoes this); the other is Sutton, who has made the exact same claim (two franchises coexisting), except in his version Miles is a Sony project, not within the MCU. This is even clearer with the Young Avengers claim, as that's exactly what Sutton said back in October. The writer did not contact Sutton about any of this, but I don't know if that's true for Williams. This deflates the value of the content and makes me believe the writer's scoops are simply things gleaned from online (time will tell).

The fallout for WandaVision continues as fanboys have gone into making pseudo-apology videos (eg) for the elements of that didn't work (even ScreenCrush, which has bent over backwards for the show, struggles with the messaging of Wanda's departure from Westview). The narrative is shifting towards 'hey, don't worry, Falcon and the Winter Soldier won't have these issue.' I'll reiterate (as I did in my review) that WandaVision is a good show, but had elements that were either poorly thought out or executed, and that these have been bothersome enough to impact the general audience. The last time there was pushback against Marvel we had a creative change made (Captain Marvel switched directors) and while there's no planned sequel to the show, I'm thinking we'll see the MCU move away from Jac Schaeffer and Bohner-moments.

I mentioned in my last post the Reddit drama where a source used by Murphy for WandaVision had harassed another poster off the site last summer. When this came to light there was a strong backlash and the poster Murphy was using deleted their Reddit account. This person is key reason why Murphy made erroneous scoops for WandaVision, and I'm curious what information they provided to convince him (and Reddit mods) of their veracity. Speaking of scoopers, I've posted my scooper article (for those interested).

I mentioned this above, but wanted to go through the September report from Variety that suggested Sony's Silk project (originally a film) was being shopped as a show with Amazon being the likely partner. This runs contrary to other supposed scoops and Daniel has recently said that Adeline Rudolph has been met with as the possible lead in the role, reaffirming Amazon as its home, pawning off the larger details to Nebens that include the showrunner. Back in May Sutton said Silk would be on Disney+, then in September (after the Variety story dropped) that there were complications with this deal due to the rights situation. If that's the case (and he was repeating the opinion of Deadline), these have been resolved (perhaps part of the new deal signed by Sony and Disney, assuming that's occurred). As a Sony production, we can happily ignore this minor IP as being irrelevant to the MCU.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)