Marvel News

We've received confirmation that Thor 4 will start filming in August (which fits the fall, 2021 release). In more substantial news, Collider reports that Christian Bale is in negotiations to join the cast (perhaps in a minor role, like Cate Blanchett/Karl Urban's in Ragnarok--likely one-and-done). Murphy posted a rumour that he'll mo-cap either Beta Ray Bill or Dario Agger (aka Minotaur). I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand Taika, has shown no inclination to use minor/little-known Marvel characters; on the other hand, the latter character ties into the Jane Foster story in the comics and is far easier to move on from than someone with Beta Ray Bill's fanbase. Also of interest is that this news comes less than three years after Bale reiterated that he had no interest in making a Marvel movie.

Murphy continues to push the idea that Shang-Chi will mimic Enter the Dragon by focusing on a tournament, pointing to a casting call for various martial artists (something I think you'd need for any Shang-Chi film). What's more interesting is he says in October there were casting calls for "Razor Fist [Razor-Fist], Ghostmaker [Ghost Maker], Steel Claw [assumed to be a placeholder for Tiger-Claw] and Shadow [Moving Shadow]." I missed posting this rumour at the time (the first part comes from an audition briefly posted on Vimeo, while the rest are from Conrad). Most characters originate in the earliest Shang-Chi run (Master of Kung-Fu): the William Young version of Razor-Fist; Grigori Sovchenko's Ghost Maker; and Tiger-Claw; Moving Shadow is a more modern (2002) invention. Given the '98% Asian' casting for the film, it's quite likely most or all these characters will be played by Asian actors (it's not clear if Marvel will apply the "looking Asian enough" criteria of Crazy Rich Asians).

While the film is being cast in the same way that Black Panther was, it's taking a different approach. Black Panther tried to explode stereotypes about Africa, but Shang-Chi seems to be embracing the Bruce Lee-style martial arts shtick of the 70s. It's an interesting difference, but given that the latter came out of the Chinese community, there isn't the same need to move away from it.

Daniel posted audition tapes for WandaVision and what's getting buzz is that the dialogue references an uncle (presumably Wanda's brother, Quicksilver). Daniel didn't include the character in his October discussion of the show, although the idea of his return goes back at least to August (LotLB). As for the tape itself, dialogue from auditions isn't always from the script, and you might call a close friend of a parent an 'uncle,' so while it's suggestive, I wouldn't say it's confirmed (Aaron-Taylor Johnson told Screen Rant "I mean, I think it’s safe to say that no, I’m not gonna... there will be no appearance of me coming out or Quicksilver appearing anytime soon"--he might say this regardless, but it's worth keeping in mind).

A 4channer claims Max Thieriot has been cast as Moon Knight, saying it will be announced Friday (January 10th); he also claims the actresses playing Kamala Khan and She-Hulk will be announced at the same time. I find this hard to dismiss because the poster has set such a short deadline--a fake scooper tries to be vague to avoid definitive debunking. Thieriot is Jewish, so checks that box, and is about the right age (31) and has the look for the character, so it's a plausible suggestion at least.

Murphy posted up a listing for child actors that he believes are meant for Loki:

Male, 10 years old, British, Open Ethnicity, smart and brave with a sharp wit and life experience beyond his years…RECURRING
Female, 10 years old, British, Caucasian, in tears over a frightening situation, she relies on her intelligence and resilience to find a way out.

Murphy doesn't know definitively that these roles are for the show, but thinks it most likely (due to the shooting dates) and believes they could be for a young Loki (something the open ethnicity immediately busts), a young version of other characters on the show, or Leah (a recent, short-lived character created by Kieron Gillen). Personally, the idea of a recurring child character represents a potential nightmare for the show (there are so many examples of this failing--Deadpool 2 comes to mind), and I think all the speculation here is unlikely. Loki is one of the few shows we know almost nothing about (in terms of leaks/rumours). Michael Waldron was hired as the head writer last February, Kate Herron as the director in August, with just one plot rumour in October--that's it (there was earlier speculation last January, all of which seem debunked).

4chan claims Jodie Comer is in talks to play the role of Enchantress--grains of salt required.

Conrad says one of his sources is claiming that the MCU has regained full rights to Namor and the Hulk. This idea seems to come from here (an interview from August that was released in September). In it it's claimed "the Universal problem is no longer a problem." Back in March I went through what we actually know about the Namor rights because conflicting things have said about it officially and here's the TL;DR from that:

• 1) Universal had the rights to make and distribute films based on IP associated with the Hulk and with Namor (the two deals are separate; the latter was acquired no later than 2001)
• 2) 2006, the last reported effort to produce a Namor-film by Universal was still active (Jonathan Mostow replacing Chris Columbus on the project at that time)
• 3) 2012, Joe Quesada says Marvel has regained the rights to him (which is refuted below); I'll get into Joe's comments below
• 3) 2013, according to Kevin Feige the situation for Namor is unchanged
• 4) 2014, Borys Kit (of THR) repeats Quesada's comment above via a Tweet, but going through the thread seems uncertain about the situation
• 5) 2014, Feige says the MCU can make a Namor film, but it would involve multiple parties (this is different from the Hulk rights which only involves Universal); the comment implies Universal (just like Fox and other companies) was on a development clock where, if they failed to put the IP in active production, they would lose the rights to produce a film (thus the change in his language about what Marvel could do with the IP from just a year earlier)
• 6) 2016, Quesada repeats what he said in 2012 (I'll get into that below)
• 7) 2017, Murphy and others, buoyed by reports from Reel News Hawaii and Production Weekly, erroneously believed a Namor film or show was coming
• 8) 2018, Feige says Marvel could make a Namor film, but that it's not as 'clear or clean' as the majority of other characters
• 9) 2019, Murphy reported an uncertain rumour that Namor was scouting locations (it subsequently turned out to be for Shang-Chi)

With the Hulk we know the impediment has always been that Universal retains distribution rights--Mark Ruffalo was complaining about it leading into Endgame, so clearly the contract elements related to those rights are different than they were for other Marvel IP (like Fox where everything reverted after seven years, or Sony's just under six). If there's a clock on distribution we're now almost 12 years out. Most people assume that Namor functions the same way and if it does then that clock sits at nearly 14 years.

So why has Quesada claimed (for nearly a decade) that Marvel has the rights to make a Namor film? If we exclude the most probable answer of ignorance, the most positive framing is that each comment reflects two different realities: in 2012 they could have made a film (with Universal), much like they did for The Incredible Hulk; in 2014 Universal only retained distribution rights, so Marvel could make a film, but not without complications.

What we know for certain is that something changed about the rights in 2014, but why did Feige mention multiple parties? The only comment I've heard related to this comes from Armin (of all people) who said because Namor is a mutant (named as one back in 1991), Fox would also have a stake in a film about him. This makes sense and would explain why a film featuring him was so complicated to make. I believe this reality was echoed in Feige's comments in 2018, before the Fox purchase was complete. What's not clear is if Universal still retains distribution rights. Presumably Marvel could buy those rights if Universal was willing to sell them, but I expect if such a move occurs it will pop-up in the trades (at a time for maximum publicity, of course, lest we forget the many denials about the initial Sony deal until it was announced).

At the end of the day the truth almost doesn't matter. The rights complications are only relevant if either character gets their own film, otherwise the MCU is free to do whatever they wish. I'm hesitant to believe the rumour because of how many prior failures we've had.

A final note: Campea is hesitant about the idea because it comes from Conrad, but as I mentioned above it's not really from Conrad. I bring this up largely because the comments about Conrad reflect what Campea said back in November, 2018, when he took shots at him (I'm not clear why, albeit Conrad is a difficult person to like).

Conrad reported another rumour (again from one source) saying the Netflix IP was being worked on (his article currently contains an error, which is that Iron Fist and Daredevil were cancelled first, when it's IF, Luke Cage, and then DD). The idea of the returning IP being used has been bouncing around for months, beginning with LotLB in August (claiming they would be on FX as-is), Sutton in September (repeating LotLB), and then Conrad in October (echoing the idea without specifying FX, and saying it might be only some of the same cast).

Conrad's current rumour, however, is quite different: he says Marvel is actively working on the characters (before the end of the two year moratorium) and that what's being done could be completely unrelated to the Netflix shows (the actors or the events). The latter is what I've expected all along (a clean slate, just like the other Loeb-produced projects, such that their arcs are fully controlled by Feige), but legally I'm not sure Marvel can work on the IP yet.

The latest trailer dropped and the film still looks pretty generic to me--by that I mean the fact that the characters are mutants and have powers seems to have no impact on the usual horror movie tropes. Granted, it's just a trailer, so the film could be entertaining. Given that the IP is presumably one-and-done, it's hard to summon any enthusiasm for it regardless.

We have yet another 4chan post about Shang-Chi which seems cribbed from one posted about a week ago:

• I work near Australia, where filming is about to begin for Shang-Chi, Here’s what I know:
• Shang-Chi enters a tournament led by the Mandarin. The winner of the tournament wins the 10 Rings. [This is the common refrain among rumours from October onward--prior to that the story was that Shang-Chi was part of MI6]
• Awkwafina, Sam Claflin, Kelly Marie Tran, BD Wong, Ralph Fiennes, Zhang Ziyi, Karen Fukuhara, Harry Shum Jr, and David Gyasy are cast in supporting roles. [This is similar to the post linked above, but with Fukuhara and Gyasy added; the latter appeared in a prior 4chan post]
• Sam Rockwell and Ben Kingsley have small appearances as Justin Hammer and Trevor [Slattery]
• Donnie Yen singed [signed] on for a cameo in the film. I’m hearing he’s playing The Ancestor. [The idea of that character appearing goes back to Reddit in October]
• Several obscure Marvel characters will be contestants at the tournament. [This matches the most recent 4chan post about the film, which itself matches the October casting news referenced above]

The first problem I have with this is the opening--I work near Australia? That's like saying 'I work near America' or 'I work near Africa.' The normal thing to say is 'I work in Brisbane' or 'I work in Atlanta' or whatever, to establish you are geographically sharing the same space as the filming. That aside, there's nothing here to suggest veracity, as everything just echoes prior posts.

Collider

During the lifespan of this site I've discussed Collider's Youtube efforts exactly once (back in 2018), but never as a source of news or commentary. At the time I mentioned that I thought the site was imploding, having brought in underwhelming talent (mostly from Popcorn Talk), who would bring it crashing down (Red Letter Media's 'Nerd Crew' videos are a clear parody of Collider). While the site remains, the recent cancellation of most of their iconic shows is a sign of cracks in the foundation (there's an entertaining rant from Campea about it). I should say, however, that the insipid content that includes unlikable personalities does not always mean the kiss of death (New Rockstars, who I stopped paying attention to back in 2017, is doing fairly well--for those unfamiliar, it's an Emergency Awesome-clone. The irritating Sam Bashor seems to be gone, although that change isn't enough for me to watch it).

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News

Kinda Culty has done some interesting detective work on Black Widow and these points stood out to me:

• The version of Taskmaster being used for the film is the Ultimate-version (Tony Masters); he was a former SHIELD agent and whether or not that's kept it's the kind of background that fits someone who could be involved with Natasha
• By looking at the make of cars shown in the General Ross scene in the trailer, it seems to be from 2007 or 2008 (KC's theory is that Ross wants to get hold of the Armin Zola-version of the super-serum)
• KC believes one of the reasons Zemo and Ross are appearing in Black Widow and Falcon and the Winter Soldier is to help set-up the Thunderbolts
• Possible members of the Thunderbolts he includes in addition to the above are: Ghost (via Ant-Man 2), US Agent (via Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Songbird (rumoured in the aforementioned), Yelena Belova (via Black Widow); Atlas (to be introduced), Swordsman (ibid), and possibly Bucky

This group (whether in part or in full) is more interesting than the original Wardell lineup from the previous December (which leaned heavily on Incredible Hulk villains we haven't seen in over a decade and whose actors--58-year old Tim Roth and 55 year-old Tim Blake Nelson--are now long in the tooth). Speaking of age, this would be a much younger cast than has been typical for the MCU.

Set pictures seem to confirm the idea of the Tomb of the Gods, which we've been hearing about repeatedly since October (and goes back to the Kirby version of the comic).

Deadline confirms that Spider-Man 3 will film during the summer (as expected to meet its planned 2021 release). I expect plot leaks to come sooner than later, as virtually everything we heard previously came before the end of the original deal with Sony (and its unclear if the new arrangement has changed those plans or not).

Murphy says the movie will film this January. Originally he thought it would film in the fall, but by August switched to January and that's proven to be correct (in the link the info was erroneously attributed because at the time I struggled to differentiate between he and his buddy Villanueva).

A 4channer weighs in on Shang-Chi:

• The film is basically an anime tournament arc from the perspective of the bad guy's henchmen. [I don't watch anime, so that reference goes over my head.]
• Shang-Chi works for the Mandarin and the Ten Rings. He was adopted off the street and raised by Mandarin as a sort of surrogate son. He has been working behind the scenes in big MCU moments since he was a teen. [This idea matches all but the earliest rumours, where he was part of MI6]
• Mandarin has him enter a Kung Fu tournament in which the prize is the legendary 10 rings. An ancient alien artifact that has been protected for centuries. [The tournament also matches the more recent rumours, which began on Reddit in October]
• The other fighters in the tournament are a who's-who of D and C List Marvel characters. There will be mutant characters, not sure if this will be the intro to MCU mutants, but I know that Spiral, Omega Red, and T- Ray are in the tournament. [The first and third haven't cropped up in any rumours, and the only for Omega Red tease was LotLB's claim that he'd be the villain of the Black Widow sequel]
• Other MCU characters include Baron Mordo, who seeks the ten rings for his own purposes, Batroc the Leaper, and Kree and Skrull fighters. [These are also unique claims, with Batroc having appeared already in Winter Soldier]
• Stylistically its very 70s Kung Fu, but with the layer of actual respect for Chinese culture. Shang-Chi has no duplicate powers like other leaks have said. [This refers specifically to the Reddit post linked above]
• The film ends with Shang-Chi using the 10 rings to defeat Fing Fang Foom, and saving the world from his wrath. Mandarin escapes, but Shang-Chi vows revenge for brainwashing him into a life of crime. Their relationship is actually genuinely sweet and loving, so the betrayal hits hard. [Rumours about the dragon go back to LotLB in August and were in the first batch of posts about the film's plot]

Given that Feige just said the cast is 98% Asian (following, as expected, the Black Panther model), the unique ideas here seem debunked. This same consideration seems to debunk another 4chan post that claims actor Cameron Monaghan will play Victor Kohl in an as-yet unannounced SWORD show and he will cross over with Shang-Chi.

We have an interesting quote from Feige:

The next Doctor Strange film for instance features some new MCU characters that will be making their debut in that movie that you wouldn’t expect or won’t guess who it is, but we found a cool way to make it work. Because we needed a particular, we wanted to make a particular type of movie there, and there was a character we always wanted to do something with who we think will fit really well there.

Conrad thinks he's hinting at Mephisto, which doesn't qualify as 'you wouldn't expect' for the film (something Charlie echoes), although its hard to parse exactly what Feige means when he says 'a character we always wanted to to'--does that mean one they didn't have the rights to until the Fox purchase? Or does it mean someone they've always had access too but haven't been able to fit in (like Namor or Nova or Beta Ray Bill)? If it's from the latter group and you look at heavily rumoured characters, the two that stand out to me are Captain Britain (teased in Endgame) and Hercules. The former has strong connections with magic, but little association with Doctor Strange. If it's new IP then the possibilities are far broader--it might be an iconic X-Men, someone from the Fantastic Four, etc. Whatever it is, it's a good tease from Feige.

After writing the above, Murphy said he believes the character being referred to is Namor, even though that character is expected for a Doctor Strange film. The primary fact behind his surmise is the GWW casting scoop in August for the ruler of an ancient kingdom and preferring to cast Asian actors. This speculation from him comes a month after he pushed the same idea on social media without explanation.

We had another Sutton-Youtube crossover scoop (here and here):

• Part One: Doctor Strange 2 will have a Lovecraftian feel whose challenges force Doctor Strange to recruit a team at the end, forming the Illuminati (including Reed Richards and Professor X); Sutton says these ideas were before pre-production of the film (which isn't in production yet and we've had no news if Jade Bartlett's version of the script is complete (she started working on it in October, while C. Robert Cargill's was begun last January)
• Part Two: the rest of the Illuminati: Black Bolt, Namor, and Black Panther; Scarlett Witch will resurrect Black Widow, who will then fight Red Skull (!); Doctor Strange 3 will be Strange with Doctor Doom going to hell to rescue the latter's mother from Mephisto (echoing the 1990 "Triumph and Torment" storyline by Roger Stern)

Scarlett Johansson returning echoes an LotLB rumour from October (which the actress seemed to debunk not long after); they are also the source of the team-up with Doom (from September). I think it's unlikely Johansson will return (even though at 35 she's young enough to easily do another 10+ years of MCU-films), for the same reason bringing back Chris Evans is difficult for thematic reasons (outside of special circumstances). The part of the scoop that's most plausible are the Lovecraftian elements, which I think is right in Cargill/Scott Derrickson's wheelhouse.

Another photo from the filming of Falcon and the Winter Soldier has been identified as featuring the flag of Madripoor--an invented city that's the MCU-version of Singapore. It's heavily associated with mutants (particularly Wolverine), but has other connections (Ophelia Sarkissian, aka Madame Hydra and Viper, ruled it for a time; Tarik Fayad, aka Horus, was the city's defender briefly). I don't think this means we'll see Wolverine in the show, instead it's an easter egg for fans to let them know he's coming.

The Disney+ Twitter account has confirmed that WandaVision will come out in 2020. This has been my expectation all along (in part because it's filming at the same time as Falcon and the Winter Soldier), even though we were told 2021 originally.

Speaking of dates, Murphy says Hawkeye's production will begin in July, which fits the expected mid-2021 release date.

Conrad says Marvel has either found their Kamala Khan or have narrowed it down to just a few actresses and is in the midst of negotiations. In his piece he mentions that she's Pakistani-American, a specificity we got from Discussing Film back in November; it also casts doubt on a 4chan post (same link) that had actual Pakistani actress Arisha Razi in the role.

Support for Murphy's scoop about production beginning in April comes from Production List, who slate it for April 6th.

Daniel says Dracula (and Werewolf by Night) will appear in Moon Knight. LotLB were the first to propose the character was coming to the MCU (changing their minds on who would play him in August, with both choices apparently wrong). The latter rumour is something Daniel originally put out back in October (echoing LotLB in July--although they had him on Hulu--and GWW in August, guessing it would be in Moon Knight, making them the apparent source for Daniel).

HN Entertainment writer Christopher Marc says Moon Knight will potentially shoot in the fall in the UK (this comes on the heels of Murphy speculating it would shoot in the first half of the year). Given that Marc has no track record I'm aware of, I'll lean on Murphy for now.

Sutton is floating Pedro Pascal for the lead role, but at 44 he seems too old (I suspect Sutton is guessing based on Disney's relationship with him visa vie The Mandalorian); he's also not Jewish, which I expect is a non-starter to begin with.

More news about New Mutants: There will be no re-shoots and the film will be the director's original vision when released. This is the cheapest way for Disney to approach the film, although its being spun as some sort of artistic choice. As I mentioned long ago I disliked the trailer for the film because it seemed like a poor vehicle for the IP (and if it had tested well Fox simply would have released it as-is), but time will tell.

A Redditor made a few claims about the MCU (I'm unfamiliar with him, but unlike a lot of these posts this is someone who has a very active account that's been around for awhile):

• TFWS [The Falcon and the Winter Soldier] have [a] Wolverine cameo and pay homage to XMFC [X-Men: First Class], the show also mention Weapon X and include multiverse [This is probably riffing off the Madripoor scoop above]
• Loki series will have alternate versions of character [and] the show will be connected to DS:MoM [Doctor Strange 2], [with] a new Mjolnir from another reality [This echoes the only plot rumour we've had for the show thus far]
• No Daniel Radcliffe in MCU, still looking for an actor to play MK [Moon Knight] [There's been no actual rumours of Radcliffe's participation, just speculation]
• DS:MoM [Doctor Strange 2] [will] introduce Galactus in MCU [This specific is new and would fit the Feige comment above]

Some additional background on the Wolverine rumour he includes:

• Sutton in September (first, second, and third) talked about a Wolverine vs Hulk movie with the former being Hugh Jackman's to turn down; in the third link he says this idea is simply being discussed
• LotLB in September claimed Jackman hadn't turned down the role yet, so it hadn't been re-cast (which repeats Sutton's assertion above)
• Various clickbait articles did the rounds in November saying that Mark Ruffalo had discussed a Wolverine vs Hulk film, but it was later clarified that no one knew what ideas he'd pitched to Feige
• Sutton in December said Marvel wanted Jackman to reprise the role for Deadpool 3 as his last hurrah as the character (thus, either undercutting his earlier rumour or implying that Jackman turned down the role in the earlier context)

The only similarity with these via the Redditor is the return of Jackman, but in a cameo rather than a full role. For Jackman to be used in this way would make the Fox properties be part of the multiverse (which would be a way for Disney to try to profit off the Fox films), but I'm not sure what the point of specifying First Class is (why that film instead of the others?)--the only benefit I can see is that it involves the least amount of Fox-Wolverine material (he has just a cameo in that film as well). In the end I think the Redditor is speculating, but time will tell.

LotLB offered up a scoop from their original source (ie not Sutton), who provided an unconfirmed rumour that She-Hulk will first appear in WandaVision and will break the fourth wall in it (as she does sometimes in the comics). I don't believe this--the show is already very busy with characters and with Deadpool coming to the MCU, talking to the audience is his schtick, so duplicating that doesn't seem wise.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)

Marvel News

Murphy, first on his Patreon and subsequently on his blog,* posted a rumour that Doctor Strange will appear in the last episode of WandaVision. Whether the rumour is true or not, it's a common assumption given that the show will lead into the film (in other words, it would be strange if he didn't appear).
*He's embracing the Daniel RPK/Jeremy Conrad business model, which is an interesting transformation from a guy who, just 18 months ago, was repeatedly Tweeting that he'd retired from the scoop business

Murphy also posted a rumour that Guardians 3 will be released February, 2023. This comes on the heels of Marvel announcing new film dates about a month ago. At the time I guessed GotG3 would occupy the July, 2022 slot (with Captain Marvel 2 in February). Gunn recently said he'd begin filming in a year or so (ie, late 2020/early 2021), which leans into a 2022 release, but doesn't rule out early 2023.

Screen Rant's Thomas Bacon wonders if Olivier Richter's role in Black Widow is Ursa Major. His theory is derived from two separate items: 1) Richter having a role in the film, 2) an image from the trailer that seems to show a tiny bear. The character in the comics is a werebear affiliated with the Red Room/Soviet Super Heroes--however, he's huge, not small. Ursa Major is also a Mutant, so only available once the Fox sale was complete--requiring script changes around the time of production and guaranteeing it's a minor role (which fits the parts Richter gets). We'll need more information before we can put faith into the idea, but we can't reject it outright.

Yet another rumour from Murphy, who says there's evidence that the Reddit leak from October may be true (because he has confirmation the film is looking for a ring announcer and that leak included one). When that rumour dropped I doubted it's veracity because it sounded like Enter the Dragon mixed with Karate Kid (both now tired formulas for martial arts films). The post had another problem in that it included SHIELD when we know SWORD is what's relevant (SHIELD is only possible if Shang-Chi takes place in 2014 or earlier). The latter is a small issue, as what's meant might be the same, but it needs to be noted. We'll need more evidence before we can buy into the scoop (although a cheesy premise that rips off Iron Fist's Tournament of Champions is definitely within the writer's wheelhouse, see below).

This is a good time to bring up a rumour from June that the film required reworking (via a different writer) because David Callaham's initial script was considered dull. This 'scoop' came from Redditor TMSM, who stopped posting months ago, but Callaham's credits include a number of disappointments that are weak on plot, so it's plausible (I didn't realize Callaham had done production re-writes on Ant-Man, which undoubtedly helped him land this gig). TMSM's information has never been confirmed by anyone else, but tweaks are common with Marvel films (Black Widow needed last minute tending by a different writer, for example), so it will be interesting to see if it is true (and, if so, what was originally called for in the film and who was called on to fix it).

Murphy also talked about filming locations for Shang-Chi, which I normally wouldn't care about. I bring it up because, if correct, Marvel is skipping Hong Kong due to democracy protests (instead filming in Malta).

Ryan Reynolds confirmed that work on Deadpool 3 is in full swing at Marvel Studios. Note that he isn't referring to production, but discussions. There have been a lot of rumours about when (or even if) the film was coming to the MCU, but this implies that it is. My previous guess is that we'd see the film in October, 2022, but if it's still without a script that's almost certainly too early. It should be clear that whatever plans Reynolds had for the film originally have to be thrown out as he transitions into the MCU. Variety (the initial link) notes that Emma Watts (Fox's president of production), who survived Disney's purchase, won't be involved (unlike the first two films). Without knowing what her impute was, however, it's difficult to assess how (or if) that changes things.

We're finally getting set leaks from WandaVision and these include images that seem to confirm the appearance of Agatha Harkness as well as the official reveal of S.W.O.R.D. (which replaces SHIELD). The agency was implied by Spider-Man: Far From Home (as well as the version of Captain Marvel that's being used), while the Harkness rumours trace back to 4chan in January. Photos also imply that Monica Rambeau works for the agency (a 4chan post in November claimed she'd work for them).

A Murphy rumour I think we can debunk: supposed actress Sheila Knox said she was joining WandaVision and hinting that the role involved Latveria (Doomstadt), suggesting she could be Cynthia Von Doom (the mother of Doctor Doom). Murphy didn't look into this very hard (or at all), as her now-locked Twitter feed suggests she's trolling (she has #MAGA as a tag and is listed as one of the 'Women for Trump')--there's no chance a woman with zero acting credits on IMDB and that ideology would be hired by Marvel.

A Redditor has dropped supposed episode descriptions of the show (I've fixed some of the atrocious grammar):

• EP 01 Wanda is completely sad after the events of "Infinity War" and "Endgame” and utterly alone, after years of working with the Avengers and the death of her great love [Vision], her brother [Quicksilver], and her trainer [?] Natasha Romanoff, she receives an unexpected visit from a witch, Agnes. She offers Wanda sorcery classes, which would lead her to a reality creation where she lives her perfect life. [When] it happens, she got into the 50's years and the series works as a sitcom. We have Aaron[-Taylor] Johnson participating as Quicksilver. Meanwhile, Agnes seems nosy about Wanda's life and works for a powerful villain.
• EP 02 At Universe 616, S.W.O.R.D soon notices Wanda Maximoff's disappearance and invites Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis to investigate the disappearance of the hero after their successive work with Ant-Man and Jane Foster & Thor [presumably referring to Darcy being in the first two Thor films], they soon encounter Agnes, going deeper into the story of the mysterious woman, who reveals herself as Agatha Harkness, a Salem witch. Monica Rambeau [realizes] that people from around the world are suffering from nightmares during their sleep and summons a team to investigate it. At the same time Wanda becomes pregnant with Vision in her universe, giving birth to Wiccano [Wiccan] and Speed. The children have powers and count on Agnes's help to develop them, as does Wanda, who [becomes] better and better [with] her skills.
• EP 03 With time passing in a peculiar way in Wanda's reality, it's Halloween and Wiccano [Wiccan] and Speed ​​are already teenagers. Vision is possessed by a demon, Mephisto, and we can see more of his powers during the night's events, which feature great battles between the couple and villains, every situation happens like a 70's sitcom. With the help of Monica Rambeau, Darcy and Jimmy finds out that Agatha Harkness works for Nightmare [because] of blackmail, they also get transfered [transferred] to Wanda's reality. They are the key for Wanda [to find] out that the dream life is all a big illusion.
• EP 04 Agatha Harkness discovers that [her] farce has been revealed and enters a great battle with the heroes, killing Vision, causing his third death. Wanda freaks out and generates a strong power break between the two realities, transferring Wiccano [Wiccan], Speed, Darcy, Jimmy, Pietro and Agatha to Universe 616. Stephen Strange discovers that a large door in the multiverse has been opened and assists Wanda Maximoff in controlling her powers, but the witch is seized by Nightmare. Monica Rambeau discovers the whole story between Nightmare and Agatha Harkness.
• EP 05 Stephen, Wiccano [Wiccan], Speed, Monica Rambeau and Pietro all help Wanda in controlling her powers, which has been manifesting throughout the multiverse and causing a huge mess, forcing her to fight with her own mind. A scene [cut] from Age of Ultron “Wanda” vs WandaVision “Wanda” is included. At the end of the episode, Wanda takes control and promises revenge on Nightmare.
• EP 06 Wanda adapts to the versions of the people she created in her reality [?]. Monica Rambeau shows more of her powers. Nightmare's ambitions are revealed. Stephen becomes an advanced level magic tutor for Maximoff, that at the end of the episode, is declared as Scarlet Witch and receives a new uniform, similar to those of the Comics.

Clearly the person who wrote this was not a native English speaker, yet there are fragments of text clipped from someone with an educated grasp of the language. I believe the above is doing what the Redditor from my previous post did: taking various rumours and constructing a narrative from them. The poster seems to have Portuguese as their first language (given the consistent use of 'Wiccano'). There's not much unique here (the main change from other rumours is that Agatha Harkness is a reluctant villain whose deal with Nightmare is discovered by Monica). I don't take it seriously.

Loki has entered pre-production (in my previous post Murphy said filming would begin February 1st). The turnaround for the Disney+ shows seems to be about a year (as in, from filming to release), so that suggests Loki will appear c.February, 2021. It's beginning to look like what the MCU wants to do (since episodes will be released weekly) is have a Marvel episodes running more or less continuously throughout the year (or at least come close to that--see below).

Speaking of 4chan, here's another plot summary (the last is from almost two months ago):

• The Eternals are created by the Celestials to defend humanity from the Deviants. After a vicious battle, they defeat and exile the Deviants, then give up their powers and memories to live among humans. [The opening premise echoes the second 4chan post from October, while the idea of them losing their memories/powers to one from November (an idea borrowed from the Neil Gaiman run)]
• In the present, Dane Whitman discovers the ruins of the Eternals’ citadel and activates a beacon that awakens them. He is attacked by the Deviants and rescued by Sersi. [The idea of Dane being an archaeologist goes back to the first post via the link above]
• The Eternals reunite and learn that the Deviants are searching for the “Tomb of the Gods.” Dane has the map, so the Eternals must protect him and count on his help to find it first. [The Tomb idea first came up in the earliest 4chan post referenced above, but ultimately hails from the original Kirby comic where it's called "The Chamber of the Gods"]
• The Deviants were freed by rogue Eternal Gilgamesh. However, Sersi and Dane learn Gilgamesh is being mind-controlled by Druig, who is the true traitor alongside Thena (Angelina Jolie). Thena secretly had a child with the leader of the Deviants, Kro, but the humans murdered him. She hates them ever since, and wants to reach the Tomb of the Gods to reclaim the power of the Celestials to destroy them. [The idea of manipulation is via the earlier 4chan post, Thena's relationship with Kro via the Roy Thomas run of Eternals, but the human murdering angle is new]
• Sersi is divided between Dane and her old lover, Ikaris, but ultimately chooses Dane. [The idea of a love triangle goes back at least to Daniel in August--her desire for a relationship with Dane to Bob Harras' Avengers run]
• Ikaris has a close friendship with Makkari.
• Kingo befriends Dane and teaches him how to fight.
• Dane becomes the Black Knight in the final battle.
• Sprite befriends Gilgamesh and convinces him to rejoin the Eternals.
• Phastos is gay. Thena tries to convince him to join her and punish humans for their prejudice, but he refuses because he still has hope for humanity. [The reveal about which character is gay goes back to a pair of 4chan posts in October]
• In the end, the Celestials awaken and possess the leader of the Eternals, Ajak. They decide humanity must be destroyed before they become too powerful, due to the mutations awakened by Thanos' snap. The Eternals stand against them, and Ajak sacrifices herself to stop them, and Ikaris becomes the new leader. [Given the bloated cast, a death or two would not be surprising.]

The only things unique about the post is part of Thena's backstory and some of the specifics about Black Knight. In that way, it's like many other plot leaks recently (largely composed or prior leaks). It's a plausible plot, but I'm not convinced (I remain concerned about Marvel leaning into a love triangle). So far, through all the announcements and leaks, this is the Marvel film I'm least interested in (partially because of the IP and partially because of the uninspired cast--many lazily compare the film to Guardians, but Chris Pratt was a charmer and there's no one with his charisma in this lineup--Angelina Jolie is the only real star and she's not the lead).

Murphy says the production date for Ms. Marvel is locked for April, 2020, which he believes means the show will air before Hawkeye (representing a change from what we've been told). It's possible for the show to film first and air after (The Punisher season one filmed before The Defenders, but was released afterwards), but it is uncommon. If the turnaround estimate I make above is accurate, I'd expect it to air c.April, 2021.

Murphy speculates that Moon Knight will film sometime in early 2020. This matches my own speculation that the Disney+ shows are coming far sooner than most believe. There's no reason, other than cost, for Disney not to double down on Marvel shows. If we're getting production slates two months apart, then perhaps it will begin in June (after Ms. Marvel).

Incidentally, I've ignored casting speculation for the show because it's all all been fan generated (Murphy keeps pushing for Shia Labeouf, who is more of a caricature than an actor, and now there's a push for Daniel Radcliffe, who isn't suited either--at 5'5 he can't pull off the pseudo-Batman look).

Given the above I wanted to look at the MCU Disney+ production schedule as we know it (I've included film dates in italics as points of reference):
2020
Black Widow (May 1)
Falcon and the Winter Soldier - late 2020 (two months into filming)
The Eternals (November 6)
2021
Shang-Chi (February 12)
WandaVision - early 2021 (almost two months into filming)
Loki - early 2021 (filming begins February, 2020 [Murphy])
Doctor Strange 2 (May 7)
Ms. Marvel - unknown (filming begins April, 2020 [Murphy])
Moon Knight - unknown (possibly early 2020 [Murphy])
What If? - mid-2021 (currently in production)
Spider-Man 3 (July 16)

Hawkeye - late 2021 (unknown)
Thor 4 (November 5)

She-Hulk - unknown (unknown)

Marvel wants their shows to lead-in and lead-off the films, so if there are 4 films a year from 2021 onwards, a multitude of shows are needed to support that. Both The Eternals and Shang-Chi seem off this track [as does the animated What If?], but I think that's because they were set into motion before Marvel had fully decided how it wanted to integrate their shows (I don't think the latter will impact anything near it, but there's a chance Shang-Chi will have relevance for Moon Knight--nothing else seems remotely similar to it). My guess is, excluding animated productions, we'll have 6-8 live action shows per year (by either 2021 or 2022)--the CW currently has six with a Stargirl show on the horizon (which seems like a slap in the face to the WB's Titans), so the amount isn't unreasonable.

Conrad believes Power Pack will be an animated series, which makes perfect sense. Back in May he claimed the IP was in full development, but no one else has reported it. If we're really getting the team on screen, an animated version (especially on Disney+) would explain the lack of news elsewhere.

Daniel claims Tom Holland is in talks to cameo in Venom 2. This idea is something that's been around for a long time, so I'm not sure what this adds to the discussion (it may well be that Daniel is making a safe guess that he can trumpet as a scoop if its right, but avoid being called out as wrong if it isn't because these are just 'talks').

Director Josh Boone has apparently been given the reins to finish New Mutants. There's no sign of the reshoots Fox wanted two years ago, which suggests the film will largely represent Boone's original vision (with Marvel's requested cuts of Fox-related easter eggs included). It will be an oddity when it appears in early 2020, but this approach costs the least amount of money (which seems to be Disney's primary interest).

We have a 4chan post talking about the MCU in general:

• Ray Winstone plays Ivan in Black Widow [her father]. Jermey Renner has a cameo as Hawkeye in the middle of the film. Linda Caradelini returns as Laura Barton in a cameo, likely dealing with Barton escaping [Civil War-induced] house arrest to help Natasha.
• Druig, Gilgamesh, and Sprite are the villains of Eternals. Thanos, Odin, and Ego appear in small roles. Neil Gaiman filmed a cameo in the film.
• Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings revolves around a tournament to win the Ten Rings. Sam Claflin, Kelly Marie Tran, Zhang Ziyi, Pierce Brosnan, Harry Shum Jr, and BD Wong are cast in supporting roles. [Tran/Wong via September 4chan, Claflin/Brosnan via October (1) 4chan, Shum Jr via October (2); Ziyi I haven't seen before]
• Namor appears in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness, played by [Crazy Rich Asians lead] Henry Golding. Cillian Murphy is the favorite for the role of Nightmare. Wanda creates the Multiverse of Madness due to the events in WandaVison. [The idea of Namor in the film goes back to a deleted Tweet by Scott Derrickson back in March]
• Spider Man 3 will have Kraven as the main villain, with Hugh Jackman in talks for the role. JK Simmons returns as JJJ. Peter and MJ break up for a while.
• Thor: Love and Thunder features Thor making a new team of Revengers. Finn Wolfhard, Ryan Gosling, and Jennifer Lawrence are in talks for roles. [Wolfhard/Gosling via September 4chan; Lawrence is simply a popular pick for many roles]
• Ant-Man 3 is set for February 2022 and will feature Hulk and Kate Bishop teaming up with Ant-Man, Stature, and Wasp. TI’s Dave has been written out of the script due to recent controversies [Referring to him taking his daughter for virginity checks; apparently saying a woman can't be president in 2015 was no impediment, although he did apologize for that].
• Black Panther 2 is based off Doomwar. Ryan Coogler wants Denzel Washington for Doctor Doom, though Marvel wants someone younger. [Denzel is 64; it would also be puzzling for an African-American to be the ruler of a small, Eastern European country--this idea reminds me of the clickbait from September pitching a race-swapped Magneto]
• Fantastic Four is set for July 2022, with Travis Knight in final talks to direct. Marvel wants to cast A List actors as the Fantastic Four. Mole Man will be the main villain. [Knight via a November 4chan post]
• Blade is set for October 7th 2022. Several A-List directors are already having talks with Marvel to direct the film because of Mahershala’s involvement.
• Deadpool 3, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3, and Nova are set for 2023.

This strikes me as a mix of repeated rumours and fan-casting (it would be especially odd to have Sprite as a villain in a Disney-movie given that she's being played by a 12-year old). There's nothing here that hasn't already been rumoured or isn't simply borrowed from the comics and some of it is genuinely odd (the Revengers in a film featuring Jane Foster Thor? Where's the room for both those elements to coexist?).

As he did in October, Mikey Sutton spread out a series of scoops among friendly Youtubers. These are the MCU elements:

• Sutton says a Disney+ Clea show is in the works (the villain being Umar), which is intended to help spin off a Brother Voodoo show (where a rebooted Cloak & Dagger would appear). [This echoes LotLB's rumour from August, which had the former pair in a show together called Strange Tales; LotLB also said the latter would be rebooted back in November]
• Disney wants Hugh Jackman to reprise the Wolverine role for his finale as the character in a 48 Hours-style film with Deadpool--Sutton says this is purely in the discussion phase. [Jackman's potential return is something LotLB claimed back in September]
• There are discussions about adapting the Parker Industries scenario for Spider-Man down the line [I believe LotLB had something about this in the summer when they discussed Tom Holland having a nine-film arc for the character]
• Fantastic Four is in early development and Johnny Storm's love interest in Fantastic Four will be Frankie Raye, who will then become the Herald of Galactus, taking the place of Silver Surfer (which follows the John Byrne run on the comic) [Frankie's appearance echoes LotLB's rumour from August]

All these items are repeats or an evolution of LotLB rumours from earlier in the year (ones that may have come from Sutton). I'm highly skeptical of the idea of shows based on B-list supporting characters (Clea/Voodoo)--it's the kind of thing you do after you see really positive reception to them (neither has ever supported their own comic, which would make the idea unprecedented for the MCU).

A side note: it's interesting how LotLB's scoops from their own source have largely dried-up since Sutton started talking to them. There are a few possibilities: 'The Black Knight' hasn't had any scoops lately, he's an invented name for Tim's own speculation, or that's what Sutton called himself before he returned to making Marvel scoops on his own.

I've brought up HBO's Watchmen a few times (eg), largely out of curiosity over how it would perform given that Lindelof was the showrunner. The final two episodes saw a modest increase in viewership (0.822 13th/0.935 9th, although it remained low in the key demographic--older viewers are its bedrock). For context I wanted to compare it to something, so I thought another recent genre adaptation would suit (in this case The Witcher--which I've been covering it here).

Beyond relative critical praise (RT 96% and 56%, both of which are ridiculous; fan scores 52%/93%), how are they being received comparatively? Netflix doesn't release numbers, but viewer scores and social media for The Witcher has been very positive and the ancillary content (reaction videos, analysis, etc) is far more popular than the HBO show (just one example, YTer Rawrist's final review for Watchmen sits at 3.5k, while her recent Witcher review is 10.4k). The weather vane called Emergency Awesome makes this very apparent when you look at his two recent videos about each (his overview of episodes 1-4 has 550k views, while his final video on Watchmen, released over a week earlier, sits at 272k, well behind the highest viewed of his videos on the series (episode one), which is also far lower than The Witcher video).

All that this establishes is that The Witcher is more popular, but that doesn't mean Watchmen hasn't been successful in HBO-terms and despite lukewarm reception will almost certainly get a second season. To briefly go back to the critical response, there's little doubt that in both cases the scores represent an axe to grind from critics (both The Guardian and Entertainment Weekly in particular embarrassed themselves with nonsensical reviews)--I don't understand the animosity towards The Witcher (which tried hard to appease critics with diverse casting, female co-leads, overt depictions of racism, etc). Economically, however, Netflix is the winner despite the critical drubbing, as both it (and HBO) are subscription-based and popularity is what feeds new subscribers.

This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)