In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at X-Men, Fantastic Four, Deadpool 2, The New Mutants, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Gambit, The Gifted, Avengers 4, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Venom, Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Runaways, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., New Warriors, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazan, Nightwing, Flashpoint, Titans, Black Lightning, Arrow, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Hellboy more…
Given the success that 20th Century Fox has had with its X-Men properties lately, not to mention its upcoming plans, only a fool would have bet that Marvel would end the year having regained the rights to the mutant superheroes (and the Fantastic Four), but that is exactly what has happened following Disney’s huge acquisition of Fox’s film and TV assets. “Bringing Disney and Fox together will combine some of the world’s most iconic entertainment franchises,” said Disney on the deal. “[It] provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories that audiences have shown they love…”
…In the wake of the takeover news, both Marvel legend Stan Lee and Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld released statements sharing their excitement (Liefeld had previously spoken out about the deal, but found himself reassured by Bob Iger’s comments that Marvel could make R-rated Deadpool movies), while Flickering Myth’s Tom Beasley wrote the op-ed ‘Disney’s Acquisition of Fox is Good for the MCU, But Bad for the Movie Industry‘. Meanwhile Hugh Jackman wasted no time in shooting down a rumour that he could return as Wolverine, stating that: “It’s interesting because for the whole 17 years I kept thinking that would be so great, like I would love to see, particularly, Iron Man and the Hulk and Wolverine together. And every time I saw an Avengers movie I could just see Wolverine in the middle of all of them like punching them all on the head. But it was like, “Oh well, that’s not gonna happen,” and it was interesting just when I first saw that headline — it was just the possibility of it and who knows what’s gonna happen, obviously — I was like, ‘Hang on!’ But I think, unfortunately, the ship has sailed for me, but for someone else I would like to see Wolverine in there…”
…As yet, we have no idea how Disney and Marvel will handle the planned Fox slate, with reports suggesting that Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige will have final say on development. That being said, we do still have Deadpool 2, The New Mutants and X-Men: Dark Phoenix all incoming in 2018, with Gambit set to start production early in the New Year too, and it’s been announced that the latter three will all receive IMAX releases. As for beyond those films, only time will tell…
…The New Mutants will be the first X-Men release under Disney, and this week saw the release of two new character teasers featuring Maisie Williams’ Wolfsbane and Charlie Heaton’s Cannonball…
…After last week’s first-look image reveal, we now have some further details on X-Men: Dark Phoenix, with the movie said to be pushing the focus onto the female characters, while director Simon Kinberg discussed his intention to course correct the series after mistakes made with the previous chapter, X-Men: Apocalypse: “I think we took our eye off what has always been the bedrock of the franchise which is these characters,” said Kinberg. It became about global destruction and visual effects over emotion and character… One of the things I went into this film wanting to do is obviously focus on the characters and give them real emotions to play and come up with a theme that would make it feel relevant and necessary in today’s world.”
…Be sure to read Rachel Bellwoar’s review of this past week’s twelfth episode of The Gifted ‘eXploited’ here; the show is now on a short break until January 1st, and you can watch a promo for the next episode here…
…As production continues on Marvel’s as-yet-untitled Avengers 4, two more cast members have confirmed their involvement in the movie with Anthony Mackie (Sam Wilson/Falcon) and Evangeline Lilly (Hope Van Dyne/ The Wasp) both sharing behind-the-scenes photos from the set [see here], while Jeremy Renner has teased his new Hawkeye/Ronin costume, and Gwyneth Paltrow shared an photo containing a potential spoiler about her character Pepper Potts [see here]. Meanwhile, looking a little further to the future, Kevin Feige has revealed that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will be going cosmic for future movies, with the Marvel Studios chief stating that: “If the Avengers survive, we will see more films with them in space. I love and would like to see more films in space…”
…Feige has also been singing the praises of Chris Evans’ Captain America, comparing his portray to that of Christopher Reeve’s Superman: ““Casting Captain America was super hard. I started to think, ‘Are we not going to be able to find Captain America, and if we can’t, what are we going to do with Avengers? Is the whole thing going to fall apart?’ And, then, finally opening ourselves up to Chris Evans, who we had initially sort of just looked past because he was Johnny Storm in a Fantastic Four franchise. Then, bringing him in and showing him the artwork, showing him what was happening in this movie, and he took a weekend to decide. He’s a reluctant star but I think he’s become—and I’ve said this to him—for as amazing as all of our actors are at embodying these characters, every single one of them, he’s one that reminds me, alongside Christopher Reeve, as just like ‘these are the characters’.” You can read the rest of Feige’s comments here…
…We’re just a couple of months away from the release of Black Panther, Marvel’s first superhero blockbuster of 2018, and we’ve had a new look at the film tis week with the release of a new international trailer [watch it here], as well a first TV spot [watch it here]…
…With its theatrical run winding down, Thor: Ragnarok pushed its box office to $833 million this week, putting it ahead of rival superhero blockbuster Wonder Woman, which grossed $821 million earlier this year. Meanwhile, illustrator Ian Joyner has shared some concept artwork featuring an alternate design for the character of Korg the Kronan, portrayed in the film by director Taika Waititi; take a look at the concept art here…
…With Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 set to launch Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019, it has been reported this week that filming on the Marvel and Sony co-production will get underway in Atlanta in June, and run through to October-December. Meanwhile, it seems that Tom Holland’s Peter Parker may also be getting a new love interest in the as-yet-untitled sequel, with an audition tape surfacing featuring an unknown French actress reading for the part of Gwen Stacy…
…Speaking of Spider-Man, Sony has released the first trailer for its upcoming animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which is set to hit cinemas in December 2018 [watch it here]. And, while the animated film will shift its focus to the Miles Morales incarnation of Spider-Man (in the character’s big screen debut), it has also been confirmed that Peter Parker will feature, serving as a “middle-aged” mentor to his young successor…
…As production continues on Sony’s Venom movie, star Tom Hardy attended Brazil’s Comic-Con Experience this past weekend, confirming that the film is taking inspiration from the comic book story arcs Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes. CCXP also gave us our first look at some Venom artwork with a teaser poster featuring the symbiote’s classic design (as opposed to the rumoured Agent Venom costume) [see here], while some new set photos arrived online featuring Hardy performing a motorcycle stunt [see here], and reports are suggesting that Woody Harrelson is in talks to join the cast in the role of a “henchman”…
…Click below to continue on for Jessica Jones, The Punisher, Runaways, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., New Warriors, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazan, Nightwing, Flashpoint, Titans, Black Lightning, Arrow, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, Hellboy more…
