In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers 4, Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor: Ragnarok, Daredevil, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Runaways, The New Mutants, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Gambit, Wolverine, Justice League, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, Black Lightning, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Krypton, Hellboy and more…
As filming on the as-yet-untitled Avengers 4 draws to a close – with Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany and Jeremy Renner all wrapping production this past week – Marvel Studios will soon begin ramping up the promotion for the first instalment of its two-part superhero epic, and this week brought us a new image from Avengers: Infinity War featuring Thor, Rocket Raccoon and Mantis [see here], along with a new piece of low-res promo art of Captain America, Black Widow, Iron Man, The Hulk, Vision, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Star-Lord and Gamora [see here]…
…The first superhero movie of 2018 will be with us in less than two months, and Marvel has started ramping up the publicity for T’Challa’s solo debut with the release of a new TV spot for the Black Panther movie, while a Premiere magazine cover has given us another look at Chadwick Boseman’s titular Wakandan hero [see here]. Meanwhile, early tracking is pointing towards a $90 million domestic opening for the movie, while Michael B. Jordan has been chatting about his experience on the film, which sees him portraying the villain Erik Killmonger: “It took me to a dark place. Honestly, I can’t really go through all I went through to get into it because I want to keep that close to me. But it stuck with me afterwards… You see performances as an actor, and as a fan – you look at Heath Ledger’s performance, say, in The Dark Knight, and it’s like, ‘Wow’. I want to try to get something like that. You want Michael Fassbender’s Magneto. Just trying to find my place amongst those roles, and strive for that, even if I don’t make it… [We] had a lot of fun on set. Chadwick [Boseman]’s a very talented dude. There’s a lot of physical moments and action sequences throughout this film that cause us to really challenge ourselves, and also fall deeper into character…”
…Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War aren’t the only MCU movies we have to look forward to in 2018, as Marvel is also set to unleash the Ant-Man sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp. This week, director Peyton Reed spoke about the film’s four main characters – the returning Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), as well as new addition Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) – teasing their roles in the new film; read his comments here…
…A new behind the scenes VFX breakdown arrived online for Thor: Ragnarok which gives us a rather interesting look at how the Taika Waititi-directed Marvel blockbuster was brought to life; watch it here…
…Last month, Thor: Ragnarok star Tessa Thompson revealed that Marvel stars Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Brie Larson (Captain Marvel), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Evangeline Lilly (Wasp), Pom Klementieff (Mantis) and Karen Gillan (Nebula) had pounced on Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige to pitch an all-female team-up movie, and this week saw Karen Gillan sharing her own take on the story, with the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star stating that: “Brie Larson was like, ‘We should go up to Kevin Feige and tell him to make an all-female Marvel movie,’ so we all marched up there in a group, a whole herd of us, and said that to him. He was like, ‘Yeah, that would be amazing!’ but he didn’t really commit to it, but he thought it would be a great idea. Now is the time, more than ever – look at the success of Wonder Woman. It’s clear that we all want that…”
…With filming now underway on the third season of Daredevil, Deborah Ann Woll has revealed that she’s hoping to get the opportunity to explore Karen Page’s past, while Vincent D’Onofrio has also been chatting about his return as Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. Kingpin: “It’s hard to top the first season, with Steven DeKnight’s writing, but Erik Oleson [the new showrunner] is a very good writer. I’ve shot some pretty cool scenes, so far. It’s different, but it’s very Fisk. It’s still very emotional. The character is evolving. His whole deal is based on emotion, so we’re taking him down that role further. I can only say that we’re doing things that are just going to blow the fans away. We’ve already shot some things that are just going to be neat for the fans. There’s some awesome things that are very much in the history of Fisk and Daredevil, that people have been waiting for. We’ve already put some of that stuff in the can, and there’s a lot more to do. I think they’re gonna be very happy…”
…Be sure to read Danny Hale’s review of the fifth episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ‘Rewind’ here, as well as Liam Hoofe’s review of the eighth episode of Runaways ‘Tsunami’ here…
…The first X-Men movie out of the gate this coming year is The New Mutants, and Fox has released a couple of new teaser promos for the horror-themed spinoff this week focussing on the characters of Anya Taylor-Joy’s Illyana Rasputin/Magik and Blu Hunt’s Danielle Moonstar/Mirage [see here], along with a new image of Magik, Mirage, Sunspot (Henry Zaga), Wolfsbane (Maisie Williams) and Cannonball (Charlie Heaton) [see here]…
…Sophie Turner has been chatting about November’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix, during which she sang the praises of first time director Simon Kinberg: “Simon has been the brain behind X-Men for years, and it’s really exciting to have what feels like one of our own rise up and take hold of the franchise, and direct it in the way that he sees it. I have to say he’s one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with. He’s so passionate and collaborative. Once I got the script though, I realized that not only were we telling this amazing superhero story, but we were also telling a very personal story as well. One which required research into mental health issues. Because that is a big part of what drives the story. I mainly drew inspiration from multiple personality disorder and schizophrenia, as it is really about duality, this movie. Darkness and light – that’s all within her. This sense of being a completely other person and her struggling with that…”
…With filming on 20th Century Fox’s long-delayed Gambit movie reportedly set to get underway in March, a new rumour has surfaced this week suggesting that Channing Tatum’s Remy LeBeau may have some competition for the affections of Lizzy Caplan’s Bella Donna Boudreaux. An alleged casting breakdown has surfaced online, which seems to suggest that Donyell Taylor, a.k.a. Night Thrasher/Bandit – who in the Marvel comic book universe is in a rather unsavoury relationship with Gambit’s ex Bella Donna – could feature in the movie. Hopefully we’ll start getting some official details and casting news soon…
…Although Hugh Jackman has hung up the claws, it seems he can’t stop talking about Wolverine, and during an interview this week he revealed that a friend advised him to ditch the franchise prior to the release of the first X-Men movie as they thought it would tank at the box office: “I remember finishing the first movie, and a mate of mine who was in Hollywood, he goes, ‘Dude, I’ve heard not very good things about the movie. You really should book something else before it comes out.’ So, there was about a four-month gap, he goes, ‘Just make sure you got something else, because when it comes out you’re back down at the bottom of the pile again, you know?’ Happily, he was wrong, but no one really knew, there was no comic book genre. Comic book movies were really not around at the time…”
…Click below to continue on for Justice League, Aquaman, Harley Quinn, Black Lightning, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Krypton, Hellboy and more…
