…As production continues on Doctor Strange, Rachel McAdams (True Detective) has offered up a few words about the 2016 release, suggesting it will be a unique entry in the MCU: “I met with Scott Derrickson] and loved his vision, he was so passionate. And the opportunity to work with Benedict was kind of a no-brainer. And Marvel makes amazing films, so it was a complete package. It’s definitely not going to be like any of the other films…”
…In another piece of Doctor Strange-related news, acclaimed writer Neil Gaiman has revealed that he and Guillermo del Toro pitched Marvel a Sorcerer Supreme movie prior to the release of the original Iron Man, stating that: “I still wish Marvel had been interested in a Guillermo del Toro and me Doctor Strange movie, because I wanted to write Clea so badly after 1602. It was a conversation I had with Marvel Films back in 2007. At the time Doctor Strange was way down their list and we let it go. It was a conversation or two. Del Toro was making Hellboy 2. I remember he had one particularly brilliant idea for a way to do Doctor Strange…”
…With a director now on board in Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows), Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok is set for a rewrite ahead of production in the summer, with Stephany Folsom signing on to develop the screenplay by Christopher Yost and Craig Kyle. Meanwhile, Chris Hemsworth spoke briefly about his upcoming reunion with his Avengers costar Mark Ruffalo on the threequel, and how a rematch between the God of Thunder and The Hulk might pan out: “I’d like to think I let him win last time, but because this movie is called Thor, I have to win this time. “I hope it’s a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid sort of story. That would be fun. I love Mark. I think those two characters haven’t spent a whole lot of time talking to each other on screen (so far in the Marvel movies) , so it’s something new, I think it would bring something different out of the characters. It’s hard to have a conversation with the Hulk…”
…To promote the release of Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Blu-ray box set, Marvel has released a deleted scene from Thor: The Dark World, which sees Tom Hiddleston’s Loki imagining his coronation as the king of Asgard, as well as wielding Mjolnir [see here], as well as a video showing Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista screen testing as Star-Lord and Drax the Destroyer for Guardians of the Galaxy [see here]…
…With Ant-Man also now available on DVD and Blu-ray, illustrator Andy Park has released some concept art of Yellowjacket, while director Peyton Reed has been speaking about the 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp: “Part of thing that we’re going to explore, as shown in the comics, is how [Ant-Man and Wasp] are such a great duo and partnership. Part of that, in any partnership, is how they relate to each other as people. Where will their personal relationship be at that point, and what will be their fighting style together? We have tons of notes and things we set up in [Ant-Man]. Michael and Hank Pym [are] gonna be a huge part of the movie, still. As for time jumping and different eras, that remains to be seen…”
…Joss Whedon came in for some criticism regarding his handling of the Black Widow in this year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Scarlett Johansson has spoken out in defense of the director and their creative decisions regarding the character: “You know, I’m happy that people scrutinize the Widow’s storylines and care about it and are invested. I’d much rather it be like that than have a kind of ‘meh’ reaction. For me to have people say that would be, ouch, you know? Everything that I’ve done with the Widow, to me makes sense. It’s in line with active decisions that I’ve made for the character… I had a lot of conversations with Joss about what she sees in Banner. Or why is she, at this point in her life, able to be open in this way? We both followed that storyline with a lot of confidence that it was the right arc for my character up until that point…”
…It’s the winter finale of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. this coming Tuesday, and we have a batch of images, a promo and two clips from the episode ‘Maveth’, which you can see here, here and here, and be sure to check out Danny Hale’s reviews of the most recent episode ‘Closure’ here…
…ABC has pushed back the premiere of Agent Carter season 2 by two weeks to January 19th; as a consolation, Marvel released a new poster featuring Hayley Atwell’s Peggy, along with a couple of new promos which you can see here…
…Moving over to Netflix and this week has brought a new batch of set photos from the Luke Cage series, which feature Mike Colter’s Power Man alongside Rosario Dawson (Mariah Dillard), Simone Missick (Misty Knight), and Frank Whaley (Detective Scarfe); you can see the set photos here, but be warned – the last few may feature a spoiler regarding one of those aforementioned characters…
…And finally, ten days after Daredevil landed on Netflix, Marvel announced a second season; it’s now been over a fortnight since Jessica Jones was released and we’re still yet to hear word on the future of Alias Investigations. Asked this week about the possibility of a second season, showrunner Melissa Rosenberg said: “Me, personally – I’m ready to go. Marvel has a lot going on. So does Netflix. So I don’t know if a second season fits into this schedule, when, whether or not we’ll get one. I don’t know any of that. I personally, I’m ready to jump in now. I’ve had some time off. I needed some time off! It was a really hard run.”
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
