In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Inhumans, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, The Defenders, Iron Fist, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Avengers: Ultron Revolution, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine 3, Deadpool 2, New Mutants, Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Supergirl, Gotham, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, Batman: The Killing Joke, Guardians, The Tick and more…
Although we’re just a couple of weeks away from the release of Captain America: Civil War, we’ll start things off a little further along Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe this week, seeing as Tuesday brought us our very first look at Marvel’s second offering of 2016, Doctor Strange! The first teaser trailer debuted during Jimmy Kimmel Live, and we have it for you here, along with a couple of posters here and here. And if you’re keen to find out what our writers made of our first look at Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme, be sure to take a look at the latest Flickering Myth Reaction…
…As you’d expect, there was plenty of promotional material for Captain America: Civil War this week (along with some overwhelmingly positive reviews coming out of the early U.S. screenings). As well as an IMAX poster [see here] and international one-sheet [see here], we also got a batch of stills featuring our first look at Daniel Bruhl’s Baron Zemo [see here], a clip of Scott Lang meeting with Captain America [watch it here], a clip of Bucky battling Tony Stark, Sharon Carter, Black Widow and Black Panther [watch it here], a clip of The Avengers debating the Sokovia Accords [watch it here], a clip of Cap, Falcon and Scarlet Witch battling some of Crossbones’ goons [watch it here], and a featurette focussing on Anthony Mackie’s Falcon [watch it here]…
…Civil War may be packed with characters from the MCU, but it almost included another superhero, with screenwriter Christopher Markus revealing that Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne featured in an early draft of the script: “There was a period where we talked about bringing Wasp in. There was actually a draft Wasp was in because she was so almost on the edge of being in Ant-Man, but then you’re taking something awesome out of the Ant-Man team’s quiver if it’s like, ‘Well, we’re doing her!’ Plus she had a similar skill set, so it’s like ‘Well, maybe we just isolate it to Scott…'”
…Out on the promotional trail for Civil War, Chris Evans endeared himself to DC fans this week by stating that no one can “copy” Marvel’s formula for success: “I say, let’s keep going, let’s let the wave get bigger and bigger. It’s not like [Marvel] are making bad movies, they’re making great movies and if you want to put them in this superhero box you can but they’re good movies. They’ve got a monopoly on it, they’re doing it and no one else can try and copy it…”
…Civil War co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo are gearing up to start work on the two-part Avengers: Infinity War, and the brothers were asked this week which characters they’re most excited to work with. “The movies are intended to be a culmination of everything that’s happened before in the MCU so you don’t want to get into spoilers but I’m a big fan of what James Gunn has done. Star-Lord is a fantastic character and Chris Pratt is an awesome performer so you’d be very excited,” said Anthony, seemingly confirming the inclusion of the Guardians of the Galaxy, with Joe adding that: “I’m excited to work with Thor. They’re doing some really interesting stuff with Ragnarok and where he’s gonna be at the beginning ofInfinity War is gonna be a very interesting place and I think very profound. I think he’s gonna have a real emotional motivation after that…”
…Anthony Russo also went on to reveal that while Infinity War – Part I and Part II are going to be shot back-to-back, they will be two very distinct films: “The movies are very, very different from one another. It’s not a part one and part two scenario, necessarily. They’re just two different expressions. I think it creates a misconception that we’re shooting them at the same time. For us there’s a through line from Winter Soldier, through Civil War, right to Infinity War. In our mind, the storytelling arc moves that way…”
…This week brought word that Creed star Tessa Thompson has signed on for the female lead in Thor: Ragnarok, while it has also been confirmed that Natalie Portman won’t be returning to the role of Dr. Jane Foster for the God of Thunder’s next outing. Thompson’s role is being kept under wraps but was described as “a sort of superhero”, leading Latino-Review to try and guess themselves a scoop by claiming that she’ll be portraying the character of Brunhilde, a.k.a. Valkyrie. This from the site who “guaranteed” Bizarro was in Batman v Superman just a couple of months back…
…Kevin Feige has been giving a few updates on future Phase Three instalments this week, starting with Black Panther: “[The script will be complete] very soon. We have a number of writers on it including Ryan Coogler, who is also directing, he’s working on the draft right now. Between now and the end of the summer there will be more casting announcements. We start filming at the very beginning of next year…”
…On Captain Marvel: “I think we’ll be announcing a filmmaker in the next month or two, and probably some cast members later in the summer, at the end of the summer. [The story] is about Carol Danvers and that journey to being Captain Marvel…”
…And Inhumans, which looks like it may be pushed back: “Since we made our initial phase three announcement, we added Spider-Man, which was a big joyous coup for us. We added Ant-Man and the Wasp, which was a big fun continuation of that story for us. Walt Disney Company has announced an Indiana Jones film for right around that same time. So I think it will shuffle off the current date that it’s on right now. How far down it shuffles, I’m not sure yet…”
…Feige also cast his eye further afield, teasing a “very different” Phase Four of the MCU: “I think you look at comics as a guide. I think there will be a finality to moments of Phase Three, as well as new beginnings that will mark a different, a very different, a distinctively different chapter in what will someday be a complete first saga made up of three phases.” One movie that Feige has teased as a possibility for Phase Four is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3…
…Having been rumoured a few weeks back, Sony and Marvel officially announced that the 2017 Spider-Man reboot is going by the title Spider-Man: Homecoming, with Sony’s Tom Rothman unveiling the above title card at CinemaCon and stating that Homecoming “has a “high school ring to it”, and that “Peter Parker is trying to find his way home.” Following the title announcement, it was revealed that Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel) and Laura Harrier (One Life to Live) have joined Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May) and Zendaya (Michelle) in the cast, while former Batman star Michael Keaton is reportedly in talks to play the villain, who may or may not be The Vulture…
…Coinciding with the Spider-Man announcement, Kevin Feige spoke about the decision to skip the wall-crawler’s origin story in the new reboot: “We spend a lot of time as we work on these movies saying ‘Don’t take it for granted that the audience saw the other the other movies or that the audience is as versed in the comic books as we are.’ We take great pains to give you everything you need to know within the context of whatever movie you’re actually watching. However, we did say, if it’s safe to assume anything, it’s safe to assume that everybody knows how Spider-Man became Spider-Man and what that backstory was. We’ve seen it a number of times now, it’s its own well-known mythology. So we said, let’s reveal that there’s been a Spider-Man in the MCU and we meet him, as you see, in [Civil War]. There are events that made Peter who he was, and we’ll certainly allude to those events, but we’re much more focused on his future and how he continues to grow and have a steep learning curve after, certainly, the adventure he had in Civil War on how to be his own hero…”
…Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t the wall-crawler’s only upcoming big screen adventure from Sony, as the studio also has an animated movie set for release in 2018, and you can take a look at the official logo for that project here…
…On the Netflix side of the MCU, Charlie Cox has revealed that production on The Defenders is set to get underway later this year, indicating that the Marvel team-up will likely arrive on the streaming service some time in 2017, while it has also been announced that Daredevil’s Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez will serve as showrunners on the miniseries alongside fellow Daredevil alum Drew Goddard as executive producer…
…Casting continues on Netflix’s Iron Fist series, with David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings) signing on to appear as Harold Meachum, “a ruthless corporate leader who was partnered with Danny Rand’s parents at the time of their deaths.” Meanwhile, Iron Fist himself Finn Jones has been talking about his excitement over the role, stating that: “I love the character. What really drew me was the character and the story. I really enjoy how he’s a superhero with a real heart but has spiritual elements as well. I think it’s going to be an exciting character to play because there’s this contraction of on one hand he’s from a very wealthy family, he’s a billionaire, on the other hand he’s been in this world of K’un-Lun for a long time where he’s learned kung fu and buddhist philosophy. There’s a contradiction in those elements that’s going to be really fun to play…”
…Be sure to check out Danny Hale’s review of this week’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ‘Paradise Lost’ here, while we also have a promo and two clips from the next episode ‘The Team’, which you can watch here and here…
…On the Marvel animation front, check out a clip from Sunday’s Avengers: Ultron Revolution’s ‘Thunderbolts Revealed’ here, as well as Guardians of the Galaxy’s ‘Asgard War: Part Two – Rescue me’ here…
…Click below to continue on for X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine 3, Deadpool 2, New Mutants, Justice League, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Supergirl, Gotham, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, Batman: The Killing Joke, Guardians, The Tick and more…
