…Moving on to the Marvel Cinematic Universe now and thanks to the Digital HD release of Doctor Strange, we’ve had a sneak peek at Phase Three of the MCU with a featurette that details the build to Avengers: Infinity War, as well as giving us a peek at the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther; you can check out the featurette here, and be sure to take a look at an Infinity War set photo which features the new production logo for the superhero epic here…
…And speaking of Doctor Strange, director Scott Derrickson took to social media this week to thank the fans for making the film a success, while we also got a look at the Academy Award-nominated visual effects with two VFX featurettes breaking down the time reversal scene and the Mirror Dimension [watch them here]. Meanwhile, Benedict Cumberbatch explained why he feels Derrickson is the best man for the job when it comes to directing the inevitable sequel: “Scott’s got, he’s very good on process, and he’s very good on visuals and he had to cram a lot in. I mean this was a much harder shoot in many ways than I imagine some of the other origin stories had been. They’re all hard, not to detract from the hard work that they put in, but my point is that there was a massively fast turn around. So he was having to edit and approve special effects shots at the same time as setting up these huge sequences live and getting the camera and angles and performances and visuals right on the day. So he was double tasking in a pretty full on way and then he was, for someone who’s done stuff to do stuff with the supernatural before but never, as he’d be the first to admit I’m sure, never quite on this scale. He had to do it all with great skill and the results are on the screen. So yeah I think this film speaks to why Scott would be a great choice to direct it again…”
…It looks like we’ll be getting another peek at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 very soon, with a new trailer classified by the Alberta Ratings Board and expected to drop either alongside Logan or next month’s Beauty and the Beast. While we wait, here’s a look at a new international poster featuring Baby Groot atop a pile of dynamite, as well as an image of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Drax (Dave Bautista) carrying some pretty heavy firepower, and a look at an interactive theater standee which could be coming to a cinema near you soon…
…The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 merchandise is starting to be revealed, and this week has given us a look at Hot Toys’ 1/6th scale Rocket Raccoon collectible figure [see here], as well as Hasbro’s Marvel Legends figures for Guardians Vol. 2 (and the Netflix shows Daredevil and Jessica Jones) [see here]. Meanwhile, Disney XD has also announced that Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy animated series will return on March 11th with a one-hour double-bill season two premiere featuring the Guardians teaming up with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes…
…Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be followed up in July by Spider-Man: Homecoming, and this week saw the release of an official piece of promo artwork giving us our first look at Bookeem Woodbine’s villain Shocker [see the promo art here], along with a couple of LEGO Marvel Super Heroes tie-in sets, one of which features a mystery character (it could be Shocker, but my money’s on The Tinkerer) [take a look a the sets here]. Marvel Comics is also counting down to the Spidey reboot with the new comic book series Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude, which presents an adaptation of the wall-crawlers MCU debut in Captain America: Civil War; take a look at a preview of the first issue here…
…Ahead of his return as Loki this November, Tom Hiddleston has been chatting about Thor: Ragnarok, and specifically how the God of Mischief is likely to react to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme and Cate Blanchett’s Hela: “I think he probably dismisses Strange. Yes, his sorcery is very impressive, but Loki’s been doing that for centuries so who cares. Hela is a different beast and full of surprises and actually might have been someone with whom at one time he could’ve gotten along, but the circumstances have changed…”
…Hiddleston also spoke about the comedic tone of the film, stating that: “At the end of The Dark World, Loki is on the throne. At the beginning of Ragnarok, Thor has a few questions, Loki is endearingly enigmatic about providing answers. Taika Waititi is such a spirited, hilarious individual, and he and Chris Hemsworth became very fast friends. What was great for me to see was to see their friendship kind of blossom, and they brought out the best in each other, and started making stuff up, and I can confidently say right now that this will be the funniest depiction of the character of Thor that you’ve ever seen. I personally have known for almost ten years that Chris Hemsworth is hilarious.” It seems not everyone was overly enthusiastic about Ragnarok containing so much comedy, with director Waititi swiftly dismissing a fan’s complaint on Twitter…
…Looking a little further ahead into Phase Three and Brie Larson has been discussing her role as Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel; first up she responded to a question about Carol’s hairstyle, stating: “I feel like this is a big conversation and everyday I have people yelling at me on Twitter like you better have long hair, or you better have a mohawk, or you better wear the helmet, or you better not wear the helmet, so someone’s going to be mad.” The Kong: Skull Island star then went on to talk about her love for the character: “I find it’s really hard for me to condense what she means to me. I was once a young girl and I was confused by what a hero was and what I wanted to be when I grow up and what was important to me. And so, I think it’s so complicated growing up and to attempt to become a symbol of truth and navigating through all the weird questions of growing up feels so, I’m getting emotional just talking about this, it feels so important to me. When it comes to her, I mean just the fact that she can be a bridge between two worlds, that she can go between Earth and space and that her own personal place is in this little area between where Earth ends and space begins and that’s only hers is so moving to me. I’m just inspired…”
…Samuel L. Jackson will make his return as Nick Fury in Avengers: Infinity War, and it seems he may also be linking up with his Skull Island co-star Brie Larson in Captain Marvel. Jackson was a little puzzled as to why Fury isn’t set to appear in Black Panther – and he still hasn’t given up hope of that long-rumoured solo movie either: “I’d love to do a Nick Fury movie,” said Jackson. “I’m always open and game. But they got Infinity Wars, two movies to do there, and after that there’s Brie Larson’s movie Captain Marvel, which maybe Nick will be part of. Also, I asked them, ‘So you’re doing Black Panther and the only black character in the Marvel Universe is not showing up?’ And they’re like, ‘Nick Fury is not in Wakanda!’ How can he not know the other black superhero on the planet? How the hell does that work? But they just said, ‘No you’re not in that one…’”
…In one other piece of news relating to the big screen side of the MCU, Disney and IMAX have announced that they have renewed their deal through to 2019, meaning that Black Panther, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel will all receive IMAX releases, along with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, both of which are being shot entirely in the IMAX format…
…On the small screen side of the MCU, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. aired its finale episode until April 4th this week with ‘Self Control’, and you can read Danny Hale’s review here; meanwhile, ABC also teased the next arc ‘Agents of HYDRA’ with a couple of promos, one of which confirmed the return of a former cast member (and given the title of the arc, I’m sure you can hazard a good guess as to who it is)…
…Marvel Television has been very busy on the casting front lately, and following news of Cloak & Dagger and Runaways, we’ve now got our first addition to the upcoming Inhumans series in Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon (a.k.a. the ruthless bastard Ramsay Bolton), who will portray Black Bolt’s brother Maximus the Mad, described as described as “a clever and charming Inhuman that is fiercely devoted to the people of Attilan, especially his brother, the king — though he harbors an intense desire to wear the crown himself.” You can read Marvel Television boss Jeph Loeb and showrunner Scott Buck’s comments on the casting here…
…And finally, with less than three weeks to go until Netflix unleashes the final Defender, the streaming service has released a new poster for Iron Fist along with a featurette entitled ‘I Am Danny’ which sees star Finn Jones discussing his character’s story and includes some previously unseen footage; watch it here.
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.
