In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers 4, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Inhumans, The Punisher, Daredevil, Runaways, X-23, Deadpool 2, Gambit, Venom, The Gifted, Justice League, Shazam, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad 2, Deathstroke, Supergirl, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Gotham, Superman Lives and more…
The fifth and penultimate live-action superhero movie of the year began its international roll out this week, with Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok grossing $28 million by close of play on Thursday, and will be showing in around 52% of international marketplaces by this weekend. Be sure to read Luke Owen’s spoiler-free review of the film here, while you can also check out Luke’s exclusive interview with Jeff Goldblum here, and Matt Spencer-Skeen’s review of the film at the Cineworld Enfield 4DX screen here…
…As you’d expect, we’ve also had some new promotional material for Thor: Ragnarok this week with a featurette entitled ‘Meet the Revengers’ [watch it here], a new poster and TV spots [see here], and a clip featuring Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki [watch it here]. Meanwhile, director Taika Waititi has revealed how he got the Ragnarok gig [see here] as well as stating that he’d like to return to direct another Thor movie [see here], Chris Hemsworth has said that he almost passed on the role of the God of Thunder due to it being a six-film commitment [read here], Joss Whedon has praised the movie as “a modern masterpiece” [see here], Kevin Feige has teased that we’ll likely be seeing the characters of Korg and Miek again [see here] and Jeff Goldblum has revealed that he has reprised the role of The Grandmaster for another of the Team Thor comedy sketches featuring Darryl Jacobson [see here]…
…A few new photos from the set of Avengers 4 arrived online this week featuring Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa along with his sister Shuri, played by Letitia Wright [check them out here], as well as giving us a look at Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye in his new Ronin costume [see here]. Meanwhile, Planet of the Apes and Kong: Skull Island star Terry Notary revealed that he’s portraying the character of Adolescent Groot in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 [read his comments on the role here], while we also got confirmation that Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel will feature in Avengers 4 [see here], along with Ty Simpkins, who is reprising his Iron Man 3 role as Harley Keener [see here]…
…We know that The Hulk is set to receive a three-movie arc through Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4, but if you’re hoping to see the Green Goliath headlining his own movie any time soon, Kevin Feige has some bad news for you: “I think that back and forth continues, and I don’t know if it will ever happen,” said Feige. “But I will tell you, it makes me very, very happy going from a world, ten years ago, when people were questioning the viability of Hulk in a standalone film, to getting asked every other interview, ‘When will there be another standalone Hulk..?’”
…Next up from Marvel after Thor: Ragnarok is the first of three MCU releases in 2018, February’s Black Panther movie, and this week brought us a look at two new promotional posters featuring T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) [see here], as well as promo images for Hasbro’s Marvel Legends tie-in figures for Killmonger, Nakia and Okoye [see here]…
…The reveal of Killmonger in his Golden Jaguar suit in the latest Black Panther trailer saw Marvel receiving some criticism for sticking to the template of using its heroes’ evil counterparts for its villains (including our very own Anghus Houvouras). Kevin Feige was asked for his thoughts this week, and he dismissed the notion that Marvel is recycling ideas: “I think it’s just the way we make the movies. I think all the movies are relatively different. I think there’s a narrative that people like to write about because they’re all produced by the same team and they all inhabit the same fictional cinematic universe. That we look for common similarities. And I’m not saying there aren’t common similarities throughout it, but I think Thor: Ragnarok and Spider-Man: Homecoming are two totally different types of movies. They’re both fun. People both enjoy them. Is that a similarity? If so, I’ll take it. If that’s a criticism, I’ll take that, too. But really, yeah, Homecoming, Ragnarok, Panther, into Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp after that. And a ’90s-set Captain Marvel after that; these are six very different movies. If what they have in common is they’re all really enjoyable and fun to watch, then I’ll take it…”
…In a few other bits and pieces from the big screen side of the MCU, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Bloodline star Ben Mendelsohn is in talks to join Brie Larson in the cast of Captain Marvel, where he would play the film’s main Skrull villain [read our report here]; Thor: Ragnarok screenwriter Eric Pearson has heard “whispers” that Marvel is looking to restart its One-Shot series of short films [read his comments here]; and following the filmmaker’s recent criticism of the Marvel Studios model, Neil Calloway penned an op-ed entitled ‘Why David Fincher is Right and Wrong About Marvel’ [read it here]…
…Kevin Feige may have sidestepped a question about Inhumans this week, but IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond wasn’t holding back, admitting that they were disappointed by the quality of the finished product: “Going forward, we intend to take a more conservative approach consistent with the ‘Game of Thrones approach’ to capital investments and content,” said Gelfond. “We will be more conservative when considering whether to invest our own capital; and if so, to what extent. Customers expected a production akin to a mega-budget blockbuster movie, rather than pilots for a television show. Moreover, the fact that this was Marvel IP set the bar at a level you wouldn’t see from other pieces of content or IP because of the reputation and the high production value of Marvel movies.” Check out a promo for the seventh and penulimate episode of Inhumans ‘Havoc in the Hidden Land’ here…
…Now that The Punisher has a premiere date of November 17th, Netflix has unveiled a new poster for its next Marvel series featuring Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page [see here], along with a couple of batches of promotional images [see here and here]. Meanwhile, Netflix has also announced that Vincent D’Onofrio will be reprising the role of Wilson Fisk, a.k.a. The Kingpin, for the third season of Daredevil, which has also found itself a new showrunner in Erik Oleson (The Man in the High Castle, Arrow)…
…The Punisher isn’t the only Marvel show to look forward to next month, as Hulu is also set to debut Runaways, and a new trailer for the series arrived online this week, which you can watch here…
…Click below to continue on for, X-23, Deadpool 2, Gambit, Venom, The Gifted, Justice League, Shazam, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad 2, Deathstroke, Supergirl, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Gotham, Superman Lives and more…
