In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Inhumans, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Moon Knight, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Guardians of the Galaxy, Fantastic Four, Hellfire, Legion, X-Men: Apocalypse, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gotham, The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Batman: Bad Blood, DC Super Hero Girls, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash, The LEGO Batman Movie, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, The Boys, SuperMansion, Heroes Reborn and more…
After last week’s abridged version of The Week in Spandex it’s business as usual, and we’ll start things off with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and 2017’s Phase Three threequel Thor: Ragnarok; early in the week, it was rumoured that The Incredible Hulk would be joining the God of Thunder in the film, and now it’s been confirmed that Marvel is in final negotiations with Mark Ruffalo for a return as Bruce Banner, while both Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sify) are officially on board to join Chris Hemsworth’s for Thor’s third solo outing. Meanwhile, another rumour has suggested that the female warriors the Valkyries will feature in the movie, and that Marvel may use the film to introduce Brunnhilde, a.k.a. the superheroine Valkyrie…
…Heroic Hollywood’s El Mayimbe has been churning out a few more rumours this week; we’ll be hearing a little more from him later, but first up comes his claim/guess that Fruitvale Station and Creed director Ryan Coogler has emerged as Marvel’s pick to direct the Black Panther movie, which has recently had its release date pushed back to February 2018…
…With rumours of Marvel scrapping the Inhumans movie dismissed, Guardians of the Galaxy star Vin Diesel has once again hinted at a potential role in the film: “I can totally be something [else] with Marvel. I think playing that role only makes Marvel that much more excited and me having my experience with Marvel, seeing how great they were, makes me more excited. We’ve heard a lot of talk about Marvel wanting to have me play a character that doesn’t have my voice. So my voice is used for Groot and my presence is used for the other character.” Now, which character wouldn’t need his voice..?
…Ronda Rousey has been lobbying for the title role in Captain Marvel for a good few weeks now, and the UFC star turned actress has revealed she has a “plan” to nab the part of Carol Danvers: “I’m really looking forward to doing my first starring role opposite Mark Wahlberg [in Mile 22]. Hopefully by the time Captain Marvel comes around, I will have enough experience and skills in the field for them to really seriously consider me…”
…Rumour specialists Latino-Review are claiming to have the scoop on Rachel McAdams’ role in Doctor Strange, with the site reporting that the True Detective star is set to play the Christine Palmer incarnation of Night Nurse alongside Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Stephen Strange…
…Ant-Man opened in China on Thursday, where it will likely push its global haul towards the $500 million mark, and Marvel has kicked off the promotion for the home-entertainment release by debuting a new Blu-ray trailer, which features a voiceover from Michael Pena’s Luis and also gives us a glimpse at some of the special features, including deleted scenes and the gag reel. Watch the trailer here, along with a list of the special features..
…Marvel Television was at the New York Comic Con this past weekend to promote its Netflix shows, with Jessica Jones star Krysten Ritter posting a backstage image of her alongside fellow Defenders Charlie Cox (Daredevil) and Mike Colter (Luke Cage) [see here]; meanwhile, the panel offered up a couple of Jessica Jones tidbits, revealing that the classic Daredevil villain Nuke will make an appearance in the series, as well as announcing that Carrie-Anne Moss is playing a gender-swapped version of Jeryn Hogarth, a character with comic book ties to Iron Fist, who also happens to be a representative for the Heroes for Hire…
…During a promotional interview at NYCC, Mike Colter spoke a little about his role as Luke Cage, and the timeline between Jessica Jones and his own solo series: “I can tell you what they’ve allowed me to, which is basically, Luke Cage will take place a few months after Jessica Jones. So in real time, if you watch Jessica Jones, you’ll find [at the end] Luke Cage uptown in Harlem, working, trying to make ends meet. Luke Cage really hasn’t figured out what he’s doing. He’s tending bar, he’s bouncing around. And for good reason, he’s a fugitive, he has some skeletons in his closet. He’s trying to basically stay off the radar. The people he hangs around with, though, are in need. Ultimately, he’d rather be alone, but with the way he’s equipped he does step up. That’s what it’s about, it’s about finding that inner feeling to make you want to take action. Sometimes we just sit around, and sit on our hands and don’t do anything because it’s like ‘hey, that’s not my problem.’ You can’t do that when you’re a superhero. You have these gifts, now use them.” And if you want to hear audio of Colter saying Cage’s catchphrase “Sweet Christmas!”, you may want to click here…
…For those not fortunate enough to be in attendance at NYCC, the big Marvel news was the release of the first trailer for Daredevil season 2, which offers up our first look at two new characters in action in Jon Bernthal’s Punisher and Elodie Yung’s Elektra. If you’ve not seen it yet, or you just want to watch it again, you can do so here…
…Turning to the Netflix rumour mill now and Bleeding Cool is claiming that Marvel is going to pull the plug on Iron Fist (although it should be noted that their previous “scoop” about Marvel pulling the plug on the Inhumans turned out to be inaccurate), while El Mayimbe has suggested that Moon Knight is likely to make a Netflix appearance and that Marvel view him as “their version of Bruce Wayne.” This isn’t the first time there’s been talk of Moon Knight joining the MCU, but it also wouldn’t be the first time that Mayimbe was talking out of his ass in an effort to guess a scoop…
…In other Marvel Television news, you can check out Danny Hale’s review of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3 episode 4 ‘A Wanted (Inhu)man’ here, along with two promos and a batch of images for Tuesday’s upcoming fifth episode ‘Devils You Know’ here and here. Meanwhile, it’s also been announced that The Avengers star Powers Boothe is set for a return to the MCU, having been cast in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Gideon Malick, “a notorious man whose loyalties remain a mystery…”
…Disney XD has released a clip from this weekend’s episode of Guardians of the Galaxy, entitled ‘Can’t Fight This Seedling’, which sees the the Guardians trying to eliminate a virus from Groot before he is destroyed by Titus. Watch the clip here…
…Click below to continue on for Fantastic Four, Hellfire, Legion, X-Men: Apocalypse, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Gotham, The Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, Batman: Bad Blood, DC Super Hero Girls, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Cosmic Clash, The LEGO Batman Movie, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, The Boys, SuperMansion, Heroes Reborn and more…