Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige at Disney’s 2024 CinemaCon Presentation. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
Kevin Feige has given a wide-ranging interview about the state of Marvel.
He touched on the delays with ‘Blade’.
He also admitted that recent disappointments necessitated a change in thinking.
With the studio’s latest giant release –– and one of its biggest gambles in years on the way via ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’, Marvel boss Kevin Feige took the opportunity to address some of the topics that have been floating around, including recent underperforming movies and TV series under the Marvel Cinematic Universe, his own future (spoiler alert: he aims to stick around!) and more.
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Among the other subjects? The long-gestating and troubled development of a new ‘Blade’ movie, and his team’s new seven-year plan for new movies and shows and whether we’ll see actors from end credits cameos in the future.
(Left) Mahershala Ali attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images. (Right) Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’
Blade, the Daywalking half-human-half-vampire character most famously played by Wesley Snipes, was announced for a reboot back at 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con. Since then, it has been a drawn-out log of multiple script drafts, directors coming and going, different time periods considered and, all through it, Oscar winner Mahershala Ali staying attached to the lead role.
Here’s what Feige had to say about it:
“You can start and have a good script and make it a great script through production, but we didn’t feel confident we could do that on ‘Blade’. We didn’t want to do that to Mahershala and didn’t want to do that to us. we landed on modern day and that’s what we’re focusing on. We didn’t want to put a leather outfit on Mahershala and have him start killing vampires.”
Feige also joked that Ryan Coogler –– who is developing a third ‘Black Panther’ outing for the company –– added to the delay by utilizing some of the costumes the company had created for a Prohibition-era take on the story in his own recent hit, ‘Sinners’.
The executive also touched on complaints that the sheer output and deepened connectivity between the Disney+ MCU series and the big screen outings were feeling like homework and turning off viewers who hadn’t seen them, which in turn hurt the box office revenues of ‘The Marvels’ and ‘Thunderbolts*’:
“Some of them were still feeling the residual effects of that notion of, ‘I guess I had to have seen these other shows to understand who this is,’ I think if you actually saw the movie, that wouldn’t be the case, and we make the movie so that’s not the case. But I think we still have to make sure the audience understands that.”
According to Feige, the company has a seven-year plan to take it up to 2032, admitting that while he most much of it will stay on track, projects are on magnets on a board in a conference room so they can move around as necessary.
His answer wasn’t entirely convincing, but he took a stab at explaining the change:
“We had started even before what had happened to the actor happened, we had started to realize that Kang wasn’t big enough, wasn’t Thanos, and that there was only one character that could be that, because he was that in the comics for decades and decades. Because of the Fox acquisition, we finally had it, and it was Dr. Doom. So we had started talking about Dr. Doom even before we officially pivoted from Kang. And in fact, I had started talking with Robert [Downey Jr.] about this audacious idea before ‘Ant-Man 3’ even came out. It was a long plan that we had, to take one of our greatest characters and utilize one of our greatest actors.”
What’s next for Marvel?
As mentioned, ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ lands in theaters on Friday.
‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ has flopped at the domestic box office.
The $190 million–budgeted sequel earned less than $40 million, according to reports.
It fared better overseas, with $81.1 million.
The sequel to 2019’s ‘Joker’ is beginning to look less ‘Folie à Deux’ and more “Folly à Deux.”
Warner Bros. had previously had high hopes for the new movie, given that it reunited co-writer/director Todd Phillips with star Joaquin Phoenix, who had seen their original effort make more than $1 billion at the box office and score three Oscars from 11 nominations, including for Phoenix’s lead performance.
But while the marketing largely obscured the fact that the duo were taking their latest in a radically new direction –– i.e. making it a musical and diving even deeper into the emotional fragility and mental health of main character Arthur Fleck –– the audiences, at least domestically, simply didn’t show up, with estimates staking it around $39 million for its opening weekend.
That’s a far cry from the $96 million launch for the first movie.
The ‘Joker’ sequel finds Arthur (Phoenix) institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker.
While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love (with Lee Quinzel, played by Lady Gaga), but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.
How did the box office shape up for ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ domestically?
(L to R) Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux.’ Photo: Todd Phillips’ Instagram.
While we should at this point, make the note that the $39 million figure is still the estimate, even if it rises some, it’s still a huge disappointment.
The signs and portents were there –– very mixed reviews and then a dreadful audience reaction, with big drops between Friday and Saturday as poisonous word of mouth began to spread, and a horrendous D+ audience reaction score (to put that in context, Francis Ford Coppola’s widely maligned ‘Megalopolis’ managed a D.)
That financial result is worse than ‘The Marvels,’ which began its own faltering box office run with $46 million. But as Deadline points out, at least the ‘Joker’ sequel made more than the ‘Cats’ musical movie it its entire initial run.
What was the ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ box office worldwide?
Outside of the States, the figures were more in line with studio tracking; ‘Folie à Deux’ earned $81.1 million in 76 markets for a current global estimated total of $121.1 million. It still has China and Japan left to open, but no one is predicting big things from either country.
Perhaps the biggest issue is that Phillips, off the back of the first film’s success, was able to score a $190 million budget to make the film, with the studio gambling that having a name like Gaga attached would help broaden its appeal. Trouble was, ‘Joker’s core audience didn’t connect with the idea of a movie that is part courtroom drama, part musical.
By way of comparison, Brady Corbet managed to make a 3.5 hour movie (‘The Brutalist’, which has scored praise at festivals) for $6 million.
Phillips has said that he has no real interest in returning to the ‘Joker’ world; at this point, we doubt Warner Bros. has either.
Kelsey Grammer as “Haskel” in the war/action film, ‘Murder Company’, a Maverick Film & Complex Corp release. Photo courtesy of Maverick Film & Complex Corp.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with legendary actor Kelsey Grammer about his work on ‘Murder Company,’ his first reaction to the screenplay, his character, working with the young cast, and collaborating on set with director Shane Dax Taylor. Grammer also discussed reprising his role as Beast in ‘The Marvels’, how the make-up process has changed since ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ and if he will appear in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch what Grammer had to say about ‘Murder Company’.
Kelsey Grammer as “Haskel” in the war/action film, ‘Murder Company,’ a Maverick Film & Complex Corp release. Photo courtesy of Maverick Film & Complex Corp.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and why you wanted to be a part of this project and tell this specific story?
Kelsey Grammer: Well, joining any company usually means being invited, so they invited me, and then I went through it and gave it a cursory review at first. Then I thought, “Well, this seems kind of interesting,” so I went back to it and made the call to my guy and said, “What the hell, let’s set this up.” The only thing I found in the text, and this is not to point out anything, but my granddad was a World War II vet, and he never cursed in his life. There were a lot of four-letter words in the original script that I thought, “Well, my guy’s not going to say that stuff,” and they basically agreed. I spoke to the director, and he said that his granddad served with Patton. I said, “Do you remember him cursing a lot?” He said, “I don’t remember him doing it once.” I said, “That’s the guy this has to be.” Even though he may have an objection to what he’s being asked to do, he doesn’t express himself that way. It’s a different generation. Some of the soldiers, I think, do still talk that way. But to me it was important that I construct a character that still was that kind of a man.
MF: To follow up on something you just said, how often does it happen that you read a script and want to be involved in the project, but need to have a few things changed to make it work for you?
KG: It happens a lot. It happens all the time. What often happens is somebody will send me something and I’ll read it and I go, “Well, I liked it, but I don’t want to play that character. I want to play this other one.” Most of the time they’ll say, “Oh, that’s a great idea. We didn’t even think of it.” That’s happened a few times, and that’s more fun for me. I like to try to do stuff that isn’t a repeat of something I’ve done before. Granted, we stumble into things that are alike. I mean, I look like who I play all the time, and I don’t do a lot of big character makeup stuff except for Beast, but I tend to choose things that are outside of what I’ve done in the past.
(L to R) James Wiles as “Verrill” and Kelsey Grammer as “Haskel” in the war/action film, ‘Murder Company’, a Maverick Film & Complex Corp release. Photo courtesy of Maverick Film & Complex Corp.
MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing General Haskel and his role in assigning this mission to the platoon?
KG: It’s a little bit of a made-up thing for me. I mean, I know that this is historically at least inspired by facts on the ground. I have a friend whose grandfather was part of one of these platoons, that ended up being pasted together out of the first invading force and did some stuff behind enemy lines. He told me about that. It was dramatic stuff, and I think some of this is lifted from those stories. The approach to the character was just always keep it true. Keep it true to what you think they are, and who you think they are. This guy, I think, was a highly principled man who was asked to do some unprincipled things, but under the circumstance of war and the circumstance of the enemy they were fighting, they knew they had to win and do some things that maybe you wouldn’t do except in wartime.
MF: When you are playing an Army general, does the costume do a lot of the work for you?
KG: Yeah. One of the best things you learn early on when you’re starting, the first time you do a costume drama, pretty much your costume tells you who the character is. I learned in time. When I started to do a lot of Shakespeare, I would go into the first fitting and see what I was going to look like, and I thought, “Oh, well, there he is. There’s the character.” There is a lot to it. It’s playing dress-up in the end.
(L to R) Pooch Hall as “Coolidge” and William Moseley as “Southern” in the war/action film, ‘Murder Company,’ a Maverick Film & Complex Corp release. Photo courtesy of Maverick Film & Complex Corp.
MF: What was it like for you working with the rest of the cast and do you enjoy working with the next generation of actors?
KG: Well, so far so good. Listen, no one generation is immune from bad acting, but thank God, within every generation there are some good ones. I mean, arguably it’s an art form. Some people take shortcuts to it and think they can do it because it looks easy. The good ones make it look easy, but an art form is rarely something everybody can do. We may be overpopulated as a profession, but there are very few that do it well. When you get lucky enough to jump in with somebody who is good at it, it’s a real genuine experience and a joy. These guys were good.
MF: What was it like collaborating with director Shane Dax Taylor on set?
KG: Well, our first conversation was the one about our grandfathers, and it was simple. “Let’s not waste a lot of time.” That’s the way I like to work. Get in, get it over with, move on. Do a couple of takes if you need to. I mean, one of my favorite stories I repeat a lot is the John Huston story. The first take in ‘Prizzi’s Honor’, when there’s a big wedding scene. They shoot it once and he calls, “Cut, new deal.” Jack Nicholson turns to him and says, “Don’t you want to get one for coverage?” He said, “I’m not in the insurance business.” I like that. I like doing it once and moving on if you can.
(L to R) Lashana Lynch and Kelsey Grammer in ‘The Marvels’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: Finally, what was it like reprising your role as Dr. Henry McCoy (Beast) in ‘The Marvels’? Were you surprised to get the call and what was it like joining the MCU?
KG: Well, it was fantastic. The first one I did, they had a bicycle rack that was welded to a stanchion, that I stood there as they plastered my entire body. It was like four hours, and they said, “This is going to be a little bit difficult,” and it was, because after about an hour, I had absolutely no feeling in the lower quadrant of my body. I thought, “This is just weird.” When they took it off me, I couldn’t walk for a little bit. It was a very dramatic experience. The new one, I just went in, and they had a geodesic circle with a hundred cameras on it, and they all go off at the same time and they ask you not to blink. That’s almost impossible. It was fun to see this upgraded technology, because now what happened, when we did the latex and stuff, it looked that way. That was the process, but they would put all the plaster on and then it all became latex forms, and then they had made dozens of them for every day I was shooting. It would lay a lot between me and the camera, and now with the technology, it’s as though there’s a skin tone that’s blue. It’s radiant and translucent, and it makes the character, my character that’s shining through it, a little more available. It’s exciting to see. I watched the movie on a plane one day, and I was tired, so I drifted in and out, and toward the end of it I was just shot. I heard the voice of Beast, and it’s interesting. It’s a slightly different timbre than I’m used to hearing myself, and I went, “Whoa, wait a minute. I know that guy.” I realized it was me, of course. I caught a glimpse of it, and I thought, “Well, isn’t that something?” It came about just because they thought, “Well, you know what? We’re going to go back in time and bounce the universe around,” and I love that they have this creative outlook. The response was pretty much off the hook. People were like, “Whoa, it’s Beast.” It’s fun. Who knows? I’m certainly hopeful that we can maybe visit the role another time.
MF: I’m sure you can’t answer this question even if it is true, but I have to try. Will you be appearing in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’?
KG: No. I probably can’t tell you … but no.
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What is the plot of ‘Murder Company’?
During the D-Day invasion, a group of US soldiers are given orders to smuggle a member of the French resistance behind enemy lines to assassinate a high-value Nazi target.
William Moseley as “Southern” in the war/action film, ‘Murder Company,’ a Maverick Film & Complex Corp release. Photo courtesy of Maverick Film & Complex Corp.
Nia DaCosta may direct the second ‘28 Years Later’ movie.
Director Danny Boyle and writer Andrew Garland are overseeing the extended horror franchise.
The movie continues the story started in ‘2002’s 28 Days Later’.
Back in January, we learned that Danny Boyle and Alex Garland had finally started putting concrete plans in place to craft another follow up to zombie movie ‘28 Days Later’, after years of speculation.
Things have moved on since that initial news –– Sony Pictures has agreed to finance and distribute what is now planned as a trilogy of films, and Nia DaCosta, who has made the likes of ‘Little Woods’, 2019’s ‘Candyman’ and last year’s ‘The Marvels’, is in talks to direct the second movie in the three-film series.
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What’s the story of the ‘28 Days Later’ films so far?
Cillian Murphy in 2002’s ’28 Days Later.’ Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Released in 2002, ’28 Days Later’ starred Cillian Murphy as a bicycle courier Jim, who wakes up from a coma to discover that London –– and the world –– has been overtaken by a virus that turns its victims into rage-filled monsters who savage their victims.
While the “Z” word is never used, the Infected, for all their fast speed are certainly a take on the zombie genre.
‘28 Days Later’ was followed directly by 2007’s ‘28 Weeks Later’, which was directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, with Boyle and Garland only involved as executive producers.
The plot for ‘28 Years Later’ being kept under wraps for now, the title points to picking up the story decades after the original and seeing what has happened to the UK since then.
(Right) Director Alex Garland on the set of ‘Civil War.’ Photo: A24.
As of right now, the plan appears to be for Garland –– who, since the original, has gone on to quite the filmmaking career himself –– to write and produce all three movies.
Boyle, who is also a producer, is aboard to direct the first movie in the new trilogy.
According to Deadline’s new report, if DaCosta does indeed sign on, the strategy is for her to closely liaise with both Boyle and Garland so as to keep the storytelling consistent between all the movies, while also being given the freedom to put her own stamp on the look of the movie.
Murphy, who has yet to confirm whether he’ll appear in front of the camera, is certainly attached to be an executive producer on this one.
When will the first movie of the new ‘28 Years Later’ trilogy be in theaters?
With shooting taking aim at later this year, we don’t see this one releasing much before late 2025 at the earliest.
‘The Marvels’ opened to $47 million at the domestic box office.
Globally, the movie has made just $88 million.
The movie stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani.
The movie’s tagline read, “Higher. Further. Faster. Together.”, but the box office results for ‘The Marvels’ has sadly proved to be more “Lower. Slower. Alone.” It’s true: the latest release from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, once considered a license to print money, has cratered at the domestic and international box office.
‘The Marvels’, the sequel to 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel’ (which soared to $1.13 billion in total from its own worldwide release), has failed to capture the imaginations of audiences, and earned just $47 million domestically, with $88.5 million worldwide.
‘The Marvels’, directed by ‘Candyman’s Nia DaCosta, picks up the story of Carol Danvers, AKA Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) as she’s forced to face the consequences of her actions destroying the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree race.
A vengeful Kree leader, Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) has discovered a powerful weapon in her crusade to strike back against both Carol and the Kree’s ancient rivals, the Skrulls.
And the use of the weapon, plus some malfunctioning space transport portals is also affecting the powers of Carol, Monica Rambeau (who knew her as a child and who we met as an adult in ‘WandaVision’, played by Teyonah Parris) and Kamala Khan , AKA Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), causing them to trade places whenever they employ their abilities.
The result is a chaotic chase through space to stop Dar-Benn’s plan to wreak havoc on the Skrulls and humanity, one that also ropes in both Kamala’s family and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).
Critics are already pointing to a slightly confusing storyline, a need to have some knowledge of previous Marvels shows and movies to understand all the characters’ motivations (a common complaint with the MCU’s output) and a general feeling of superhero fatigue –– which has affected fellow superhero studio DC and others in the genre of late.
There’s also a disappointing notion that despite the movie being a fun, funny adventure, some sections of the audience were turned off by a film in the genre directed by a woman and starring three women.
Finally, the SAG-AFTRA strike meant that the stars couldn’t promote the movie until the night of release, all of which didn’t help its fate.
(L to R) Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3.’ Photo courtesy of Ryan Reynolds Instagram account.
A bad box office result is by no means the end of the MCU –– after all, Marvel titles have had issues before (the likes of the ‘Ant-Man’ series, for one have rarely big giant cinematic hits). But it will almost certainly mean a reconsideration of strategy and ideas moving forward, as has been seen with the company’s small screen output.
Long-delayed and awaited with trepidation by MCU fans, ‘The Marvels’ is far from the strongest entry in the franchise’s 33-film library. But it’s not unwatchably bad as rumored, either. There is some crisp action and moments that are inarguably funny and sweet, while other sequences will make one cringe and wonder who thought they were a good idea. Yet it does benefit from some solid performances, especially Iman Vellani in her big screen debut as Ms. Marvel – except that many more casual viewers may not even know who she is.
As ‘The Marvels’ opens, we are barraged with a bunch of material designed to catch us up, including a more or less complete recap of 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel.’ In addition to it being more than four years since that movie came out, ‘The Marvels’ tries to introduce us to two characters we’ve never seen on the big screen before: Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and the grown-up version of Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Both made their debuts via Marvel shows on Disney+ — ‘Ms. Marvel’ and ‘WandaVision’ respectively (Monica was a little girl in ‘Captain Marvel’) – and it’s a heavy lift to bank so much of this movie on audiences knowing who they are.
That’s because the emotional core of ‘The Marvels’ is supposed to be the relationship between these three superheroes, and while our three leads do share some excellent chemistry, it’s hard to feel emotionally invested in the way they come together, since we barely know two of them unless we’ve been tuning into their shows. The plot doesn’t offer them much room to develop either, especially Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel.
Instability in the space-time continuum – caused by the film’s villain, the Kree revolutionary Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), punching portals in said continuum – leads Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel, and Monica to all begin switching places with each other every time they use their light-based powers, thanks to “quantum entanglement” (where’s Hank Pym when you need him?). Tracing the problem back to Dar-Benn with the help of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his space-based S.A.B.E.R. squad, the three women learn that Dar-Benn is channeling her power through an ancient armband – the companion to a similar artifact around Kamala’s forearm.
Fueled by a hatred for Captain Marvel that’s rooted in the latter’s past, Dar-Benn hatches a plan that will allow her to take her revenge while also restoring vitality to her depleted Kree home world of Hala – unless the Marvels can stop her.
There have been numerous reports of trouble behind the scenes on ‘The Marvels,’ and watching the film does give one the sensation of watching a product that was patched together as best as possible and finally just let out into the world. It’s not bad exactly: it moves relatively quickly – almost too fast at points – and some of its best moments have a sense of fun that’s been lacking in some more ponderous MCU efforts. The title trio also have their moments, with Iman Vellani – who made such a sparkling screen debut on ‘Ms. Marvel’ – a standout and finding her footing after some early unsteadiness.
But the plot seems murky and half-formulated at times, with people and places coming and going and narrative threads either dropped abruptly or just fading away, victims of the surgery that may have whipped this into presentable form. There are also sequences that just don’t work, most notably a sojourn to a planet where all communication is done via song, an ill-conceived stab at a mini-musical that is just embarrassing.
With the exception of some in-your-face action scenes (including a climactic battle between the Marvels and the villain that does not, for once, involve massive objects falling out of the sky onto buildings), Nia DaCosta’s direction of ‘The Marvels’ feels anonymous, lacking the mood of her previous films ‘Little Woods’ and ‘Candyman.’ Again, it’s mostly the camaraderie of the three leads that makes individual scenes work and keeps ‘The Marvels’ entertaining despite its deep flaws.
As we’ve already been saying, Iman Vellani mostly makes good on the promise of her debut in ‘Ms. Marvel.’ Her initial scenes here are a little shaky, as she overemotes and screams, but she settles in and finds her groove, and is a delight from that point out. She is the audience point-of-view character: a Captain Marvel superfan (in other words, an MCU fan) who can’t believe the things she’s seeing and participating in alongside her idol. It’s a warm, sweet, and charming performance.
Teyonah Parris’ no-nonsense Monica Rambeau is the other standout, also giving an empathetic performance while conveying a strong sense of the powerful woman behind the light blasts. As for Brie Larson, we’ve always felt that she was possibly miscast as Carol Danvers; we still feel that way. While she has moments that are quite effective, there are times when we’re not sure what she’s doing: a blank, wide-eyed expression frequently comes over her face. In the end, while she interacts well with her partners, Larson just doesn’t have – and perhaps never had – the gravitas that this powerful being requires.
As for the rest of the cast, British actor Zawe Ashton has a wicked grin and blazing eyes as Dar-Benn (in the comics, a male villain so obscure that he was killed after appearing in two books), but she doesn’t get to do a whole lot except fight and hold out her hammer (which is bigger than Mjolnir). Samuel L. Jackson collects his check as a somewhat cutesier Nick Fury, while Zenobia Shroff is as excellent here as she was in ‘Ms. Marvel’ as Kamala’s mom Muneeba.
The editing on “The Marvels” must have been a challenge for its two editors, Evan Schiff and Catrin Hedström. On one hand, some of the action sequences – especially the hand-to-hand combat between the Marvels, Dar-Benn, and her Kree minions, as the three heroes constantly swap places – are kinetic and surprisingly intimate, getting right up close into the action. But other parts of the film feel cut to the very bone, if not beyond, with the plot feeling less like a coherent narrative and more like just a choppy string of events. Plot points and characters get hustled on and offscreen like Oscar winners on a particularly overlong show.
Cara Brower’s production design is equally bifurcated, with some of the space-based imagery looking like it jumped off a sci-fi magazine cover, while a lot of the story takes place on Carol’s cramped ship and anonymous hallways in both Dar-Benn’s vessel and Nick Fury’s orbital headquarters. Aside from the cosmic stuff and some colorful costumes in the otherwise ill-advised Aladna sequence, there isn’t much that jumps out as compared to other Marvel movies. The visual effects, such a thorn in Marvel’s side these past few years, are…okay. Some of the imagery crackles and looks sharp, while other scenes (particularly an attack on a Skrull refugee camp) look cheaper and flimsier by comparison.
Finally, Laura Karpman’s music has grandeur but lacks identity. Like other aspects of this movie, it harkens back to a different generation of franchise films and doesn’t have much in the way of a singular theme or motif to make it leap out to the forefront. Like much in “The Marvels,” it seems generic.
What Does ‘The Marvels’ Mean For The MCU’s Future?
Without getting into spoilers, there are seeds planted by ‘The Marvels’ – especially in the tag before the credits roll and a rather mind-blowing mid-credits scene – that are sure to get fans fired up and speculating wildly about what’s next. As well they should: both scenes herald interesting new developments in the MCU. Beyond that, however, it’s difficult to say what comes next for Captain Marvel herself and her place in the Marvel firmament.
Brie Larson has made her disillusionment with the vicious toxicity surrounding the role very apparent (and good for Marvel for ignoring all that nonsense and giving this movie four female leads), and with “The Marvels” being for most of its length a fairly self-contained story, it’s hard to see what a third “Captain Marvel” would look like. On the other hand, would Larson be willing to play a supporting, mentor-like role to a very different team of Avengers? Like many members of the MCU’s current roster, Carol Danvers’ future doesn’t have a clear path in front of it.
Final Thoughts
‘The Marvels’ is by no means the catastrophe that online rumors and industry buzz have made it out to be. It’s got some terrific attributes, including the presence of Iman Vellani, the chemistry between the three leads, its unrepentant “girl power” message, compact pacing and a sense of fun. But a lot of it feels patched together, some of the humor falls flat, and it demands a lot of viewers who may not be up on all the Marvel shows on Disney+. Whether it represents the MCU managing to maintain a certain amount of quality control during a tough time or a new lower standard for the studio is not yet clear.
‘The Marvels’ receives 6 out of 10 stars.
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What is the plot of ‘The Marvels’?
Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), known in the universe as Captain Marvel, suddenly finds herself switching places physically with her superpowered niece Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) and an equally powerful teen named Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani). They trace the anomaly back to a villainous Kree leader (Zawe Ashton) who harbors a deep hatred for Carol and nefarious plans for worlds throughout the cosmos.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Marvels’?
Brie Larson (‘Fast X’) as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
Iman Vellani (‘Ms. Marvel’) as Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel
The movie stars Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris reprising their MCU roles as Carol Danvers, Kamala Khan, and Monica Rambeau, respectively, and was directed by Nia DaCosta (‘Candyman’).
(Left) ‘The Marvels’ director Nia DeCosta. (RIght) ‘The Marvels’ executive producer Mary Livonas.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of sitting down in-person with director Nia DaCosta and executive producer Mary Livonas (‘WandaVision’) to talk about their work on ‘The Marvels.’
They discussed the new movie, the challenges of crafting a ‘Captain Marvel’ sequel that also includes elements from ‘Ms. Marvel’ and ‘WandaVision,’ introducing Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau to the big screen, working with Brie Larson, navigating the “Marvel System,” the most difficult scene to shoot, and what fans can expect from breakout character Goose.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews with DeCosta, Livonas, and composer Laura Karpman.
Moviefone: To begin with, Nia, can you talk about the challenges as a filmmaker of coming into direct a sequel that is also drawing on storylines from the TV series ‘Ms. Marvel’ and ‘WandaVision,’ as well as the 32 previous MCU movies? Was it difficult to find the right tone?
Nia DaCosta: Weirdly, the tone was one of the easiest things. It came naturally. I really wanted this to have a very specific tone because it’s a very different kind of film, we have these three heroes together, and it was important to me that it was funny. I wanted a lot of the humor to not necessarily come from jokes, but to come from just the warmth and the reality of the characters. So, the Khan family are just so funny, because their youngest member is a superhero and they’re like, “We’re from Jersey City. What are you talking about?” Then Carol being jaded, and Monica having her experience and her way of dealing with the craziness of everything that’s going on. So, tone was important to me and the thing that came most naturally.
MF: Mary, as a producer, was it difficult working with Marvel to keep track of all the continuity?
Mary Livonas: Well, what’s been so great is that this is a team-up that’s been in the works for a very long time. I was fortunate to work on the first ‘Captain Marvel’ movie, and it was a definite decision to make Monica Rambeau the age that she was in that installment because it took place in the past. Because we knew that we wanted Carol and Monica to one day share the big screen together. Then of course when ‘Ms. Marvel’ came up as a possibility for a Disney+ show and that show was developed and came out, it was an awesome experience to work in lockstep with that team to understand what foundation they were laying. But what’s wonderful is that the notion of a team-up is so ingrained in the DNA of Marvel Comics that to put it on screen felt natural for us. Again, I was lucky enough to work on ‘WandaVision,’ so continuing that story thread was also wish fulfillment and a blast to do. Really this is a team up movie unlike anything that we’ve seen before in Marvel. We’ve had the adventures, but this is a team-up movie that stands on its own two feet.
MF: For both of you, what was it like to have the opportunity to introduce Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau to the big screen?
ND: It was so fun. It was so great. Especially because I love ‘Ms. Marvel.’ Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite characters in the comics, and I really loved meeting Monica Rambeau in ‘WandaVision.’ So, being able to bring them onto the big screen and do more with them and throw them into a much bigger scenario than they’d been in in the TV shows was really cool.
ML: What’s great is just the ability to celebrate the incredible performances and the characters that Teyonah and Iman have helped develop and introduce them to a larger audience. What’s wonderful about this film and this installment is the notion that together we’re more than the sum of our parts and we certainly find that in the case of ‘The Marvels.’
MF: Mary, what was it like for you to collaborate with director Nia DaCosta on this project?
ML: It’s been awesome helping bring Nia’s vision to life and creating this story together. She’s not just wickedly cool, but she’s a total nerd. When we first met, we just gushed about all the characters that we love for hours. So, to make the movie alongside someone who’s as passionate, with a fellow fan was a joy. I can say the same about our crew members, but Nia is just such a talent and a force. Of course, she helped write on this as well and we’re lucky to have her talent.
MF: Nia, I understand that you’re a big of fan Marvel Comics. How did your knowledge of these characters and the Marvel universe uniquely qualify you to direct this movie?
ND: I think it was less the knowledge, and more my passion for it. I was really excited by it, and I think because I was a fan, it helped me to put trust into the Marvel system, even when I was like, “Oh my God, I would never do this usually.” It helped in that way. Also, just from day to day, being able to have people on wires, flying around and introduce characters that I really love from the comics, that was so fun. So that’s helpful, just in terms of keeping the passion alive.
MF: Can you expand on your experience working with the “Marvel System?” What was that like for you as a filmmaker?
ND: Yeah, it’s interesting because this is one movie in a huge line of films that have come before and will come after, and television shows, and they’re making so much more now, so it was interesting having to navigate and communicate between projects. For the most part, we got to do what we wanted to do, but you always are in a constant conversation with everyone, with Kevin Feige, with the ‘Ms. Marvel” show. Asking about the things coming after, trying to figure out information like, “Have you figured out what you’re doing with that yet? Because that will influence whether or not I have this in this scene.” So, it’s so different, but it was also a fun challenge.
MF: What’s it like having actress Brie Larson as number one on your call sheet? What kind of tone does she set on the set?
ND: Well, she’d done ‘Captain Marvel’, she’d done ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ which is obviously one of the biggest movies of all time, not even just because of how successful it was, but just the making of it. So, she was an old hand. She really came in with so much information and a desire to help everyone else and have a good experience. When we initially talked, we both agreed this should be a joyful experience and fun, and she wanted everyone to have a good time. It’s really demanding on actors physically and emotionally doing this kind of movie. You’re on wires, you’re working a lot, so she was a great leader in that sense.
ML: Brie’s an incredibly giddy, fun-loving person who brings such earnestness and compassion to the role as well as on set. She really helped lead the charge and make sure that the environment was a chill, fun one.
MF: Nia, was there one scene or sequence in particular that was especially difficult or challenging to shoot?
ND: Not extremely, but that first big set piece that we have with the switching and the fighting. So that was a big challenge of figuring out the switching, and who’s where when, where are they going, where are they coming from, and what side do we show. Once we got through that big challenge, it really helped us to have an easier time with the rest of the film. So that, I think, would be probably the most challenging. But also, the most informative.
MF: Finally, Goose was the breakout star of ‘Captain Marvel,’ what can fans expect from the character in ‘The Marvels?’
ND: Goose just has the best time in this film, and I think she is the fourth Marvel. She’s the star of the film. So, I think there’s a lot of exciting stuff with Goose in this movie.
ML: Goose continues to be as chaotic as Goose has ever been and as audiences have seen quick glimpses of, there are more Flerkens afoot. Rizzo is the US-based Goose, but we had Nemo and Tango with us in the UK. They are very exclusive celebrities who have very regimented training schedules. They’re awesome to work with. Incredibly talented, beautiful souls.
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What is the plot of ‘The Marvels’?
While investigating a wormhole linked to the Kree, Monica Rambeau’s (Teyonah Parris) powers become entangled with those of Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Carol Danvers (Brie Larson). The trio team up to determine why they are swapping places with each other every time they use their powers.
Who is in the cast of ‘The Marvels’?
Brie Larson (‘Fast X‘) as Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel
Kevin Feige at the world premiere of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’ at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood CA on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
The last few years have not been kind to San Diego’s huge celebration of all things pop culture, Comic-Con. Despite a high point in the early-mid 2000s where massive crowds showed up to hear about new developments in franchises such as ‘Twilight’ and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the view of the event as a premium launching point for new movies and TV shows has taken a hit more recently.
And the COVID pandemic, which saw the 2020 and 2021 versions of the event reduced to a sparse virtual shadow of its former self, didn’t help.
But while hopes were raised by a largely triumphant return last year (including the traditional big panel from Marvel announcing its upcoming slate and trotting out stars and creators to generate buzz), it appears that the biggest issue on Hollywood’s mind will now have an impact on which companies are bringing anything to the event.
Writers’ strike delays
Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’
According to a new story in The Wrap, Marvel in particular has decided to make this a skip year, deciding not to bring any of its shows or movies to the huge Hall H space where it has traditionally been a highlight of the four-day event. It will still, however, have a presence on the trade show floor of the Con.
While the studio has not shown up before (or had a reduced presence due to it saving some big reveals for parent company Disney’s own D23 event, which falls after the July dates of the Con), the writers’ strike is reportedly behind the new move.
And it’s not just the writers –– acting union SAG-AFTRA has yet to make its own deal with the studios, and that could mean talent on strike, unavailable to take the stage since they a forbidden from promotional duties while engaged in industrial action. Which would put a dampener even on projects Marvel could conceivably promote, including ‘Captain Marvel’ sequel ‘The Marvels’.
President & CEO of Discovery Streaming & International JB Perrette. Photograph by Jeff Kravitz/Warner Bros. Discovery.
Marvel is not alone in this decision, as The Wrap additionally mentions that Universal and HBO are among the other names mentioned as pondering whether to show up this year.
HBO is perhaps understandable, since its own parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery is on a serious cost-cutting run (including news that it is exploring licensing big HBO series for viewers to watch on Netflix to drum up extra revenue) and would not want to splash the cash to bring talent to the Con when hotel accommodation and other expenses would be extremely high. And, like Marvel, the companies are also seeing projects being pushed back because of the strike.
Comic-Con is still scheduled to run between Thursday July 20 and Sunday July 23, but it sounds like its impact will be smaller this year.
(L to R) Louis D’Esposito and Kevin Feige at the world premiere of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’ at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood CA on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages.
Even as it continues its habit of shifting some movies (such as the upcoming ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’) to Disney+ as a lure for subscribers, Disney is still seeing big box office for its major releases (if a little lower for, say, recent Marvel and Pixar movies).
So, the company –– which of course boasts those two big franchises plus Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight under its giant banner –– is expectedly touting the huge success of ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ and pointing to all the films it has headed our way this year.
Tony Chambers, the company’s head of theatrical distribution led the presentation, highlighting the fact that this year marks the first time since 2019 that they are releasing movies from all seven labels.
The show kicked off with a new clip from a certain incoming Marvel release…
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
Marvel Studio’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3.’ Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.
And the mention of ‘Guardians’ was understandably small given that the movie will be in theaters next week (May 5th, to be exact), with just a new clip shown to the audience at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The footage features Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and the different version of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) we met in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ on a planet in space suits. “I know you don’t remember any of it. You were everything to me, I miss you so much.,” he tells her, pouring out his heart. The funny kicks in with the rest of the gang –– Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) –– revealed to be listening to Peter’s expression of love.
The focus on Marvel continued with the recently released trailer for ‘The Marvels’, though that of course had already been seen. Expect more from that one and other MCU titles when Comic-Con rolls around this summer.
Following that, it was on to Disney’s main animated arm…
Disney Feature Animation has the original fantasy film ‘Wish‘ headed our way later this year. Though the movie was originally announced at last year’s D23, Disney has been drip-feeding information ever since, and CinemaCon is no exception.
The movie, which is also a musical comedy, introduces Asha (Ariana DeBose), a sharp-witted idealist who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force — a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star set out to prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. All with the help of Asha’s goat pal Valentino (voiced by current animation lucky charm Alan Tudyk).
A clip was shown, featuring DeBose’s character singing one of her featured tunes, ‘So I Made This Wish’ –– aka the ‘I Want’ song so traditional to Disney princesses with some beautiful sky and scenery around that elicited applause from the crowd.
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And Chambers also announced that Chris Pine is part of the voice cast, playing King Magnifico, the ruler of Rosas, a magical kingdom where wishes really do come true.
Said Jennifer Lee, DWA boss and co-writer of the movie about Pine in a press release from the studio,
“As the most powerful person in the kingdom, King Magnifico needed to be played by someone who could give all the charm, cleverness and charisma to this magnanimous character, and Chris is beautifully bringing all of that and then some.”
‘Wish’, directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, will be in theaters on November 22nd, filling the traditional Disney Thanksgiving slot.
Melissa McCarthy arrived on stage to talk up Rob Marshall’s live action/CG re-imagining of the fairy tale so famously brought to animated life by Disney in 1989. While Halle Bailey plays the titular Ariel, McCarthy is scheming sea witch Ursula.
Here’s what McCarthy had to say about her character.
“Did someone say my name… I had something in my throat. It was an honor to play one of Disney’s most delicious and iconic villains. You can’t help but love her. Ursula is everything — she’s dishy, she’s a conniving broad, maybe that’s why I relate to her.”
McCarthy cued up a new clip from the movie, which fittingly featured her character in the sequence where Ursula grants Ariel’s wish to become a human, and Ursula’s song ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’.
Despite the less-than-stellar results from ‘Lightyear’, Disney continues to see Pixar as a pillar of its schedule, and demonstrated that belief with 20 minutes of impressive, 3D footage from the upcoming ‘Elemental’.
As for the story, it transports us to Element City, where a host of elements live and work. The trailer showcases each element — air, earth, water and fire — and what sets them apart according to Ember Lumen (Lewis), a quick-witted and fiery woman who’s always stayed close to home in Firetown. She finally ventures out of her comfort zone to explore and meets go-with-the-flow water guy Wade Ripple (Athie). Elements are not supposed to mix, but Ember and Wade forge a connection – one that could cause problems for them and their families.
‘Elemental’ will close out this year’s Cannes Film Festival before arriving in theaters on June 16th.
The movie follows the American Samoa soccer team, infamous for their brutal 31-0 FIFA loss in 2001. With the World Cup Qualifiers approaching, the team hires down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) hoping he will turn the world’s worst soccer team around. The underdog comedy heads to theaters November 17th, and you can watch the trailer below.
Kenneth Branagh’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation sees his Hercule Poirot headed to the floating city, where there are terrifying goings-on.
A first trailer was shown for the movie, which unlike most of the other footage shown today, has gone online.
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This time, a disconsolate Poirot finds himself at a Halloween party in one of the city’s creepier palazzos during a thunderstorm and, as it turns out, a seance. This palazzo is an orphanage, you see, and like all orphanages in ghost stories it’s got a deep, dark secret. A mother searching for a lost child thinks she can make contact through a medium, and over the course of an evening secrets start to unravel.
As was the case with Branagh-Poirot’s last two cases, the cast is stacked: Michelle Yeoh –– or, to give her her full title, Best Actress Oscar-winner and all-round goddess Michelle Yeoh –– will be that medium, Joyce Reynolds, and the cast also includes Jamie Dornan, Tina Fey, Camille Cottin and Jude Hill, who played the nine-year-old lead in Branagh’s ‘Belfast’.
Next was the first look footage and trailer for 20th Century Studios’ ‘The Creator’, the new sci-fi thriller from ‘Godzilla’ director Gareth Edwards.
Retitled from ‘True Love’, the movie finds humans facing off against robots.
In the trailer shown to audiences, John David Washington is reflecting on heaven with his wife and daughter. The daughter is an android, with a half-head. Gorgeous battle scenes akin to Edwards’ ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story‘ see spaceship fighters attacking tropical locales. It looks astonishing and will hopefully arrive online before too long.
‘The Creator’ will land in theaters on September 29th.
Chambers closed out the presentation by introducing a video greeting from Indy himself –– AKA Harrison Ford, who praised the latest movie and cued up an action-packed clip.
The sneak peek showed Indiana Jones and his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) bickering with each other as they dodge gunfire and slow-moving camels in a bazaar in Tangier. As an army of mooks chases them, they chase after the Nazi Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who has the Dial in his possession. But Helena and Indy don’t seem to be on the same page when it comes to the dial. Helena is engaged to an unscrupulous man who wants the dial to make a fortune, and she has her own reasons for wanting to make the sale. Indy wants the dial because, presumably, it belongs in a museum.
And while Helena has the most death-defying moment in the scene as she jumps onto Jurgen’s car, Indy isn’t taking it easy as he drives a small cart through narrow streets and reaches out to grab the dial without getting shot by Jurgen’s right-hand man, Klaber, played by Boyd Holbrook.
The clip got a rousing reaction from theater owners, and ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny‘ is headed to Cannes before landing in theaters on June 30th.
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And that was it for the main presentation, though the company had one final treat up its sleeve –– a screening of new Stephen King adaptation ‘The Boogeyman’. That one will be scaring audiences in theaters from June 2nd.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’
Though we’re sure he’d prefer to keep everything under wraps until he’s fully ready to reveal them, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is sometimes called upon to sit down and discuss future plans for movies (and, increasingly, TV series) adapted from Marvel Comics into the sprawling, endlessly evolving chain of entertainment known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The release of a new movie, in this case ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’, is one of the occasions where Feige meets the press. And he was typically enthusiastic about this latest outing and his team’s future ideas.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Big Bad: Why Jonathan Majors?
Asked about the reasons for casting Jonathan Majors in the latest ‘Ant-Man‘ adventure (which led to multiple roles across different projects, including last year’s ‘Loki’ Season 1), Feige was clear on the choice of the actor for the new main villain.
Feige says, “For years, we’ve always had the inkling that Kang would be an amazing follow-up to Thanos. He’s got that equal stature in the comics, but he’s a completely different villain. Mainly, that’s because he’s multiple villains. He/s so unique from Thanos, which we really liked. And in the early days of ‘Quantumania’ [test audiences], Jonathan started to pop in a big way. He’s the highest-testing villain we’ve ever had in any of our friends and families [screenings]. That’s really saying something with a movie like this. Even early on without the effects, Jonathan is his own effect. He was working from the start. It’s always one of the fun rolls of the dice that we do at Marvel, which is to say: ‘Hey, we’re going to make multiple movies around this character, and we’re going to start before the audience has even had a chance to meet him.’ We really go all in on these ideas and this casting. It was a big relief when the season ender of ‘Loki’ season 1 happened.”
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What is Spider-Man’s future?
While ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ seemed to wrap up the Tom Holland story, Feige also confirmed that there are more Spider-plans bubbling away at Marvel HQ. It’s early days, but here’s what he admitted,
“All I will say is that we have the story. We have big ideas for that, and our writers are just putting pen to paper now.”
(L to R) Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman discuss Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool 3.’ Photo courtesy of Ryan Reynolds YouTube channel.
Feige also talked up Hugh Jackman’s surprising return to the role of Wolverine for ‘Deadpool 3’, announced last year by the movie’s star, Ryan Reynolds.
The executive is clear on his joy at having Jackman back, especially given their connected history, since Feige worked on the ‘X-Men’ movies when 20th Century Fox had the rights.
Comments Feige, “It’s amazing. And we’ve got Hugh Jackman coming back for our first ‘Deadpool’ film within the MCU. That’s our first R-rated film. To have Hugh come back is incredible. For me, personally, that is where I started. I remember sitting behind the camera—well behind the camera—at his audition for the [first ‘X-Men’] film. It was his first on-set audition, and he flew up to Toronto to do a read with Anna Paquin. For him, and for me, and I think for all of the fans of Marvel, it’s unbelievable what has happened in those 23 years. It’s very full circle having him come back in this new ‘Deadpool’ film.”
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Marvel Studios’ ‘The Marvels’ opens in theaters on July 28, 2023.
What makes ‘The Marvels’ work?
One of Marvel’s exciting titles this year is ‘The Marvels’, the sequel to 2019’s ‘Captain Marvel’, which introduced Brie Larson’s powerful character Carol Danvers.
Directed by Nia DaCosta, the new film finds Carol interacting with Kamala Khan (AKA Ms. Marvel, introduced in her own eponymous Disney+ series last year) and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau, the adult version of the character introduced as a child in ‘Captain Marvel’, but seen as an adult in ‘WandaVision’ when she also gained super powers.
Feige can’t wait for audiences to see the interactions between the three women.
He comments, “That’s what the entire movie is about. There are fun cosmic elements to it. Marvel comic fans will recognize elements of the Kree-Skrull war. And it’s picking up directly after the end of ‘Captain Marvel’, not in timeline but in story. We also do that in our upcoming Disney+ series ‘Secret Invasion’, and those are two very different follow-ups to that movie. Tonally, they couldn’t be more different. But there’s something immensely powerful about seeing Monica and Kamala and Carol together in a frame. To me, it’s only akin to the first ‘Avengers’ movie and seeing the six of them together in a frame. It’s chill-inducing. They’re so great together, and they all have different histories with one another.”
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Marvel Studios’ ‘Captain America: New World Order.’
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Where does Harrison Ford fit in to Captain America’s future?
Further down the production line is ‘Captain America: New World Order’, which will bring the new Captain America––AKA Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson––to theaters following his assuming the mantle properly in ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’. Mackie’s character will be interacting with a new President of the United States, embodied by an established character with a different face. That would be Thaddeus Ross, formerly played by the late William Hurt and now to be brought to screens by Harrison Ford.
Feige was effusive about the new casting choice…
“We start filming relatively soon. I’m sure anyone you’ve ever talked with about Harrison Ford says this, but it’s unbelievable that we get to meet and talk with him and that he’s embracing this role. He’s tireless with the amount of work that he does. This is certainly a big part for Thaddeus Ross. He’s the president of the United States in the film. And with Harrison, you think about ‘Air Force One’ and you think about some of his confrontations with the president in ‘Clear and Present Danger’, There’s a dynamic between President Ross and Sam Wilson. They have a history together, but in this film, we’ll be seeing the dynamic between Captain America and the president of the United States in a way that is just incredible.”
Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade.’
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What has become of Blade?
There was also good news for fans of Daywalking half-vampire/half-human her ‘Blade’, whose own movie hit some creative road bumps last year when original director Bassam Tariq walked away due to creative differences and script issues.
From the sounds of it, ‘Blade’, starring Mahershala Ali as the main character, is back on track, with Feige offering that it’ll start shooting within the next 10 weeks.
And finally, Feige dropped a hint that we might finally learn more about his company’s plans for ‘Fantastic Four’, with the famous characters finally aiming to enter the MCU in 2025 via a movie directed by ‘WandaVision’s Matt Shakman.
According to Feige, “’Fantastic Four’ is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics. There’s certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that’s something that is really exciting for us. People will start to hear more about that soon. We plan on that being a big pillar of the MCU going forward, just the way they’ve been in the comics for 50 or 60 years.”
