I can't speak for Direckshun, but I'm assuming he was referring to Ant-Man and the Wasp as the lead-in, since it ended with the snap and provided the deus ex machina they used to ultimately defeat Thanos.

In somewhat related news, Marvel is evidently planning on introducing "A-Force", an all female team of Avengers. Which should really come as no surprise to no one.

Link

Team is expected to include She-Hulk (starting as a series on Disney+), Captain Marvel, Valkyrie, Jane Foster's Mighty Thor, Ms Marvel (another Disney+ series) and maybe Miss America (would fill both a Latin American and LGBTQ demo...).

That was a sequel to a smaller 1st movie, so it's still apples to undersea boulders.

I get that you're trying to prove a point, but if Marvel had intended for either Black Panther or Captain Marvel to act as a lead-in to the climax of Phase 3, then I think they would have given either or both of the characters a substantial role in either Infinity War or Endgame. And they did not. So if they were lead-in movies for anything, it's Phase 4, when they become the new Avengers.

Now, did they put their release date in a window where the two Avengers movies might boost their box office numbers? Absolutely.

And they did the same thing for Ant Man and the Wasp, which is the only movie we're talking about here that actually was a lead-in to either Infinity War or Endgame.

In fact, if we are comparing apples to undersea boulders, you've managed to reverse the two. Because Ant Man and the Wasp is the only one that actually fits the argument you were trying to make, as a movie definitively leading up to Endgame, whereas the two much more successful moves were not. They actually had to shoe-horn a larger presence for both Captain Marvel and Black Panther into the movies later, because their box-office numbers so far exceeded their expectations. And both characters still had minimal roles.

I'm not sure why you're making me repeat the obvious, but here goes.


First female lead/First black lead

v.

Sequel to small first movie.


Panther right before Infinity War #1 a/k/a lead up movie
Marvel right before Infinity War #2 a/k/a lead up movie
A & W stuck in between Infinity War #1 and Marvel, thus NOT a lead up movie

And, obviously, you're still trying to make his argument about the second Ant man movie, when his post named the first.

Ant-Man & the Wasp absolutely was a lead-in movie. You don't have Endgame without that flick. And like I said, Cap & Black Panther lapped that film.

You're not entirely wrong in your points though, but you think those points are some kind of excuses, rather than doing what Marvel was made to do: give audiences what they want. Marvel made something in those two movies that you're portending doom about that audiences wanted to see. Audiences wanted to see a female lead wreck shit. There was a huge desire to see a nonwhite lead as well after a decade of Hero's Best Friend.

But you're completely discounting the fact that those movies, especially Black Panther, were actually super good. I can hear arguments about Captain Marvel, but Thor 2 it was not.

Is the movie going to be appealing to audiences? Will it deliver something they'll want?
Is the movie good?

Both movies answered the bell, and I suspect will continue to do so. And let's face it, the white dudes that are predicting that all this diversity will collapse the MCU inward are wrong. Diversity won't collapse it, crappy movies, if and when they come, will.

A preview of Phase 4 -

https://youtu.be/hFRDkSR2OEo


(is anyone else having problems embedding videos?)

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Ant-Man and the Wasp was not a true lead in movie...but it's post credit scene was. The post credit scene completely sets up Endgame. Nothing else about the movie sets up anything at all.

Diversity will not crash the MCU, but too much politics and political correctness will. Captain Marvel and Black Panther both kept pc to a relative minimum and were released at optimum spots on the calendar with no competition. Ant-Man and the Wasp was released in July with much heavier competition after a lot of folks had spent their movie budget on earlier blockbusters.

Black Panther was excellent. Captain Marvel was okay---I put it about middle of the pack, maybe slightly lower. My daughter loved Captain Marvel though, showing that different demographics can view movie quality differently...and as long as Marvel can continue to speak with different demographics in the individual character movies and remain profitable, all will be good. The key is to make sure the tentpole movies...The Avengers, etc., appeal to all of the demographics, especially the nerd fans. The nerd fans are the ones who went and saw Endgames 7-8 times in theatres and pushed it over the top.

Moviegoers have shown time and time again that they don't particularly care for politics in their popcorn movies. People expect politics when the go see All the Presidents Men, they don't expect to see politics when they go see the Avengers.

Feige and Marvel have earned enough trust that they can go off the beaten path for sure. I also believe that Feige and Marvel are smart enough to course correct should they wade too deep into the pool of politics.

Marvel made Guardians of the Galaxy work. If they can do that, they can do it with pretty much any Marvel property. They just have do it in the right way.

Blade

Some new-ish talk about Phase 4. Some potential spoilers, maybe?

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Cool look back at Easter eggs from Endgame

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I've heard that the Russo Brothers are extremely interested in returning for Secret Wars, but that's at least 5 years away.

Nice. Just open up the checkbook and let them have at it. After their work so far, I have no doubts that they would kill it.

The original Secret Wars in the early 80's is what made me a Marvel fan. Would absolutely love to see what the Russo's could do with that story, but they would have to introduce a TON of characters between now and then, particularly on the cosmic side.

Don't get me all worked up thinking of the possibilities over here, Dane. Lol

I'm not well-versed in Marvel comic book lore although I do remember reading Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman, Iron Man and the original Avenger comics in the early 70's.

Anyway, there are a ton of upcoming new movies and TV series that will introduce new characters but I have no idea which characters would have appeared in Secret Wars. So, off the top of my head:

1. Moon Knight (Disney+)
2. She Hulk (Disney+)
3. Hawkeye & his daughter (Disney+)
4. Loki (Disney+)
5. Falcon & The Winter Soldier (Disney+)
6. WandaVision (Disney+)
7. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Theatrical)
8. Jane Foster-the new Thor (Theatrical)
9. The Eternals (Theatrical)
10. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (Theatrical)
11. Ant Man 3 (Theatrical)
12. Thor 4: Love & Thunder (Theatrical)
13. Captain Marvel 2 (Theatrical)


I'm sure that some of those projects will introduce new characters but I have no idea whether or not they play a role in The Secret War.

One thing I've heard from a few people is that Sam isn't going to be Captain America in their new TV series because that mantle has been taken over by US Agent, a character I know nothing about and so far, there's been no leak about casting, so I'm not sure how solid the info is at this point.

But from the very first time of seeing Endgame, I realized that they could bring back Steve Rogers to his present-day body by using their time machine to allow time to flow through him, like it did for Ant-Man, and seamlessly re-integrate him into the MCU.

I hope that happens at some point because the MCU won't be the same without Tony Stark let alone, without both Stark and Steve Rogers.

In case people weren’t aware, Wyatt Russell is set to star as US Agent John Walker in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

He’s Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn’s son and he’s 6’2.

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Tatiana Maslany is your new She-Hulk.

I don't know much about the character but she's a great actress, IMO.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Skidmore_2.jpg
https://www.barnorama.com/wp-content...-maslany-2.jpg
https://www.barnorama.com/wp-content...maslany-12.jpg

Get her all greened out and I can see it. But, a tad short-ish?

Heard any whispers on this? Disney keeps pushing it back for some reason while Wandavision is apparently set to go in October/November.

If her performance is all Mo-Cap, her height won't matter.

She's reportedly 5'4, so if they show her prior to the blood transfusion, she'll be around 5'7 in heels, which isn't too bad considering tons of male actors are 5'10 or shorter.

The rumors are that Disney is going to push Black Widow back again.

Unless NY and LA open up their movie theaters.

From my understanding, the filming on Falcon & Winter Soldier was completed a few weeks ago and last I heard, Disney+ was targeting a January or February release date.

Given the current situation, I'll be very surprised if movie theaters in Los Angeles open before the end of 2021 but hopefully, it won't be quite that long.

Supposedly, Mulan has pulled in nearly $300 million on Disney+ so that may entice them to do the same with Black Widow.

But because of piracy, I'm skeptical that they'll make that move.

That would suck. But I guess Hollywood got scared off by Tenet underperforming?

I had no interest in paying $30 to stream Mulan. But id probably pay that to watch Black Widow if they dropped it online.

No, it's not due to Tenet (which was just another in a long line of disastrous decisions made since AT&T acquired HBO/Time-Warner) but because of the fact that Black Widow should gross somewhere around $750 million worldwide, which is most likely impossible today due to piracy.

Once it's pirated, who's going to pay $30 or $40 dollars to see it when they can just see it for free?

I agree. I really REALLY liked her in Orphan Black, even though there is a load of crap in that series, it's not her. She is really good. And I really dug her in Perry Mason (even though you didn't)

Initially in Orphan Black, I wasn't impressed, but once she rolled out the other characters, it was truly amazing.

Looking forward to it.

I thought her performance was excellent but I don't think she was given much to do in the Perry Mason series.

She just has so much more range than the material she was given.

Bad Boys for Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have been chosen to direct Ms. Marvel for Disney+. Oscar-winning documentary short helmer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and frequent TV director Meera Menon will also direct episodes of the show’s initial run.

Bisha K. Ali serves as head writer on the series which centers on Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American teen character living in a religious family in New Jersey whilst trying to find her own way.

The studio is currently in search of an actor to play the hero who is expected to be included in future Marvel films.

When she was Sister Alice, it was just simple over acting except for the tension with her mom, which was not a huge thing, but well done.

After she figured out her mom stole the corpse and stole a kid, I thought she did really well. It wasn't major minutes of screen time, but I found it tremendously compelling. One of the best parts of a show that had a lot of really good performances.

You know, I'm just still mixed on Perry Mason. There were so many cool aspects of the show and I really loved the subplot of him and his mistress, especially considering the end result, which I did not expect.

To me, it's like the writers were walking a tightrope between "Fan Service" and going someplace different with the character altogether and I guess in the end, I wish they'd have gone one way or the other because chances are, it would have been a stronger overall story.

I think Season 2's success will be critical to a Season 3, so I hope they go all in next season instead of trying to serve two masters.

Yeah, I think your initial comments of if they'd have called it something other than Perry Mason it would have been a better show are on point.

It wouldn't have affected me because I hadn't seen the original. But it would have let you see it through the same lens I did.

Maybe I'm overplaying it, but I really dug it.

New WandaVision trailer...

Uhh..WTF?? But im in....


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Dude that plays Bruce Banner isn't exactly tall. It'll be fine

Very excited to see who gets cast. Very excited for this character and show. Never saw bad boys for life

Thought I saw Wanda Vision likely would be December and the falcon and winter soldier early 2021.

This looks crazy which may be awesome

OH.

MY.

GOD.

THAT TRAILER IS SICK. LMAO WOW.

I absolutely love the creativity.

If you love creativity, please tell me you have watched Legion. It's incredible and I don't know anyone that watched it.

100%. Start to finish.

It came off the rails just a hair in the 3rd season but the 1st and 2nd season were Next Level programming. The 2nd season is one of the best seasons I've ever seen of television.

3rd season really leaned into the right brain and kept creating strands it didn't have good answers for.

But the 1st season's 2nd half where it took place entirely in the astral plain was one of the most fascinating bits. Aubrey Plaza as Big Baddie in Season 1-2 was the most fascinating casting decision I can remember.

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Possible MAJOR spoiler ahead.

Is Fiege in control of these Disney+ shows?

I don’t think he has much to do with the Marvel Netflix shows which were kind of hit or miss.

Yes.

What happens in these TV series will affect the MCU moving forward, with many of the newer characters appearing in the movies during Phase 5.

I had this thread blocked and I have no idea why. Was kind of wondering why nobody had posted the WandaVision trailer yet.

According to Marvel promotional materials (this is not a spoiler), this series is taking place after Endgame.

Woooooowwwwwwwwww

Just saw a rumor that apparently Marvel wants to have some fun with this and get multiple cameos for the new Dr Strange and the multiverse.

This would show an alternate universe of Tom Cruise playing Iron Man.

Obviously it’s just a rumor but that would be hilarious considering the backstory LMAO

That would be badass lol

Why not just slip in some jedis while they’re at it lmao

For this particular series or for the What If? series?

The latter makes more sense but I've heard from solid sources there's a tie-in with WandaVision and Dr. Strange & The Multiverse of Madness so I'm sure that's possible, too.

Any rumors as to when WandaVision is supposed to drop? I just keep reading "coming soon"

Disney+ continues to shake up their scheduling so I don't have a solid date. They moved the Mando from October 7th to October 30th and the last I heard about WandaVision was either the last week of November or early December.

It all depends on COVID and whether or not they'll be able to release Black Widow this year.

The Mandalorian was scheduled for Wednesday, October 7th with the second episode airing Friday, October 9th, which is how they released the series last year: Two episodes the initial week of release followed by weekly releases.

Now, last I heard, they're just releasing it weekly beginning October 30th.

What If... is going to be animated, correct? (loved the What If? comics from my youth)

My guess is a version of "House of M".


Edit:
Looks like that is a common theory. Speculation, could be spoilery...

https://movieweb.com/wandavision-foo...ter-egg-x-men/

Considering the House of M storyline, this is the perfect opportunity to recast people like RDJ and any other actors who are ready to move on from the MCU for any reason. It's basically a universe reboot. Cruise as one of a few alternate Iron Mans would be a hilarious scene.

Whoa, that sounds amazing! And it lines up with the Secret Wars, with the Russo’s at the helm.

Could also bring people back to life, like Hawkeye in the comics version of House of M.

House of M.....as in Mr. Sinister......as in Essex Corporation......as in post credit scene in an X-Men movie........that would be awesome and having me geek TF out.

And all of that doesn't even get into how Wanda's fully developed power basically warps reality ala the Ether/Reality Stone, either.

Quicksilver in the MCU, since he's Wanda's twin and all?

Dude, you have got to stop teasing me with Russo Bros. and Secret Wars in the same sentence, lol.

Apparently the views and engagement of this trailer are tracking at blockbuster movie levels.

I assume the Dr. Strange movie kicks off the event? Wanda is in the trailer, so maybe something happens to trigger her cracking and the altered reality?

Could just be a small bit spinning off one of dozens of alternate realities as Dr. Strange hops through the multiverse or a bigger part of the movie storyline. The series could drop right after.

It looks like there's some interest in this series...

-------------

The upcoming “WandaVision” will be the first of the Disney+ and Marvel Studios’ series to make it to air. Combined with the lack of Marvel Studios product this year, that made the surprise launch of the show’s first trailer on Sunday, during the Primetime Emmys, a surprise.

The move has paid off for Disney though as Deadline reports that the trailer racked up a major 53-55 million views in its first 24 hours (nine times that of the Emmys broadcast itself), most of that coming from YouTube followed by Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.

The number is believed to be the highest 24-hour draw online ever for a promo for a streaming service series and more akin to the result for a “Fast & Furious” or “Avengers” title.

“WandaVision” also had over 302,600 social mentions – that’s akin to feature tent-pole level volume pre-COVID.

Yeah, What If...? is animated and hosted by one of my all time favorite actors, Jeffrey Wright.

I hope Feige casts him in a series, feature or TV, at some point down the line.

Well, just as I mentioned yesterday, the air dates of WandaVision and the other MCU TV series would be dependent on the release date of Black Widow, which was just postponed to May, 2021. And once again, there's no way they release it PVOD.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/b...ay-1234773491/

‘Black Widow,’ ‘West Side Story,’ ‘Eternals’ Postpone Release Dates

“Black Widow,” starring Scarlett Johansson, was set to debut on Nov. 6, a date that started to look increasingly unlikely as movie theaters on the coasts remained closed.

Variety previously reported that the studio was eyeing a new time to unveil the film on the big screen after the disappointing performance of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” in the U.S. and the delay of “Wonder Woman 1984.”

“Black Widow” will now open on May 7, 2021.

This sucks....NY and LA open your movie theaters!

It does suck but it's also kind of weird that this film wasn't created and released before Endgame.

IMO, it should have been released either after Black Panther or after/simultaneously with Ant-Man 2 because now, it feels like an afterthought.

Captain Marvel had that feel, too. It was just out of place, as was her character in Endgame but it's possible that I just don't like the characterization because she's kinda worthless.

And Clint should have died in Endgame IMO, not Black Widow.

Clint's got an upcoming Disney+ series where he trains Kate Bishop, who'll become a member of the next Avengers unit, so they weren't going to kill him off.

The Black Widow movie definitely should have happened five or more years ago.

Right, but I've always found Hawkeye to be an extremely boring character, and that was before the events of Endgame.

Plus, he murdered scores of people after The Snap, yet he'll never serve a day in prison. To me, that's just stupid.

He should have died and Natasha should have lived.

I think if you cut him out of the franchise nobody would even notice. Although I guess there were people unhappy that he didn't appear in Infinity War.

But the plan was a TV series, so he wasn't dying, non-essential to the MCU for years or not.

I really don't think the Hawkeye TV series had much to do with the choice to kill Black Widow. By killing off Black Widow they gave up arguably their most popular female character, and the multiple movies they could have potentially made centering around her.

I think they chose Black Widow because they felt it was the right choice for Endgame as a film, in and of itself.

Do we know ScarJo's input on this? Was she wanting to get away from the MCU to avoid being "pigeonholed" as an actress?

I mean they are just using the Black Widow movie to introduce the Yelena Belova Black Widow to take over for Natasha.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonth.../#575af265174d

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Talks ‘Misbehaviour’ And Returning To Work On ‘Loki’ For Disney+

Life is starting to return to somewhere near normal for Mbatha-Raw, who is now back at work filming the upcoming Marvel TV series, Loki, for Disney+ in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I was in the middle of filming when the pandemic happened, so I had a real break, I’ve been painting and reading. Like so many others, I was at home for a long time,” she said. “Not to make light of the suffering going on, but in some ways, it has been an opportunity for me to get a fresh perspective on things. It is downtime that perhaps I might not have had, and now I’m thankful to be back to work. It’s been a journey for everyone, but it’s all for a greater reason and the greater good.”

Did Mbatha-Raw use the downtime to rebinge the multibillion-dollar Marvel movie back catalog? She laughed, “I’d already watched a lot of them. I got Disney+ when I got the job, so I binged a lot of it then.”

“I’m obviously sworn to secrecy about everything to do with Loki, but it feels great to be back. Everyone is trying to do it as safely as possible under the circumstances, and it feels good. I’m excited. It’s a lot of fun, and I can’t wait to

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/nic...us-1234782313/

Samuel L. Jackson to Play Nick Fury in New Marvel Disney Plus Series (EXCLUSIVE)

The exact plot details of the show are being kept under wraps, but multiple sources say Jackson is attached to star with Kyle Bradstreet attached to write and executive produce. Like all the other Marvel shows at Disney Plus, Marvel Studios will produce.

Jackson famously portrayed Fury, the monocular head of the clandestine government agency S.H.I.E.L.D, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going back to the post-credits scene in the first “Iron Man” film in 2008. He has appeared in multiple films within the MCU since, most recently portraying Fury in “Spider-Man: Far from Home,” “Avengers: Endgame,” and “Captain Marvel.” He also played the character in two episodes of the ABC series “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” SPOILER ALERT: The last time fans saw Fury was in the post-credits scene of “Far From Home,” where he was onboard a Skrull ship somewhere in deep space.

Bradstreet most recently worked as a writer and executive producer on the Emmy-winning USA Network series “Mr. Robot.” His other credits include “Borgia,” “Berlin Station,” and “Copper.”

Should the project go to series — which seems highly likely — it would be the latest big budget Marvel show to get the greenlight at Disney Plus from Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios. “WandaVision” is supposed to drop later this year, with “The Falcon and Winter Soldier” and “Loki” on deck for 2021. It was also recently reported that Tatiana Maslany is attached to star in the “She-Hulk” series in the works at the streamer.

Other Marvel shows in the works include “Hawkeye,” “Moon Knight,” and “Ms. Marvel.”

You get a mulligan when you save half of creation.

Also I don't think anyone outside the Avengers knows he was Ronin, and I expect the Hawkeye show will deal with the fallout from that to some degree. There was a arc in the Hawkeye comic they could draw from, where Hawkeye had to stop a tape of himself killing people from getting out.

Okay, now THIS sounds like a cool concept.

If the show's main theme is Hawkeye running for his life, trying to avoid the families of people he murdered as Ronin during The Snap, while preparing Kate Bishop as the new Hawkeye, I'd be fully into the series.

But a guy that shoots bows and arrows without any super powers just sounds lame to me.

Maybe from some people but not to those whose families he murdered as Ronin.

He was murdering career criminals, it’s strongly underlined.

Not excusing it, but you weigh that against his contribution in saving half the planet and yeah, mulligan.