MarvelBlog News for November 1st, 2021
This week, we’ll talk about surprisingly middling Eternals reviews, the unlikely confirmation of an MCU rumor, and reported projects in the offing.
You don’t want to miss this edition of MarvelBlog News!
Eternals Reviews Disappoint
Okay, I don’t often say that I’m stunned, but here’s a rare instance of it.
Since the start of the pandemic, Marvel and Disney insiders have vented about their inability to release Eternals.
Photo: Marvel
These film executives perceive Eternals as one of the best standalone Marvel releases ever.
Everyone delighted as buzz grew for director Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland, the event Best Picture winner.
Chloé Zhao. Photo: Variety/Andrew Eccles
People involved with Eternals evaluated it as the superior film over a title that won multiple Academy Awards.
Throughout the past 18 months, Disney officials have expressed confidence that Eternals would prove the most desirable of Marvel’s three 2021 movies.
Photo: IGN
They…may be wrong. We’ve already chronicled how well Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings did, just as we’ve discussed the struggles of Black Widow.
The early reviews of Eternals currently rank it dead last among MCU movies thus far. However, as I type this, the film lists as Fresh, although by a tiny margin.
Photo: Marvel Studios
At 60 percent after 1021 reviews, it could easily slide further into oblivion, thereby becoming the first Marvel movie with a splat symbol on Rotten Tomatoes.
The reviews suggest issues of superhero fatigue, a possibility I mentioned when the MCU added Disney+ programming.
Photo: Marvel Studios
We’ve already had 24 episodes of Marvel shows in 2021, along with those two films.
At some point, people will grow tired of superhero stories. On top of that, Eternals qualifies as esoteric. It may prove the wrong film at the wrong time.
Eternals: Celestia #1. Photo: Marvel Comics
Tracking indicates that Eternals should open well, perhaps even higher than Shang-Chi, Black Widow, and possibly Venom: Let There Be Carnage. So, there’s that.
Coming Soon to the MCU…
Thunderbolts are a go? Okay, that’s the wrong show, but the internet is abuzz with news that four new Marvel movies have received greenlights.
Yes, one of them is Thunderbolts, which we’ve discussed here many times.
Thunderbolts #1. Photo: Marvel Comics
As a reminder, the intimidating Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine appeared in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Then, the same character showed up during a credits scene for Black Widow.
Photo: Marvel Studios
People put two and two together that she was compiling a team of damaged heroes, antiheroes, and those who dwell in shades of gray.
We’ve already watched her hire the murderous U.S. Agent, John Walker, and the dangerous Yelena Belova.
Olivia Walker (Gabrielle Byndloss), Valentina Allegra DeFontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) and John Walker (Wyatt Russell) in Marvel Studios’ THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER exclusively on Disney+. Photo: Chuck Zlotnick/Marvel Studios
Reportedly, the Contessa, played by Julia-Louis Dreyfus, wants to have a team of superpowered and skilled people on call for various assignments.
Most of them come from the black-market side of the MCU. So yes, the Thunderbolts wouldn’t act heroically in most instances.
Photo: Marvel
In the comics, the general rule is that one or two team members are decidedly evil, a couple seek redemption, and the rest fall somewhere in the middle.
In the MCU, we’ve heard rumblings about a team of Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers for a while now.
Dark Avengers #9 by Brian Michael Bendis, Rain Beredo, Mike Deodato, and Cory Petit. Photo: Marvel Comics
Apparently, Marvel leans toward the Thunderbolts, although that could change at any time. Also, we should allow for the possibility that both stories happen.
Other current MCU characters who would fit the mold of Thunderbolts are Sharon Carter, Baron Zemo, Taskmaster, Ghost, and The Abomination.
Ghost Costume. Photo: Rebecca Kaplan
As you can see, we’ve already got plenty of options for a shady team, the morally ambiguous answer to the Avengers.
Other Possible MCU Titles
Sometimes, rumors leak that aren’t entirely accurate. As such, you must maintain perspective about this stuff.
Having said that, the most recent leaks line up with stuff I’d been hearing for a while.
Marvel Studios Logo. Photo: Marvel
To wit, Marvel will apparently follow Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 with a standalone film for a spinoff character, Nova.
In the comics, Nova functioned as kind of an intergalactic Spider-Man, a teen superhero who grew into one of the most formidable fighters.
Photo: Marvel Comics
A Guardian of the Galaxy at times, Nova has long been rumored to appear in the franchise’s third film.
Spinning him off into a standalone story makes perfect sense. Also, it would serve a second purpose.
Photo: Marvel Studios
Nova has famously led the Nova Corps as the Centurion Prime. The Nova Corps defends Xandar, the planet that will soon get a pavilion at EPCOT.
So, Nova could feasibly become the face of this real-world theme park experience.
Photo: The Fighters General
The pavilion will open long before a Nova movie, but that won’t matter long-term. Disney theme parks think in decades, not years.
Speaking of spinoffs, Okoye of the Dora Milaje will apparently get her own Disney+ series.
Photo: Marvel
She’s already appeared on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and will have a strong presence in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, too.
An expansion of the character’s role in the MCU seems fitting, especially with a famous actress like Danai Gurira in the role.
Photo: Marvel Studios
Also, a Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel is in the works. That’s the least surprising news since the sun rose this morning…but now you know!
The Bill Murray Rumor Was Real?!
For many years, I thought I would never watch a better acting performance than Cary Grant’s work in To Catch a Thief.
Then, Bill Murray starred in Lost in Translation, and I changed my mind. Both films are masterpieces with female leads just as great as their male counterparts, by the way.
Bill Murray. Photo: Elle
Anyway, the point is that I’ve always loved Bill Murray, just like everyone else, but he’s that much better since Lost in Translation.
Well, I said last week that a rumor about Murray set off my BS detector and sounded like clickbait. He wouldn’t join the MCU in an Ant-Man threequel, right?
Photo: Marvel Studios
I’ll let Gizmodo take it from here with this inspired headline: “Bill Murray Is Either in Ant-Man 3 or Lying to Germans.”
Since lying to Germans rarely ends well, I believe the guy, even though he is a notorious prankster.
Photo: Peyton Reed Twitter
Somehow, Marvel has convinced Murray to join the MCU. I will add that he’s close with Wes Anderson, who is equally close to Owen Wilson.
So, Wilson’s praise for Marvel may have factored into this decision. Still, I’m not going to 100 percent believe it until I see footage of Murray in the film.
