MarvelBlog News for December 27th, 2021
What’s canon and what isn’t? We’ll discuss this and much more Spider-Man in the latest MarvelBlog News update!
Doing Whatever a Spider Can
Spider-Man: No Way Home continues to dominate the headlines in Hollywood.
I’m not overstating the situation when I say that the film might have single handedly saved theatrical exhibition for the time being.
Source: Sony Pictures
Last weekend, Sony underestimated the latest Tom Holland/Zendaya movie. The actual opening weekend box office was $260.1 million.
Folks, that number beats Avengers: Infinity War! It’s the second-best opening weekend, an impossible achievement during the pandemic.
Since Coronavirus shut down the country in March of 2020, only 11 films have reached $100 million in domestic box office.
Photo: Parade
Out of those, just two broke $200 million. Not coincidentally, they’re both Marvel titles.
Somehow, No Way Home surpassed the entire domestic total of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings…in a single weekend!
Spidey didn’t stop there, either. Christmas Week is usually the best box office period on the calendar, and this year was no different.
Photo: Marvel Comics
I say this even though we’ve had an explosion in COVID cases over the past two weeks.
People still went to No Way Home. For its second weekend, the film grossed another $81.5 million. For the entire week, its total is a staggering $207.2 million.
So, No Way Home has attained $467.3 million in box office in just ten days. Yes, that surpasses the combined totals of Shang-Chi and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Photo: Sony Pictures
Those films had been the top two performers during the pandemic before Spider-Man. This thing’s a juggernaut!
Globally, Spider-Man surpassed $1 billion with $1.05 billion and showed that a quality movie can survive anything, even a pandemic.
Photo: Sony Pictures
By the way, I’ve got one more news item on Spider-Man. During a Discussing Film interview, the film’s writers acknowledged that several great scenes got cut.
There’s more to watch once the film’s available to stream!
Gain Some Canon, Lose Canon
Okay, this section includes some spoilers from Hawkeye’s final two episodes as well as something from Spider-Man: No Way Home.
If you aren’t caught up on these sections, please skip to the next section.
Photo: Disney+
Are you still here? Final warning…
Okay, if you’re still here, let’s talk about Hawkeye’s most recent two episodes.
The season finale starts with a character we haven’t watched yet, at least not in motion.
Source: Marvel Studios
At the end of episode five, Yelena Belova sent a video to Kate Bishop that broke the internet.
I say this because it confirmed a longstanding rumor about the MCU. Vincent D’Onofrio from Daredevil has returned to the realm of Marvel entertainment!
Photo: Netflix
Now, this obviously leads to some questions about how this Kingpin differs from the one in Daredevil. That answer is apparently…none at all.
Watch this:
https://twitter.com/driiftyfilm/status/1474077771391455233
Yes, you heard that right. The actor acknowledges that he’s playing the same character from Daredevil, only after The Blip.
According to D’Onofrio, those events caused a power loss for Wilson Fisk, one that he’s trying to overcome.
More importantly, from the meta-perspective, this update makes all Marvel series on Netflix canon.
Photo: Netflix
I say this with confidence because all the programs shared an interconnected world, as demonstrated by The Defenders.
Also, Kingpin interacted with the Punisher as well. So, it ties together. If Fisk is there, so is everyone else. And that leads us to Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Photo: Netflix
Charlie Cox appears briefly as Matt Murdock, which means he already entered the MCU as well.
On the downside, the ending of Hawkeye likely indicates that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t canon.
Photo: ABC
We learn something about Laura Barton that strongly implies she’s Mockingbird. Well, if she is, Bobbi Morse isn’t! Sorry, Adrianne Palicki!
Marvel Miscellany
I know you’re busy during the holidays. So, I’ll make this update shorter than usual.
Here’s the most crucial update about Marvel in 2022. Yes, it’s the trailer to Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness!
Now we’re talking! The film’s producers acknowledged something fascinating. It’ll apparently start with two Avengers fighting!
No, neither of them is Peter Parker!
Source: Marvel Studios
Another Marvel rumor involves a character who just met a seemingly brutal fate at the end of Hawkeye.
Apparently, that unnamed soul is in another post-credits scene that the series filmed, only it got cut. Since it’s not in there, we can speculate whether somebody changed their mind.
Still, the existence of this footage suggests that the individual isn’t quite as doomed as the violent events would indicate.
Photo: Marvel Comics
This would also match the comic story in that the person survives against all odds.
Most insiders believe this is the case, and I agree with them. Still, the fact that Marvel deleted that scene and went with something sillier instead is…interesting.
Photo: Disney+
Speaking of which, I’m reading suggestions that the mid-credits scene in the Hawkeye finale is a trial balloon for that thing becoming a reality.
Folks, let’s be serious. If Marvel wanted to do that, they wouldn’t need a trial balloon. They’d just do it…and people would go.
Photo: GamesRadar+
Okay, that’s everything for this time. I hope you’re all having a lovely holiday, my friends!
