MarvelBlog News for August 29th, 2022
We finally know who will direct the Fantastic Four movie…probably. And it’s the best possible choice…I think; Let’s evaluate the mostly confirmed rumor in this week’s MarvelBlog News.
Maybe You Should Have Worried, Darling
Source: The Guardian
The Hollywood intrigue this week has been ridiculous. Actress/director Olivia Wilde has performed a press tour for her weekend release, Don’t Worry, Darling.
I’d describe what has happened as the most sensationalized industry story since the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial ended.
Wilde seemingly wanted to generate buzz in hopes of getting Marvel to name her the director of an upcoming project.
Source: Marvel Studios
One of the possibilities that reporters have kicked around is Fantastic Four, which makes sense.
After all, Wilde could play Sue Richards in the movie and direct. In addition, her boyfriend, Harry Styles, has already joined the MCU. So, she has a connection.
Unfortunately, the publicity phase of her interview process has gone horribly, and that’s me being generous with my description.
Source: Marvel Studios
Wilde randomly claimed that she’d saved another MCU star, Florence Pugh, from Shia LaBeouf, who left Don’t Worry, Darling.
Basically, Wilde threw LaBeouf under the bus, got in the bus, drove him over with the bus, and then salted the Earth so that he would never grow back again.
LaBeouf promptly posted a video text Wilde sent wherein she begged him not to leave the project.
Photo: Francois Duhamel
Coincidentally or not, Marvel leaked the name of the director of Fantastic Four somewhere in the middle of this nonsense.
I strongly suspect they got fed up with rumors tying Marvel to Wilde while she was in the midst of a PR meltdown. Disney can have enough of those on its own. Technically, we don’t know for sure who the director is as we go to press this week, but we have a pretty good idea…
Sorry, Star Trek Fans
Source: Deadline
The timeline here is hysterical when we put it together. Right after LaBeouf posted his rebuttal, word came down from Paramount.
What does Paramount have to do with anything? Well, a previously announced Star Trek picture had confirmed its director.
The talent they’d acquired is a Marvel person, Matt Shakman. You may recall that he directed all nine episodes of WandaVision.
Photo: Screen Rant
Now, I wouldn’t describe him as the creative force behind that project, as Jac Schaeffer came up with the concept.
However, if Schaeffer is 1, Shakman is 1a. Paramount recognized this and locked up the director for Star Trek.
Alas, those places fell apart this week when Marvel settled on Shakman as the director for the upcoming Fantastic Four project.
Source: Marvel
Since Shakman cannot be in two places at once, he dropped out of Star Trek, which was a massive setback to Paramount.
That project had been scheduled for December 22nd, 2023. In other words, it needs to be filmed soon. Unfortunately, that won’t happen because Fantastic Four does as well.
So, Shakman had to choose. Understandably, the director went with the familiar by selecting another Marvel project.
Source: Marvel
In the process, Marvel and Disney win big. Shakman was in demand, but he demonstrated loyalty to the people who took a chance on him.
Well, that’s how Disney sees it. Paramount probably feels differently. This is a significant setback for the next Star Trek movie, which faces a delay now.
How Does This Change Fantastic Four?
Source: Marvel
Shakman has demonstrated remarkable skill over the past decade. He has helmed episodes of Game of Thrones and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Not many people possess that sort of range. But, of course, Marvel fans had already witnessed both sides of it with WandaVision, a perfect project.
Wanda’s odyssey in that story runs the gamut from sad to funny to action-packed. Not coincidentally, those things apply to Fantastic Four as well.
Photo: Marvel
For all the complaints about Tim Story’s 2007 film, it mixed action and comedy…thanks in large part to Chris Evans as Johnny Storm.
The First Family is a family, after all. So, they will squabble and fight right up until the moment they come together and defeat the baddies.
That same description applies to the season finale of WandaVision. Remember when Wanda, the twins, and Vision fought together against Agatha Harkness?
(L-R): Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff and Kathryn Hahn as Agatha Harkness in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Okay, Vision wasn’t much help, but that’s not the point. It’s that The Incredibles and, later, WandaVision ripped off Fantastic Four for a reason. It’s the perfect comic book archetype.
Shakman has already demonstrated remarkable skill with this style. So, his hiring here is a masterstroke.
The primary questions now center on casting. Expect announcements in the coming days, as Marvel is ready to advance quickly now. What I’m hearing is that Marvel may bring out the entire cast at the D23 Expo in two weeks. So, decisions must be close at hand.
Marvel Miscellany
Source: Marvel Studios
Speaking of D23, Disney+ Day is nearly upon us. On that date, Disney+ will premiere Thor: Love & Thunder.
So, we have to wait a couple of weeks longer than usual as a shameless promotional ploy. I blame Disney’s “synergy machine.”
Semi-related, Marvel just confirmed via She-Hulk dialogue that The Incredible Hulk is canon. And the way they did it was brilliant.
Source: Marvel Studios
When Jennifer Walters asks her cousin for permission to take a case, he explains that he no longer holds a grudge.
The actor, Mark Ruffalo, isn’t the same one who played The Hulk in 2007. That was Ed Norton.
Thus, the actual She-Hulk dialogue he uses to explain why he’s not mad is: “That fight was so many years ago, I’m a completely different person now…literally.”
Source: Marvel Studios
I’m in love with whoever came up with that. By the way, Samba TV tracked She-Hulk with 1.5 million viewers. That’s the same amount as Hawkeye managed last November. If those numbers continue, She-Hulk’s another massive hit on Disney+.
And that’s this rendition of MarvelBlog News!
