MarvelBlog News for September 26th, 2022
Sony just shuffled its superhero release dates, while Disney just went big with the Daredevil reboot. I’ve got tidbits that will make fans quite happy in the latest MarvelBlog News.
The New Release Dates
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 23: Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, participates in the Marvel Studios’ Live-Action presentation at San Diego Comic-Con on July 23, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)
Last week, we discussed the changes to Marvel’s theatrical schedule. Disney confirmed some new dates at the 2022 D23 Expo, and the updates reflected that. Since then, Sony has followed suit with its Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Specifically, the studio delayed two projects.
Before we get to the titles, I’ll wryly point out that the internet happily offered some notes. Perhaps the aptest summary comes from The Guardian. Its headline is: Is It Time to Put Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Out of Its Misery?
I’ll go out on a limb and guess that this isn’t the type of headline Sony seeks. And the subheading in the story is even meaner: “Sony still holds rights to the Marvel characters connected to Spider-Man in the comics, but there is little sign it can make entertaining use of them….”
Source: Marvel
It’s Morbin’ time for Sony’s PR team! Seriously, Disney and Sony really need to have a meeting of the minds on this topic. Morbius has grown into one of those debacles that can hurt a franchise for years. It’s like Spider-Man’s jazz hands or Batman’s nipple suit.
Sony executives appear to recognize their precarious position, as they’re exercising extreme caution with the next two releases.
About the Spiderverse Delays
Source: Sony Pictures/ Marvel
The studio had planned to release Kraven the Hunter on January 13th, 2023. Instead, Sony has delayed the film until October 6th. Nine-month delays are rarely a good sign in the film industry. Kraven has likely tested poorly and needs re-shoots.
That’s speculation on my part, but it’s based on 25 years of covering films. I strongly suspect that Sony knows another Morbius-level debacle will sink the Spider-verse. However, Sony fans and film diehards may have recognized that other day. It had been the previous release date for Madame Web.
Sony also pushed that film into 2024, where it’s tentatively slated to debut in February. That’s a four-month delay, which isn’t as eyebrow-raising. Still, the combination of these moves raises questions about Sony’s faith in both productions.
Source: Sony Pictures/ Marvel
Folks, the outcome is rarely good when studio bosses start messing with specific projects. Disney’s success with Marvel has placed plenty of pressure on its competitors at Warner Bros. (owners of DC Comics) and Sony.
The Disney arm of Marvel doesn’t make bad movies, while Wonder Woman 1984 and Morbius have triggered countless memes. It’s a problem. Will these delays save Sony’s Spider-Man Universe while we wait for Spider-Man: Something Something Home?
I mean, Sony isn’t gonna stop making the movies. It’s just a question of whether they can keep getting people to sit through them.
Supersized Daredevil
Source: Marvel Studios
Here’s news of the unexpected but quite happy. Daredevil: Born Again will include 18 episodes when it debuts on Disney+!
With 18 episodes – #Daredevil will shoot for almost all of 2023 🤯#Marvel #MCU pic.twitter.com/VwC1djIggd
— Grace Randolph (@GraceRandolph) September 22, 2022
To the best of my knowledge, that’s the largest series order ever for a live-action Marvel streaming series. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has featured 22-episode seasons before, but it’s a relic of the old network television era.
Streaming series ordinarily include 10-13 episodes, and several MCU series have stopped at six. In other words, the Daredevil reboot will last three times as long as Loki season one.
We’re talking about four months of Disney+ programming. Due to the size and depth of the series, leaks have proven challenging to contain. Several insiders are reporting versions of the same rumors. One is that Echo will factor heavily into Daredevil, which I would have expected anyway.
Source: Marvel Studios
Their characters have linked together frequently in the comics. Similarly, Daredevil often interacts with a morally ambiguous character with a New York base. Yes, the Punisher is likely an integral part of Daredevil: Born Again. And yes, Jon Bernthal will return in that role.
While I believe the rumors are premature, some insiders also say that Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones may not play a role in the new series. These reports indicate that Ritter faces a scheduling conflict that prevents her from committing to an 18-episode series. After all, that’s six months of filming.
Source: Marvel Studios
I think these folks forget that Marvel contracts require the talent to drop everything for new series and films. If Ritter does have a conflict, she can easily work around it to appear in Daredevil. Still, you shouldn’t be surprised if her role proves limited in season one.
PS: Gail Simone has written an excellent Jessica Jones series called The Variants. If you’re not reading it, you should be.
Marvel Miscellany
Here’s a tweet:
Hey how do you write a movie?
— Jeff Loveness (@JeffLoveness) September 22, 2022
And here’s the context. Jeff Loveness, the person writing that tweet, just earned the gig as the head writer for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. He’s obviously joking, but I love the idea of crowdsourcing an Avengers movie.
Marvel had previously confirmed Loveness for this plum gig. However, the studio isn’t done handing out massive assignments. Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer have won the job of writing Fantastic Four.
Technically, they’d worked on the script for a while. However, Disney announced their role as confirmation that the writer/director group is in place. Matt Shakman will helm this project and likely has his own ideas regarding the story. Still, these three will define the next generation of the First Family.
Source: Deadline
By the way, rumors have officially gone plaid about the cast. Most of them are total BS, but my favorite one is that Disney will hire the Daddarios, Alexandra and Matthew, to play Johnny and Sue Storm. I know this won’t happen. Still, I adore the idea of real siblings acting as half the First Family.
In She-Hulk news, there were rumors of a mid-credits scene for episode five that didn’t make the final cut…barely. Here’s the showrunner saying she had no idea. I believe her because Marvel tends to assign credits scenes to people who aren’t working on the current project.
The most famous recent example was the director of The Marvels helming the final swap in Ms. Marvel…which is GETTING A SEASON TWO!!!
👀Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah on Insta:
"Just reminiscing on our time spent in the MCU, who’s ready for season 2?!" #MsMarvel pic.twitter.com/JQBDrXcxZ8— Iman Vellani Updates (@ImanVellaniEn) September 21, 2022
Finally, we’ve learned two things about Werewolf by Night. The first is that it’s 52 minutes long:
The final runtime for #WerewolfByNight is 52:37 pic.twitter.com/uKIkBPjUM9
— BSL (@bigscreenleaks) September 23, 2022
The second is that director Michael Giacchino pitched the whole idea to Kevin Feige, who loved it and quickly said yes.
