MarvelBlog News for October 10th, 2022
This week’s MarvelBlog News: the final trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts. Also, the Bad Bunny Marvel movie gets a director, while Blade is still looking for one.
Wakanda Forever
Source: Marvel Studios
I told you last week that a credible rumor suggested that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever tickets would go on sale Monday morning.
Well, I got my tickets and hope you grabbed yours too. In a completely unsurprising bit of news, tickets are selling quickly.
Source: Marvel Studios
Depending on where you live, you may already be out of luck for opening weekend. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Of course, the sale of Black Panther 2 tickets isn’t the big headline this week. Instead, it’s the release of the final trailer:
The internet has reacted predictably to this trailer. Some are head over heels in love with the tone and vibe.
Others lament the look of the underwater scenes and particularly Namor’s look.
Namor has always had wings in the comics, but I don’t think anybody really thought about it until now.
Source: Marvel Studios
Meanwhile, the underwater stuff undeniably shares surface similarities with the DC Comics movie Aquaman, which was entirely unavoidable.
That’s a terrible movie with no business being mentioned in the same breath as anything from Marvel, but it made a lot of money.
So, many people are familiar enough with it to draw the comparisons.
Source: Marvel Studios
Notably, members of Wakanda Forever’s cast have started making the rounds on the publicity tour.
Two of the famous actresses involved, Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o, recently hinted that nobody has guessed the identity of the new Black Panther yet.
I presume they’re exaggerating since the cast only has about 40 people in it. So that narrows down the list of possibilities.
Source: Marvel studios
Instead, what I expect that they’re referencing is a multi-person appearance as the character. I think most of us have expected that.
The lingering question is who will stand as the Black Panther when the movie ends.
The Yin and Yang of Marvel Projects
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Shutterstock (10341985al)
Mahershala Ali
Marvel Studios panel, Comic-Con International, San Diego, USA – 20 Jul 2019
I’ve got good news and bad news about Marvel projects. Let’s get the bad part over with first.
Blade continues to be an absolute disaster behind the scenes. The stuff I’m hearing would break your heart.
Source: Marvel
Multiple sources have indicated that director Bassam Tariq was fired. Yes, Marvel executives and Tariq issued a joint statement that he was no longer available.
Marvel’s production crew is operating under the assumption that this situation turned sour. At least one insider got the news early, too.
Still unanswered DM to a Disney rep I sent about this for comment. Sent at 8:50 PM if anyone doesn't believe I knew this. #Blade pic.twitter.com/ttjl2co07r
— Lizzie Hill – EiC The Cosmic Circus (@MsLizzieHill) September 28, 2022
Nobody responded to the text, which caused the reporter to lose the scoop.
However, these comments line up with others I’ve heard that Marvel hated the status of Blade.
As a reminder, the project should have entered production in November. Folks, that’s next month!
Source: Marvel Studios
Now, Marvel has pushed Blade’s production into 2023 while it desperately scrambles to find a new director. This is bad. I’m talking Morbius levels of bad.
Speaking of the Sony side of the MCU, we know one director who won’t be directing Blade.
Jonás Cuaron, the son of Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuaron, will anchor the Bad Bunny Marvel movie El Muerto.
Source: Collider
You shouldn’t think of this as a nepotism selection, though. Cuaron directed his first film 15 years ago when he was in his mid-20s.
More importantly, he co-wrote the script for Gravity, one of the best 10 movies of the 2000s.
In 2015, Cuaron directed Negan himself, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, in the critically acclaimed Desierto.
Source: nbcnews.com
Now, the director gets his big break as he works on what is probably a nine-figure tentpole production.
Given what I’ve read about the Cuarons, an entire family of filmmakers, I suspect they’re brainstorming Bad Bunny fight scenes as we speak.
This is a VERY exciting turn of events!
The Agatha Updates
Source: Marvel Studios
As a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan from season one on, I’ve admired Emma Caulfield for a long time.
On Buffy, she portrayed a witch trapped in the body of a teenager. Later, Caulfield joined the cast of WandaVision, wherein a witch trapped her instead.
Now, Caulfield has given a Vanity Fair interview in which she announces that she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and has since 2010.
Source: Marvel Studios
Remarkably, Caulfield somehow managed to keep this story out of the headlines during the insane media hype for WandaVision.
While confirming her medical condition, Caulfield casually mentioned that she would return to the MCU in Agatha: Coven of Chaos.
What’s fascinating about this tidbit is that it aligns with other rumors about potential casting.
Source: Marvel Studios
For example, a recent story suggested that Evan Peters may return to the MCU.
While many folks jumped to the conclusion that he would portray Pietro again, I don’t believe that’s the case.
Instead, I suspect that Coven of Chaos is getting the band back together instead.
And she killed Sparky too! Photo: Marvel
One of the reasons why WandaVision succeeded was that it created a fascinating town, Westview. The citizens there were fully formed characters.
You may recall that the series ended with Harkness trapped in Westview. Obviously, that functions as an ideal jumping-off point for a new story.
So, I fully expect that Agatha: Coven of Chaos returns to Westview or maybe even uses the town as a base of operations for Ms. 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.
In that scenario, the Agatha story becomes the de facto WandaVision sequel.
We’d all love to see that while we wait on the MCU to determine what happens next with Wanda, right?
As for Evan Peters, his character can’t be happy about being kidnapped for that entire story arc, right?
Watch Werewolf by Night!
Michael Giacchino tweeted this the other day:
Tonight at midnight you can listen to the soundtrack for #WerewolfByNight so turn out the lights and play it loud!https://t.co/KxD3KGLJ9h pic.twitter.com/iUZtkMwYwe
— Michael Giacchino (@m_giacchino) October 7, 2022
Ordinarily, you probably wouldn’t care about a soundtrack for a 50-minute standalone episode. However, this situation’s a bit different.
After all, Giacchino is more than just the director of Werewolf by Night, which you can and should be watching on Disney+ today.
The artist is also an Academy Award-winning composer. So, the music that he uses in Werewolf by Night represents the culmination of his work on a passion project.
Source: Marvel Studios
Giacchino has earned staggering acclaim for Werewolf by Night. Its reviews are absolutely rapturous.
For this reason, you’ll want to watch the series and then add the soundtrack to your October playlist. It’ll really set the mood for the Halloween season!
And that’s all for this edition of MarvelBlog News, have an awesome week everyone!
