MarvelBlog News for February 4th, 2024

Deadpool 3 finally has a synopsis, the Lateral Move Fairy visits Marvel, and Sony starts hyping Madame Web.

We’ve got some really good Marvel updates this week!

Who Is the Lateral Move Fairy?

A dear friend and former writing partner of mine invented something he called the Lateral Move Fairy.

The idea is that Hollywood will sub in one performer for another, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference.

For whatever reason, in Hollywood casting, the concept comes up a lot.

In fact, the premise occurred this past week when Marvel announced a regrettable turn of events.

Ayo Edebiri of The Bear had previously agreed to appear in Marvel’s upcoming project, Thunderbolts.

Yes, that’s the film that Steven Yeun just abandoned due to a scheduling conflict.

The marvelous Edebiri, who joined Yeun in winning an Emmy in January, has followed his lead in exiting Thunderbolts.

I mentioned with Yeun’s situation that this would happen again in the MCU. Now, it already has.

However, the Lateral Move Fairy waved their wand and said, “Ta-da!”

Marvel has hired someone equally likable to Edebiri in Geraldine Viswanathan, the star of Blockers who most recently starred in Miracle Workers.

I’m first in line to say that Edebiri is a massive talent, but Viswanathan is on that level as well.

I’m a season and a half away from finishing Miracle Workers, but I can tell you that she’s brilliant in it.

So, I’m optimistic that Thunderbolts won’t lose any quality thanks to the arrival of Viswanathan (and the Lateral Move Fairy).

Reportedly, the actress will portray an assistant to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

However, as with most MCU titles, we can safely expect Viswanathan’s character to possess a few mysteries and a surprise or two.

The Deadpool 3 Synopsis

As I mentioned last week, Deadpool 3 has completed principal photography.

In fact, X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn quite randomly praised Deadpool 3.

According to Vaughn, the film will provide the jolt the MCU needs and may “save the whole Marvel Universe.”

Remarkably, Vaughn stated this while promoting his own project, Argylle.

That’s how highly Marvel insiders think of Shawn Levy’s upcoming Deadpool sequel.

Now, Marvel has finally posted a synopsis for Deadpool 3. Here’s what it states:

“After facing some professional setbacks while going through a midlife crisis, Wade Wilson decides to officially retire Deadpool and becomes a used car salesman.

“But when his friends, family, and the whole world are at stake, Deadpool decides to bring his katanas out of retirement.

“He recruits an unwilling and wary Wolverine to not only fight for their survival but, ultimately, their legacy.”

Stating the obvious, nobody should ever buy a used car from Wade Wilson. But this sounds amazing!

Also, I’ll note that the synopsis lists the title as Untitled Deadpool Movie.

I’m warming to the idea of Marvel keeping that, even though I know the studio won’t.

Introducing Madame Web

I spent the body of 2023 warning you about Echo, which proved to be…pretty good.

So, you might not have trusted me last week when I indicated that Sony appears to be hiding Madame Web.

Well, I’m not the only one. Dakota Johnson appeared at a media interview this past week.

During her always extemporaneous interview – the woman has ZERO filter – Johnson complained about the movie’s blue screen.

Apparently, the actress never warmed to the artificial construct providing the CGI backdrop for her scenes.

In Johnson’s own words, she doesn’t know how this film will turn out because she found the filming experience weird.

As far as promotional appearances go, let’s just say that’s not what the studio wants.

Meanwhile, Deadline just reported that Sony is hoping to break $25 million for the film’s opening weekend.

Still, Sony has ramped up the marketing campaign for Madame Web, which debuts in theaters on Valentine’s Day.

Since Sony has a sunk cost of $80 million on the production, it needs to spike the interest this week.

So, here are a few YouTube videos that may entice you to watch:

Did that make you want to see it more? No? How about this:

Or maybe this?

New #MadameWeb TV Spot released by Sony and exclusive scene.

Only in cinemas on February 14.pic.twitter.com/ihX41D8EDQ

— Spider-Man Universe (@SonyMarvelVerse) February 1, 2024

Folks, I’m genuinely afraid it’s Morbin’ time yet again in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.

In fact, Sony has grown so frustrated with its story options that El Muerto is back in play…but without Bad Bunny, its sole reason to exist.

While everyone has spent the past year slamming Disney’s MCU, Sony has utterly collapsed on the live-action side.

Let’s just say that Sony is extremely grateful for the Spider-Verse right now.

Marvel Miscellany

We’ve got a few other tidbits to cover this week.

The first involves What If…?, which debuted on Disney+ last month.

The Nielsen streaming ratings have been released for its first few days – the service always delays ratings for a month – and it’s good news…mostly.

What If…? earned 513 million viewer minutes during its first full week of release.

Sadly, the title failed to earn a spot in the top ten for the following chart, which covered the first week of January.

Meanwhile, Echo’s window hasn’t opened yet, so it won’t be eligible until next week’s ratings.

As a reminder, Marvel dumped all the episodes at once, which should increase Echo’s odds of appearing on the Nielsen charts.

Echo’s buzz has remained positive during the month since its release.

In fact, Marvel might have uncovered the secret sauce for Disney+ programming.

According to a report, Echo cost only $40 million to film, which is, you know, $200 million less than Secret Invasion.

Echo’s production may prove the prototype for future MCU programs on Disney+.

Marvel Miscellany Part II

Speaking of the MCU, Production Weekly recently updated with the new schedule.

We now have a general idea of production restarts for the previously delayed films and television series.

As expected, the Marvel programs will start asap, beginning with reshoots of Ironheart and Captain America: Brave New World.

Sadly, I’ve got bad news for Seth Rollins fans, though. All three of you will be bummed to hear that he won’t be in the film now.

Marvel has apparently completely cut the Serpent Society from the updated story.

Hilariously, this means that Rollins and his wife, Becky Lynch, have both filmed MCU sequences that didn’t make the final cut.

We’ll leave it to the philosophers to decide whether they’re MCU characters or not.

Have a great week, my friends!

 

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Featured image: Photo: Quantrell D. Colbert/Universal