MarvelBlog News for June 2nd, 2024

Giancarlo Esposito is filling in some blanks, Deadpool & Wolverine is selling some popcorn, and *sigh* we’ve got another Fantastic Four casting update.

We’ll figure out everything in this week’s MarvelBlog News.

Giancarlo Speaks

I used to watch an absolutely terrible television series called Revolution because of its antihero lead.

Giancarlo Esposito has been one of my favorites for a long time, and that’s why I’m so excited to know he’s joining the MCU.

Well, Esposito sounds every bit as excited as I am, and he’s happily teasing fans about his role. Here’s another quote:

“The MCU has knocked on my door and it’s a role you won’t predict. It will be teased and there will be a series afterwards.”

Apparently, sources have refuted that he’ll portray Doctor Doom, Magneto, or Norman Osborn.

However, Atlanta_Filming posted a humorous but possibly informative sketch of Esposito’s character.

Here’s the Instagram post. No, that doesn’t help us at all, but Esposito will apparently appear in Captain America: Brave New World.

So, that’s (probably?) the upcoming performance he’d previously indicated.

The actor’s previous comments had led me to believe that he’d already filmed at least some of his work.

Still, the most noteworthy part of this entire discussion is that final part of his quote.

Esposito has explicitly stated that he’ll star in an MCU series after his appearance in an upcoming Marvel movie.

Since we know Marvel’s Disney+ schedule for 2024-2026, the soonest we’ll get that show is 2027.

Even so, there’s plenty of reason for excitement here…if for no other reason than the actor himself sounds giddy.

Just a Popcorn Bucket?

Okay, we’ve had quite a bit of Deadpool & Wolverine news this week, although most of it is fairly trivial.

Ryan Reynolds has proven time and time again that he’s a master marketer, with his latest stunt garnering headlines.

Folks, I’d like to introduce you to the Deadpool & Wolverine popcorn bucket.

Just to be safe, I think all I should say about this is that Wolverine has a big mouth.

Also, the giant “Designed by Deadpool” is a nice touch. As you might imagine, this clip has garnered plenty of attention.

Within 24 hours, the video earned more than 625,000 views, and the popcorn bucket is trending everywhere.

You’ll find stories about this bucket on many major publications, and they generally say the same thing: Wolverine is a slut.

Notably, the producers have already indicated that this isn’t the only popcorn bucket.

So, the natural presumption is that a Deadpool one is coming as well, or there’s gonna be something even more ridiculous in the offing.

We also got this viral video the other day, and I suspect movie-goers will watch this one a lot:

Meet the new “silence your phones” video that will play repeatedly in movie theaters for the next year or so.

And yes, that was a LOT of swearing that they had to censor in a 60-second clip.

As I’ve said for a while now, the marketing for Deadpool & Wolverine will be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

Remarkably, this is a Disney movie, too.

The Reed Richards That Wasn’t

Over the past two years that somehow felt like 50, I recounted plenty of Fantastic Four casting rumors.

They became the bane of my existence, but I’m amused that one somehow fell through the cracks.

English actor Rahul Kohli appeared on a podcast and proclaimed that he was in the running to portray Reed Richards.

Now, a funny thing happened after everyone ran with the story.

Days after Kohli’s podcast appearance went viral, the actor clarified that he wasn’t in serious consideration for the role.

That sounds to me like somebody at Marvel warned him that if he ever wanted to work in this business again, he should change his story.

Still, I’m amused by this rumor for two reasons. The first is that I’m one of the few people who knows who Kohli is.

I used to watch a show called iZombie, which aired around the same time as Revolution a decade ago.

Kohli played Ravi, the medical examiner on this undead procedural series, and he was excellent in the role.

Despite this fact, his becoming Reed Richards would be similar to me suddenly hitting cleanup for the Atlanta Braves.

Going from a lesser player on a CW series to anchoring a Marvel movie is that kind of career ascension.

I understand the thought process here, though. Think back to the original Fantastic Four movie in 2005.

Ioan Gruffudd was a 32-year-old English actor at the time. Kohli is just a bit older at 38 now, but they otherwise share common traits.

So, this fit would have made sense other than that it was far beyond anything Kohli has done thus far.

Marvel Miscellany

We’ve got a few other stories to cover this week, most of which are rumors.

However, we do have something real to discuss. Here’s a walkthrough of What If…? on the Apple Vision Pro:

As promised, it’s a limited-time experience, with this gamer finishing What If…? in about 45 minutes.

You’ll also notice that some of your decisions in the game impact the outcome, presuming you watched.

At a minimum, you should skip to the last couple of minutes.

That’s…really something. What does it mean? I presume we’ll find it in time.

The other rumors this week involve potential upcoming projects, one of which is particularly intriguing.

Actor Jeremy Renner has overcome his tragedy and is steadily working again.

Apparently, Marvel is planning a season two of Hawkeye that will acknowledge his personal tragedy.

I actually called for this on MickeyBlog at the start of the year and am thrilled for the possibility.

Meanwhile, Thor 5 is apparently a possibility as well, which flies in the face of what Marvel had said for the past year.

After Disney’s 2023 struggles, CEO Bob Iger and Marvel’s Kevin Feige had acknowledged they went to the well too often.

Marvel indicated it wouldn’t focus on sequels as much, which seemed to rule out Thor 5, at least anytime soon. But here we are!

Marvel Miscellany II

Finally, if rumors are to be believed – and I’m inclined to buy this one – Blade remains a mess.

So, Marvel is rebooting the story yet again. This shouldn’t surprise anyone in that a recent writer was Beau DeMayo.

As a reminder, Marvel recently fired him. Of course, two other writing teams/individuals have taken a crack at Blade since then.

This storyline may never come together, which must be incredibly frustrating for Mahershala Ali, who committed to the story in 2019.

We’re five years down the road, and there’s little forward progress.

 

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