MarvelBlog News for August 11th, 2024

We’ve had another week and another set of huge Marvel announcements.

First, The Walt Disney Company, the corporate owner of Marvel, held its quarterly earnings call on Wednesday.

Then, Disney hosted the D23 Expo, which included a film panel and news about upcoming Marvel releases.

So, we’ve got plenty to discuss in MarvelBlog News.

Marvel Streamlines Its Schedule

In anticipation of the D23 event, Disney and Marvel worked together on a timeline for upcoming releases.

As part of this process, Disney removed one untitled film from its 2026 release schedule.

In doing so, Marvel tightened 2026 down to Disney CEO Bob Iger’s stated parameter of two MCU movies per year.

We also kinda learned what those titles will be in 2027. Okay, no, we didn’t. At all.

But we do know their release dates! Untitled Marvel Film 1 will debut on July 23^rd, 2027, followed by Untitled Marvel Film 2.

That title opens on November 5^th, 2027, and all this makes perfect sense until you recognize the mixed message here.

Disney pulled the unknown film from 2026 to hold at two releases.

Well, 2027 already features a little MCU movie called Avengers: Secret Wars.

You can check my math here, but I’m pretty sure that two plus one equals three.

So, it appears that Iger’s “two films a year edict” will last from 2024-2026.

After that, Marvel and Disney expect to have the MCU back in shape and ready for more annual content.

I suspect that another couple of success stories like Deadpool & Wolverine will accelerate the timeline.

Back at D23, Disney also unveiled this beauty:

Enter Agatha’s domain from #AgathaAllAlong at the Marvel pavilion at #D23 pic.twitter.com/ixnj1eVAJh

— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 9, 2024

That’s the installation for Agatha All Along at D23. Presumably, we’re hearing some of the new music in those final few seconds.

Remember that multi-time Academy Award winners Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are working on the music.

Thus, we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s so catchy.

More D23 Happenings

We’ve got several other big stories coming from D23.

As a theme park lover, my favorite of them involves the King Thanos ride.

In case you’re unfamiliar with it – read MickeyBlog, people! – Disney California Adventure will soon add this attraction.

Eventually, when the ride opens, it’ll be the centerpiece of Avengers Campus, and it features an epic story.

A multiversal team of Avengers battle their most dangerous foe. It’s the Thanos that won.

King Thanos spotted at D23 pic.twitter.com/shRrdYaNu2

— IGN (@IGN) August 9, 2024

In this universe, The Hulk and Tony Stark never wielded their own Infinity Gauntlets and remade everything.

Instead, this Thanos claimed victory as if Avengers: Endgame never happened. And he rules like a tyrant, as you’d expect.

So, you’ll board a ride cart that uses Wakandan technology to travel to alternate universes.

During the trip, you’ll acquire Avengers, almost as if they’re Pokemon characters, and prep for the final battle.

Obviously, King Thanos won’t go down easily, though. After all, he already bested his universe’s best Avengers.

We also got some new trailers, clips, and announcements at D23. Here’s Daredevil: Born Again:

And here’s more from Agatha All Along:

We’ll have plenty more in the coming days as Marvel and Disney post more content.

It’s Deadpool’s World

I didn’t update the box office performance of Deadpool & Wolverine last weekend.

So, all the numbers we discussed two weeks ago have basically doubled.

Part of that stems from the fact that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman haven’t stopped promoting the film yet.

Have you seen this?

New Dad Alert #ItEndsWithUsMovie pic.twitter.com/gat5GM3Tt0

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) August 6, 2024

Yes, Reynolds was so shameless that he found a way to promote himself via his wife’s film.

Blake Lively probably wasn’t too upset as It Ends with Us exceeded all reasonable expectations at the box office.

At this point, they’re THE box office couple of the summer. Eat your heart out, Barbenheimer!

Anyway, Deadpool & Wolverine just crossed $1 billion at the box office after just three weeks.

As a reminder, no Disney MCU release had broken $1 billion since Avengers: Endgame…until this weekend.

Remarkably, the third Deadpool movie only needed 17 days in theaters to reach that landmark.

Along the way, Deadpool & Wolverine has surpassed the box office of either Deadpool or Deadpool 2.

Also, the film will become the biggest R-rated release ever, and it has a decent chance to surpass Inside Out 2.

Should that happen, Deadpool & Wolverine would become the number-one film of 2024.

At an absolute minimum, it’s a lock for second place, at least through the end of October.

Let’s just say you should expect a lot more of these two characters in the MCU.

Marvel Miscellany

We’ve had some unexpected reveals this week, and there’s no doubt in my mind about what the strangest one is.

Actor Sebastian Stan gave a quick interview during a recent event.

As part of the discussion, Stan revealed that his character, Bucky Barnes, is now…a congressman.

Let’s remember that in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Barnes was a wanted terrorist.

I’m not sure how we get from there to him winning an election, but it’s a fascinating plot twist.

In Blade news, there were errant reports that the film wasn’t listed on the 2025 release schedule.

That’s not true, at least not currently. Disney highlighted a handful of 2025 releases during the earnings call.

However, several other notable releases weren’t mentioned. They’re still coming out, though.

So, any comments about a Blade delay are inaccurate and premature, even if I personally believe one is likely.

We can verify that the film remains on the 2025 release schedule by looking at this page.

Circling back to Deadpool & Wolverine, the film’s co-writers recently revealed something amusing.

The film had every intention of having Robert Downey Jr. cameo as Tony Stark.

Once Marvel settled on him portraying Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, those plans were understandably canceled.

Now, the prevailing belief is that RDJ will debut in a credits scene in The Fantastic Four: The First Steps.

Meanwhile, Florence Pugh excitedly told a reporter that she did something incredible for Thunderbolts*.

The actress states that she jumped off the second-tallest building in the world for a stunt scene. How very Tom Cruise of her.

Finally, in news I forgot to mention last week, Giancarlo Esposito revealed that he’s playing Serpent Society’s Sidewinder in the MCU.

 

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Featured image: Marvel