MarvelBlog News for September 22nd, 2024
In this week’s MarvelBlog News, Sony loses to Disney, Elizabeth Olsen chooses life, and Beast could return after The Marvels.
Here’s what’s happening in the wide worlds of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A New Home
Thus far, Sony’s latest trilogy of Spider-Man films has used the theme of home.
We’ve had Homecoming, Far from Home, and No Way Home. And speaking of homes, director Jon Watts has a new one.
The filmmaker responsible for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man films has just signed a new deal…and not with Sony.
Recently, Watts has worked with Apple on Wolfs, a project that stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt. So, I’ve been calling it Ocean’s Two.
That analogy will grow stronger when Watts directs the sequel, as Apple signed on for another Wolfs film.
Hollywood executives expressed surprise over this decision, as Wolves won’t even receive a wide theatrical release, remaining limited.
Instead, most fans will see the movie when it airs on Apple TV+.
I feel compelled to tell you that Clooney and Pitts alone earned $35 million.
Clooney has indicated that published reports exaggerate their salaries, but agents suggested they’re only lower by a few million.
So, this is a $100+ million project that will not earn Apple any money beyond the people who subscribe to watch it.
I mention that because Apple has signed on for a sequel, and it’s clear that Hollywood stars have communicated their enjoyment in working with Watt.
That’s the vital part of this conversation, as Disney just poached Watts at a significant time in his career.
As a reminder, Sony is currently ramping up work on Spider-Man 4, which appears to be a rush job project.
Sony executives believe that they cannot mess up a sequel to No Way Home, which is exactly what Sam Raimi thought after Spider-Man 2.
Watts Joins Disney
Anyway, Sony wanted Watts to direct the fourth film. He wasn’t interested, and the explanation may have been financial.
You’d think that Sony would have thrown Watts a blank check…and a Lexus…and a solid gold house.
Apparently, that didn’t happen, though. So, here we are. According to Deadline:
“Jon Watts, his production company Freshman Year and producer Dianne McGunigle have been staked to a first-look feature deal with Walt Disney Studios.
Under the deal, Watts will direct feature-length projects for Disney live-action and 20th Century Studios with the option to produce.”
Disney also recently signed a first-look deal with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions.
So, the deal makes perfect sense on Disney’s part. They’re trying to lock up storytellers with a proven track record of blockbuster hits.
Watts is definitely that, with No Way Home having earned $1.927 billion on top of the other $2 billion the first two films made.
He’s nearly cleared $4 billion with just those three Spider-Man movies, all of which were critically praised! Who wouldn’t want him as a director?
For Sony, this move represents the latest debacle in an absolutely brutal year.
Fortunately, Sony did manage to snag Destin Daniel Cretton as a replacement, and he’s excellent.
Still, this is the best possible move for Disney, as it’s one that elevates them while wrecking a competitor.
The Watts/Zendaya/Tom Holland trio worked brilliantly together, and Cretton has his work cut out for him in squeezing into the mix.
Sony expects Spider-Man 4 to begin filming over the next six months, which is little time for him to develop a relationship with his stars.
This whole mess is a problem and a mistake by Sony. Yet again.
On the Spider-Man Front…
Speaking of our favorite Webslinger, Spider-Man: Noir is moving ahead at a rapid pace.
The production had previously cast Nicholas Cage in the lead role and supporting players like Brendan Gleeson, Abraham Popoola, Li Jun Li and Jack Huston.
Perhaps the masterstroke was the hiring of the always-brilliant Lamorne Morris, who just won an Emmy Award the other day for his work on Fargo.
Now, Spider-Man: Noir has added eight more actors in recurring roles.
The new cast members are: “Lukas Haas, Cameron Britton, Cary Christopher, Michael Kostroff, Scott MacArthur, Joe Massingill, Whitney Rice and Amanda Schull.”
Among those actors, Schull is currently the most famous due to her presence on the recently ubiquitous Suits.
However, you can google around to see that Haas has been working since he was nine, and Britton was a scene-stealer on Mindhunter and Umbrella Academy.
In short, this is a shockingly good cast, which means Sony is spending Amazon’s money well. If only they could have used some of it on Jon Watts…
Marvel Miscellany
Sebastian Stan recently did a Variety interview and David Harbour did the same with ComicBook.
Each Thunderbolts* cast member spoke about the asterisk in the title and the overall state of the MCU.
Stan made the following comments, which I found insightful:
“It’s become really convenient to pick on [Marvel films],” Stan says. “And that’s fine. Everyone’s got an opinion.
“But they’re a big part of what contributes to this business and allows us to have smaller movies as well.
“This is an artery traveling through the system of this entire machinery that’s Hollywood. It feeds in so many more ways than people acknowledge.”
Justin Hermes covered some of Harbour’s comments here. The quote is:
“What can I say that’s not going to get me in trouble? …The asterisk is very cool. I understand why people might put an asterisk there.”
So, that doesn’t help at all. But recent rumors suggest that the current Thunderbolts will turn into a different superhero team.
Thus, the current name requires an asterisk. But Marvel has intentionally leaked a lot of fake rumors lately. So, who knows?
In other superhero team news, X-Men member Beast aka Kelsey Grammer has confirmed that he’s talked with Marvel about a return engagement.
Read into that what you will, fellow Mutant lovers. Oh, and a famous X-Man, the Scarlet Witch, recently said this:
Elizabeth Olsen talked about the future of the Scarlet Witch on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
“I would beg to leave a window open … I would like to [be alive].”
Production Weekly has reported that a Scarlet Witch solo movie is currently in production. pic.twitter.com/aM1RbuuSPc
— Scarlet Witch News (@scarletwnews) September 17, 2024
Yes, that’s Elizabeth Olsen begging to become an undead character in the MCU. Hello, Marvel Zombies! I’m kidding…I think.
Finally, Agatha All Along reviews lavish praise on Kathryn Hahn. Our recaps start tomorrow. So, you should be watching!
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