MarvelBlog News for November 17th, 2024

In the wake of a D23 event in Brazil, we’ve learned much more about what’s coming soon in the MCU.

But Denzel Washington still found a way to steal everyone else’s thunder. I’ll explain in MarvelBlog News.

The D23 Updates

Marvel reinforced its upcoming lineup for 2025 and beyond, starting with a pleasant surprise.

Season 3 of What If…? is right around the corner, debuting on December 22^nd. Yes, that’s five weeks from now.

Apparently, Marvel’s Disney+ mandate of a maximum of two series doesn’t apply to the Marvel animated titles.

As you know, this will be the final season for What If…?, and the new trailer promises a satisfying conclusion.

Those sure are some judgmental-looking Watchers in that one shot. I’m guessing Marvel’s Watcher is about to get called out for all his interference.

Still, Marvel saved the biggest surprise for the end, as a new master of Thunder arrived.

Yes, that’s Storm from X-Men, and yes, that’s Alison Sealy-Smith voicing the character!

So, the climactic season rewards those of us who are longtime X-Men: The Animated Series fans.

Marvel also confirmed that Eyes of Wakanda will debut on Disney+ on August 6^th, 2025. Here’s the synopsis:

“Marvel Animation’s new action-adventure series ‘Eyes of Wakanda’ follows the adventures of brave Wakandan warriors throughout history.

“In this globe-trotting adventure, the heroes must carry out dangerous missions to retrieve Vibranium artifacts from the enemies of Wakanda.

“They are the Hatut Zaraze, and this is their story.” This will NOT be the last we speak of Wakanda today, either.

Impressively, Marvel animation fans will barely have a chance to catch their breath as Marvel Zombies arrives on October 3^rd, 2025.

Marvel confirmed the following voice actors for Marvel Zombies:

• David Harbour
• Simu Liu
• Elizabeth Olsen
• Randall Park
• Florence Pugh
• Hailee Steinfeld
• Dominique Thorne
• Iman Vellani
• Todd Williams

The name gaining the most attention is Olsen, but Vellani being in this is intriguing to me.

More D23 Announcements

Marvel also spent the last ten days performing a lot of housekeeping.

Some of it was minor in nature, such as the Wonder Man confirmation that the show contains eight episodes.

We’d had inconsistent reports on that number, but the latest total comes straight from Brad Winderbaum.

Speaking of which, Winderbaum sounds genuinely excited about the prospects for Daredevil: Born Again.

According to the Marvel executive, the new show could run for several seasons.

Even if Disney chooses not to renew Daredevil, plans are already in place for Matt Murdock’s next Marvel appearance.

So, the character appears to be a mainstay in the MCU for the foreseeable future.

Marvel also released the official synopsis for Fantastic Four. If you have media access, you can read it here. This is the official description:

“Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.

“Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

“And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”

There are also reports that Marvel will cast two different versions of Franklin Richards, one of whom will be a small child.

The other will be around ten, and he’ll appear in one of the upcoming Avengers films.

I don’t know what this means for Valeria Richards, as I haven’t heard anything about her yet.

The Denzel Washington Story

Nobody watches The Today Show for Marvel leaks for many reasons, not the least of which being that it’s an NBC show.

Nonetheless, attentive Australians were recently rewarded with a blockbuster scoop straight from the mouth of Denzel Washington!

While performing publicity for Gladiator II, Washington unexpectedly dropped this bombshell:

That’s a two-time Academy Award-winning actor explicitly stating that he’ll appear in Black Panther III.

Even better, the franchise’s writer/director, Ryan Coogler, is apparently making a part specifically for Washington!

Nobody had even confirmed that Marvel was doing Black Panther III anytime soon, but now we have this bombshell.

After my jaw hit the floor, I quickly realized what a clever decision this is from Marvel.

With Angela Bassett’s character dying in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, there was a superstar thespian void at the top.

Which living actor could possibly fill that void better than Washington, a ten-time Oscar nominee?

Plus, Washington remains a strong box office draw, even as he turns 70 in December.

Washington’s presence in Gladiator II single-handedly explains why everyone is giving the needless sequel a chance.

So, an actor of his stature joining the MCU rivals Robert Redford and Harrison Ford in terms of gravitas.

This is one of the most important Marvel stories of the year, and I even include Robert Downey Jr.’s return when I say that.

Marvel Miscellany

We’ve got a few other stories to cover this week, one of which you can file under Brutally Obvious.

Kevin Feige indicates that Marvel intends to utilize Deadpool & Wolverine as much as possible moving forward.

I understand that the Los Angeles Dodgers intend to play Shohei Ohtani a lot next year, too, and the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs will keep starting Patrick Mahomes.

Still, once we have word from the boss, we know that it’s true. Ergo, you can safely expect a slew of new Ryan Reynolds rumors.

To a larger point, Feige has indicated that the X-Men will be crucial to the MCU in the post-Avengers: Secret Wars era.

Again, that’s something we’d all expected, but it’s out in the open now.

On a (marginally) more surprising note, Feige also stated the intent to bring Miles Morales into the MCU soon.

Once the third Spider-Verse film plays in theaters, Marvel will cast a live-action version of the character for an upcoming title.

That doesn’t necessarily mean a standalone role, and it’ll all depend on what Sony wants, as it holds the film license for the character.

And speaking of Sony, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Kraven the Hunter, which the studio swears doesn’t suck.

 

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