After a relatively quiet November, Marvel news seems to be dominating December so far, thanks to a Captain America: Civil War trailer and the need to promote the just-in-time-for-Christmas Phase 2 Collection box set. So, if you’ve been wondering about Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Ant-Man and The Wasp or Avengers: Infinity War, it’s officially Update Season. Meanwhile, it turns out yet another superhero might be making their cinematic debut in Batman v Superman. These, dear friends, are the highlights of the last week’s superhero movie news.
Fresh off his success with Creed, it’s being reported that director Ryan Coogler is being courted by Marvel to helm the 2017 Black Panther movie, starring Chadwick Boseman. Why this is super: The rumor has raised concerns over whether it is actually super, and it’s worth remembering that Selma‘s Ava DuVernay had previously been in discussions with Marvel, only to drop out because she and the studio didn’t see eye-to-eye over the direction of the movie. In other words: it’s not a done deal yet, so save your excitement (and misleading headlines) until things are officially official have been signed on dotted lines.
Those hoping to see every single hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe showing up in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War two-parter—including TV—there might be some bad news. According to director Anthony Russo, using the characters from Netflix’s street-level Marvel shows is “complicated” despite… you know, the shows taking part in the same universe. “The films are controlled by a group led by Kevin Feige, so they function as a unit. Other products, even if they are from Marvel, are controlled by others,” he told an interviewer. “It is a smaller scale version of the problem that exists when remembering that Fox holds the rights to some of Marvel’s most popular characters, as does Sony and others.” So… Marvel doesn’t control the rights to its own product? That seems very, very strange. Why this is villainy: Putting aside the obvious point that this is just dumb, the idea that different factions of Marvel are at (civil) war is not a new one. Certainly, the Netflix shows have seemed to be at odds with the movies tonally, but this takes the dissonance to a whole new level. Our condolences to those waiting to see Jessica Jones knock back a few with Tony Stark, or a Luke Cage vs. Loki showdown.
If the teaser scene for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice released ahead of last week’s trailer seemed a little strange, it turns out there’s a good reason for it: The movie’s costume designer, Michael Wilkinson, has revealed that it’s part of a dream sequence in the movie. In a surprisingly spoiler-ish interview with Brazilian website Omelete, Wilkinson also revealed that BvS takes part eight months after Man of Steel, and also features Ezra Miller’s Flash—although apparently only a “glimpse” of him. He is pretty fast on his feet, after all. Why this is super: Take that, people who hate Man of Steel! Zack Snyder knows enough about Superman to realize that he’s not the kind of guy who’d have a private army and a secret jail where he pulls of Batman’s mask while frowning! So… uh… yeah! (More seriously, if these are the kinds of dreams Batman is having, then it’s no wonder he sets out to get rid of Kal-El.)
As part of a promotional push for the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 2 Collection box set, USA Today featured a behind-the-scenes tease for next year’s Doctor Strange, in which director Scott Derrickson promised “a mind-trip action film,” and said that leading man Benedict Cumberbatch “has got an incredibly complicated emotional structure going on” in the movie. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, meanwhile, said that “one of the primary goals of the movie” is establishing how to make magic visually exciting for viewers.
Why this is super: The line about Cumberbatch having a complicated emotional structure is promising. After all, let’s be honest; if this movie ends up being Sherlock, Except He Wears A Cape And Shoots Magic Bolts Out His Fingers, we’ll all be 100% okay with that, right?
Wondering what to expect from Marvel’s second Ant-Man movie? Keep wondering; director Peyton Reed told Comic Book Resources that 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp will ditch the heist movie feel entirely. “We have an entirely different template,” he said. “We know what that template is, and we have an entirely different genre template for that movie. But it’s going to remain a surprise. But yes, that’s already been decided.” Not yet decided is whether or not Adam McKay will return to co-write the sequel; Reed said that Marvel wants him back, but “it’s going to be a scheduling thing.” Why this is super: A sequel that doesn’t just try and ape what the first movie was like because it’s trying to play things safe and repeat the same level of success? Whatever will they think of next, those moviemakers? Seriously, though, what genre templates are left? Blaxploitation? Western? Slapstick? Hammer-era horror? Your guess is as good as ours.
