Kevin Feige Offers Updates On PHASE 3 Slate; Says Marvel Is Open To Non-White SPIDER-MAN
(Updated!) Revealing Captain Marvel was taken out of Avengers: Age of Ultron and why, Marvel's head honcho offers updates on most of the Phase 3 movies, leading up to Avengers: Infinity War
When MTV News' Josh Horowitz got a hold of Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige at the press junket for Avengers: Age of Ultron, the fanboy journalist had pressed the producer for updates on the entire Phase 3 slate of movies. However, Feige was first asked if the many rumors that Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, would appear in Age of Ultron were ever true. "In an early draft of the script, yes," Feige admitted. As for why she was excluded from Age of Ultron, Kevin says, "We didn't want to introduce her fully-formed flying in a costume before you got to know who she was and how she came to be." He then said he's in very early days of finding an actress to lead the Captain Marvel film, which opens on November 2, 2018. "It's about finding writers right now; we're very close."
About the inclusion of a rebooted Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige was asked if he and Sony had ever considered the Miles Morales iteration. "No, I mean we always felt it should be Peter [Parker] because we've never seen the MCU version of Peter Parker," replied the producer. "We felt like we needed to see that first. Miles, I think is awesome. I think there are opportunities for him for sure if this all works." When asked if there is a chance a non-white actor could be cast as Peter Parker, who will debut in MCU in Captain America: Civil War on May 1, 2016, before the standalone movie on July 28, 2017, Kevin Feige says it's a possibility. "Maybe," he said. "The field is very wide right now in terms of who we're looking at — within a certain age range."
Moving on to Doctor Strange, which is set for release on November 4, 2016, Kevin Feige said he's excited to finally bring the movie to fruition. "I've been talking about it for a long, long time," he started. "[Director] Scott Derrickson, and the producing team are on scout right now. They're just finishing scouting in New York City for certain buildings that Doctor Strange inhabits. They're on their way to London where we're be doing the primary principal photography starting in November." Kevin Feige then discussed Doctor Strange's leading man, Benedict Cumbebatch. "He's been on a bit of a whirlwind tour up until now, but is so excited," said the producer. "We are as excited to have him as he is to be a part of this universe. So, that's always a nice combination." Whether the Sorcer Supreme will be British or American, Feige says, "We have not discussed the accent with him yet, but he's Benedict Cumberbatch, so I think he can do anything we ask him."
Talk then turned to Thor: Ragnarok, which will hit theaters on November 3, 2017. "Writers are currently writing," said Kevin Feige, referring to screenwriters Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost. "There are a number of slots we need filmmakers for right now and are meeting, in general fashion, a lot of people to try to find the right person or people for the right project." Asked if Tom Hiddleton's Loki will be a main baddie or integral, Feige said, "I would say an integral role for sure; it's one of the great things about the franchise is Chris [Hemsworth] and Tom [Hiddleston]."
About Captain America: Civil War, which will feature many Avengers and new heroes including Black Panther played by Chadwick Boseman, Kevin Feige confirmed filming will start in two weeks. When asked if the 2016 adaptation is really a Captain America sequel or another Avengers sequel, Feige said it's both... "but Cap is the primary focus." Finally, Kevin Feige was asked about the two-part Avengers: Infinity War movies, which will cap off Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and everything that has been established since Iron Man. "I would say that it's in early days to talk about anything specifically," explained the Marvel Studios President of Production. "But I will say the intention of that is to do two distinct, standalone movies as we do all the time. But because they are such shared elements, it felt appropriate to do [two-parts]. And we hadn't done it before, so we thought it was cool to do sort of sub-groupings like that. I wouldn't call it one story that's cut in half. I would say it's gonna be two distinct movies." What do you think?
UPDATE: In a seperate interview with Slash Film, Kevin Feige added that screenwriters for the Captain Marvel will be announced in the next week or two. Feige also offered an update on the much-anticipated Black Panther movie, which will be released in theaters on July 6, 2018. "I have some director meetings set in the next few weeks once [Avengers: Age of Ultron] gets out the door," said the producer of the Chadwick Boseman-led movie. "And casting is already underway in many ways. Some of which you know about, some of which you don’t." Does this confirm the recent rumor that Ghostbusters' Ernie Hudson is circling the role of T'Chaka? What do you think?