With the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps set to be released tomorrow and Captain America: Brave New World less than two weeks away (not to mention Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man streaming on Disney+), February is shaping up to be an exciting month for the MCU.
In our latest rumour roundup, we're kicking things off with an update on Marvel Studios' long-delayed Blade movie. According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH, Lilith is still part of the project but will be joined by a "newly added male villain."
She notes that the studio is still searching for a director and is "expected to finalize one soon."
The biggest update we have for you today relates to the upcoming X-Men reboot. According to insider Daniel Richtman, the idea in the post-Avengers: Secret Wars MCU is for them to have no origin story because, like Marvel's First Family in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, they'll already have been around and are active as a superhero team. This also means they could be any age, though he believes we'll see actors in their 20s and 30s.
He's also said Spider-Man will have a huge role in Avengers: Doomsday, though Doctor Doom is expected to be "very much the lead" because...well, it's Robert Downey Jr.!
As for Deadpool and Wolverine, they'll reportedly make a cameo appearance in Doomsday before playing a "big role" in Secret Wars.
Richtman has also shared a couple of familiar updates, including the fact Strange Academy could shoot as soon as 2026 and that Marvel Studios remains open to casting a person of color as the MCU's Richard Rider in Nova.
Finally, he notes that while Ghost Rider is expected to factor into Doomsday, there's no word on whether Nicolas Cage is reprising the role or whether a new actor will be cast as Johnny Blaze. Ryan Gosling remains a firm fan favourite.
Asked last year about getting the seal of approval from Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige after previously expressing interest in playing Ghost Rider, Gosling said, "This was a magical moment. I told Josh I would like to play Ghost Rider. He found Kevin Feige, corners him, does an interview with him. When he says, 'I would like this,' all the lights go off."
Pushed on whether there's been any real movement on that front, the actor responded, "I don't know."
When Emily Blunt interjected and said she didn't expect him to sign up for a superhero project, the Academy Award nominee told her, "I would love to, it would be amazing. Come be in Ghost Rider."
Let us know your thoughts on these rumours in the usual place.