Welcome to another roundup of Marvel news! There's a lot out there to cover, but rather than writing up every single piece of fresh intel in separate articles, we've collected it for you in one place.
Today, we kick things off with a big reveal from
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn relating to who nearly played Star-Lord in the MCU, before delving into Mark Ruffalo's big (or small) screen future as The Hulk. However, one person who isn't a fan of the current iteration of the Jade Giant is the man who originally played him: Lou Ferrigno!
Throw in a return (of sorts) for Dolph Lundgren's Punisher, a big update on
The New Mutants, and more reveals about previous MCU movies, and we have plenty to talk about.
There's lots of great content here for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and beyond), so all you have to do to check it out is click on the "View List" button down below...
Shazam! Star Nearly Played Star-Lord In Guardians Of The Galaxy
Zachary Levi joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Fandral in the
Thor franchise but he never really got to do much before being unceremoniously killed off in
Thor: Ragnarok. However, the
Shazam! star very nearly ended up playing a much bigger role within this shared world: Star-Lord.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn was asked about whether Levi auditioned for the role on Instagram and responded with:
"Yes. And he was amazing. So when Peter Safran, the producer of Shazam, came to me asking about who would be good as the character I strongly suggested Zach. I've been told by Peter and the DC folks that's what got the ball rolling," he revealed.
"But I think it was #zacharylevi's immense talent that did that," the filmmaker concluded.
Will Mark Ruffalo Appear In She-Hulk?
The Hulk was badly injured during the final act of
Avengers: Endgame but he's still alive and bound to return somewhere down the line. During a recent interview with
People, Mark Ruffalo indicated that he'll be meeting with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige to discuss a cameo in
She-Hulk.
"I don’t know, I’m supposed to go meet with great Mr. Feige," he teased.
"Great mysterious Mr. Feige to see if there’s some place." It's hard to imagine that not happening, especially as, in the comics, the Jade Giant is instrumental in Jennifer Walters' transformation into a superhero.
Willem Dafoe Weighs In On Returning As Norman Osborn
Earlier this year, Marvel Studios shocked the world by bringing J.K. Simmons back as J. Jonah Jameson in
Spider-Man: Far From Home's mid-credits scene. The question is, could Willem Dafoe reprise the role of Norman Osborn in the MCU? It seems highly unlikely but the actor is open to it!
"Oh god. Norman Osborn was a really fun role to play," he told
Cinema Blend.
"I don’t know about that, I don’t know what they’re doing. That was then, this is now. Who knows?" So, it's not a flat out "no" but it doesn't sound likely. Throw in the fact he's part of the
Aquaman franchise and we could be waiting quite some time before Dafoe finds any sort of home in this shared world.
Lou Ferrigno Isn't A Fan Of Avengers: Endgame's Smart Hulk
Lou Ferrigno played the Green Goliath in the classic
The Incredible Hulk TV series so it's fair to say he knows what he's talking about when it comes to how the character should be portrayed.
Well, during a recent appearance at Canada's Hamilton Comic-Con, the actor expressed his disappointment with the way The Hulk was portrayed in
Avengers: Endgame.
"What’s happening is that the first two Hulk movies, the CGI was improving, but the last one, Endgame, I was disappointed," he said.
"Because the Hulk needs to be hideous, he needs to be a creature."
"You see in Endgame, Mark Ruffalo — I think it has a lot to do with him and Disney — I didn’t like the way it portrayed [Hulk]," he continued. "It took away that beauty, that quality of the Hulk. That’s why a lot of people liked the series." Ferrigno was enlisted to voice The Hulk in previous MCU movies so perhaps there's some sour grapes here now Ruffalo provides the vocals!
Dolph Lundgren "Returns" As The Punisher
Action star Dolph Lundgren was the first actor to play Frank Castle in 1989's
The Punisher movie and he recently had the opportunity to revisit the character thanks to The Launchpad Podcast.
As you can see, the actor brought some classic comic book covers and panels to life with their help and while it's doubtful he'd ever really get to play the vigilante again, we know he's open to superhero movie roles after surprising us all with a memorable performance as King Nereus in
Aquaman.
Mark Ruffalo Talks More About His Future As The Hulk
In a separate interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Mark Ruffalo was asked about The Hulk's big screen future and while we now know he's waiting to meet with Kevin Feige about She-Hulk, it sounds like he's also mulling other ideas for the character in the MCU moving forward.
"I don't know," he says in the video above. "I do know that I did give Kevin Feige the Blockbuster Award at the Hollywood Film Awards the other day, to a smattering of applause. And he did say, 'Hey, do you think there's any more story left here?' And I said, 'I could probably come up with a few storylines.' And he said, 'Maybe you should come in and we'll have a talk.'"
For now, it appears we'll have to wait and see what comes next for the Jade Giant.
Iron Man 3 Is Officially A Christmas Movie
There are a lot of great categories on Disney+, including one for "Christmas" movies. In there, you'll find the likes of
The Nightmare Before Christmas,
A Christmas Carol, and...
Iron Man 3?!
Bear in mind that the movie does take place over the holidays and director Shane Black is well-known for helming films set during that time. Now, it's official: the MCU has a Christmas movie!
No Mark Hamill Cameo In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3?
Guardians of the Galaxy and
The Suicide Squad director James Gunn has been dropping a lot of cool reveals during Instagram Q&As lately and, last night, he was asked about those rumours
Star Wars legend Mark Hamill could end up making an appearance in
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
"Mark is my friend," Gunn pointed out.
"We have never had these talks that you speak of."
So, unless the filmmaker is being careful not to give anything away, it appears as if there are currently no plans for Hamill to make an appearance in the MCU, news which is bound to disappoint fans.
Shang-Chi Star Wants Warner Bros. To #ReleaseTheSnyderCut
Yesterday, we saw an outpouring of support for the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement online and as well as
Justice League stars like Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Ray Fisher weighing in on that, a star from the Marvel Cinematic Universe did as well as
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings' Simi Liu made it clear that he too would like to see the original version of the DC Comics adaptation.
The New Mutants Is (Probably) Still Coming To Theaters Next April
Despite endless reshoots and delays, it appears as if
The New Mutants is still coming to theaters...probably. Following that announcement about those Marvel movies coming out few years from now, it was revealed that the release date for this troubled Fox project remains unchanged.
As of right now, it's still on the schedule for April 3rd, 2020 and while we don't know whether it really will show up in theaters or on something like Disney+, it clearly hasn't been totally scrapped!
Could TJ Miller Return As Weasel In Deadpool 3?
TJ Miller's role in
Deadpool 2 was reportedly reduced following claims of inappropriate sexual behaviour and it seems highly unlikely that Disney and Marvel Studios would bring his Weasel back now.
"I'd almost would rather that they didn't...Deadpool 2, we knocked it out of the park," he told The Adam Carolla Show in regards to the possibility of Disney making a third movie in the franchise.
"What if Deadpool 3 is... eh?" As for whether he'd be interested in returning, it sounds like he's open to it but that it ultimately isn't down to him as he signed a multi-picture deal.
"If they want me to do a Deadpool 3, I'm going to. I'm under contract," he admitted.
Doctor Strange Director Debunks A Popular Fan-Theory
As you can see,
Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson was recently asked whether Disney forced him to cut a scene with Stephen Strange drinking alcohol before that fateful car accident.
Had that been included, it would have meant that part of the reason he crashed was because he was drink driving rather than just distracted. Well, according to the filmmaker, he chose to remove this scene because he wanted Strange's accident to be a result of his cocky attitude rather than alcohol.