It feels like Marvel is taking over the world, and now that Kevin Feige is in charge of, well, everything, you'd best believe that the brand's dominance will continue for many, many years to come. With so much news out there about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we've now rounded up another wave of stories for you to delve into all in one place!
There's a lot to delve into here, including casting and story details for Shang-Chi's first big screen adventure in the MCU, a brand new look for The Vision when he arrives on Disney+, Easter Eggs, and more from Martin Scorsese as he finally admits that Marvel movies are cinema...sort of.
We also have a very interesting story about a scrapped Ryan Reynolds cameo in a big horror franchise!
Needless to say, 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...
An Incredible Thor: Ragnarok Easter Egg
In Thor: Ragnarok, Hulk has a round scar on his chest. This is a continuity callback to 2008's The Incredible Hulk, starring Edward Norton. from r/marvelstudios
It's fair to say
The Incredible Hulk is perhaps the black sheep of the Marvel Cinematic Universe family as it's rarely referenced and often left out of sizzle reels and the like. Well, Taika Waititi certainly didn't shy away from referencing it in
Thor: Ragnarok because, as you can see above, he included an easy to miss Easter Egg with a callback to the Green Goliath's battle with Abomination.
Shang-Chi Looks To Add More Villains
With production on
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings set to begin soon, some very interesting casting rumours have started doing the rounds. While The Mandarin is, of course, the movie's lead villain, it's now said that more major additions are being made (via
MCU Cosmic).
The first is Steel Claw and the actor who plays him/her will need to know martial arts. There's no character with this name in the comic books but it could be code for Tiger-Claw. Then, there's Moving Shadow, Razor-Fist, and Ghostmaker. That trio has clashed with Shang-Chi many times over the years and it sounds like the hero will have his work cut out for him here.
Interestingly, the site notes that
"a big rumor is that the movie may involve a Bloodsport-style underground fight tournament." That would explain why there are so many possible bad guys.
A New Look For The Vision
As you may recall, the
West Coast Avengers version of The Vision was white in appearance and took on that form after being "killed" by Immortus. In
Avengers: Infinity War, the android turned that greyish colour after Thanos tore the Mind Stone from his head, and there's been speculation ever since that the hero could return in that form.
Now, a new rumour from
MCU Cosmic claims that this white version of The Vision could appear in WandaVision in some way. This definitely makes sense, and there's even concept art from
Avengers: Age of Ultron showing this take on the hero so Marvel Studios could use that or come up with something totally different that reflects what's happened to him after losing that Infinity Stone.
For now, we'll just have to wait and see!
Martin Scorsese Keeps Talking About Marvel
As legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese continues doing the rounds to promote
The Irishman, the subject of Marvel movies continues to come up. Now, in an interview with
EW, the director has acknowledged that comic book movies are a
"different cinema form or a new art form entirely." However, he remains adamant that they're taking up too much space in theaters.
"[A traditional studio is] geared toward the most amount of money you can make - understandably. I think it’s gone askew. There’s very little room for this kind of picture. They say, “Oh you can make independent films.” That’s putting people in the margins. Putting art in the margins.
"The tentpole films, the big comic book films, they’re theme park movies - as well done as many of them are, at all levels. It’s a different cinema form or a new art form entirely. We’re hoping there are theaters that show the films that are not that. And that if they’re not going to show it that filmmakers still have an opportunity with streaming - it changes the experience, but otherwise, in two to three years now, it’s not being done. A good filmmaker comes in from Italy or France comes in, the film has to be a [franchise] or they won’t do it anymore."
It is easy enough to see where he's coming from, but it does seem likely something of an overreaction as the genre has been around a while and it doesn't seem to have really hurt any others!
Possible Shang-Chi Story Details
As we mentioned a little earlier in this post,
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings may be looking to cast Tiger-Claw. Now,
a (deleted) audition tape reveals some possible story details.
Featuring
The Dead Lands star Te Kohe Tuhaka, Steel Claw is having a conversation with Shang-Chi and describes the master martial artist as "the wonder boy who ran away." As expected, he's fled from his father The Mandarin and this villain is there to send his troops after the hero.
Needless to say, it appears The Mandarin will have more than a few henchmen here.
Ryan Reynolds' Scrapped Zombieland: Double Tap Cameo
This isn't Marvel news per se, but considering the fact that
Deadpool is now part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we thought you guys would find this interesting. According to
Zombieland: Double Tap writers Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese (who also wrote the Merc with the Mouth's solo movies), they tried to get Ryan Reynolds in the sequel but it just didn't work out.
Wernick says that they wanted Reynolds to play Albuquerque, but the actor's busy schedule means it didn't work.
"We made it a goal to do only Ryan Reynolds movies," he joked to
Deadline.
"But this one slipped through our fingers." Despite that, the writer is happy that Luke Wilson ultimately accepted the part.
"Luke was amazing and it worked out terrific for us."
Oh, and talking of
Zombieland: Double Tap, don't forget to check out our exclusive interview with stars Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson if you missed it earlier this month!