https://www.cnet.com/news...plus-2021/

Mahershala Ali as the new Blade - YES! And he pays his taxes!

Can't wait for Fantastic Four.

wow. and more to come!

Andy Serkis Closes Deal to Direct 'Venom 2'
by Borys Kit - August 05, 2019 - The Hollywood Reporter

The actor-turned-filmmaker will be tackling his first comic book movie as helmer.

Andy Serkis is officially stepping into Venom's goo.

The filmmaker has closed a deal to direct Venom 2, Sony's sequel to the 2018 film that grossed $856 million at the global box office. The sequel, part of the company's stable of Spider-Man-related and Marvel-centric characters, will once again star Tom Hardy as the journalist who joins with an alien symbiote.

Serkis flew to Los Angeles the week of July 22 to meet with Sony brass on the project and was one of several filmmakers in the mix for the job. This will be Serkis' third directorial effort, after the 2017 drama Breathe and last year's non-Disney take on the Rudyard Kipling stories, Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, which ended up on Netflix after being made at Warner Bros.

Serkis rose to fame for his motion-capture and performance-capture acting work as Gollum in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2002 to 2004. He cut his teeth with second unit directing by reteaming with Jackson for the Hobbit trilogy (2012-14). He played the villain Snoke in the recent Star Wars films, as well as bad guy Klaw in Marvel Studios' Black Panther. His expertise with CG and performance-capture technology is one of the factors that landed him the Venom 2 gig.

Sony had no comment.

Kelly Marcel wrote the script for Venom 2. Ruben Fleischer helmed 2018's Venom, which starred Michelle Williams and featured a last-minute cameo by Woody Harrelson as chief Venom villain Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. Serkis previously worked with Harrelson on 2017's War for the Planet of the Apes.

Shortly after the news broke Monday, Serkis shared a post on his verified Instagram account.

"It's actually happening. I can feel it, the Symbiote has found a host in me, and I'm ready for the ride...Can't wait," he wrote.

Serkis is repped by CAA and Principal Entertainment.

Marvel Was Developing A Shang-Chi Movie Before They Had Iron Man Rights
by Craig Elvy | Aug 05, 2019 | Screen Rant

Shang-Chi may seem like a deep-cut character for Marvel to include in Phase 4, but a movie based on the Kung Fu warrior has been in development since before the studio regained the rights to Iron Man. Rumored months in advance, Marvel Studios confirmed that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings would form part of their Phase 4 release slate, with Simu Liu taking on the lead role. Introduced in 1973 from the minds of Jim Starlin and Steve Englehart, Shang-Chi is a hand-to-hand combat expert in the comic books and has been a member of the Avengers, however, the character has also remained largely unknown in the wider mainstream consciousness.

Although it may seem a ridiculous concept now, Marvel were financially struggling in the latter part of the 20th century and were forced to sell the movie rights to their most popular characters in order to survive. This led to the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies at Sony and Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. Elsewhere, studios bought the rights to certain characters, but struggled to get a project off the ground, and this is what ultimately happened with regards to Iron Man.

Once Marvel was enjoying a more stable financial state in the new millennium, and had witnessed the money their characters were bringing in for other studios, the company began looking at producing their own big screen franchise. Unfortunately, with all of the major Marvel comic heroes sold off, the potential line-up for this new project was far from star-studded. Alongside the likes of Ant-Man and Doctor Strange were lesser-known heroes such as Power Pack, Cloak & Dagger and a certain Shang-Chi.

Eventually, this draft roster was dramatically altered after Marvel managed to reacquire the rights to a number of key characters, including Iron Man, and cinematic history was made. It's interesting to ponder whether the MCU would've gone on to achieve the same level of success if it had been spearheaded by that original selection of available heroes, with Shang-Chi taking the place of Tony Stark or Thor in the debut class of Avengers. Certainly, there's a lack of mainstream star power among those early MCU heroes, but it could also be argued that Iron Man wasn't anywhere near as famous as the likes of Hulk and Spider-Man before Robery Downey Jr. got his hands on the character. Maybe Shang-Chi would've surprised the world and also become a cultural cinematic icon.

When news regarding the possibility of an MCU Shang-Chi movie reemerged in 2018, some fans were skeptical about the choice to adapt a seemingly fringe hero, claiming that specific targeting of international markets may have been a factor. However, Shang-Chi's presence in Marvel's original MCU design disproves such a theory, instead demonstrating that the company have always had faith in the character, even if bigger-name superheroes were prioritized initially. Instead of having to reach deeper into their catalog for fresh faces to adapt, as some may interpret Marvel's new Phase 4 additions, the studio are actually revisiting the franchise's origins, and finally bringing to life ideas that are as old as the MCU itself.

Disney-Sony Standoff Ends Marvel Studios & Kevin Feige’s Involvement In ‘Spider-Man’
by Mike Fleming Jr | August 20, 2019 | Deadline

UPDATED at 8:55p.m. PT with Sony response: Sony Pictures spent much of yesterday trying to spin Deadline about the prospective loss of Kevin Feige from future Spider-Man films. First the studio downplayed the idea he might be leaving; then insiders pinned his exit on added responsibilities from the Fox acquisition of the X-Men franchise, though they declined to make a statement. All this was reflected as factors in Deadline’s break of an important and widely regurgitated story. But sources maintain that Feige’s exit was about money; it was about Disney seeking the 50/50 co-fi stake as the price for Marvel and Feige’s continued guiding hand that resulted in the delivery of Sony’s biggest grossing film ever. Sony declined to meet those terms. It was an aggressive stance by Disney, which already owns the merchandise on Spider-Man, and a tough nut for Sony to swallow, giving up half of its most valuable franchise. But these talks had been going on for some time. Had Sony agreed to Disney’s ask, Marvel and Feige would not have withdrawn from the Spider-Man films, sources said.

Sony issued a statement late in the evening, not denying anything Deadline revealed yesterday, but reiterating its stance that Feige was too busy, which seems like spin. Deadline stands squarely behind its reporting. How important is Feige to the future of this franchise? We’ll find out down the line. Sony is planning two more installments, though it is an open question whether those will include Jon Watts, director of the first two films guided creatively by Feige. Watts isn’t signed on for the next film and isn’t a certainty to be back as he is being heavily courted for other jobs. Could Sony find itself vying against Marvel for Watts’ future services as director? Here is Sony’s late evening statement: “Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film,” a Sony spokesperson said. “We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.”

PREVIOUS DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige won’t produce any further Spider-Man films because of an inability by Disney and Sony Pictures to reach new terms that would have given the former a co-financing stake going forward. A dispute that has taken place over the past few months at the top of Disney and Sony has essentially nixed Feige, and the future involvement of Marvel from the Spider-Man universe, sources said.

This comes at a moment when the last two films Kevin Feige produced broke all-time records — Disney’s Avengers: Endgame became the highest grossing film of all time, and Spider-Man: Far From Home this week surpassed the James Bond film Skyfall to become the all time highest grossing film for Sony Pictures.

Sources said there are two more Spider-Man films in the works and the studio hopes to have director Jon Watts and Tom Holland front and center, though Watts doesn’t have a deal for the next picture and isn’t a lock to return. That isn’t helped by that fact that, unless something dramatic happens, Feige won’t be the lead creative producer of those pictures.

There is a lot of webbing here, but it all comes down to money, and it’s easy to understand why both sides refused to give ground. Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios, and there were discussions that this might extend to other films in the Spider-Man universe. Sony turned that offer down flat. Sources said that Sony, led by Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra, came back with other configurations, but Disney didn’t want to do that. But Sony did not want to share its biggest franchise. Sure Disney would be putting up half the funding, but the risk is in how much you are going to make back in profit. Disney wasn’t at all interested in continuing the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross, sources said.

Now, it’s easy to say that Feige has enough on his plate, especially after taking control of the X-Men universe in the Fox acquisition, including the Deadpool franchise, along with architecting the next phase of the Marvel superhero universe and building movies and shows for Disney +. But I’m told Feige loves Spider-Man, arguably the biggest superhero character in the Marvel canon. He would have continued if Disney and Sony could have reached new deal terms.

Essentially this means that Sony will have to try to win a championship without Michael Jordan. After all, Feige’s first decade at Marvel is largely unblemished and his consistency has been nothing short of historic: even George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson haven’t seen everything turn into a hit, and so maybe only James Cameron has the success record that Feige has achieved. But Feige has done it all in the last 10 years, producing and overseeing 23 superheros, with not a flop in the bunch. They’ve all been number one openers that have collectively grossed $26.8 billion. Feige this year became the producer of the top grossing film ever for two studios — Sony and Disney — and he produced three of the top four highest grossing films this year in Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home. This after scoring the first ever Best Picture Oscar nom for a superhero film last year with Black Panther. I can’t think of a Hollywood producer/executive who has done anything close to this.

And the launch of the new iteration of Spider-Man was done brilliantly with Marvel’s support and help. It has been a boon to both studios. Tom Holland’s character was introduced in the Joe & Anthony Russo-directed 2016 blockbuster Captain America: Civil War, the film that set up the two record breaking Avengers films. Sony’s first rebooted Spidey film, 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, rode that Marvel wave and grossed $880 million worldwide, and then the webslinger was a key character in the two Avengers films, leading to the Spidey sequel that this week became Sony’s top grossing film ever.

Sources said Disney’s top brass for the past several months has sought new terms for Feige and the Marvel cross-pollination to continue. As the Spider-Man relationship grew, Feige and Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman spoke about the possibility of a wider involvement in the Sony-controlled Spider-man universe, which contains 900 characters.

It is understandable that the fiscally shrewd Rothman would balk at giving up half of Sony’s biggest franchise to Marvel. After all, Marvel already owns the merchandising on Spider-Man. Does the Mouse really need half of the movie universe also? Sony so far has decided that as valuable as Feige is, Disney is asking too high a price.

Sources said that Sony reasoned that they will be fine, without Feige. The creative template has been set on the Spider-Man films, and Watt and Holland are in place along with Amy Pascal, who became producer with Feige after she exited the executive suite after presiding over the previous Spider-man iterations directed by Sam Raimi and Marc Webb as Sony Pictures chief. And sources note that Venom was a problem picture and far from the polished product that grossed $856 million worldwide, until Rothman himself spent a good long time in the editing room helping to get it there.

The Venom sequel is well underway with Andy Serkis directing Tom Hardy, and there is Morbius with Jared Leto, Kraven The Hunter, and another spinoff with the characters Silver Sable and Black Cat. And a Sinister Six film that got shelved. Sony, which once felt the ticking clock of generating a Spider-Man film every three or so years to prevent a rights reversion to Disney, now has plenty of pictures to make. And the studio also won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, a smash hit they made on their own.

No comment from Marvel/Disney, Feige or Sony Pictures.

uPtoWnNY said:

https://www.cnet.com/news...plus-2021/

Mahershala Ali as the new Blade - YES! And he pays his taxes!

Can't wait for Fantastic Four.

Ooooh, I like this guy!

Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Black Panther are supposed to be the three leads. The sinister 6 was to be the next "avenger like movie." Where Spiderman with the help of asome other avengers help defeat the six. Now that can't be done. Unless they ink a new deal. Let's hope.

kewlschool said:

Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Black Panther are supposed to be the three leads. The sinister 6 was to be the next "avenger like movie." Where Spiderman with the help of asome other avengers help defeat the six. Now that can't be done. Unless they ink a new deal. Let's hope.

It'll probably be several years before there's another Avengers or Spider-Man movie. Sony/Disney might come up with a deal before then. It's been said that Tom Holland has 2 more movies in his current contract. The thing is that Sony is limited to Spider-Man related characters. It's like if WB/DC can only make movies with Superman characters and no one else.

MickyDolenz said:

kewlschool said:

Spiderman, Captain Marvel, Black Panther are supposed to be the three leads. The sinister 6 was to be the next "avenger like movie." Where Spiderman with the help of asome other avengers help defeat the six. Now that can't be done. Unless they ink a new deal. Let's hope.

It'll probably be several years before there's another Avengers or Spider-Man movie. Sony/Disney might come up with a deal before then. It's been said that Tom Holland has 2 more movies in his current contract. The thing is that Sony is limited to Spider-Man related characters. It's like if WB/DC can only make movies with Superman characters and no one else.

Perhaps, but the plan for the sinister 6 was in play. And the next movie would bring in 2 more players in that world. The following movie after that would bring the 6 together to fight spiderman. Spiderman defeats them with the help of some of the other advengers. Now that can't happen!

Marvel's 'Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur' Cartoon Headed To Disney Channel

August 24, 2019 by Graeme McMillan Hollywood Reporter

What’s got four legs, four arms, a bright red tail, a genius-level IQ and a new animated series? Marvel Entertainment’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, announced this afternoon at D23 Expo and headed to Disney Channel in 2020.

Adapted from the 2016 Marvel comic book series of the same name, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur follows the adventures of 13-year-old Lunella Lafayette — one of the smartest people in the world, although not everyone believes her — and Devil, her pet dinosaur, who arrived in the present day thanks to an accidental time vortex. The concept is an updated take on Captain America and X-Men co-creator Jack Kirby’s 1978 Devil Dinosaur comic book series.

The new animated series will come from Disney Television Animation, with Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland’s Cinema Gypsy Productions as executive producers alongside Marvel Animation & Family Entertainment and Kim Possible producer Steve Loter. Jeff Howard and Kate Kondell will serve as co-producers and story editors.

"As an avid comic book fan, I am thrilled to be involved with Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” Fishburne said in a statement. “Disney Channel is the perfect platform to explore this pint-sized female African American superhero and I can't wait for their audience to enjoy the lighthearted adventures of Lunella and Devil Dinosaur.”

MickyDolenz said:

I hope it's true that Namor will be the villian.

uPtoWnNY said:

I hope it's true that Namor will be the villian.

I'm not sure, but I think Namor is owned by another movie studio like Spider-Man with Sony & Hulk with Universal. If that is true, Disney/Marvel would have to make a deal to lease him. Since Aquaman was a big hit for DC, would Marvel want to use Namor? He might be seen as a similar character to the general public.

MickyDolenz said:

uPtoWnNY said:

I hope it's true that Namor will be the villian.

I'm not sure, but I think Namor is owned by another movie studio like Spider-Man with Sony & Hulk with Universal. If that is true, Disney/Marvel would have to make a deal to lease him. Since Aquaman was a big hit for DC, would Marvel want to use Namor? He might be seen as a similar character to the general public.

Namor is owned by Universal which also owns the Hulk.

It's because of a scene in Endgame referring to underwater earthquakes unrelated to anything else in the movie, combined with Wakanda being at war with Atlantis in the comics are the reasons why many believe Namor will appear in the next Black Panther movie.

sexton said:

It's because of a scene in Endgame referring to underwater earthquakes unrelated to anything else in the movie, combined with Wakanda being at war with Atlantis in the comics are the reasons why many believe Namor will appear in the next Black Panther movie.

Maybe, but people have also said that Bucky was going to become White Wolf, who is T'Challa's adopted brother in the comics. That hasn't happened so far and it doesn't seem like something that's going to be related to the upcoming Falcon & Winter Soldier series.

MickyDolenz said:

sexton said:

It's because of a scene in Endgame referring to underwater earthquakes unrelated to anything else in the movie, combined with Wakanda being at war with Atlantis in the comics are the reasons why many believe Namor will appear in the next Black Panther movie.

Maybe, but people have also said that Bucky was going to become White Wolf, who is T'Challa's adopted brother in the comics. That hasn't happened so far and it doesn't seem like something that's going to be related to the upcoming Falcon & Winter Soldier series.

Nothing maybe about it, it really is a common belief that Namor will appear in the next film.

I don't know how Bucky being the White Wolf is related to the Namor speculation.

[Edited 8/30/19 8:41am]

MCU Surprise: Robert Downey Jr. Returning as Tony Stark for ‘Black Widow’
Zack Sharf | Sep 16, 2019 | Indie Wire

Comic book movie fans apparently have not seen the last of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark on the big screen. In reporting on this year’s Saturn Award winners, Deadline’s Geoff Boucher dropped a bombshell by saying that “Robert Downey Jr. will be seen in the role of Stark one more time, however, in the Marvel prequel ‘Black Widow’ in May 2020.” Downey Jr., who won this year’s Saturn Award for Best Actor in a Film thanks to his work in “Avengers: Endgame” (one of six prizes the blockbuster received) was supposed to make his final MCU appearance in the record-breaking “Avengers: Endgame,” which saw his character, Tony Stark/Iron Man, sacrifice himself to defeat Thanos and save the world.

“Black Widow” is kicking off the fourth phase of the MCU in summer 2020. The script from Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson takes place after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” so it’s not surprising that Downey Jr. would pop up as Tony Stark in a cameo appearance. Johansson’s Black Widow character was also killed off in “Avengers: Endgame,” making the upcoming “Black Widow” film a swan song for the actress in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Black Widow was introduced in the MCU in “Iron Man 2,” so the character’s long-standing relationship with Tony Stark also makes it appropriate for Downey Jr. to appear in the prequel film.

Downey Jr. has long been the face of the MCU as his 2008 superhero movie “Iron Man” kicked off the industry-defining franchise. Tony Stark’s “Endgame” death radically changed the MCU, and a large part of follow-up installment “Spider-Man: Far From Home” dealt with the emotional fallout of Tony’s sacrifice on the world and Peter Parker (Tom Holland). The chance to see Downey Jr. one last time as Tony Stark should drive even more interest to “Black Widow,” which inherently has the added bonus of also being Johansson’s final outing as Natasha Romanoff.

“Black Widow” is directed by “Lore” and “Somersault” filmmaker Cate Shortland. The supporting cast includes David Harbour, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, O-T Fagbenle, Ray Winstone, and Olivier Richters. Disney will release “Black Widow” in theaters nationwide May 1, 2020.

Bring it on ! I'm always happy to know there's a new superhero movie in the works. I kid you not, when i say that as a kid, i was a superhero fanatic. Something about having extraordinary powers, and using those powers for good, really got to me. I think it was the hero/save the day aspect of it all. That and ideal that there's something bigger than us humans(a God(s)). That stuff really affected me. And to a certain extent, still does.

Anyways, looking forward to all the movies and TV shows.

It's a crappy picture(picture of a picture) but here's me, Spider-Man and the Hulk. Maybe 1979.

sexton said:

MickyDolenz said:

I'm not sure, but I think Namor is owned by another movie studio like Spider-Man with Sony & Hulk with Universal. If that is true, Disney/Marvel would have to make a deal to lease him. Since Aquaman was a big hit for DC, would Marvel want to use Namor? He might be seen as a similar character to the general public.

Namor is owned by Universal which also owns the Hulk.

It's because of a scene in Endgame referring to underwater earthquakes unrelated to anything else in the movie, combined with Wakanda being at war with Atlantis in the comics are the reasons why many believe Namor will appear in the next Black Panther movie.

I've always been a Namor fan - Marvel's first mutant, a one of the rare few that can go toe-to-toe with the Hulk.