The Latest MCU News

The MCU is where Marvel canon is loosely interpreted for the uninitiated Marvel movie fans. Read about all that influences the original characters as they come to the big screen, from actors to behind scenes gossip through 2023. 

Disney’s Marvel Studios Hot to Sue Leaker

Marvel intends to take intense legal action against the source of the most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe script leak. They may have opened the door behind which hides the Quantumania script leaker. On Monday, March 14th, 2023, a federal judge in the state of California issued subpoenas to both Google and Reddit instructing them to identify the users behind the user accounts responsible for leaking Quantumania script dialogue. Upon doing so, Marvel will be poised to pursue criminal action for copyright infringement. 

From the “Why?” Department

Time for another fanmade image of so-and-so as so-and-so image to be praised for the posters’ sheer genius! Too snarky? Well, after you see this “What if…” of Harry Potter as Wolverine and decide for yourself if these things have reached a point of irrelevancy.

 

This one is for everyone that tagged me in this today – Daniel Radcliffe #wolverine @RealHughJackman #xmen pic.twitter.com/pqAyhzAefZ

— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) February 11, 2019

 

Quantumania Unifies Critics and Fans. Marvel Has Lost Its Way

After a week in theaters, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has made it clear to long-time fans, critics, and hopefully Marvel itself — Marvel Studios is undependable, rudderless, and committed to not change. 

Yes, box office receipts during the opening week make it a hit, but not a blockbuster. Those days are gone. The pattern is clear. Audiences have been showing up because these are Marvel films, but the feedback is mirroring what critics have been writing over and over. The films and series are all meandering. Sure they share a universe but they don’t feel cohesive anymore.

At one time legacy comic book fans and youth culture influence could argue over the ‘woke’ message, but that isn’t the real core issue that Marvel has broken in their overall strategy.  The problem is that stories and characters are being changed. Canon is what guided Marvel in its early phases. Even then the studios let directors ‘interpret’ a bit too much and take liberties that diluted future stories. 

Instead of listing those past mistakes, let’s use a current example in Quantumania. MODOK. The character is meant to be a sadistic genius. Did anyone in the audience get that from watching him brought to life for the first time in a live-action film? CGI notwithstanding, watch any animated cartoon or cut scene from a video game and those representations are true to form. Next is the fact the film didn’t just deviate from his origin, it made a mockery of it. In short, Darren. Ask anyone who knows anything of Marvel and the MODOK we received in Quantumania is nothing less than aggravating to accept. The last point — they kill him off. Perhaps that may be the best and only right decision they made in this film. All this sucks but what it really belies is that when any part of canon is disrupted in this way, stories that come later are drastically affected if not destroyed. 

The Marvel cinematic universe worked early on because of canon. It was the foundation of what made the entirety of phases one and two all worthwhile. When the Avengers finally assembled in 2012 the universe of comic book fans collectively rejoiced for something some waited decades and lifetimes to experience. It’s all gone to crap. We can point out storytelling issues that are broken too such as the lack of character development that once existed to no longer build tension and accountability (Quantumania epitomizes this), but canon is the absolute key to all. 

This article will be lost to the world. It won’t be shared across the Internet until it reaches the desk of Kevin Feige. Still, there was a time when this writer wrote an email (the only email he ever wrote) to DC years ago when Warner Brothers decided to finally mirror the MCU (again, Avengers assemble!). The letter pleaded that if they wanted the magic bullet to succeed in their run, just follow canon. 

Well. Who am I anyway? Just a kid that watched Spider-Man and Batman almost every day after school at 4:00 pm.  The memories are clear of Batman running past the same two buildings chasing bad guys and Spider-Man doing the same except he’d sling webs and swing between them. The wish was simple. Would I ever see them come to life?

Those kids that had that dream are everywhere. They don’t need a message. They don’t want to see the characters they first experienced change costumes, be gender-flipped, or origin drastically altered. Don’t assume those kids are racists or out of touch. Most fans want the characters they first met to be brought to life based on how they first experienced them. If a character was female in the comic, it’s not unrealistic to expect that character to be female when it does come to the big screen.  Peter Jackson didn’t just say, “Screw it, let’s just make Hobbits five and six feet tall.” Maybe that comment doesn’t encompass the larger point. 

Consider this analogy. Sure sometimes a cover song is better than the original but as you listen to the new version you hear the original in your head and every word, and every note registers for comparison. You don’t will it — it just happens. Analogies aside, the foundation of bringing superheroes to the big screen is canon. Twist it, re-order it, ignore it and you’ve spoiled it all. 

Wolverine Deletes Tweet Confirming X-Men Season 2

Original cast member of the animated X-Men 97 series let their excitement for a season 2 get the best of them. The voice actor for Wolverine, Cal Dodd Tweeted out a reveal that he was already working on season 2 voice work and within a short time, deleted the announcement. 

Yesterday. Studio. Season 2. GREAT session! #Wolverine #XMen #XMen97 #xmentas #marvel #DisneyPlus @DisneyPlus

No word if showrunner Beau DeMayo or Disney execs were the motivation for deleting the tweet, but it is clear the show is in the good graces of the Disney decision-makers for it to already be greenlit before its return to Disney+ this fall (2023). 

Disney Influence Sticks to “The Message” in Marvel’s Quantumania

Ant-Man’s third feature in the Marvel Universe enjoyed a good opening weekend at the box office. Many insiders are hoping this is the return to their epic run of must-see box office films, while others are speculating if Disney will ever understand the negative influence of open propaganda in their films is dividing fans.  While Ant-Man and Wasp: Quantumania couldn’t help but draw an opening weekend audience, reviews from both sides of the political aisle are finding fault with the story. What’s sad is that when Marvel and Disney left modern-day politics out of Marvel canon, their films prospered. Past Marvel films had to appeal to a single audience.

No more. Marvel films now must run the gauntlet of appeasing both past comic book enthusiasts that ironically were conservatives reading the work of liberal writers, and new comic book enthusiasts made up of ultra-left-leaning youth culture. It’s a can’t-win for Disney and Marvel in the current climate. It’s clear however that Disney didn’t flip a coin to decide which way their wind would blow. Disney is counting on the strength of the youth culture to carry it through this storm. The truth is that liberal values always eventually win out throughout history.

What Disney Marvel may have lost sight of is that the very nature of Super Hero stories goes against all logic that pacifists stand for. It would be hypocritical to write stories of superheroes that punch adversaries if the youth writers of today understood their conundrum. Instead, the Marvel universe plays victim to changes in societal values instead of simply bringing original stories to the big screen.  Maybe the new management change at Disney wants to return to the original winning formula, but it doesn’t show in Quantumania.

Praise for Antifa and Socialism could be ignored during viewing but the fact they are so prevalent is what made most comic book faithful put a microscope on the story. It’s a story that ends with no impact due to the youth culture’s desire to influence instead of following tried and true storytelling components.  Liberal values, conservative values, whatever. If you are going to make it obvious, make it a full-on satire, otherwise in a superhero movie it’s contrived. It’s propaganda. 

For now, everyone is spinning their wheels with criticism coming from both sides. Quantumania has many flaws and they all stem from its identity as a superhero film being toyed with by a forced influence. 

 

The Marvels Gets New Release Date

Marvel Studios tweeted a new poster for The Marvels and slipped in a new release date. It’s been delayed by three months. No more summer release for The Marvels. Initially set for July 28th, the non-descript poster of  Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Teyonah Parris as Photon, and  Iman Vellani as Ms. Marvel was accompanied by its new release date of November 10, 2023.  

Galactus Leaked For Fantastic Four The rumor mill is claiming the Silver Surfer won’t be the Fantastic Four’s protagonist when they debut in the MCU. It will be Galactus. Rumors further claim the role is already cast. The film plot is thought to introduce the FF by way of Reed Richards and his team being stuck in the 1960s after attempts to tinker with the time travel technology revealed by Tony Stark in End Game.

How Jeremy Renner Became Injured In His Snow Plow Accident He hasn’t tweeted about it, nor has any family member or friend revealed the reason why he was caught under his snow plow on January 5, 2023. It took a request of the Nevada sheriff’s department incident report by CNN to get to the truth. Jeremy Renner was attempting a heroic act. According to the report, Renner had initially left the cab of the snow plow when he realized it was sliding sideways. In doing so, it began to roll down the hill in front of his home and was headed toward his nephew. In that split second, Renner decided to re-enter the cab of his Pistenbully to stop it as it headed toward his family member and divert its path. He never made it to the cab. When Renner jumped up on the moving tracks of the Pistenbully, he was pulled down to the left by the tracks and pulled under the moving snow plow. It continued on leaving Renner with crushed bones and internal injuries. His family came to his aid and stayed with him until emergency personnel arrived. Renner has been hospitalized since with a collapsed chest and over 30 broken bones according to the MCU Hawkeye actor.

Hugh Jackman’s First Ryan Reynolds Troll of 2023

It’s been just five days into 2023 and Hugh Jackman has taken the first shot of 2023 at Ryan Reynolds ahead of their Deadpool 3 team-up.

She-Hulk Nomination Criticized

The Marvel series She-Hulk released on Disney+ in 2022 has been nominated for an award in VFX. The show itself was extremely divisive among heritage fans and a younger audience in search of characters their generation relates to. Now the show has one more group criticizing it. In the wake of the 21st annual Visual Effects Society Awards nomination for Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project, fans in every camp are united in criticizing the nomination. Many argued for other show characters to calling the effects outright appalling. However, one Redditor gave the most balanced criticism that anyone could relate to, “Oh boy… I loved the show and had no problem with the VFX given the platform and budget, but no way was it award-winning work.“

Jeremy Renner In Near Death Accident on New Year’s Day

Marvel’s Hawkeye, Jeremy Renner in Critical, but stable condition, after an accident. On Sunday, New Year’s Day 2023, Jeremey Renner was in a weather-related accident involving a snow plow. It is thought to have taken place near a property of his in Nevada while he was plowing snow but has not been confirmed. The area experienced a New Year’s eve storm. His family is said to be at his bedside. Renner owns and operates heavy machinery including a 20,000 lb Kodiak Northwest Idaho Norland snow blower.

Marvel Announces Answers to Timeline But You’ll Have To Wait Until September

Marvel Studios has teamed up with Penguin books for an entire book on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) timeline. Aptly titled, Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline, is available for pre-order with a release date of September 5, 2023. Hired to take on the task in writing the timeline are a trio of Marvel experts. Anthony Breznican is a seasoned journalist who has written for most major publications from Vanity Fair to the Associated Press. Next is a film journalist, Rebecca Theodor-Vachon followed by Amy Ratcliffe. Amy has previous similar works coving the Star Wars universe.