Originally published January 28, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, The Inhumans, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange 2, Fantastic Four, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Cloak and Dagger, The Defenders, The Punisher, Iron Fist, Avengers: Ultron Revolution, Legion, Logan, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, The Flash, Shazam, Suicide Squad, Gotham City Sirens, Supergirl, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Black Lightning, Gotham, Powerless, The LEGO Batman Movie, Justice League Dark, Unbreakable 2
It’s been a big week for Marvel Studios, with directors Anthony and Joe Russo officially announcing that filming is underway on Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel, with the filmmakers taking to social media to give us a look at the trailers for the superhero epic. No, not those kind of trailers, but rather the actual physical trailers where the actors get ready and stuff. Made for some good clickbait headlines around the web this week though. Meanwhile, Sean Gunn – brother of Guardians director James Gunn, and on set performer for Rocket Raccoon – shared a photo featuring what looks to be the new Infinity War logo, while Dave Bautista also confirmed Drax the Destroyer’s involvement, as well as naming his dream team-up for the movie: “I’ve said all along, I want to work with RDJ, man. I want to work with Robert Downey Jr. He’s Iron Man. He’s Tony Stark, man. He’s the guy! If I had to narrow down my favorite Marvel film: Iron Man. My favorite, I love it. That movie made me a fan of Iron Man, because up until then I really wasn’t. Batman and Aquaman were my guys growing up, oddly enough. It just made me a fan and I started watching from then on and all the Marvel movies, it’s just got the golden touch. They’ve really got their finger on the pulse…”
…Avengers: Infinity War isn’t the only Marvel movie starting production this week, as filming is also now officially underway on the Ryan Coogler-directed Black Panther movie. As part of the announcement, it was confirmed that Chadwick Boseman will be joined in the cast by three Captain America: Civil War stars in Andy Serkis (Ulysses Klaue), Martin Freeman (Everett Ross) and John Kani (T’Chaka), while the official synopsis was also unveiled, and reads: “Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the events of Captain America: Civil War, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to take his place as King. However, when an old enemy reappears on the radar, T’Challa’s mettle as King and Black Panther is tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the entire fate of Wakanda and the world at risk.” Meanwhile, we also got a look at the redesigned logo, along with some set photos featuring Boseman, Freeman, Danai Gurira (Okoye) and Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia) [see here]…
…Before we get to 2018, we’ve got three Marvel movies to look forward to this year, beginning with May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and this week saw the release of an international trailer [watch it here – although no new footage, sadly] and some promo art featuring Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot [see here], while director James Gunn also took to Facebook Live to offer a sneak peek at Tyler Bates’ score for the movie during recordings at Abbey Road Studios [see here]…
…Vin Diesel may have missed out on a starring role in The Inhumans following its move to television, but it seems he’s confident that he will get to headline a Marvel movie, stating that it’s “inevitable” Groot will get a solo feature: “It’s something that James Gunn has talked about and something that I knew he would love to do. Sure, I think it could be very interesting. I think it’s inevitable. That character is so enigmatic and he was already one of the most unique characters in the Marvel universe, and I think what Marvel has done, and what James Gunn has done to realize that character, has exceeded beyond anyone’s expectations. It’s just such an interesting character and there’s so much to learn about him. I’d love to go back to his planet and learn more about him, and I think the world would too. He’s really a genius, on a lot of levels, but we can only hear him say ‘I am Groot’ because of our sophistication level…”
…Meanwhile, Diesel has also discussed Inhumans, revealing that he thinks it’s a mistake if Marvel opts against a movie for Black Bolt and company: “I think Marvel should never—I don’t think Marvel should abandon their opportunity to make a film out of it. I think it could be a huge, huge saga, and if I had more time I would go over to Marvel and have that very conversation. But I think it would be a big mistake for Marvel to abandon their ambitions or their objective or their goals of making it into a film, because it would make such a cool universe…”
…Next up after Guardians Vol. 2 this year is Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Hasbro has given us a look at promotional images for its tie-in action figure line – including Spidey in his new suit and his early prototype costume, along with The Vulture [see here] – while Tom Holland has been speaking about the Spidey suit and its (lack of) comfort: “It’s not comfy but it’s the Spider-Man outfit – it’s the coolest thing ever. You look like a badass and feel like a gangster. The best thing is wearing it meeting kids – they genuinely think you have superpowers…”
…This week has brought some new Doctor Strange concept art featuring an early design for Dormammu [see here], while director Scott Derrickson has been asked whether the sequel could feature more supernatural elements such as Nightmare and even Count Dracula: “I wouldn’t necessarily rule anything out. That’s certainly where the comics went in the ’80s but I also think that was probably the weakest era of the comics. The alternate dimensions and possibilities of the multiverse that we set up with the first film already give limitless possibilities. What I will say is that the goal would not be to underutilize that, or to create something that was less innovative than the first Doctor Strange. The comics, especially the Lee/Ditko comics, were always pushing into unexpectedly weird places and storylines. That has continued on into the current Doctor Strange comics, which are really great. So anything’s possible with Doctor Strange, I wouldn’t rule anything out…”
…Derrickson also isn’t ruling out the possibility of Marvel reacquiring the rights to the Fantastic Four from Fox, with the filmmaker stating that he’d love to see Marvel’s First Family joining the MCU: “I still have hope that Fantastic Four can be properly brought into the MCU because a lot of Doctor Strange – that’s the comment I read the most during that. I love those characters and I think that they still deserve another shot at finding a true home in the MCU. I still have hope for that. That’s my honest answer…”
…Shifting to the small screen and you can read Danny Hale’s review of Tuesday’s episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ‘Wake Up’ here, and be sure to check out a clip and promo images for this week’s twelfth episode ‘Hot Potato Soup’ featuring the return of Patton Oswalt [see here and here], along with the synopsis for the following week’s ‘Boom’ [see here]…
…With production on Freeform’s Cloak and Dagger series set to get underway next month, it’s been reported – but not confirmed – this week that Noah Gray-Cabey (Heroes) and Debby Ryan (Jessie) have been cast as Tyrone ‘Ty’ Johnson and Tandy Bowen in the straight-to-series project. You can read casting breakdowns for the two young heroes here…
…Click below to continue on for The Defenders, The Punisher, Iron Fist, Avengers: Ultron Revolution, Legion, Logan, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, The Flash, Shazam, Suicide Squad, Gotham City Sirens, Supergirl, The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Black Lightning, Gotham, Powerless, The LEGO Batman Movie, Justice League Dark, Unbreakable 2 and more…
