In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers 4, Thor 4, Black Panther, Spider-Man: Homecoming 2, Venom, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Black Widow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Cloak & Dagger, The Punisher, X-Men, Wolverine, The Gifted, Justice League, Shazam, Flashpoint, Gotham City Sirens, The Batman, Supergirl, The Flash, Black Lightning, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham, Titans, Watchmen, Hitman, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Superman: Red Son, Hellboy, Spawn, The Umbrella Academy, The Boys, The Tick and more…
With the release of this year’s hugely-anticipated Avengers: Infinity War drawing closer, Marvel has unveiled a new international trailer for the superhero blockbuster [watch it here], while we’ve also got some concept art showcasing the redesigned Hulkbuster 2.0 armor [check it out here, but beware of a Hulkbuster-related spoiler], as well as comments from co-director Joe Russo, who discussed Steve Rogers’ role in the movie and whether we’ll see him as Nomad: ““Our approach to the [Steve Rogers] was to deconstruct him, to take him in a different direction. Obviously you can’t deal with a character called Captain America without dealing with the thematics behind that, so we wanted a relevancy to it and we wanted to put him in a position where he was questioning the chain of command. You’ll see into these Avengers films, he’s is on a very specific journey as a character. Some people have suspected that he may be Nomad heading into Avengers 3 and I wouldn’t say that he is exactly Nomad, but he is the spirit of that character…”
…Chris Evans himself has also been chatting about Infinity War, and his confidence in Marvel Studios: “Let’s be honest. Marvel doesn’t miss. They haven’t missed yet. They’re batting a thousand. I don’t know how they do that. They don’t miss and so to see all these actors come together from all these other franchises that I’ve seen as fans be exchanging dialogue with me was overwhelming and really just so satisfying because really truly, there’s not one bad apple.” Evans also praised his co-star Robert Downey Jr., believing that he’s irreplaceable as Iron Man: “He’s such a wonderful guy and is so talented, and so experienced, and so supportive. He’s always been in my corner. I’ve always felt supported by him. He really brings everybody in to the group and makes sure everyone feels welcome, especially on this last one. He really is so irreplaceable. Nobody can ever be Iron Man. Nobody. It’s not a role like a Superman or a Batman that can kind of find different incarnations. No one can touch it. No one can…”
…Another actor who’s been discussing Infinity War this week in Chris Hemsworth, who spoke about the film’s epic scale, as well as the expiry of his Marvel contract with Avengers 4: “Contractually, right now — yeah, this is it. I’m done. I won’t be playing the character again. It’s sort of a scary thought. This really seemed like this never-ending thing. And now it’s potentially finishing. I felt like we re-invented him [with Thor: Ragnarok]. There is a bigger platform now to continue if we want to. Kevin Feige said, ‘Look, we just have to concentrate on [Avengers] now. So who knows [if Thor 4 will happen]? It’s a conversation for further down the road, if it was going to happen. I want to slow down for a minute and make some decisions on a rested brain.” However, while Thor’s future is a little uncertain, Hemsworth also revealed that he and Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi have been tossing around ideas for Thor 4…
…Following on from the record-breaking advance ticket sales, box office projections for the domestic opening weekend of Black Panther have been revised upward, with the film now said to be looking at around $120 million. Should that prove accurate, Black Panther would be the biggest opening weekend for the first instalment of a Marvel Studios series, surpassing the $117 million of Spider-Man: Homecoming and $94 million of Guardians of the Galaxy, but would fall short of February’s biggest opening set by Deadpool with $132.4 million back in February 2016. Meanwhile, Marvel legend Stan Lee has joked that he was disappointed by his cameo, as he didn’t get to fight Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa: “I’m a little disappointed in my Black Panther cameo. I had wanted a great fight scene where I fight the Black Panther to a standstill. I didn’t get that, but I want you to see the movie anyway. Even though it’s not my greatest cameo, you owe it to me to see it…”
…Marvel, Sony and director Jon Watts have been filling out the crew of the as-yet-untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel, with the project bringing on board Matthew Lloyd (Daredevil, The Defenders) as director of photography, Claude Pare (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: Dark Phoenix) as production designer, and Anna B. Sherppard (Captain America: The First Avenger, Maleficent) as costume designer. Meanwhile, a rumour has emerged claiming that Marvel is looking to cast a European actress in her 20s to portray a new “femme fatale” character, with speculation suggesting this could be a reimagined version of Gwen Stacy, Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman, or even Felicia Hardy or Silver Sablinova from the upcoming Silver & Black spinoff…
…And speaking of Spider-Man, despite earlier statements from Marvel categorically denying it, a rumour has surfaced this week claiming that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will make an appearance alongside Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock in the Venom movie. The rumour came by way of Collider’s Jon Schnepp, who subsequently clarified that “Tom Holland was on set filming scenes on Venom for at least two days as Peter Parker. Okay, so I’m not saying Spider-Man is in the film. When I say Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is in the film, I’m saying Peter Parker is in the film…”
…Marvel has released the above image from its third superhero movie of 2018, Ant-Man and the Wasp, featuring Evangeline Lilly’s Hope Van Dyne and Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang suited up in their costumes, as well as a new synopsis which reads: “From the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes Ant-Man and The Wasp, a new chapter featuring heroes with the astonishing ability to shrink. In the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War, Scott Lang grapples with the consequences of his choices as both a super hero and a father. As he struggles to rebalance his life with his responsibilities as Ant-Man, he’s confronted by Hope van Dyne and Dr. Hank Pym with an urgent new mission. Scott must once again put on the suit and learn to fight alongside the Wasp as the team works together to uncover secrets from the past…”
…In a couple of other pieces of news from the big screen side of the MCU, James Gunn has confirmed on Twitter that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters in 2020, while a report has surfaced suggesting that Scarlett Johansson will become the highest-paid actress in Hollywood with a $25 million payday for Black Widow, plus a $6 million bonus if it outperforms Wonder Woman at the global box office…
…Turning to the small screen and you can read Danny Hale’s review of the seventh episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season five ‘Together or Not At All’ here, while we also have a promo and images for this coming Friday’s ninth episode ‘Best Laid Plans’ [check them out here and here]…
…Freeform has announced that its new Marvel show Cloak & Dagger is set to get underway on June 7th, and accompanying the news was a sneak peek trailer for the series, which you can watch here…
…During an appearance at ACE Comic Con, The Punisher star Jon Bernthal was asked which of the Defenders he’d like to see appearing alongside his Frank Castle in the recently-announced second season: “I love Charlie Cox. I’ve worked with him before and I’d work with him again on anything in a heartbeat. He’s the reason I’m doing this. He brought me into this and his performance is what made me want to do it. That being said, [The Defenders are] all great. I’m a huge fan of Krysten Ritter’s too. She’s killer and I’d love to work with her as well…”
Click below to continue onto the next page for X-Men, Wolverine, The Gifted, Justice League, Shazam, Flashpoint, Gotham City Sirens, The Batman, Supergirl, The Flash, Black Lightning, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham, Titans, Watchmen, Hitman, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Superman: Red Son, Hellboy, Spawn, The Umbrella Academy, The Boys, The Tick and more…
Originally published January 20, 2018. Updated November 21, 2019.
