Spider-Men and Vampires!

For our next installment; Spider-Man. Or should I say 'Spider-Men'? More on that in a second...

Sony Pictures has announced that they plan to release either a preview or a teaser trailer for Tom Holland's Spider-Man 3 (currently still untitled) in December 2020. This is reinforced by the fact that trailers for Spidey's two previous installments, "Homecoming" and "Far From Home", were released in December 2016 and 2018, respectively. So hopefully 2020 doesn't somehow screw us out of that.

Now that Jamie Foxx's Electro from the Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man franchise is being brought on for Spider-Man 3, coupled with all the teasers surrounding the MCU multiverse, folks (me included) are hopeful to see Andrew Garfield and Tobey McGuire team up with Tom Holland to kick some Sinister Six ass!

A note about the Sinister Six: Garfield's movies introduced Lizard, Electro, Rhino, Green Goblin, and had a teaser for Doctor Octopus. Holland's first couple movies have incorporated Vulture and Mysterio, and teased Scorpion. Rumors have surrounded a Kraven appearance. Do you think the Sinister Six is coming? Or is it still a ways off? If Vulture, Mysterio, Scorpion, and Electro are for sure on the roster, who do you think the other two will be?

 

Next, an Inverse article suggested that with Dr. Strange playing a role in Spider-Man 3, one of Spidey's old villains, Morlun, would be the big baddie for the third installment. Morlun is vampire who hunts super-beings throughout the multiverse. If Garfield and McGuire are indeed reprising their roles in the MCU, Morlun makes a bit more sense. However, Morlun got his multiverse-traversing abilities from Karn (AKA Master Weaver), who previously hunted Spider-Totems throughout the multiverse, but eventually had a change of heart.

This next piece, I fully admit upfront is a bit of an analytic leap. However, if there is any truth to all these multiverse theories, introducing Morlun made me think of Dr. Michael Morbius (because VAMPIRES!). In the comics, Morbius has had encounters with Dr. Strange, and Dr. Curt Conners (AKA Lizard from Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man). One point that rings out to me, from the comics, is when Martine Bancroft (Morbius' fiancee) wakes up from an illness or coma (or something) and discovers notes and letters belonging to Morbius, from Dr. Reed Richards regarding a cure for his vampiric ailment. I know this is a huge stretch, but it could end up being an easter egg that teases the introduction of the Fantastic Four.

What do you think? Am I way off, or do you think I might be on to something? Let me know in the comments!

 

Johnny Rich

News from Around the MCU

Earlier this week, during an interview with The Sudbury Star, Tatiana Maslany denied being cast as Jennifer Walters (AKA She-Hulk) stating it "actually isn't a real thing and it's like a press release that’s gotten out of hand".

Cell phone footage Tweeted from the set of Falcon & Winter Soldier shows U.S. Agent (Wyatt Russell) giving someone a serious beatdown. We just don't know whose ass he's kicking yet.

Marvel announced a new name earlier today regarding the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness movie, stating Xochitl Gomez has been added to the cast. Though what role she'll be playing has not been confirmed, that hasn't stopped the denizens of the internet from speculating that she'll play one America Chavez (AKA Miss America). Miss America has, among other remarkable powers, the ability to open portals that enable her to traverse the Multiverse as well as time travel.

Lastly, and this specific bit is about a month old (but somehow managed to fly under my radar), in mid-September CBR posted an article and video from the set of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showing U.S. Agent taking on three baddies. The one he chokes out is an unidentified female, and for literally no other reason, my mind went straight to Sinthea Schmidt (AKA Mother Superior, Sin). Sin is Red Skull's daughter, and eventually takes over Hydra and partners with Crossbones to take on Captain America in the comics.

What do you think? Have you seen any interesting news or behind-the-scenes footage that you think I should dive into? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

Johnny Rich

WandaVision Rabbit Hole

I'm going to open up with a few of the thoughts that sent me tumbling down a rabbit hole, and then branch out from there.

WandaVision introduces Speed and Wiccan, Wanda and Vision's twin children. Since Vision is a sentient android, and therefore unable to naturally reproduce, Wanda uses her reality altering powers to locate two fragments of the soul stone from another reality. Somehow Mephisto plays into that (I believe he'll be introduced in the Eternals movie). I'm fairly certain that the stone fragments are actually part of Mephisto somehow, at least in the comics.

Wanda is confirmed to be in the next Dr. Strange movie (Multiverse of Madness). Being that they're going to be doing things in the "multiverse", it's not a stretch to speculate the introduction of at least one or two of the following characters; Annihilus, the Fantastic Four, Galactus, Terrax, Silver Surfer, Nova (Frankie Raye or Sam Alexander), Korvak, or Vulcan.

Couple this with the unsubstantiated buzz that Tobey McGuire and Andrew Garfield are reprising their roles as Spider-Man from different universes/realities, and you've got the makings for one of the most successful and flexible continuities in the history of cinema.

My only question now is, how does Kang the Conqueror (and potentially the Terminatrix) fit in? Because Kang is confirmed to be in the next Ant-Man movie, but he is a time traveler, not reality/universe jumper (?). I'm not sure if Kevin Feige will mandate a distinction there (I think he should).

Lastly, and this might be on par with, or further out than, the introduction of mutants/X-Men into the MCU: I think we're going to see the Defenders replace the Avengers. When you think about it -- Thor's off with the GotG, he's got "Love and Thunder" coming down the pipeline, and he's being replaced by Jane Foster. Falcon & Winter Soldier are going to be contending with the likes of Zemo, U.S. Agent, and rumored Omega Red. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are out of the picture, and Black Widow is allegedly dead. Hawkeye is getting his own spin-off with speculation surrounding the inclusion of Kate Bishop, and after the unfortunate and untimely death of Chadwick Boseman (aka Black Panther), the only heavy hitters left on Earth 616 are Doctor Strange, Hulk, and Spider-Man. With the Sinister Six making their debut in the MCU, Spidey's going to have his hands full.

 

Let's not forget Okoye mentioning earthquakes off of the African coast in Endgame, or the scene with the map of the Atlantic and a marker over Atlantis in Iron Man 2. Two clear little easter eggs teasing the introduction of Namor.

With a possible Silver Surfer intro, Namor in the works, Hulk, and Dr. Strange, we've got the OG Defenders team probably coming through in Phase 5. Because with everything else going on, it's going to take a hot minute to get all of that set up.

Do you agree? Disagree? Why? Did I miss something? Or is there anything you'd like me to cover? Let me know what you think in the comments

 

 

 

Johnny Rich

***Spider-Man 3: Home Run poster is fan-made by Psychboz

Half-Cocked Ventures of the Foolhardy Optimist

To whom it may concern,

I watched one of the more recent trailers for the upcoming Disney+ show WandaVision, and it got me thinking. I love Marvel comics, and I love the MCU movies, and what's more is I love using my knowledge of the comic book history to try and predict new characters and plot points for where the MCU is headed.

For whatever reason, I started writing all of this down as I was thinking it. Initially, I decided that I was going to post it to Facebook, but only a small number of my friends really give a shit about my nerdy pastimes. Instead, I decided I'd try to start a blog about it. The kicker is that I don't know of a single friend, colleague, or family member that uses Blogger. So I guess we'll see how good my prediction skills AND my self promotion skills are!

So sit back and gawk, as this intrepid fool straps himself into a catapult and rockets into the vast oblivion of the internet's Blogosphere!

Johnny Rich