Weekly MCU Review for 9/19

Another week, and more MCU news!  News is coming out about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and all the upcoming Marvel Netflix series, to say nothing of the upcoming movies.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up (*ducks*) on your Marvel news!

Mostly MCU Reviews

My articles from the week

The only review for the week was of Agent Carter season 1, episode 7, “Snafu.”  There’s still 1 episode left to review, but what did you think of the first season?

Looking ahead to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3, I also had a couple episodes exploring the possibilities for our heroes.  First, I looked at what might have happened to Simmons, a question which will probably be asked fairly quickly in either the first or second episode.  Second, I made some guesses about the Secret Warriors and how their storyline will play out over the course of the season.  What do you think happened to Simmons?  How do you think the Secret Warriors will come together?

MCU News

Links to news articles and blog posts about the MCU

No one has yet found the biggest Easter Egg in Guardians of the Galaxy.  What do you think it is?

While we’re on the subject, someone spotted a Big Hero 6 Easter Egg in Avengers: Age of Ultron.  One of the A.I. options Tony was sifting through when he chose his replacement for J.A.R.V.I.S. was named “T.A.D.A.S.H.I.”  Did you see it?

Elizabeth Olsen said that the Scarlet Witch’s powers will be evolving between Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.  What do you think this means?  New powers?  Just more powerful?

According to Sebastian Stan, Civil War will have some intense fight scenes as well as a lot of character and heart.  Are you excited for this movie?  Is May here yet?

Remember a while back when Jason Statham said that he wouldn’t want to do a modern superhero movie because the stunt doubles and green screens take all the art out of filming action scenes?  Paul Bettany had this to say.  Shots = fired.

In that same interview, Paul Bettany confessed that he is not his daughter’s favorite character in the MCU; that honor belongs to Iron Man.  Who’s your favorite Avenger?

Elizabeth Olsen said that Captain America: Civil War will be “darker” and “fun”.  She also said she doesn’t know if she will be in Infinity War.  Personally, I would assume pretty much everyone will be in Infinity War at some point!  Which are you more excited for?

According to a new rumor, Peter Parker will have been Spider-Man for about a year at the time of Captain America: Civil War and only be known as an urban legend by the people of NYC.  Does this fit with your thinking?  I admit, it makes sense to me.

It appears that the Winter Soldier will have a larger role in Captain America: Civil War.  Excited?

According to Sebastian Stan, Civil War will still be a Captain America movie, rather than an Avengers movie.  It makes sense; the focus will be on Cap and his story, rather than on everyone the way it was for Age of Ultron.  What are your thoughts?

Rachel McAdams has confirmed that she will be playing the female lead in Doctor Strange.  Only one question:  who’s she playing?

So Zachary Levi (Fandral, Thor: The Dark World) doesn’t know if he’ll be back as Fandral in Ragnarok or if Josh Dallas (Fandral, Thor) will be back.  However, he did say that according to Kevin Feige, playing Fandral in the second Thor movie doesn’t preclude him from playing another Marvel character down the road.  I can see that, especially if Josh Dallas returns for future Fandral appearances, but I’ll ask you:  should Zachary Levi play another Marvel character, and if so whom?

Is it reading into things too much to take these comments as calling into question whether or not Tom Hiddleston will be back for Thor: Ragnarok?

Here is our first clear look at Daisy Johnson/Quake’s look for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 3.

Here is another look with different lighting.

I like this look:  it strikes a good balance between comic book faithfulness and the TV aesthetic.  I especially like the second picture, which gives it a lot more color.  You can really see the gold lines on the second one.  I’m curious to see exactly what her gauntlets are going to do.  Also, apparently everyone will be receiving a costume change for season 3.  What do you think of this look?

We can add to those Skye Daisy photos this poster showing the whole main cast:

We can’t really say that much about any of them based on this—we can’t even see anything about Coulson’s prosthetic since he’s rocking the Luke Skywalker glove—but they all look good.  What do you think?

On top of those pictures comes this huge gallery of cast stills.  Among other things, we get our best look yet at Coulson’s prosthetic, which still looks more like a glove than anything else.  There is also a picture of Deathlok with a slightly different suit which contains a little more red on the arms.  What do you think?

Here are some details on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season premiere, titled “Laws of Nature.”  The synopsis also announces that Constance Zimmer’s character is Rosalind Price.  Here is a huge gallery of photos for the episode.  What do you expect from this episode/season?

The first official photos of Jessica Jones were released this week, including Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Kilgrave, Harper, and Trish/Patsy Walker.  The first thing that strikes me is actually the picture of Kilgrave, who is not purple, though he wears a purple scarf.  David Tennant certainly looks evil enough, though; I think it would have been a little too campy if he were actually purple, rather than the gritty realism they are going for.  What do you think?

Here is a bit of information from Drew Goddard about Daredevil season 2.  Among other things, he talks about the changes made when adapting a comic book story to the screen:  “I think it’s our job to treat it as if it’s our run. If I’m the writer of a comic book, you wouldn’t just retell someone else’s story, you would just take that ball and move it forward.”  This makes a lot of sense.  We can’t expect the MCU to look exactly like the comics for many reasons, so we should be getting hung up on things like the changed origin of the Twins (and the MCU isn’t the only place where that’s been in flux).  What do you think?

Jon Bernthal is definitely pumped to be playing Frank Castle, a.k.a. the Punisher.  Here’s a photo of him wearing the iconic emblem.  However, I’m going to take a wild guess that this isn’t a set photo!  Do you think he’ll put on the skull during Daredevil season 2?

Stick will be back for three episodes of Daredevil season 2 with another mission for Matt.  What do you think it is?

Alfre Woodard has been confirmed to be playing Mariah Dillard, a.k.a. Black Mariah, in Luke Cage.  She will be a Politician and leader in the Harlem community who happens to be the cousin of Cottonmouth (the villain).  How do you think this will play out?

Here are some set photos of the villains from Luke Cage, which is now in production in New York.  My guess for a release date would be somewhere around next summer; if I’m remembering correctly, Daredevil season 1 and Jessica Jones season 1 both started filming roughly 6-9 months before their release, so Luke Cage could come out any time between March and June 2016, with Daredevil season 2 coming between January and April 2016.  Which of the three upcoming Netflix series are you most excited for?

And now they’ve confirmed character details for 4 of the characters in Luke Cage.  Claire Temple (who is most likely an ally), Shades (a criminal with ties to Cage’s past), Scarfe (an NYPD detective), and Misty Knight.  Interestingly, Misty Knight is an NYPD officer and Scarfe’s partner, and they are investigating Luke Cage.  This means that Luke Cage will be very early in Misty Knight’s career.  What do you think of these character details?

Rumor Has It that this is the lineup for Marvel Netflix Phase 2:

2018: Moon Knight with Bushman as the main villain
2018: The Punisher with Jigsaw as the main villain
2019: Deathlok with Fixer as the main villain
2019: Spider-Woman with Madame Hydra as the main villain

(Note:  this seems to be the originating source)

No idea if there’s anything to any of this speculation, but all four would make sense.  Punisher and Deathlok in particular would make a good deal of sense as they are either already a part of the MCU (Deathlok) or will appear within the year (Punisher).  Additionally, all of these characters are extremely dark and violent, something which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has had to dance around a bit with Deathlok, using him sparingly and using camera angles to cut out the more gruesome moments (Agent Garrett head-stomp, anyone?).  I'll have more thoughts on this rumor this afternoon, but I would be happy if any of these characters appeared in Marvel Netflix Phase 2; would you?

Do you think that Batman or Superman could singlehandedly take out all the Avengers in a 1-on-7 (including Vision) fight?  Max Landis does.  What do you think of his Batman scenario?  Personally, I think he discounts the human Avengers a little too quickly, I don’t think any glue could hold down Thor (even if it doesn’t conduct electricity), and I don’t think Vision’s vibranium/whatever body can be taken out with an EMP (I could be wrong on that, though).

News from Around Geekdom

Anything not related to the MCU that I find interesting

You know how Stan Lee hasn’t seen Fant4stic yet?  Apparently Kate Mara hasn’t, either.  And she’s actually in the movie!  At least she has a sense of humor about the whole thing.

And yet FOX is still working of a sequel to Fant4stic.  Yeah.  Sure.  That’s definitely going to happen!  Here’s my sequel pitch:  STOP DESTROYING THE FIRST FAMILY AND GIVE THEM BACK TO MARVEL ALREADY!  Radical and different, I know.

Gambit has been having some serious problems:  First the rumors of Channing Tatum’s exit and now the announcement of the director’s exit.  Do you think this movie will actually get off the ground?

Cool.  Evidently Gal Gadot was offered the role of Faora-Ul (Zod’s second-in-command) in Man of Steel but had to turn it down because she was a month pregnant.  Her reward:  a daughter and Wonder Woman!

Here are some Man of Steel sequel rumors:  George Miller will direct it with Brainiac as the villain for a 2019 or 2020 release.  Oh, and Bizarro and Supergirl will also be involved.  However, it sounds like Miller has several options available to him for his next project, so it may not be this one.  What do you think of these rumors?

And just like that, the rumors for Man of Steel 2 turn into Justice League rumors, with Brainiac rumored to be the villain for that movie instead.  In fact, now it is rumored that Superman won’t get another solo movie until they’ve established the whole DCEU.  Does that disappoint you?

DC and Warner Bros. are reportedly developing a Blue Beetle/Booster Gold buddy cop/team-up movie.  This could add more of a lighthearted element to the DCEU.  Are you interested?

Another major DC character was teased in a deleted scene from The Flash series premiere.  Do you want to see Aquaman appear in the DCTVU, even if it’s just a quick cameo?

Legends of Tomorrow is also teasing the Metal Men, a group of autonomous robots based on different metals.  Are you going to be watching this series?

Wow.  So apparently Mark Hamill almost died during the filming of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  It sounds like it wasn’t actually on the set but while he was sightseeing.  However, according to @HamillHimself, rumors of his near-demise were greatly exaggerated.  Of course, I’m pretty sure falling down the stairs wouldn’t be enough to kill a Jedi!

Star Trek: Beyond is moving back a couple weekends next July to July 22 so it can open in more IMAX theaters.  However, this puts it in competition with the next Ice Age movie and Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur.  Do you think this will hurt Star Trek or the other movies more?

Taken is getting a prequel TV series on NBC, but it will be set in the modern day with a young Bryan Mills.  Huh.  So will time travel be involved, or is this an alternate universe?

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