Rumor: Captain America: Civil War trailer to debut on The Force Awakens. So Collider claims, anyway, but it does make a lot of sense for Disney. Still, The Force Awakens trailer wasn’t attached to a film, who says this one has to be?
A former Marvel employee on Disney’s desired demographics
A former Marvel employee on Disney’s desired demographics (aka not girls and women) and what we can do about it. None of us are ignorant that Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm for further access the ‘boys market,’ but this is a nice overview of how licensing works, and who we have to contact to show there is a demand for more Gamora, Black Widow and Princess Leia merchandise.
Marvel and Sony to share custody of Spider-Man films
Marvel and Sony to share custody of Spider-Man films. It’s been rumored for a while, and now the deal is through. The new Spider-Man will appear in a Marvel film – expected to be Captain America: Civil War, but maybe Doctor Strange – before his next solo outing. Andrew Garfield, the current Peter Parker, is not expected to return. The deal has also pushed back several Marvel films, including Black Panther (from November 2017 to July 2018) and Captain Marvel (from July 2018 to November 2018.)
Marvel announces Captain Marvel, Black Panther films as part of their Phase 3 slate
And that’s not all. Marvel has revealed their (nearly complete?) slate for Phase 3, which also includes Doctor Strange, a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel, Thor: Ragnarok, the much-rumored Inhumans and a two-part Avengers: Infinity War.
The Wrap reported yesterday that Benedict Cumberbatch (of course) is in negotiations for Strange, but Marvel did not announce any new cast aside from Boseman. Civil War and RDJ’s involvement were also rumored a few weeks back. The Civil War comic series was fairly controversial (I saw a few fans describe it as Marvel’s New Jedi Order) but the movie version will take a slightly different angle.
Still no standalone Black Widow (or Hulk) films, but Captain Marvel and Black Panther are a big step forward… Hopefully not the last.
Teaser trailer: Avengers: Age of Ultron
The Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer was supposed to come out next week… Or so we heard yesterday. It leaked this afternoon, so Marvel made a Hydra joke and released it for real. Well played.
(Now, hopefully this lesson means they don’t announce the Episode VII trailer drop date, when the time comes…)
Rumor: Ewan McGregor up for Marvel role?
Is Marvel ‘looking at’ Ewan McGregor for Doctor Strange? Well, that came out of nowhere.
Beardwatch: Mark Hamill at London GOTG premiere
Mark Hamill is looking very scruffy right now, according to pics from the London premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy. He even talks a bit about Star Wars to the BBC.
Marvel announces release dates (but not actual films) through May 2019
Marvel announces release dates (but not actual films) through May 2019. Honestly, the only reason I’m noting this is that although they are claiming May 3 in 2019, there are no May dates for 2017 and 2018. Could Disney be keeping them clear for the return of Star Wars to our rightful month? I freely admit I’m grasping at straws, but for the moment we are still expecting Episode VIII in 2017 and a second standalone in 2018… Stay tuned.
No Disney film panel at SDCC, so don’t hold your breath for an Episode VII surprise
We already knew there would be no dedicated Episode VII panel at San Diego Comic Con, but it is something of a surprise that Disney won’t be featuring any other upcoming films – aside from Marvel, which has their own panel and is expected to drop plenty of news. But Disney has several other upcoming films, like Big Hero Six, Tomorrowland, and Pixar’s Inside Out… And it’s not like they have a D23 this year.
They’re not the only ones sitting it out either – also absent is Lionsgate, who has The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 coming out in January. Is SDCC just not worth the trouble for studios anymore, or are they simply ceding this ground to the superheroes?
What does this mean for us? Well, not much. Some folks were hoping that StarWars.com saying Episode VII wouldn’t be ‘featured’ wouldn’t rule out a few moments at a general Disney film panel. I still think it’s a bit much to expect a bombshell like the title – hell, at this point, they could save that for Celebration – but something like a second video set report, perhaps something celebrating the results of A Force For Change? Of course, we just got word that deadline has moved back, so that’s not quite as feasible as it would have been a week ago. (Now? I’d be surprised if that doesn’t happen pre-SDCC, for a final bit of publicity push… But LFL does as LFL does, and we can only guess and hope… Hope, not expect.)
In any case, when in comes to Star Wars, Disney (and presumably Lionsgate) know they don’t need a con to whip their fandoms up into a frenzy… Who needs Hall H when you have the internet? Let Marvel (and Batman and Superman and Wonder Woman) have this one.
Her Universe announces Marvel products
Her Universe has announced the first wave of their new Marvel line! There’s more coming, including a Loki dress, Ashley Eckstein tells The Daily Dot. A Black Widow hoodie will be available at San Diego Comic Con. And Ashley herself will be voicing Dagger of Cloak and Dagger in the animated Ultimate Spider-Man.
The line is also part of Marvel’s own “Characters and Creators” initiative, which is targeting women and girls. (The new Ms. Marvel is an earlier example.)