Marvel is loading their Disney+ series for 2024. According to Comic Book, with What If…? season two set for December, three new shows will arrive next year.
The series on the way will be TV-MA Hawkeye spinoff Echo, set for January 10 release, Wandavision spinoff Agatha: Darkhold diaries, and X-Men: The Series, revival in X-Men ’97.
Marvel will also have new movies, with Deadpool 3 set for July 26. It may be the loan film released in the year.
Disney also has series for Ironheart, Wakanda, Wonderman, Daredevil, and more set for the future. Ultimately, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is holding to the plan of putting out shows at a pace where “each get a chance to shine.”
Taraja Ramsess, a stuntman who worked on both Black Panther films, as well as Avengers: Endgame, and more movies, died alongside his three children in a tragic car accident on October 31 at the age of 41. Local news outlet Fox-Atlanta has confirmed that Taraja’s car collided with a tractor-trailer that had broken down in a left lane. Authorities are still investigating the crash remains for further information.
Taraja had two daughters Sundari and Fujibo, who were 13 years old and 8 weeks old at the time of the crash. He also had a 10-year-old son, Kisasi, who survived the initial impact and remained in the hospital for several days before eventually succumbing to his injuries. Taraja’s mother, Akili, confirmed his passing in a post on Instagram, last week. “All who knew and met him know how special Taraja was,” she wrote. “He had a deep capacity for love and loved his children more than all. He loved his martial arts, motorcycles and all things related to filmmaking. He a very droll yet wicked sense of humor & yet could be as cornball corny as can be.”
The cast and crew of Black Panther attending The Black Panther European Premiere at The Eventim Apollo Hammersmith London. (Photo by Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)
She continued: “I can’t believe they’re gone! We are grieving and remain prayerful for my grandchildren’s recovery. Thank you to so many who have already reached out with kind words and prayers.” In addition to his work on Marvel films, Taraja served as a stuntman on The Suicide Squad, Creed III, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Emancipation, and The Harder They Fall. He’s also worked on numerous projects as a background actor. Check out Akili’s tribute for her late son below.
Taraja also worked for Ava DuVernay’s distribution company ARRAY. She penned a tribute to him on social media as well. “He walked like a king. And to me, always acted like one,” the post reads in part.
According to an extensive report from Variety, Marvel is reportedly considering what action to take over the ongoing Jonathan Majors situation. At a retreat in September, studio execs discussed various backup plans if the actor is found guilty at his trial, which begins later this month. Majors was meant to be the crux of the next era of the MCU. However, the actor’s assault charges have put that into jeopardy. While he has appeared in the most recent season of Loki, it’s likely that’s the final project for the time being Majors will shoot roles for.
“Marvel is truly f-cked with the whole Kang angle. And they haven’t had an opportunity to rewrite until very recently [because of the WGA strike]. But I don’t see a path to how they move forward with him,” one high-ranking executive said. This is especially given the upcoming finale of Loki‘s Season 2, which reportedly has major implications for the immediate future of the MCU.
Meanwhile, Magazine Dreams, an upcoming drama starring Jonathan Majors, will no longer be released on December 8. Speaking with CNN, Disney confirmed that the film did not currently have a release date. Searchlight Pictures, a subsidiary of Disney, acquired the distribution rights to the film after it opened to rave reviews at Sundance. Furthermore, Disney’s live-action Snow White film starring Rachel Zegler has been pushed back from March 2024 to March 2025. Currently, the next major release for Marvel is The Marvels. That comes out next week and is expected to underperform at the box office.
However, the decision to delay Magazine Dreams was widely expected by industry experts. Majors’ trial for assault charges begins in late November. That makes early December an inopportune time to promote and release the film. Furthermore, the film features Majors as an amateur bodybuilder who resorts to increasingly violent means to pursue his dreams. Given the charges that Majors is facing in court, Disney would likely face backlash for being “tasteless” if they were to release the film.
Marvel is feeling a chink in its movie-making armor and may look to Iron Man’s armor to save them. According to Variety, Marvel Studios wants to revive the Iron Man and Black Widow characters to bring back the original six Avengers for a new movie.
In doing so, Marvel Studios must arrive at a new deal with Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson while convincing Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, and Chris Hemsworth. The decision comes after Marvel’s success is reeling behind disappointing reviews, fan reaction, and box office reports for movies including Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.
It’s no secret that Taylor Swift is a pop-culture tsunami, washing over everything that she touches. When she recently appeared at a NFL game touting a massive entourage that notably included Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, and Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy, the rumor mill kicked into high gear with hopes that Swift would cameo in the film as Dazzler. In the X-Men comics, Dazzler is a mutant pop singer with the ability to convert sound into light and energy, and Taylor Swift is a pop singer with the ability to convert fans into mass hysteria, so this should be a no-brainer.
The calls for Swift to appear in Deadpool 3 were so strong that Levy couldn’t escape the subject during a new interview with The Wrap. His answer was notably coy:
“They sure are loud,” Levy said of Swift fans clamoring for her to play the musical mutant. “I’m going across the board. ‘No comment’ because that’s a double whammy. That’s Taylor-related. And it’s MCU-related. I’m no dummy. You’re going to have to wait and see.”
If all of this sounds familiar, that’s because Swift’s history of being dream-cast as Dazzler goes back nearly a decade to X-Men: Apocalypse. Thanks to her well-documented friendship with Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, Swift visited the set of the film, which naturally, kicked the Dazzler rumors into overdrive. While Swift doesn’t appear in the film, Turner’s Jean Grey and Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops do visit a record store where they find a Dazzler album. There was speculation that Swift posed for the cover, but a source squashed that rumor.
The Swift as Dazzler rumors briefly fired up again for the next X-Men film, Dark Phoenix, which did include Dazzler’s live-action debut. However, the role was played by The Orville star Halston Sage.
Could Deadpool 3 make the Taylor Swift as Dazzler fancast a reality? The chances are pretty high. For starters, Ryan Reynolds is some sort of powerful genie who already brought Hugh Jackman back as Wolverine. The guy is pulling all kinds of rabbits out of a hat. Deadpool 3 will also dabble in the Multiverse, which makes a Swift cameo even easier. She can simply play Dazzler from an alternate reality, freeing Marvel to cast another actress down the road.
Although, maybe Swift wants to be the official pop star of the MCU? Surely, Kevin Feige wouldn’t say no to that.
In April 2022, it was announced that Bad Bunny would play the lead role in El Muerto, a Spider-Man spin-off movie. The film was set for a January 12, 2024 release, but now its future appears unclear.
Deadline reports that now, Sony Pictures has removed El Muerto from its release schedule. The publication notes, “We’re hearing that the film remains in development, but that between Bad Bunny’s tour schedule and the ongoing WGA strike, it makes finalizing a date complicated.”
Now, The Book Of Clarence is set to take over the January 12 release slot. The Jeymes Samuel-directed and LaKeith Stanfield-starring movie was previously set for a September 22, 2023 release.
IGN previously described the El Muerto character, “In the comics, El Muerto is a super-powered wrestler who has had their mask and abilities passed down through the generations. To become worthy, new wrestlers would need to prove themselves against El Dorado. Juan-Carlos Estrada Sanchez was one of these chosen descendants, but he was unable to fight El Dorado when his father Marcus Estrada presented him. As a result, Marcus sacrificed himself to save his son. Following the tragic death, El Dorado would give Juan-Carlos ten years to become stronger to face him again and earn the right to become El Muerto.”
Samuel L. Jackson first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008’s Iron Man. Nick Fury has been the force behind many of the MCU’s biggest moments, such as forming The Avengers. In terms of on-screen appearances, Jackson has appeared in 10 Marvel films since Iron Man.
However, Fury’s biggest role in the MCU is yet to come. The character will be front and center for the upcoming Disney+ series, Secret Invasion. Pulled from the critically-acclaimed comics line of the same name, Secret Invasion pits Fury against a group of renegade Skrulls. The Skrulls are a race of shape-shifting aliens who have recently begun to appear in MCU films. It was recently revealed in the post-credit scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home, that Fury has had a Skrull posing as him while he works off-world.
However, despite the character getting a leading role in the MCU, one question still remains for Jackson. “I’m still trying to figure out why I’ve never been to Wakanda,” Jackson told Entertainment Tonight. “They didn’t ask me to go, but I’m still trying to get there. I need a ticket.” Wakanda, the hyper-advanced African nation and home of Black Panther, is one of the few places where Fury is yet to go. Logistically, it’s likely because Black Panther never officially joined The Avengers before getting blipped during the events of Infinity War. However, practically, there’s no reason why Fury hasn’t been able to show up in Wakanda.
The sentiment comes alongside Jackson’s desire to be in as many Marvel properties as possible. “I don’t know, it’s kind of up and down for me in an interesting sort of way. Because, if I had it my way, I would’ve been in every Marvel movie ’cause I mean he is Nick Fury, he knows everything that’s going on.” Aside from Secret Invasion, Fury will play a pivotal role in Marvels, the body-swapping Captain Marvel sequel coming out later this year. “After Secret Invasion, I’m moving on to The Marvels, where you get like three different people who are Captain Marvel. You get Brie. You get a black Marvel. You get a Muslim Marvel. They are working on the universe in a way that’s inclusive,” Jackson said.
Metro Boomin has shared even more artists that will be featured on the soundtrack to the upcoming film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Taking to Twitter again on Tuesday, he noted that Offset, A$AP Rocky, Wiz Kid, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Ei8ht, and Beam will all be credited on the album.
In recent days, Metro previously confirmed Lil Uzi Vert, Toian, Swae Lee, JID, Coi Leray, Nav, as well as Future, James Blake, and Don Toliver as appearing on the project. When Metro shared that Rocky is featured, one fan asked him to announce Carti for the tracklist. Metro responded, “He’s not but popular finna drop too anyway so jus chillllllll.” The star-studded soundtrack will be releasing alongside the film on Friday, June 2.
ATLANTA, GA – DECEMBER 14: Takeoff, Metro Boomin, Quavo, and Offset attend Offset Birthday Celebration at Republic Lounge on December 14, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia.(Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
Metro Boomin and Offset previously collaborated on the 2017 hit song, “Ric Flair Drip.” He also worked with A$AP Rocky for the Heroes & Villains track, “Feel the Fiyaaaah,” which also featured the late Migos rapper Takeoff.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse writer Phil Lord announced the decision to bring in Metro during a post on the official Spider-Verse account. “That’s a high bar to clear,” Lord wrote at the time. “So, for this next movie we brought in some reinforcements. This time we are working with legendary Metro Boomin. If anybody is going to be able to make something that feels like it’s Miles’ experience, that guy knows what he’s doing.”
Metro Boomin’s Announcements On Twitter
Metro will also be making a cameo in the upcoming movie alongside the rest of the cast, which is composed of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Daniel Kaluuya, Karan Soni, Jason Schwartzman, Brian Tyree Henry, and more. Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson served as the directors.
The summer blockbuster season may just be alright. Kicking off the run of hot films for the warm months of the year is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, continuing Marvel’s Cinematic Universe with an impressive $114 million domestic box office debut.
Guardians bring in the second biggest debut of the year, following Super Mario Bros., which made a $146 million debut last month, according to Variety. Both Mario and Guardians starred Chris Pratt.
Adding to the opening figure for Guardians, was a $168 million across 52 markets, making for a $282 million global debut.
Coming up in movie releases are Fast X (May 19), The Little Mermaid (May 26), and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (May 9).
The Jonathan Majors fallout continues. Following being ousted from his management and public relation firms, and no longer attending the Met Gala with Valentino, the actor has been dropped from three new projects.
According to Deadline, studios in Hollywood are now apprehensive about working with the actor, leading to Majors’ dismissal from the film The Man in My Basement, an ad campaign for the Texas Rangers, and an unannounced Otis Redding biopic.
For The Man in My Basement, Majors was set to star and executive produce the film under his Tall Street Productions imprint. Protagonist Pictures are currently searching for Majors’ replacement. The movie tells the story of Charles Blakey, a man living in Sag Harbor who rents out the basement of his ancestral home for $50,000 to a European man for the summer, leading to a chaotic path of race, history, and the root of all evil. Majors was set to star opposite of William Dafoe.
Last week, Marvel insider Jeff Snieder revealed that Majors, who is currently planned to be a key component of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, could be replaced, citing Majors’ team and Marvel aligned with a plan for handling the issue.
One of the names floating as an option is Snowfall’s Damson Idris.
“Even though there hasn’t been any movement on the Jonathan Majors front, I’ve heard that’s the kind of actor, who, like, if Jonathan Majors got the boot as Kang, someone like Damson Idris is the type of the person that [Marvel] may look at to replace him if that, in fact, happens,” said Sneider.
The next edition in the MCU is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, set for release on May 5, 2023.
