The Marvel Cinematic Universe: The Avengers, etc.

[tv echo]

Marvel SDCC 2024 Live Coverage – All the news from the Marvel panel as it happened
By Megan Garside   July 27, 2024
https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/marvel-sdcc-2024-live-coverage-all-the-news-from-the-marvel-panel-as-it-happens/ 

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Everything announced at Marvel's SDCC panel 2024

• The Boys' Giancarlo Esposito stars as The King of the Serpent Society AKA Sidewinder in Captain America: Brave New World
• An Adamantium made up of the Celestial will feature in Captain America 4
• Harrison Ford showed up and ‘Hulked-out’ on stage after footage showed his character Thunderbolt Ross turn into the Red Hulk
• Thunderbolts* got its first trailer
• Fantastic Four got a new title, The Fantastic Four: First Steps
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps begins filming on Tuesday, July 30, 2024
• Kevin Feige says the casts of Captain America: Brave New World, Fantastic Four, and Thunderbolts* will all appear in the upcoming Avengers movies
• Both new Avengers movies are directed by the Russo Brothers
• Avengers: Secret Wars got a new logo
• The new title for Avengers 5 is Avengers: Doomsday
• Robert Downey Jr stars as Doctor Doom

Edited July 28 by tv echo

[tv echo]

SDCC 2024 Hall H - Marvel Studios Panel (FULL VIDEO)
blackfilmandtv   Jul 27, 2024

ROBERT DOWNEY JR. Returns and AVENGERS 5 & 6 Russo Brothers Announcement | Comic Con 2024 Panel
Films That Rock   Jul 27, 2024

Edited July 28 by tv echo

[Tenshinhan]

Hilarious news.  This will probably bring more of the audience back to the MCU at least.

[baldryanr]

For the X-Men: Chris Evans as Magneto and Scarlett Johansson as Mystique.

[Kel Varnsen]

3 hours ago, baldryanr said:

The Marvel dump truck is bigger than any other role would get him.  Plus he's in a win-win situation.  The movies do well?  All hail RDJ, savior of the MCU.  The movies suck?  Not his fault, Feige and friends have been ruining the MCU for years.

The dump truck full of money thing falls apart though when you consider that he probably already has a Scrooge McDuck style money bin full of Marvel money. And he is 59 so it's more money than he could ever spend. I have to imagine that Marvel would have to bring something more to the table then just money to convince him to give up probably a year of his life.

Edited July 28 by Kel Varnsen

[baldryanr]

33 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

The dump truck full of money thing falls apart though when you consider that he probably already has a Scrooge McDuck style money bin full of Marvel money. And he is 59 so it's more money than he could ever spend. I have to imagine that Marvel would have to bring something more to the table then just money to convince him to give up probably a year of his life.

If you believe the internet his net worth is ~$300 million.  He made $75 million for each of the last two Avengers movies, so it's more like building a second money bin instead of topping off his pile.

But in all seriousness, I'm assuming he'll have near complete creative control over his character.  Plus he has the option of pulling a Pedro Pascal in the Mandalorian and not needing to be on set that often since Doom keeping his mask on most of the time isn't a stretch.

[Morrigan2575]

Playing catch-up, is RDJ playing a Tony Stark Variant that becomes Doom or is he playing Victor Von Doom?

[ApathyMonger]

Just now, Morrigan2575 said:

Playing catch-up, is RDJ playing a Tony Stark Variant that becomes Doom or is he playing Victor Von Doom?

Victor Von Doom, but people don't believe that.

I hope he's not a Tony variant.

[Kel Varnsen]

42 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

Plus he has the option of pulling a Pedro Pascal in the Mandalorian and not needing to be on set that often since Doom keeping his mask on most of the time isn't a stretch.

That could be interesting if we hear about that kind of thing going down. I read once years ago that part of the reason that Tony Stark spends so much time out of the suit in Iron Man 3 is because RDJ made like $75 million out of that movie and Marvel/Disney's logic was that if they were paying him that much they didn't want it to just be a voice over job. But RDJ is probably in a much better bargaining position now.

Edited July 28 by Kel Varnsen

[baldryanr]

3 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

That could be interesting if we hear about that kind of thing going down. I read once years ago that part of the reason that Tony Stark spends so much time out of the suit in Iron Man 3 is because RDJ made like $75 million out of that movie and Marvel/Disney's logic was that if they were paying him that much they didn't want it to just be a voice over job.

The situations aren't quite the same, though.  That was not an ensemble movie, plus RDJ in costume (especially if the suit is mostly CGI) isn't exactly cheap either.  The other big difference is that Marvel's fallen off and needs help, so RDJ has a lot more leverage. 

[Morrigan2575]

38 minutes ago, ApathyMonger said:

Victor Von Doom, but people don't believe that.

I hope he's not a Tony variant.

Interesting. That could be a cool way of having RDJ back in the MCU. Would be hilarious if he's like Howard Stark's illegitimate son or something. 😃

[Tenshinhan]

No one knows yet whether he will be some kind of variant or just straight up Doom himself.  Also, presumably he comes from the same universe as the FF will, so who knows what that could mean.

I'm also sure this won't be just a voiceover or anything like that.  Additionally, I imagine Doom will be unmasked for some portion of time in the films.  It's not exactly out of line with the comic books.

[arc]

11 hours ago, Anduin said:

Seriously? This stinks of being too meta for words. Couldn't they have gotten some Czech or Polish actor?

Some fans say Doom is Romani, not Slavic.

10 hours ago, Palimelon said:

Well, I am curious to see where this goes. Was he announced to just be playing Dr. Doom but Victor Von Doom as well?

The Russo brothers specifically said "Victor Von Doom".

I've seen fans sure that RDJ is a fake out and there will be some more canonical Doom later, but I don't think Marvel got RDJ back only for a short term stunt cast.

[Anduin]

10 minutes ago, arc said:

Some fans say Doom is Romani, not Slavic.

Okay, I don't know any Romani actors, but I'm sure there are some.

[rmontro]

There's no way RDJ wears a mask for any significant amount of time onscreen.  He (and Disney) will want his face out there.

[Palimelon]

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Okay, I don't know any Romani actors, but I'm sure there are some.

None that will get people to spend $$$ to see this film the way RDJ will.

[Raja]

13 minutes ago, arc said:

I've seen fans sure that RDJ is a fake out and there will be some more canonical Doom later, but I don't think Marvel got RDJ back only for a short term stunt cast.

I'm not sure if we will  ever see the multi decade stories again. The Fantastic Four even if from the past and time skipped up needs to be against Doctor Doom much like Iron Man needed to bump up against the Mandarin. And this case doesn't have an outward problem of decades old stereotypes to worry about.

 

1 hour ago, Tenshinhan said:

I'm also sure this won't be just a voiceover or anything like that.  Additionally, I imagine Doom will be unmasked for some portion of time in the films.  It's not exactly out of line with the comic books.

I always saw Doom as a Master Chief, Snake Eyes or Boba Fett type

 

5 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Interesting. That could be a cool way of having RDJ back in the MCU. Would be hilarious if he's like Howard Stark's illegitimate son or something. 😃

Howard was a rolling stone. Wherever he laid his hat he called home.

I think if we do see the man behind the iron mask that they would have to have some sort of familial link. Even if Doom and the Fantastic Four came from some other universe, and time travelled  due to an incursion.

[Enigma X]

I said up thread that I adore RDJ but would prefer someone new play this role, but with how people are annoyingly losing their shit over this (I mean people everywhere with a platform to voice it), I am begrudgingly being pulled to the other side.

[JustHereForFood]

47 minutes ago, Anduin said:

Okay, I don't know any Romani actors, but I'm sure there are some.

It's not like they ever bother casting Romani characters with actors of the same ethnicity. And there is no outcry like when a white character is cast with non-white actor, so they probably feel no pressure.

[Palimelon]

It is a tricky situation. While his ethnicity is a part of his character and plays a significant part of his backstory, it's probably not the first thing people think of when they think of the character. Doom's most famous character trait is that he is an arrogant but extreme level genius who think he is entitled to rule the world, and is better than everyone else (especially better than Reed Richards, whom he blames for his face being disfigured).

[arc]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

I always saw Doom as a Master Chief, Snake Eyes or Boba Fett type

When Boba Fett got a TV show, he spent most of the screen time not wearing his helmet.

[Anduin]

Either way, it's lowered my interest level quite a lot. Maybe if the movie have good trailers, but otherwise I'm intending to save my money.

[Palimelon]

TBH I never base my movie choice on that criteria. I just want to be entertained. And have RDJ back as Doom could be interesting.

[Raja]

28 minutes ago, arc said:

When Boba Fett got a TV show, he spent most of the screen time not wearing his helmet.

And how is that working out? 😈

[rmontro]

2 hours ago, arc said:

The Russo brothers specifically said "Victor Von Doom".

I will need to hear more before I accept that.  My guess is he is playing some sort of evil Tony Stark variant, who has become Dr. Doom.  An interesting idea, as Doom is sort of Iron Man if he was evil, in a way.  But I don't want that.  If RDJ really is playing the actual Victor Von Doom, it's an interesting choice.  I just no longer trust Disney to give us a faithful adaptation of these iconic characters.

[Palimelon]

I find them faithful enough.

[Spartan Girl]

9 hours ago, rmontro said:

I just no longer trust Disney to give us a faithful adaptation of these iconic characters.

 

1 hour ago, Palimelon said:

I find them faithful enough.

Feige seems to be allergic to comic book accuracy. 

[Palimelon]

He is accurate enough for me where and when he needs to be.

Edited July 29 by Palimelon

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

 

Feige seems to be allergic to comic book accuracy. 

Comic books in general are allergic to comic book accuracy. The concept of "retcon" comes from comics.

[Tenshinhan]

26 minutes ago, Palimelon said:

He is accurate enough for me where and when he needs to be.

I agree.  The days of "faithful adaptations" in comic book films is a thing of the past.  We should be looking forwards, not backwards.

[Palimelon]

And even then, you could argue the early X-men and Spider-man movies were faithful-ish, not faithful.

[tv echo]

Winners and Losers of Comic-Con 2024: Marvel Stuns, DC Dips, Video Game Actors Strike
Ross A. Lincoln    July 28, 2024
https://www.thewrap.com/san-diego-comic-con-2024-best-and-worst/ 

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Winner: Marvel
...
After a brutal 2023 that saw both “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels” flop, not to mention some other, ahem, problems the studio has faced, Marvel Studios needed a big win coming into to SDCC. Mission accomplished.

Despite very mid critical reviews, “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which hit theaters just as Comic-Con began, shattered opening weekend box office records for R-rated movies.

Meanwhile, Marvel Studios hit up Hall H twice this week, first to celebrate the success of “Deadpool & Wolverine” on Thursday night, which was followed by a spectacular light show above downtown San Diego.

Two days later, Marvel’s traditional Saturday night Hall H panel earned goodwill with looks at “Captain America: Brave New World,” “Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Thunderbolts.” Then came the expected announcement of the Russo Brothers’ MCU return to direct the next two “Avengers” movies, followed by the news that the new MCU main villain will be Doctor Doom.

But then the presentation ended with the shocking reveal that newly minted Oscar winner Robert Downy Jr. is also returning to the MCU — as Doom. The announcement earned booming cheers from the audience, but will it work long term? We don’t know but it’s all anyone’s been talking about ever since.

Loser (kinda): Marvel
...
Ok, ok “loser” is overstating things, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge that literally everyone understands the context in which RDJ is returning to the franchise he helped make into a billion-dollar business.

So it’s perhaps unsurprising that reactions on social media are, let’s say politely, filled with heavy skepticism and a ton of jokes. That said, yeah, fine, we still kind of can’t wait.

Edited July 29 by tv echo

[arc]

17 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Feige seems to be allergic to comic book accuracy. 

I remember the days of the Hulk TV movies with Daredevil and Thor. The fidelity the MCU has to the comics is incredible by comparison.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

If I had a nickel for every time Marvel has pulled in a past character or actor, I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

My question is, Does this mean the end of Kang's arc, such as it was? To me, it seems like it would be a lot easier to recast that role rather than pivot to Dr. Doom, RDJ notwithstanding. But I don't know what process went on behind the scenes to start trying to get Downey back or to pick Doom's name out of a hat.

[Raja]

8 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

If I had a nickel for every time Marvel has pulled in a past character or actor, I would have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

My question is, Does this mean the end of Kang's arc, such as it was? To me, it seems like it would be a lot easier to recast that role rather than pivot to Dr. Doom, RDJ notwithstanding. But I don't know what process went on behind the scenes to start trying to get Downey back or to pick Doom's name out of a hat.

I think they are moving away from the multiverse being the story, which they made sound like Kang would be the major story. And now the multiverse will just be in the background to pull in adult X-men and other comics A team members that the MCU has regained the rights to.

[Perfect Xero]

Black Sabbath tried to warn us!

He was turned to steel
In the great magnetic field
When he traveled time
For the future of mankind

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfurl

Now the time is here
For Iron Man to spread fear
Vengeance from the grave
Kills the people he once saved

[arc]

1 hour ago, Raja said:

I think they are moving away from the multiverse being the story, which they made sound like Kang would be the major story. And now the multiverse will just be in the background to pull in adult X-men and other comics A team members that the MCU has regained the rights to.

I know the Russo brothers name checked the original Secret Wars story, but the 2015 version was how Marvel shut down the Ultimate universe and moved nearly the only remaining worthwhile character (Miles Morales) over to 616. Anyways, that may be the MCU's plan for their Secret Wars movie, a way to merge the Fox verse into the main MCU's "616”. (It'll always be Earth 199999 to me.)

[rmontro]

I don't believe this for a moment myself:  But it is possible we never even see RDJ's face at all, and maybe does a Latverian accent, thus making it basically irrelevant that he also had played Tony Stark?

I know it goes against everything superhero movies have taught us in the last 20 years, but Doom wears a mask and never shows his scarred face in the comics.   Maybe this is mainly a voiceover job, like Vin Diesel's Groot?

[Raja]

2 hours ago, rmontro said:

I don't believe this for a moment myself:  But it is possible we never even see RDJ's face at all, and maybe does a Latverian accent, thus making it basically irrelevant that he also had played Tony Stark?

I know it goes against everything superhero movies have taught us in the last 20 years, but Doom wears a mask and never shows his scarred face in the comics.   Maybe this is mainly a voiceover job, like Vin Diesel's Groot?

Or we see his face like we used to see Tony watching his faceplate's display. Meanwhile the characters only see the mask.

But that removes the shock of folks reactions to seeing the face of the man who reversed the Blip.

[GHScorpiosRule]

5 hours ago, rmontro said:

I know it goes against everything superhero movies have taught us in the last 20 years, but Doom wears a mask and never shows his scarred face in the comics.

Well when Julian McMahon played him in those movies, we saw his face and how he turned into Doom...and I rewatched them both over the weekend, and while part of FOX, Feige was a producer of those movies.

Still horrible, but Ian was perfect as Reed. And I now have a new appreciation for Chris Evans as Johnny.

I still have my issues regarding the set up and how Sue's clothes didn't also become invisible and was fucking offensive, but a rant for another thread. Or that she and Reed weren't already married when they became the Fantastic Four.

And fuck me! How could I have forgotten that Kerry Washington played Alicia?

[tv echo]

From L.A. on July 25...

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman join Kevin Feige as he gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
AP Archive   posted Jul 30, 2024

Also, more from SDCC...

Interviews with Kevin Feige, Brad Winderbaum, and more at the SDCC 2024 Marvel Booth!
Marvel Entertainment   posted Jul 30, 2024

Edited July 31 by tv echo

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Or that she and Reed weren't already married when they became the Fantastic Four.

Well, Reed and Sue weren't married when they became the FF in the comics.  I believe they were dating, however, or close to it.

Sorry, I didn't care for Ioan Gruffudd's Reed.  It wasn't his fault, I'd say it was more the writers.  I just never got the impression that this was the smartest guy in the universe.  He wasn't terrible, just okay.  Chris Evans did a good job with Johnny's personality, but he was probably too buff to play the Torch.

[Spartan Girl]

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I still have my issues regarding the set up and how Sue's clothes didn't also become invisible and was fucking offensive, but a rant for another thread. Or that she and Reed weren't already married when they became the Fantastic Four.

My issue is that the writers, much like with the Raimi Spider-Man movies, subjected Sue to Bitchy Passive Aggressive Love Interest Syndrome all for the sake of drama. Still, that’s not as bad as what the MCU did to certain other female characters.

Edited July 31 by Spartan Girl

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

Chris Evans did a good job with Johnny's personality, but he was probably too buff to play the Torch.

What about Michael Chiklis' Ben Grimm? I'm not a huge Fantastic Four fan, I think the only books I bought/read was the relaunch after the Onslaught crossover. However,  I thought Evans and Chiklis were the standouts in the movies.

[Tenshinhan]

13 hours ago, rmontro said:

I don't believe this for a moment myself:  But it is possible we never even see RDJ's face at all, and maybe does a Latverian accent, thus making it basically irrelevant that he also had played Tony Stark?

I know it goes against everything superhero movies have taught us in the last 20 years, but Doom wears a mask and never shows his scarred face in the comics.   Maybe this is mainly a voiceover job, like Vin Diesel's Groot?

No way in hell do they bring back RDJ for pure voiceover.

We do see Doom's face in the comics at times, such as during flashbacks and such.  But, most notably, we see him healed and unmasked during the first Secret Wars storyline, which may be where they are headed.

[rmontro]

15 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

What about Michael Chiklis' Ben Grimm? I'm not a huge Fantastic Four fan, I think the only books I bought/read was the relaunch after the Onslaught crossover. However,  I thought Evans and Chiklis were the standouts in the movies.

I am a huge Fantastic Four fan.  I thought they mostly got Thing and the Torch right, as far as personality and their interactions went.  I didn't even mind Chiklis' Thing costume, which takes a lot of criticism.  Mostly right, there was something missing, not sure what it was - probably they just didn't have the time to communicate Ben's angst effectively.  So they added the cheap bit with the fiance.  But if Reed and Sue were as close as Ben and Johnny were, it would have been a better movie.

 

10 hours ago, Tenshinhan said:

No way in hell do they bring back RDJ for pure voiceover.

I did say I didn't believe it for a moment.  In flashbacks though, they could de-age him or even use a different actor, if they wanted to avoid showing RDJ's face.  But I don't think they do.

[tv echo]

From D23 yesterday...

[tv echo]

Also Captain America: Brave New World and The Fantastic Four: The First Steps...

Daredevil: Born Again, Ironheart, and more from Marvel Studios at D23! | Official Recap
Marvel Entertainment   posted Aug 10, 2024

Marvel D23 2024 Panel (FULL VIDEO) - Ironheart, Agatha All Along, Daredevil: Born Again
blackfilmandtv   posted Aug 10, 2024

Edited August 11 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Robert Downey Jr. to Become Tony Stark Again for a New Disneyland Attraction in Avengers Campus | D23 2024
By Michael Cripe   Aug 11, 2024
https://www.ign.com/articles/robert-downey-jr-to-become-tony-stark-again-for-a-new-disneyland-attraction-in-avengers-campus-d23-2024 

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Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Doctor Doom, but he’ll also return as Tony Stark in an upcoming Disney attraction called Stark Flight Lab.

Revealed as part of the Disney Experiences Showcase at D23 2024, Downey will once again play Iron Man after hanging up his time as the character on screen in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Although his return to the role won’t see him teaming up with his superhero friends in another movie (for now), the new attraction coming to Avengers Campus in Disneyland does give fans a chance to see Tony in a new light.

"With the just announced Stark Flight Lab, you’re going to sit in two-person pods and deploy to a test station," an official description for Stark Flight Lab says. "Then a robot arm grabs your pod and starts whirling you around in a simulated flight."
*  *  *
Stark Flight Lab currently has no release date and is only one of two Marvel rides landing in Disneyland in the near future. Disney also revealed that a second attraction, Avengers Infinity Defense, will allow guests to travel to iconic locations from across the Marvel universe in order to stop a new threat to the multiverse: King Thanos.

Edited August 11 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Music of Marvel Studios | D23 | Full Panel
Marvel Entertainment k  posted Aug 11, 2024