D23 News Round-Up

D23

While we’ve already covered some of the big stories D23, here’s a round-up of the best and the rest from the expo extravaganza.

– Director Ryan Coogler has confirmed that Black Panther 2 will be released on May 6th, 2022. A villain and a title have already been proposed by Coogler, and now it’s just a case of getting the story and script iron out.

– The upcoming WandaVision Disney+ miniseries will see Kat Dennings, Randall Park, and Kathryn Hahn featured alongside Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision. Dennings will be reprising her Darcy Lewis role from the first two Thor movies, Park will be back as Ant-Man and the Wasp’s FBI agent Jimmy Woo, while Hahn will be playing a nosy neighbour. WandaVision is currently looking at a spring 2021 premiere.

– The Disney Channel is to house an animated Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur series that features 13-year-old Lunella Lafayette and her dinosaur pal in modern-day New York City. Laurence Fishburne and Helen Sugland’s Cinema Gypsy Productions are developing the series with Disney.

– Up next in the animated movie stakes for Disney is a picture titled Raya and the Last Dragon. Inspired by the culture of Southeast Asia, Cassie Steele will voice Raya and Awkwafina will be voicing Sisu, the last dragon.

– The Mandalorian – which had its first trailer screened at D23 – has added MingNa-Wen to its cast in a mystery role. Wen is no stranger to the House of Mouse, for she voiced the title character in 1998’s Mulan and has more recently been seen as Agent Melinda May in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for the past six years.

– Sticking with all things ‘a galaxy far, far away’ and the seventh season of The Clone Wars has been confirmed to premiere in February 2020. And yes, the fan favourite animated series will be landing on the impending Disney+ streaming service.

All of these titbits come hot on the heels of Game of Thrones‘ Kit Harington and Captain Marvel‘s Gemma Chan joining The Eternals, Overlord‘s Wyatt Russell joining The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as US Agent, confirmation that Ewan McGregor is returning for a live-action Obi-Wan Kenobi show, and that She-Hulk, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel are all getting their own live-action Disney+ series.

As ever, expect more from D23 as news and announcement continue to break.

Andrew Koji Lined Up as SNAKE EYES’ Storm Shadow

Storm Shadow Andrew Koji

While Paramount’s Snake Eyes movie is seemingly close to landing its titular ninja – Henry Golding in advanced talks for the gig – now comes an update on who’ll be the villain of the piece.

Courtesy of The Wrap, Warrior’s Andrew Koji is being lined up to play Storm Shadow in the picture. The characters of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow started off as a military buddies before they ultimate ending up choosing opposing sides in the battle between G.I. Joe and Cobra.

The Storm Shadow character has previously been played in live-action by Byung-Hun Lee in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

To be directed by Robert Schwentke, Snake Eyes is currently booked in for an October 2020 release.

Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford Departing DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

Ray Palmer Nora Darhk

With DC’s Legends of Tomorrow getting set for its fifth season, it looks as if two familiar faces will not be long for the world of the Arrowverse.

Courtesy of Deadline, both Brandon Routh and his wife Courtney Ford are departing Legends. Routh plays Ray Palmer/The Atom in the series – a role he debuted in during Arrow’s third season – and Ford has played Nora Darhk since the third season of Legends.

At this stage, it’s not known just when during Season 5 of Legends of Tomorrow the pair will leave the show, and there is even speculation that the pair may not make it out from this December’s hugely anticipated Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover event. In that crossover, of course, Routh has also been confirmed to be playing an alternative version of Superman.

While the rest of the Arrowverse shows return to screens in just a matter of weeks, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow will premiere its fifth season early next year.

Sony and Disney Battling Over Director Jon Watts

Jon Watts Spider-Man

As part of this week’s news that Sony and Marvel Studios/Disney have butted heads over Spider-Man, it looks as if a battle is on to land Jon Watts.

If you remember, Sony Pictures own the cinematic rights to ol’ Web-head – the character being essentially borrowed to Marvel Studios to use in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and talks to extend the relationship between the two studios ended in a stalemate this week.

For Disney, they wanted to co-finance any future Spider-Man movies while also receiving 50% of profits. For Sony, that didn’t sound like a good deal to them. Holding all of the cards in this, Sony declined Disney’s offer. That means that Tom Holland is currently signed on for two more Spider-Man outings that will not be a part of the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Anyways, back to Jon Watts.

Unlike Holland, Watts – director of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home – is not signed on for any more Spidey pictures. According to Deadline, both Sony Pictures and Disney want the director signed up for future projects.

Sony clearly would like Watts to return to direct the next installment of action for Tom Holland’s Wall-crawler, while Disney wants Watts to helm one of their future MCU films.

At this point, there is still a chance that an arrangement can be made between Sony and Disney over the use of Spider-Man, of course – and fans are crossing fingers, toes and all other crossables in the hope that Holland’s Peter Parker does indeed remain a part of the MCU for the foreseeable future.

Kit Harington and Gemma Chan Join Marvel’s THE ETERNALS

Kit Harington

In an update to our earlier story, we now have confirmation of just which MCU movie Kit Harington is signed on for.

From D23’s Marvel panel, Kevin Feige revealed that Harington will be playing Dane Whitman, aka Black Knight, in The Eternals. Wielding the Ebony Blade that’s been passed on for generations – Whitman actually being a descendant of the Black Knight of King Arthur’s Court – the character has been a pivotal part of the Avengers at times.

In addition to confirmation of Harington’s casting, the panel also confirmed those rumours of Gemma Chan having a part in The Eternals. While she’s already played Minn-Erva in this year’s Captain Marvel, Chan will now be playing Sersi in The Eternals – that character being one of the leading figures of the Eternals group.

Find the original story below.

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Well, this sounds all kinds of intriguing.

It looks as if Kit Harington is the latest name to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As per Deadline, the Game of Thrones favourite has reportedly signed on to join the MCU in a to-be-revealed role. And that, well that’s about as much as we know right now.

Of course, one fun piece of thinking is that Jon Snow could well play Johnny Storm when Marvel Studios brings the Fantastic Four into the MCU. That may well just merely be wishful thinking, though, for there are literally an unlimited amount of characters who Harington could potentially be playing in this ever-expanding shared realm.

Kit Harington won’t be the first Thrones name to venture into the MCU, mind, for Robb Stark actor Richard Madden has recently signed on for a leading role opposite Angelina Jolie in next year’s The Eternals – not to mention Peter Dinklage as Eiri in Avengers: Infinity War, Finn Jones and Jessica Henwick both in Iron Fist, and Iwan Rheon in The Inhumans.

Expect more on all things MCU as we get it.

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER Adds Wyatt Russell

US Agent Captain America

As Marvel’s Falcon and Winter Soldier team-up show begins to amass its core cast, now comes word on a new addition for the Disney+ series.

Fresh from D23, Kevin Feige revealed that Overlord’s Wyatt Russell has joined the show – simply titled The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – as John Walker.

Comic fans will be well aware of that name, for John Walker is a character who has taken on several different monikers in the world of Marvel Comics. First up, he was Captain America rival the Super-Patriot. Then, after Steve Rogers resigned as Cap, the government gave Walker the mantle of Captain America.

After this new Captain America proved to be just a tad erratic, Rogers returned to reclaim the title. In the aftermath of that, John Walker then took on the role of US Agent.

As well as announcing Wyatt Russell – whose father Kurt played Ego in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – as John Walker, Feige also confirmed what we’d previously heard rumblings about – that Emily VanCamp will be reprising her role of Agent 13, aka Sharon Carter, in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will of course be leading the charge as the show’s titular two heroes, and the big bad of the series will be Daniel Bruhl back as the Helmut Zemo rogue that he played in Captain America: Civil War.

The current plan is for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to land on Disney+ in the second half of 2020.

Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk Getting Live-Action Shows

She-Hulk

As part of the ongoing D23 Expo, it’s been revealed that an all-kinds-of-awesome trio of live-action Marvel shows are heading to the impending Disney+ streaming service.

Of course, Disney+ has already announced a bunch of fantastic Marvel content, but now comes word that Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk are all getting their own individual shows on the on-demand service.

For Ms. Marvel, the series will focus on the Kamala Khan version of the titular character and will have Four Weddings and a Funeral’s Bisha K. Ali on showrunner duties. The series has yet to cast that Khan role.

Right now, it’s now known who’ll be overseeing Moon Knight for Marvel, but Marc Spector and his ghostly alter-ego are someone who fans have been clamouring to see brought to live-action life for years now.

Finally, She-Hulk is another series that has yet to have its creative team or cast announced. For those not familiar with She-Hulk, Jennifer Walters is a lawyer who just so happens to be the cousin of a certain Bruce Banner – and like Banner, she has her own gamma-drive superhero persona.

Expect more on all of these shows as we get it.

Ewan McGregor Officially Returning as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi Ewan McGregor

Well, it’s finally official! After months – nay, years – of speculation and rumour, Ewan McGregor is now confirmed to be returning as Obi-Wan Kenobi in a new live-action TV series.

The official announcement came at D23, with McGregor himself taking to the stage to confirm the news.

This series will be set between Revenge of the Sith and Solo: A Star Wars Story. Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy also added that all scripts are already written and the series is ready to start shooting next year.

Having played Kenobi in the prequel trilogy, the last time we saw McGregor’s Obi-Wan in live-action as at the end of Revenge of the Sith as he gave a baby Luke Skywalker Owen and Beru.

If all goes to plan, this to-be-titled Obi-Wan Kenobi offering could well premiere on Disney+ in 2022 or possibly even as early as 2021.

Will Netflix Lose Subscribers to Disney+?

disney+

If you are a regular Netflix subscriber and you’re just starting to get settled into a pattern of paying for the service and choosing your favorite shows to watch each week, don’t get too comfortable. There’s a new online streaming service that just might catch your eye. Disney has announced a rival streaming platform to try and compete with the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime.

2018 saw many reports and rumors of Disney’s intent, but it wasn’t until recently that the Disney+ service was officially announced. Could the new service give Netflix a genuine run for its money? Or does Netflix already have too much of a stranglehold on the leading shows – in the US at least?

All you need to know about Disney+

It looks like that Disney+ will be launching to US-based consumers on November 12, with a global roll-out anticipated in early 2020. Those outside the US eager to sample Disney+ before then should be able to access the platform via one of the leading virtual private networks that should be able to access the platform. There’s a readymade portfolio of shows that Disney+ viewers will be able to tap into. Whether it’s the Star Wars franchise, Pixar, Marvel Cinematic Universe or even The Simpsons – based on Disney’s latest purchase of 21st Century Fox – there’s enough content there to entice loyal followers of all-things Disney to try it out.

Disney+ will also be available to Nintendo Switch owners. Nintendo, a company which is notoriously choosy over the third-party apps it approves for its handheld devices, has agreed to allow Disney+ to join fellow streaming service Hulu on the Switch. Combine this with the prospect of the service also coming to Apple TV – despite the fact it would compete with Apple’s own TV Plus platform – and it’s clear that The House of Mouse has a great chance to cement itself in the on-demand content sector.

What’s the cost? That’s what most of you will be wondering. Well, Disney has confirmed that it will launch with a combined streaming bundle to US customers. Hulu, ESPN+ and Disney+ will be available in a joint package for $12.99 a month – the same monthly cost as Netflix, and also stands at $8.99 pm on its own.

Will Disney and Netflix make happy neighbors?

Netflix

Source: Pixabay

Even after taking into account the seeming catastrophically sized library Disney+ has in its squishy mouse paws, Netflix remains an online streaming giant, despite the return of online streaming services from other media giants like NBC and CBS. Although Netflix may have lost certain franchises like The Office, Star Wars, Friends and Disney’s other properties, the increased competition is not the disaster that some are claiming it to be.

Even after all the excitement, Netflix still boasts a whopping 140 million monthly subscribers across the globe, while many other so-called rivals such as Amazon Prime Video and HBO Go have struggled to build their own niche, with Netflix still justifiably recognized as the leading platform for original dramas, comedies, and kids’ television shows. Although Disney+ has the potential to be a big success for the corporation, it’s unlikely to be at the expense of Netflix. In fact, both platforms should be able to coexist in harmony, offering different propositions that are still much cheaper than traditional TV broadcasters. 

Sony’s UNCHARTED Movie Starring Tom Holland Loses Another Director

Uncharted

In yet more Tom Holland, Sony-related news this week, the upcoming Uncharted live action movie has reportedly lost its fifth director.

Deadline is reporting that the film’s most recent recruit Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) has left the Sony Pictures adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game series, which is set to star Tom Holland as a young version ofthe game’s protagonist and treasure hunter Nathan Drake.

A potential Uncharted film has been in the works since 2009 with various talent and scripts attached to the project, which at one point included Mark Wahlberg set to play Drake.

Despite its bumpy history, the film is set to be the first project from Sony’s PlayStation Productions studio, set up earlier this year to produce video game-based film and television content.

According to the report, meetings are underway to find a replacement with the hope that a new director will be in place by end of summer. The film will begin production early next year with a release date scheduled for December 2020.

The news follows the announcement earlier this week that Holland’s Spider-Man is being pulled from the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Sony, which owns the cinematic rights to the character, and Marvel failed to reach an agreement on the web slinger’s future.