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“The Mandalorian” Trailer!

In the first trailer for Jon Favreau’s original Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, Star Wars goes dark, gritty and mature, alien mercenaries engage in some brutal space warfare, and, most shockingly, storm troopers finally learn how to fire a gun properly!

There’s not a whole lot to actually discuss, but that’s perhaps the beauty of this trailer: it’s simple, hauntingly so. We’re only treated to two lines of dialogue, but the music and atmosphere are allowed to say more than words ever could. Set in an era between the original Star Wars trilogy and Disney’s series of sequels, the Disney+ show will follow a Mandalorian mercenary (who, apparently, isn’t Boba Fett? I haven’t been paying attention) somewhere on the “outer reaches of the galaxy”, where the war between the New Republic and the First Order is only a distant rumor – yeah, right. Give it a few episodes, watch how fast we start seeing characters from the sequels show up. Not that I’m complaining. Have I mentioned that I finally got around to watching The Last Jedi? It’s a pretty good movie.

As someone who’s still reacquainting myself with the trappings of this topsy-turvy franchise, I have to admit: this catches my interest. Maybe it’s just because I’m still susceptible to stories about space gangsters and pirates. I don’t really know, but it looks good. It gives me hope that this whole Disney+ venture isn’t a disaster: in fact, it might be a worthy competitor to Netflix and HBO Max in the near future.

And as for Pedro Pascal, the show’s lead, well, he doesn’t actually appear from underneath his helmet and armor in the trailer, and he doesn’t even speak either line of dialogue, so…I don’t really know what to expect from him. He looks menacing – or, rather, his armor does. Pascal himself still looks like the lovable, tragically doomed Oberyn Martell from Game of Thrones to me.

The first episode of The Mandalorian is set to arrive on Disney+ on release day, November 12th, so that’s something to look forward to. Mark your calendars, folks! How do you feel about the trailer? Do the grittier aspects of Star Wars appeal to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Trailer Rating: 8/10

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All Of Marvel’s Disney+ Reveals!

Do I even have time to talk about anything that’s not Marvel on this blog? Probably not. Probably never. Certainly not with the amount of Marvel content that’s just been announced for Disney’s new Disney+ streaming service.

(Don’t worry: I will certainly talk about some of the other Disney+ reveals that were dropped at tonight’s D23 panel in California, possibly even that AWESOME trailer for The World According To Jeff Goldblum; but basically, it’s Jeff Goldblum being himself, and that’s all you need to know).

So let’s break down all the Marvel content you’ll be seeing on Disney+ in coming years, starting with The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which should air in fall 2020. The main cast, including Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp and Daniel Brühl, were all confirmed, as well as one surprising addition: Wyatt Russell will be joining the show as the probable antagonist John Walker, a US agent who, in comics lore, is genetically modified to become a super-soldier of comparable strength to Captain America – Walker is an extremist/basically terrorist who is endorsed by the United States government, leading to a confrontation between him and Falcon. There will certainly be a lot of ruminations on what it means to bear the mantle and shield of the iconic hero in the upcoming series, as both characters fight for the honor of being the one true Captain America.

Next up was Loki, about which we learned almost nothing new. It will be six episodes long, air in spring of 2021, and link the events of Avengers: Endgame and the upcoming film Thor: Love And Thunder, by exploring what happened to the god of mischief after he vanished into an alternate timeline with the Tesseract. No cast has been officially confirmed, though I’ve been seeing rumors that Idris Elba’s Heimdall will be returning for the series, as well as a new character played by legendary actor Ian McKellen (another clear indicator, if true, that Marvel will be ignoring Fox X-Men continuity). Michael Waldron will helm the series.

WandaVision was also confirmed at the panel for a summer 2021 release date: one of the weirdest upcoming Marvel projects, the show does not yet have a director attached, but it does have a screenwriter in Jac Schaeffer (who is also writing Marvel’s Black Widow), and a large and surprising cast: alongside Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch, and Paul Bettany’s Vision, the following have been confirmed: Teyonah Parris will play a grown-up version of Captain Marvel‘s Monica Rambeau; Kat Dennings will return to the role of Darcy, a fan-favorite last seen in Thor: The Dark World; Randall Parks will reprise the role of Agent Jimmy Woo, a lovable and humorous cop; and Kathryn Hahn will play an unnamed “nosy neighbor”, in what was described by Marvel president Kevin Feige as a mix between an epic MCU adventure and old episodes of 50’s sitcoms. Honestly, that sounds amazing: the show will apparently also include some horror elements, and will be absolutely bizarre.

For some reason, absolutely nothing was said about the Hawkeye show. That can’t have been an accidental omission, but it’s surprising nonetheless.

The What If? animated series planned for summer 2021 teased a series of 23 episodes for each existing Marvel movie; episodes in which there will be drastic changes to current MCU canon, resulting in alternate realities. Almost all of the main Marvel cast will be lending their voices to the series: Hayley Atwell has been receiving the most attention, however, since she gets to portray a version of Peggy Carter who took the super-soldier serum during World War II and became Captain Britain. Variations on Captain America and Star Lord were also shown.

Following that were three of the night’s most startling and crowd-pleasing reveals. A Ms. Marvel series documenting the origins of Kamala Khan, one of Marvel’s only Muslim superheroines was already widely rumored, and actress Mindy Kaling had supposedly approached the studio with ideas for the show: the rumors were officially confirmed today, and it looks like Khan will not only be the star of a Disney+ series, but will also make appearances in MCU movies going forward (probably Captain Marvel films, since the teenage heroine from Jersey City is known for being a Captain Marvel fangirl). Comedian Bisha K. Ali will produce the show.

Next, a Moon Knight series was confirmed, and received probably the best Disney+ title logo so far. Marc Spector, the Moon Knight, is a very complex character who some thought might have been better suited for a Hulu series, where he could have been darker, grittier, and more risque. Well, we’ll see. I have faith in the series, if only because its logo is actually awesome. No director or cast is attached.

Finally, She-Hulk, a.k.a. Jennifer Walters, is confirmed for a series: one of Marvel Comics’ most beloved heroines, the quick-witted lawyer retains her human personality when she transforms into a female equivalent of Bruce Banner’s Hulk, meaning she’s “the brains and the brawn” right from the get-go, whereas Banner had to progress through several films before reaching that point in his transformation. No director or cast is attached, but fans are already rallying for the series to be a superhero action/courtroom drama crossover.

So…what do you think of Marvel’s upcoming slate of shows? Personally, each and every one sounds awesome, and I can’t wait for a chance to sit down and try to figure out more about them: expect many more theories and predictions in the days ahead!

Until then, go watch the trailer for Jeff Goldblum’s new show. You’ll thank me.

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Sony: Into The Spider-Drama

I had already made up my mind to write a follow-up post to all the Spider-Man drama last night, after some new updates on a rapidly evolving story. But I was blindsided by just how dramatic some of these updates would be. Let’s dig in and discuss.

So, for all of you new to the story: last night, Sony Pictures and Disney Studios supposedly ended the deal they’ve had since 2015, whereby the character of Spider-Man is jointly owned by both companies, with creative control largely belonging to Disney (and specifically Marvel Studios), and the vast majority of box-office returns flowing straight into Sony’s treasure hoard. This apparently came about due to a disagreement over money: Disney is fed up with having to satisfy Marvel by agreeing to this deal, and so pressed Sony to allow for a 50/50 co-financing agreement, which would effectively impoverish a studio whose only big franchise is Spider-Man. Sony backed away from the new deal and took Spider-Man with them. That was how things looked at first.

Then, just after I had posted my initial response to the news, some more headlines started popping up. It was all just a false alarm, blown out of proportion: deals were apparently still ongoing: theories started emerging that it had all been a hoax, that the details had been leaked by Disney as a publicity stunt to gather support. They might have; we don’t know yet. But a closer look at those headlines revealed that they were little more than unsubstantiated rumors and speculation. But for a moment there, it looked like both sides had reached an uneasy ceasefire. Sources were saying that Sony executives were trying to reach out and explain to the press that this was all hypothetical.

That was until Sony themselves took to social media to explain what had happened, leaving no doubt that they weren’t messing around here, a deal had not been reached, talks were not ongoing, and no, Disney, you can’t have Spidey back yet. Their official statement placed the blame squarely on Disney, and characterized Marvel Studios and Marvel president Kevin Feige as the main victims of this terrible offense: “We are disappointed,” read the press release, “but respect Disney’s decision not to have [Feige] continue as a lead producer of our next live-action Spider-Man film.”

Ouch. That hurts. Especially because Feige is caught directly in the middle of this studio warfare, and is now being used by both sides to justify their actions, but has no ability to actually work out a deal on his own. And at this point, it’s become Disney’s problem just as much as it is his – Disney is currently building an entire Marvel theme park in which the main attraction will be…a Spider-Man ride. That was truly a brilliant idea, deciding to cash in on the character before even settling the question of whether they could.

The shame and blame tactics didn’t stop there, as Sony suggested that Disney would now try to pamper Feige into submission with a whole bunch of new toys obtained during the Disney/Fox merger: “We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him – including all their newly added Marvel properties – do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own.”

Even The Hollywood Reporter is using the word “divorce” to describe this situation, and it’s no surprise – this whole situation sounds very hostile, and very risky. Disney can back down and allow Spider-Man to slip back into Sony’s vaults, or they can wise up and offer a more fair and balanced deal, one that doesn’t involve them stealing half the profits of a franchise that’s not actually theirs. Maybe losing some of the marketing rights to the character wouldn’t hurt either, since Disney has clearly run rampant with them. Feige can’t do much at all, and any actions he does take will look like he’s being moved around by Disney, unless he tries to negotiate a deal behind their backs – which, you know, probably isn’t a great idea. At the moment, Sony president Amy Pascal is in the position of power: she can smash a gaping hole in Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity, rob the franchise of one of its most iconic characters, and also wreck Disney’s new Marvel Land theme park.

Spider-Man star Tom Holland has been silent on the whole situation, but his Avengers co-star Jeremy Renner hasn’t, publicly stated that Sony should give back the character to Marvel, imploring the studio to remember that Spidey was Stan Lee’s favorite character. Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds, who hasn’t actually entered the MCU yet, seemed dismayed that he wouldn’t be able to join a Cinematic Universe that didn’t include the Webslinger.

If a deal is reached, it should come before Disney’s D23 event (at which they’re expected to officially announce the Marvel Land park, and possibly some upcoming Marvel movies). That’s…the day after tomorrow.

Do you think Sony and Disney will settle this dispute? Is it too late for that? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

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Spider-Man Is Leaving The MCU!

Some Spoilers for Spider-Man: Far From Home ahead!

Well, that was a surprise.

Today would have been a completely unremarkable, even boring day in the world of entertainment industry news – there weren’t any big, flashy headlines to wake up to, no unexpected trailers dropping or big casting news. The world was mostly just chatting amiably about Amy Adams’ birthday, and getting ready for D23. Then, this happened.

As of today, the Sony/Disney deal over the Spider-Man rights has officially collapsed, leaving chaos, heartbreak and a collective sense of shock in its wake. Most of the internet is hurriedly rushing out hashtags like #BoycottSony or #GiveBackSpiderMan, while the rest are cheering about what this means for a shared Spider-verse over at Sony. I’ll try to sort out the details and let you draw your own conclusions, but I want to point out upfront that I am one of the fans who is currently very upset about this news. Not to the point where I want to boycott Sony, as I think that’s pretty ridiculous, but definitely angry enough to…well, write this post, for one thing.

The first thing that needs to be understood is that Spider-Man is the subject of the trickiest rights situation in Hollywood: or, was. Sony exclusively held the rights to the character, and the entire Spider-verse (a.k.a. Spidey’s entire roster of supporting characters, rogues, etc), from 1999 to 2015. During that time they produced two separate Spider-Man franchises, one starring Tobey Maguire, followed by a reboot with Andrew Garfield in the Webslinger’s iconic costume. After the reboot flopped, and the Spider-verse looked to be in danger of breaking apart, Sony’s president Amy Pascal came to an arrangement with Disney and Marvel Studios that the three companies would be able to have joint ownership of the character – with Sony reserving most of the rights. Spider-Man was never sold to the MCU, so much as he was leased. Sony still financed, produced and distributed his films, while Marvel only got a small portion of all Spider-Man box-office returns. The only control that Marvel ever really had over the character was the ability to use him as they saw fit in a total of five Sony-approved films, to recast him, and to choose directors and creative teams for his franchise. For more information on the specifics of the deal, I’ll direct you here.

Meanwhile, Sony used the remaining scraps of the Spider-verse to start creating their own separate franchises, completely disassociated with the MCU – Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and Venom, two of last year’s most unexpected successes, seem to have proved to Sony that a three-way partnership with Disney and Marvel was no longer necessary – or profitable. Besides, they’re clearly itching to introduce Spider-Man to their roster of other characters, and they can’t do that until they have full control over the character once more.

So they did the only logical thing they could do. Mere days after Spider-Man: Far From Home, a Sony/Marvel production, officially became the highest-grossing Sony film of all time, Sony chose to pull out of their deal with Disney and Marvel – thereby immediately removing the character from the MCU, shutting the door on future Marvel storylines involving the character, and preventing Marvel president Kevin Feige from having any creative control over Spider-Man’s future films. This, of course, was always a risk, and it looks like Sony might have been scared by Feige’s supposed willingness to bring even more Spider-verse characters into the Marvel fold – perhaps that possible Gwen Stacy cameo in Avengers: Endgame was the last straw, who knows?

Whatever was the reason for Sony’s abrupt decision, it looks like, once they made up their minds, they didn’t back down. Disney apparently reached out to the studio, on Marvel’s behalf, with an offer to set up a 50/50 co-financing deal for all future Spider-Man movies – Sony turned it down immediately, and offered to keep the current deal going; the deal under which Marvel receives a measly share of profits. Disney rejected that offer. At which point Sony just cut their losses and took Spider-Man back. Both sides are just trying to look out for their business, and that’s completely understandable. Disney (and especially Marvel) don’t want to lose one of the cornerstones of their biggest franchise, and Sony doesn’t want to keep sharing their biggest franchise anymore, in a deal that has effectively prevented them from fully building their own Spider-verse.

The main problem is that this leaves Kevin Feige and the MCU in a horrible position. Having just set up a huge, world-changing story arc in Far From Home that was clearly intended to set up future Spider-Man movies and pave the way for Peter Parker becoming Marvel’s new Iron Man, Feige will now have to slowly dismantle all that hard work. If Sony and Disney don’t renegotiate (and it doesn’t seem likely that they will, at least not yet), then Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man is officially gone from the MCU, leaving a gaping hole in the universe’s carefully constructed structure. Mysterio, one of the most awesome villains in recent comic book movie history, is gone as well. MJ, Aunt May, Ned: all of them are gone. J. Jonah Jameson, who just got introduced to the MCU, is out of it again. Sony will take back all their characters and probably recast and rebrand them all, giving Peter Parker a new origin story in a new trilogy of films that will most likely not expand on anything you’ve seen in Peter’s brief MCU tenure.

And so I feel obligated to conclude this post with what will most likely turn out to be the last line of dialogue ever spoken by Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in the MCU:

“What the fu-”

*cut to black*