With Mindy Kaling’s latest film venture, Late Night, receiving stellar reviews and a lot of buzz for the actress/director, she’s obviously looking at many more successes down the line. Interestingly, one of her next projects could be for Marvel Studios.
Kaling revealed that she has spoken to executives at Marvel with the express intent of pushing for a Ms. Marvel movie, something that Marvel president Kevin Feige has already suggested is in the works. “They’re trying to figure out what to do with it,” Kaling said in an interview, “and I told them I would help in any way, because I truly love her”.
The superhero in question, Ms. Marvel or Kamala Khan, clearly has a lot of emotional significance for Kaling, and it’s not surprising: Kaling is of Indian descent, while Khan is a fiercely outspoken Pakistani American teenager, and the first Muslim lead character in Marvel comics. With Marvel taking a new approach to its characters, turning the spotlight on diverse heroes, it was only a matter of time before Khan was next in line. A Ms. Marvel movie could be a huge cultural phenomenon like Black Panther was – and like the upcoming Shang-Chi and The Eternals probably will be. The main obstacle keeping her from joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe years ago was the absence of Carol Danvers’ Captain Marvel – in comic lore, Carol is Khan’s role model, and Khan, when not acting as a hero in her own right, is generally portrayed as Carol’s sidekick and close friend – the Spider-man to Carol’s Iron Man, so to speak. But now Carol has been introduced to the MCU with huge success, paving the way for a sequel in which we’ll probably see many new characters.
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In fact, Carol might become mentor to not one, but two female superheroes: Kamala Khan and possibly Monica Rambeau. Rambeau was a young girl in the Captain Marvel movie, which took place in the 1990s – that means she’s probably in her thirties now, and, if we’re going by the comics, then she might already have her own set of cosmic superpowers. Thankfully, Captain Marvel actress Brie Larson is more than ready for the responsibility: a few months ago, she said that she also hopes to see Khan in the inevitable Captain Marvel sequel.
Kaling also hinted that Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed is similarly excited about the possibility of a Ms. Marvel movie: while she noted that the movie might head to the Disney Plus streaming platform, if it has Kaling attached as a director and Ahmed as one of the film’s leads, it could be some high-quality entertainment. As for who would play Kamala Khan herself, Kaling didn’t seem to have any fancasts – “I think it might have to be an unknown”, she said.
AVENGERS: ENDGAME SPOILERS! (have you seriously not seen the movie yet? What is taking you so long?)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been suspiciously quiet these past couple of days: no Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D episode last week, a disappointing trailer for Jessica Jones Season 3 on Netflix, and only a few stray behind-the-scenes images of Scarlett Johansson filming the Black Widow movie. As the release date for Spider-man: Far From Home draws closer and closer, we’re looking towards an uncertain future for the MCU, one populated by largely unfamiliar faces – such as the Eternals, and Shang-Chi, both set to make their film debuts in the next couple of years. Characters like Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Doctor Strange are expected to become the next “holy trinity” of Marveldom, replacing beloved heroes like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor – well, maybe not Thor: the God of Thunder is still very much alive after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and has jetted off to S P A C E with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
It’s Thor’s brother Loki whom we’re discussing today, however. Loki’s familiar face is now just cosmic ash floating in the space between stars, ever since Thanos strangled him in Avengers: Infinity War, and then snapped his neck, and then blew up his spaceship using the Power Stone – the chances of him ever coming back to life are slim to none at this point. Unless, like many, you believe that Loki got off the spaceship just in time, and it was one of his clones that met a horrible fate at the gloved hand of giant purple Josh Brolin.
But, due to the events of Endgame, Loki doesn’t need to be alive to still be around in the MCU. When the Avengers went back in time to the 2012 Battle of New York, looking for the Space, Time and Mind Infinity Stones, they inevitably ran into 2012 Loki, who had just been defeated by the 2012 Avengers, and was being escorted into S.H.I.E.L.D custody along with the Space Stone. While Captain America was able to snatch the Mind Stone from…himself, and Bruce Banner persuaded the Ancient One to relinquish the Time Stone, the Space Stone wasn’t so easily won. In fact, it wasn’t won at all: due to the present-day Avengers interfering with the 2012 Avengers, Loki ended up grabbing the Space Stone and escaping in a flash of blue light, forcing Tony Stark and Captain America to go even further back in time, to 1970, to get the Space Stone from Tony’s father Howard Stark.
But that’s where things get tricky. At the end of Endgame, Captain America heroically volunteers to go back in time once more and replace all the Infinity Stones they stole, to the exact moment at which they were taken: thus erasing all the messy alternate timelines that had been opened due to the time traveling. The Time Stone will be easily returned to the Ancient One; the Mind Stone can be quietly snuck back into Loki’s scepter; the Space Stone can be put back into its safe in S.H.I.E.L.D HQ, circa 1970…
But Loki’s escape still happens. Captain America would have no way of returning the Space Stone to 2012, because he didn’t take it from the 2012 timeline: he and Tony took it from 1970. In this elaborate game of alternate realities and dimension-hopping, the 2012 Loki is still out there, somewhere in the universe, armed with the Space Stone. And this is a feral, unreformed Loki; one who still wants to kill his brother Thor, and is possibly still suffering from the effects of 2012 Thanos’ mind-control. In other words, this Loki is still a villain, and he has an Infinity Stone, and he needs to be stopped, or else bad things are going to happen.
I’ve already covered in a previous post how the Russo Brothers have suggested that Captain America might take it upon himself to hunt down this rogue Loki and wrestle him back into his proper timeline – but seriously, how is that going to work? We’re talking about Loki, the Trickster God, here. He’s not going to go down easily, and that’s presumably why we’re getting a Loki miniseries on the Disney Plus streaming platform. While the series, titled Loki, has not yet begun filming, it would appear that actor Tom Hiddleston is outfitted, styled and ready to go. Marvel President Kevin Feige was at a meeting for Disney investors and shareholders when he unveiled a picture of Hiddleston looking dark and suave, standing on a city street in full Asgardian costume, in front of a marquee for…Steven Spielberg’s Jaws?
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Now…that’s completely in line with the earliest rumors we had about the show, that it would be a prequel focusing on Loki’s meddling in human history. But the events of Endgame and the hints offered by the Russo Brothers, have suggested that Loki will be using the Space Stone to evade capture and try to make his way back into our present timeline. The Space Stone, however, only gives its user the ability to travel…well, through space. Not through time. There are a few possibilities for why this image shows Loki comfortably situated in the year 1975 – one is that he also has the Time Stone, somehow; by stealing it from the Ancient One? Or from Captain America, when he comes to return it to the Ancient One? This theory seems unlikely. It’s possible that the Space Stone has the power to travel through time as well as space, but that somewhat negates the whole purpose of it being the Space Stone to begin with. Then again, maybe Loki has the power to travel back in time? He’s never had that power before, but maybe. The image could also dispel all those rumors about Loki being about 2012 Loki at all: maybe the things we saw in Endgame were just a cruel misdirect, and the Russo Brothers were lying about Cap’s involvement. Maybe this is from a flashback scene, and the majority of the series isn’t set in the past: but it seems peculiar to tease time travel if it’s not the focus of the show.
We don’t know anything for certain, yet, but we are expected to get more details about Loki and all upcoming Marvel projects at San Diego Comic Con and Disney’s D23 in August. Stay tuned for more information!
There have long been rumors that DC Comics antihero Black Adam would one day get his own solo movie, after studio executives decided the character was too important to be introduced as a supporting character in the Shazam movie. Well, now Shazam is out and has run its course, raking in a decent profit at the global box-office, and paving the way for Black Adam to finally reach the big screen by himself. The character is not a traditional hero: he first appeared in the comics as a villain, and still has a somewhat troubled and morally gray personality there, to this day. We’ve known for some time that one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to play him – when he appears on the big screen, he’ll probably be one of the crown jewels of the DC’s roster of actors, which at the moment doesn’t feature too many household names in starring roles, apart from maybe Jason Momoa (Aquaman). And maybe that’s the reason that Black Adam is suddenly moving into production: there’s been some chatter recently about Johnson wanting to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and DC probably doesn’t like the sound of that.
And that’s how we’ve ended up here, today, with Jaume Collet-Serra being brought on to direct Johnson in the upcoming Black Adam movie, expected to start filming sometime next year. Collet-Serra recently finished working with Johnson on Disney’s Jungle Cruise movie, and seems to have a good relationship with the actor. One little wrench in the plan, of course, is that the story of Black Adam may rely on his heroic arch-nemesis Shazam – and the Shazam movie, while it received glowing praise from critics, wasn’t exactly a box-office sensation in the domestic market. It didn’t do badly, but it was somewhat drowned out due to its unfortunate release date in between Marvel’s Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame, both of which hit the billion-dollar mark: its domestic total of 139 million is still less than what Captain Marvel made just in its opening weekend. For more information on the film’s box-office, see here. Regardless of that, DC is apparently moving on with the franchise, with a sequel already in the works.
With Johnson starring (and producing), the Black Adam movie will likely get off the ground and make its way to theaters soon enough. Shazam 2 will probably follow. But the real question is: will audiences care, even if they do? Even the epic battle between Batman and Superman in Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice failed to inspire much interest – and that also featured the highly-anticipated arrival of heroes like Wonder Woman and Aquaman. Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which marketed epic battles between fan-favorite monsters such as Mothra, Rodan, Ghidorah, and of course, Godzilla himself, has only managed to muster 67 million domestically. And these are characters with fanbases and followings. Shazam and Black Adam, meanwhile, are little-known characters, and Shazam‘s box-office returns suggest only moderate interest in the hero – and it succeeded in part due to its appeal to younger audiences and families: a battle crossover event would likely be darker and grittier, and less of a kid-friendly film. But then again, Dwayne Johnson is one of only a few movie-stars who can draw all sorts of audiences to theaters like flies to honey: his DC debut could generate substantial publicity for the fledgling franchise.
What are your thoughts on the Black Adam movie? How do you think Dwayne Johnson’s involvement will help or hurt the film? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
With Marvel Studios already working around the clock to get Black Widow and The Eternals into production this year (with Black Widow having literally just started), as well as Disney Plus shows such as Falcon & The Winter Soldier and WandaVision, there seemed to be little doubt that upcoming movies such as Black Panther 2, Doctor Strange 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and Shang-Chi would have to wait until 2020 to start shooting.
But Marvel continues to be marvelous: in a surprising move, it looks like Shang-Chi will start shooting this fall, in Australia, under the direction of Asian-American director Destin Daniel Cretton, who has previously worked with other Marvel stars such as Captain Marvel actress Brie Larson. This could even be an indication of Marvel’s confidence in the film, if they’re giving it precedence over established franchises such as Black Panther and Guardians. This puts Shang-Chi firmly in place to make the February 2021 release date that I had previously speculated would be reserved for the Black Panther sequel. It does make a lot of sense when you realize that it will land on Chinese New Year.
Shang-Chi, the story of a Chinese martial artist fighting his villainous father, will be the first Asian-led Marvel film: while we don’t yet know who will be playing the protagonist himself (expect that announcement at San Diego Comic Con), we have some clues as to who else will be in the movie. Two character breakdowns have been released, and it seems that Marvel is looking for an Asian male and an Asian female to fill the roles of a “wise, old statesman” and a “skilled warrior”, respectively. Even though these hints are vague, fans have been quick to jump to the conclusion (partly supported by Marvel President Kevin Feige himself) that that “wise, old statesman” is none other than Shang-Chi’s evil father, The Mandarin. You may or may not remember The Mandarin from the Iron Man movies, and you might remember that the real Mandarin’s identity was never discovered, leaving the character something of an enigma in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And that would have probably been how he remained, were it not for Shang-Chi’s comics backstory.
You see, the original 1970s Marvel comics in which Shang-Chi was first introduced also portrayed his father as a blatantly racist stereotype – even down to his name, Fu Manchu (and his accompanying Fu Manchu mustache). Obviously, the character was hugely important to the story, but could never be included in the movie. Which is why, suddenly, The Mandarin becomes so important – this question-mark of a character can easily become Shang-Chi’s father, filling the role of the problematic Fu Manchu, and giving us a fitting conclusion to a lingering question at the same time. It’s no surprise that this is one of the biggest fan-theories currently surrounding the Shang-Chi movie.
As for the “skilled warrior”, it’s probable that this is Fah Lo Suee (not to be confused with the Fah Lo Suee of the 1960’s Fu Manchu franchise), also known as the “Cursed Lotus” or Lin Tang, a criminal mastermind and ring-leader who finds herself at odds with her brother, Shang-Chi, time and time again. There’s a really interesting family drama at the heart of this story that can, hopefully, be explored in great depth. Even the dynamics among Odin’s family in the Thor franchise can’t rival the sort of back-stabbing, deceit and competition that goes on in Shang-Chi’s family of gangsters, smugglers and mercenaries.
What would you like to see from the Shang-Chi movie? Leave your own thoughts in the comments below, and expect more updates soon!
