NICHOLASGRAFF.com

EXCERPT:

A new trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings shows off the new look for early MCU villain Abomination. Marvel had announced Abomination would appear in the upcoming She-Hulk series, but his appearance in Shang-Chi was kept a secret until an early trailer for the film was released. The last time Abomination was seen in the MCU was way back in Phase 1.

Audiences first met the Abomination in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk movie. In his human form, he was a military man named Emil Blonsky (portrayed by Tim Roth), who volunteered for an experiment that might help him become a super-soldier akin to Captain America. In the end, the experiment turned him into the massive Abomination, and he battled the Hulk in Harlem before being subdued.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/shang-chi-trailer-abomination-redesign-mcu/

EXCERPT:

The Marvels star Brie Larson confirms that filming has begun for her MCU sequel. With all the shuffling of productions and release dates, many wondered if The Marvels might be pushed as well. For now, it looks like the film, titled initially Captain Marvel 2, is still going to be released in 2022 as part of Phase 4 of the MCU.

Larson’s Carol Danvers was first hinted at during the end credits sequence for Avengers: Infinity War back in 2018. She was officially introduced and became “Captain Marvel” in the movie of the same name in early 2019 and returned to help defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame. Her next appearance will be in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel, a film that had its name changed earlier this year to The Marvels as it is set to incorporate both Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) and Monica Rambeau (introduced in WandaVision) as part of the main story.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/captain-marvel-2-brie-larson-filming-start-confirmed/

EXCERPT:

Sebastian Maniscalco, one of the actors in the upcoming Super Mario Bros. movie, has revealed that he will be playing Spike, whom he describes as the boss of the title characters. Maniscalco is mainly known for being a stand-up comedian, though this will not be his first time tackling a feature film. His biggest roles so far have been in Peter Farrelly’s Green Book and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. The new Super Mario movie will be entirely animated, and Nintendo has teamed up with Illumination, the studio behind Despicable Me, Minions, and The Secret Life of Pets to bring the classic video game characters to the big screen.

News about the upcoming movie has been extremely scarce. It appears to still be on track for a 2022 release, but Nintendo has yet to officially announce any casting information, including who will be playing Mario & Luigi. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto is on board as a producer, so it seems like Super Mario Bros. is at least starting from a stronger position than the critically lambasted 1993 live-action film of the same name, to which Nintendo took a very hands-off approach.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/super-mario-bros-movie-sebastian-maniscalco-role-spike-boss/

EXCERPT:

A Marvel producer has stated that the MCU is a giant version of one of the stories in the upcoming What If…? series. After the climactic events of Loki and with What If…? set to premiere on Disney+ next week, many fans have been wondering about the multi-verse angle in projects moving forward. However, it looks like Marvel has been dealing with the multiverse all along if they consider the MCU to be one of the many parallel worlds to the main comic book continuity.

In Marvel comics, there is one “prime universe” in which most of the canon comic-book stories take place. While many at Marvel prefer to just call it the “Marvel Universe” (as opposed to say the “Ultimates Universe”), it was dubbed Earth 616 in the early 1980s. And while Mysterio may have claimed the MCU was Earth 616 in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the fact that his whole story was a sham removes any validity to his assertion.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/what-if-brad-winderbaum-mcu-comics-sotry-explained/

EXCERPT:

The Suicide Squad director, James Gunn, recently revealed the two conditions he had for directing the movie. With the film set to be released this weekend, reviews are already coming out in favor of the anti-hero sequel. With any luck, Gunn’s entry in the DCEU will give him even more clout for future films.

Gunn started in Hollywood as a writer with a penchant for both R-rated and family pictures. He was writing Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead and Scooby-Doo (plus its sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed) around the same time. His first directing gig was the 2006 horror film, Slither, which still had a lot of comedic elements in it.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/james-gunn-suicide-squad-2-condition-agreement-direct/

EXCERPT:

Marvel’s Hawkeye series on Disney+ is set to premiere on November 24, 2021, officially premiering before the Ms. Marvel series slated for the streaming service. It has been a busy year for MCU television shows on Disney+, with Hawkeye following WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and What If…? Fans have been awaiting more information about Hawkeye for some time now, and with any luck the premiere date will only be the tip of the news iceberg.

Jeremy Renner first appeared as the Avenger’s archer, Clint Barton, in 2011’s Thor for a brief uncredited cameo, and was officially introduced to audiences in the first Avengers film in 2012. Since then Renner’s character appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: End Game (and a brief uncredited voice-cameo in this year’s Black Widow). Before Hawkeye premieres, Renner will also be voicing at least one version of Barton in the new What If…? series on Disney+.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/hawkeye-ms-marvel-show-release-date-schedule/

EXCERPT:

The Suicide Squad director, James Gunn, claims that the next DC movie he works on would be something fans would not expect. It almost seems like the options are endless after seeing the man tackle projects like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and DC’s The Suicide Squad to critical and audience acclaim. But Gunn seems to thrive on surprising his audience, so his choice is sure to be something completely different than what other directors might take in his position.

Gunn rose to prominence as a screenwriter back in the early 2000s by writing the scripts for both Scooby-Doo and Scooby Doo-2: Monsters Unleashed, as well as the script for Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead remake. His directorial debut was the hit horror-film, Slither, followed by the superhero satire, Super. He truly became a household name for his work writing and directing Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, followed by its sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/james-gunn-dc-movie-next-what-response/

EXCERPT:

The new Batmobile for Matt Reeves’ The Batman is receiving praise from the production designer of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Despite whatever flaws those films may have had, it was always clear there was a lot of unique style and stunning visuals in every frame. It is a good sign for The Batman that people are already taking note of the fresh new direction for the character.

Appearing in Detective Comics for the first time in 1939, the Batmobile has changed a lot over the years. From its original plain red look to the souped-up muscle car of The Batman, the Batmobile has always managed to stay current and useful for whatever Batman needs at the time. Whether it looks more like a tank, a sports car, or a gothic missile, the signature visual element of the car has always been a Bat motif, usually with tailfins that resemble bat wings. Just about every iteration of Batman in pop culture has included a version of the Batmobile, which makes each new design all the more exciting for fans.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/batman-movie-batmobile-justice-league-production-designer-opinion/

EXCERPT:

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is “psyched” about the future of her character Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the MCU. After her appearances in both the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and in the film Black Widow, Val’s presence has been felt all over the MCU. And with the mystery surrounding the character and her plans still unanswered, fans can look forward to many more appearances from Louis-Dreyfus.

In the comics, La Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine has a storied history with both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Nick Fury. She has been a gifted S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, at one point Nick Fury’s romantic partner, a Russian spy working for an organization called Leviathan, and is one of the characters that were kidnapped and replaced by Skrulls during Secret Invasion. In the comics, she was originally a citizen of Italy and part of the European “jet set,” whose parents were killed aiding a resistance movement. She chose to join S.H.I.E.L.D. to carry on their work and give meaning to their deaths.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/julia-louis-dreyfus-contessa-valentina-mcu-future-response/

EXCERPT:

Loki director Kate Herron says the kiss between Loki and Sylvie in the finale was actually genuine. The acclaimed series finished its 6 episode run on a high note, leaving many tantalizing questions to be answered in Season 2 (as well as the wider MCU in Phase 4). Whether or not Loki and Sylvie still have a future together is among those cliffhangers.

When Loki first met Sylvie in the second episode of the series, it seemed clear that they had some kind of connection, beyond being variants of one-another. After their apocalyptic adventure on Lamentis, even the TVA knew that the connection was romantic. By the time of the finale, those feelings seemed clear to both Loki and Sylvie, though she could not let go of her anger at He Who Remains, forcing her to send Loki back to the TVA so she could kill the man who ruined her life. Many viewers were left wondering whether the kiss the pair shared right before she sent Loki away actually meant something, or if she was had just used it to position herself to grab the temp-pad.

(full article)
https://screenrant.com/loki-season-1-finale-sylvie-kiss-director-response/