Read Ron's round-up of all the Marvel film and TV news on GIQUE Media.
This is Part 2 of the episode transcript. Read Part 1 here.
Ron: Now, a series that I am excited about is What If…?
Mon: Oh my god, I couldn't believe it. When they first announced it I was like, no way, they’re actually going to do this? And then we saw the trailer. This was a good tailer.
Ron: This was a good trailer. This got me excited. We got to see little bits. I feel that there's definitely more to this particular show than they're letting on. That's definitely exciting. Whatever we got to see, we are certainly looking forward to seeing more. So, what did we get to see in the trailer? We see a different Starlord. Not exactly Peter Quill. Now, it's T’Challa, and is voiced by Chadwick Boseman in one of his last roles. We also get to see Peggy Carter as Captain America. We get to see Bucky facing off against a kind of zombie Captain America. And we see Stephen Strange facing off against a dark version of himself. Looks exciting.
Mon: It does. Because the What If… stories in the comics really allowed the creators to investigate and examine alternative points of view, and alternate decisions by the different characters. We always used to love reading the What If… stories, and I'm glad that Marvel Studios is really using their resources to create as many stories as they can. I mean, they’re milking it, we understand, but we get a little more entertainment, we get to see different perspectives. Peggy as Captain America is such a novel concept and I love that idea.
Ron: I mean, it makes you wonder why Peggy wasn’t Captain America in the first place.
Mon: Exactly! And the animation was so different from the other Disney animations that we'd seen throughout the day, but it's beautiful.
Ron: Yeah, I like that style. It looks good.
Mon: It does. It looks like a comic book come to life and, of course, that's the point. But if they're able to execute it as brilliantly as they did in the trailer, we are in for a good show.
Ron: Yeah, I'm really excited about this one. I love alternate stories, as well, so this is definitely up my alley.
Mon: Yeah, and I hear that the late Chadwick Boseman actually contributed his voice for several episodes. I'm not sure how often T’Challa appears but he does voice T’Challa, so that’ll be great. I hope they’re nice stories.
Ron: We also got a glimpse of the Ms Marvel show. We got news about the casting of Iman Vellani just a few months ago, so they must be shooting during the pandemic. That's exciting. We also got to see some of the supporting cast. There's a lot of controversy around this. And it just makes my head hurt. I don't understand why a company as big as Marvel and DC can’t do a little bit of background research when they cast people. Regular people on the internet can find out information and Marvel and Disney didn't find it out?
Mon: Or did they choose to ignore it? But the thing is that in today's internet age, you really need to be careful about who you're choosing, who you’re giving opportunities to. Especially in a show like Ms Marvel, which you make such a big deal about because she is so important to demographics in the US and around the world. And yet you keep making misstep after misstep. You need to be careful.
I will say that they seemed to try very hard during the Investor Day announcement to veer away from the rest of the cast and talk only about Iman Vellani. It could be because this was all shot and prepared well before the controversies began and the rest of the cast were chosen. But at the same, time I do wonder if they're trying to rethink. I need to give them the benefit of the doubt because I'm hoping that they rethink and recast. It might be too late, and we’re stuck with what we've got.
Ron: Yeah, but sometimes it takes something as simple as just putting out a statement acknowledging what people are concerned about. Like, Rosario Dawson, she does know about what people are saying about the allegations against her, and she did mention it in that interview with Variety. It does make me feel a lot better. I know a lot of people still don't really take her word for it, and that's completely an understandable reaction, but at least she's saying something. The thing is, I wish she had said something earlier. But I understand that she couldn't have because, despite rumors circulating from what, the beginning of the year, that Rosario Dawson was going to be playing Ahsoka, the lead up to the actual episode was all hush-hush, and it was only when we got to ‘The Jedi’, that we met Ahsoka Tano. It did make me feel better though.
Mon: Okay. But there are other problems.
Ron: There are. There's Gina Carano and her wildly insensitive and dangerous tweets about the pandemic and mask wearing and what she put as her pronouns. The thing is that these aren't things that happen in a vacuum. People are very vocal about it, a whole bunch of us, because of Gina Carano’s nonsense, ended up putting our pronouns in our bios, because we were like, okay, this is definitive, this is what we feel. And maybe we’re not very comfortable with our pronouns at this moment, but that's the one we're going with for now.
Mon: I just think that if you're a celebrity in the 21st century, you know how influential you are. You also know how far and wide every tweet goes. You need to be more careful about who you're hiring. And for Marvel, Disney, and DC to be so blinkered about it is quite shocking. Now we don't know how far the controversy around Miss Marvel and the casting goes, we can only hope that by the time the show actually does reach our screens that it does right by the fans who are so eager to watch it.
Ron: If you want more information about the controversies around the Ms Marvel casting, you can check out the Twitter hashtag #FixMsMarvel.
Mon: All right, let's be a little bit more positive here. We've got a few more announcements for the other shows, for example, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Hawkeye has got Kate Bishop and yes, she's being played by Hailee Steinfeld. Everybody knew it. Somehow Disney did not think to surprise us. Or maybe people just have too many cameras nowadays, because we have the images and everything.
Ron: Yes.
Mon: Lots of people are excited. I am underwhelmed by this show. I don't know why. I like Hawkeye in the movies, but Jeremy Renner is a problem.
Ron: And the thing is, the Renner problems happened after he was in the MCU. Literally, in the last year, since Avengers: Endgame, these issues with him have come to light. How is he still here?
Mon: I know. You could have moved completely away from Hawkeye and just concentrated on Kate Bishop, but no, Hawkeye is still there.
Ron: Maybe he’ll die in this show.
Mon: He should have died in Endgame! Having talked about Hawkeye, Black Widow is still not coming to Disney Plus. We do not know if Disney is actually going to change their mind about this. I understand why. I understand that they want it to hit theaters. Because, let's be honest, in a couple of years when the gurus of film sit down and talk about how Wonder Woman and Black Widow and Mulan didn’t actually hit the theaters, they’ll come up with some hogwash about why these women-led films didn't make it to the theaters, ignoring the fact that we were in a pandemic.
Ron: I still think this is a terrible decision. You know why? Vaccine or no vaccine, how comfortable are we really going to be going to a theater to watch a movie, sitting next to a person, you don't know it they’ve washed their hands?
Mon: Can you imagine if somebody coughs?
Ron: Oh gosh, the entire theater will evacuate. This has been nine months of paranoia. This is a pandemic. It's unprecedented, the kind of situation that we're living in right now. It's scary. There are some people who willingly go out there thinking, for some reason, that they are immune to COVID-19. But most of us with brains know that we have to stay home. We're not gonna run into a theater. If you put it on Disney Plus, the chances of more people seeing it are huge. You're not going to make that much money if you put it in theaters. That's what I think.
Mon: Unless they’re going around actually sabotaging this film. Wow, I’m negative. I'm hoping for the best. I hope Disney sees the light if this situation continues. And listen, with the new regime taking over in the US, it's still going to take time. Because people need to be making a difference in their daily lives. Till a substantial amount of change happens globally and in the US, trying to insist on having a theater release seems premature.
Ron: And also, let's not forget, the Disney higher-ups may be getting the vaccine first, but people who actually go to theaters, it's going to be months before we get it. Yeah, I really don't understand. Maybe they're holding out hope, but I feel like they're going to have to change their decision eventually.
Mon: Yeah, I think a year of languishing in theater-hell will make them change their mind eventually.
Ron: Yeah
Mon: And also, maybe the anticipation is built up. It’s anyway been built up for a year. Then, once we get into the groove of the MCU once again with the TV shows, maybe they'll think, okay we've got enough eyes and subscribers, people will start coming and it’ll be worth putting it on the channel.
Ron: Well, hopefully, because I'm actually beginning to forget the Black Widow movie exists.
Mon: Yeah, they have to keep reminding us.
Ron: Seriously. They need to do something. Speaking of the movies, we’ve got confirmation that Captain Marvel 2 is going to be happening. And Nia DaCosta is going to be directing it, which is great. Also exciting, Ms Marvel from the TV show is going to be appearing in that, and so is a grown up Monica Rambeau, who we are going to be meeting in WandaVision. This pretty much tracks with the timeframe. Because Captain Marvel, the first one, took place in the 90s. Monica was still a young girl then. Presumably, Captain Marvel 2 is going to be set after Avengers: Endgame. So, Monica should be grown up by then.
Mon: Yeah, I'm excited to see what this film can be. We really liked the first film. It may have been a little bit safe storytelling-wise, it was a bit formulaic, but it's definitely different from the usual so we’re hardly going to complain. I feel like a brand new voice in Nia DaCosta? Can't wait to see what she can bring to the plate.
Ron: Yeah, absolutely.
Mon: And that's what I really liked about the announcements from Marvel. It's that we get to see diversity on the screen, but there's also diversity behind the scenes.
Ron: Absolutely. Like the Ms Marvel TV show is being directed, and the showrunners are all people of colour. So that's really exciting.
Mon: Yeah. And we even have Moon Knight, for example, has an Egyptian showrunner.
Ron: Yeah, no confirmation about who will be playing Moon Knight. There's a lot of talk about Oscar Isaac taking on the role but then Moon Knight is supposed to have Egyptian roots. Feige even mentioned that there's going to be a lot of Egyptian iconography in the show, so maybe they are holding out for an Egyptian actor. I really hope so, because there's no point having somebody who's not Egyptian in a TV show that is full of Egyptian aesthetics.
Mon: Let's be honest. Oscar Isaac does not make a good Egyptian, as we saw with X-Men: Apocalypse.
Ron: He tried, poor man.
Mon: That was such a terrible film! How do you take Oscar Isaac and apocalypse and make a disaster? But anyway, moving on. She-Hulk. Oh my god, what's happening with this show? First of all, we got confirmation that Tatiana Maslany was going to play She-Hulk. But then she rescinded? And now they’ve confirmed that she is She-Hulk.
Ron: There were so many rumours this year before Disney Investor Day, and they’ve all pretty much got confirmed at the event. Is Disney even trying to hide any of this stuff or what?
Mon: I'm just trying to figure out what is going on. Why are all these rumors reaching people, whereas Disney is still waiting to make the announcements?
Ron: I don't know. It was kind of weird. Like there are certain things which I was just like, huh, yeah this is not a surprise. That was probably the one aspect of Disney Investor Day that didn't work for me because we were already writing these pieces up.
Mon: Yeah, I mean, I think that when they were making these presentations, they probably didn't know that this was going to be the reaction because people had already seen the rumors, or they'd been confirmed. I don't know how long ago they actually put this stuff together.
Ron: But Disney needs to look into their sources! Who is leaking all this information?
Mon: So, She-Hulk is also going to have Tim Roth, returning as the Abomination.
Ron: What? Why?
Mon: No idea. Mark Ruffalo will be back as the Hulk. I really hope he's just Bruce Banner, not Hulk, or worse, Professor Hulk.
Ron: I didn't take to Professor Hulk either.
Mon: Yeah, I know some people really like the character and I appreciate that, but oh no, I don’t like him. So, I read recently that it's actually going to be a half hour, law comedy. I am so intrigued and I want to watch this show.
Ron: Oh really? That sounds fun.
Mon: Yeah. I mean, Tatiana Maslany’s so talented. She can do anything so I'm really intrigued to see what they can do with it.
Ron: Yeah, Feige did mention that, since it's going to be about lawyers, we should probably expect other Marvel characters to appear on the show. So of course, everybody's got excited thinking Daredevil is going to be coming back.
Mon: Oh, I was thinking Jessica Jones. She's not a lawyer, but she's a PI, and that’s kind of connected.
Ron: Listen, just bring my Defenders back somehow. I want my Defenders!
Mon: So, a really fun, and really good, exciting announcement was Ironheart! I’m so happy that this legacy character is getting her own show. And it’s going to be live-action, which is even better.
Ron: Yes.
Mon: Hopefully, it won't be all about, oh, I miss Tony, I miss Tony. Because, you know what, I love Spider-Man, and I love Peter Parker, but he is way too wrapped up in Tony. And I understand that when you're watching the movies, you're already very into it. But when you come away from it, then it's like, Peter needs his own characterization, which isn't attached to Tony.
Ron: He doesn't have a life outside of Tony. It's extremely frustrating.
Mon: Yeah.
Ron: So, what do you think about Armor Wars?
Mon: I am all for seeing Don Cheadle back as War Machine. That character is so cool. Don Cheadle is just so effortless as a superhero.
Ron: He's awesome.
Mon: This story is based on a comic run, and of course, that has more to do with Tony. Here, from the synopsis, it appears that this is one of Tony's worst nightmares, but War Machine has to deal with it. So, my assumption is that, obviously, somehow Tony’s tech, his armor, has got into the wrong hands. Who could it be, we don't know. I’m assuming Sam Rockwell is coming back.
Ron: Oh really?
Mon: That is my assumption. People really like that guy so he might come back.
Ron: Isn’t he in jail?
Mon: Endgame happened. Lots of things have changed!
Ron: Okay, that's a good point.
Mon: This is just me speculating. So, I just feel like it will be interesting because if it’s Tony’s nightmare and War Machine’s got to deal with it, then that changes the whole perspective altogether. So, I’m intrigued, I’m intrigued. Also, more War Machine is a good thing.
Ron: Yes.
Mon: Okay. What do you think about Secret Invasion.
Ron: Dude, I have no idea what to think about this.
Mon: Disney is really running with the chemistry between Talos and Fury. But you know, the premise is pretty interesting. Because if the Skrulls, who are shapeshifters, have taken over every layer of humanity, it's really fascinating to see the whole ‘who can you trust’ issue.
Ron: Yeah, that angle, definitely quite interesting. I'm actually quite surprised that Talos and Fury are getting their own run. I like Talos. I think he's cool. And Nick Fury, you know, we really haven't got to see as much of him as we would have expected. He was great in Captain Marvel.
Mon: Just so much fun to see him.
Ron: My only concern about Secret Invasion is I don't want them painting the Skrulls as bad guys.
Mon: Yeah, yeah, no, I agree with you. Because the whole point of Captain Marvel is that the film really turned on its head who we think the bad guys are. I'm really hoping that it's just a faction of Skrulls. Because you have bad guys in everything, right?
Ron: Yeah.
Mon: There's a faction of Skrulls who are sent on Earth and they just take it the wrong way.
Ron: Yeah, I'm hoping that it's something like that. Because the refugee storyline in Captain Marvel was really hard-hitting. I thought it was really lovely. I'm not sure how I feel about Secret Invasion. We have to see it.
Mon: Yeah, there's no other species, per se, in the main Marvel Universe that they can play with in this fashion. I hope that they’re still sensitive to the topic, that at the end of the day, the Skrulls who were saved by Mar-Vell are still refugees who require and deserve to get a peaceful life. But there's always some bad eggs. Fury and Talos are dealing with them.
Ron: Yeah, yeah. We also got some Guardians of the Galaxy news. There is going to be a Holiday Special before the third film comes out. I don't know how I feel about that.
Mon: Sometimes I feel like Marvel milks the wrong things.
Ron: Do we want more Guardians of the Galaxy?
Mon: I think that having a third part is bad enough. The second film was just underwhelming to me. I have not gone back and seen it.
Ron: You know what I would like to see? A movie about Gamora and Nebula. That's all I want to see. I don't care about the others, just those two. Oh, and throw Mantis in there! Yeah. Mantis, Gamora, and Nebula, all I want to see.
Mon: I hope Disney is listening.
Ron: We're also going to get an I Am Groot series.
Mon: This is definitely a reason to sell toys to kids and make a Seedling-Groot version which is cuter than baby Yoda, so we have more Christmas decorations.
Alright, so back to the films, because we forgot a few things, didn't we? So, Ant-Man and the Wasp is going to be called Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Ron: I think that sounds fun!
Mon: I love the name so much! Paul Rudd is back. Evangeline Lilly is back. She’s apologized for her pandemic snafu, so that's great.
Ron: Oh, thank goodness.
Mon: Yeah. Michael Douglas is back, and so is Michelle Pfeiffer. So excited. I love those four, they are so good in the films. Can’t wait to see them again. I am upset that they recast Cassie!
Ron: Why do we have now an older Cassie, than the older version that we already saw in Endgame?
Mon: I have no idea. The actress who played Cassie is also upset. She found out the same day that the Disney Investor Day announcement happened.
Ron: Oh, that's so mean.
Mon: That is mean! I don't like people who do that. At least let her know that she's not coming back and she's been replaced.
Ron: That's a bit disappointing.
Mon: They are going ahead with Black Panther 2. They've mentioned that they're not going to recast T’Challa, which people had anyway surmised. I'm very glad for that. Ryan Coogler is hard at work, we were told, rewriting the script. So, let's see what they can do. Eternals, there’s no new news about that, but we’re finally going to see it in theaters. “Theaters” in quotes.
Ron: Shang-Chi is also expected to be in theaters. Looks like Marvel is just going with that tactic. Let's see. These films, Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Eternals, they are ready for release.
Mon: Yeah, Shang-Chi finished late in the Fall.
Ron: Yeah, so they're probably gonna finish off their production and everything and be ready to go.
Mon: They’ve got a really good cast over there. So, yeah, can't wait to see how the movie turns out.
Ron: Yes.
Mon: Thor 4: Love and Thunder, now has its villain. So Christian Bale is playing Gorr. Don't get excited. Gorr is a really weird-looking creature. I have no idea about this weird casting.
Ron: I just hope they let Christian Bale have fun and be funny. We need to see a funny Christian Bale. That's all I'm saying.
Mon: Is that something that exists?
Ron: It will when this movie comes out!
Mon: Amazing. All right. So, the big news which had fans actually going insane, is that Marvel is now going to make a Fantastic Four film.
Ron: Please just let them die.
Mon: Listen, Fantastic Four are the first family of Marvel. We’ve gotta hold out hope that this is going to be something spectacular. I don't know who they're gonna get to write this film, and who they’re going to get to direct this film. I'm really worried about the cast, but I want them to do something really, really good. Because the cartoon series was a lot of fun, but it was also a cartoon. The Chris Evans movies were campy fun, there were really very silly. It was supposed to be the comic book ethos and they captured that.
Less said about Fan4stic is better. How you can take such a spectacular cast of Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Katie Mara, and Toby Kebbell, and make that film is still beyond me. I'm so glad that Michael B Jordan got a second chance as Erik Killmonger. I'm hoping the others also get a second chance.
But yeah, let's see what they can do. I think that Marvel is going to do something spectacular with Fantastic Four, which we've never seen before. I say this with the confidence of somebody who knows that that's not gonna happen but I can hope.
Ron: Man, I don't know. I think some properties are just cursed.
Mon: No! Don’t say that.
Ron: Fantastic Four seems like it is. It's a mess.
Mon: I feel like there is so much expectation that comes with Fantastic Four. I mean, just think about it. Just because you and I aren't that attached to Fantastic Four, doesn't mean that we don't understand how people who are feel about this. If Marvel had announced that they were making X-Men, I don't know how we would react. The weight of expectation and the amount of history that is attached to these characters, it's huge. How do you take all of that and filter it down into one film, or one franchise? And at least, Fantastic Four is only four characters and one villain, for the most part, Galactus is also there.
If they were the X-Men, oh my god, it’ll just blow your mind. They’re clever not to have announced X-Men. Let them get through this roster because it's an extensive roster, we've been talking about it for a while now. It's a huge roster! And they’re smart to leave something which could potentially be a huge golden goose for them. But yeah, Fantastic Four, I feel good about it. And I feel good about it because I'm not attached to them.
Ron: I'm totally on the fence about Fantastic Four. I do not know what to expect. The problem is not just what has come before with Fantastic Four in the live-action universe. It’s with the characters themselves. Reed Richards is a dick!
Mon: No, but that's true. But listen, can you make somebody who is like that be a teachable moment for the character, for people who are watching him?
Ron: So, where I'm coming from is that I am now at the point where I can't stand watching or reading something about a character who's unlikable. I think they get too much time in the sun.
Mon: Okay. No, that's a good point.
Ron: Like, I just watched Mank. And I was like, why are you asking me to spend two and a half hours with this man who sucks? I don't want to. And it's not fair that I'm being asked to do that. I want to hang out with people I like.
Mon: Yeah, that's true. Maybe they should turn the tables and make Invisible Woman the dick, and Reed is the poor brow-beaten spouse in the relationship.
Ron: He will find a way to make even that annoying!
Mon: Let's be positive here. I really have a good feeling about Fantastic Four coming from the MCU. I'm telling you.
Ron: I don't know where your positivity is coming from because I have none.
Mon: Well, Marvel has had an extra year of thinking about this. Because they didn't actually do like actual work during this year because of the pandemic. So, I'm thinking that's just brewing a lot of good ideas for them.
And on that positive note, we want to know which of these Star Wars, Marvel, and Disney Productions are you super excited about? Which ones do you really not want to be watching at all? What did you expect to actually be there which wasn't and you’re super-disappointed? Let us know. Send us a tweet, send us an email and happy watching!
Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]. We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!
Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.
[Continuum by Audionautix plays]
Transcription by Otter.ai and Ron.