Marvel

You might have thought Bob Iger returning to Disney would have smoothed things over with the board and investors, but activist investor Nelson Peltz is back baby.

Peltz and his firm, Trian Fund Management are looking for two seats on the board. When Iger was asked about it yesterday at New York Time’s Dealbook conference he demurred.

But today the company responded to the proxy fight accusing Peltz of collaborating with Ike Perlmutter (who owns most of the shares Peltz is relying on). Perlmutter was fired from the board this year after losing more and more of his once iron grip on the Marvel franchise. He once called women-led superhero films a “disaster” and attempted to scuttle both the hugely successful Black Panther and Captain Marvel films for exactly the reasons you think.

Speaking during the NYT DealBook Summit 2023, he did not blame the actors' strike and lack of publicity for the film's performance. Nor did he blame the weird hatred of the film driven by sexism coming from a small and vocal cadre of Marvel fans upset over a film helmed by three women.

He did blame the sheer volume of content being created for making it more difficult to maintain quality and said, "The Marvels was shot during Covid, and there wasn't enough supervision on set" from executives.

But given that overreliance on executive creative control is one of the things that have driven the Marvel brand to its current nadir... that's certainly an interesting assessment.

How Agatha Harkness: Darkhold Diaries will address the events of WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is anyone’s guess.

But in a new WandaVision behind-the-scenes feature reel which also includes some new Darkhold Diaries production footage), Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness appears to be back to her old seld, and messing with the kind of magic that tends to get people roped into big crossover events.

The Marvels’ intriguing mid-credits sequence was yet another reminder that the X-Men are making their way to the MCU sooner rather than later.

It would have made a lot more sense, thematically, if Anna Paquin’s Rogue had popped up with a warning about the danger on the horizon. But looking at the artist Andy Park’s concept designs for an updated Beast closer to the comics, you can see why bringing Kelsey Grammer back was a solid move.

Maybe enough to play Reed Richards. Deadline says that Pascal, who’s had turns as two of nerdy TV’s best dads — Din Djarin (The Mandalorian) and Joel Miller (The Last of Us) — is being looked at for the role in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. However, it also says the deal isn’t a sure thing yet.

Meanwhile, Slash Film says “the deal is done.”

Shang-Chi director Destin Daniel Cretton has stepped down. According to The Hollywood Reporter, one of the reasons was the movie’s full-year delay to May 2025.

Cretton remains attached to Marvel’s Wonder Man series, so there may not be any bad blood. But losing Kang Dynasty’s director is probably a painful setback, given how much water Marvel has taken on lately.

The Captain Marvel sequel has only managed $47 million in its opening weekend at the US box office. That may be respectable for some movies, but as Deadline notes, only two MCU movies have opened under $60 million, let alone $50 million.

The Marvels may get a lot right, as Charles said in his Verge review, but that doesn’t help if viewers don’t trust Marvel anymore.

There’s plenty to criticize about the company, but tell that to 7-year-old me, climbing up into that hamburger cop’s head.

Anyway, here are some behind-the-scenes pictures from the Loki McDonald’s episode. While we’re at it, here’s the McDonald’s scene from Mac and Me. And an AI-upscaled Mac Tonight commercial.

Somehow (see: the relentless passage of time) Loki season two is already two episodes out from its big finale. And this new teaser Marvel’s just dropped makes it seem like the Asgardian god of mischief (and friends) are going to be busy as hell keeping the universe from falling apart as this latest chapter draws to a close.

Marvel’s new Daredevil: Born Again Disney Plus series seemed to be in trouble earlier this month when the studio dismissed co-head writers Chris Ord and Matt Corman, and announced that it planned to bring on a proper showrunner to lead the project.

It wasn’t clear then just how long the hunt for a showrunner might take, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel has just tapped Dario Scardapane — who showran Netflix’s The Punisher — to step in.

Andrew Webster was a big fan of the black-and-white Disney Plus special when it came out last year, and on October 20th, it’s getting a color version on the streaming service.

According to director Michael Giacchino, the new color version will “pay homage” to the vibrant color in horror movies from Hammer. Should be a fun treat for Halloween.

In yet another sign that the workers behind some of Hollywood’s biggest movies are ready to fight to be paid what they’re owed, Marvel Studios’ VFX artists have unanimously voted in favor of forming a union under the IATSE.

For the most part, Loki’s first season saw the Asgardian god of mischief fending for himself while bopping from one universe to another. But the show’s latest trailer makes it seem like Loki, Sylvie, Mobius, and the rest of the TVA gang are going to be spending a lot more time together as they face off against Kang the Conqueror.

Marvel’s new running app — Marvel Move — is now available. It’s made in partnership with Six to Start, or the folks behind Zombies, Run! Basically, you get to listen to audio stories featuring Marvel heroes (and you) as you run. It’s sort of like a mix between a podcast and an interactive game.

I haven’t gotten a chance to try it out for myself yet, but I’ll probably check out the 5K Asgard training with Thor and Loki. I’m curious to see how well it works — especially since Zombies, Run! is how I started running a decade ago. If you want to learn more, I got a chance to speak with Adrian Hon, Six to Start’s CEO and co-founder, back when the app was announced.

Or maybe you’ve skipped a few. Either way, there’s an upcoming coffee table book from Disney / Marvel and DK Publishing to catch you up: Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline.

As we move through Phase 5 and onto Phase 6, the book promises “exclusive infographics, illuminating timelines, and amazing movie stills.” It ships October 24th from Amazon in both hardcover ($45) or Kindle editions ($19.99), Barnes & Noble, Bookshop, or Books-A-Million.

Note: If you buy something from these links, we might get affiliate revenue.

and wondered how an unlicensed two hour film could exist when even Disney had to negotiate with Sony to use the character in films. Sony, Disney, and Marvel are all very protective of the character so it’s a surprise to see this film still live. It’s also super unusual to see a fan film of this scope outside of the Star Trek fan film community, especially as the last time a Star Trek fan film attempted a project of this high a production quality level Paramount sued the creator.

Spider-Man: Lotus’s other major problem is it was funded by a non-profit more than two years ago and immediately faced challenges after the VFX team quit due to racist remarks previously made, separately, by the lead actor and the director.

In a move highlighted by Hollywood’s ongoing strikes and reports of unsustainable working conditions during the production of Across the Spider-Verse, a supermajority of the more than 50 people in Marvel Studios’ visual effects crews signed cards saying they want to be represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).

Vulture reports they’re seeking an election as soon as August 21st.

Mark Patch, VFX Organizer for IATSE:

For almost half a century, workers in the visual effects industry have been denied the same protections and benefits their coworkers and crewmates have relied upon since the beginning of the Hollywood film industry. This is a historic first step for VFX workers coming together with a collective voice demanding respect for the work we do.

The AMPTP’s refusal to meet the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild where they are is why Hollywood’s double labor strike is still on, and the double strike is part of why Sony took Beyond the Spider-Verse off its schedule of movies set to premiere next year.

There’s still no word on when Beyond the Spider-Verse will hit theaters. But in the meantime, Sony and IGN have shared the first 10 minutes of Across the Spider-Verse — presumably to tide folks over.