Kamala Khan To Replace Tom Holland In The MCU

Okay, that title is a bit misleading. Khan isn't going to replace Tom Holland as Spider-Man, Just fill in the Spider-Man shaped hole that was left in the MCU after Sony and Disney went their separate directions.  So why do I say that she's replacing him in the MCU?  I'll explain.

There are a number of different websites that I like to frequent, and one that used to be my go-to site Screenrant.com  While I don't hit them up as often as I did, they still do steller work and I enjoy reading a number of their writers.  The article that I read most recently was done by Thomas Bacon (mmm...bacon.)  Now I want a BLT.

I'm back, and that was a damn good sandwich.  What was I saying?  Oh yeah, so Bacon explained how when the patriarch of comic books Stan Lee created Spider-Man, he did it because there were heroes from other planets, super-rich guys in tights dressed as flying rodents, super-soldiers from WWII and villains aplenty that were each their own kind of crazy.  Lee wanted to make a super hero that his readers could relate to, and surprise surprise, his readers were teenagers.  Instead of having the world handed over to him, this hero had to find his own way, discover what powers he had and more importantly, who he was.  "With great power comes great responsibility."  Not just a catch phrase, but a motto to live by.

The MCU introduced us to Peter Parker in much of the same way.  In a world that had the Avengers, he was a teenager that was wanting to help people, but be a normal teenager at the same time.  He had the same problems as teenagers today, going through changes (he can climb walls), his body's acting different (his Peter tingle), his voice is getting lower (yeah, this one had nothing to do with everything else), you know, the typical stuff.

Then along come Tony Stark and he becomes his mentor, the father...er, well, Uncle...he never had and gave him a purpose.  That didn't take away from all of the other stuff he still had to navigate in life.  Now that Sony has complete control over where that story goes, I'm sure they will continue doing the great job that they've done with the previous Spider-Man movie franchises (hope you're picking up on the sarcasm here.)

So with Peter gone, Disney needs someone to replace the everyday, average teenager.  That character comes in the form of Ms. Marvel. She was created in the idea of Spider-Man by Marvel editors Sana Amanat and Stephen Wacker.  They wanted her to be the "every-man hero."  Sound familiar? 

We will soon be able to see this vision of Ms. Marvel on the small screen when Disney+ comes out, but plan on seeing her jump over to the big screen soon.  Disney has a lot riding on this character (don't let anyone tell you otherwise), because without Spider-Man in the MCU, they have no one else that could do the job of Peter Parker.  You can argue that there are plenty of other young heroes in the Marvel catalog that they could use, but they all pretty much come from an entitled life.  They need that "every-man hero."

Rumored "A-Force" Movie In The Works At Marvel

There's a new rumor going around that Marvel is developing an "A-Force" movie that will be an all female team which will include Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), the new Thor (played by Natalie Portman), Miss America (being introduced by America Chavez) Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and She-Hulk (who hasn't been cast yet).

The idea of an all-female Avengers team has been something that's been talked about for a while now.  Last year Thompson had this to say about it:

"I'm not Marvel, so I can't make this happen, but I can tell you that Marvel is hugely collaborative, I think even our Thor (Ragnarok) movie was basically the product of conversations they had with Chris (Hemsworth) and with Mark (Ruffalo)about what they wanted to do next.  I think (Marvel Boss)Kevin Feige is really excited by the idea, and if you look at what's happened already in Phase 4 with me and Valkyrie and our story, and then in Black Panther the women rule supreme."

Speaking of Kevin Feige, he had this to say on the topic:

"It is an embarrassment of riches.  Even watching the audience at the Black Panther premier respond to Lupita, Letitia, and certainly Danai in their action sequences...you watch Danai spinning around in that casino, taking out dozens of people, and you go, 'Of course you can make a whole movie about that!"

He added:

"It's all about figuring out when and how.  But by the way, manu of them have already filmed additional scenes in upcoming movies, so some of that is gonna come sooner rather than later.  All of them will be seen again."

Evangeline Lilly from the Ant-Man and Wasp franchise already has an idea about who the leader should be:

"Well, it seems only natural Captain Marvel would lead because she is a general?  And she's the captain.  And Captain America leads the other Avengers, right, so maybe Captain Marvel would lead."

Brie Larson seems to agree:

"I'm not scared and I don't know what the future holds either.  I'm not let into those top-secret meetings, so we'll have to see. We'll see what happens. I love all the female characters so much.  So of course like that's what I'm interested in.  I'm super into an all-female Avengers movie.  Yeah, I think that would just be, it would just be cool to see all of them interact together."

This idea is a good one, but like Feige pointed out, they have to figure when and how.  If they don't do it right, it will just feel like pandering to the masses to show that they have diversity, like it did during the final battle in Avengers: Endgame.

Let me know what you think about a possible A-Force movie by leaving comment in the section below, or go to The Comconocave Facebook page and leave your thoughts there.

JJ Abrams Eyeing The DCEU?

JJ Abrams seems to enjoying jumping around from studio to studio, and crossing over to competing properties.  He famously rebooted the Star Trek franchise (although it floundered with it's sequals), then went over to direct the Star Wars movie The Force Awakens (which was pretty ballsy in itself), and now it's rumored that he'll possibly be directing the new Superman and Green Lantern Corps. movies at Marvel's competitor DC?Warner Bros.

This news broke at the San Diego Comic Con and was first reported on by Cosmic Book News.  They said that the deal that he signed with Warner Bros. could possibly included creative control over Superman and The Green Lantern Corps. movies, both of which he has shown great interest in.  The timing for him to join these projects is perfect, as Green Lantern hasn't officially been seen in the DCEU (although he has been mentioned) and they are looking to recast Superman after Henry Cavill stepped down from those duties.  Abrams is reportedly looking for a Superman that would be in his early 30's, to compliment the age of the new Batman, who will be played by Robert Patterson.  If all goes well, he could be the lead creative person going forward with the other properties in the DCEU.

Abrams had pitched a Superman movie to Warner Bros. around over a decade ago with his Superman: Flyby, but it never got any traction.  With the dismal reviews and the complaint of their "dark tones" (not to mention all of the bad press that Zach Snyder garnered with his off-set problems), this would be a welcome change.  Not to mention with the fan base that JJ Abrams has with his movies, this would give Warner Bros. and the DCEU the shot in the arm that it definitely needs.

Leaked Plot Details May Explain C3PO's Red Eyes

There were some plot details that leaked out by 4Chan earlier this month may explain why C3PO has red eyes.  Before I get started, be aware...***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!***

Okay, if you are still reading this then you don't care having the movie spoiled for you, or you don't believe that what you are about to read will be accurate.  Just for the record, I have a pretty good track record in this arena.  So let's get started!  Here's what they are saying:

They are saying that C3PO's original memory unit gets replaced with a combat droid's memory unit.  The reason why this happens is the Empire is looking for a lost cache of superweapons (which may lead to the scene that we saw with the Death Star like blast in the most recent trailer).  In order to find this arsenal, they need to find something called "The Wayfinder."  This is supposedly stored inside one of C3PO's old memory units which is located in an abandoned imperial blockade.  The Empire accidentally uploads a combat droid's memory unit to C3PO instead and he goes aggressive.  It's even said that he steals Chewbacca's bowcaster. 

This is the reason the C3PO has read eyes, and it is said to play a large role in the upcoming movie.  Makes sense? Clear as mud?  Yeah, me too.  We'll see if this one turns out to be true in another four months.

Marvel To End Star Wars

With the much anticipated arrival of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Marvel comics has announced that it will be ending it's current run of it's Star Wars  series.  Don't worry though, like all things in comics, this isn't the end of anything.

Marvel comics is planning on ending the Star Wars series with issue #75, before the release of it's final conclusion to the Skywalker Saga. They have been announced that "Rebels and Rogues" will be their last issue.  But don't worry, these are comic books and whenever something dies, something else takes it's place...or the original just comes back to life, I don't know. I'm trying to make a point here.  

If they do "reboot"the series, expect it to focus more on the time of The Mandilorian which takes place after Return of the Jedi.  Everything else will just be a bonus.

This is probably just a way for them to reboot the series with a new #1, which Marvel does CONSTANTLY whenever a series gets a little tame and doesn't sell as many comic books as it once had.  Let's not call this the "end of a series," but rather a "reboot of what's already around"

Marvel and Disney are trying to capitalize off of what's to come with this upcoming movie, but don't let anyone talk you into buying what they say you need to own.  This ain't the first time that this has happened, and it most certainly won't be the last.  Buy the comic book, read it, and enjoy it.  The rest just falls into place.

Red-Hulk Rumored To Appear In She-Hulk Series

I'm still going over everything that was released from the D23 convention from last week, and believe me, there is a ton of stuff to sift through, especially with the upcoming Disney+ streaming channel.  One of the shows that was announced was a She-Hulk  television series (although don't be surprised if she makes it onto the big screen).

With this announcement, it sets up a number of new characters into the MCU, and it is actually a good platform to see how fans react to them.  One of these characters that are being talked about is General Ross' possible appearance as Red-Hulk.  His first introduction into the MCU was with The Incredible Hulk,  not to be confused with Lee's The Hulk  which SUCKED.  I know there are people out there that liked this movie...no, wait.  Everybody hated it.  Anyway, William Hurt came out in The Incredible Hulk  and won fans over. So much so that they brought him back for Captain America: Civil War  and Avengers: Endgame.    Now, with the addition of Jennifer Walters (a.k.a. She-Hulk)  there are rumors swirling around that Red-Hulk will be making an appearance. 

This makes sense, I mean, use the talent that you've got.  Hurt is an amazing actor, so tap into his potential.  The other character that is being rumored to be returning (yes, I said "returning") is Abomination (Emil Blonsky played by Tim Roth).  This would be a stunning addition, and I truly hope that this is one of the rumors that turns out to be true.  Blonsky was injected with a prototype serum that was supposed to help him combat and beat the Hulk, but had...side affects.  We haven't heard hide nor hair from him since The Incredible Hulk,  so it stands to reason he's been biding his time and waiting for the right moment to make his move/re-appearance.

We don't have much longer before Disney+ becomes a reality.  When it does, they are going to hit us with so much Marvel material that you won't even remember that Spider-Man was snatched up from under our noses.  I'm sorry, did I remind you of something bad and it still hurts?  He ain't coming back people. Sony has made that clear.

Theories About C3P0's Red Eyes

There were a lot of take aways from D23, and the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker definitely had people talking.  The trailer that they showed went back to the Original Trilogy, included scenes from the Prequels, and footage from the two most recent films in the Trilogy's trilogy.  But it was the footage that we hadn't seen that everyone was buzzing about.  

Surprisingly, one of the most discussed scenes on the web right now is the footage that shows C3PO with red eyes.  With everyone's theories on why he has red eyes, I'm amazed that someone hasn't suggested that C3PO is high...no wait, someone just said that he's stoned and his circuits are "fried."  My bad.  

The most agreed upon theory is that he's been hacked.  In the comics, in the canon lore, when a robot has red eyes, he's been compromised.  Some of the theories, though, are quite out there.  I'll give you my they in a moment, but here are some of the things that people are saying...

"What if C3PO was the Phantom Menace all along?"

"C3PO goes from having a red arm in TFA to now red eyes in TROS.  All these years you thought Jar Jar was the Sith?"

"Wait, Snoke, still alive, hacks C3PO"

"Most people will focus on all of those Star Destroyers or how Rey throws a light saber like Thor throwing a hammer, but don't sleep on C3PO's eyes glowing red right before that monster blaster shot.  I'm assuming he becomes all=powerful and, finally, kills his many tormentors."

That last one is in reference to the scene in the trailer that shows a Death Star sized blast onto the surface of a planet.  Okay, now my theory.  It's not a good one, but it's what popped into my head.  They have been teasing the return of Vader, and maybe Hayden Christensen.  He's not listed on IMDB, so this is probably wrong, but listen...Anikin built C3PO.  There's got to be a connection.  What if he's the one that somehow hacks C3PO and is able to manipulate him from the spirit world, or the Force realm, or whatever it's being referred to?  Why not? It's not any more out there that Snoke taking over his circuits.

Do I believe  my own theory? Not really, but I do think that Vader, or more to the point Anikin, may play a part in it.  We'll all find out soon enough when it hits theaters this December.

Let me know your theory on C3PO's red eyes in the comments below.

Hasbro Just Bought Death Row Records...No, Seriously

Expect to see the Snoop Dogg Easy Bake (Oven Not Included), or the East Coast/West Coast Rapper Sock 'em Robots.  Yes, the popular toy company Hasbro has just bought Death Row Records.

I know that this is a split from my usual posts, but the jokes kind of write themselves when you think about the fact that Hasbro, in it's purchase of Entertainment One, also acquired the Death Row Records property.  Entertainment One purchased Death Row Records back in 2013, and now with their acquisition by Hasbro, they now have a bevy of music that they can start incorporating into their toy line.  Maybe a Dr. Dre Potato Head, or a Malibu Tupac.  The sky's the limit!

The Transformers and G.I. Joe were unavailable for comment.

New Marvel Additions Coming To The MCU

Alright Skippy, this one's for you. You asked for it yesterday, so here it is.  Disney announced the addition of three new television series for their upcoming Disney+ streaming channel, and they will be featuring Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and Moon Knight.  

Ms. Marvel is the property that seems to have the most traction to it so far, as it already has a writer and a show runner attached to it.  Bisha K. Ali will be playing the role of Ms. Marvel. There hasn't been any word of any actors being chosen for the roles of Moon Knight or She-Hulk, however there is a petition going around trying to get Jennifer Lopez to play the giant, green lawyer.

There are rumors going around that some, if not all three, will make their way onto the big screen, but I am guessing that they will wait to see how each of these characters does with the viewers.  Having said that, there are rumors that the New Avengers movie (yes, I italicized this title on purpose) will be possibly featuring the following character:

Iron Lad 
Hulkling
Kate Bishop's Hawkeye
Patriot
Wiccan
Stature
Vision 2.0

While these characters are rumored to join the New Avengers (or "Young Avengers" if certain rumors are true) it wouldn't be surprising to see any, if not all three characters of Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, and Moon Knight joining the team.  IT's kind of funny, for one of the most obscure characters in the Marvel Universe, and I'm talking comic books here, he has a very rabid and faithful base who can't wait to see him come to the small screen, or the big screen.  It's going to be interesting to see how they handle him.

So I am not able to reach my normal followers because the site that I used to post all of this on was done away with.  If you want to keep up on my posts and get alerts to new postings, make sure that you follow The Comconocave page on Facebook. Like or follow, I don't really care, it's just the best place to keep up to date on my posts.

Star Wars News From Yesterday at D23

So yesterday there was a lot of news regarding Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but it probably didn't seem like much compared to all of the Marvel news that has been released.  There was a new teaser trailer that the played, and one of the most interesting parts of it went mostly unnoticed due to the amount of applause.  At the end of some amazing footage was the iconic breathing of Darth Vader that closed out the trailer.  Now, the trailer did show a lot of footage from the previous movies, which helped build up to the footage for the new movie, so the breathing may have just been added to cap it off, since everyone in the world recognizes it...or it could be something else.  We already know that the burned up helmet of Darth Vader is going to make an appearance in the movie, and we already know that the Emperor is coming back, so why not Darth Vader?  I don't know, I'm just spit balling here.  It may have been nothing, but when have you ever known Disney or JJ Abrams to put something out there that was to miss lead people? Oh wait, they both do that all of the time. We'll just have to wait and see on this front.  Speaking of the Emperor, he's making his first appearance in the movie's new poster.  Check it out:

He's actually going to be playing a big part in the movie, if what the actors have to say is accurate.  Daisy Ridley was being interviewed and had this to say:

"He's the biggest baddie in Star Wars history.  Now that we've done the story, I'm like, it couldn't have happened any other way.  It had to be that.  But he's very instrumental to the plot of the film.  It's not just like he appears again; it's all explained."

Okay, kind of cryptic.  Here's what John Boyega had to say on the matter:

"I think the Emperor and his doctrine has trickled down to so many of the characters in the Star Wars universe.  The Dark Side it is what it is because of a lot of his actions and plans.  To have him come back, he's like the greatest for, the greatest enemy.  I mean, we might as well take him down properly."

If you thought that those statements were intriguing, you should have seen the footage that they showed.  It started off with the three main characters (Rey, Poe, and Finn) looking out over a desert planet.  It then showed a bunch of Resistance fighters being chased by a swarm of Star Destroyers.  I mean a ton!  The best scene though was the one of Rey and Kylo Men having a lightsaber battle on top of the ruins of the Death Star, which looked to be sitting in a large body of water being savaged by a storm.  The best part?  Rey is wearing a black cloak and wielding a red, double-sided lightsaber!  The Emperor can be heard in the voice over saying, "Now your journey nears its end."

So what does all of this mean? I have no idea, but I am getting pretty jazzed for this movie's release.  IT's set to hit theaters December 20, 2019. Mark your calendars!

  

News From Day 1 of D23

So let's get the bad news out of the way...Sony and Disney did not come to an agreement and Spider-Man is out of the MCU.  Now they are fighting overDirector Jon Watts.  He was only contracted to do the two movies that he's already directed, and now Marvel is trying to sign him on to do one of their movies, which is pissing Sony off pretty bad.  On Sony's side, they have already hired new writers to do Spider-Man 3.  It will be curious to see if Tom Holland stays on to the franchise, or if he walks.  It sounds like that was an option for him in his agreement.  If he doesn't sign on to do the third film, Sony is screwed.

There was a teaser trailer that released to those at D23 that gave a glimpse of Phase 4.  Most everyone already knows about the movies that are slated to come out, so the most exciting part was looking at the upcoming televisions shows that will be premiering on Disney+.  These shows will include Hawkeye, Loki, WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and What if? and animated television show that will show alternative histories to different Marvel characters, just like in the comic book of the same title.  The most exciting thing that they showed in regards to the MCU were scenes from Deadpool 1 &2.  It looks like they are going to be bringing Ryan Reynolds over to the MCU to play the Merc with the Mouth.  To be honest, he's the only one that could ever play him.  It should be mentioned, though, that there were no scenes anywhere from any of the X-Men movies which tells me that they are not going to bring over any of the actors that played the X-Men characters.

Disney also revealed some new footage from the upcoming Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.  There were new scenes featuring the three main leads, Kylo Ren, and Darth Vader's mask that we saw in The Force Awakens.  It shouldn't be surprising that it made it's way back into this film, considering that JJ Abrams introduced us to it in the first place, and now that he's back for the third and final installment to the Skywalker Saga, I'm guessing that he has some significant plans for it's inclusion.

So that's all that I have for now, it will be several days before I get a chance to post again (you know, work and all) but that will give me time to gather up stories to share with you again early next week.  Make sure that you let your friends know that I'm back and share this page wherever you can!

Are Sony And Disney Close To A Deal???

This has been a whirlwind week for fans of the MCU's Spider-Man. There have been all sorts of rumors swirling around as to why the two companies split from their partnership, and both sides came off as spoiled, petulant children.

Now it seems that the foot stomping and breath holding has stopped and they are back to negotiating on a new agreement.  The word is that they are discussing a 7 movie deal that would bring Tom Holland's Peter Parker back into the MCU for the third movie of his trilogy, two new Avenger movies, and a second trilogy that would follow Peter Parker through college.  I'm guessing that the seventh movie would involve a crossover appearance for another character.  The two Avenger movies is alleged to be when Spidey meets Johnny Storm for the first time.  It's also being said that those two would team up with Firestar a well, a la Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends,  with the Human Torch taking the place of Iceman, but who knows? Maybe Iceman will show up instead, since the X-Men are now a part of the MCU.

Another one of the details is that Venom could be incorporated into the MCU as well, which kind of makes sense.  It's not well known, but Sony went to Feige for help in putting the final cut of the movie together, because there was no flow or continuity to what they had.  The movie became a surprise hit for Sony because of this.  

The last part of the deal is that Disney would allow Sony to move forward with Spider-verse live-action television show, which they wouldn't have been able to do since Disney owned the television rights to Spidey.

They are trying to get this deal finalized before the start of tomorrow's D23 panel for the announcement, so expect to hear more later in the day...if any of this turns out to be true.  Let's all hope that it is!

One Avengers:Endgame Cameo You May Have Missed...

Now that Avengers: Endgame has been released on digital and Blu-Ray, people are able to go back and look at scenes more closely to pick up on things that they missed in theaters.  One of the most interesting things found was during the scene where Tony Stark goes back into the past to Camp Lehigh Army base in 1970.  He ends up in an underground bunker searching for the Tesseract.  It turns out that this is the same bunker that was featured in Captain America : The Winter Soldier.  If you look closely in this scene, there are rows of green computer screens lining the bunker, and while it's hard to tell at a quick glance, the VXR reel shows that it is the face of Arnim Zola.

In the movie after Tony Stark finds the Tesseract, we hear Howard Stark calling for Arnim, so it seems that Howard had a bit of a hand at moving his consciousness from his physical form to his computer form.

Considering that The Winter Soldier was the Russo brother's first outing in the MCU, it makes since that they would stick something like this into their culmination of The Infinity Saga.  It shows me that they appreciate the work that they've done, and also appreciate the Easter Eggs that fans love to search for.

What Easter Eggs have you found in Avengers: Endgame?  I've given you two so far in separate posts, now I want to hear from you.  Let me know what you've found in the comments section down below.

Kevin Conroy's In, Could Mark Hamill Be In, Too?

So I'm a little behind on my television shows, there has been a lot happening away from  this blog, but I was amazed to hear that Kevin Conroy will actually be playing Batman in the upcoming CW Crisis on Infinite Earths!  Well, he'll be playing Bruce Wayne anyhow.  We all know Conroy as the essential Batman voice from the Batman cartoon series and from the DC animated movies, but now he will actually be playing the role of an older Bruce Wayne from one of the "Infinite Earths" that are featured in the Arrowverse.

With the announcement of him taking on this role, there's been a push to get Mark Hamill to come on board to play the Joker, and Conroy seems to have jumped on this band wagon as well.  Twitter user "Wall Spider" wrote:

I just had an idea. Since the CW already has

@RealKevinConroy

reprising his role as Batman in the crisis on infinite earths crossover, what if they brought in

@HamillHimself

as the Joker. We could finally get these definitive versions of the characters in live action!

To which Conroy replied:

Very cool idea! Are you listening

@HamillHimself

?

It may be too soon to know if this is something that will happen, but considering that these two have been playing opposite each other for decades, it would be pretty freaking cool to actually see them playing opposite each other.

On a separate note (still dealing with the Crisis crossover), it was also announced that Brandon Routh will be donning Big Blue's outfit again as one of the versions of Superman from one of the alternate universes. This will be the first time that Routh has played Superman since his starring role in Superman Returns back in 2006.

So whether you are more of a Superman fan or a Batman fan, it looks like the CW has a reason for you to tune in for this year's biggest television crossover to date.

Moving To The Smal Screen

Unless you've never heard of Star Wars you probably know that Ewan McGregor has been pushing for an Obi Wan  stand alone movie.  While Star Wars: Rogue One did pretty good in the theaters, the lack luster box office disappointment off  Solo made the Mouse House do a double take.  They are currently not planning any new Star Wars movies after this year's Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker.  While the franchise has made them a boat load of money, they franchise seems to be dipping.  There was a lot of complaints after Star Wars: The Last Jedi  and more recently with Solo, so in order to regroup and start from scratch, Disney is going to keep the franchise going on the small screen.

It's already been announced the upcoming streaming platform  Disney+ will be producing a live action television series called The Mandiloriam.  There is now word that Disney and Ewan McGregor are in talks to bring his character of Obi Wan Kenobi to their streaming service.  There is also talk of making a Boba Fett  series for their streaming service as well.

This is a smart move, in all honesty.  Movies (without the "Marvel" name in front of it) seem to keep taking a hit in the theaters.  This is due to a number of factors (the chief one being the laziness of Hollywood to come up with a great new idea, hence all of the remakes we keep seeing, including from Disney!)  This will allow them to introduce new material for their property, without risking the bad reviews from movie critics.  It will also push more subscribers to their channel, since this will be the only option for viewing it, just like CBS All Access and their upcoming Picard  series.

This isn't the only Disney+ original series to be announced, as Marvel will be featuring WandaVision and What If? (new animated series) once it launches, but it will make a dent in both Netflix and Hulu once it launches.  I'll be subscribing once it does, so expect more posts regarding these series once they start to stream.

Whoa...

The unthinkable has happened! Spider-Man is no longer a part of the MCU and Neo will be returning in The Matrix 4!   Yeah, that title isn't official yet, it's just what I'm going with right now.

Keanu Reeves has done the impossible...as far as Hollywood is concerned anyways.  He is one of the most bankable actors in Tinseltown.  Thanks to the HUGE success of the John Wick movies, he is a hot commodity.  Because of his bankability. movie studios are looking at old properties that they have that feature him and are trying to cash in on his popularity.  He is currently filming Bill and Ted Face The Music and now it's been announced that he will be returning to The Matrix  franchise to reprise his role as Neo.  Carrie-Anne Moss is also signed on to the new project, which will be written and directed by one half of the original duo, Lana Wachowski, and is said to be featuring a younger version of Morpheus, so it doesn't look like Lawrence Fishburne will be returning.

On personal note, I loved the first Matrix  movie.  I thought that the second two sucked.  No need to explain why, I think that this is a universal agreement.  Because of this, I am not very optimistic that this movie will be any good.  Having said that, this is their chance to completely redeem themselves from the last two disasters and give us a grand and glorious conclusion.  Because this is Hollywood, though, I am not holding my breath.  I just hope that this decision by Reeves doesn't;t hurt his bankablity.  I like the guy, he's done a lot of good movies and he's good to his fans.  He seems to genuinelycare about them, which is a rare trait in Hollywood.  I would hate to see a s****y Matrix 4 movie screw everything up for him.

Do you see how I am more worried about the fourth Matrix movie than I am about the third Bill and Ted movie?  This has got to tell you something.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you Keanu, don't screw this up!

Look To the Bottom Right...

When the Avengers: Endgame came out they tried to bring back every single character possible to make an appearance.  They brought back Robert Redford, Natalie Portman, pretty much everyone from Community.   The one character that you may have missed, though, hails from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie.  It is none other than,,,Howard the Duck.  

Don't believe me?  Take a look at the above screen shot and look to the bottom right.  That's right, our fowl footed friend is in the final battle, which make the scene all the more epic.  He may not have been given a line in the movie, but he is still there.  Let's give it up to the Russo brothers for making the effort to include him in the movie.

This post wasn't meant to be a big one, just wanted to point his inclusion out to everyone! :)

Spider-Man No Longer Part Of The MCU UPDATED!!!

So it seems that the Sony and Marvel agreement has come to an end.  There was hope that there would be some work around to this, but Sony got greedy and wanted a 50/50 split.  While this seems pretty reasonable to most people, yo have to look at their past history.  Sony has had two...count them TWO attempts to build on a Spider-Man Universe for their properties, but have f'ed them up each time that they attempted to do so.  Marvel comes along and offers to pull their property out of the proverbial fire and gives them a bonfire blockbuster.  Now Sony wants to take it over.  What in a million years would make them think that without the rest of the MCU that they would have been able to make Spider-Man a hit?  Like I said, they had TWO attempts at this and screwed it up each time.  You know how? by trying to throw too many storylines into their movies with too many characters.  Spider-Man 3 and Amazing Spider-Man 2, both tried to do this and failed miserably. Remember the definition of insanity?  Attempting to do the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  This is Sony in a nut shell.

The good news is that the negotiations are on-going, so we still may be able to see out Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in the MCU, but as of the time of this posting, it's a done deal.  It's a shame too.  The MCU characters that made cameos in the movies really helped legitimize this franchise.  Sony is run by idiots that are too greedy to see that they have a good thing going already. To think that they can continue this on their own is idiotic.  

There are some in the MCU that are publicly calling on Sony to grow a brain (the first and most vocal being Jeremy Renner) so let's all keep our fingers crossed.  I'd say "start a petition drive," but what does that really accomplish?  Just stop watching Sony movies.  Hit them in their wallets.

To say that I am pissed off about this is an understatement, let's just hope that cooler and more logical heads prevail.

UPDATE:  Here is an official response to this situation by Sony:

“Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise,” says a Sony spokesperson. “We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film.”

“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,” says the statement. “Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue.”

New Theory To Introduce The X-Men Into The MCU

I really didn't want to pick a photo that feature an actor, but this one was the one that best summed up this post.  Before I begin, check out the Iconoclast on YouTube, he's kind of picking up where I left off in the video side of things.  I'll keep posting the written, he'll do the visual!  Make sure to like and subscribe!

So here's the thing, the upcoming Dr. Dtrange movie is reportedly going to have a lot of ramifications on the MCU as a whole.  Check this out...

It's being rumored that the Scarlet Witch is going to be the "vilian" in the upcoming Dr. Strange move, and not only the, but bring about the rise of the Mutants,  Disney is planning a show on their soon to be launched Disney+, which will feature a number of new series, the most anticipated being "WandsVision."  It is said that the two (Wanda and Vision) travel back into the past to live unimpeded, but they end up creating the X-Men, like in House of M,  This is just a rumor, but check out the below, This is from a Reddit user:

According to the rumors, Wanda & vision tv series is set in 50s. I think its correct, the 50s hint in endgame by hulk might be a big deal rather than a joke, setting up the story in 50s could be a reason to bring mutants in MCU. Here's my idea on what happens in the series - 'Vision get revived and reunite with wanda but she wants a peacefull life which is nearly impossible in present day. So, she decides to live in another timeline where there are no supervillains or alien invasions. Wanda decides to live in 50s era with Vision and use the time machine of Hulk to travel to 50s. There, she have a simple life with vision , no superheroing. But, one day something goes wrong forcing wanda to unleash her full potential (same thing she did in HOUSE OF M storyline). The energy surge released by wanda ultimately results in the creation of mutants, it activate their x gene and give them superpowers, this way mutants are introduced into MCU.' Wanda and vision take inspirations from HOUSE OF M storyarcs but in MCU, its her time-travelling decision which fails and results in the creation of mutants. I Think this will what happens in Wanda & vision.

Will this be how they introduce the X-Men?  I am actually throwing my clout behind the idea that they will do a Secret Wars movie, but hey, what do I know.  I'm just here to throw out different ideas. Let me know what you think.

On a side note, I also heard that the old Avengers Tower is going to be bought by Reed Richards and developed under the Fantastic Four name.  Just rumors at this point, but still pretty important to point out,

Until next time my friends...