This is it. The big one. Your intrepid Beat team is seated right in middle of the action – literally in the second row – for the hottest ticket in the entire Comic-Con: Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation!
What will they have to show? We know they’re currently filming Black Widow, so that’s a strong possibility, The Eternals is getting prepped too, with a cast still to be fully revealed…and Thor 4 was just announced earlier this week ahead of the show. Any of the above could and probably will adorn the stage this afternoon…but could there be other surprises? Some Spidey news? Black Panther 2? Maybe something wholly surprising? You never know with Mr. Kevin Feige! We’ll be here reporting every twist and turn as it happens! We’ll start at 8:15pm eastern/5:15pm pacific, keep hitting refresh!
- We’re now 5 minutes away, and they’ve pulled down the table that’s taken over the stage all day for a number of other panels. All that’s left is a lectern and a small roundtable for waters. It’s like waiting for a rock concert in here!
- It’s also suddenly gotten WAY hotter…poor sweaty, tired masses that have waited all day! Same energy over here truthfully…
- Eddie Ibrahim is urging everyone to get in their seats…everyone is screaming his name
- A baseball stadium-esque clap in unison has begun…we’re THIS close to a wave starting!
- The Russo Brothers just walked into the secret seating area. Guessing they’re going to a part of whatever new announcement might come…if one comes, of course
- Security is TIIIIGGHHHTTT right now…I feel surrounded
- Running a little behind here, hope they start soon, I’m worried we might have a stampede soon! When people are mobbing the Russo Brothers, you know things are getting out of hand
- Lights are down…oh man…and we’re treated to a retrospective video of the entire Infinity Saga, hitting all the highlights you can expect
- Nerdist’s Jessica Chobot is out as our host, everyone in attendance is getting some trading cards of the Infinity stones
- And she welcomes Kevin Feige to the stage…Feige says “the Infinity Saga is complete…I never thought it would happen”. He thanks everyone in attendance, as well as Disney chair Alan Horn and Bob Iger
- Feige is now welcoming out the Marvel Studios staff that helped bring the films to reality, like Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, and other super important executive team members whose names I can’t quite catch.
- “Within a matter of days, Avengers: Endgame will be the biggest film in history”…he gives a shout-out to James Cameron, who he says still actually holds the record if you adjust for inflation
- AND NOW THE ENTIRETY OF PHASE 4!!!
- And he starts with The Eternals, coming November 2020 which he calls “full Jack Kirby”
- He brings Chloe Zhao the director of the film to the stage
- Zhao says through the film, they’re able to highlight what it means to human
- Now they’re calling the cast out, including Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek (playing the leader of the Eternals), Lia McHugh, Don Lee, and Angelina Jolie
- Madden is asked to describe the Eternals, which he gives the general jist of (sent by the Celestials to protect humanity from the Deviants), and he describes Ikaris as the “sexiest of the Eternals”
- Ridloff is playing the first the first deaf superhero in the MCU
- Nanjiani praises Marvel Studios as this perfect blend of all genre and film types that is a perfect place for a generally comedic actor like him to find a home in
- Hayek says her character sees her team as a family, and she feels like this movie will find many fans who have not felt represented in these types of films before
- Lee says he can’t wait to show everyone the power of his character Gilgamesh
- And they’re off the stage…what’s next?
- They’re now moving into the tv space with The Falcon and The Winter Solider
- Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan are now out, with Mackie holding the Cap shield, which he hands over to Stand to wear….and now Chobot has it.
- They both talk about what they’re excited to explore, Stan: “The Falcon, as a character…what kind of man is this man?” Mackie: “I want to see what makes him tick…what ticks him off…etc etc”
- Mackie: “We’re living our dream…when we go to work we’re having a really good time”
- Feige is asked by Chobot if there’s anything he share…and before he can say anything…a video cuts in, with Winter Soldier’s code words…and Daniel Bruhl shows up on screen. “Okay, so those don’t work anymore…but I just wanted to see my old friends”. We get a quick glimpse of him in the classic Zemo mask!
- The next movie to be released in 2021…Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- Feige is giving a run-down on the Ten Rings and he reveals the Tony Leung is playing the real Mandarin
- Akwafina is also going to be in the movie
- Destin Crettin, Shang-Chi’s director is now out…he says standing out on this stage is terrifying for him
- He’s excited to produce a film that represents all the colors of faces he sees in this very room
- They’re about to announce who is playing Shang-Chi
- Shimu Liu will take on the role, and he opens speaking Mandarin to everyone in the audience
- He says he thinks of his parents, when it comes to this film, who immigrated from China to Canada 20+ years ago…”I’m thankful I’m not a doctor”
- In Spring 2021 is WandaVision, which Feige says is nothing like they’ve ever done before. Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany are out on the stage
- Olsen says with this series “we’re finally going to understand Wanda Maximoff as the Scarlet Witch”
- When asked what’s going on with Vision since it’s after Infinity War, and he says “I have no idea” jokingly.
- Feige confirms that it does take place after Endgame. And that Monica Rambeau will be a major character in this series, Teyonah Paris will play her as an adult
- She says its a dream to be a Marvel superhero
- Also in Spring 2021 is Loki, and Feige shows a video from Endgame of Loki taking the Tessaract…”where did Loki go? This series will answer that”
- Tom Hiddleston is now out with a huge ovation, people are chanting “Loki! Loki! Loki!”
- Hiddleston, in response to a question about Loki’s current mindset given that this is a Loki from an earlier timeline…Hiddleston says it’s the Loki from Avengers post-Hulk smash. He calls the series one of the most exciting creative challenges he’s come across.
- The next film will be Doctor Strange And The Multiverse Of Madness. And Scott Derrickson is out to talk about the film
- With this film, he says they plan to make the “first scary MCU film”
- Feige says to an audience member screaming for an R-rating, “No it’s PG-13 and you’re gonna like it”
- And now Benedict Cumberbatch is out
- Yesterday was his birthday, and everyone is now singing Happy Birthday to him
- He says he’s very excited to be at the dawn of this project, and he thinks the twist of horror they’re injecting into the film will have people gripped
- Feige says that the Scarlet Witch will also appear in the film. “When you have a strong sorcerer, you also need to have a strong witch” and that WandaVision, and the event Wanda goes through, will tie directly into Doctor Strange
- Next up in Summer 2021 is the first animated Marvel Studios series What If…? and Feige reveals that the film casts will be reprising their roles in the series in various respects. Jeffrey Wright will voice The Watcher
- Wright jokes that joining the MCU is a great way to get his son to return his texts
- Wright is an observer of the multiverse and may intervene here or there, but for the most part he’s doing his own thing
- Nice Fantastic Four shoutout from Wright when discussing the character’s origins
- And next to be discussed, the Hawkeye tv series…with Jeremy Renner running up from the audience to great applause
- And a video is shown that showcases some cool key art that includes Kate Bishop and the Fraction/Aja logo. Renner calls Bishop “the better version of Hawkeye”
- He’s excited to shepherd a character that’s a better version of him
- Feige also says we’ll explore more of his time as Ronin in the series
- And the final film of 2021 is Thor: Love and Thunder, and out comes Taika Waititi, Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson
- This is the first time Hemsworth and Thompson have seen the new logo
- When Hemsworth is asked where Thor is headed, Taika responds for him saying “only I know because they haven’t read the script”
- Thompson says that her idea of a perfect Asgard would be a place of refuge for all people who need it
- Waititi says he read Jason Aaron’s Mighty Thor while shooting Ragnarok, and that because of that the new film will introduce Female Thor…and with that he brings out Natalie Portman, who is now holding the hammer there on-stage
- Portman will come back as Jane Foster/Thor for this film
- And now it’s time to talk about Black Widow, which is the first new MCU film that’s coming.
- The director Cate Shortland and cast is out, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, Rachel Weisz, O.T. Fabenle, and of course ScarJo
- Johansson is excited to play Natasha as a fully realized woman in this film and all her facets…including the flaws in her character. She’s looking to wipe out some of the red in her ledger
- When asked if he’s exciting to expand his fanbase in the MCU…David Harbour says “hell yes”. And while he’s wearing a Captain America t-shirt, he says that his character has complicated feelings about the character..as we’ll learn about later
- Florence Pugh says her character Yelena is a sister figure to Natasha
- Fagbenle says his character, who supports Natasha in her missions, has romantic feelings for her that go a bit unrequited perhaps
- And so we’ve just seen the first teaser for Black Widow, that will be centered on the mission in Budapest, with an opening fight scene in an apartment between Natasha and Yelena that’s a pretty great hand to hand segment. We see a few other shots in the Jason Bourne/Mission: Impossible mold, and it caps off with a fight between Natasha and a masked man who’s a bit of a deeper cut than I can comfortably reference…I presume that’s Harbour
- Feige says we didn’t have time to talk about Black Panther 2, Captain Marvel 2, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, the Fantastic Four, or Mutants (as Feige says rather than the X-Men)….but he wanted to share something that hasn’t been rumored…
- Mahershala Ali is out now!! He throws on a hat of his own. HE’S PLAYING BLADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- What a final show stopper Feige, DAMN!! New logo and everything!!!!
We are done here folks! I gotta wrap up, but look for further posts from Ed with all the photos Hannah took (I simply ran out of time, things were pretty furious).
Another incredible presentation! Thank you for joining us! As always, it’s been a pleasure.
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