It’s time to recap for you the highlights of MCU’s epic event in an easy-to-digest numbered list format. Before we get into it, for those of you who don’t have a solid grasp yet on the approximately bajillion movies that were talked about, here are all the films that were announced for Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
1. Tony Stark isn’t dying in Avengers: Age of Ultron because he’s in the next Captain America film.
Lorena: I mean, that was what I inferred at least, since RDJ was physically there.
Jamie: I’m such a sap and I never want anyone to die in these movies, which I fully realize is unrealistic here, seeing as several of the subtitles contain the word “War.” Would it be crazy to assume that all of our “original” Avengers stay alive until Avengers: Infinity War? But these actors aren’t going to keep making these movies until they’re senior citizens, and we now have a female Thor in the comics, and I know that different people become Captain America at a certain point. So people are either going to die, or pass the torch. With the intro of the “Inhumans” characters there can be a whole new offshoot of movies.
Lorena: Exactly! It’s sad, but 2019 is like 5 years from now and Tom will be 38 by then (which will only make him hotter to me because generally I like my men 35+). Anyway, it feels like Civil War might be when Tony Stark passes the torch/dies? I don’t know. Age of Ultron trailer is getting me all kinds of excited.
2. Benedict Cumberbatch is Doctor Strange? (like we didn’t already call him that in bed!)
Anyway, this is kind of a big freaking deal if you’re into Benedict Cumberbatch, which defines basically 78% of our readership and a reluctant 19% (Lorena is in that group). The other 3% can just skip this one.
Lorena: My facebook feed is full of guys debating whether they want Cumberbatch in this role or not. One guy stated that he’s tired of the overall influx of Cumberbatch. Someone replied to him with this article as demonstration of Benedict’s superior acting skills. I love fb feed wars over Cumberbatch.
Jamie: I’m neutral on Benedict Cumberbatch myself, but as for what I know about the Doctor Strange rumors, here’s the current situation: it was reported that it was pretty much a done deal, but then on the day of the Marvel event there was no official casting announcement. Kevin Feige (president of Marvel Studios) said in the Q & A afterwards that if it were a done deal it would have been announced that day. So that may mean that it’s almost a done deal and they didn’t want to jump the gun, or the reports were exaggerated and they’re still weighing their options.
I have to say that almost all the reaction I saw about Cumberbatch potentially being cast was negative. There have been a few actors that have been sort of fan favorites for the role that would add a bit of diversity to the overall cast of actors. The two names I’ve seen most often have been Oded Fehr (left in the photo below) and Pedro Pascal, and from the visuals I’ve seen of the character, I think that either of them would be a better choice than Cumberbatch.
Lorena: Good insight, Jamie! And holy crap Oded Fehr looks a heck of a lot like Karl Urban in that photo. I’m 100% down with him being in the role (fans self). Also Pedro Pascal the not-really-Chilean Chilean guy who was in GoT last season = YES YES YES in my book. He’s fantastic to watch on screen, and to play Doctor Strange? I can definitely feel that. I agree with you, that these would be better picks than Benedict. But, you know, maybe my tune will change once me and the ‘Batch hook up after I see him as Hamlet next fall… 😉
Jamie: Benedict has never really done it for me, but I think The ‘Batch is my new favorite name for him.
3. Chadwick Boseman is really, really hot and 2017 needs to be here now so we can see him in spandex.
Jamie: I love that as soon as the movie was announced, they announced the actor right along with it. Forget the months and months of speculation and rumors and “Who’s going to play him?!” and fans debating back and forth. There was about thirty seconds of all of that, because it was “We’re gonna do Black Panther and HERE HE IS.”
I don’t know much about Chadwick Boseman apart from the fact that he got great reviews when he played Jackie Robinson in 42 and James Brown in Get On Up. But look at that picture, he’s suave as hell! As for the character he’s going to play here, from what I’ve researched so far and heard from other people, his name is T’Challa and he’s the king of a fictional, remote African nation called Wakanda. And they have Vibranium there, which is what Cap’s shield is made of! From that shot we see in the Age of Ultron trailer that shield is broken right down the middle. Maybe that’s how Black Panther will get tied in, on a search for more Vibranium? It was announced that Black Panther will be introduced in Captain America: Civil War, but it’s unclear how big of a part he’ll play in it.
Lorena: I know literally nothing about this guy other than that he is extremely hot and sauve. I was doing some research on Storm, the X-Men character, today (#normal) and learned quite a bit about T’Challa, Wakanda, and their relationship. I would be 100% down with Black Panther being the crossover of X-Men, and Storm coming in at some point in that film. Did you know she was an Avenger and in the Fantastic Four? Hello, Avengers: Infinity Wars + Storm 😉 Anyway, I’m just getting overexcited about Storm. I think you’re onto something with this Vibranium plotline…
Jamie: I didn’t know any of that! I don’t know what it is about this particular branch of Marvel, but they’re really the only ones I care about. I tried to watch some of the X-Men movies and just couldn’t get into it. Same with DC and Batman. I watched The Dark Knight because I had heard how amazing Heath Ledger was in it, and he was, but I literally could not have cared less about Batman. Curious!
4. We have a movie date planned for July 28, 2017 when Thor 3 comes out. Since Ragnarök is Norse mythology’s End of Days, tissues will be required.
Lorena: Sure, you might be into Thor Odinsson and such, but there’s a lingering shapeshifter menace on the throne of Asgard and we still haven’t met Sigyn. I’m just saying… Loki basically has to be in this film getting married and having sex. They already previewed his Ragnarök throw down in Avengers 1. It essentially HAS to happen. And I hope they do it all Prose Edda and Poetic Edda style and The Lokster is ass naked and bound in 3 places when the serpent drips its poison on him. God I love Jötunheim. And naked Tom Hiddleston. And Skadi. Also, I hope they introduce Fenrir (wolf child of Loki) who nom nom noms Odin whole. #epic
Tom can totally pull this off:
See:
None of this is how the comics’ Ragnarök goes down though, so… SIGH. Also, there is a character in the comics called Ragnarok that is a cyborg clone of Thor made by Tony Stark and shows up during the Civil War comics… and his hammer is made of, yes, you guessed it: Vibranium. SO, WHO THE HELL KNOWS WHAT MCU WILL DO!
Jamie: First, for those who aren’t aware, Ragnarök is the Norse version of the apocalypse. I believe the words Kevin Feige used were “the end of all things” and that they wanted this film to inform the other films the way that Captain America: The Winter Soldier did. As far as exactly what that will entail, I have to say, I don’t know what the MCU version of Ragnarök is going to be. I don’t think we’re going to get a Sigyn or any of Loki’s kids. At least not in the form of his kids. Like, we may get a Fenrir, but he may just be a random creature/monster thing. And as much as as I hate to say it, it seems unlikely that everyone is going to make it out alive of an apocalyptic movie.
If I’m going with the theory I mentioned earlier then I would guess that Thor makes it out alive to go on to fight Thanos in the Avengers: Infinity War movies. But Loki may die; it happens in the myth (he and Heimdall kill each other I believe). I could also see his fate being left ambiguous so they can bring him back if they need to. Because people love that guy, and the cheer for him at the Marvel event was bigger than it was for the announcement of the movie. Lots of ways to go. And I’m sure we’ll discuss it at length before 2017.
sourceLorena: Yeah… I doubt we’ll get Sigyn, though she’s actually in the comics. Loki tricks her into marrying him, but then she’s like, “Nope, I’m gonna stay married to you, thanks.” (don’t blame her!) But there are so many storyline options for Ragnarök in the comics, it’s really impossible to know. In one, Loki is the trigger of the events of Ragnarök and in another Thor’s half-brother Balder is (who?!). So, MCU is going to have to go somewhat off book anyway since their half-bro doesn’t even exist.
Sidenote: Odin is essentially a big slut. Did you know that Frigga isn’t Thor’s mom either in the comics? Thor and Loki have way more in common than they think.
I agree that Loki has high potential to die in this movie (despite having signed onto 6 films, right?), BUT IF HE DOES NOT because Marvel isn’t run by fools, then maybe just maybe he’ll show up in the Infinity Wars like we chatted about way back when and play the Harry Potter Chess game in the Ultraverse for ownership of the Ego infinity stone… not that hard to imagine going down, just saying… (especially after this rumor!)
Basically Marvel needs to HIRE ME to write this film because I already know the entire plot and all the other entire plot options. And I write Loki really well, Marvel. He’s my favorite character to write.
Side topic: Also, my Lokane fan fiction is devouring my life… but ALL THESE THINGS ARE IN IT! AND IT IS EPIC AND THERE IS A GUARDIANS TIE IN.
(breathes)
Jamie: I actually did know that about Frigga not being Thor’s biological mother in the comics. Interesting that for the movies they changed it so that Thor was a full biological child and Loki was the only adopted son. Probably so Loki would feel more betrayed by the whole Frost Giant revelation. I think there’s a pretty decent chance that Loki will be in films after Thor: Ragnarok based on his popularity alone. Marvel isn’t dumb. Everybody wins: they make people happy, and we get more Loki!
And speaking of dancing baby Groot…
5. We are going to see Groot again!
Lorena: I effing love Groot. Drax is my fave Guardian, but Groot is a close second. My husband prefers Rocket (typical!) but I find Drax’s lines to be THE BEST. Also, Guardians was written by a female… first Marvel movie written by a woman… YUP! Hope they are hiring her for the next one…
Jamie: I’m with your husband on this one, Rocket is my favorite too. And if at some point in the melding and mixing of the stories and characters in these movies, Rocket and Tony don’t have a scene together and trade witty barbs back and forth I will be disappointed for the rest of my life. I’m not sure about whether or not the whole team is coming back for the sequel. So far it looks like the director for both of them, James Gunn, is the only writer listed for the sequel but that could change. We’ll have to keep tabs on that one, just like we’ll have to do some research on Captain Marvel. Because as important as it is that we’re finally getting a female led superhero film from them, I know nothing about her, and I’m sure she’s amazing.
Lorena: I know nothing about Captain Marvel either. This will be our next research task (nods).
As for Rocket and Tony… I’m thinking in Infinity Wars there will be some Guardians/Avengers mash up. At some point in the comics the Avengers sort of are a fail and the Guardians take over for them for a little bit. Maybe Age of Ultron will open that possibility up and Guardians 2 will thrust them into the role and then the Infinity Wars will reignite the Avengers initiative? Either way, if my prediction goes down in Civil War, it won’t lead to a Rocket-Tony moment 🙁
As for James Gunn, he co-wrote the first Guardians, but the original script and enough of the re-writes to get a writing credit came from Nicole Perlman. She apparently wrote a Black Widow script as well. After Guardians’ success, I hope Marvel *gets it* and keeps Perlman around and very well-paid.
(spoilers: you can just read my Lokane fan fiction to get what you’re looking for, Jamie!!!)
Jamie: I hope there will be some female directors in there, too. We got so close when Patty Jenkins almost directed Thor: The Dark World. If we believe the official party line, she and Marvel parted ways amicably, so perhaps they’ll get her back to direct one of these Phase 3 movies?
So, basically 2017 is going to be THE BEST YEAR EVER.
P.S.–In case you missed it, the other version of the Avengers 2 movie trailer is out… and it’s by far the best new open, ever. Thor’s face when the Cap moves Mjölnir just a wee bit… #thebest
