Marvel fans were pretty mad when last night’s Golden Globes ceremony ended with zero awards for Black Panther, but the fact that the film was nominated at all in the category of Best Picture – Drama makes it a groundbreaker for superhero cinema, serving as just one example among many of the movie getting major recognition from groups known for paying little attention to the genre.
The firing of James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 remains an ongoing source of tension among fans and industry insiders alike, but it wasn’t long after the incident when it was announced that the filmmaker had found new work as the writer and potential director of Suicide Squad 2.
2019 is set to be the biggest year yet for the MCU, and the most important event on the horizon may not have anything to do with the franchise's upcoming releases but rather the Disney/Fox merger that’s about to come into effect, allowing Marvel Studios access to the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and various other characters that fans have long waited to see share the screen with the Avengers and their ilk.
The controversial firing of James Gunn has left Marvel Studios with a bit of a mess on their hands when it comes to the planned Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. As well as being the cause for some heavy backlash from fans and industry insiders alike, Gunn’s dismissal from the project has prompted the studio to put the follow-up to 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on hold, and in the months since the incident, we've had no official indication of when the movie might be going into production. But while the next standalone outing from Star-Lord and his peers is presumably still a long wait away, producer Kevin Feige has at least offered his assurances that the film is still on the agenda.
If what co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo say is true about Avengers: Endgame potentially clocking in at around 3 hours, then the film’s marketing team will hardly be at a loss for material to use in the coming months. But going by a recent statement from Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, the movie’s various trailers and TV spots may be limiting themselves for the most part to the opening passages of a picture that continues to be shrouded in secrecy.
Pepper Potts has been a part of the MCU since the very beginning, but it’s only with the upcoming Avengers: Endgame that we’ll finally see her adopt a superhero identity of her own, with a leaked image from last year confirming that Gwyneth Paltrow will be suiting up as Rescue.
2018 won’t exactly go down as a triumphant year for the Star Wars franchise, with Solo: A Star Wars Story providing the space saga with its first outright box office bomb. Nonetheless, the show must go on, and it’s evident that Lucasfilm will be going harder than ever this year, with plans to bring the franchise to a variety of mediums.
The title for Avengers: Endgame was being predicted in certain corners of the internet months before the announcement came by way of last month’s trailer drop, but given Marvel Studios’ reputation for planning ahead, it comes as little surprise to hear that Kevin Feige and his team knew what they’d be calling 2019’s biggest blockbuster long before any of us had an inkling.
Say what you will about Hawkeye, but ever since his last MCU appearance in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, things have been going pretty badly for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, suggesting that the guy with the bow and arrow may be a lot more important to the team than many of us appreciate. Fortunately, Clint Barton is set to make a return in Avengers: Endgame, and he’s bringing a new style along with him.
While Mark Hamill’s Twitter feed is pretty much the last place you want to go to for information and material from the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX, the actor’s online mischief at least serves as a generous source of troll humor and dad jokes. Just take this recent tweet, which sees the Star Wars regular respond to fan demand for an Episode IX trailer with an image of, well, nine trailers.
