At the start of this year, there was still some uncertainty around the issue of whether Captain Marvel would see Carol Danvers in her somewhat divisive helmet from the comic books. In retrospect, it seems perhaps inevitable that the headwear was a go, seeing how in-air battles are likely a fair bit easier to CGI when you’re not having to capture your hero's full facial features, but the prop’s inclusion was confirmed once and for all when the film’s first trailer dropped back in September.
Steve Rogers’ reputation would place him as a staunchly principled character who’s always willing to stand up for what he believes in, even if that means getting into a fight with his fellow Avengers in Captain America: Civil War. Nonetheless, as a clip from Captain America: The Winter Soldier helps to emphasize, Chris Evans’ character isn’t always completely consistent in his behavior, faltering in his values when it comes to protecting his old friend Bucky Barnes.
From a storytelling perspective, when a character has faked their death once, it seems unlikely that the writers would pull the same trick on us a second time. Of course, from a character perspective, it makes all too much sense that Loki would use the same escape plan in Avengers: Infinity War that he successfully pulled off in Thor: The Dark World, so it’s understandable that fans are continuing to suspect a classic act of deception from the trickster.
It’s pretty clear by now that Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi were the products of two different visions, with Rian Johnson’s sequel taking the saga on a divisive path after J.J. Abrams’ trilogy-starter played things relatively safe. Nonetheless, the internet has a habit of going a little overboard in its narratives, and while Johnson gets a lot of flak for his surprising depiction of later-years Luke, a new Twitter thread makes the case that the filmmaker’s plan for the character wasn’t that drastic a diversion from what Abrams had in mind.
Criticizing a superhero movie for being ‘unrealistic’ is usually a losing game, not just because it seems to miss the point of the genre, but also because fans will generally be able to come up with an explanation for how a film’s less true-to-life elements fit in just fine with the logic of its fantastical world. Such is the case with Nicole Kidman’s recent rebuttal to claims that she’s too young to play the mother of Arthur Curry in the new Aquaman movie.
The choice to cast Ben Mendelsohn as the antagonist in Captain Marvel might not have earned Marvel Studios any points for originality, but going by his comments to THR, the actor seems to regard this upcoming MCU project as so much more than just another addition to his villain-heavy résumé.
While Star Wars: Episode IX is still over a year away from reaching cinemas, there’s good reason to believe that the film’s official title will be unveiled within the next couple of months. After all, we first heard the name of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in November of 2014, and while the arrival of The Last Jedi subtitle wasn’t quite so prompt, we still only had to wait until January of 2017.
Hugh Jackman has lately been doubling down on his commitment to leave his Wolverine days behind, with recent interviews seeing the star dismissing the possibility of a Deadpool crossover in particular. And given Ryan Reynolds’ ongoing fixation on making this team-up happen, it comes as no surprise to see that he isn’t taking these developments well.
As 2018 approaches its final stretch, Marvel Studios has yet to unveil so much as a release date for that all-important first trailer for Avengers 4, and it’s evident that the fans are starting to panic, concocting some delightfully eccentric theories in their search for teaser-related answers.
Having successfully purged half the population from the universe, Thanos finally rested and watched the sun rise on a not-particularly-grateful universe, ending his Avengers: Infinity War journey with a look of strange serenity.
