Having screened at CineEurope earlier this month, director James Wan confirmed via Twitter, a little over a week ago, that the first trailer for Aquaman would finally see the light of day at San Diego Comic-Con next month. Although, up until this point, the particulars of his subaquatic superhero feature have, understandably, been few and far between, the approaching of the "largest convention of its kind in the world” does appear to have opened the floodgates regarding the sixth installment in the DC Extended Universe.
As we inch closer to putting a bow on Phase Three - what with Ant-Man and the Wasp less than two weeks removed from release, production on Captain Marvel nearing completion, and the pièce de résistance, Avengers 4, preparing for “pick-ups” - Phase Four of the MCU is slowly but surely being pieced together, and it’s due in large part to a certain someone’s inability to keep his trap shut.
There's arguably no one more instrumental to the success of the MCU than Kevin Feige. The Marvel Studios president has directed the shared universe every step of the way, on a path that's led it to box office preeminence in the form of the highest grossing film franchise of all time, and to the tune of nearly $17 billion worldwide.
Admittedly, the tangibility of a Justice League director’s cut is growing daily, but confirmation has yet to expel itself from the horse’s mouth. Although DCEU storyboard artist Jay Oliva revealed late last week that the entirety of “Zack’s vision” was indeed shot, the “100% polished” version does not exist. At least, not yet.
Coming off arguably their most detrimental misstep yet in the form of Justice League, Warner Bros. doesn’t appear too concerned about the tumultuous past of the DCEU. What with James Wan confirming via Twitter late last week that the first Aquaman trailer will be unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con next month, Shazam! supposedly set to follow suit, and production on Wonder Woman 1984 officially underway, the divisive shared universe isn’t easing off the gas.
Having let storyboard artist Jay Oliva snag the spotlight during what's been an abnormal lull in activity for the DCEU founding father, Zack Snyder's returned to play the role of spoiler. Although surprisingly, the Saturn Award winner isn’t targeting his usual victim, Justice League. This time around, Zack took aim at the sole DCEU entry scheduled for release in 2018, Aquaman.
For those of us interested in another installment of gory grandiosity, the frequency in which filmmaker Fede Alvarez is discussing his plan for an Evil Dead sequel is rapidly increasing. True, there was virtually nothing but radio silence regarding an Evil Dead 2 following the cancellation announcement of Ash vs. Evil Dead - effectively resulting in the retirement of Bruce Campbell from the titular role - but since then, there's been a faint sign of life or two.
Naturally, most of what we’ve heard regarding, Ant-Man and the Wasp, has been just that, hearsay. Thankfully, then, Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, provided some clarity on the Peyton Reed-directed flick yesterday. The producing vet of twenty years revealed that not only will the twentieth entry into the highest grossing franchise of all-time connect Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) “directly to Avengers 4,” but the titular characters will also be “very important” to the MCU “going forward.”
With less than a month to go before the Peyton Reed-directed blockbuster concludes what has already been a historic year at the box office for Marvel Studios, details regarding the twentieth MCU entry are coming fast and furious. Most notably, earlier this week, rumour had it the title for Avengers 4 will be revealed after the final post-credits scene of Ant-Man and the Wasp.
In the meantime, in spite of some serious talk of franchise fatigue, earlier this week, Incredibles 2 ($206M) overtook the year’s biggest box office disappointment, Solo: A Star Wars Story ($194M), to secure fourth place on the 2018 domestic box office chart. As a result, the superhero sub-genre now occupies the first four spots on the said list: Black Panther ($699M), Avengers: Infinity War ($664M), and Deadpool 2 ($295M) rounding out the top three.
