When Amazon first acquired MGM, it didn't take long for the rumor mill to spring into action and claim that a James Bond cinematic universe was in the works, with a myriad of characters set to headline their own spinoffs that would expand the mythology surrounding 007 to new levels.
The last time Jessica Chastain produced and took top billing in action movie, the end result was Ava, a promising spy thriller that boasted a stacked ensemble cast and a solid premise. Unfortunately, the finished product was fairly terrible and widely panned by critics and audiences alike.
Cary Joji Fukunaga's stint at the helm of True Detective is held up as one of the best single seasons of television from the last decade, and rightfully so. Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey are incredible as Marty Hart and Rust Cohle, and the show deservedly won rave reviews and awards season accolades.
The entire selling point of Marvel's What If...? comes from infinite possibilities, with the Disney Plus series entirely predicated on telling stories or revisiting events from an entirely different perspective that the cinematic universe wouldn't even consider showing in live-action.
As one of Netflix's most popular original shows, which found a whole new lease of life and an exponentially larger audience after the streaming service acquired the comic book adaptation following its initial cancellation by Fox, Lucifer was expected to handily dominate both the most-watched list and Nielsen streaming ratings when the sixth and final season dropped on September 10.
At the turn of the millennium, Russell Crowe was hardly a complete unknown, but he arguably hadn't yet proven himself as genuine leading man material. He was excellent in classic crime thriller L.A. Confidential, and landed an Academy Award nomination for Michael Mann's 1999 drama The Insider, but he was still seeking a role that would take his career to the next level.
Not every Marvel Cinematic Universe project is going to be directly affected by the introduction of the multiverse, as had been made perfectly clear by the first Hawkeye trailer, but a trio of upcoming feature films are going to be dealing with the fallout from Loki's Season 1 finale in a major way.
A.C. Bradley has been very open and honest when it comes to addressing concerns or bugbears fans may have with Marvel's What If...?, which comes with the territory when you're reinventing familiar stories that from part of a sprawling mythology audiences have invested thirteen years of their lives into.
Lashana Lynch knew from the second she signed on to play Nomi in No Time to Die that she would be facing vitriolic and very troubling backlash, for the sole reason that she was a black woman playing 007. Certain subsets were up in arms at the news and fired awful abuse in her direction, but the actress took it all in her stride.
Most Marvel Cinematic Universe projects pass through the hands of at least a couple of writers before shooting begins, but the first two installments in the Ant-Man franchise saw their scripts tackled by many more scribes than usual.