Like I did with all the Marvel stuff announced at Disney's Investor Day, I've decided to just condense everything we heard into one article. You'd think Star Wars lineup would pale in comparison to the heavy weights over at Marvel, but they proved they also had a lot in the works that even fans hadn't guessed. The success of The Mandalorian and backlash over the sequel trilogy has led to Disney changing their approach to Star Wars, specifically moving towards Disney Plus series rather than movies. They're also looking to fill in gaps of story between the past movies, and further exploring the world of Star Wars during that golden era which means familiar faces can show up at any point.
Hayden Christensen Will Return As Darth Vader
I figured I'd start with the biggest news of the day, as Katheleen Kennedy confirmed production of the Obi-Wan Disney Plus series is under way. She revealed it will take place ten years after the events of Revenge of the Sith, and that Anakin Skywalker actor Hayden Christensen would be playing Darth Vader. She also teased a "rematch of the century" which means the series will probably lead up to an inevitable face to face reunion between the two. Its unknown how much of Christensen will be seeing as he'll obviously be under the mask and be voiced over by James Earl Jones, but we will probably see Hayden as the burned Anakin in scenes with Ewan McGregor's Obi Wan.
Patty Jenkins Will Direct Rogue Squadron
Kennedy confirmed that Taika Waititi would be working on an unknown Star Wars film which had been rumored for some time now, but she also revealed Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins would be helming her own movie. It will focus on a team of Rebel pilots and will be released Christmas of 2023.
Lando Disney Plus Series
Little information was released for this one other than it of course will be about Lando Calrissian going on his own separate adventures. Its unknown whether the series will star Billy Dee Williams as the original Lando, or Donald Glover as the younger version from Solo. It honestly could even include both, but we'll have to wait and see.
Ashoka And Rangers Of The New Republic
Following the appearance of fan favorite of the Clone Wars animated series Ashoka in the recent Mandalorian episode, Rosario Dawson will be playing the character in an upcoming series. This could of course lead to her tracking down General Thrawne and Ezra Bridger, as well as learning more about Anakin since they last saw each other. Rangers of the New Republic will also be set in The Mandalorian timeline and focus on the Rebels seen in the show, with all three shows eventually leading to a crossover event.
Andor
Andor will serve as a prequel series to the film Rogue One focusing on Diego Luna's character of Cassian Andor who is a Rebel spy during the rise of The Empire. A sizzle reel for the show was shown which will be released on Disney Plus in 2022.
Other series The Bat Batch, The Acolyte, A Droid Story, Star Wars: Visions
So what do you think of all this Star Wars news? Which project excites you the most? let us know below!
With Disney's Investor Day meeting taking place yesterday, us fans had a feeling we'd get some Star Wars and Marvel news. But I don't think anyone was expecting the amount of announcements and confirmations we got yesterday, its almost hard to keep track of it all. Rather than writing a separate article for each project that was announced yesterday, I've decided to just put everything Kevin Feige talked about here. That includes all the new Disney+ projects that were announced, along with release dates for some that were already in production, and trailers for three of the ones coming out next year. There's also casting confirmations, and even a new director pick Feige dropped yesterday. Scroll down to see all the updates.
Black Panther 2
So while this wasn't the first thing Feige talked about, its of course been a big topic of discussion given the sudden and recent passing of T'Challa himself Chadwick Boseman. Fans have wondered what the studio would do moving forward with the sequel already in the works, and under the belief no one really had the knowledge of Boseman's cancer so there weren't plans for this set. Feige put the rumors of a recasting to bed confirming Boseman will not be recast and that the movie is set for a July 8, 2022 release. He didn't give any other specifics other than that Ryan Coogler was working hard on the script, and one could expect there's still a lot of changes he has to make it work without original main star.
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four actually got a shoutout from Feige at last year's event, but no other information was given other than confirmation they were working on their on version of Marvel's first family. Feige has apparently been much quicker to get the team into the MCU over the X-Men given their shakey movie history, and announced that Jon Watts director of all three of their Spider-Man movies will be directing this film as well. We can probably expect the team to be very connected to Spidey, especially with them sharing his home of New York. Are they the new inhabitants of Avengers tower? Where have they been all this time? Hopefully we'll get some hints from Watts in Spider-Man 3.
WandaVision
Being that its the first show we're getting next January, the WandaVision footage was the longest of the day. It showed off the many different eras of sitcoms that have inspired the world Wanda created in her mind, but also shows many of the people she has brought into this world glitching out. It also shows people trying to get in contact with her and possibly manipulating her into doing this, as well as the involvement of S.W.O.R.D. the organization that replaced S.H.I.E.L.D. We also see Wanda wanting to fight them off, showing she may now want to leave this world she created where Vision is still alive, even if evil forces are manipulating her. It'll be interesting to see not only who the big villain manipulating Wanda is, but also how this will tie into Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness which she's set to appear in.
Loki
Loki was the Disney+ show we actually still hadn't seen footage from up until this point, but we do get a reminder of the scene in Endgame that sets this show up when he escapes with the tesseract. We see the show will follow Loki time traveling and meddling with historic events to have his way with the world. We also see this has gotten the attention of the Time Variance Authority, who capture Loki for all the mischief he's causing through timelines. Loki will apparently be given tasks by the TVA in exchange for his freedom, which could include the rumor of hunting down alternate timeline versions of himself including Lady Loki.
The TVA also opens the door for some answers to how much damage The Avengers did to the Multiverse, and possibly also set things up for Spider-Man 3 and Doctor Strange 2. There's also Jonathan Major's Kang who is the TWA's biggest headache in the comics as a big time traveler villain, who we know will be appearing in Ant-Man 3. Overall the shows seems to have a wacky and chaotic vibe similar to Ragnarok, and even shows Loki learning of the fate he meets in the Infinity War timeline we know.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
This trailer was a little more straight forward, mainly action showing and location shots shown throughout very visually similar to the previous Cap films. We see Bucky now sporting a shorter hairstyle and new suit, alongside our new Captain America Sam Wilson who still hasn't taken the mantle yet by the looks of it. We see that the show will obviously deal with Sam struggling with the void left by Steve the pressure of replacing him. We also see the returning Baron Zemo at a memorial of Sokovia, showing he's still seeking his revenge. We see a masked girl who is believed to be the character Songbird from the comics who's part of a group known as the Flag Smashers who appear to be working with Zemo. There's also another shot of US Agent who is the Cap replacement selected by the government while they oppose Steve's selection of Sam as his predecessor. Feige also revealed the show will be hitting Disney Plus March 19, 2021.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Not much was announced here other than the title which clearly hints to more Quantum Realm antics. Feige also confirmed the casting of Jonathan Majors as villain Kang the Conquerer who is well known for being a time travel and coming from the future, so this MCU's connection between that and the Quantum Realm makes sense for this movie. Director Peyton Reed is returning along with the cast Paul Rudd, Michelle Pfieffer, Michael Douglas, and Evangeline Lily. The role of Scott Lang's daughter has also been recast from Endgame with actress Kathryn Newton, which probably signals she'll have an expanded role in the MCU's future.
She-Hulk
Last year at this time is when the She-Hulk was announced, a comic book character who is the cousin of Bruce Banner and receives similar powers after receiving a blood transfusion. Tatiana Maslany was confirmed as the lead, and Mark Ruffalo will also be joining the cast. The most surprising addition here though was Tim Roth returning as Emil Blonsky aka Abomination, the character who was a villain in The Incredible Hulk. This makes Roth the second cast member from Incredible Hulk to return after William Hurt's General Ross. Feige also teased the She-Hulk will be a lawyer for superheroes, so we can expect some surprise appearances.
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel was another show announced last year, and while we get some footage of Kamala Khan with her family, the majority of the footage focused on the casting process and finding Iman Vellina. We know she's a young Pakistani girl growing up in New Jersey with her family, but we don't yet know how she'll get her powers. We we do learn is she idolizes Captain Marvel and she will be appearing in the sequel for the movie alongside Brie Larson.
Armor Wars and Ironheart
Two shows connecting to the world of Iron Man were announced, one of which will involve Don Cheadle as James Rhodes aka War Machine. It will deal with Rhodey tracking down people who have stolen Tony Stark's technology and using for harm. Ironheart follows a young African American girl genius who creates her own armor inspired by what Tony Stark did and will be played by actress Dominique Thorne.
Secret Invasion
Another surprising announcement was the adaption of the Secret Invasion storyline involving the Skrulls disguises themselves throughout the Earth. This was obviously teased in Captain Marvel and will see the return of the Skrull character of Talos along with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in the series. Many expected this storyline to make it onto the big screen so seeing it as a Disney+ series was a bit of a surprise, but it makes sense given how much multiverse and time travel is going on already in the MCU.
Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, I Am Groot, Hawkeye
Alright so I'll just group this together since I'm sure you don't want to keep scrolling and I really don't want to keep writing either. I'll do us both a favor. Christian Bale is playing Gorr the God Butcher, the villain of Thor: Love and Thunder. A Guardians Holiday Special will be released on Disney+ in 2022. Hailee Steinfeld is confirmed as Kate Bishop, Clint Barton protege in the Hawkeye series coming later next year.
So what did you think of all these announcements? Which projects are you most excited for? Let us know below!
For the last couple of months the internet has been repent with rumors that we may be getting a live action Spider-Verse movie at some point from Sony. Little announcements here and there this year have done nothing but fuel that fire, specifically the announcement Sam Raimi (Original Spider-Man trilogy) would direct Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and that Strange himself would be in the next Spider-Man movie. But then came the big yet confusing news that Jamie Foxx would be returning as Electro in Tom Holland's Spider-Man 3, reprising the role he last played in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014. Now the inevitable news we were all waiting for is apparently here, with so many other names being either confirmed or rumored to appear in the film.
The first news that broke seems the most official, with major trades such as VarietyandTHR confirming Alfred Molina would returning as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 3. The news not only confirms the movie will somehow crossover into the world of the Raimi movies, but also probably means Foxx's Electro is in fact the same one from Amazing Spider-Man 2. Some thought Foxx might just be playing a new MCU version of the character, but it seems much too specific for Marvel to bring back these specific actors from their two past versions of Spider-Man.
Then later that same day came the report we were all waiting for from Collider's Jeff Sneider, who confirmed that Kirsten Dunst and Andrew Garfield have already signed on for the movie. He also say Tobey Maguire is currently still in talks, as is Emma Stone "pregnancy permitting". The news sort of all came at once as a huge shock, even if it what fans have been speculating about, it still just seemed like a pipe dream. But now we know it definitely isn't, and if all the deals go through we'll be seeing all three Spider-Men on screen together.
Of course no one at Marvel has confirmed anything, but there have been some signs pointing to it here and there. Tobey Maguire was reportedly sighted attending a costume fitting for the movie in LA, while Zendaya was grilled about the return of the previous two Peter Parkers in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel last week. Rumors have suggested the appearances will only be cameos and that Spider-Man 3 won't be the full on Spider-Verse movie Sony is clearly planning. This also sets the stage for a Sinister Six led by Molina's Doc Ock and assembling villains across the different films most likely including Vulture, Morbius, Venom, Scorpion, and Foxx's Electro.
There was also some rumors that stated Charlie Cox will be reprising his role of Matt Murdock aka Daredevil from the now canceled Netflix series. This would be huge news as the Netflix shows and the characters in them appeared to have no future in the MCU given rights issues, leading many to believe he'd probably be recast. There's been fans campaigns all of the internet specifically asking for Marvel to somehow keep Cox version of Daredevil, along with Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk in the MCU. We might expect Matt Murdock to be the lawyer who defends Peter Parker following being framed by Mysterio and having his identity revealed in Far From Home.
So with all this news to take in how do you feel about everyone returning? Who are you most excited to see back? Are there any other faces you want to see from the old movies? Let us know below!
