While a large portion of Disney’s Investors Day presentation was devoted to Disney+, Marvel boss Kevin Feige did share some details on the comic book film studios future cinematic efforts. We’ve already heard Captain Marvel 2’s delay and casting, as well Christian Bale’s villainous role in Thor: Love and Thunder being revealed, but there were a few additional nuggets of info also shared.
Black Panther 2
First up, and easily the biggest elephant in the room, is how Marvel will handle the shocking and untimely death of Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman earlier this year. Boseman had been key to Marvel’s future plans before he suddenly succumbed to colon cancer, losing a battle with the disease that he had kept secret from the studio. Recently we heard that the still-untitled Black Panther 2 could start shooting early next year for a July 2022 release, but how will Marvel pull this off? Well, we don’t know what they will be doing, but now we know what they WON’T be doing as Feige confirmed that Boseman’s role will not be recast.
Chadwick Boseman was an immensely talented actor and an inspirational individual who affected all of our lives professionally and personally. His portrayal of T’Challa the Black Panther is iconic and transcends any iteration of the character in any other medium from Marvel’s past. And it’s for that reason that we will not recast the character. However, to honor the legacy that Chad helped us build through his portrayal of the king of Wakanda, we want to continue to explore the world and all the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.
This actually leaves me a bit mystified as to Marvel’s plans as we’ve also heard from Black Panther producer Victoria Alonso that the studio won’t use CGI to digitally create the character on-screen. The only thing I can think of is that they plan to splice together previously-unused footage of Boseman in the role somehow. It’s the only thing I can think of.
As for the note about exploring other characters in Wakanda, this could be a roundabout confirmation that we will be seeing T’Challa’s sister Shuri step up to lead the franchise. However, with actress Letitia Wright coming under heavy fire this past week over anti-vax tweets, prompting her to delete her social media accounts, Marvel may want to handle this a bit delicately.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Yes, you’ve read that correctly. The upcoming Ant-Man 3 finally has an official title in the rather goofy sounding Ant-Man the Wasp: Quantumania. The title is a clear indicator that the upcoming film will see a return of the Quantum Realm although I’m really hoping this means that Hulk Hogan is somehow also involved.
Along with the title, Feige also confirmed previous reports that Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors will be playing iconic time-travelling villain Kang the Conqueror in the threequel. A new casting though is Kathryn Newton, the breakout star of recent slasher-comedy hit Freaky, playing the role of Cassie Lang, the daughter of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. And if you’re confused now, you’re not alone.
While 7-year-old Emma Fuhrmann played Cassie in the first Ant-Man film, the time-travelling events of Avengers: Endgame resulted in us meeting a grown-up Cassie played by 18-year-old Emma Fuhrmann. It was expected that she would reprise the role again, but now it’s been seemingly recast with Newton.
Peyton Reed will be returning to direct the threequel with Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, and Michele Pfeiffer all returning.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3
The words “Holiday Special” is a touchy subject for Star Wars fans, but Disney is really trying to turn that around. After the recently released LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, Marvel will now be releasing a holiday special of its own thanks to James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special will be a live-action offering written and directed by Gunn, scheduled for release on Disney+ in 2022. We don’t have details on the cast and story yet, but Gunn definitely seems enthusiastic for it.
Feige has confirmed that the Holiday Special will be filming at the same time as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3, which is now officially set for release sometime in 2023.
On top of all of the above, Feige also confirmed that the upcoming Blade reboot announced at last year’s D23 will be a feature film. Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali will be playing the role of the vampiric vampire hunter famously portrayed by Wesley Snipes on screen before (oh and also some guy who calls himself Sticky Fingaz. Seriously). There had previously been some confusion around whether this new Blade would be a Disney+ series as well.
Last Updated: December 12, 2020
