stuart_75 Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 On 21/07/2019 at 10:26, stewiek2 said: Endgame has surpassed Avatar at the worldwide box office to become the number one movie of all-time. 59 minutes ago, kurtsimonw said: But people are tired of these movies. Avatar was complete shite though..I imagine its showing its age already. Lord only knows why we need half a dozen sequels to it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 22, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted July 22, 2019 David Harbour's character in Black Widow is confirmed as Alexei Shostakov, aka Red Guardian. Red Guardian is basically the Russian Captain America, and similarly to Cap there's been various people to take the mantle, but I think Shostakov was the first (or the one with the most well known/longest story - I'll spoiler that). I'll be interested to see if he actually suits up - I feel like this film will avoid a character wearing what is basically Cap's suit but red. Shostakov's story... Spoiler Shostakov is related to Black Widow, iirc he's either her father or 'estranged' partner. He was chosen to be the Soviet version of Cap and effectively gets 'disappeared' and secretly trained to be this super soldier figure undertaking covert missions etc etc. His training goes on to influence the training the Black Widow characters are given, though they are trained to be the ultimate spy, not the ultimate soldier. I would be very surprised if they don't play up the family link between Natasha and Alexei. They also revealed some concept art which gives us a better look at the final idea for Taskmaster. It's cool they have kept the shield, down to the logo on it. I'd prefer something a little closer to the comic look, the full cape certainly, a mask closer to the skull look (which is still there but it's slightly too far away from it. Taskmaster has also worn what is known as the udon outfit which doesn't have the skull but still evokes it, this kinda looks dumb)... But it's Taskmaster, he's a cool villain and he's a good fit for a lower level threat. Taskmaster is Tony Masters, a former SHIELD operative who 'sorta' has a super power - he can copy any fighting style (or human skill) he witnesses perfectly, to the extent if he watches someone fight he can predict their moves and counter it, and in the case of weapons can use them all to an expert degree (which is why he carries weapons associated with various heroes - Cap's shield, Hawkeye's bow...). He's used this skill to become a villain or hero at times, and has been used to train various characters to take on particular threats. Sounds stupid but he's a good character who lends himself to great fight scenes. Story theories - possible spoilers Spoiler As it's a prequel and will deal with Natasha's coming to terms with her past I'd guess she's going to be taking down the Black Widow organisation that created her. We know the cast includes Yelena Belova, who also has been Black Widow, and Melina Vostakoff, who is the character Iron Maiden in the comics, a Soviet assassin who wears a light suit of armour that acts as an exoskeleton. A clip shown at SDCC had Natasha and Yelena fighting followed by Natasha taking on Taskmaster. So, best guess at the plot. Natasha decides to end the Black Widow program and redeem herself in her eyes. We'll get flashbacks of her past and fill in some of the questions about her - the red in her ledger, Budapest... The red in the ledger is going to be what caused her to defect and join SHIELD. Her former colleagues will try to prevent her destroying the program. Melina will be the head of the organisation, Alexei will be a trainer in the organisation that has a mysterious past and it ultimately gets revealed he is this legendary soldier the Red Guardian. Taskmaster will be the major foe standing in the way of Natasha and it will become clear he is Alexei, the man who trained Natasha. Later we'll discover he's also her father/estranged lover, and he'll have a turn to support her in bringing down the organisation. We then get another twist in that Taskmaster is actually multiple people, Alexei had been the Taskmaster but Melina had also used the mantle and the final fight is Natasha v Melina during which Alexei is killed. That would hit the points they'll want to hit. Natasha deals with her past - her past is the Red Room and some hints to Bad Stuff. Bad Stuff gets shown in the flashbacks and the main plot is her dealing with the thing that created her that is obviously evil. Tick the Black Widow lore - other Black Widows, relationship with Shostakov, defection. Take ideas from the comics with characters and manipulate them - the legendary soldier is the trainer, and turns out to be Taskmaster, just like Taskmaster has trained various characters over the years. Also let's them do the switcheroo with Taskmaster, who has been both a hero and villain at times. And they can draw a comic influenced link between Taskmaster and Red Guardian - Taskmaster uses a Cap style shield, Red Guardian used a (much) smaller version as a weapon. They'll also want to tick spy fiction boxes so you'll have the twist that this masked character is actually multiple people and the reason they fight in a way that is able to predict the heroes moves (like Taskmaster can) is they are all trained in the same way. And you get a final comic box tick by having the Taskmaster suit slightly improve the wearer's strength/resilience, just like the Iron Maiden suit witness by Melina who ultimately will be wearing the suit at the end. Or something like that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewiek2 Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Celestials concept art for Eternals 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 24, 2019 Share Posted July 24, 2019 Took my daughter to see Spider-Man far from home tonight as she is a fan of the films we have a new recipient of worse Marvel film , that was a stinker of a film of course the franchise will roll on as long as people keep watching but you can almost hear the studio laughing at you like Carnies who have stolen your house as you watch this film ... token comic relief fat boy deserves his own film rather than another Spider-Man outing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted July 25, 2019 Share Posted July 25, 2019 not sure if they were digging for negativity or what but Wesley snipes reaction to the blade reboot is great, a lot of praise for Ali (who is a great bit of casting) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted July 25, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted July 25, 2019 The weird thing with the Blade reboot is it's bloody ages away. It's part of phase 5 and at least 4 years away. It's very strange to announce it so far ahead of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtsimonw Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 21 hours ago, Chindie said: The weird thing with the Blade reboot is it's bloody ages away. It's part of phase 5 and at least 4 years away. It's very strange to announce it so far ahead of time. You'd imagine people will be bored with the films by then. As they were 5 years ago, and 5 years ago before that, apparently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 I’m intrigued how Blade will fit into the MCU. You'd imagine it would be via the Dr Strange multiverse, especially as that is going to be a horror movie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theboyangel Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 (edited) Quote BREAKING: Spider-Man is reportedly out of the MCU as Sony and Disney fail to reach new terms to co-produce the franchise. https://t.co/1IynavdKOS https://t.co/R2pFFXcM4t well this sucks if true. After the last Avengers film and the end of certain franchises within the MCU, Spider Man was one of the only storylines i was interested in being progressed. GOTG being another - the rest (and recently announced proposals) just don't feel inspiring at all the last two Spider-Man films were great fun and a welcome addition to the portfolio, with Tom Holland being the truest Peter Parker to date. Edited August 20, 2019 by theboyangel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgyknees Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I'm gonna say it, as much as I liked the TH Spiderman films, I preferred the spiderverse film, it was brilliant. Gutted we won't see what happens after the cliffhanger from FFH. Could just be games from Sony and Disney over money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Sony really are idiots if true, practically turned down free money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted August 21, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 21, 2019 Was always a risk with the deal that Marvel and Sony had. It'll be a huge shame if they can't come to an agreement, Holland is the best Spider-Man there's been and the films Marvel have made with him have been great. Evidently either Sony want to take back the property fully now it's been rescued or Disney wants more money for their efforts. Hopefully it'll be resolved, as the MCU will suffer if they suddenly have Spider-Man disappear, and they basically left it on a cliffhanger in Far from Home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Just call him ManSpider and change the colours of his suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted August 21, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 21, 2019 8 minutes ago, Ingram85 said: Just call him ManSpider and change the colours of his suit. Obviously not being serious but even so... ManSpider is a thing in the comics and therefore Sony would retain the rights to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ingram85 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 ArachnoMan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazzap24 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Money talks and you’d expect them to get it sorted. The worry is for me is Sony thinking they can somehow create their own universe with (yet another) version of Spider-Man. Hopefully money trumps some numpty studio exec’s ego. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 Seems such a shit storm. Obviously Disney want more money (but will also invest in the production which apparently they didn’t for HC/FFH). Sony seem to be riding the wave of relative success from Venom and the success of Multiverse and think they can carry the Spider-Man franchise on their own. They can’t! I hope this is all just negotiation tactics and we get a agreement for Marvel to continue doing Spider-Man, at the moment no one benefits from this position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted August 23, 2019 VT Supporter Share Posted August 23, 2019 9 minutes ago, mikeyp102 said: Seems such a shit storm. Obviously Disney want more money (but will also invest in the production which apparently they didn’t for HC/FFH). Sony seem to be riding the wave of relative success from Venom and the success of Multiverse and think they can carry the Spider-Man franchise on their own. They can’t! I hope this is all just negotiation tactics and we get a agreement for Marvel to continue doing Spider-Man, at the moment no one benefits from this position. Disney want to rebalance the arrangement with Spider-Man and have taken a fairly extreme position in the negotiation. As I understand it, the deal that just ended was that Marvel would be given the rights to use Spider-Man in their team up films and in return, they'd be heavily involved in the creation of the solo Spider-Man films, which Sony would finance. Sony kinda got the good end of the deal, they basically got to have the licence rescued with good films made for them more or less with them just paying the same money they would have done anyway to make said films, and the only cost to them was to allow the licence to be used in a competitors series. Given the success of this arrangement it's not a shock that Disney wants to see a little more from it. Unfortunately they are probably pushing too far, and Sony holds the cards still - at the end of the day, the licence is theirs and will be so long as they continue to use it. They can be fairly sure even without Marvel's input they'll make decent money from whatever film they put out, and the 50/50 cut Disney have asked for makes no sense for Sony to take. I imagine they will also be concerned that by giving Disney more of a stake it'll be laying the foundations for them trying to get the licence back. It'll get sorted out, but it'll be more on Sony's terms than Disney's. Sony has big plans fort the Spider-Man licence (doubling down on their weird villains universe spin off thing) and Disney doesn't have a great deal of leverage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sne Posted August 23, 2019 Share Posted August 23, 2019 Stan Lee's daughter JC Lee is happy about it as according to her Disney treated Stan Lee like shit, while Sony at least were decent. "In the end, no one could have treated my father worse than Marvel and Disney's executives." Still be surprised if this doesn't end up with Disney end up with the rights to use him while Sony end up with a bit more money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeyp102 Posted August 23, 2019 Author Share Posted August 23, 2019 28 minutes ago, Chindie said: Disney want to rebalance the arrangement with Spider-Man and have taken a fairly extreme position in the negotiation. As I understand it, the deal that just ended was that Marvel would be given the rights to use Spider-Man in their team up films and in return, they'd be heavily involved in the creation of the solo Spider-Man films, which Sony would finance. Sony kinda got the good end of the deal, they basically got to have the licence rescued with good films made for them more or less with them just paying the same money they would have done anyway to make said films, and the only cost to them was to allow the licence to be used in a competitors series. Given the success of this arrangement it's not a shock that Disney wants to see a little more from it. Unfortunately they are probably pushing too far, and Sony holds the cards still - at the end of the day, the licence is theirs and will be so long as they continue to use it. They can be fairly sure even without Marvel's input they'll make decent money from whatever film they put out, and the 50/50 cut Disney have asked for makes no sense for Sony to take. I imagine they will also be concerned that by giving Disney more of a stake it'll be laying the foundations for them trying to get the licence back. It'll get sorted out, but it'll be more on Sony's terms than Disney's. Sony has big plans fort the Spider-Man licence (doubling down on their weird villains universe spin off thing) and Disney doesn't have a great deal of leverage. I understand why Disney have gone in so high, doesn’t mean they expect to get that amount, it’s a negotiation tactic. On the flip side I get why Sony wouldn’t accept it. I hope it does get sorted, what I don’t want is for Sony to make a solo Spider-Man film, it crashes and then the deal gets done. It will mean a lot of rebuilding will be needed, whereas now (moving into the next phases) Spider-Man is probably the most marketable and recognisable of the MCU and Sony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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