Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings expected to perform poorly at box office

In the wake of Black Widow failing to break-even, with the lead actress attempting to sue Disney, the box office tracking for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has been revealed. The film is currently expected to earn between $35-$55 million domestically over the course of its opening weekend. Naturally this would not be good for a film estimated to have a budget of around $150-$200m which also racked up additional costs during production delays.

In an attempt to try and acknowledge this, while playing damage control, Bob Chapek CEO of The Walt Disney Company has remarked on using Shang-Chi as an experiment in regards to it having a 45 day theatrical release window before the film is added to Disney+, a move which may result in many skipping the movie in cinema.

Simu Liu who plays Shang-Chi in the new film has struck back against Bob Chapek:

 

Although many feel that Simu Liu is trying to politicise Shang-Chi in the hopes of drawing attention to the movie in the hopes of increasing box office returns. It remains to be seen how the studio and Simu Liu may react if the movie does indeed underperform - however I would expect more Phase 4 delays are a possibility.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage gains new poster

Confirming the recent delay to October 15th 2021, Venom: Let There Be Carnage has recieved new posters depicting the title characters Venom & Carnage. The film is set to feature Tom Hardy reprising his role as Eddie Brock with his symbiote Venom while introducing Woody Harrelson playing the serial killer Cletus Kasady who gains the Carnage symbiote.

Closer look at the Abomination redesign in Shang Chi

Previously featured in The Incredible Hulk, the Abomination returns in Shang Chi with a redesigned appearance drawing inspiration from the comics. 

"This looks like a character they hadn’t seen in many years named The Abomination, fighting a character that looks like Wong. And I can say that the reason it looks like that is because that is Abomination fighting Wong." - Kevin Feige

 

While the redesign does make the character look closer to the comics, personally I feel the intimidation factor has been lowered, making the character appear more goofy and less threatening. Hopefully this will not be the case in the film. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is set for release on September 3rd 2021.

Moon Knight Costume Concept art & set photo revealed

 

 Images and concept art of the costume for Moon Knight in the Disney+ series has been revealed. The costume will be worn by Oscar Isaac who will portray Marc Spector/Moon Knight in the series.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage delayed to October 2021

As previously reported, Sony Pictures has delayed the release date for Venom: Let There Be Carnage from its planned September 24 premiere to October 15, 2021. Although it is worth noting that Sony also considered moving the release date back to January 2022. 

The reason behind these delays is attributed to the continued lack of a box office recovery which has been most evident recently with Black Widow failing to break-even at the box office. With Shang-Chi still planned for a September release date at the current time, the box office of that film could determine if more big budget films are pushed back even further with the most notable being Eternals and Spider-man: No Way Home which I personally feel will be pushed back for a summer 2022 release.

Hyundai spoils 'What If...?' finale?

 

A recent advert for Hyundai's TUSCON has seemingly spoiled aspects of the finale of Marvel's What If...? which is currently airing weekly on Netflix and not set to culminate until October 6th 2021.

The advert features The Watcher using his powers to help Captain Carter, T'Challa (Star-Lord), Doctor Strange and Thor face off against an army of Ultron drones presumably led by the perfected final version of Ultron that we have seen in Vision's body harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones in promotional images for the show.

Dave Bautista voices anger at Avengers portrayal of his character

"That whole Drax, Thanos history seemed to get swept under the rug"   

Dave Bautista who plays Drax The Destroyer, has recently spoken his anger at his characters portrayal in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame remarking on his character arc being completely ignored.

"Always wondered why but every reason I could come up with just makes me shake my fucking head. It is what it is"   

I am also curious as to why Drax's character arc was seemingly abandoned for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame and will await Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which will hopefully explore the fallout of the death of Thanos and it's impact on Drax as a character.

Lego Marvel Super Heroes Announced for Nintendo Switch

Warner Bros. Games, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Marvel Entertainment have announced that the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes video game will be coming to the Nintendo Switch on October 5th 2021. The With the game, you’ll get the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Super Pack and Asgard Pack DLCs which will include both Super Heroes and Villains characters you can play as.

"LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Asgard Pack: Wreak havoc as the vengeful Malekith and the villainous LEGO minifigure, Kurse. Play as Jane Foster and the shield-maiden of Asgard, Sif. Defend the Universe with Odin and the Warriors Three: Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral."

"LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Super Pack: Get ready for brick-smashing action with more Super Heroes and Super Villains, plus new vehicles and races. Play as fan favorites Dark Phoenix, Winter Soldier, Symbiote Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Falcon, and Beta Ray Bill."

Venom: Let There Be Carnage delayed to October?

It appears that Venom: Let There Be Carnage might be impacted by a recent round of delays as the film has been listed as releasing on October 14th in New Zealand, despite the film being previously intended to have a September 23rd release date there.

It's unclear at the moment as to if the movie will be delayed internationally, however with Paramount Pictures recently delaying 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' and the box office from Black Widow, it is possible that studios feel the box office has not recovered enough yet for releases. 

It is possible that Sony and other studios are waiting to see the box office of Shang Chi, which releases September 3rd before commiting to a global delay.

Spider-man: No Way Home teases Magic, Mysterio and Identity Crisis

 

New merchandise for Spider-man: No Way Home has revealed Spider-man using Doctor Strange's magic confirming the web slinging hero will dabbled in sorcery in his newest outing.

 

Although the images do not reveal much that we have not seen already, they do tease the team-up between Spider-man and Doctor Strange along with confirming that the film will carry over the Mysterio reveal and further explore the complications caused by his identity being made public.

 

Spider-man: No Way Home is currently set for release this winter, although with the recent potential delay for Venom: Let There Be Carnage it's possible Spider-man: No Way Home might also wind up pushed back.

What If...? dropped concept included Man-Spider?

In a recent interview with 'What If...?' writer A.C. Bradley it has been revealed that a scrapped episode would have featured Spider-man turning into a real spider. The concept was apparently dismissed due to its body horror nature.

"A couple of episodes that were a little too dark. There was an original 'What If' run where Spider-Man turns into a real spider, and that was just too dark and too body horror for the PG-13 [rating]."

Personally, while I can understand why the concept was not done, we've seen Spider-man mutate into a Spider-like being in the past and in the comics we've also had characters like Spiders-Man (Below), it would have been nice to see them push the boundary of the PG-13 rating for some more horror inspired moments.

What If...? poster teases Marvel Zombies

 

A new poster for 'What If...?' has appeared teasing the premise of Marvel Zombies.The series is set to air weekly from August 11th and will have nine episodes in its first season. The show is expected to tell a variety of 'What If' concepts exploring what would happen in the MCU if a singular aspect was altered which eventually spirals out of control.

Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit tie-in comic delayed

Marvel has announced it will delayed its planned comic book limited series Ms. Marvel: Beyond the Limit. The comic was timed for release alongside the Disney+ series which is also expected to be delayed to late 2021/early 2022.