Are you a fan of Marvel movies but wish they included more women, on-screen and off? Well, good news has come out of San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). Marvel Studios prez Kevin Feige revealed new details and release dates for some highly-anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titles, including Cate Shortland’s standalone Black Widow pic and Chloé Zhao’s superhero ensemble “The Eternals.”
“Black Widow” debuted its first footage at SDCC, which sees the titular character, aka Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), facing off against her sister, Yelena (Florence Pugh), in Budapest. The film’s official plot is being kept under wraps, but will likely be set before the events of “Avengers: Endgame.” The villain will be the Taskmaster, whose powers include copying his foes’ moves in real time.
“I’m looking forward to exploring [Black Widow] as a fully realized woman in all of her many facets,” Johansson said of her character’s movie arc, per Variety.
Scheduled to hit theaters May 1, 2020, “Black Widow” is the first of MCU’s Phase Four titles. Jac Schaeffer (“TiMER”) and Ned Benson (“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby”) wrote the script. Oscar winner Rachel Weisz, David Harbour (“Stranger Things”), and O. T. Fagbenle (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) are also among the cast.
Feige confirmed the casting rumors of “The Eternals.” Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden (“Bodyguard”), and Kumail Nanjiani will, indeed, star in the pic. They will be joined by Brian Tyree Henry (“Atlanta”), Lauren Ridloff (“The Walking Dead”), Lia McHugh (“American Woman”), and Dong-seok Ma (“Train to Busan”). Not much is known in the way of plot details, but, in the comics, the Eternals are a race of immortal beings who have lived among humans throughout history — and often appear in Greek mythology. Jolie’s character, for example, is Thena — mighty similar to Athena.
“The Eternals” will open November 6, 2020.
Feige also provided new information for Disney+ series “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” and “WandaVision.” The former, directed by Kari Skogland (“The Americans”), is expected in to premiere in fall 2020. Its post-“Endgame” story centers on the adventures of Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).
“WandaVision,” which will bow in spring 2021, is written and showrun by Schaeffer. The love story of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), aka Wanda Maximoff, and Vision (Paul Bettany) will also star Teyonah Parris (“If Beale Street Could Talk”) as Monica Rambeau. The latter character was introduced earlier this year in “Captain Marvel.”
Exciting plot details for “Thor: Love and Thunder” emerged from SDCC as well. Feige announced Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster — last seen in 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World” — will become Mighty Thor, the goddess of Thunder, in the pic.
Tessa Thompson also hinted that her character, Valkyrie, might be getting a girlfriend. This would make the leader of New Asgard the MCU’s first out LGBTQ character. “As new king [of Asgard], [Valkyrie] needs to find her queen,” Thompson teased, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “That will be the first order of business.”
Prior to “Thor: Ragnarok’s” release — i.e. Valkyrie’s MCU debut — Thompson revealed director Taika Waititi pitched the character as bisexual, as she is portrayed in the comics. Thompson said that’s how she played the character, but the film did not explicitly explore her sexuality.
Let’s hope these upcoming MCU projects are just the tip of the iceberg — Marvel and the superhero genre itself is in great need of more women on both sides of the camera. Released in March, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s “Captain Marvel” was the first MCU title to feature a female protagonist, as well as the first to be directed by a woman. The film, the MCU’s 21st, grossed $1.13 billion worldwide.
A recent study from Women’s Media Center and BBC America concluded that only 14 percent of the past decade’s superhero/sci-fi movies were led by women or girls. Just three percent were helmed by women.
