Marvel has announced a wide selection of 10 new superhero productions at Comic-Con.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, flanked by dozens of Hollywood stars, revealed the post-Avengers roster of films to a stunned hall in San Diego, USA, BBC reported.
One major surprise was the announcement of Oscar winner Mahershala Ali as ‘Blade the vampire hunter’, a role played by Wesley Snipes in the 1998 film. There was rapturous applause and screams as Ali took to the stage to reveal he would take on the role of the daywalker.
Natalie Portman confirmed her return to a fourth ‘Thor’ film, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ reprising her role as Jane Foster, but this time wielding the power of the Thor hammer. Portman’s role is based on Jason Aaron’s comic book series that sees Jane Foster become the mighty lady Thor when Thor Odison finds himself unworthy of picking up the hammer.
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson will also return for the film. Earlier the audience was teased with a number of new productions and sequels from phase four of the Marvel cinematic universe.
The first film to be announced was ‘The Eternals’. The cast includes Angelina Jolie, and Salma Hayek appeared on stage in front of the excited audience to talk about their new roles. Jolie, who will play Thena, told the crowd: “I’m going to work ten times harder because I think what it means to be a part of the MCU, what it means to be an Eternal, to be part of this family. I know what we all need to do.”
‘The Eternals’ are powerful beings who look human but have special powers. The film has a release date of November 2020.
The first Asian American superhero film ‘Shang-Chi’ was also announced. After months of castings, Kevin Feige announced Canadian actor Simu Liu had been confirmed to play the Kung-Fu master only a few days ago. ‘Shang-Chi’ who was born to a Chinese father and an American mother, first appeared in the Marvel comics almost 50 years ago. ‘Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings’ will also star ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ actress Awkwafina.
After months of speculation, Marvel finally confirmed the first details of the eagerly anticipated ‘Black Widow’ starring Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff. The film has been in production for 30 days with a teaser trailer showing early scenes in Budapest.
Johansson told the panel: “I get to play Natasha as a fully realised woman, in all of her many facets, and I’m excited for fans to see the flawed side of her.”
A number of Marvel series were also announced which would be available on the new Disney+ streaming service, including ‘Loki’ with Tom Hiddleston and ‘Hawkeye’ starring Jeremy Renner and Kate Bishop.
“We didn’t mention that we’re making Black Panther 2, we didn’t mention the fact that Guardian of the Galaxies 3 is coming. We didn’t have time to talk about Captain Marvel 2, and I didn’t have time to talk about the Fantastic 4 and there’s no time to talk about Mutants,” Feige told a delighted crowd.
As reported by The Sauce, Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame just became the World’s highest-grossing film, of all time after beating Avatar for the top spot.
