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Marvel's big reset: Mahershala Ali's ‘Blade,' recasting ‘X-Men' and Tony Stark, and why Miles Morales is MIA in the MCU

Marvel's big reset: Mahershala Ali's ‘Blade,' recasting ‘X-Men' and Tony Stark, and why Miles Morales is MIA in the MCU

Yahoo7 days ago
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige offered a rare glimpse into the MCU's evolving strategy, addressing fan concerns and teasing what lies ahead for Marvel's iconic franchises. In a lengthy discussion with journalists ahead of Fantastic Four: First Steps, Feige reflected on the studio's recent struggles with oversaturation, outlined steps being taken to refocus the MCU, and revealed tantalizing updates on several high-profile projects. 'It's traditionally a five-year plan,' he said. 'I think it goes to 2032 right now.'
Here are the biggest takeaways:
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Mahershala Ali's still slicing forward
Fans have been eagerly anticipating Mahershala Ali's debut as the iconic vampire slayer in Blade, but Feige admitted the production has faced multiple setbacks. Initially announced in 2019, the project stalled due to script challenges and changes in directors. (Wesley Snipes reprised his version of Blade in last year's Deadpool & Wolverine.) Feige confirmed that retooled Blade would now set in the modern day and emphasized Marvel's commitment to delivering an 'insanely great' film rather than rushing a subpar version. While no director is currently attached, Ali remains enthusiastic, telling Variety recently, 'I'm ready. Let them know I'm ready.' Despite delays, Blade remains a priority as Marvel refocuses its creative process.
Legacy characters like Tony Stark and X-Men mutants will be recast
Feige confirmed that following Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027, Marvel plans to introduce fresh faces for legacy characters like the X-Men and, eventually, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. While the iconic Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will reprise mutant roles in Avengers: Doomsday, the upcoming X-Men films directed by Jake Schreier will feature an all-new cast. Similarly, Feige likened recasting Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark to other franchises, saying, 'It's hard … but how are they going to ever replace Sean Connery [as James Bond], right?' These recasting decisions align with Secret Wars resetting the MCU's timeline to create new beginnings for future storytelling.
Miles Morales won't be joining the MCU anytime soon
Despite intense fan demand for a live-action Miles Morales, Feige revealed that Marvel has been asked to 'stay away' from the character pending the completion of Sony's Spider-Verse animated trilogy. With Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse slated for 2027, any live-action integration of Miles into the MCU will be delayed until after Sony concludes its cartoon plans. While disappointing for fans, Feige indicated Marvel's respect for Sony's storytelling autonomy and a willingness to wait for the right moment. While insisting diversity is still important, Feige stated, 'Marvel represents the world outside your window. I've always said it, before DEI and woke became a thing, and after DEI and woke became a thing — are we after? I don't think so.' He pointed to Ms. Marvel and The Marvels star Iman Vellani as 'one of the greatest bits of casting we've ever done,' adding, 'I can't wait to see her somewhere.'
Doctor Doom overthrows Kang as MCU's next big villain
Jonathan Majors' legal troubles and lukewarm audience reception to his Kang the Conqueror in the underwhelming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania prompted Marvel to pivot toward Doctor Doom as its new central villain. Feige hyped up Downey's portrayal of Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, saying the actor is tapping into Doom's decades-long comic legacy as an undeniable powerhouse. Feige insisted the decision wasn't solely reactionary, stating that Marvel realized Kang lacked the weight of a universe-defining antagonistic presence even before events affecting Majors unfolded.
Marvel moves overseas for big productions
Feige addressed why the massive Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars productions are relocating overseas to London's Pinewood Studios rather than staying in conventional U.S. hubs (most of the MCU productions had been at Trilith Studios, former Pinewood Atlanta). While generous U.K. subsidies play a role in the move, the decision ultimately comes down to securing stage space amid Hollywood's broad production pressures. While Feige predicted future films would again lean toward U.S.-based production hubs, such as Atlanta and New York, this shift underscores the industry-wide trend of productions running away from Hollywood.
Scaling back for quality: Less TV and fewer films
Feige openly acknowledged that Marvel's doubling of content since Avengers: Endgame created a problem of "quantity trumping quality." As a solution, the studio plans to streamline production, limiting feature films to three annually and scaling back TV shows to just one live-action series per year. In a notable shift, Marvel TV will return to standalone storytelling, disallowing crossover pressure that requires viewers to follow every project just to stay caught up. It's part of Marvel's effort to make its offerings less intimidating and accessible to casual fans.
As Marvel resets its towering franchise, which has earned more than $31 billion worldwide, Feige appears optimistic about returning the MCU to its roots of bold storytelling. By prioritizing focused projects, reducing financial pressure, and leaning into accessibility without alienating diverse characters, Marvel may yet find its footing — and audiences may rediscover their love for its stories.
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Amusement park ride stops in mid-air leaving thrill seekers dangling in terror
Amusement park ride stops in mid-air leaving thrill seekers dangling in terror

Yahoo

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  • Yahoo

Amusement park ride stops in mid-air leaving thrill seekers dangling in terror

Shocking footage captures an amusement park ride stopped in mid-air, leaving riders dangling high above the ground. The Sol Spin ride at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, suddenly malfunctioned Saturday afternoon as it was rotating 360 degrees. Video from the Citizen App showed about 20 riders stuck in mid-air, with many screaming, some swinging their legs, and others leaning sideways on one of the ride's six arms. "The safety of our guests is a top priority. Today the ride did not complete a full cycle as a safety precaution. The ride was stopped for approximately five minutes,' Knott's Berry Farm said in a statement to ABC7. The ride then reopened after 'a full safety inspection,' the statement continued. The Independent has reached out to the amusement park for more information. 'This thrilling ride is one for the brave,' Knott's Farm says of Sol Spin. It rotates riders in three directions simultaneously, according to the park's website. 'Sol Spin sends guests on a thrilling adventure over six stories high as they rotate in all directions on one of six spinning arms. Each arm rotates 360-degrees independent of one another providing a different experience every ride,' the website states. Social media users replied to videos of the harrowing incident, calling it a 'nightmare.' One X user remarked: 'Oh. Hell. No. One of my worst fears unlocked.' 'What a nightmare!' another said. Another recalled a similar incident last year, put it succinctly: 'Again.' Last November, the same ride left 22 people suspended in the air for two hours due to 'technical difficulties,' a spokesperson for the amusement park said at the time. Some riders left the thrill ride in wheelchairs while two female guests were taken to the hospital for further evaluation "out of an abundance of caution,' the spokesperson said in November. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health then inspected the ride, KTLA reported.

Marvel's absence might have clouded Comic-Con. But fans found a silver lining
Marvel's absence might have clouded Comic-Con. But fans found a silver lining

Los Angeles Times

time23 minutes ago

  • Los Angeles Times

Marvel's absence might have clouded Comic-Con. But fans found a silver lining

SAN DIEGO — Over the years, Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con has built a reputation — and an expectation — as the room where Hollywood juggernauts in attendance at the annual pop culture extravaganza unveil exclusive footage, break news and share behind-the-scenes stories with devoted fans, who often spend hours in line just for a chance to make it through the doors. It's not surprising, then,that headlines going into this year's Comic-Con, which concludes Sunday, carried an air of disappointment about the absence of Marvel and other major film studios from Hall H's programming schedule — even if 2025 is not the first time Marvel and others have sat out Comic-Con for one reason or another. But for many fans in attendance, the news merited little more than a shrug. Hector Guzman, who along with his friend Joaquin Horas made the trip from Los Angeles, acknowledged that the Hall H slate 'felt a little bit different this year' with no Marvel Studios panel. But 'there's still a wide presence of Marvel,' he added. 'The 'Fantastic Four' movie that just came out — we've been seeing a heavy push on that this year.' Guzman and Horas had spent a little over an hour in the Hall H line Friday afternoon trying to make it to the 'Tron: Ares' panel before bailing, but they said that in their three years of attending the event, Hall H usually isn't on their itinerary. 'If it's interesting to us, we'll give it a shot, and if it's not, then there's always plenty of other events and stuff going around [the convention],' said Horas. He and Guzman explained that they are generally more interested in exclusive merchandise, custom works by artists and getting together with their friends in cosplay. Other attendees like Jennifer Moore and Sam Moore of British Columbia, Canada, took advantage of the absence of popular Hall H mainstays to get into Friday presentations they were excited about, including for 'Alien: Earth' and 'The Long Walk.' 'Last year was my first time [in Hall H],' said Jennifer Moore, who said they'd been attending the event for 10 years. 'Now [that] there's no Marvel thing or DC thing, it's pretty easy to get in,' said Sam Moore. 'We've just been doing walk-ins [for Hall H] this year.' That's not to say Hall H was entirely without spectacle: Highlights included an ensemble of bagpipers performing 'Scotland the Brave,' a dazzling laser light show, the world premiere of the 'Alien' franchise's first ever television series and an appearance by 'Star Wars' filmmaker George Lucas to promote the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. And although the Comic-Con experience has grown beyond the walls of the San Diego Convention Center, with immersive experiences and pop-ups spilling into the city's Gaslamp Quarter and the Embarcadero, Hall H remains a venerated programming space for panelists and attendees alike. 'I want to give people the experience that they bought their tickets for to come here,' said Noah Hawley, the creator of 'Alien: Earth' before the upcoming FX series' Hall H presentation on Friday. 'I was surprised the first time I came to Comic-Con, how emotional it is for the people who attend. There's a lot of people for whom [361] days a year, they have to pretend to be somebody else. These [four] days of the year, they get to be who they really feel like they are on the inside.' The Moores were among those who were able to make it into Hall H without much of a wait on Friday morning. But by Friday afternoon, the line had grown much longer in anticipation for later panels, which included capacity crowds. Other big draws included anime franchise entry 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle' and DC Studios co-chief James Gunn, who received an ovation for the success of his recent 'Superman' reboot while presenting the second season of the John Cena series 'Peacemaker.' Even those who were attending Comic-Con to promote their own projects couldn't hold in their excitement for anime juggernaut 'Demon Slayer.' Besides the Hall H, panel ads promoting the upcoming movie — which has already broken attendance records in Japan — adorned a nearby hotel and the trains of the Trolley. 'There is a part of me that just wants to be out with the fans in my Tanjiro outfit with the earrings with my daughter,' said actor Babou Ceesay of 'Alien: Earth,' referencing the young warrior with a gentle heart at the center of 'Demon Slayer.' The growth of anime and animation programming at Comic-Con and inside Hall H is a reminder that the convention is best understood as a reflection of ongoing shifts in nerd culture and fandom. Having evolved from a gathering primarily for comic book collectors to a broader celebration of pop culture where blockbuster movies once had a stranglehold, Comic-Con may now be witnessing the loosening of comic book superhero films' grip on the zeitgeist as a whole. Indeed, television has steadily increased its Comic-Con footprint for years. Studios and streamers have also been organizing their own promotional events, such as Disney's D23 and Netflix's Tudum, to build up buzz on their terms, too. Plus, as fan Robbie Weber of Los Angeles reiterated, Comic-Con is more than just what happens in Hall H. When he first attended the event 11 years ago he was among those that camped out overnight in order to get into the hall, but this time around he skipped it, opting to explore activations and other panels instead. 'We saw [comic book writer] Jonathan Hickman [on Thursday],' said Weber. 'We saw a friend on the 'Primitive War' panel [on Friday], which was really cool. It was the first time I've been able to see a friend do something like that.' For many, Comic-Con's main draw remains how fans can freely celebrate their passions. 'Alien: Earth' actor Alex Lawther said it was nice to hear the excitement of the people around him on his San Diego-bound train as they reminisced about their past experiences and shared photos of their cosplay. 'I really get that intense enjoyment of something to the point where you want to walk down the street wearing the costumes,' he said.

The Coolest Hasbro Marvel and ‘Star Wars' Reveals of San Diego Comic-Con 2025
The Coolest Hasbro Marvel and ‘Star Wars' Reveals of San Diego Comic-Con 2025

Gizmodo

time23 minutes ago

  • Gizmodo

The Coolest Hasbro Marvel and ‘Star Wars' Reveals of San Diego Comic-Con 2025

Hasbro always brings out the big guns at Comic-Con, and this year's convention was no exception. Quite literally, in fact, as both Marvel and Star Wars got some reveals that you could ostensibly count as big guns for Marvel Legends, Black Series, and Vintage Collection, and also some reveals that did actually include some actual Big Guns. This year's reveals included a ton of X-Men goodness for Marvel (anchored around a new wave of X-Men '97 figures), as well as the latest made-to-order deluxe figure in the form of everyone's satanic bestie (well, except Spider-Man's), Mephisto. Meanwhile, the galaxy far, far away went on a bit of an exclusives kick, revealing two special two-packs coming later this year, and then a grand finale: the next Haslab project, a 3.75″-figure-scaled Republic Gunship, ready to be filled with oodles of Clone Trooper figures. Check out all the latest Hasbro Marvel and Star Wars reveals below! Except for Qimir. Sorry, we were just so excited about finally getting The Acolyte's enchanting villain in figure form that we had to tell you about him separately. We already showed you Hasbro's other mask reveal of the con, Wolverine's mask from Deadpool & Wolverine, but its other reveal ventured to another arena of the MCU, with a brand-new electronically enhanced replica of Peter's spider-suit mask from Spider-Man: Homecoming. As well as a neck cowl, the 1:1 scaled mask includes moving eye pieces that can be set on either pre-programmed expression reactions, or manually activated with a remote control to express surprise, anger, or even that your spidey senses are tingling! Exclusive to Target, the latest retro-carded Uncanny X-Men figure brings Storm's iconic outfit from the time she led the X-Men as they hid out in the Australian Outback, operating in secret after the world believed them to have died fighting the mysterious Adversary. As well as fists and open hands, Storm also comes with two lightning-blasting hands to replicate her powers. Marvel's premiere marriage-wrecker is back in all his glory with a new figure in Hasbro's 'made-to-order' line of deluxe figures. Available to preorder until August 26, Mephisto includes an alternate head and alternate hands, a sword, and even swappable clothing to give him either a plastic or cloth set of cloak and loincloths—the latter so he can properly sit on his skull-covered throne, also included. We might be waiting a while for X-Men '97 season two, but we'll be waiting in style thanks to a whole host of new figures coming from Hasbro. The toymaker kicked off the '97 reveals with a series of two-packs inspired by key moments from the show: one from the series' opening episodes with Rogue and Gambit, depicting them in their basketball match gear, and two depicting the X-Men's returns to some classic costumes in the back half of the season—Wolverine and Storm in one, in their respective yellow-and-brown and black '80s gear, and Cyclops and Jean Grey in another, depicting them in their original outfits inspired by the season finale. That wasn't all for X-Men '97 though: an entire new wave of figures is on the way too, filling out some key remaining heroes (and anti-heroes) from the show's lineup. The new wave includes Sunspot, Jubilee, Morph, a casual look Logan, Cable, and the White Queen herself, Emma Frost. After lifting the lid on its first Marvel crossover set for Magic: The Gathering, Wizards of the Coast teamed up with Hasbro to reveal that it would release four exclusive variant cards as part of a series of action figures. Agent Anti-Venom, Battle Damaged Spider-Man, and Mary Jane in the Iron Spider suit will all reuse previous figures with upgraded accessories, alongside a surprise new addition in the form of Man-Wolf: the transformed werewolf alter ego of Colonel John Jameson. All four figures will come with an exclusive borderless foil promo card from the Spider-Man set, with new art inspired by their respective figures. Hasbro kicked things off in the galaxy far, far away by revealing two new multipacks that will be its exclusive offerings at upcoming conventions this fall, including New York Comic Con and MCM London. For Black Series, Revenge of the Sith's 20th anniversary gets celebrated with a new two-pack featuring Mace Windu and Darth Sidious, the latter clad in his chancellor robes and including an alternate scarred head depicting his visage after Mace deflects his Force lightning back at him. Meanwhile, the Vintage Collection will get its own version of the Jedi Spirits three-pack already seen in the Black Series a few years ago: ethereal force ghost figures of Yoda, Obi-Wan, and Anakin inspired by the climax of Return of the Jedi. However, in a fun twist, the Vintage Collection set will have one bonus not included in the earlier Black Series version: a swappable head for Anakin that lets you return Sebastian Shaw to the climax of the film, rather than Hayden Christensen's take on the character! Speaking of multipacks, two more are coming to the Black Series. The latest addition to the line's set of Jedi General and Clone Trooper two-packs puts together Anakin Skywalker (inspired by the live-action take on his Clone Wars look from Ahsoka) and Captain Rex in his modified phase-II Clone armor. The second, more elaborate two-pack celebrates the climax of Empire Strikes Back, depicting Luke and Darth Vader's duel on Bespin. Including a base replicating the gangway and platform the two duel on, the set also includes a lightsaber clash VFX piece, and a wired cloth cape on Vader for maximum dramatic effect. I'm sure you can find a way to remove one of Luke's hands, too. A trio of Vintage Collection figures were also revealed at the con, spanning the rise of the Empire era. From Clone Wars and Bad Batch, there's the Imperial Shock Trooper, the red-armored Clones of the Coruscant Guard, and from A New Hope, there are new versions of Han Solo and Chewbacca inspired by their appearances in the movie. Meanwhile, the Black Series went on a bit of a bounty hunter kick for its own reveals. From the fifth season of Clone Wars' iconic Ahsoka on trial arc, a new Asajj Ventress depicting her in her bounty hunter gear is on the way, complete with two lightsabers and a removable helmet (which I'm sure will also go great with the upcoming Bariss Offee figure, for no reason at all…). After getting so many Mandalorian figures between Book of Boba Fett and The Mandalorian lately, it's only fitting that we go back to Attack of the Clones for a newly updated Jango Fett, complete with a removable helmet. Again, I'm sure you can find a way to remove the rest of his head too to replicate Jango's battle with Mace Windu. Rounding out the Star Wars reveals was the next major addition to Hasbro's 'Haslab' crowdfunding project: a massive LAAT/i Gunship from Attack of the Clones, scaled to 3.75″ action figures. Dwarfing Hasbro's prior gunship toys, the new vehicle is a hefty 28 inches long, 30.9 inches wide, and 10.6 inches tall, and comes with two Phase-1 Clone pilot figures, as well as two different stands to depict the gunship either in flight or hovering above ground as it drops off its troops (which you'll have to grab separately, of course). The gunship itself includes opening front laser battery pods, which can hold a seated clone; opening bay doors to depict a fully detailed interior; options for alternate nose panels depicting art inspired by gunships seen in Clone Wars; and rotating turrets on the nose and back of the ship. Clocking in with a hefty $450 price tag, the Gunship requires 8,000 backers by September 8, 2025, to enter production for a fall 2026 release. Beyond the initial goal, three higher backer tiers will unlock several Jedi action figures to accompany the gunship, making their Vintage Collection debuts: 10,000 backers unlocks Coleman Trebor, 12,000 Saesee Tiin, and 14,000 Agen Kolar. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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