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Wakanda Forever’s mid-credits scene isn’t a teaser for another film, but it portends some rather surprising developments for the Black Panther franchise’s future. Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Image: Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever draws to a close with most everyone thinking that they have a solid understanding of the world’s balance of power following the passing of one Black Panther and the rise of a new one. But the movie’s solitary mid-credits sequence introduces a surprising new twist that could upend all that and set the stage for a very different kind of Black Panther story going forward. This piece contains spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Rather than picking up in a completely new location some time later, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’s mid-credits sequence opens right back up on Shuri (Letitia Wright) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) on a Haitian beach. Though Wakanda Forever details how Nakia chose to become a teacher following the events of Avengers: Endgame, the movie doesn’t spend all that much time discussing why she chose Haiti or what she was doing in the country for all those years that kept her from contacting her people back home. Given what T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Nakia meant to one another, it’s easy enough for people to believe that her years of not returning to Wakanda were due to her grief over his death. While grief was certainly part of what kept Nakia away from Wakanda, she reveals to Shuri that it wasn’t her only reason or the most important one. She and T’Challa figured, Nakia explains, that it would be best for their son, Toussaint, to grow up away from all of the attention and danger that comes with being a member of the royal family. As shocked as Shuri is to learn that she has a six-year-old nephew, she’s even more stunned and moved when he tells her that while Toussaint is his Haitian name, his mother also named him T’Challa for his father. Along with being a tribute to Toussaint Louverture, Wakanda Forever’s Toussaint / T’Challa is one of the many ways the film tries to honor the spirit of the deceased Wakandan king and the actor who portrayed him. The elder T’Challa’s legacy lives on in his son, and in the wake of Queen Ramonda’s (Angela Bassett) death at Namor’s (Tenoch Huerta) hands, his existence is likely a kind of balm for Shuri, who assumed that her entire family was dead. But young T’Challa’s existence in the wake of the deaths of his father and grandmother raises an interesting question about the future of Wakanda’s throne that the movie leaves purposefully unanswered. After Shuri’s able to synthesize a new version of the heart-shaped herb and become the newest Black Panther earlier in the film, it’s fairly clear that she intends to retain that specific title as well as her position as the nation’s princess. But Wakanda Forever also takes care to give M’Baku (Winston Duke) one of the film’s last significant lines as he announces his intention to once again challenge Wakanda’s other leaders to ceremonial combat to determine who their new ruler should be. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ends on a hopeful note, but it does so after putting the whole of Wakanda through a level of tumult, upheaval, and destruction that’s wholly new for its people. The movie doesn’t go quite so far as to suggest that there could be even more monumental shifts coming Wakanda’s way. But it would make a certain amount of sense if future installments in the franchise focused on how Wakanda plans to get its political situation in order now that it has a new Black Panther who doesn’t seem interested in being queen. Obviously, there are rules when it comes to how Wakanda chooses new rulers. But between the elder T’Challa’s shocking death and his having a secret son, it seems very much like Wakanda Forever might be laying the groundwork for a fascinating story about succession that could have far-reaching consequences for the Black Panther franchise’s future. Wakanda Forever’s mid-credits scene is exactly the right kind of surprising

Kang the Conqueror makes his MCU debut as next big cross-movie villain. Paul Rudd returns as Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Lang/van Dyne family embarks on an exciting new adventure in the subatomic realm in the first official trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. As we've reported previously, next month's release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will mark the end of Phase Four of what's officially being called The Multiverse Saga (encompassing Phases Four, Five, and Six). Quantumania will kick off Phase Five. We saw some preview footage at both San Diego Comic-Con and D23, featuring a villainous version of Kang (Jonathan Majors), a time-traveling adversary of the multiverse first introduced as He Who Remains during the finale of the first season of Loki. (Majors has said that the Kang in the film is not the same as He Who Remains.) That footage also showed Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) confronting Kang, who apparently was holding Scott's now-teenage daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton) captive. Kang promised to release Cassie if Scott helped him retrieve something that has been stolen from him. Otherwise, we know little about the film, except that the four main characters are returning. So is Randall Park as FBI agent Jimmy Woo, Scott's former parole officer, as well as Gregg Turkington as Scott's former Baskin-Robbins boss, Dale. Per the official premise: Superhero partners Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) return to continue their adventures as Ant-Man and the Wasp. Together with Hope’s parents Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), the family finds themselves exploring the Quantum Realm, interacting with strange new creatures, and embarking on an adventure that will push them beyond the limits of what they thought was possible. There is going to be a cameo appearance by MODOK, and Bill Murray has been cast in an as-yet-undisclosed villainous role. We get the briefest glimpse of his character in the new trailer, which is set to the dulcet tones of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." It opens with a montage of Scott cheerfully going about his day, basking in the collective admiration from locals for his superhero work with the Avengers—even if some people mistake him for Spider-Man. It happens. Things seem pretty peachy on the home front, too, with Cassie working on a new invention that she proudly shows off to the Lang/Van Dyne clan: "It's like a satellite for deep space, but quantum." Janet—who was lost in the quantum realm for years until her re-emergence in Ant-Man and the Wasp—immediately looks concerned. "You're sending a signal down to the quantum realm? Turn it off. Now." But it's too late. The whole family gets sucked into the quantum realm, which looks very different from its previous incarnations in the MCU. It seems to be a technologically advanced futuristic city of sorts. Clearly, Janet has been keeping a big secret about her time there, describing the realm as "a secret universe beneath ours." Enter Kang, who promises Scott that he can get the family home—if Scott helps Kang in return. We're guessing that's a trade-off that comes with some pretty significant repercussions. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters on February 17, 2023. Marvel Studios Listing image by YouTube/Marvel Studios Marvel drops official trailer for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Multiple reports claim Marvel Studios is delaying filming the movie, which had been due to release in July 2024. Image: Disney Filming for Thunderbolts, the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film centered around the franchise’s anti-heroes, has been delayed due to the ongoing writers strike, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline report. Production had been due to start in the coming weeks in Atlanta, but now isn’t expected to commence until after the strike ends. Thunderbolts is just the latest production impacted by the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike. The union representing roughly 11,500 writers from across film, television, and more went on strike at the beginning of this month in a dispute around pay in an increasingly streaming-dominated era. The WGA is also seeking to regulate the use of generative AI in writers’ rooms. Alongside Thunderbolts, there have been reports of multiple other Marvel productions being impacted by the strike action. Earlier this month The Hollywood Reporter noted that the Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali was the first major film to see production shut down due to the strike (it had been due to release in September 2024, though it’s unclear if this will change), and there have also been reports of disruption to Marvel TV shows Daredevil: Born Again and Wonder Man. Production on several other Marvel projects is reportedly continuing, however, with Captain America: New World Order (May 2024), Deadpool 3 (November 2024), and Agatha: Coven of Chaos filming already underway. Given the interconnected nature of many of Marvel’s films and TV shows, the strike could have a knock-on effect on the wider franchise even if it only affects select projects. Marvel is far from the only studio to see its projects impacted by the striking writers. Deadline notes that TV shows have been impacted more than films in these early stages of the strike, with late night talk shows among the highest profile early casualties. Impacted projects include Yellowjackets, Stranger Things, Severance, Hacks, and forthcoming Game of Thrones spinoff The Hedge Knight. Thunderbolts had been due to release in July 2024, though it’s unclear if this will change as a result of the production delay. It stars Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell as US Agent, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Olga Kurylenko as Taskmaster, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Jake Schreier is attached to direct. Thunderbolts becomes latest Marvel movie to be hit by writers’ strike

The future of the MCU’s looking very animated Though Marvel’s live-action projects are a big part of what’s got people hyped for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the studio’s Hall H showcase today made clear that animation’s going to be a big part of the MCU’s future. In addition to announcing its I Am Groot series, Marvel Studios head of streaming, TV, and animation Brad Winderbaum and head of visual development Ryan Meinerding took the stage in Hall H to discuss new details about Spider-Man: Freshman Year, X-Men ’97, Marvel Zombies, and upcoming seasons of What If...? Like its first season, What If...?’s second and newly announced third seasons will once again focus on the Watcher (Geoffrey Wright) as he gazes across the multiverse upon the many different realities that now make up the MCU. Given how the Watcher became actively involved in people’s lives in What If...?’s first season, it’s likely that the rules will be a little different as the series progresses and continues to reimagine pivotal moments from previous MCU films. Following What If...? season 2’s premiere in early 2023, there’s a chance that the universe of the original X-Men animated series will technically become part of the MCU as X-Men ’97 debuts and explores a number of “new stories in the iconic ’90s timeline of the original series,” according to a press release. Like What If...?, X-Men ‘97 has already been renewed for a second season, which doesn’t come as a surprise considering the series’ nostalgic appeal and the mutants’ impending arrival in Marvel’s movies. Similarly unsurprising but still intriguing is the news that Marvel’s upcoming animated Spider-Man: Freshman Year series from executive producer Jeff Trammell will seemingly follow Peter Parker through his first few years (plural) of “becoming Spider-Man in the MCU.” Because Peter’s journey to becoming a full-on Avenger’s already been pretty well documented in Marvel’s previous live-action movies, Freshman and Sophomore Year are likely set in alternate realities where important details play out in drastically different, fascinating ways. Spider-Man: Freshman Year is set to hit Disney Plus sometime in 2024. Marvel’s going all in on animation with Spider-Man: Freshman Year and even more X-Men ’97

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The movie will see Anthony Mackie return as Sam Wilson, the new Captain America Marvel Studios’ upcoming fourth Captain America feature — the first since Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson officially took over the mantle in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier — may not yet have a name or release date, but the movie’s just picked up a director in the form of one Julius Onah. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Onah (The Cloverfield Paradox) has signed on to direct the next Captain America film that will pick up some time after Sam Wilson’s confrontation with John Walker and the Flag Smashers. Onah joins The Falcon and The Winter Soldier creator Malcolm Spellman and series staff writer Dalan Musson, who will be scripting the new film together. Currently, no other details about Captain America 4 have been released, but it’s quite possible Marvel may have more news about it to share at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Captain America 4 will be directed by The Cloverfield Paradox’s Julius Onah

Review: This killer summer film lands somewhere between Fraggle Rock and Labyrinth. Jane (Natalie Portman) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) are back at it in Thor: Love and Thunder. Marvel Studios Thirty minutes into the heartfelt silliness of Thor: Love and Thunder, a comparison dawned on me that clarified why I enjoyed this week's new film so much: In 14 years of Marvel Studios films, the company has never as successfully made an homage to Jim Henson as this. At its most madcap, Love and Thunder giddily honors the likes of Fraggle Rock and The Muppet Show in terms of a rogue's gallery of goofballs and kiddos chewing up the film's gilded, Technicolor scenery. And at its darkest, it feels like a direct descendant of Labyrinth, as its villainy combines no-holding-back ruthlessness with some impressively staged shadow realms. Most importantly, co-stars Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth nail the film's titular L-word in remarkable fashion. This action film knows that it's smothering a slab of rom-com peanut butter with ridiculous superhero-stakes chocolate, and the film's leads dance around this fact mostly in joking fashion while still threading the needle of building a believable, finale-clinching connection. (Comparing the results to Kermit and Miss Piggy would short-shrift their incredible work to some extent, yet the comparison also kind of makes sense, once you see the movie.) Getting out of muscle-first stupor An early sequence sees Thor fake like a savior—and the results deliver a solid comedic blow. Marvel Studios In 2017's Thor: Ragnarok, writer/director Taika Waititi put his quirky stamp on the otherwise drab Avengers-offshoot series about all things Asgard. But that film's shift toward amped-up humor, amusing as it was, was also hamstrung by a few things: a touchy relationship between Thor and his brother Loki and an omnipresent Marvel Studios need to keep the Infinity Stones boulder tumbling forward. Four years later, freed from those constraints, Waititi gets to pick and choose how to tell a new, post-Endgame story about Thor. And it's a rousing success, right up there with the filmmaker's legendary 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople. The film's silly montages are brief and effective at getting viewers up to speed with a laugh, like this sequence showing Thor advancing "from dad bod to sad bod." Marvel Studios Hemsworth begins the film as an overbearing, pompous Thor. The Asgardian hero of legend has emerged from his Endgame hangover with an aimless sense of duty, fulfilled by joining the Guardians of the Galaxy and mindlessly shooting at their targets. It's not really working out, and a chance encounter sees the Guardians excusing themselves from Thor's muscle-first stupor—but not before reminding him that their interstellar conquests would be meaningless if their crew didn't care about each other. Jane, you look different. Did you, uh, do something with your hair? Marvel Studios At this point, the camera cuts to Dr. Jane Foster (Portman), who has been mostly absent since 2013's Thor: The Dark World. Her life has taken a drastic turn, and while she's the kind to normally lean on science to solve her problems, she realizes in her latest crisis that she may require something more powerful than research-based studies—which leads her to New Asgard, a seaside town managed by a bored-by-bureaucracy Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson). Before long, Thor, Valkyrie, and Jane, as joined by Thor's pal Korg (voiced by Taika Waititi), find themselves squaring off against a new world-threatening foe. Fritz Lang’s wildest 1920s dreams Let's pause for a second and ignore the cookie-cutter plot line of superheroes gathering to face a villain, because, yes, most Marvel movies sound similar on paper. But Waititi is careful to put his filmmaking touch on each detail of the film to help moviegoers shake off potential Marvel hero fatigue. The first instance comes from Korg as a whimsical narrator. Many of the film's most crucial details are stitched together by his insatiably dry take on everything from Thor and Jane's prior failed romance to his own so-hilarious-I-choked-on-laughter explanation of how his race of Kronans manage to procreate. (It involves lava and mood-setting music.) The battling sequence inside this hall is an explosion of beautiful designs and flashy effects. Marvel Studios The second comes from battle sequences that know as darned well as the rest of the audience who's going to win or lose each fight. As a result, Waititi and his team of fight choreographers, cinematographers, and CGI artists make bloody sure to emphasize screen-filling absurdity in these conflicts whenever possible. The film's very first fight, against a race of mutated bird-people, is surrounded by orange-purple skies, twinkling pink-green glass buildings, and smoke-spewing, Mad Max-like motorcycles, all basking in the lighting and explosions that Thor rains onto his foes. (This scene, like many others in Love and Thunder, could have been ripped from an Iron Maiden album cover.) A later fight toys with black-and-white framing, albeit with tasteful splotches of color, that could have come from Fritz Lang's wildest 1920s filmmaking dreams. Christian Bale emerges as Gorr the God Butcher in one of the film's most dramatically framed sequences. Marvel Studios The third comes from Christian Bale's portrayal of Gorr the God Butcher, who is diametrically opposed to the jokes and levity that otherwise fill out much of Love and Thunder's runtime. Gorr's hopeless dread lands in the film like a perfect drop of vinegar in an otherwise hearty recipe, and Bale steals every scene with occasional manic fits but he's mostly a morose presence for everyone else to contend with. They don’t just give Oscars away for free A new take on sparks flying. Marvel Studios Above all else, there's Hemsworth and Portman, both exuding charisma and likability (though Thor needs more time to get there in this film). Each juggles the same three roles: tongue-in-cheek stars of a teen rom-com; pumped-up superheroes who battle, shout, and quip as if they've just done a killer set of reps at the gym; and bonded-forever friends who need each other's devotion and care to survive otherwise impossible odds. Portman in particular flashes incredible acting chops at a few key moments, as if to wink at the camera and telepathically tell viewers, "I have won an Oscar, you know." Even the weapons in this film figure as comedic elements. Marvel Studios The rest of the production makes sure those moments land in big ways, and the main reason is that the cast is wisely limited to a few key players. It's not a Waititi film without a few laugh-worthy cameos and supporting appearances (along with, er, a pair of maniacally screaming goats, for some reason). Yet in Love and Thunder, there are never too many superhero capes cluttering any scenes. Thompson finally gets ample screen time and breathing room to establish herself as both a likable foil and a badass in her own right. Waititi's turn as Korg drives a lot of comic relief, yet the other three protagonists each land their own hilarious punches. But while I left the theater with a big smile on my face, that didn't merely come from slapstick. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, Love and Thunder's parallel plot lines revolve around terminal diseases that lead to difficult decisions. So how did I leave the theater thinking this film was a sensational, laugh-filled romp? Why I love Love The film's pre-release trailers and pictures don't really hint to how well Thor: Love and Thunder tells a touching story about how to survive trauma and grief. So instead, take a gander at shirtless Hemsworth. Marvel Studios That might be the real key to why I love Love and Thunder. Waititi and his crew tell a story about utter loss and heartbreak—but also about how to live in the face of powerlessness. Right now, as an American in the middle of 2022, I found myself easily able to connect to the film's themes, especially the ones about choosing love and hope over despair, because even a superhero can be driven to that brink if they're not careful. But the film is careful to be subtle with these themes. It builds genuine connections among its limited, focused cast and even breathes life into its conflicted villain to connect us to a powerful message between the laughs and the bombast. You wouldn't like Thor when he's smothered in lightning and determined to save the world. Marvel Studios Marvel Studios has been on a roll recently, not only with feature-length triumphs like Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness but also with the charming Ms. Marvel on Disney+. In Love and Thunder, we once again see the studio dumping a massive budget onto a filmmaker's singular perspective, and once again, I'm left applauding with a big smile, misty eyes, and exceeded expectations. Thor: Love and Thunder is a must-see Marvel homage to Jim Henson