Just when you thought Deadpool & Wolverine had claimed the crown and couldn’t ever be beaten, Daredevil: Born Again has come along and delivered what could be the most unexpected crossover cameo the MCU has ever given us.

Marvel Studios unveiled a first look at the much-anticipated relaunch of the Man Without Fear’s adventures at this August’s D23 — at least, to those in attendance. Unfortunately, the trailer has yet to be officially released online, but thanks to the wonders of leaks and first-hand reportage we know what the teaser contained.

On top of glimpses of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock, Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin, and Jon Bernthal’s Punisher, not to mention the return of Bullseye, Karen Page, and Foggy Nelson, and the introduction of Muse and White Tiger, the trailer also confirmed another addition to the cast that’s left fans scratching their heads.

The Marvels star confirmed to return to the MCU for Daredevil: Born Again

Sorry, Channing Tatum. Move over, Wesley Snipes. The most out-of-left-field MCU cameo surely has to come from this Daredevil: Born Again trailer. The D23 first-look footage confirmed that Mohan Kapur will feature in the series, reprising his role as Yusuf Khan — father to Kamala “Ms. Marvel” Khan — from both Ms. Marvel and The Marvels.

Aside from the relative obscurity of the character — sorry, Yusuf, but Kamala’s mom Muneeba is the supreme Khan family member — the fact that the world of Ms. Marvel is crossing over with Daredevil at all is something of a head-scratcher. For starters, Born Again promises to be an extension of the street-level side of the MCU — inhabited by the Defenders, the Punisher, and Echo — rather than the cosmic side Kamala dwells in. On a geographic level, too, the Khans live in Jersey City, not Matt Murdock’s Hell’s Kitchen home turf.

What’s more, it’s surprising that the studio would elect to call back to The Marvels so soon after its infamous box office devastation last November. All signs had pointed to Marvel throwing the Brie Larson sequel under the bus — see Deadpool’s “You’re joining at kind of low-point” joke to Wolverine in D&W — and quietly cancelling projects like Captain Marvel 3, a Photon spinoff, and perhaps even the Young Avengers movie (notice the lack of an update at either Comic-Con or D23). And yet here Yusuf is to remind us of Marvel’s greatest financial failure.

Filming restarted on Born Again, after it was overhauled from top to bottom, in January 2024, so it’s not like this decision was made prior to The Marvels‘ release. Those who miss Ms. Marvel can likely take this as a good sign, then, that Kamala is still very much a tentpole figure of this franchise going forward. If we get a Daredevil/Ms. Marvel team-up before Daredevil/Spider-Man, though, then something’s definitely up with the timeline.

What a difference a year, and a Deadpool, makes! 2023 marked a 15-year lowpoint for the MCU, with both Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels spelling both critical and financial nadirs for the once-invincible cinematic universe. With just the one movie releasing in 2024, it was all on Deadpool & Wolverine to fix the franchise single-handed.

Thankfully, it looks like the threequel might just do it. With Deadpool 3 coming later in July, box office projections are in, and the numbers are looking good. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman vehicle is headed for a domestic opening weekend of $160-165 million. If this figure comes to pass then that would make it the biggest opening of this (unusually lacking, given the 2023 strikes) whole year. So, yes, Wade Wilson may be about to save cinema. Shove it, Tom Cruise!

Deadpool 3 heading for biggest Marvel opening since 2022

As for how these numbers compare with other recent MCU releases, an opening weekend somewhere in the range of $160 million would easily make it the superior to all of Marvel’s 2023 offerings. Not that it’s much of a battle. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was the highest-grossing of last year, and that only opened to $118 million. Meanwhile, Quantumania came away with $106 million in its first weekend while The Marvels managed a meager $46 million.

The Marvels infamously ended up being the lowest-grossing MCU movie ever by a wide margin, finishing its theatrical run with just over $200 million. That means Deadpool 3 has a real chance of coming away with over 75% of The Marvels‘ entire box office gross in just its first three days in cinemas. How’s that for a comeback?

Full disclosure, this $160 million still isn’t quite up to the levels of Marvel in 2022 — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever both had openings over $180 million — but it’s an inarguable leap in the right direction again. LFG, kids. L.F.G.

Deadpool & Wolverine fever has well and truly swept through the Marvel fandom at this point, but let’s not forget that The Fantastic Four is coming next summer to give the Ryan Reynolds threequel a run for its money in terms of insanely anticipated MCU blockbusters. Although it sounds like Marvel is daring fans to turn against it, if these latest plot rumors turn out to be true.

At this early stage, we know so little about WandaVision director Matt Shakman’s reimagining of Marvel’s First Family, but everything we’ve seen and learned about it so far has gone straight in the “pros” column. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Natasha Lyonne, and many more in the cast… A possible 1960s period setting… the one and only H.E.R.B.I.E.! With so many positives on its side, what could go wrong?

Maybe if The Fantastic Four ends up being a spiritual sequel to The Marvels, the MCU’s least-popular movie of all time.

The Fantastic Four rumored to be either a secret Guardians 4… or The Marvels 2

As per insider Daniel RPK, The Fantastic Four will be mostly set in space and can be described as a “cosmic” MCU movie. While this is news to us, it does add up with what little we know so far. The inclusion of Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson’s Galactus, for starters, not to mention the Apollo astronaut vibes given off by the promo artwork.

In many ways, making TFF a cosmic film is a smart move, as it instantly differentiates it from prior Fantastic Four offerings. With the team’s origins taking them into space anyway — they get their powers from a cosmic storm in most versions — it only makes sense to simply keep them there. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just proved how audiences are still hungry for bold sci-fi outings.

On the other hand, The Marvels also proves that sometimes outer-space MCU adventures can leave audiences cold, so this could turn out to be a very risky decision indeed. Plus, a big part of the foursome’s storyline is how they have to deal with their newfound fame upon becoming superheroes, which is something a movie set in space won’t be able to explore. And a whole film set in 1960s era New York could be oodles of fun!

The one really could go either way, then, but with how long Marvel’s been working on this one — a Fantastic Four reboot was announced in 2019 — let’s hope Kevin Feige and co. know exactly what they’re doing and have ironed out all the kinks. Fingers crossed The Fantastic Four ends up emulating the right cosmic Marvel movie that came out in 2023.

It’s a good thing that Marvel has Deadpool & Wolverine, perhaps its most hyped release since 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, to get fans distracted, because behind the scenes there’s a lot of major restructuring happening when it comes to future plans for the MCU.

Deadpool 3 will no doubt make a killing at the box office this summer, but the last Marvel movie to release was The Marvels, which infamously went down as the worst-performing MCU film of them all. And it’s just possible that its failure was so embarrassing it immediately killed plans for a spinoff.

Monica Rambeau series was reportedly cancelled in the wake of The Marvels bombing

The Marvels‘ post-credits scene was perhaps the most memorable thing about it, as it brought back Kelsey Grammer as Beast. It was also interesting that it was Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau who ended up in the X-Men’s universe not Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel. According to new rumors, that’s because this was supposed to lead into a Photon series set for Disney Plus… However, this is 100% canned now due to the film falling flat. We’ve been assured that Monica’s story will now continue elsewhere, although it’s anyone’s guess where that could be.

Scarlett Johansson’s first MCU project since Black Widow could be a Disney Plus show

Don’t forget, while Marvel no doubt scrambles to tempt Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans into returning to the fold for Avengers: Secret Wars, Scarlett Johansson is already back in bed with the MCU for an upcoming project. The only thing is she’ll be serving as a producer rather than appearing on screen. For the longest time we’ve had literally zero information about the form of this mystery project, but the latest intel indicates that it will be a Disney Plus series. Given Johansson’s name behind it, presumably this show will be set in the Black Widow universe. Maybe it could be some kind of follow-up to Thunderbolts, which features Yelena, Red Guardian, and Taskmaster.

Mahershala Ali needs to get his ice skates on as Wesley Snipes’ Blade could be coming soon

Here’s your periodic reminder that Mahershala Ali was announced to be playing Blade in summer 2019… and we still haven’t seen him on screen?! Currently the Blade reboot is scheduled for November 2025 but it’s all but confirmed it’ll get pushed into 2026. Ali might want to hurry up and show his face, though, otherwise he might just be beaten to the punch by Wesley Snipes, who — rumor has it — is in talks to reprise his iconic ’90s role somewhere in the Multiverse Saga. For context, this is like if Tom Holland was cast as Spider-Man in 2016… and then never showed up before Tobey Maguire came back in 2021. What is going on, Kevin?!

Deadpool & Wolverine could not be coming at a more opportune moment. Although Marvel’s current 2024/2025 schedule is only the result of the strikes messing with the studio’s plans, having the much-anticipated Ryan Reynolds threequel be the one to restore the MCU to its former greatness after an extremely taxing 2023 is the perfect turn of events.

While The Marvels may go down as a perfectly respectable and solid entry in the Marvel canon, going by the surge of support it’s received since hitting streaming, it’s hard to entirely scrub away the stain of the Brie Larson sequel going down as the worst-performing MCU movie of them all last fall. Not only does Captain Marvel 3 now seem like a distant possibility, but it suggested that whole corner of the cinematic universe might be locked away and ignored forever more.

That’s why it’s so intriguing that one all-important moment in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer has spawned a compelling theory that the aftermath of The Marvels might be about to be explored in this very next film, thereby immediately cementing it as a key entry in the Multiverse Saga — haters be damned.

How could Deadpool & Wolverine cross over with The Marvels?

The climactic moment of the trailer sees DP and Wolvie LFG their way into a mystical multiversal portal. We currently have a lot of questions about said portal, as we don’t know which Master of the Mystic Arts conjured it (if it’s just Ned, I swear to God) and we don’t know where it might lead. As per one convincing theory, pitched by Redditor OneAboveAll0 among others, this portal could lead to a universe we’ve already visited…

Previously on the MCU: The Marvels ended with Monica Rambeau getting sent to another universe — one where a variant of her mother, Maria Rambeau/Binary, was a pal of the X-Men, who seem to be variants of the Fox characters — as seen by Kelsey Grammer returning as Beast. We’ve been trained of late to expect Marvel post-credits scenes to take an age to pay off — where art thou, Harry Styles and Hercules? — but in this case Deadpool 3 could pick up what The Marvels put down less than a year later.

Whether Monica appears or not, going back to this universe could allow for DP and Wolverine to interact with various familiar X-Men characters from the original Fox films — which would otherwise be impossible due to Deadpool hailing from the prequel timeline and this version of Logan coming from an Earth where all the X-Men are dead. Who knows, maybe some kind of incursion could occur — perhaps caused by Cassandra Nova — and result in this universe bleeding together with Earth-616 19999 and that’s how we get mutants in the MCU.

From a more holistic perspective, it would also be pretty meaningful for this ostensibly more bro-y MCU movie to respect and play ball with the Captain Marvel films in this way, considering the whole “M-She-U” backlash of it all. Those kind of fans may claim him, but Wade Wilson himself wouldn’t support such Carol Danvers slander (they were lovers in one comics timeline, FYI).

Basically, don’t skip The Marvels when you do your Disney Plus MCU marathon before Deadpool & Wolverine gets here this July 26.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for X-Men ’97 episode 6.

X-Men ’97 might not be as flashy as the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine, but it’s quietly knocking it out the park every single week on Disney Plus and increasingly providing a roadmap for exactly how Marvel Studios should use these characters in live-action to help fix the MCU.

Case in point, episode 6 follows up on the utter devastation of episode 5 by taking the narrative into space, catching up with Professor X for the first time since the series finale of X-Men: The Animated Series. Although the show so far has treated Charles as if he had died, X: TAS viewers knew that he’d actually been taken into space by his alien lover, Empress Lilandra, and revived using advanced tech. In episode 6, we find out that Charles is now living among the people of the Shi’ar Empire. Not only that, but he’s getting married!

This marks a huge twist in the professor’s story, obviously, but it also presents Marvel with the perfect way to fix its confused cosmic mythology following The Marvels. But first, who exactly are the Shi’ar, anyway?

Who are the Shi’ar in X-Men ’97?

The Shi’ar, debuting in the comics in 1976’s X-Men #97, are conspicuous in their absence from the MCU at present as they are one of the three greatest empires in the galaxy in Marvel lore. Arguably, they are even more advanced and expansive than either the Kree or the Skrulls, however, as the Shi’ar comprise various planets and cultures across the cosmos. The Shi’ar people are human/avian hybrids, who appear mostly humanoid barring their feathered heads.

The most notable Shi’ar character is undoubtedly Empress Lilandra, whose unlikely romance with Charles Xavier has threatened her position of power and the safety of her empire at numerous points. Her two treacherous siblings, vicious brother D’Ken and duplicitous sister Deathbird, have often attempted to seize her throne, and on occasion have succeeded.

Lilandra and the Shi’ar played a key role in the Dark Phoenix saga, with the X-Men having to fight to protect Jean Grey from execution when Lilandra decreed she must die for her crimes. Because of this, it was heavily rumored that Jessica Chastain was going to play Lilandra in 2019’s Dark Phoenix, but the character has yet to make her live-action debut.

In recent comics, Xandra, the genetically engineered daughter of Charles and Lilandra, has been introduced and she has risen up to become the current Majestrix (aka Empress) of the Shi’ar Empire following her mother’s death.

The Shi’ar’s introduction into the MCU could undo the damage done by The Marvels

Personally, I liked The Marvels, and hopefully you did too (whether you saw it in theaters or were one of the converts who caught up on streaming), but there’s no use denying that it was the least successful MCU movie to date. Clearly, audiences are still interested in cosmic Marvel movies — hence the popularity of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just a few months prior — but the familiar plot of the Captain Marvel sequel just turned audiences away.

The general consensus seemed to be that The Marvels came across as “just another MCU film,” and maybe that’s because it was dealing with an alien threat that has been hanging around the franchise for a full decade at this point: the Kree. Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, a whole bunch of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes… The Kree have arguably worn out their welcome as Marvel’s premier cosmic baddie at this point so it’s high-time their reign was toppled.

Of course, X-Men ’97 isn’t Earth-19999 canon but episode 6 proves that the MCU needs to introduce the Shi’ar into live-action fast, with its opening scene demonstrating exactly how to do it. Deathbird, Lilandra’s aforementioned sis, is depicted as bringing the mighty Ronan the Accuser to his knees, proving how much more fearsome the Shi’ar are than the oft-used Kree.

With ties to the X-Men and a much more complex and nuanced civilization, the Shi’ar would certainly be a much-needed jolt in the arm and injection of fresh ideas into Marvel’s cosmic side, so let’s hope their X-Men ’97 appearance is just a tease for bigger things to come.

Take a bow, The Marvels! The Brie Larson sequel was routinely riled last November when it earned the dishonor of being the lowest-grossing MCU movie of all time at the box office. Miraculously, however, it managed a full 180-degree turn once it hit streaming.

Now that folks could catch it from the comfort of their own homes, Disney Plus users gave the movie a try and, surprise surprise, realized that they thought it was a totally fun slice of superhero cinema and they were sorry for being so dismissive of it when it was in theaters — causing those who were singing its praises all along to face palm like Captain Picard. Not only did The Marvels manage to knock the immortally popular Moana from the Mouse House platform’s top spot, it’s also been confirmed as the most popular movie on streaming period over the week of its release.

This is an impressive shift of fortunes for the Nia Da Costa movie, turning it into the little Marvel film that could and maybe even dispelling the notion that the MCU is done for. Unfortunately, when you put The Marvels‘ streaming success in a larger context, it suddenly seems much less impressive.

The Marvels‘ chart-topping figures pale in comparison to Guardians 3

As per data covering Feb. 5-11, The Marvels was the world’s most-watched movie on all of streaming that week, earning 558 minutes watched in its first seven days on Disney Plus. A resounding success, no? Well, yes, in microcosm. However, once you compare it to how the previous Marvel production to hit streaming did, the power of its achievement is suddenly decimated by a full two thirds.

Prior to The Marvels landing in November 2023, the last MCU film to release was May’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s no surprise that, when that film eventually debuted on Disney Plus in September, it likewise topped the streaming charts worldwide as well. In its case, though, Guardians 3 had a much grander figure to show for it. The cosmic threequel is known to have accrued a whopping 1.6 billion minutes viewed across its first seven days.

The Marvels may have topped the streaming charts too, but clearly the week of its release was far less competitive overall. For instance, in the runner-up positions for movies streamed the week of Feb. 5 were 2017 thriller American Assassin (515 minutes), animated film Orion and the Dark (389 minutes), and perennial family favorite The Super Mario Bros. Movie (356 million minutes), all available on Netflix.

As for whether its streaming win will really affect its reputation, it’s worth pointing out that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania also topped the charts last year and yet it just doomed the MCU to its first ever Razzie nominations (although it thankfully didn’t win any). The Marvels certainly doesn’t deserve all the hate it received, but sadly we can’t start calling it a redeemed success or claim that the Marvel curse is over just yet.

A funny thing happened on The Marvels‘ way to streaming. Despite releasing in theaters to widespread disinterest in November, once the MCU sequel hit digital people suddenly started giving it some much-needed positive attention.

Sure enough, upon its arrival on Disney Plus, the film that seemed destined to become the most forgotten and least-viewed Marvel Studios production earned itself a surprising groundswell of popularity and some enduring chart-topping powers. “Hey, I wish I saw this in cinemas,” said a whole bunch of folks, while those that did and enjoyed it glared at the camera like Jim from The Office.

Speaking of John Krasinski, he definitely won’t be reprising his role as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four, which promises to carve out an exciting new corner of the MCU. Marvel’s First Family have one of the richest rosters of associated characters in all of comics, so Kevin Feige and company will no doubt be hoping to fuel years’ worth of storylines based around them. But could the rise of the Silver Surfer lead to the crushing downfall of Carol Danvers?

Silver Surfer spin-off claims could be bad news for Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel

Hot on the heels of The Fantastic Four announcement, a rumor has emerged that a Silver Surfer spin-off is in the works at Marvel Studios. As has been suspected for the longest time, Norrid Radd is said to be making his way to the MCU in The Fantastic Four, with Marvel supposedly on the hunt for an actor as you read these words. This is totally uncorroborated as yet, but it does come from insider Daniel Richtman, who claimed that Pedro Pascal was playing Reed Richards before that was officially confirmed.

Silver Surfer is easily one of the most important characters Marvel inherited from Fox because, despite only making the one movie appearance to date, he’s one of the most integral cosmic characters in Marvel’s canon. You could even argue that he’s Marvel’s single most integral cosmic character. And that’s why the studio apparently being keen to promote him to leading status could be bad news for Carol Danvers, who currently stands as the MCU’s top-tier extraterrestrial tentpole.

As The Marvels made clear, by pairing her up with heroes from Ms. Marvel, WandaVision, and Secret Invasion, not to mention using her movie to set up the coming of the X-Men, Carol certainly was viewed as an anchor for the entire MCU. However, with the film underperforming so drastically there’s every chance that Marvel is working on pivoting focus away from her. Just look at how we’ve learned that Kang’s role was already being decreased after Quantumania bombed, before Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles came to light.

Larson herself remains cagey about her Marvel future, but even if she does end up returning for Avengers 5 and Secret Wars, there’s a decent chance that, in a few years time, space might not have enough space for both Captain Marvel and Silver Surfer.

You know the worst thing about The Marvels and Madame Web flopping financially? It gives those people who possess a weird problem with female-led superhero movies more fuel to whine about women clogging up comic book cinema. Sure, the aforementioned Sony bomb is, let’s be kind and say, a unique enterprise but one of its best traits is its ensemble female cast. Likewise, the unapologetic female energy of The Marvels is what made it stand out from the crowd.

So while it remains a bummer that the Brie Larson vehicle is tragically locked in as the biggest box office bomb in MCU history, at least its fortunes have done a complete 180 degree turn on streaming. Although it can’t quite dislodge the dismay of earning a mere $200 million worldwide (that’s just 1/5 of what Captain Marvel made), at least The Marvels is finally finding its audience on Disney Plus. Since its digital and streaming releases, social media has been stuffed with reactions from those who’ve been pleasantly surprised by its quality and wished they’d given it a go on the big screen.

The ultimate proof that the superhero sequel has gone from tanking in theaters to ranking on streaming? The Marvels has managed to dethrone perhaps the Mouse House’s hottest property right now on Disney Plus.

The Marvels‘ Disney Plus dominance cements its streaming redemption arc

According to FlixPatrol, The Marvels is the number one most popular film on Disney Plus the world over at present, managing to knock Moana into second place. This is a huge deal as the 2016 animated film had an enormous surge of popularity last year and became the most streamed movie on the platform for 2023. That no doubt had a lot to do with the fact that Disney is now fast-tracking Moana 2, set to bring back Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, releasing in theaters this November.

So for The Marvels to knock it from the top spot says a lot about how much streaming audiences are taking to it. Clearly, then, despite the knee-jerk antagonism towards the movie in November, the problem was not with The Marvels‘ quality but the marketing surrounding it. For whatever reason, people just weren’t incentivized enough to go see it in theaters. Now that they’re watching it from their own homes, however, it’s proving just as successful as any prior MCU flick.

So that’s one super-powered princess tag-teaming the streaming top spot from another super-powered princess. Cue incels everywhere losing it like the aliens from Mars Attacks! You love to see it.

Cassandra Webb’s superpower might be receiving visions of future events, but even those without fancy Spider-Senses predicted how Madame Web would turn out long before we heard Dakota Johnson talk about how her mom studied spiders in the Amazon before she died. So it’s no surprise that Deadpool 3 is already making numbers the Sony bomb-in-the-making will never see at the box office. But, first, it turns out The Marvels could’ve been a whole lot darker…

The Marvels nearly ending on Captain Marvel’s combustion snuffs out hopes for Captain Marvel 3

Now that it’s on streaming, Marvel folks are loving how fun and light-hearted The Marvels is (it’s about time, people!), but the film’s original ending no doubt would’ve left us stunned and picking our jaws up off the floor along with our spilled popcorn once the credits rolled. Dar-Benn actress Zawe Ashton has revealed that the movie’s climax initially had Carol Danvers and her nemesis “combust together,” which apparently confirmed that Captain Marvel was supposed to die in this film before reshoots changed the ending. Suddenly Brie Larson’s hedged bets about her MCU future make sense… Marvel can’t be keen on a Captain Marvel 3 if they nearly killed her off. Right?

Deadpool 3 is officially YouTube’s most-viewed trailer ever…

Who says nobody cares about Marvel movies anymore? Following its premiere on Super Bowl Sunday, the internet is still buzzing from our first glimpse at Deadpool 3, or Deadpool & Wolverine as it’s properly called. Whether because it marks Ryan Reynolds’ return as DP for the first time in six years or because this year’s Super Bowl was the highest-rated television event since the 1969 Moon Landing (!), DP3‘s trailer has gone down as the most watched trailer on YouTube, beating fellow multiversal Marvel threequel Spider-Man: No Way Home to the top spot on the back of 365 million views at launch. That bodes well for its box office figures this July!

… While Madame Web is officially the worst Marvel movie since Morbius

You know what doesn’t bode well for a movie’s box office figures, though? Launching on Rotten Tomatoes to a critics score that’s almost not old enough to drive. At the time of writing, Madame Web is sitting at a mere 17% on the reviews-aggregate site, after shockingly scathingly reactions that tell us exactly why Sony waited until the day before its worldwide release to lift the review embargo. With its Sony predecessor Morbius sitting at 15%, the Dakota Johnson vehicle is in real danger of falling even lower than the Jared Leto meme machine. We didn’t know that was possible until now, which proves that despite rampant superhero fatigue, at least Marvel is capable of setting new records.

It’s no secret that Marvel movies change a lot over the course of their production — reshoots are par for the course for the MCU, as the studio adjusts story developments in response to test screener reactions or to better tie into other upcoming projects. It sounds like The Marvels went through an even bigger metamorphosis than most, however, as the film’s own villain has admitted that she originally had the distinction of succeeding where Thanos and Yon-Rogg failed before her: killing Captain Marvel.

Typically, details about Marvel’s deleted scenes and alternate cuts are top-secret, but Dar-Benn actress Zawe Ashton came clean about a surprising cut ending to The Marvels while speaking to ComicBook.com. Ashton admitted that the movie originally ended with Carol Danvers and Dar-Benn killing each other in an epic, tragic climactic sequence, one that would’ve deprived the MCU of arguably its most powerful hero. According to Ashton:

“There was another ending that we did film where Brie and myself are kind of in space still having it out, and they kind of combust together, which was really amazing, and that was just a day on wires hanging out with Brie, which is surreal and fun. But yeah, there were a few different plans, I think.”

Ashton went on to add that an “epic death” for Carol was thought to be the way to go to conclude her character arc and absolve the heroine of her lingering guilt from what she had done to the Kree planet, Hala.

“There was always going to be an epic death just because in terms of, I just think in terms of just bringing that story psychologically for Carol to a close I think was always the best thing,” Ashton continued. “You don’t want to think, did she defeat her? Is this over? Is she going to be kind of doomed to this life of feeling guilty about this whole thing forever and ever?”

The specifics of what this alternate ending consisted of are a little hazy, but Ashton teased that it would’ve been more ambitious than Dar-Benn’s demise as depicted in the theatrical version. “I will say I did a day’s diving training because there was going to be a lot of water involved in the original death,” she revealed.

The Marvels alternate ending is just the latest evidence that Captain Marvel 3 is cancelled

On the one hand, hearing that The Marvels almost killed off Carol is hugely shocking. And yet, on the other, it also makes more sense of what else we’ve heard about the production. For instance, in The Making of The Marvels documentary, Brie Larson is curiously reflective and conclusive about her time in the MCU, indicating she might be done with the franchise. This attitude would be completely in keeping with the fact her soundbites were recorded during shooting when the original ending would still have been in play.

It certainly sounds like setting up a Captain Marvel 3 was never the intention during the production of The Marvels, with the decision being made to have the second film conclude Carol’s adventures. That said, Marvel perhaps changed its mind in post-production, hence the decision to relocate Captain Danvers to Earth, allowing her easier crossover access in future. Nevertheless, the story may come full circle anyway as the sequel only making 1/5 of the first film’s box office gross suggests a threequel is a far-flung dream. Especially given Bob Iger’s new approach to Marvel filmmaking.

It’s hard to imagine Larson vanishing completely as Carol, with some kind of role in Avengers 5 and 6 surely a given. But maybe we can infer that her Marvel career is drawing to a close. Then again, Zawe Ashton’s own IRL partner Tom Hiddleston was once killed off in the original ending for Thor: The Dark World and now, 10 years later, Loki is the God of the Multiniverse. Captain Marvel could still have a long MCU life ahead of her, even if Captain Marvel 3 never happens.

It’s always one step forward, two step back for Marvel‘s Multiverse Saga. The step forward? The Marvels is finally on Disney Plus, and it’s leading to some exciting developments that may suggest it’s going to go down as something other than the MCU’s worst ever movie. The two steps back? Its streaming release also has us worrying about Brie Larson’s franchise future more than ever. And it turns out the Marvel universe isn’t as entirely out from Jonathan Majors‘ shadow as it may appear.

Jonathan Majors still haunts the MCU as latest developments in his sentencing coincide with key Marvel releases

Jonathan Majors may have been fired by Marvel immediately upon his domestic assault conviction in December, but the MCU still apparently can’t avoid being overshadowed by the latest twists and turns in the actor’s legal troubles. Just as his initial trial coincided with the releases of Loki season 2 and The Marvels in theaters, Majors caused waves by failing to turn up to court for his sentencing on Feb. 6, the eve of The Marvels hitting streaming. Majors’ sentencing has now been rearranged to April 8. And it just so happens that predictions indicate X-Men ’97 will arrive on Disney Plus across March and April. In short, we might not see him on screen again, but the impact of Majors is sure to be felt on the MCU for a long while to come.

The Marvels hits Disney Plus, wins widespread adoration, and teases Brie Larson is done as Captain Marvel

So The Marvels is now on Disney Plus, and there is a lot to unpack. First of all, the recent flurry of newfound support for the film from when it debuted on digital has continued and then some following its streaming arrival. What’s more, its apparent importance to the future of the Multiverse Saga has just been massively hyped up thanks to The Making of The Marvels special that just dropped alongside the movie. Unfortunately, it’s not all sunshine and roses as that same documentary features Brie Larson casting doubt on whether she’ll even be back as Carol Danvers at all. The good news is The Marvels might not be the last MCU movie fans will rewatch, but it might turn out to be Larson’s last MCU movie period.

Daredevil: Born Again is either very bad at keeping its secrets or very good at misleading us

Marvel is either playing a very discerning or dumb game with Daredevil: Born Again. With production taking place on the streets of New York, set photos have flooded social media revealing everything from Daredevil’s new suit to Wilson Bethel finally in a Bullseye costume. The thing is, though, Marvel fans are smart and it’s not taken much to put two and two together and speculate that a major, and controversial, moment from the comics could be about to be adapted. I mean, they’re really laying the evidence on thick. But is Marvel employing some ingenius subterfuge here, deliberately planting supposed spoilers in order to get the fans talking and paying attention at a time when the MCU really needs it? Or has poor production planning resulted in secrets being spilled far too soon? Maybe the show’s new investigative journalist/potential Spider-Man pal can discover the truth.