Marvel Cinematic Universe Part II

[Kingdom X]

Waiting for Deadline/Variety/Hollywood Reporter or literally any official source besides comic book gossip sites to confirm Harrison Ford's casting. Right now it's only CBR and one other place outright claiming he's been cast.

Still, it's such a weird casting. Harrison Ford notoriously hates fandoms and he is about to join something which has a Star Wars-esque fandom. He is also 80 years old, William Hurt was 72 when he passed away. If you're going to recast why would you go for an even older actor? Unless Harrison is in it for just two movies and passing the torch for his character? I don't get it. Ross was practically on his death bed throughout Black Widow you could easily kill him off off screen, name the Thunderbolts after him and have other characters take his place. Val seemed set to be Ross's replacement even before Hurt's passing. Unlike T'Challa, MCU Ross isn't so important that can't have other characters take him place or have existing characters take on his role. Could have been a good opportunity to bring in MCU version of Norman Osborn or John Ryker as his replacement.

Yeah this was an odd choice to me. The naming of the Thunderbolts actually makes a ton of sense as a way to honor him and literally ANYONE can be Red Hulk!

[Ascended]

That She-Hulk finale was a hell of a thing. I love that they just went nuts with it and took it *that* far. Definitely not what I was expecting, and when was the last time we could say that about a MCU third Act?

K.E.V.I.N was great, and it's pretty clever to shift Jen's big bad guy from "toxic male fandom" into "formulaic writing." Surprising how easy that transition was really. Loved them dropping hints and teases of future movies too.

As for that particular character reveal.....can't say I'm thrilled. I'd like the MCU to keep the number of Hulks to a minimum, and of all the gamma infused characters out there, this one is just about at the bottom of my "wanna see" list. Jen was fine as Ruffalo's replacement/legacy, there was no need to bring in that other guy. And really, I feel like this was a real weak way to handle Banner leaving earth earlier in the season. Banner left for Sakaar and we were all real hyped about what that could lead into, but here we are with Banner back home and everything that happened to him off-world (including the mysterious reasons for Sakaar ships to be on earth in the first place) is glossed over just so Banner can cameo in the finale and dump a brand new character in our laps, all of it adding nothing to the show itself. But this was a very, very small blemish on an otherwise crazy entertaining finale so I'm not gonna bitch too much.

Oh, speaking of extra Hulks, one would assume the only reason to recast Thunderbolt Ross is to get some Red Hulk action going. Ross' health problems were mentioned at least twice in the movies (Black Widow, Civil War) so it would've been rather easy to say he died off screen, then have a different character take his position within the wider narrative. Val's an obvious choice but they could've used Everett Ross or Sharon Carter or had Maria Hill take the job or introduce someone new, and any of those choices offer interesting narrative options. The Thunderbolts could have been named in Ross' honor, someone else could've become Red Hulk, and nothing much changes. It's a weird choice to recast the character instead of just working around it.

That's assuming there's any truth to the rumors of Ford being cast as General Ross, of course, and I won't believe believe it until an official announcement is made. But word is that Fiege and Marvel have been wanting to bring Red Hulk into the MCU for a while, and I can't think of any other reason to recast Ross so I feel like if a recast *is* made, then that might as well be proof of Red Hulk's imminent arrival.

[Gaastra]

Word is nova series has been canned and nova will be a "special" like werewolf by night. Ouch! Will wonder man have the same fate?

https://www.cbr.com/mcu-nova-project...tation-report/

[Harasar]

I mean, he was in Civil War and both IW and EG, the first (and only) Hulk movie, and Black Widow. I think he's appeared in enough major stuff to be recognizable.

Wow, seems like I was really inattentive; even with the names of the movies, I still don't remember this character in them. Vaguely remember a dude who brought Sokovia Accords to Avengers - it was Ross? I thought it was some random senator or someone like that.

[Frontier]

General Ross being recast is in no way comparable to T'Challa and you all know it lol he doesn't mean nearly enough, in real life, as Boseman did.

Definitely recasting a supporting character is more conventional than a main character, even if it still feels a little soon after Hurt's death and doesn't feel even necessary.

Of course it's also not often you outright take out the main character of your entire franchise because of IRL circumstances but I know how personal it was for the cast and crew...even if I also don't think Wakanda is more important than T'Challa.

Wow, seems like I was really inattentive; even with the names of the movies, I still don't remember this character in them. Vaguely remember a dude who brought Sokovia Accords to Avengers - it was Ross? I thought it was some random senator or someone like that.

No, it was Ross. Part of why the scene was as impactful as it was because it was when he finally came back to the MCU.

[Tofali]

Word is nova series has been canned and nova will be a "special" like werewolf by night. Ouch! Will wonder man have the same fate?

https://www.cbr.com/mcu-nova-project...tation-report/

I can actually see the story of Sam's Special PSA version of Fathers not talking to strangers and Sam going on his reverse Finding Nemo journey to find his lost father lol!

[Ascended]

Word is nova series has been canned and nova will be a "special" like werewolf by night. Ouch! Will wonder man have the same fate?

https://www.cbr.com/mcu-nova-project...tation-report/

I don't see that as necessarily a bad thing, actually.

Not what I'd have wanted for Nova, but I love Richard so I have a bias and want as much screen time as possible. But Werewolf was one of the best, more enjoyable things Marvel has made in ages, and there's elements of Nova's story that could work really well in a one-shot format.

For me the question is "what does Marvel do with the character afterward?" I don't want a single one-hour special to be the only time Nova gets any quality screen time, so if this is just the start of a bigger and better journey, and I don't have to wait too long to see the next step, then I'm cool.

[Rincewind]

Definitely recasting a supporting character is more conventional than a main character, even if it still feels a little soon after Hurt's death and doesn't feel even necessary.

Of course it's also not often you outright take out the main character of your entire franchise because of IRL circumstances but I know how personal it was for the cast and crew...even if I also don't think Wakanda is more important than T'Challa.

No, it was Ross. Part of why the scene was as impactful as it was because it was when he finally came back to the MCU.

I was surprised at the recasting. All the other recastings only had a single appearance. Hurt had five from 20018 - 2021. I would think there are plenty of similar military characters in the comics Ford could play. Make him General Samuel "Happy Sam" Sawyer instead, as an example.

[Steroid]

Word is nova series has been canned and nova will be a "special" like werewolf by night. Ouch! Will wonder man have the same fate?

https://www.cbr.com/mcu-nova-project...tation-report/

I'm actually good with the change if this is legit. I would rather them pour all the budget into one special and actually look good as opposed to visuals getting worse across a season.

[Gnostic]

General Ross being recast is in no way comparable to T'Challa and you all know it lol he doesn't mean nearly enough, in real life, as Boseman did.

Also, Hurt was apparently a woman beater and rapist.

[Tofali]

Also, Hurt was apparently a woman beater and rapist.

citing this is pointless because Marvel continued his employment even after the allegation was wildly reported

[mace11]

Marvel's Nova May Be A Disney+ Special Presentation Like Werewolf By Night

Note- keep in mind nova being a Special Presentation like were wolf by night is a rumor.
It still could be a series or both.

[Frontier]

I think I now have my top ranking for worst MCU introduction.

spoilers:

Skaar.

end of spoilers

[mace11]

Harrison Ford Joins Marvel’s Thunderbolts

[Ravin' Ray]

I think I now have my top ranking for worst MCU introduction.

spoilers:

Skaar.

end of spoilers

In fairness,
spoilers:

Bruce might have wanted to make a good impression with Skaar to his family, hence the tame look. He does or did have a baseline "normal" form where he looks like a scrawny kid.

end of spoilers
But that's just me trying to see it from a different perspective.