Welcome to the MCU Weekly Pulse, a rundown of all the stories throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we didn’t cover in News or Features this past week.
Thor And Loki Go To New York
It may not be the real New York City, but Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston didn’t shy away from the camera as they filmed in a reproduction of New York City for Thor: Ragnarok. In addition to the photos we posted earlier this week, the two leading men were all over social media with their long-haired appearance.
Director Taika Waititi joked that Hiddleston and Hemsworth together was too much for him to handle.
The two main reasons I think about quitting everyday. pic.twitter.com/jzgR6Mpe5N
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi)
The children on the street weren’t the only ones the cast interacted with. While in costume, the actors took a moment to visit the children at Lady Cilento Hospital.
Sources: Instagram 1, 2, 3, 4 and Twitter
Behind The Scenes Of ‘Iron Fist’
This behind-the-scenes shot from Iron Fist doesn’t show much of the action that Finn Jones and team are producing on set, but producer Quinton Peeples assures us that it is because the lead star is extremely busy at his job.
Of course, Jones isn’t the only busy one. Jessica Henwick, who’ll be playing the role of Colleen Wing in the series, posted a behind the scenes photo of her and the show’s stunt coordinator, Brett Chan.
And for those of you that needed definitive proof that Rosario Dawson would, in fact, be on board as Claire Temple, here ya go. Actor & stunt performer Lewis Tan, who has a role in the upcoming series, posted a photo alongside the actress on his Instagram recently.
Sources: Instagram.
Black Panther Casting Call Hits The Web
Black Panther will start filming in early 2017, but it looks like they are building up the cast already. There was a casting call in California, this week.
Casting directors are looking for African/African American men and women to work on the project and match the following description:
AFRICAN MALE: Height 5’11 to 6’0 Weight 180 to 200 lbs, in good shape Dark skin tone
AFRICAN FEMALE: 5’5 to 6’0 Slender ( approx 25’” to 27” waist) Dark skin tone
The descriptions don’t tell us anything new, considering the movie should take place in Wakanda, a (fictional) African country. However, it’s always exciting to see things start to move forward! Unfortunately, if you were hoping to get a role in the film, the audition date has already passed.
Source: Project Casting.
Marvel Looks To Give Back With Hero Acts
Last week Chris Pratt and Chris Evans participated in the “22 Push Up Challenge” in an attempt to draw awareness to the issue of suicide amongst military veterans and Tom Holland visited Egleston Children’s Hospital dressed as Spider-Man to cheer up children. In fact, holland is still sharing touching moments from that visit.
This week, Marvel announced that they are looking to give back in more ways, starting with the Doctor Strange premier. The Hollywood Reporter shared that the focus will be to help children around the world.
This September, tied to the release of Doctor Strange, Disney and Marvel are launching the Marvel Studios: Hero Acts initiative, which will coordinate all Marvel characters for a focus on helping kids around the world.
“Marvel has been telling extraordinary stories about Super Heroes for decades, but here in the real world we believe that everyone has extraordinary abilities that only need to be discovered. At Marvel Studios we’re dedicated to unveiling the Super Hero in everyone and bringing generations of fans together to help make our world a better place for kids. We can’t wait to share more about Hero Acts in September,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige tells THR.
The Hero Acts initiative will be in addition to the other philanthropic efforts associated with Marvel Studios, such as working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation or Chris Pratt’s fundraiser for the Boys and Girl’s Club that let one fan tour the Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 set. It’s great to see that the heroes on screen are working to also be heroes in real life.
Source: Instagram and The Hollywood Reporter
Captain America: Civil War Art
There has been no super-hero fight like the airport fight from Captain America: Civil War. With the Avengers getting to see Spider-Man in action for the first time, team Cap had a surprise of their own, as Paul Rudd‘s Ant-Man grew to Giant Man for the first time in MCU history. Marvel Studio’s concept artist, Andy Park, shared his original concept art for Giant Man in this historic battle.
An early keyframe painting I did for #CaptainAmericaCivilWar #Antman #Giantman vs. #CaptainAmerica Whaa?? pic.twitter.com/ZU6DD2rGvk
— Andy Park (@andyparkart)
Park has shared concept art for Marvel films, including Civil War in the past. Back in July, he gave us our first look at Mantis, for Guardians of the Galaxy 2. We look forward to seeing whatever he is drawing up, next!
Source: Twitter
Community Crossovers To Continue With Infinity War
Joe and Anthony Russo are known for their directorial success in the MCU, most recently on Captain America: Civil War and next in Avengers: Infinity War. However, before they were known world-wide for feature films, the pair directed a couple of episodes of Community. In honor of their roots, they have had cast members from Community in all of their Marvel films. When asked if this streak will continue in Infinity War, Joe Russo explained that they are just getting to the point where they can think about this sort of thing.
We’re literally in that phase of the pre-production where we start thinking about those kinds of things, and right now we’re looking for the right part to see who’s a match for the next cameo.
When pressed to confirm that the Community cameo is definitely going to happen, Joe confirmed that it is something they do plan to continue.
Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got to keep the streak going.
Source: Cinemablend via Comic Book
The Ultimate Marvel Gear
Fans adore Groot, the vocabulary limited character from Guardians of the Galaxy. While many characters get toys in their likeness or branch out to t-shirts, house decor, and luggage sets, Groot is being represented in a toy made specifically for adults.
Official Groot @harleydavidson collaboration motorcycle. Strange, the folks at Harley haven’t delivered mine yet. pic.twitter.com/3hrLM8SlFo
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn)
Director James Gunn isn’t going to be the only person affiliated with Marvel wanting one delivered, it turns out that the bike is one of twenty-seven “Marvel Customs” that Harley-Davidson is releasing. If you aren’t interested in a Harley inspired by Groot, perhaps the ones for Black Widow, Captain America, or Ultron will excite you. If you are in Australia or New Zealand, you can enter to win a trip to Los Angeles to see behind-the-scenes of Marvel by voting for your favorite.
Source: Twitter and Harley Davisdon
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Luna Teases Upcoming Interview
Gabriel Luna has definitely been sharing his excitement over joining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as Ghost Rider this fall. Up until now, he has had to be vague about the details of Robbie Reyes, who we will meet in the first episode of Season Four. However, he is already preparing to give us more information, as soon as we have met his character.
Source: Instagram
Charlie Cox On Geeking Out
Discussing learning fighting at school.
Don’t Let Marvel’s Most Wanted Pilot Go To Waste
If you were excited about the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. spinoff, Marvel’s Most Wanted, which was going to feature Nick Blood and Adrianne Palicki as Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse, you are not alone. One person has started a petition with Change.org for ABC to release the pilot episode that was filmed, for the fans.
So as a sincere request from the entire Marvel fanbase to ABC’s Channing Dungey and Ben Sherwood, I would like to respectfully request for you to air the pilot episode of Marvel’s “Most Wanted” and review the audience reaction. It’s the least you can do after making Bobbi and Hunter’s difficult departure from Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” all for nothing.
It is uncommon for fan campaigns such as this to be successful, but there are rare exceptions. It never hurts to add your name to the petition.
Source: CBR
The Promotion of “Doctor Strange” Continues
As the November release of Doctor Strange creeps closer and closer a steady stream of images and leaks continues to come. This week’s info includes a kaleidoscopic ad, a clip of mystical travel, and a shot of Scott Derrickson hard at work on the set.
ǝƃuɐɹʇsɹoʇɔop# ˙ʎuᴉʇsǝp ɹnoʎ ǝƃuɐɥɔ ˙ʎʇᴉlɐǝɹ uoᴉʇsǝnb pic.twitter.com/YSV3ibYHqs
— Doctor Strange (@DrStrange)
.ʎʇılɐǝɹ ɹnoʎ ǝƃuɐɥɔ .puıɯ ɹnoʎ uǝdo ǝƃuɐɹʇsɹoʇɔop# pic.twitter.com/Q4d9rekz8G
— Doctor Strange (@DrStrange)
On set directing Directing Doctor Strange pic.twitter.com/hzx9Wv5laP
— Scott Derrickson (@scottderrickson)
Between the weird tweet texts and the unusual visual style of the clips, Marvel is being really consistent in playing up the unique imagery of the movie. When all is said and done this might be the easiest MCU film to identify from cinematography and effects alone. Only 70 days left till release!
That’s all for this week! If you missed all the action last week, you can catch up here.