It’s been a while since we’ve done a little Marvel Studios update. With all the exciting upcoming news about Avengers: Age of Ultron, the new Ant-Man trailer and Agent Carter, it’s easy to forget that Marvel Studios has a lot of other projects that are in the works.

What’s the status on those Sony / Marvel talks? What did the big Marvel Comics announcement last week mean? Is there any news on Civil War? Shouldn’t those Netflix series? All this and much more to discuss in this Marvel Studios Update. So without further to do . . . Allons-Y!

Marvel Comics Battle World MCU Repercussions?:

First off, let’s start with the Marvel news conference from last week concerning the Secret Wars comics and something new called Battle World. Well if you don’t read the comics, this probably wouldn’t be of interest to you. Though it’s still important for what’s to come in this article, so I’ll sum up. In the Marvel Comic universe, there are 2 separate universes – the basic Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe. Well in Secret Wars, these two parallel worlds will combine and everyone will fight it out. Many heroes will die, others replaced, etc etc and all of this will result in the new Battle World Universe of the Marvel Comics. This isn’t an offshoot or what if, this is cannon and both prior universes will more or less be killed off in this merger.

So what does all that mean for the MCU – if anything? Well think about it. Due to Fox not returning the X-Men movie rights to Marvel, Marvel has slowly been killing off the X-Men in the comics – as well as not making many – if any – toys for the films. This is might have started as pressure toward Fox to sell, but now Marvel doesn’t even care anymore. We can see a similar path in the MCU where former Mutants are now getting axed and worked in with new back-stories. We’ve yet to see Quicksilver’s and Scarlet Witch’s ; but theirs is either due to experiments with the Mind Gem or something more Inhuman. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. just introduced the mutant “Quake” but changed her back-story to make her an Inhuman instead. Though will it really stop there?

A VERY Different Spider-Man Incoming?:

Rumor has it the Sony / Marvel talks have started again; though not as awfully as last time. This time around it seems like Spider-Man might be aiming to be introduced in Avengers: Infinity War (Part 1). This is a MUCH better idea than rushing to cram him into Captain America: Civil War since they already did a bunch of rewrites to include Tony Stark more and have a big cast as it is – more on that in a bit.

Though we have to wonder, if Marvel Comics is axing out a lot of heroes in favor of others and the MCU is coming up with new and inventive ways of inserting already licensed characters, then this could be the start of a Spider-Man no cinematic universe has ever seen. Right now there’s a Spider-Verse event going on in the comics where multiple different versions of Spider-Man all meet and work together. Something similar is going on in the animated Ultimate Spider-Man’s 3^rd Season titled ‘web warriors’. There seems to be a lot of focus on increasing Spidey awareness, so could this mean the MCU would skip Peter Parker and instead get Miles Morales?

Jessica Chobot at Nerdist.com was the first to propose this idea – or at least bring it to my attention – and I genuinely love the idea. For those who don’t know, Miles Morales is a different yet similar Spider-Man who takes over after Peter Parker’s death. He’s a young boy who while gaining powers similar to the original Spider-Man – again via radioactive Spider-bite – at first only wants to be normal. It’s not until Parker’s death that he realizes he should have fought alongside him rather than run. He’s a very complex character and would be a great addition to the MCU.

Again, this is all a hypothesis by Jess that I love; and hey, some of you might wonder why talk with Sony if they’re going to bring in a new Spider-Man. Well as you saw, his back story does involve Peter Parker. Perhaps Marvel wants to work with that story a bit? Whatever it is, all this Sony/Marvel Spidey talk is still ongoing, and could fall apart just as easily as the first one. But this time around things seem to be taking a much better turn. So much so, that I’d actually be excited about this union – unlike last time.

Captain America: Civil War – Baron Zemo & More Confirmed:

The Russo brothers will of course return to direct Captain America: Civil War – thank God – and with them comes a star studded cast made up of both newcomers and old favorites. Obviously Captain America (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) will return; but so too will Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and *drumroll* The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). As I’ve stressed in previous articles, this isn’t the film adaptation of the comics; but rather the Civil War of the MCU. There’ll be quite a few changes, such as the plot role of ‘Spider-Man’ most likely be fulfilled by the Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) who is also set to appear. Though that being said, it seems as though the end might be the same – if not similarly adapted.

New casting reveals that as hypothesized after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo) will indeed return as Crossbones – a villain who takes part in the assassination of Captain America. Additionally, a recent casting call from Disney has revealed that Daniel Bruhl will be joining the cast as the villainous Baron Zemo. A slow-aging Hydra genius scientist, strategist and martial artist, it’s clear to see why Zemo is such a staple Captain America villain. With all these revelations, its looking more and more like Capt 3 might spell the end for Chris Evan’s Captain America; but with 1 movie left in his contract – would he appear in another film as a ghost or pull a Coulson?

Jessica Jones Casting & Plot – David Tennant:

This summer, Daredevil will be the first of Marvel’s Defenders series to hit Netflix; followed soon after by Jessica Jones – played by Krysten Ritter. Additionally, Mike Colter will also join in the series as Luke Cage, whose own series will follow soon after Jessica Jones. The last member of the Netflix series will be Iron First – which we have 0 info about right now – and will then culminate in a Defenders movie special and then probably a second season for each of the 4 pre-series. Though we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Right now we must rejoice because Jessica Jones villain has just been cast, and it’s everyone’s favorite Doctor, David Tennant. Though Tennant won’t be playing the usual fun Time Lord who travels through time and space; but rather as the villainous Zebediah Kilgrave aka the Purple Man. In the comics, Killgrave was a spy who got exposed to some nerve gas that not only turned him purple; but also allowed him to brainwash people by the resulting gaseous pheromones.

Now since the official Marvel release refers to him exclusively as “Kilgrave”, I’m not sure if they’ll work in the purple skin angle. Marvel did simplify the powerful Hydra villain Whitehall (aka The Kraken) for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s second season by removing his suit of armor and power of persuasion; yet still making him seem ageless and a master torturer. Perhaps they’ll make Kilgrave wear purple and make him a hypnotist. Then again, maybe they will go the route of skin change – like they did with Red Skull and the failed super soldier serum. Though however they approach Tennant’s Kilgrave, the Marvel release gave us an excellent glimpse at Jessica Jones plot – perhaps even better than Daredevil’s.

The officially released ‘plot’ for Jessica Jones is as follows:

After a tragic ending to her short-lived super hero stint, Jessica Jones is rebuilding her personal life and career as a detective who gets pulled into cases involving people with extraordinary abilities in New York City.

… and the description of Kilgrave’s character:

 An enigmatic figure from Jessica’s past, Kilgrave’s reappearance will send shockwaves through the former super hero’s world.

If you know the comics of Jessica Jones, then we already have a fairly detailed idea of what happened, what’s coming, and how this show could be set up. You see in the comics, Jessica Jones began as a small time hero calling herself Jewel. She never did anything big, until she met Kilgrave. By using his persuasive pheromones, he made her his slave and humiliated her for months – making her the object of his anger for all his past misfortunes. After he commanded her to go kill Daredevil, she did snap out of it; but not before her hero career was basically over. Jessica gave up her hero career and tried to focus on an actual career and piece her shattered ego and romantic life back together – until she’d meet Kilgrave again in prison.

OMG, that is almost EXACTLY what the series description sounds like. It even has the crossover potential for Daredevil – oh yah, and Luke Cage plays a role in Jess’s comic story too. I’m actually really excited for this show now! Additionally, due to where the show seems to be starting “after a tragic ending to her short-lived hero stint”, this show most likely will have quite a few meaty flashbacks. Also, Tennant is quite the charmer as it is – even without the gaseous pheromones trick – so it’ll be great to see him in this role. Wow, a great story and now a great actor to play a pivotal role, BRING ON JESSICA JONES!

Phew, that was a lot to catch up on. Hope I didn’t loose anyone. The next few months are going to be huge for Marvel Studios; but then again… every few months is huge for Marvel Studios. So Follow me on Facebook and stay tuned here for more Marvel Studios updates as well as our usual closer looks/analysis of everything released.