Marvel already blew us away at San Diego Comic-Con by announcing Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider, an all-new Black Panther, and bringing out the cast of Avengers: Doomsday. With D23 weekend coming to an end, it is clear that Disney wanted to save the biggest announcements for their own event. While D23 covers all Disney projects, Marvel Studios absolutely stole the show with major casting confirmations and trailer screenings that showed the return of several beloved characters. Each new announcement sent the audience into an absolute frenzy. So, without further ado, here is everything Marvel Studios unveiled at D23!
The X-Men Cast
This is probably the single most important set of castings because it will directly determine the future of the MCU. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has made it abundantly clear that, after Avengers: Secret Wars, it will be the X-Men’s time to shine. The OG X-Men from the Fox universe are getting one last hurrah in Avengers: Doomsday, and then it will be time for new faces to take over these iconic roles.
Sadie Sink made her debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and she was amazing. From her performance in the film, we can gather that Sink is playing a slightly more disturbed version of the character. She has already been mistreated by a government organization, and she has learned from Spider-Man that she can do good with her powers. From this piece of casting, we knew that the rest of the team would likely be in their early-20s, but aside from that, it was all rumors. At D23, Feige introduced us to our new Storm, Cyclops, Rogue, Emma Frost, Professor X, and Mister Sinister.
Kit Connor was cast as Cyclops. Connor’s name was thrown around a lot for the X-Men because he is a talented young actor who is certainly in superhero shape. From his performance in "Heartstopper", we know that Connor can play a strong, dependable partner, which will be great for his relationship with Jean and the other X-Men.
Samara Weaving is Emma Frost. From this casting, we can tell that Emma will be notably older than most of the X-Men. This could create a very fun dynamic because she could be viewed as a mentor figure who opposes Professor X. Weaving is also strikingly gorgeous, which is perfect for Emma, whose elegant beauty is often intimidating to the younger X-Men.
Inde Navarrette is Rogue. This is an interesting casting because Navarrette said fairly recently that she met with director Jake Schreier about a role in this film. Whatever audition she gave must have blown him away, because the turnaround from that meeting to the announcement was pretty quick. Navarrette being cast tells us that, no matter which direction they decide to take this interpretation of Rogue, she will be deeply charismatic.
Maya Boyd is Storm. Boyd is known for her on-stage performances, and this film will be her first on-camera project. A theater background is excellent for Storm because she needs to be able to steal a scene as soon as she starts using her powers. Boyd’s singing background is also promising because it shows that her voice can carry the way Storm’s should when she is calling on the forces of nature. It is rumored that Ryan Coogler played a part in this casting because Storm is a romantic interest of Black Panther. If Coogler has confidence in Maya Boyd, that is a strong indication that she has the acting prowess required for a role like this.
Christopher Abbott is Professor X. This is absolutely perfect because one thing that was missing from Patrick Stewart’s interpretation of Xavier was an edge. Professor X should be an amazing mentor, but his optimism should also lead him to make somewhat selfish decisions. Abbott’s role in Poor Things showed us that he is more than capable of playing a self-obsessed, controlling man. Abbott should be able to bring all sides of Xavier to his performance.
Adam Driver is Mister Sinister. This is an impeccable choice for the character. If you have seen any of Driver’s performances on "Saturday Night Live" you know that he is capable of fully committing to campiness. Mister Sinister is a sadistic villain, but he is also an excellent showman. Sinister is the type of self-indulgent, twisted villain that the MCU has been lacking. Driver’s Mister Sinister will probably feel similar to Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, where it is simply a joy to watch him be evil.
The bottom line is that this cast has a lot of potential, and we cannot wait to see who else will join the team.
New Avengers: Doomsday Trailer
The first trailer for Avengers: Doomsday is alright; it gets the job done. However, there is nothing about it that really makes Doctor Doom stand out as a villain. Every Avengers villain we have ever seen has been dangerous, so hearing Thor give an ominously vague speech about the enemy feels a bit simple. This new trailer is almost exclusively about Doctor Doom, and that is exactly what this film needed to garner interest.
The trailer opens with a monologue from Invisible Woman in which she reveals that the Fantastic Four have a history with Doom. She explains that they knew Victor Von Doom before "everything he loved was taken from him." Underneath this voiceover, we see various shots of Doctor Doom, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Wakandans. A destroyed city is shown as Mr. Fantastic asks Doom if he "did this." It is unclear who Doom is talking to, but he says that they have been living "stolen lives" and "now they must be given back." As seen in the first trailer, Thor attempts to smite Doctor Doom with his axe but is thwarted in a matter of seconds. The trailer ends with Doom using magic to take control of an army of Sentinels.
This trailer gives us an actual idea of who Victor Von Doom will be in this film. It is important to remember that this iteration of Doctor Doom has not appeared in a single project up until this point. While Thanos had not appeared in many films prior to Avengers: Infinity War, it was pretty widely understood that he was a bad guy who wanted to collect the Infinity Stones. Nobody has a clue what Doctor Doom’s motivations are, what he is after, or what powers he has. This trailer tells people that Doom was not just a good man, but someone specifically respected by a group of superheroes. Then, the loss of a loved one -- likely his mother -- caused him to go off the deep end.
Perhaps Doctor Doom is so grief-stricken that he is attempting to use the multiverse to bring back the ones he lost. As we know from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, tampering with the multiverse can only lead to mass destruction. Aside from the story, we finally get to see Doctor Doom’s real power: magic. Doom has some sort of super-speed and energy projection and is able to summon a legion of giant robots in a matter of seconds. Not only does this make him extremely intimidating, but it also means that the action sequences in this film are going to be intense. We are four months away from the release of Avengers: Doomsday, but we are already ecstatic to see this iconic supervillain dominate the big screen.
Deadpool and Wolverine in Avengers: Doomsday?
During the Avengers panel at San Diego Comic-Con, a Deadpool cosplayer in the audience asked a very pertinent question: Will Deadpool be in this film? Seems like a simple enough question until you realize that the person asking it was Ryan Reynolds himself. Over the years, Reynolds has made it clear that he just loves playing this character, and he probably would be up for doing this gag just for the fun of it.
However, at D23, we got a video from Reynolds and Hugh Jackman BOTH asking to appear in Doomsday. The short comedic skit features an uncomfortable Jackman as he is coached by an off-screen Reynolds to ask Kevin Feige if he needs any help "rounding out the cast." Jackman jokes that the cast is already very full but concludes the video by saying that he and Reynolds would be more than happy to join. It is pretty unlikely that Marvel would do a stunt like this just for these two characters not to appear in the film. Deadpool and Wolverine will undoubtedly be in Avengers: Secret Wars because that film requires a larger cast, but now it seems that they might appear in both. Deadpool & Wolverine is one of Marvel’s most financially successful projects of recent years, and both characters are ridiculously popular. Not to mention, the characters have already been established as X-Men-adjacent, so it would not be too hard to fit them in with the rest of the team.
"VisionQuest" Trailer
"WandaVision" has remained one of Marvel Studios’ most popular shows since the launch of Disney+. The show had a genius premise, with each episode parodying a different era of sitcoms. Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen were both able to seamlessly transition from plucky comedy bits to gut-wrenching dramatic sequences. It is a shame that Marvel seems to have mismanaged Scarlet Witch, as she hasn’t appeared in anything since her lackluster "death" in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Vision left the series in a far different state than he started. Essentially, Vision ended up being a shell of his former self with all of the memories but none of the emotions.
The trailer captures all of the fun, strange energy from "WandaVision" while diverting the story into an exploration of Vision’s sense of self. Vision appears to be living a mediocre life in disguise, working as a bartender in a pub. By night, he retreats into the virtual world within his mind, where he lives in a house filled with personified versions of other artificial intelligences from previous Marvel projects. This includes James Spader’s Ultron, who is making his return to the MCU for the first time in 11 years. Ultron seems to be taking on the role of a bad parent, influencing Vision to explore himself with clearly ulterior motives. Bettany has always been a joy to watch, and Marvel has taken its sweet time making this show, so hopefully it lives up to expectations.
Between Spider-Man: Brand New Day smashing box-office records and these announcements making waves online, it seems more clear now than ever: Marvel Studios is back!
