BY MATT TUCK
Carnage rules the internet, and Clark Kent will be African-American, but WB may have left the door cracked for Henry Cavill to suit up one more time in your comic newsbreak.
He may not be the title character, but let’s face it, the Venom trailer hysteria is all about Carnage.
The big news today is the Venom 2 preview. After a year of hype for the sequel, Sony released the first official trailer, and we finally got our first look at the live-action Carnage, and he looks good.
Ever since the Venom was released in 2018, fans have been waiting for Carnage. For that matter, they were waiting before then when word leaked that acclaimed actor Woody Harrelson would portray Carnage/Cletus Kasady. Although the trailer provided just brief glimpses of the murderous symbiote, he appears to be true to his comic origins, and that should please the Cult of Carnage.
Speaking of the comics, the trailer featured a few moments straight from the pages of Marvel. The two that stood out the most were both Carnage-centric. First, there was Cletus being strapped to the table and the symbiote going through his bloodstream. The visual there clearly was pulled directly from the opening scene of “Maximum Carnage” in Spider-Man: Unlimited #1.
The other comic-inspired image was in the closing seconds of the trailer when we see Carnage in front of a stained-glass window. That happens to be extremely close to the cover of a variant for Cult of Carnage #1 drawn by artist Skan Srisuwan. With all the Carnage hysteria that will begin today, I would not be shocked to see those Skan Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage variants get a spike at least for the immediate future.
Just when we thought it was the end of the line for Henry Cavill as Superman, there was a glimmer of hope this week.
J.J. Abrams rocked the DC boat when it was announced that his re-imagining of Superman would feature an African-American actor portraying the Man of Steel. Of course, we have known that for several months now, but it was recently revealed that this iteration of Superman would, in fact, be Clark Kent and not a Superman from another dimension, such as Val-Zod or Calvin Ellis. That had Henry Cavill fans up in arms, and Cavill himself unfollowed WB’s Instagram account.
On the surface, it appears this means the end of Cavill’s time as the Man of Tomorrow. However, it has since come to light that the Abrams-produced Superman movie would not be part of the larger DCEU shared universe. That means this will be a stand-alone film and not connected to, say, Justice League or The Flash. It also could leave the door open for Cavill to continue his legacy as Superman. After he unfollowed WB on Instagram, however, Cavill may not even want to return to the role, and who could blame him?
UNITED STATES OF CAPTAIN AMERICA
Marvel is prepping for a slew of new faces sporting the red, white, and spandex.
As part of the upcoming United States of Captain America and Marvel’s ongoing efforts at representation, there will be several alternate versions of Cap being introduced into the Marvel Universe. The cast is diverse, with Marvel having previously announced the Captain America of the Railways, Aaron Fischer, will take up the shield as the first LGBTQ+ Cap in company history. Steve Rogers will also meet Nichelle Wright, the Captain America of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The latest news is that for the first time a Native American character will be added to the mix as the Captain America of the Kickapoo Tribe. Joe Gomez will team with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson on a quest to retrieve Cap’s stolen shield.
There are likely to be more new character announcements before the first issue of The United States of Captain America is released, and that will have the series on many pull lists simply for the speculation, which is all part of Marvel’s plan, I assume.
Could we see one or more of these characters in the MCU? With a new Cap movie on the way and possibly another season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, we just might, and that will be the real selling point for this series.
Past the trailer, there is even more Venom news circulating the internet.
For the past year, fans have speculated and theorized that the movie would be connected to the MCU. There were even rumors that Tom Holland would appear as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in at least a cameo. Much of this was fueled by the Morbius trailer, which featured Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/Vulture from Homecoming as well as a Tobey MaGuire Spider-Man poster clearly seen in the trailer. That makes it safe to say that Morbius will be tied to the MCU.
But what about Venom? Between the two properties, Venom is by and large the bigger name, and he is the one fans want included in the MCU. It was only natural that the theories of ways Venom could be incorporated into the MCU began trickling down.
Sorry to disappoint, but director Andy Serkis has debunked the myth. While he acknowledged the film will contain many allusions and references to Venom’s comic - and Spider-Man - origins, the Venom movies, at least up to this point, are not taking place in the MCU.
NO WAY HOME FOR ANDREW GARFIELD
“Never say never.” That has become the unofficial moniker of Marvel Studios. After the MCU changed the way studios approach modern film franchises, Marvel movies and series are as much known for their Easter eggs and intertwining plots as they are for their actual filmmaking. With Alfred Molina and Jamie Foxx reprising their roles from the Sony-verse for the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, it has established that virtually every Marvel Comics character ever created is fair game for the MCU. It lends to a wide range of theories and speculation.
Among that speculation has been that both Tobey MaGuire and Andrew Garfield would join Tom Holland in a live-action Into the Spider-Verse with multiple Spider-Men. There have even been unconfirmed reports that MaGuire and Garfield are signed up and ready to bring their versions of Peter Parker to the MCU. Garfield, however, says that is not the case. In an interview with Access Hollywood, the actor said he has not been offered the role, but he added, “Never say never.”