Marvel Unveils Early Look at 'Black Panther,' 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'
Black Panther
Thor: Ragnarok
opened its doors to a group of journalists Monday to share secrets from its closely guarded upcoming projects. Among the new revelations were the first footage of Black Panther ever seen by outsiders, wild concept art for Ant-Man and the Wasp, and an unexpected Thor: Ragnarok casting.
Here's the breakdown of what Heat Vision saw:
Black Panther
Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito showed off dailies from Black Panther, which had just two days of shooting left as of Monday. He pointed out the footage from the Ryan Coogler film was as rough as it gets (with no visual effects or color correction), but the dailies confirmed that the movie will be grand enough to be worthy of a king.
There were gorgeous costumes, and journalists were treated to footage of a coronation scene for T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who appears bare-chested and holding ceremonial weapons to take on the monarch role left empty following his father's death in Captain America: Civil War.
In another scene, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) stealthily takes down a group of gun-toting bad guys, and in a third, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) rolls into a casino with quite the entourage and has a rather funny exchange with Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), who asks if the villain is releasing a mixtape (that's the only explanation for his big entourage). Soon all hell breaks loose as T'Challa must take on the bad guys. A fun tidbit: Klaue, who lost his arm in Avengers: Age of Ultron, has two arms once more. The unfinished footage showed Serikis sporting something strange looking on one of his arms, and presumably the visual effects team will be fashioned into a mechanical arm of some sort in postproduction.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Journalists were ushered into an office where director Peyton Reed and concept artist Andy Park were hard at work on designs for Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6, 2018). The art adorning the wall showed more of Paul Rudd's hero character taking on the Giant Man role he debuted in Captain America: Civil War. Beyond that, there were images of him using everyday objects made giant (such as a human-sized Ant-Man holding an oversized plastic soda bottle to spray bad guys with.) Another image showed an adorable giant dog with a car full of people in its jaws, while there were also looks at new suits for Ant-Man (Rudd) and Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). (Update: Someone asked on Twitter if the dog may have been normal sized and the family car was shrunk down, and I cannot verify what the case is. Only time shall tell!)
"The suits are one thing on the comic page. They are fantastic. When you actually have to make it seem realistic in the real world, in three dimensions, you've got to buy it. It's got to be credible," said Reed of the challenge.
He noted in the first Ant-Man, the team intentionally made the costume look old-school, with the idea that the suit was outdated Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) technology. Ant-Man received an upgrade in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and that will continue with Ant-Man and the Wasp.
"This is a whole new suit," said Reed, calling it the "3.0" suit. "It's fun, because it's very specific for the needs of the story."
Other treats: On display was a mockup of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, the hero she'll play in 2019's Captain Marvel. There was also a look at Thanos' Avenger: Infinity War costume (courtesy of Ryan Meinerding, head of visual development). The villain, played by Josh Brolin, looks even more menacing — with a sleeveless look to show off those purple muscles.
Thor: Ragnarok
Director Taika Waititi revealed he will be playing a mo-cap role in Ragnarok (Nov. 7). He'll portray the comic book character Korg, a gladiator known from the Planet Hulk comic book storyline.
He then treated journalists to a scene in which Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is put into a prisoner area with fellow gladiators Korg, a large, rock-like character, and Miek, an insect-like alien. Thor informs the pair he's there to fight the Grandmaster's (Jeff Goldblum) champion (the Hulk, anyone?).
They are all in a hallway, but its physical properties are confusing. Thor runs down the circular hallway and almost immediately ends up back where he started. It's some sort of loop that doesn't abide the laws of physics.
As for Korg, Waititi said the design team worked hard to make him relatable.
"Because he's a good guy, we want people to love him and we want people to relate to him. And one of the easiest ways to relate to a character is the expression on his face, and particularly the eyes," said Waititi.
For more from the Marvel open house, check out the secrets revealed by Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige — from Joss Whedon's phone call to him about Batgirl to Spider-Man's future in the MCU.
And here are some photos from the inside, courtesy of Heat Vision's Borys Kit:
Black Panther
Thor: Ragnarok
opened its doors to a group of journalists Monday to share secrets from its closely guarded upcoming projects. Among the new revelations were the first footage of Black Panther ever seen by outsiders, wild concept art for Ant-Man and the Wasp, and an unexpected Thor: Ragnarok casting.
Here's the breakdown of what Heat Vision saw:
Black Panther
Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito showed off dailies from Black Panther, which had just two days of shooting left as of Monday. He pointed out the footage from the Ryan Coogler film was as rough as it gets (with no visual effects or color correction), but the dailies confirmed that the movie will be grand enough to be worthy of a king.
There were gorgeous costumes, and journalists were treated to footage of a coronation scene for T'Challa/Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), who appears bare-chested and holding ceremonial weapons to take on the monarch role left empty following his father's death in Captain America: Civil War.
In another scene, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) stealthily takes down a group of gun-toting bad guys, and in a third, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) rolls into a casino with quite the entourage and has a rather funny exchange with Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman), who asks if the villain is releasing a mixtape (that's the only explanation for his big entourage). Soon all hell breaks loose as T'Challa must take on the bad guys. A fun tidbit: Klaue, who lost his arm in Avengers: Age of Ultron, has two arms once more. The unfinished footage showed Serikis sporting something strange looking on one of his arms, and presumably the visual effects team will be fashioned into a mechanical arm of some sort in postproduction.
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Journalists were ushered into an office where director Peyton Reed and concept artist Andy Park were hard at work on designs for Ant-Man and the Wasp (July 6, 2018). The art adorning the wall showed more of Paul Rudd's hero character taking on the Giant Man role he debuted in Captain America: Civil War. Beyond that, there were images of him using everyday objects made giant (such as a human-sized Ant-Man holding an oversized plastic soda bottle to spray bad guys with.) Another image showed an adorable giant dog with a car full of people in its jaws, while there were also looks at new suits for Ant-Man (Rudd) and Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). (Update: Someone asked on Twitter if the dog may have been normal sized and the family car was shrunk down, and I cannot verify what the case is. Only time shall tell!)
"The suits are one thing on the comic page. They are fantastic. When you actually have to make it seem realistic in the real world, in three dimensions, you've got to buy it. It's got to be credible," said Reed of the challenge.
He noted in the first Ant-Man, the team intentionally made the costume look old-school, with the idea that the suit was outdated Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) technology. Ant-Man received an upgrade in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, and that will continue with Ant-Man and the Wasp.
"This is a whole new suit," said Reed, calling it the "3.0" suit. "It's fun, because it's very specific for the needs of the story."
Other treats: On display was a mockup of Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, the hero she'll play in 2019's Captain Marvel. There was also a look at Thanos' Avenger: Infinity War costume (courtesy of Ryan Meinerding, head of visual development). The villain, played by Josh Brolin, looks even more menacing — with a sleeveless look to show off those purple muscles.
Thor: Ragnarok
Director Taika Waititi revealed he will be playing a mo-cap role in Ragnarok (Nov. 7). He'll portray the comic book character Korg, a gladiator known from the Planet Hulk comic book storyline.
He then treated journalists to a scene in which Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is put into a prisoner area with fellow gladiators Korg, a large, rock-like character, and Miek, an insect-like alien. Thor informs the pair he's there to fight the Grandmaster's (Jeff Goldblum) champion (the Hulk, anyone?).
They are all in a hallway, but its physical properties are confusing. Thor runs down the circular hallway and almost immediately ends up back where he started. It's some sort of loop that doesn't abide the laws of physics.
As for Korg, Waititi said the design team worked hard to make him relatable.
"Because he's a good guy, we want people to love him and we want people to relate to him. And one of the easiest ways to relate to a character is the expression on his face, and particularly the eyes," said Waititi.
For more from the Marvel open house, check out the secrets revealed by Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige — from Joss Whedon's phone call to him about Batgirl to Spider-Man's future in the MCU.
And here are some photos from the inside, courtesy of Heat Vision's Borys Kit:
Looking forward to all three.
