Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3' Grosses $48 Million Usd On Its Opening Day

The third installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, grossed a total of $48.2 million USD on its opening day. The first-day earnings reportedly include $17.5 million USD from Thursday previews. Projections suggest that the film will make somewhere between $110 million USD to $120 million USD during its opening weekend. If these predictions are accurate, the movie will have the second-highest opening of 2023, following The Super Mario Bros. Movie's $146 million USD opening weekend, which also stars Guardians of the Galaxy's Chris Pratt. However, it will still be approximately $20 million USD lower than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's opening weekend earnings in 2023. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 features a star-studded cast, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, and Sylvester Stallone, with James Gunn as writer and director.

Here are five trivia facts for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3:

• The film marks the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, with James Gunn returning to write and direct the final installment.
• The cast includes returning stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Sean Gunn. The film also features newcomers Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, and Sylvester Stallone.
• The film's opening scene takes place in the past, showing a young Peter Quill (played by Wyatt Oleff) with his mother in Missouri in the 1980s.
• The soundtrack for the film will feature a mix of classic rock and pop songs, much like the previous two films in the franchise. The first song featured in the film's trailer is "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi.
• According to director James Gunn, the film will explore the relationship between Rocket and Groot in more depth, and will also deal with themes of family and sacrifice.

Marvel Studios Announces Phase 5 and 6, the Multiverse Saga

Aside from all of the trailer releases at San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, Marvel Studios delivered an expansive range of announcements. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige announced that its Phase 4, 5 and 6 releases will be under the “Multiverse Saga” banner, the follow-up to the “Infinity Saga.”

Feige revealed that the November 11, 2022 release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever will close out Phase 4 and Phase 5 officially begins with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania coming February 17, 2023. With Phase 5, Marvel Studios is preparing films like Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3, Blade and Captain America: New World Order, along with long list of Disney+ series. Notable titles coming include Secret Invasion, Loki Season 2, Ironheart and the newly announced Daredevil: Born Again.

Most exciting, Phase 6 will be introduced with the debut of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, November 8, 2024. Shocking Marvel fans, Feige revealed that 2025 will see two Avengers films introducing time-traveling villain “Kang the Conqueror,” played by Jonathan Majors. MCU heroes are set to face off with Kang in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 2, 2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (November 7, 2025)

Check out a list of Phase 4, 5 and 6 releases announced by Marvel Studios below.

    Phase 4

    She-Hulk: Attorney at Law – August 17, 2022
    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – November 11, 2022

    Phase 5

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania – February 17, 2023
    Secret Invasion – Spring 2023
    Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3 – May 5, 2023
    Echo – Summer 2023
    The Marvels – July 28, 2023
    Loki Season 2 – Summer 2023
    Ironheart – Fall 2023
    Blade – November 3, 2023
    Agatha: Coven of Chaos – Winter 2023
    Untitled Film – February 16, 2024
    Daredevil: Born Again – Spring 2024
    Captain America: New World Order – May 3, 2024
    Thunderbolts – July 26, 2024

    Phase 6

    Fantastic Four – November 8, 2024
    Untitled Film – February 14, 2025
    Avengers: The Kang Dynasty – May 2, 2025
    Untitled Film – July 25, 2025
    Avengers: Secret Wars – November 7, 2025

Sony Offers an Update on Spider-Man 4 and Spinoffs

Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman recently spoke with Deadline, giving fans an update on what to expect next from the Spider-Man and Spider-Verse franchise. Rothman spoke about Spider-Man’s place in Sony’s various franchises stating, “Uncharted, Jumanji, Spider-Man. We have our Marvel business, which breaks into three tranches.” He reveals that Sony is “currently at work on two Spider-Verse sequels to our Oscar-winning animated movie, with Lord and Miller.” Besides plans for growing the animation franchise, Rothman also revealed that he hopes to continue the Spider-Man franchise for a fourth installment.

The Sony executive said, “We hope to get working on the next Spider-Man movie.” Rothman is referring to the next MCU Spider-Man film helmed by Sony and Marvel Studios together. When asked if the fourth film will see the return of director Jon Watts and mainstay stars like Tom Holland and Zendaya, Rothman responds, “That whole group, we hope.” Watts, Holland and Zendaya have worked with one another for all three films so far. Sony and Marvel have yet to officially confirm the fourth Spider-Man film, however, Kevin Feige has once stated that Spidey’s future is still being mapped out. At any rate, while Sony and Marvel have yet to officially green-light a fourth Spider-Man solo film, Marvel boss Kevin Feige and Spider-Man franchise producer Amy Pascal previously stated that they are mapping out Spidey's future within the MCU. "Amy and I and Disney and Sony are talking about yes, we're actively beginning to develop where the story heads next, which I only say outright because I don't want fans to go through any separation trauma like what happened after [Spider-Man:] Far From Home," Feige said. "That will not be occurring this time." Going back to the Deadline interview, Rothman also discussed the Sony projects he describes as being "adjunct to the Spider-Man universe," namely the upcoming live-action spinoff films Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web. "That's Kraven, which we’re shooting now, and Madame Web, which we’ll start in the spring with S.J. Clarkson directing," he said. "And then there are many Marvel characters that are standalone." Rothman's comments confirm that cameras are still rolling on Kraven after the film began shooting earlier this year. They also suggest that Madame Web will itself enter production very soon, as spring is nearing its end and the film is currently slated for a summer 2023 release.

New Daredevil Series Is Coming To Disney Plus

After teasing Netflix‘s Daredevil character several times in its own projects, Marvel Studios has officially greenlit a Daredevil series for Disney+, according to Variety. The Disney+ show, which will be written and executive produced by Matt Corman and Chris Ord, will mark the first of the Netflix Marvel projects to receive an entirely separate but continued show. Before going to Disney+, Marvel’s TV projects, which were previously led by Jeph Leob, landed on Netflix under a massive deal.

Among them were Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Punisher and Iron Fist. Daredevil, which proved to be popular on Netflix and lasted three seasons, starred Charlie Cox in the lead role of Matt Murdock, aka Daredevil. Cox reprised the role for a cameo in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, hinting that the character may return. Additionally, the Kingpin, Daredevil’s enemy played by Vincent D’Onofrio, reappeared as the lead villain in Marvel’s Hawkeye last year. Corman and Ord are best known for co-creating the USA spy show Covert Affairs, which starred Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. They also served as executive producers and co-showrunners on NBC’s The Enemy Within and The Brave, along with The CW series Containment. Marvel has yet to make a formal announcement about the Disney+ Daredevil series.

Disney+ Confirms Agatha: House of Harkness

During Disney+ Day on Friday, the company confirmed that an upcoming WandaVision spinoff series titled Agatha: House of Harkness is in the works. The brief announcement said that Kathryn Hahn will reprise her role as Agatha Harkness and WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer will return as a screenwriter and executive producer on the series, marking his first project since signing an overall deal with Marvel Studios ad 20th Television. Rumors of a WandaVision spinoff series first surfaced in October, when Variety reported that the project was in the works, citing exclusive information from sources. The outlet said that the then-alleged spinoff was “described by sources as a dark comedy.” Disney did not disclose any further details, and it is currently unknown when the Marvel Cinematic Universe series will premiere. At this time, Disney has said the show is “coming soon.”

 

Who’s been hyping up everything? It’s been Disney+ all along… As Disney+ Day continues, we’re getting information about brand new series popping up left, right and centre including a trio of Marvel spin-off series. After being reported about earlier this year, Marvel Studios has confirmed that Kathryn Hahn’s scene-stealing Agatha Harkness (introduced in WandaVision) will indeed be back in her own show and it’ll be called Agatha: House Of Harkness. Cue the spooky music. She’s not the only one getting her own show. Alaqua Cox’s Echo, soon to be introduced in the imminent Hawkeye series, has had her spin-off confirmed too. Also known as Maya Lopez, Echo is a deaf, Native American superhero with impressive acrobatic martial arts skills. And it’s not just the live-action shows getting spin-offs. If you caught What If…? earlier this year, you’ll have seen Marvel Studios bringing zombified versions of its characters to the screen in a pretty gnarly episode, based on the fan-favourite Marvel Zombies comics. Well, zombie-fever is clearly spreading, because an anime Marvel Zombies show is now coming alive and looking for brains. All that, plus we have the previously-announced Moon Knight, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, and Secret Invasion series, the second season of What If…?, the animated I Am Groot, plus the very exciting X-Men ’97, and Spider-Man: Freshman Year. Clear your viewing schedules, people.

Harry Styles is confirmed role in MCU Eternals

Harry Styles has been rumored to have a role in Eternals for a while, and it’d be a genius move since Styles’ immense fandom nearly rivals the MCU’s fervent fanbase. Now, those who fall within the middle of the Venn diagram between stanning the “Sign Of The Times” singer and stanning Marvel Studios can fully freak out over the confirmation that Styles does indeed appear in the upcoming flick. As much as Marvel Studios tries to intimidate people into not spoiling anything, of course having Styles joining the MCU would inevitably be revealed before the movie is widely released.

After attending the Eternals premiere, Variety writer Matt Donnelly confirmed on Twitter that Styles pops up playing Eros, a.k.a. Starfox, who is Thanos’ brother. Other outlets, including The LA Times, additionally confirmed the former One Direction member’s brief appearance in the movie. The LA Times also revealed that the cameo comes during the post-credits sequence. Marvel fans already know to stay glued to their seats until after the credits roll, but the pop star’s fans will have to be extra patient, too. Eros, the god of love, is a fitting role for Styles. His superpowers include stimulating pleasure centers, and is described as “provoking such extreme pleasurable sensations that a person becomes highly aroused, euphoric, or totally sedated, as the case may be.” It’s a match made in Marvel heaven, given how Styles can easily send his admirers into a frenzy by just flashing his smile—plus, one of his most popular songs is about the female orgasm, so there’s that. While this spoiler was too exciting for critics to keep to themselves, Marvel Studios is trying its hardest to not have key plot points revealed to the public before the Chloé Zhao-directed film arrives on November 5.

WandaVision Trailer Reveals Classic Vision Costume

A new look at Marvel Studios series WandaVision reveals synthetic android Vision (Paul Bettany) in a handmade costume inspired by the classic Marvel comic books. The full trailer, premiered on ABC Sunday during the virtual Emmy Awards, is the latest to pay homage to the costumes worn by Vision and lover Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) in the Silver Age comic books. Both looks are presented here as Halloween costumes sported by the suburban couple in their reality influenced by classic television sitcoms, among them The Dick Van Dyke Show and Bewitched.

Marvel Cinematic Universe architect and producer Kevin Feige has "taken such a risk with the show, and the concept of this show," Bettany previously told IMDb of the "beautifully written" and "f—ing bonkers" WandaVision. "I mean it's so out there and nuts, the choices that they are making."

Following a sneak peek at last year's D23 Expo, where Marvel presented a look at WandaVision spliced with footage from The Dick Van Dyke Show, Bettany said the big-budget series developed by Jac Schaeffer (Black Widow) and directed by Matt Shakman (Game of Thrones) is a "sort of six-hour movie that I would never in a million years ... have thought of."

"It's so avant-garde and weird and messed up and then moves seamlessly into more familiar territory," he told MTV News. "But the place that it starts is so odd."

What seems to be a classic-feeling sitcom transforms into something trippy and weird but with the flavoring of a Marvel Studios blockbuster, according to Schaeffer, who also described WandaVision as a big-screen feature split into six parts.

"I mean, first of all, with Marvel doing Disney+, it's not at all the small screen, you know? It's still the big screen, but streaming," she told Variety during D23 Expo. "And so there's still the same sense of grandeur and the same scope and the same opportunities and the same resources, so it just really feels like an enormous movie. We say it's like a run of a comic, which is just really exciting to do."