We recently learned that Jumanji 3 (or 4, depending on how you choose to count the movies) had vacated its December 11 release date and moved to Christmas Day. That opened the door to Avengers: Doomsday potentially moving up a week, not because it needs to back down from Dune: Part Three, but because it would get a week playing in IMAX screens that are otherwise off-limits.
With the Dune threequel set to dominate those over the holidays, there's really no downside to changing Avengers: Doomsday's release date. Now, it sounds like Disney and Marvel Studios are seriously considering it.
According to John Campea, he reached out to someone in "exhibitor relations" and asked whether there's any truth to the speculation surrounding a possible release date shift. "What this source told me was that very non-committal discussions have taken place," he revealed.
"So, does that mean that Doomsday is in fact moving? No. You could hardly call that a confirmation. But we can confirm that it's being talked about or has been talked about, and maybe it's already locked," the YouTuber continued. "Why would they do that? For the IMAX screens, because as of right now, Avengers: Doomsday gets no IMAX."
If this is happening, then the trades are bound to get word of it sooner rather than later. However, it may also be an announcement that's being saved for an upcoming event such as CinemaCon, the San Diego Comic-Con, or D23.
In other news, Daniel Richtman has an update on Daredevil: Born Again Season 3. He's learned that Marvel Studios is currently casting for a character codenamed "Junior," who is described as follows:
"Character portrayed is male, 18+ to play a teenager, Latino and/or Black. Works with his father on a fishing boat. Character speaks English and either Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole in scenes - please submit Actors who speak either Spanish, Portuguese, or Haitian Creole."
That doesn't tell us much, but a leak from @MyTimeToShineH might. The insider has learned that, since we last saw him on Netflix, Luke Cage has been working for the CIA. This is presumably something that will be addressed in an upcoming episode of the Man Without Fear's show, though it currently raises more questions than answers.
The scooper is also reporting that, despite turning down a role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Dark Knight Rises star Anne Hathaway is in talks for a "major" role in the MCU's next Saga. What that is, we can only speculate about.
They've also shared a post on X to say, "I hear Tony Stark/Iron Man will return in Avengers Secret Wars." We'll see on that front.
Finally, on The Town podcast, Alex Heath revealed that Disney are seriously considering purchasing Fortnite developer Epic Games. The plan is to make a bid for the company in the $1.5 billion range.
Fortnite has struggled in recent years, with Epic forced to shed 1,000 staff members last week due to a downturn in the game's users last year. Still, it remains a big money maker, as does the company's development toolkit, Unreal Engine.
"I know for a fact there are senior executives in Disney who want them to buy Epic and are just waiting for that moment," Heath said, "and then there are others who think it's a bad idea. If Epic ever sold, if it ever decided to call it quits on being an independent company, Disney would be the most natural home for it for a lot of reasons."
Stay tuned for updates on all these rumours and more as we have them.