She Hulk, Secret Invasion, Ironheart, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday, I Am Groot, Hawkeye
Disney ended their Disney Investor Day with some big Marvel Studios announcements that will surely expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe in some unexpected and exciting ways. We already saw a bunch of trailers and sizzle reels for their upcoming Disney+ slate, which will surely have subscribers glued to their seats during every new episode. But now we can take a look some of the other new shows and specials that are currently under development.
We first turn our attention to She-Hulk, which confirmed a longstanding rumor that Tatiana Maslany will portray Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk. While an appearance by Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/The Hulk was to be expected, the show sees the surprise return of Tim Roth as Abomination, the more villainous and hideous looking version of the Hulk, who first appeared in 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk.”
She-Hulk arrives to the MCU! Tatiana Maslany will portray Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk and Tim Roth returns as the Abomination and Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, will appear in the series. Directed Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, She-Hulk is coming to #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/z4OlQJhrlr
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
Next up is “Secret Invasion,” another Marvel crossover event that based on the best selling story arc of the same name. The upcoming series brings back Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn from Captain Marvel returns as the Skrull Talos. In the comics, the self-titled eight-issue limited series centered a subversive, long-term invasion of Earth by the Skrulls, a group of alien shapeshifters who have secretly replaced many superheroes in the Marvel Universe with impostors over a period of years, prior to the overt invasion.
The last time we saw Nick Fury and Talos was in Spider-Man: Far From Home, when it was revealed that the real Nick Fury was actually having a holographic sunny island vacation on a Skrull ship, while Talos was busy impersonating Nick Fury on Earth.
Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn from Captain Marvel returns as the Skrull Talos in Marvel Studios’ Original Series Secret Invasion. Coming to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/AuInHMuBRW
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
While Iron Man’s story has come to an end, his legacy continues to live on through two new series. The first is “Ironheart,” a new original series dedicated to the story of Riri Heart, a Black female teenage prodigy who builds her own advance suit of armor. Riri will be played by Dominique Throne (“If Beale Street Could Talk”)
Coming soon to #DisneyPlus, Dominique Thorne is genius inventor Riri Williams in Ironheart, an Original Series about the creator of the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man. pic.twitter.com/VB94VyPr9e
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
The second Iron Man-related series is Armor Wars, which will see the return of Don Cheadle as James Rhodes aka War Machine. Based on the seven-issue Iron Man story arc written by David Michelinie and Bob Layton of the same name, Armor Wars centers on what happens if the late Tony Stark’s technology falls into the wrong hands.
Don Cheadle returns as James Rhodes aka War Machine in Armor Wars, an Original Series coming to #DisneyPlus. A classic Marvel story about Tony Stark’s worst fear coming true: what happens when his tech falls into the wrong hands? pic.twitter.com/K6M0q9mcNM
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
Our last Marvel Earthbound Disney+ show is one that’s dedicated entirely to Hawkeye, a founding Avenger. Jeremy Renner returns to star as Hawkeye, Marvel’s favorite archer. Based on the Matt Fraction comic book of the same name, the series will follow the title character as he teaches Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), a young new female protégé whose skills match or even surpass Clint’s.
Original Avenger Jeremy Renner returns to star as Hawkeye, teaming up with well-known archer from Marvel comics, Kate Bishop played by the amazing Hailee Steinfeld. pic.twitter.com/vqxlEdHQWs
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
Moving away from Earth, and going to galaxy’s unknown, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced two very special Guardians of the Galaxy projects would be a part of the Marvel Disney+ slate. The first being a live-action Christmas theme special. While geeky Christmas themed specials, like “The Star Wars Holiday Special” from 1978, should be approached with caution, it looks like “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” is in good hands as James Gunn will write and direct.
Not only that but “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” will also be canon. It will be fun to see how Star Lord (Chris Pratt) will introduce good tidings to Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff) Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket (Bradley Cooper). Who knows what kind of hilarious space-age antics can occur or if the ragtag crew will dress Groot as a Christmas tree? One thing is for sure, we can expect to hear some deep cut Christmas tracks on the soundtrack.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. James Gunn is back to write and direct.
The Original Special is coming to #DisneyPlus in 2022. 🎁 🎧 pic.twitter.com/8JqjhPo6Cn
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
Finally, Kevin talked about the other “Guardians of the Galaxy” project that will be a series of shorts centered on Baby Groot. The original series titled “I Am Groot” several new and unusual characters. It’s not clear if Diesel will return to reprise his role or who these new and unusual characters are, but it’s going to be fun to see how much of the MCU can expand with the help of a character who can only speak three words in a specific order.
Everyone’s favorite little tree, Baby Groot, will star in a series of shorts on Disney+ featuring several new and unusual characters.
I Am Groot, an Original Series from Marvel Studios, is coming to #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/U5nfDkFKjW
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) December 11, 2020
