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Kumail Nanjiani Marvel Mental Health Movies

Kumail Nanjiani ‘shattered’ by Eternals’ reception after signing on for 6 movies




Marvel’s Eternals came out in 2021. Non-Marvel fans may remember it as the movie that Kamail Nanjiani got super buff for. It was a part of the MCU’s Phase 4, which kicked off with Black Widow and continued with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Marvel was really feeling itself during this time period because all four of these movies and five television series were released in 2021, with three more movies and three more series coming out in 2022. It was the beginning of Marvel Fatigue.

In addition to Nanjiani, Eternals had a huge cast full of well-known actors like Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, and Kit Harington. The only Eternals tie-in we’ve gotten in the 11 movies that have followed it was a plot point in Captain America: Brave New World, with no Eternals appearances. The movie has been basically abandoned, which is interesting because according to Kumail, there were big plans for the Eternals characters, but in the aftermath of its poor reception, everything got scrapped. He signed on for six movies and was really excited about entering his Marvel Era. When none of it came to fruition, he was left “shattered.”

It took until this year for Captain America: Brave New World to finally address the half-risen Celestial in the room, but that’s honestly the closest the MCU has come to acknowledging the events of Eternals. It’s hardly a surprise, really. In the post-Avengers: Endgame era, the movie was the first major misfire from Marvel Studios that, according to one of its stars, had a whole blueprint mapped out that never came to fruition.

During an appearance on the Working It Out podcast, Nanjiani revealed just how much he’d committed to before the film’s release, and the shock he experienced when it didn’t receive the warm welcome like the other MCU movies that predated it. “It came out, it got really bad reviews, and it didn’t do that well. It shattered me too much,” the actor who played Kingo confessed. “That was when I was like, ‘Oh, I need to go to therapy to figure this out.’”

The film earned one of the worst scores on Rotten Tomatoes at 47%, etching ahead of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania which sits at the bottom of the pile. For Nanjiani, it wasn’t what he expected at all. “I was like, ‘This is going to be my job for the next ten years.’ I signed on for six movies. I signed on for a video game. I signed on for a theme park ride. They make you sign on for all this stuff. You’re like, ‘Okay, so I’ll be doing Marvel movies every year, and in between, I’ll do my own little things. Whatever I want to do.’”

[From Games Radar]

Kumail has been pretty open about how devastated he was after Eternals failed to go anywhere. I think he’s a real-life super hero for putting it out there that he was so disappointed about the professional failure that he went into therapy. I’ve always appreciated his honesty and felt badly about how he got a raw deal. Up until that point, every Marvel movie had led to multiple opportunities to reappear in different ways within the franchise. It’s not his fault, though. Eternals was fine, but it was also too long with a lot of plot holes and too many storylines. I think the MCU burned bright and fast, and execs realized that they needed to cut costs, so eliminating a cast of people who automatically commanded a higher pay was probably a no-brainer for them.

Also, I recently rewatched Shang-Chi and it was just as much fun as I remembered. Simu Liu is a delight. While there are supposedly still plans for a second movie, nothing is concrete right now. Marvel really did do a huge disservice to the new characters it was trying to bring into the fold.

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Hans Zimmer Marvel Movies Music

Hans Zimmer turned down Marvel after scoring some DC movies




I’m a real nerd for film music scores; they take up a substantial amount of my iPod library. Music is so emotional, that when I listen to my favorite scores I often find myself immediately transported back to the film, or to the particular period of my life when I first saw the film. What always impresses me, as someone who isn’t fluent in the language of music, is how deftly great composers can attune their styles to fit the world of the movie. Looking up the resumes of several prolific composers, almost all of them have credits that range from indies to blockbusters to animation. German composer Hans Zimmer is among those talented musicians who’s done it all. Well, almost. While Zimmer has scored several DC superhero movies — most notably Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, and yes I have The Dark Knight in my collection — he drew the staff line at crossing over to Marvel, as he just discussed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast:

Hans Zimmer isn’t rushing to score another superhero movie any time soon. The 12-time Academy Award nominated composer previously said he “retired” from scoring superhero films in the wake of “Batman V. Superman,” and doubled down on his decision in a recent episode of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.

“Look, I’ve done the trifecta. I’ve done Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and Wonder Woman,” Zimmer said. “I mean, what do you want me to do? Some of the minor characters? Probably yes.” When asked if Marvel had already approached him about working on one of their films, Zimmer confessed they had, and that he’d turned them down.

“Timing wasn’t great. And really, quite honestly, I’m looking for other things right now,” he admitted. “That was very arrogant of me to say that. Kevin Feige said that to me, ‘Hans, what are you complaining about?’”

Though the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn’t on Zimmer’s agenda in the near future, the German composer has already scored his fair share of superhero flicks, albeit ones set in the DC Universe. Zimmer’s past credits on superhero movies include “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “The Dark Knight Rises,” “Man of Steel” and “Wonder Woman 1984.”

Zimmer has also composed music for Marvel heroes in the past. He scored 2014’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” and 2019’s “Dark Phoenix,” though the films were distributed by Sony and 20th Century Fox respectively. Though the films aren’t technically MCU entries, the X-Men and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man have since appeared in the Marvel universe through multiverse storylines.

[From Variety via AOL]

Good for you, Hans, respect your integrity! Lol, I don’t really have a horse in the comic book movie race. It sounds like it all really just came down to scheduling, but the lowkey anarchist in me appreciates Zimmer even more for making it a DC vs. Marvel battle. In a playful way. I will be a grammar gremlin, though, and note that Zimmer said he’s done the “trifecta” of superheroes… and then proceeds to name four of them. But then I was sh-t at knowing which times to count out just from reading staff notes during my childhood piano lessons, to be fair. In any event, take a gander at Zimmer’s IMDb page and you’ll see he’s not short on work, and definitely doesn’t need Marvel’s patronage, thankyouverymuch. This article cited his 12 Oscar noms, but didn’t go on to say that he won two of those times: first for The Lion King, and a few years ago for Dune: Part 1. That second one is a touchy subject for me, because as much as I love Zimmer, I will maintain until I die that Power of the Dog was ROBBED by Dune in several categories that year, most especially for its original score by Jonny Greenwood. Until I die!

To end on a less-threatening note, a few of my all-time favorite scores:

-Mychael Danna for Monsoon Wedding


-Gustavo Santaolalla for Brokeback Mountain


-Alexandre Desplat for Lust, Caution

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Kathryn Hahn Marvel Patti LuPone Television

Are those witches on ‘Agatha All Along’ really dead? (spoilers)

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There are two episodes of Disney ’s spectacular new series Agatha All Along left. Both episodes will drop on Wednesday, October 30 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. I cannot wait. I’m so into this show and so excited to see where it’s going. It follows charming anti-hero Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and her newfound coven’s journey down the Witches’ Road. Each witch has journeyed down the road in hope of finding their own fulfillment. In Agatha’s case, it’s getting back her powers, which she lost at the end of WandaVision. To get to the end of the road, each witch must face a personalized trial in order for their coven to make it further down the road to the next trial.

So far, Agatha’s hodgepodge coven has lost three members to the deadly Witches’ Road: Mrs. Hart, Alice, and, most recently, Lilia (played by Patti LuPone). Each character really resonated with the audience, too. Since Agatha is a series set in a comic book universe that deals with multi-verses, time jumps, and illusions, there are theories that perhaps we haven’t really seen the last of each witch. While talking with Variety, Agatha showrunner Jac Schaeffer seemingly confirmed that they’re following the Lost rules, in that, despite their magical environment, dead is dead.

From the outset of Agatha All Along, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn) and her coven knew that walking The Witches’ Road was a dangerous undertaking and that has certainly proven to be true. Over the series’ first seven episodes, three members of the coven have met their end — Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp) in Episode 3, Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn) in Episode 5, and perhaps most heartbreakingly, Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone) in this week’s Episode 7. Given that the road is associated with magic and it would seem that with magic anything is possible, fans have been holding onto hope that perhaps the deaths on the Road weren’t permanent. However, according to Agatha All Along showrunner Jac Schaeffer, that is not the case. Speaking with Variety, Schaeffer confirmed that the deaths are not only real, but they’re permanent and they have meaning.

“What I want to say is that this is a show about death,’ Schaeffer said when asked if Lilia, Alice, and Mrs. Hart were really dead. “We actually have the character of Death in our show. I am interested in that conversation, and I am fascinated by how death is used in the comic space and in the MCU. Personally, I feel that when a person dies, you can still talk to them and feel them, and they can still be in your lives. But death is immutable. It is permanent. With this show, we wanted to pay respect to that. So, this is a more earnest and grave conversation about death than maybe you would find in another superhero project.”

Schaeffer’s comments also apply to The Salem Seven. This week’s episode saw Lilia in a moment of both acceptance and heroism save the coven by staying behind after the completion of the tarot trial to face the terrifying antagonists, meeting her own end as she sent them to theirs.

“Yeah, the Salem Seven are dead,” Schaeffer said. “They’re off the board in our show, is what I will say. Lilia has saved everybody!”

It goes without question that the idea that the deaths in Agatha All Along are real and permanent brings an additional layer of gravity to not only the story being told in the series, but also to the overall MCU — which perhaps unintentionally has in many ways served as an exploration of grief in Phase 4 — but it also may have some implications for another fan theory: that Scarlet Witch either somehow survived the events of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness or that Agatha All Along will “undo” her death. Fans have been hopeful for some time that Wanda Maximoff’s story isn’t over and have even hoped that Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda could appear in Agatha All Along and while Episode 7 did leave the character’s fate a bit ambiguous, if she is indeed dead, Schaeffer’s comments suggest that she would remain that way.

That said, there is still the perception of reality to take into consideration. While Schaeffer says that death is immutable, Episode 7 also sees Lilia make the comment that “the flow of time is an illusion… most people don’t realize that.” If time is not linear, as Lilia is suggesting, then it is possible that we could still see various characters again, including Wanda. More than that, however, is the overall idea as Schaeffer noted that even those who are gone are not really “gone” — which feels very witchy and magical all on its own.

[From Comic Book]

Each loss has been devastating, but losing Alice and Lilia just as they found their “purpose” has felt heartbreaking and unfair. To keep with my earlier comparison, it kind of reminds me of how we’d lose characters in Lost just as they finally realized their potential. I really hope that Schaeffer is just setting us up for some epic season finale, but I begrudgingly believe her. Booo, I need more Lilia, Alice, and Mrs. Hart on my screen! This makes me so nervous about Jen’s fate during the last two episodes.

That said, I feel like literally anything can happen at this point. I’m so intrigued by Aubrey Plaza’s Rio/Death character and given her history with Agatha (”If you wanted a straight answer, you should have asked a straight lady”), I wonder what game the two of them are playing. Surely, Agatha can’t cheat Death that many times…right? Also, Joe Locke is absolutely crushing it as Teen/Billy. Who do we think will end up being Tommy? That has to be how this all ends, right?

As for the Scarlet Witch theory, my gut tells me that the character is only dead for as long as Elizabeth Olson is done playing her. If Lizzie O wants to come back, they will make it work. They really did do that character dirty in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, though. That movie was such a mess.

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Mahershala Ali Marvel Movies

The Blade reboot with Mahershala Ali has been delayed indefinitely




In the late 1990s/early 2000s, Wesley Snipes starred as Blade in a trilogy based on the title/comic book character. In 2019, Marvel announced a reboot of the franchise, only this time, it would star Mahershala Ali as Blade. Unfortunately, for the past five years, that reboot has been consistently delayed, thanks to industry strikes, as well as two different directors and different writers leaving the project. Basically, it got stuck in developmental purgatory. Well, we just got word that the project has now been delayed “indefinitely.” Over the summer, Snipes made a surprise appearance as Blade in Deadpool and Wolverine. He even made a joke about how there was only ever going to be “one Blade.” Fans got the inside joke and laughed.

Marvel has delayed its Blade reboot indefinitely and MCU fans are all making the same joke linking back to the studio’s most recent smash hit Deadpool and Wolverine.

As soon as the news broke, Deadpool 3 fans were quick to mention that hilarious moment in the 2024 movie when Wesley Snipes’ Blade claims there will never be another Blade. “There’s only ever gonna be one Blade,” quoted one fan on Twitter, whereas others pointed out how much funnier the joke is now. See more reactions below.

“There’s only one Blade…and there’s only ever gonna be one Blade,” says Snipes after pointing out that there is no other version of him, unlike Fantastic Four’s Johnny who has been played by numerous actors at this point. But when Snipes’ Blade makes the claim, Deadpool gives the audience a smirk as, at that time, there was a new Blade on the way. But it looks like Snipes was right.

Snipes starred as the Marvel hero Blade in all three movies starting with Blade in 1998, Blade II in 2002, and finally Blade: Trinity in 2004. The movies follow Frost, a half-human vampire hunter able to walk in the light, who battles underground vampiric societies and forces.

The Blade reboot was supposed to star Mahershala Ali as the new vampire hunter. The film was announced in 2019 but has since hot roadblock after roadblock due to the Hollywood strikes and even the writers and director leaving the project. The project was finally set for a November 7, 2025 release date, but this slot has since been given to Predator: Badlands.

Marvel Studios has given no real reason as to why the project has been shelved but fans have been speculating that this may be due to the studios’ string of underperforming movies and shows. Others think that Snipes’ appearance in the recent Deadpool movie may be a factor. Could Snipes return as the daywalker in another Blade movie one day?

[From Games Radar]

The joke is funny, I’ll give them that. But it is a shame that the movie has been put on hold indefinitely. Mahershala would have been a great Blade. I mean, do we really think that there’s anything to the Deadpool effect, in which they’ve thrown it back to development in order to get Snipes back involved? There may be, but who knows? It would be cool, but there’s no real indication of that. This news is just a bummer. Representation matters, and Marvel is all over the place right now. They need to do better.

Photos credit: Getty images for Netflix, Lumeimages.com/ImageBROKER/Avalon, kpa Publicity/Avalon

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Disney Kathryn Hahn Marvel Television

Kathryn Hahn pitched her own nude scene in ‘Agatha All Along’




Spoilers for the first episode of Agatha All Along


As we wait until tonight for another new episode of Marvel’s super fun new series, Agatha All Along, here’s a fun bit of trivia about the first episode. You know the scene where Agatha finally breaks free of Wanda’s spell and strips off all of the outfits from the different personas that she played in WandaVision, only to end up naked in her living room and aware of the real world? And then she makes all of her neighbors uncomfortable by marching outside naked to quiz one of them about how long she’d been out of it? It turns out that the idea for Agatha to do that scene in the nude was all Kathryn Hahn’s! The original direction called for Agatha to grab the robe by the door and put it on before leaving the house, but changed after Kathryn asked herself, “WWAD?” (What Would Agatha Do?)

On Wednesday’s premiere of “Agatha All Along” — Marvel Television’s sequel series to the critically acclaimed “WandaVision” — audiences got to see a lot of star Kathryn Hahn, who made a bit of cheeky Marvel history. Although Marvel hasn’t shied away from showing male butt cheeks — Hulk in “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor in “Thor: Love and Thunder” — Hahn is the first woman to show her bare butt in a Marvel Studios project.

“Well, I came up with it,” Hahn explains to Variety. “I thought it was good to see her as stripped down, literally, as we possibly could, which spoke into her powerlessness at the present moment.”

The series follows the infamous Agatha Harkness after a suspicious goth known as Teen (Joe Locke) helps free her from the spell cast by the Scarlet Witch at the end of “WandaVision” that kept Agatha trapped inside a TV universe (in her own mind) within the town of Westview. In order for Agatha to come back to reality, she has to strip away all her old personas from “WandaVision” — quite literally, emerging from the spell wearing no clothes at all, with only her hair strategically draped over her chest.

“She’s been stripped of all of her power at this point in the series,” Hahn says. “I mean, she really had nothing at that point, and so it became about illustrating that gap between that moment and her finding her power again.”

According to showrunner Jac Schaeffer, Hahn went off-script while shooting Agatha’s decision to leave her home while she’s still naked. Hahn was scripted to grab a robe before running outside, but she changed her mind upon reflecting on what Agatha herself would actually do at that moment.

“Kathryn was like, ‘Would she grab the robe? I don’t feel like she would grab the robe. I feel like she would really not care about being naked in front of the neighbors,’” Schaeffer says. “I told her, ‘That is the greatest idea I’ve ever heard.’ Kathryn has done so much work, and she’s done a lot of nudity and other things, and so it also felt very subversive to get Kathryn Hahn’s nudity into the MCU.”

The scene in question was shot with cameras that were strategically placed to hide the bits of Hahn’s body that weren’t meant to be seen, with the coverage provided by her hair doing the rest. Agatha strikes up a conversation with her neighbor, John (played by David A. Payton) and promptly freaks out upon realizing she’s been imprisoned by Wanda. The cameras cut between the two actors while he attempts to make her aware of her nude state and hilariously attempts to convince her to put some clothes on. Eventually, she goes back inside, puts on her robe and begins to brainstorm her escape.

“It is so true to her character, and it makes me laugh out loud,” Schaeffer says. “And also, I mean, she looks incredible.”

[From Variety]

This makes me love Kathryn all the more! It’s really cool to learn just how much prep she did to play Agatha. She’s totally right, that was exactly within Agatha’s character to do that. And David A. Payton did such a good job playing her flustered neighbor in that scene! The entire scene was hilariously on point. It didn’t feel gratuitous or as though they were trying to add some sexiness to the series, either. I’m so excited for the rest of this season and hate having to wait for new episodes every week. I wonder what other fun things they have in store for us. I can’t wait.

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aubrey plaza Kathryn Hahn Marvel Patti LuPone Television

Critics are raving about Agatha All Along, ‘Kathryn Hahn is a force’




Mild spoilers for first two episodes of Agatha All Along


Agatha All Along, the highly-anticipated spinoff to Disney ’s WandaVision, came out on Wednesday, September 18. Marvel hasn’t had a hit movie or TV series in a hot minute, so a lot is riding on this one’s success. From early reviews, critics (and me, but more on that later) love it. They’ve called it “insanely fun,” “absolutely bats— crazy in all the right kinds of ways,” and praised lead Kathryn Hahn for nailing it. It’s also backed up by an amazing supporting cast that critics are loving as well.

Kathryn Hahn has made her grand return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the witch Agatha Harkness, and members of the press appear to be delighted. “Agatha All Along,” the nine-episode sequel series to 2021’s “WandaVision” is being called “insanely fun” and a “bewitching follow-up” in first reactions.

“The Movie Podcast” host Daniel Baptista called Hahn’s performance “spellbinding” and “deliciously devious.”

“[‘Agatha All Along’] is the PERFECT show for the spooky season and filled with BIG WITCH ENERGY,” Baptista wrote on X/Twitter. “Kathryn Hahn is iconic as ever and delivers a deliciously devious and spellbinding performance. Joe Locke is a scene stealer. This is the most fun you’ll have feasting on a show this year.”

Bam Smack Pow’s Michael Patterson said that the series is “absolutely bats— crazy in all the right kinds of ways.”

“Kathryn Hahn is a force, camping it up as Agatha Harkness like we all knew she would,” Patterson wrote on X. “The rest of the cast is also divine, and Joe Locke is a gem. Vivid, outlandish and brilliant.”

Many viewers also praised Joe Locke and Aubrey Plaza’s performances in “Agatha All Along.”

“The first 4 eps are a delightful mix of ‘Hocus Pocus’ & ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ with a hint of horror and loads of comedy,” ScreenRant’s Joseph Deckelmeier wrote on X. “This series is insanely fun and engaging. It’s got that same captivating vibe as ‘WandaVision.’ Absolutely love the ensemble cast portraying the Coven, and Kathryn Hahn is brilliant & Aubrey Plaza is outstanding.”

“Marvel has outdone themselves with [‘Agatha All Along’]!” said FanSided’s Cody Schultz. “It’s an absolutely bewitching follow-up to WandaVision with lots of fun Easter eggs along the way for fans Kathryn Hahn’s performance is perfection, Joe Locke is iconic & the full ensemble is spectacular. One of Marvel’s best!”

“Agatha All Along” picks up after the events of “WandaVision,” in which Agatha (Hahn) was left powerless thanks to Scarlet Witch, aka Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen). In a mission to get her sorceress powers back, Agatha creates a makeshift coven of her own but not every member has the same intention. Hahn is joined in “Agatha” by Locke, Patti LuPone, Plaza, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn and Debra Jo Rupp. “WandaVision” showrunner Jac Schaeffer is behind the spinoff. Brad Winderbaum, Marvel Studios‘ head of streaming, television and animation, recently appeared on the “Official Marvel Podcast” and said “Agatha All Along” will only be fun for so long until it starts scaring viewers.

“‘Agatha’ is really fun, but it’s really scary. And it gets quite dramatic,” Winderbaum teased. “She’s an amazing anti-hero. It lures you in with the fun of Halloween, and before you know it, you’re crying. It’s a Marvel brand of scary. It’s a Halloween show. There are deadly stakes in this series. It’s a fun ride, but it’s a dangerous one.”

[From Variety]

Y’all, I watched the first two episodes, and they’re really good. I wish I could binge the entire series at once because I have a feeling that we are not going to be disappointed. Kathryn Hahn is absolutely killing it as Agatha. She understands the campy-wicked-witch assignment and all Marvel fans really should be here for it. I’m also so intrigued by the backstory of each witch that Agatha recruited and especially want to know what the deal is with Joe Locke’s character, simply known as Teen. The Internet has theories, but I don’t think they’ve come together around one just yet.

I absolutely LOVED the scene where Agatha’s ragtag team of outcast witches sang together in harmony to unlock the door to The Road. Pump those Patti LuPone vocals into my veins, all day, every day. And what about Debra Jo Rupp’s Mrs. Hart? Is she under the same type of memory-affecting spell that Agatha was and Teen possibly is under? Aubrey Plaza kicked ass, too. After watching the first two episodes, I’m really excited for this show and just love how female-centric it is! I hope the rest of the season, which fittingly ends on October 30, is just as much fun as these first two episodes were.

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Comic-Con Joseph Quinn Marvel Pedro Pascal Vanessa Kirby

Pedro Pascal & Vanessa Kirby were hot together on the Fantastic Four Comic-Con panel




One of the most anticipated panels at this year’s Comic-Con was the Marvel panel. It’s been a rough few years for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has struggled to find its footing since the epic Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Even so, there’s always a bit of anticipation to see what’s in store for us. This year’s Marvel panel was pretty action packed and it revealed new details from the more anticipated upcoming properties to officially enter the timeline: Fantastic Four. The last time the Four appeared on screens, it was the Chris Pine/Jessica Alba versions from 2005 and 2007. (Not counting the fan-demanded John Krasinski version in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, of course.)

After much anticipation, the Fantastic Four cast was revealed last year. It will star Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm) as the Four. Filming is set to begin this week and it has a July 25, 2025 release date. During the Marvel panel on Saturday evening, the entire cast was there. Each one had some really nice things to say about their experience joining the MCU family. Pascal and Kirby were particularly fun and flirty together backstage.

In San Diego Convention Center’s Hall H, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, 51, introduced the film’s director Matt Shakman. The cast, they said, were too busy preparing to being filming next week. However, after a sizzle reel offering glimpses of them in action, Pascal, Kirby, Moss-Bachrach and Quinn emerged to thunderous applause.

Pascal, 49, said he’s known Shakman for 25 years. His favorite part about joining this iconic cinematic universe: “New family.”

Kirby, 36, noted that she and Quinn, 30, bonded as onscreen siblings and the only Brits in the cast. “I don’t think I’ve laughed so much in a rehearsal period before,” she recalled. “When you read the comics, you feel a lot of joy… hopefully we can bring that into the movie.”

Moss-Bachrach, 47, said he received advice from an alumnus of the Marvel Cinematic Universe on how to act with its advanced technology. “I got a very nice text from Mark Ruffalo,” he revealed, “to just kind of demystify the process of motion capture, something I’ve never done before.”

Once off-stage, Pascal and Kirby caught up with PEOPLE and shared that they had yet to receive any advice about joining the MCU from those who’ve come before, but Kirby was looking forward to catching up with her “old friend” Sebastian Stan, who was supporting his next Marvel film Thunderbolts*, later.

“We’re the newbies,” Kirby tells PEOPLE.

“We’re the newbies and we’re in the newbie process,” adds Pascal. “We fly back tonight and start the movie.”

“Yeah, we are,” Kirby responded. “First day [is] in 24 hours.”

Centered around a group of astronauts who develop superheroic powers upon being exposed to cosmic rays in space, it was The Fantastic Four, from creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, that launched the Marvel Comics universe back in 1961.

The new film follows previous big-screen iterations of the iconic characters: a 2015 remake outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell; plus films in 2005 and 2007 starring Chris Evans, Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd and Michael Chiklis. (In addition, John Krasinski played a parallel version of Reed Richards in 2022 MCU installment Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.)

The Fantastic Four will come after Marvel Cinematic Universe installments Captain America: Brave New World (in theaters Feb. 14, 2025) and Thunderbolts* (in theaters May 2, 2025).

[From People]

After watching the backstage videos of the two of them, I can buy Pedro and Vanessa as Reed and Sue! There’s chemistry, I’m here for it. They were so hot together that when I went to Google if they were actually dating, it autofilled in, “Pedro Pascal Vanessa Kirby…relationship.” Clearly, I’m not the only one watching and wondering!

That’s also pretty cool that Mark Ruffalo gave Ebon pointers on acting in motion capture. I may be in the minority here, but I actually liked the first (2005) Fantastic Four for what it was. Thinking back on how superhero movies used to be, it seems like such a simpler time, no? Maybe it’s the Chris Evans of it all, and he’s the key to the multiverse that brought us the actual MCU, ha. I’m looking forward to this movie because of its cast, not because any of the MCU movies or TV shows. I do hope that this movie is a success for Pedro’s sake, though. He was in DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 and although he and Gal Gadot did their campy best, that was not a good movie. To borrow from Marvel’s latest movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, “Let’s f-cking go.”

oh wow pic.twitter.com/cuo3sdIPqU

— Pedro Pascal Daily (@pascalarchive) July 28, 2024

vanessa kirby and pedro pascal talk about being newbies to the mcu the way they can’t stop giggling together is ???? #SDCC pic.twitter.com/QtOuch9Anx

— vanoo storm era (@cedarstacks) July 28, 2024

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