Marvel reportedly shelves movie sequel plans for three of its biggest box office bombs
Eternally lost to the annals of time?
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Marvelhas decided not to move forward with movie sequels for three of its biggest box office flops, according to a new leak.
Daniel Richtman, a renowned industry insider who goes by the pseudonym DanielRPK in online circles, took toPatreon(thanks toThat Redacted Guyon X/Twitter for the screenshot) to claim that Marvel had shelved sequel plans for a trio of unloved flicks. The film franchises in question?Ant-Man,Captain Marvel, andEternals– Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies that failed to deliver the goods in theaters.
Of that contingent, the apparent news that Marvel has putEternals 2on indefinite hold has, somewhat surprisingly, drawn the most ire from MCU fans. Its predecessor, which was helmed by Oscar winner Chloe Zhao and released in theaters in 2021, only earned $402 million globally. Coupled with its abject (by Marvel standards) 47% critics score onRotten Tomatoes,Eternalswas the Disney subsidiary’s biggest movie flop untilAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania– with its marginally worse 46%Rotten Tomatoesrating – replaced it as the worst-rated MCU film of all-time.
Despite its lackluster performance, sections of the MCU’s global fanbase had hopedEternals 2would eventually see the light of day. However, with Marvel re-evaluating which movies andDisney Plusshows it wants to develop, it seemsEternals 2– though never officially announced – won’t be part of its perpetually revisedMarvel Phase 5orMarvel Phase 6plans.
In the wake of Daniel RPK’s leak, fans have taken to X/Twitter, Reddit, and other social media platforms to express disappointment overEternals 2’s potential cancelation. Indeed, many are grieving the fact that they won’t see this collection of superheroes again, nor pop sensation Harry Styles' Eros, who was teased in one of twoEternalspost-credits scenes.
Of course, I shouldn’t need to say it, but this isjusta rumor right now. Marvel Studios hasn’t commented on the above and, while it’s unlikely that it will, there’s nothing to suggest thatEternals 2was secretly in active development or that it’s been axed. I’ve reached out to Disney to see if there’s any truth to the leak and, even though I don’t expect to receive a response, I’ll update this article if I hear back.
What about Ant-Man 4 and Captain Marvel 3?
They’re in the same boat. As I mentioned,Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawas slammed by critics in early 2023 and, despite the fact that it made $476 million worldwide, I doubt we’ll see Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang get another runout on the big screen outside of a likely appearance inAvengers 5and/orAvengers 6.
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Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel faces a similarly dubious future.The Marvels– effectivelyCaptain Marvel 2, albeit with significant ties toWandaVisionandMs Marvel– might have been received better than its contemporaries. However, despite holding a 62% critics rating onRotten Tomatoes, it earned just $206 million – a figure five times smaller than 2019’s billion dollar-makingCaptain Marvel. Such wasThe Marvels' relatively poor reception and performance, Larson has even suggested that she may not return as Carol Danvers, tellingVariety"does anyone want me to do it [play Captain Marvel] again?".
Not that I want to repeat myself, but we should take this new leak with a large pinch of salt. Outside of the projects it’s announced, nobody knows what Marvel is planning for the future. There could come a time where any or all of the above sequels are greenlit – and, withEternalssetting up events that might play out in Marvel’sBlademovie reboot, plusAnt-Man 3andThe Marvels' ties to the studio’s overarching multiversal narrative, we need resolutions to the lingering story threads from all three.
If said plotlines get resolved in another film or TV show, fair enough – but it would be a shame if some of these characters are suddenly never seen again because Marvel doesn’t view them as money-spinning entities anymore. If nothing else, they deserve to feature in the next twoAvengersfilms before riding off into the sunset.
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As TechRadar’s senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You’ll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.
An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as thisMoon Knight TV spot.
Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across.
Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.
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