marvel
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: NetEase / Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals is one of the most popular games out at the moment, so it’s shocking to hear that its development team is experiencing layoffs.
Spotted on Insider Gaming, multiple social media reports state that NetEase has laid off Marvel Rivals’ entire development team. Marvel Rivals’ game director Thaddeus Sasser revealed the sad and surprising news in a post on LinkedIn he shared on Tuesday afternoon.
“This is such a weird industry…” Sasser wrote. “My stellar, talented team just helped deliver an incredibly successful new franchise in Marvel Rivals for NetEase Games…and were just laid off!”
According to Sasser, NetEase laid off the Seattle-based team that was tasked with “coming up with new level design mechanics, gameplay mechanics, and so on.”
Level designer Garry McGee, one of the affected developers, and level designer Jack Burrows, who confirmed the news via his post on LinkedIn, were among those who lost their jobs.
Social Media Is Stunned
According to Circana data from industry analyst Mat Piscatella, Marvel Rivals is one of the top five games with the most active users across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Steam, so it’s not surprising that social media is stunned by the news.
“Marvel Rivals is the hottest game out rn, just revealed 2 banger characters, and people still got laid off. The industry is cooked,” one user on X, formerly Twitter, wrote.
Journalist Alyssa Mercante wrote, “Even successful game devs are not safe, because THE PROBLEMS ARE AT THE TOP.”
SpawnOnMe’s Kahlief Adams wrote on X, “Rivals a super popular and profitable game letting go their Game Director the same day as they debut new content seems like Bizzaro land and business as usual at the same time. Success is also in the upside down…”
As Adams mentioned, this tragic news came as Marvel Rivals announced that The Thing and Human Torch from The Fantastic 4 will be in the game this Friday. Blade, the vampire hunter, has also been teased.
Bruh, the video game industry is on one right now. You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
5. When all else fails blame Donald Trump
HipHopWired Featured Video
Jonathan Majors was poised to become the next “big bad” for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, widely referred to as the MCU, but was removed from the roster after his legal issues. While rumors persist that Jonathan Majors will return to the MCU, inside sources say that a return is not imminent.
According to an exclusive account from TMZ, Jonathan Majors has not entered into talks with Marvel Studios nor has studio head Kevin Feige made any mention of Majors returning to the fold despite his popularity.
Majors, 35, was found guilty in 2023 of one count of reckless assault in the 3rd degree along with a charge of harassment as a violation. This was in connection to an assault matter brought to light by his former romantic partner, Grace Jabbari, who accused Majors of domestic violence. This led to Majors losing out on brand deals and movie roles, including the role of Kang The Conqueror.
Jabbari brought a lawsuit against Majors in March of last year for defamation, assault, and battery. However, Jabbari dropped the lawsuit without prejudice, leading many to assume that this would lead to exoneration for the actor.
Since splitting with Jabbari, Majors is now engaged to actress Meagan Good with the couple announcing their engagement in 2024.
—
Photo: Getty
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Marvel Studios / Marvel
We’re just a few weeks away from Marvel Studios getting back into the cinematic mix with the premier of their first 2025 project, Captain America: Brave New World and though test screenings for the film have led to numerous reshoots over the last few years, fans can’t wait to finally see Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk in live-action.
In the latest teaser trailer to the upcoming film, we find Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) continuing to carry the mantle of Captain America and doing his best to honor the legacy of his predecessor, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans). Unfortunately things seem to get a bit too much to handle for him as not only does he have to deal with Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) turning into an out of control Red Hulk, but also deal with The Leader (Tim Blake Nelson) and Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito) who’s got guns for days and is looking to take out the high-flying superhero.
Fortunately Sam has an alley in his new sidekick Joaquin Torres a.k.a the new Falcon, who’ll fight alongside him throughout this new threat.
With Sam using his wings to cut through plane wings and his shield to fend off bullets and protect himself from baton wielding henchmen before ultimately playing tag with the Red Hulk, it will be interesting to see how this film will be enough to get fans interested in the MCU again or if it’ll be another bomb with audiences.
Check out the latest trailer for Captain America: Brave New World below and let us know if you’ll be checking for it when it hits theaters on Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) in the comments section below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Michael Buckner / Getty
It’s official, Captain America is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the Russo brothers Avengers: Doomsday and no, we’re not talking about the Papa Doc version of the character.
According to Deadline, Chris Evans is set to return to the MCU for the highly anticipated fifth installment to the Avengers franchise and though we all know and love him for his iteration of Steve Rogers a.k.a Captain America, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll once again be rocking the Stars and Stripes on his costume. In Deadpool & Wolverine he returned to his original Marvel superhero form of Johnny Storm a.k.a The Human Torch of the Fantastic 4, so don’t be surprised if the Russo brothers have an entirely different character in mind for Evans as the MCU is experiencing a multiverse event in which your favorite movie stars are taking on entirely new roles.
With that being said, there are also rumors that the plot will revolve around Robert Downey Jr.’s Dr. Doom recruiting evil versions of the OG Avengers to help him execute his evil plot of creating Battle World where all your favorite multiverse heroes and villains exist in a single reality. So there’s a chance we may get our first live-action look at the Hydra version of Captain America.
Per Deadline:
As Deadline previously reported, expect many MCU OG characters to return in the Russo Brothers’ latest. As unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con back in July, Robert Downey Jr. ne Iron Man will be stepping into the role as the main baddie, Dr. Doom — if that isn’t upside down multi-universe enough.
Evans was always iffy as he would need a strong reason to return. The new Fantastic Four of Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are also set to star in Avengers: Doomsday.
While the rumors about Chris Evans return has been circulating for the past year or so, it was believed he’d return as Captain America in a Disney+ series centered around Cap returning the infinity stones to their proper realities. We were all on board for that as we wanted to see Captain America’s interaction with the Red Skull who went on to become the guardian of the Soul Stone. But this is also cool too.
Could Chris Evans return as the OG Captain America? Hydra’s Captain America? The Human Torch? Old Man Cap? With the Russo brothers you never know but what we do know is it won’t be boring. That’s for damn sure.
What do y’all think about Chris Evans returning to the MCU? Who would you like to see him return as? Let us know in the comments section below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Marvel / Disney+
After the massive success of Avengers: Endgame, it felt like Marvel fans began to get a bit of that superhero fatigue as the MCU’s following projects either struggled with popularity or just plain flopped with their audience.
From The Eternals to She-Hulk to Ms. Marvel, fans just weren’t feeling the films or series that Marvel Studios were churning out in recent years. Still, Marvel Studios has been hard at work with some new projects that may turn the tide on their struggling universe, and we got a sneak peak at what to expect in the coming future.
Today (Oct. 30), Marvel revealed what they have in store for their Disney+ subscribing fans with some new exciting series and some that no one actually asked for (no shots). Aside from bringing the new comic book classic film Deadpool & Wolverine to Disney+, Marvel will be dropping some new animated series in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Marvel Zombies, Eyes Of Wakanda and the final season of What If…?.
For their live-action productions, Marvel will be bringing some new superheroes into the MCU fold with the likes of Iron Heart and Wonder Man starring The Candyman himself, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
On the low, their animated series have always been top-notch compared to their live-action projects. Just sayin’.
But the series everyone has been waiting impatiently for is the return of Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Reborn, which will also feature the long-awaited return of Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher and Vincent D’Onofrio’s The Kingpin. Though the series was originally a Netflix exclusive, Marvel promised to keep the violence and action every bit as intense as it used to be now that they’re on the family friendly Disney+ streaming service.
While it was rumored that Daredevil and The Kingpin were going to play a big role in Spider-Man 4, it’s being said that Marvel Studios is now going to turn their next installment of Spider-Man into another multiverse affair with Tom Hardy’s Venom possibly playing a role as Knull might be the main villain of the film. It kind of feels too soon for that, but hey that’s just us.
Check out the trailer for Marvel’s upcoming slate of Disney+ projects below, and let us know which series you’re most looking forward to in the comments section.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Blade, the long-promised reboot of the popular film series with Mahershala Ali in the titular role, has seen several setbacks but was highly anticipated by fans of the franchise. Collectively, those same fans are decrying Marvel’s decision to remove Blade from its 2025 release slate and sparking a spirited discussion on X.
As reported by Deadline, Blade, which has seen a shuffle of names for directors, was reported for a November 2025 release. Instead, Predator: Badlands has the date slot. As the outlet adds, the reboot of the beloved Wesley Snipes vehicle was announced in 2019 at the San Diego Comic-Con, and the announcement of Mahershala Ali as the Daywalker was met with approval.
However, production on the film was halted after its first director, Bassam Tariq, vacated the project. Yann Demange was then brought in to helm the film but the French film director decided to move on earlier this year. Adding to all of this, production on Blade was beset with delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a series of strikes in the film industry.
Given that Snipes appeared in the well-received Deadpool & Wolverine film in a reprise of the vampire hunter character, it appeared that it was still full speed ahead for the film to come to fruition.
Some MCU fans online, still reeling from the loss of Chadwick Boseman, who played King T’Challa aka Black Panther, were hoping to have another Black character to rally around and show that Black moviegoers are eager to throw their support behind characters that look like them.
There is also a wider discussion happening on the X platform about scrapping the project altogether and reviving the King T’Challa character despite Marvel boss Kevin Feige saying he doesn’t intend to do so.
Check out the replies below.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Marvel / Marvel
It’s going to be a few months before Marvel fans get their first look at the highly anticipated debut of Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World. But until then Marvel isn’t wasting any time hyping up their next big-time crossover movie which will soon follow, Thunderbolts.
Source: Marvel / Marvel
Earlier today (Sep. 23) Marvel Studios released their first trailer for the upcoming mash-up film of former Marvel villains turned antiheroes and though plot details are still unknown, the trailer seems to promise an action-packed, buddy-ish film. Returning to the forefront of the MCU will be the likes of The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), the new, depressed Black Widow Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), the Red Guardian (David Harbour) and even bootleg Captain America a.k.a U.S. Agent John Walker (Wyatt Russell) amongst a few others.
In the trailer, we find that some of these characters were lured into a death trap of sorts with the intentions of taking one another out, but once they realize it was a set-up, the Marvel misfits decide to team together to get to the bottom of who wants them dead. Ultimately they end up face-to-face with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus aka Elaine from Seinfeld) who seems to have a plan for them all as she’s been running a shady part of the government since her first appearance in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series.
Source: Marvel / Marvel
Though we don’t know much else about what this band of Marvel antiheroes are set to do, rumors have it that Harrison Ford’s Red Hulk will play some kind of role in the forthcoming movie as he is a member of the squad in the comic book series.
Could Marvel Studios have another hit on their hands with Thunderbolts or will this team meet the same fate as the already forgotten Eternals?
Check out the trailer to Thunderbolts below and let us know if you’ll be checking for this come May of 2025.
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Marvel Studios / Deadpool & Wolverine / Blade
Deadpool might be “Marvel Jesus” after “resurrecting” the MCU with Deadpool and Wolverine. Can he do the same for Wesley Snipes’ Blade movie franchise?
After Deadpool and Wolverine did what many expected it to at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, Ryan Reynolds has been sharing moments from the cameo-filled goodbye to the Fox Marvel universe and giving props to each of the actors who helped him, Hugh Jackman and director Shawn Levy make history.
One person in particular, Reynolds, has been showering with praise, none other than Wesley Snipes, the original cinematic version of The Daywalker, Blade, aka “Marvel Daddy.”
In a post to his social media accounts, Reynolds echoed sentiments shared by many Marvel fans, who call for Snipes’ Blade to return.
Snipes has been credited with saving Marvel from bankruptcy with his hit 1998 Blade film, followed by 2002’s Blade II and 2004’s Blade: Trinity. The latter also starred Reynolds but was not as well received as the first two films, which allegedly led to some bad blood between the two actors.
So, you can imagine Snipes’ return as the human/vampire vamp hunter in Deadpool and Wolverine generated a lot of excitement, and Reynolds acknowledged that.
In an Instagram post, he called for “More Blade Please,” wanting Snipes’s version of Blade to get a sendoff akin to Hugh Jackman’s “Swan Song” in Logan.
“The reaction when @realwesleysnipes enters the movie is the most intense thing l’ve heard in a theater. People screaming with uninhibited joy and love is also the sound of a legacy. More Blade please. #DayWalker ***A Logan-style send off, specifically,” Reynolds wrote.
We can’t argue with that.
Can Ryan Reynolds Push Kevin Feige To Give Snipes’ Blade Another Movie?
We don’t know how much influence Ryan Reynolds has over Marvel Studios’ head, Kevin Feige, so it’s not certain that something like that will happen.
But he has a sound bargaining chip worth $1.029 billion. There is also that Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali as the titular character currently stuck in “development hell.” Still, Feige insists that his studio is taking its time so they can deliver a good film.
Still, many fans feel like Ryan Reynolds; you can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. E-Man with some ideas for a Wesley Snipes movie, Kevin Feige we you are listening
2. We hope not, because we want BOTH!
3. We all did.
4. No debate here.
5. Time is indeed a flat circle
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Marvel / Marvel
A few years ago, Marvel surprised comic book fans and Hip-Hop heads alike when they dropped a variant cover for Deadpool No.1, which featured the legendary Notorious B.I.G. Now, they’ll once again be calling on Big Poppa to grace another variant cover for the Merc with a Mouth.
For the upcoming issue to Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII No. 3, the Black Frank White will once again be visiting the Marvel universe as Deadpool and Wolverine go toe-to-toe. Drawn up by Salvador Larroca, the special variant cover to the issue is available on Hustl.agency and is limited to just 3,000 copies, with an extra special spotlight virgin variant limited to just 1,000 pieces.
In a press release for the special edition comic, we get a quick explanation behind Biggie’s second appearance in the world of Marvel comic books:
The Notorious B.I.G. returns to Marvel Comics as the undisputed mayoral figure of Brooklyn. On his streets, he plays the diplomatic peacemaker, living out his iconic lyrics, “Spread Love, It’s the Brooklyn Way.” In Biggie’s second variant cover appearance, he comes back to break up the animosity between Deadpool and Wolverine on the very streets he helped build. Although Biggie is not in the story or series, the special variant cover is a limited-edition collectible issue.
If anyone can tame the likes of Wolverine while matching the wits of Deadpool, it’s Biggie.
Check out pics of the variant cover to Deadpool & Wolverine: WWIII No. 3 above, and let us know if you’ll be picking up a copy in the comments section.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: YouTube / Marvel Studios
You just know Sam Wilson (portrayed by Anthony Mackie) is always to be going through it, being the new Black Captain America and all that rocking the Steve Rogers’ vibranium and adamantium blended shield entails. In the teaser trailer for Captain America: Brave New World all his talents are on display; dispatching proper fades, protecting the President and keeping the world together despite clandestine Ops infiltrating the White House.
Source: YouTube / Marvel Studios
Sign us up.
The trailer starts off on a solemn note with the Prez (Thaddeus Ross, portrayed by Han Solo aka Indiana Jones aka Harrison Ford) asking Black Cap to officially be part of the military. But of course, Sam spots the jig, with ish going to hell when OG Black supersoldier Isaiah Bradley (portrayed by Carl Lumbly) (you’re familiar if you watched The Falcon and The Winter Soldier) seemingly tries to assassinate the President Ross.
From there we see glimpses of Dora Milaje, Sam letting you know his Falcon talents still formidable. But the chef’s kiss the end of the trailer where what looks like the Red Hulk snatches Cap’s shield out of the air and slams it to the ground.
Oh, and Giancarlo Esposito is in the flick. Did we already say, Sign us up?
We’ll have to wait until February 14, 2025 (Valentine’s Day is booked, people) to watch Captain America: Brave New World, but we can peep the trailer below.
[embedded content]