Latest Marvel News: ‘Wakanda Forever’s original choice for Black Panther is unmasked while a dream Spider-Man project might have been saved

With just coda project The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special left to go this year, the MCU is currently in a strange limbo period as it transitions from Phase Four to Phase Five, which kicks off in early 2023 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Speaking of, now that Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has arrived, we’ve received some new updates from the Quantum Realm this Monday, along with an encouraging hint about a Spider-Man project we thought might’ve been canned.

Wakanda Forever would’ve turned out very differently if this character was our new Black Panther

I think it’s safe to say that we’re all fully aware who the MCU’s new Black Panther is at this stage. Yes, as was the most obvious eventuality, it’s Shuri. However, it wasn’t necessarily always going to be this way. Producer Nate Moore has admitted that initially the Wakanda Forever team had discussions about the nation’s new protector being none other than M’Baku, which is honestly probably something that a lot of fans would’ve loved to have seen. But, hey, at least he’s still got an interesting new gig himself…

Don’t worry, webheads, the MCU’s first Spider-Man show might still be swinging

Last week, some troubling rumors sparked up about Spider-Man: Freshman Year, the animated series that will explore the origins of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, had been cancelled by Marvel in the face of many of its crew being laid off. In the wake of that worrying talk, creator Jeff Trammell has since taken to Twitter to mark the two-year anniversary of his pitch to the studio about the series, teasing the big things that are to come. So it seems we really are going back to school with the wallcrawler. Hooray!

Quantumania-mania breaks out after fresh looks at both Kang and MODOK

We already got a good look at Jonathan Majors in costume as Kang in the first Quantumania trailer, but the latest promo image for the threequel has really got fans excited about how comics-accurate the multiversal megalomaniac looks. On the flip side, some new leaked merchandise is reminding folks all over again that we’re in for a version of MODOK in the same movie who will sadly look nothing like he does in the comics. Apparently, you can’t win ’em all.

Expect a major change from He Who Remains when Kang comes a-calling

Staying on the Quantumania train for a moment, Quantumania director Peyton Reed has promised that Kang will be a completely different individual from He Who Remains, despite Majors playing both that Loki character and the MCU’s second big bad. In particular, Reed described Kang as a “warrior” and a “strategist,” so we should prepare for a much more intimidating persona than the laid-back HWR. There’s a reason everyone’s fearing for Scott Lang’s safety.

Turn yourselves back here tomorrow, Kang campaigners, for more of the latest Marvel news.