Marvel Cinematic Universe spoiler-heavy speculation thread

Well, that was nice of you to spoil it for those of us who don't keep up with merchandising.

 

You miss the "spoiler heavy" part of the title?

 

Nope, and neither have other people who still tag stuff like that for upcoming productions.

 

It is interesting about how we have become so obsessed with spoilers for upcoming movies. I include myself in that too. But I remember as a kid, novels adaptations came out before movies. There were all kinds of toys and cereal box tie ins, collecting cards with information about the movie on the back -- and all of those were out before the movie. That was marketing in the pre-internet world.

 

Does that picture give away the ending? NO
Does that picture give away anything about the story? NO

So how in the world is that a spoiler?

 

Yep. After all, many movies over the decades have been adaptations of pre-existing novels, plays, etc., and the familiarity of the works being adapted helped generate interest in the movies. Advance knowledge of the story was seen as a benefit rather than a detriment. So releasing an original film's novelization ahead of time was an attempt to generate a similar kind of advance buzz.

 

Does Wakanda have a coastline?

 

This is the first I've heard about Attuma being in this movie.

 

In the comics, yes--at least it used to be on the west coast. In the MCU it is landlocked and somewhere near Uganda.

 

Oops, I did it again.

 

Although fictional geography can be inconsistent. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sunnydale was a coastal city until the finale, when it was suddenly in the middle of the desert. In the Arrowverse, Star(ling) City and Central City have had their locations depicted very inconsistently over the years.

 

In the comics, I am sure that Wakanda has moved around like Gotham and Metropolis over the years. In the MCU though, it has been clearly shown on maps and visual displays so I doubt they will move it around for the sake of a single movie.

 

Oakland has a coastline. And a Wakandan outreach center.

 

Going Meso-American as rumored.

Well, that would involve the USA.

 

Do we know for sure that Atuma and Namor artwork is legit?

 

The Arrowverse has shown maps of Star City and Central City that were later contradicted. Early Trek: TNG showed galaxy maps that were later contradicted. Gilligan's Island showed several contradictory maps of the title location over the course of its three seasons and later revival movies. Graphics exist to serve the story, not the other way around. They're secondary details. If the actual story you need to tell requires contradicting some map fleetingly glimpsed for a few seconds in an earlier story, then of course you contradict it. Most viewers won't notice anyway.

 

I would buy that possibility if Wakanda's location had been a one time graphic in a single movie, but we have seen its location more than once by now so I would treat its place in the MCU Earth as established by now. Besides, Namor's appearance doesn't necessitate Wakanda being a coastal nation.

 

Yeah, and we saw the Infinity Gauntlet in Odin's treasure room, but Infinity War contradicted that. Sure, Ragnarok later fixed that plot hole with a throwaway gag, but the makers of Infinity War didn't hesitate to ignore a background detail that had been "established" before. And the makers of Doctor Strange didn't hesitate to contradict Civil War establishing Stephen Strange as someone already important enough to watch out for. Because it doesn't matter if something's been "established" in a previous story. All that matters is the story you have to tell. Background details, graphics, throwaway dialogue, and the like exist to support the story, not to dictate it.

Sure, you want to maintain the illusion of consistency where you can, but it doesn't outweigh the fundamentals of telling stories. If someone comes up with a great idea for a movie that requires Wakanda to have a coastline, nobody is going to say "No, we have to abandon our plans for this terrific story because of a map that was glimpsed for a few seconds." It's a simple matter of priorities.

 

Which makes sense. Wakanda, being land-locked and way cleaner than most countries, is a weird target for the Atlanteans. The US is an absolutely perfect target. But if their attack on the US kills T'Challa, then the result is still Wakanda vs Atlantis.

 

Loki Season 2 is shooting in London currently. Scenes set at a movie premier in the 1970s judging by the clothes and fake posters they've put up.