The third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe reached its climax in Avengers: Endgame and concludes with this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, leading many fans to wonder what’s next. Now, a new round of rumors from a “Marvel insider” purportedly reveal all of Marvel’s secret Phase Four plans, but there’s a catch: They’re probably not true.
On May 27, a YouTube channel called The Cosmic Wonder posted a seven-minute video that allegedly spilled the beans on a number of upcoming Marvel projects, including further details on some previously announced films and television shows. Much of this information was credited to Roger Wardell, a mysterious Twitter user who correctly reported (or predicted) a number of Endgame‘s major plot points and cameos. The rumors were picked up by the press last week, and seem to be making the rounds again (on the off-chance that some of this information is accurate, be wary of potential spoilers).
The so-called “leaks” are filled with tantalizing teases about the future of the MCU, including the appearance of the actual Mandarin in Shang-Chi, the big-screen debut of Thor ally Beta Ray Bill, and a new Black Widow played by Florence Pugh. Norman Osborne, aka the Green Goblin, is poised to be the MCU’s new big bad, the rumors say, while the Falcon and Winter Soldier series on Disney Plus will end with Sam Wilson becoming the new Captain America.
Here’s the thing: Not only has Wardell been wrong before, but there’s no evidence that the new intel actually comes from him. There’s nothing about these stories on Wardell’s Twitter feed, where he typically shares his info. When the rumors began to pick up steam, Wardell responded by tweeting that “These journalists really need to stop putting words in my mouth.”
The most likely source of these rumors seems to be 4chan post that was recirculated on Reddit. Neither of those are reliable sources, and it’s hard to judge the original 4chan message on its own merits. It’s already been deleted.
Not that all of the information in these reports is false, of course. The list of rumors contains some previously confirmed details, like Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s Mysterio being an interdimensional traveler. Others are easy leaps to make, especially for anyone with a solid grasp of Marvel Comics continuity.
We know that Game of Thrones star Richard Madden is in talks to appear in The Eternals, for example. If he ends up being cast as lead character Ikaris, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Similarly, Adam Strange was teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. If he plays a major role in Vol. 3, that only makes sense.
In other words, many of these rumors are very plausible. If they come true, however, it doesn’t mean that anything “leaked.” It just means that someone on the internet is good at connecting the dots and guessing.
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