An unknown Marvel Studios production is reportedly scouting locations in Italy for a World War I-set production. The European country has been the backdrop of an MCU project before in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where the small town of Bard and its Fort Bard doubled as Sokovia. Earlier this year, Spider-Man: Far From Home also shot sequences in Venice. Not long after that, it seems like the studio is looking to come back for a brand new movie.

While fans’ attention is fixated on the next three MCU films on the docket - Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame and Far From Home, Marvel Studios continues to work behind the scenes to map out the future of the famed franchise. And new intel is claiming that an upcoming movie will be filming in Italy sometime between April-May next year.

According to Italian outlet batdtaste.it citing a report from a local newspaper, Il Saviglianese, an upcoming Marvel Studios movie is looking to film World War I-set scenes in the Castle of Racconigi in Cuneo, Italy. The time period was previously explored in another superhero film in Wonder Woman, although it’s unlikely that the unnamed Marvel film will be fully set during the Great War like the DC movie. The report further indicates that Black Widow’s director was spotted scouting for locations in the city, but it’s odd that Cate Shortland’s name wasn’t specified in the article. No other information has been released, but considering what’s supposedly known about the future of the MCU, there are currently three films reportedly in various stages of active development - The Eternals, Shang-Chi and Black Widow.

With the unnamed film already in the location-scouting stage, it’s safe to rule Shang-Chi out of the equation as it is still too early in development to be looking for places to film. That leaves Black Widow and The Eternals as contenders with both films already having their respective directors locked in (Shortland and Chloe Zhao respectively). Narrative-wise, the time and place could hint at The Eternal’s Sersi’s arc - who was born in Ancient Greece and has lived for countless decades in the pages of the comics. Perhaps, the film will briefly show her life in the early 1900s amidst the first World War as she co-exists with human beings.

Otherwise, the castle could trace the origin of the Red Room - the program that took in and trained Natasha to become an elite assassin. Marvel TV’s Agent Carter tackling the ruthless training academy proves that it had been around since World War II, but it may have been operational earlier. The fact that Black Widow has just also nabbed Mission: Impossible - Fallout cinematographer Rob Hardy is an indication that it’s close to begin production, which could coincide with the provided filming dates in the report.

It’s important to note, however, that Marvel Studios has yet to come out and announce an official slate for Phase 4 past Far From Home - and that was announced by Sony, not Marvel. The details about the aforementioned projects have been reported by various outlets, although that’s not to say they’re false as it makes sense that Kevin Feige and his team are already quietly developing films to keep the ball rolling for the franchise. It’s just that considering there’s so little known about what lies ahead for the MCU, it’s difficult to gauge which film the reported location scouting is for. The castle can also be for the planned TV spinoffs for Disney Plus instead of movie projects. Fans will just have to wait for official announcements to find out.

More: Every Phase 4 MCU Movie In Development

Source: Il Saviglianese (via badtaste.it)

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