Lola Kirke, star of Amazon Prime’s ‘Mozart in the Jungle,’ talks season 3, how she wants to play a super hero someday and much more!

Download episode #265.5 of This Week in Marvel from Marvel.com, check out Marvel Podcast Central, grab the TWiM RSS feed and subscribe to This Week in Marvel on iTunes or Soundcloud! Head over now to our new hub to listen to the full run of This Week in Marvel including our latest episode!

This Week in Marvel focuses on delivering all the Marvel info on news and new releases–from comics to video games to toys to TV to film and beyond! New episodes will be released every Tuesday and Thursday (or so) and TWiM is co-hosted by Marvel VP Executive Editor of Digital Media Ryan “Agent M” Penagos and Editorial Director of Marvel Digital Media Ben Morse with Manager, Video & Content Production: Blake Garris, Editor Marc Strom, and Assistant Editor Christine Dinh. We also want your feedback, as well as questions for us to answer on future episodes! Tweet your questions, comments and thoughts about TWiM to @AgentM, @BenJMorse, @blakegarris or @Marvel with the hashtag #ThisWeekinMarvel!

Hollywood’s Most Intriguing Producer to Be Available for First Ever Q&A

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA — For the first time, one of Hollywood’s most sought after producers, Steven Grant, will make himself available to the public for a Q&A before his hotly anticipated newest project “Moon Knight.”

Grant, a New York entrepreneur who has found himself unable to resist the bright lights of La La Land for too long, has long been the subject of rumor and debate inside the film industry and on the pages of tabloids. However, he has rarely spoken about his life to anyone on the record and certainly not in an open forum.

First becoming famous in Manhattan for his appearance, seemingly out of nowhere, on society pages as a wealthy entrepreneur and philanthropist, Grant fascinated the East Coast press. Attractive and dashing, he seemed to love a good party but never lingered long enough for anyone to get to know him. Even the reliably intrusive gossip pages could not seem to find a thing on him.

He stoked the flames of interest even further as he began to appear at fundraisers and art auctions with the beautiful and well connected Marlene Alraune on his arm. Over the years, their on again off again romance has capture the world’s imagination and raised both’s profiles considerably. But still Grant remained remarkably quiet.

Despite his New York roots, Grant’s love of show business proved too much to resist. While his entrepreneurial pursuits seemed to no longer interest him, his interest in film and television blossomed. Gaining a reputation as a producer with a large wallet from which he freely dispensed capital, Grant also stood out amongst his ilk for his artistic vision. In a town full of people with money only interested in increasing their bottom line regardless of the product, Grant seemed more like the maverick directors of the 70’s—only the art mattered.

Inevitably, when discussing the producer’s dedication with art, one must also acknowledge his other obsession: the vigilante Moon Knight. His interest in the white clad violent crime fighter has, at times, reached such a fever pitch that many speculated the two one in the same or, more likely, Grant provided his fortune as the Lunar Warrior’s chief financier. While there remains no evidence to back up these wild theories, they continue to follow Grant to this day. Other particularly bizarre conspiracies include Grant once serving as a mercenary for hire and sometimes driving a cab on New York’s streets to keep him “in touch” with those less fortunate than himself.

What clearly rings true: the producer has great respect and admiration for Moon Knight and thus has been driven to capture the hero’s adventures on-screen. His first attempt—the recent Moon Knight TV series—has been regarded as a delightful slice of summer television. Grant copped to the fact that the series proved less intense and artistic than he expected; he nonetheless became heartened by fans’ embrace of its big action and characterization.

However, the restless producer could not let it be the final world on the Fist of Khonshu. Thus, the MOON KNIGHT film series. Now fans await with bated breath the release of MOON KNIGHT #10, which Grant made in collaboration with visionaries Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood. And to sweeten the deal for Angelinos, Steven Grant will appear at an exclusive screening on the film’s release date, January 4, to answer the burning questions fans and cinephiles alike have long wondered about.

When it comes to protecting the Land of Liberty, the United States of America needs a team of heroes that can protect the great nation from all of the dangers this world has to offer.

Introducing: American Intelligence Mechanics. A.I.M. will dare any danger—no matter how awesome—to save their country from the wildest, weirdest threats of all! Beginning January 4, the most patriotic-group ever arrives to save the day—and they’ll do it all looking tried and true in red, white, and blue! Join Iron Patriot, Squirrel Girl, Enigma, Captain America 20XX and more in U.S. AVENGERS!

We caught up with series writer Al Ewing to get the down low on what to expect from some of the old and new faces on the updated team roster. See who made the cut, ahead.

Roberto Da Costa
“From Sunspot to the new Citizen V. I’ve been having a lot of fun with him as a leader and spymaster, always 10 steps ahead—though things are a little more serious for him now, because he’s part of a larger institution and has people watching his moves closely who maybe don’t think he should be where he is, and will be doing whatever they can to oust him. It’s going to be a rough year.”

Iron Patriot
“Dr. Toni Ho, graduated from her status as behind-the-scenes boffin of NEW AVENGERS to full-on super hero. I’m really excited to be building this character up further; it’s a rare example of someone I didn’t have an end goal for, I just allowed the character to do whatever felt right for her in the moment. That led to her being a central emotional core of the new team, and the new Iron Patriot, so I’m looking forward to where she goes next.”

Squirrel Girl
“Who doesn’t like Squirrel Girl? Doreen’s great, because she’s the furthest thing from a “random,” “zany” character there is; at the core of her, there’s this incredible, intense well of compassion and empathy that you don’t really see in a lot of other super-people. It took me a little while to completely get that, but I’m very glad I did—someone with that sensibility is vital on any team.”

Red Hulk
“Since Thunderbolt Ross has things to do elsewhere and it was getting very complicated to have him in our book, we have an all-new Red Hulk— which lets us have Red Hulk action in issue #1 and lets us play with the concept a little. I’m having fun deciding how this new Hulk works, how he thinks, and what he’s going to get up to. We’re going to get to give him a big spotlight in issue #4.”

Enigma
“Aikku Jokinen is wearing the Pod undersuit—the under-armor that the original suit grew as an interface—and it’s developing some strange and interesting powers. This was an opportunity to make Pod less of a big blaster character and more of a stealth fighter. She’s got a fun new powerset—lots of useful spy stuff like phasing, hologram generation, and so on—and we put it to use in interesting ways. Does this mean Pod is dead for good? Well, we’ll see…”

Cannonball
“Sam Guthrie is, in some ways, the heart of the team—although he shares that position with Doreen. Along with Roberto, he’s the guardian of Professor X’s dream; a dream not just of human-mutant peace, but of tolerance, inclusion, and the recognition of shared humanity among all people. He’ll never stop fighting for that, to his last breath—and maybe beyond. Not that I’m hinting at anything there.”

Captain America 20XX
“Danielle Cage, the fan-favorite future Cap from ULTRON FOREVER and NEW AVENGERS, and our guest star for the first three-issue arc—although she’ll probably be back after that. She’s come here from the future—but, is it our future, or has the timeline already diverged? And is it too late to stop the Golden Skull from razing and looting our world?”

Salute U.S. AVENGERS #1 from Al Ewing and Paco Medina on January 4!

Can you imagine being a teenage genius let loose for the first time on the world in New York City? That’s the place Nadia Pym finds herself in as her new comic UNSTOPPABLE WASP launches on January 4.

Written by Jeremy Whitley and drawn Elsa Charretier, the series focuses on the daughter of Hank Pym as she gets used to life outside of the Black Widow-creating Red Room, adjusting to her new roles as a super hero and a teenager. We talked with Charretier about nailing Nadia’s retro-infused style, separating the new heroine from her more well-known counterpart, and developing a gallery of rogues for her to face.

Marvel.com: How does it feel to be making your Marvel debut on a book like UNSTOPPABLE WASP?

Elsa Charretier: This book came at a perfect time for me. After doing my own creator-owned series and a few issues for other publishers, I thought about going back to indie comics. I liked my experience with mainstream comics very much, but I felt the need to create a character from scratch: designing them, their environment and, overall, having a bit more “control” over the book. UNSTOPPABLE WASP being a new series allowed me to do that, in a sense.

Although Nadia has had previous appearances, Jeremy and I were really able to put our mark on the book, and it’s been creatively extremely fulfilling. And it’s an ongoing book! We get to work on a whole story arc, which is challenging in a way, but really exciting.

Marvel.com: How would you say that Nadia carries herself differently than her predecessor, Janet Van Dyne, both in and out of the costume?

Elsa Charretier: Nadia is completely new to all this. To super heroes, to S.H.I.E.L.D.—and, since she was raised in a Russian assassin school, even the real world is new to her. And she approaches things a bit naively. She doesn’t understand why everyone can’t be friends, why all the heroes can’t just sit down and talk their problems out. Janet, who knows her way around, is well aware of the issues and why they can’t be solved that easily. Nadia may be extremely smart, but she is still a teenager, and Janet is a grown woman with more experience, of life and the field. Science has been all Nadia has [known] since she was born, and naturally thinks that it can answer everything. And of course, it can’t.

Marvel.com: With a character like this who’s both relatively new, but also part of a legacy, do you have some freedom when it comes to designing her look in the series?

Elsa Charretier: Luckily, I did. Alex Ross handled the design of her Wasp outfit. His suit not only looks fantastic, but practically draws itself. Designing a super hero costume requires nailing the right balance of originality and simplicity, and I’m glad such a talented artist did Nadia’s.

As for the out-of-costume part, I had complete freedom. Her face had to carry both fun and charisma. She is still young, but not really a kid anymore. You want to convey her optimism, but also hint that she is able to put her fists on the table if necessary. Another important aspect of her is her style. She was forced to wear uniforms growing up and I’m guessing she didn’t have access to fashion. And now she is [a teenager], and she lives in [New York City], one of the richest and craziest cities when it comes to fashion. Nadia is hyper active, and curious of everything, every culture. So, from the beginning, I pictured she would shop in second hand cool stores. The 90’s style being back, it’s pretty easy to find cheap and awesome pieces and vintage jewelry. I really wanted her outfits to reflect her curiosity.

Marvel.com: What makes Nadia unstoppable?

Elsa Charretier: To me, that would be her creativity. She is smart, but what defines her the most is that she is an inventor. Her thing is to come up with stuff, with ideas, and thus [she] is able to adjust to all kinds of situations. It’s actually pretty close to my own vision of life. No matter the cards you’ve been dealt, it’s always about what you do with it. If you add that to Nadia’s natural optimism and energy, you realize that you won’t quit that easily.

Marvel.com: Wasp isn’t known for having a deep rogues gallery. Do you and Jeremy have plans to change that?

Elsa Charretier: We’re really trying to develop Nadia’s world in the series. Her lab, her friends, everything that makes her who she is, and that, of course, includes rogues. What’s great with her, and what made me laugh all through the first issue, is how Nadia interacts with people that are considered evil. She’s genuinely concerned as to why they decided to turn to the dark side. Almost telling them, “Hey, there’s still time, you can still be one of the good guys.” That leads to pretty absurd scenes and dialog. So definitely, there’ll be more of them, and I can already tell we’re having tons of fun with their designs.

Marvel.com: Overall, how has it been collaborating with Jeremy so far?

Elsa Charretier: I’ve been really lucky to be paired up with him. We have a similar vision on the portrayal of female characters in comics. We both love strong female leads. Nadia is only [a teenager], but she’s on top of things! And the cast of characters he [has] created—rogues and friends—are all deep and I love drawing all of them.

I’d say that’s what makes good teamwork: we’re going in the same creative direction. I trust him on the scripts, and I feel that he trusts me on the pages and layouts. He welcomes my ideas, encourages me to do layouts that are different than his original panel breakdown if I think of something else. The same goes for the entire team, actually. Our editors, Tom Brevoort and Alanna Smith, have kept a very open mind since we’ve started the book, and Megan Wilson, our fantastic colorist, has been very involved in the process as well. All this creates a very welcoming and safe working environment, and I’m very grateful for it.

THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP #1 by Jeremy Whitley and Elsa Charretier soars into stores on January 4.