Does Bruce Campbell Really Have A Three-Movie Deal At Marvel Studios?
When Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige took the stage at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, he made some monumental announcements regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The architect of this massive franchise revealed that Phase Four will end with the highly anticipated "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." He then outlined the plans for Phase Five, which include projects featuring Nick Fury, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Ms. Marvel, Captain America, Daredevil, the Thunderbolts, and more. And he even announced a few Phase Six films that drove the fans in Hall H and all over the world absolutely nuts: "Avengers: Kang Dynasty" and "Avengers: Secret Wars." Feige even revealed that this whole current MCU story would be known as the Multiverse Saga.
However, the head honcho managed to leave out someone very important. Throughout the entire presentation, True Believers were left without an update on one of the most important figures in all of the multiverse: Pizza Poppa. Thankfully, Bruce Campbell was on hand at SDCC along with the Pizza Poppa food cart to promote the home release of Sam Raimi's "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" and to set the record straight about his integral role in the MCU.
I love it when you call me Big (Pizza) Poppa
While Feige and company failed to announce the next project for Pizza Poppa, the breakout star of the sequel to 2016's "Doctor Strange," Campbell appeared at the con alongside his trusty pizza ball food cart to make a huge announcement. In an interview with Variety, the actor, best known for his work in the "Evil Dead" series of films, claimed that he has signed a three-picture deal with Marvel. Secrecy be damned, he also shared that there are big things in store for his character:
"I think I need to clarify something: If you think of him as just the Pizza Poppa, you're very, very confused. And you're very wrong. In the multiverse, if he's in one universe, he's in all universes. Think of it not as a cameo, but as a building block for the multiverse. There's so many things that you don't know. Mostly, you don't know that I've signed a three-picture deal with Marvel. This is not a one off thing. I'm really gonna be in trouble just for saying that. Don't get hung up on Pizza Poppa, he's not just a pizza vendor. Not even close."
There's always the possibility that Campbell is pulling our leg, but I hardly think that he would joke about the future of such a prominent character — the most important character in the entire MCU! Campbell is not a known prankster, and he has certainly never used his celebrity platform to make goofy jokes at the expense of himself and others. Nope. Not at all.
That aside, Campbell makes a very valid point: Just as we met the variants of Loki and Doctor Strange, there's got to be other Pizza Poppas out there too. With this being the Multiverse Saga, I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up in another branch of the Sacred Timeline somewhere along the way.
Once you pop, you can't stop
It's also worth noting that we haven't met the Earth-616 version of Pizza Poppa yet. With a large number of projects left in this saga, the possibilities are pretty endless for where we can finally meet this most important of figures. Maybe he's one of the people replaced by the Skrulls in "Secret Invasion." While he's in space, wherever the Skrulls are holding his true form, what if he ends up in the Collector's collection and crosses paths with the crew of the Benatar in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"? With his strong chin and uncanny ability to take a punch, Pizza Poppa could be recruited into the Thunderbolts potentially alongside US Agent, Yelena Belova, and Baron Zemo.
Considering the actor's experience with zombies, maybe Pizza Poppa borrows a page from Ash's book and takes on the undead in "Marvel Zombies" or "What If?" season 2? Or, and this is probably the most likely scenario as Pizza Poppa always gets paid, Campbell's character might have been stiffed one too many times on the streets of New York City and decides to join the New World Order featured in Sam Wilson's first headlining film as Captain America. Now that would be just too sweet.
No matter where he's called to pop up next, the very serious and always truthful Bruce Campbell will be ready to unleash the Pizza Poppa whenever he's needed. Until the hero of the working class joins Earth's Mightiest Heroes in their fight against Kang the Conqueror across the multiverse, we'll just have to continue speculating on what the other two projects left on his deal with Marvel Studios could be. Because Bruce Campbell has never once told a joke. He is a serious man.
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" hits Blu-ray and DVD on July 26, 2022. It is also available to stream right now on Disney+.