Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • Marvel Studios ‘Secret Invasion’ Won’t Be a Superhero Slugfest like the Comic Book Event

    Marvel Studios ‘Secret Invasion’ Won’t Be a Superhero Slugfest like the Comic Book Event

    While it has plenty of shortcomings, Marvel Comics’ 2008 comic book crossover event, Secret Invasion, could never be accused of not going big. Writer Brian Michael Bendis shot for the stars throughout the eight-issue limited series at the center of the event that culminated in a pair of major battles in New York City and the Savage Land. Just about every Marvel character you’ve ever heard of–and a few you probably haven’t–showed up in the event at one point or another in an effort to stop the Skrulls from taking over Earth.

    In September of 2020, Marvel Studios began development on their adaption of Secret Invasion. The streaming series, set to debut on Disney Plus in the Summer of 2023, does share something in common with the comic book event as a faction of Skrulls has infiltrated positions of power around the globe and now looks to take Earth as their new home planet. As has been the case in almost every instance, however, Marvel Studios seems to have taken very little other than the title from the comic book event in adapting the storyline to the MCU.

    Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury in Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

    The Disney Plus streaming series will see Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury, along with Ben Mendelsohn‘s Talos, at the center of the action. On the other side, Kingsley Ben-Adir‘s Gravik and a faction of extremist Skrulls, including Emilia Clarke‘s G’iah–the daughter of Talos–who have waited too long for Fury to make good on his promise of finding them a homeworld and have decided to take matters, and the Earth, into their own hands. Fury hasn’t been around much since the events of Avengers: Endgame and according to Jackson, there’s a great reason for that. “Even Nick Fury can be shaken, you know?” explained the MCU’s elder statesman.

    Ever since first appearing in the MCU’s first post-credit scene in 2008’s Iron Man, Fury has been the man with the plan: putting together the Avengers to protect the Earth. With the core of that team now gone, Fury’s just never been the same. So what’s he going to do when the Skrulls show their hand? “What he’s not doing is calling in his super friends,” explains Jackson. “So that’s part of the whole dilemma. I mean, people want them and he’s not bringing them.“

    He’s up there trying to process what the fuck happened, you know? And what his place in the world is. The death of Iron Man, the death of Black Widow—with that stuff going on, he just kind of checked out.

    Samuel L. Jackson on Nick Fury

    And so Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion will significantly deviate course from the comic book event which had those “super friends” exclusively at its center. In place of those costumed heroes, Fury’s support in the paranoia-laden spy thriller will come in the form of a handful of others who are used to playing in the shadows. “Part of the fun of basing an espionage thriller around Nick Fury is getting to see him put the band together,” said executive producer Jonathan Schwartz in an interview with Vanity Fair. But just who is that band?

    Cobie Smulders and Martin Freeman return to assist Fury in their respective roles as Maria Hill and Everett Ross. “There’s nobody here who’s glossy and ready for action in a spandex one-piece,” joked Smulders. “I mean, my wardrobe alone has changed so much since the original film. I was in platform knee-high boots and a skintight leotard in the Avengers movie. And I’m in a straight-up jeans and tee in this one.“

    Hill and Ross aren’t the only ones Fury will turn to for help, though they may be the ones he can trust the most. Don Cheadle‘s James Rhodes is back for another turn in the MCU, though this time it’s not as the armored hero War Machine. “This is a different kind of Rhodey—a political animal and not, you know, a guy who has a special suit,” Jackson says. “He’s the president’s right-hand man in this. So he’s the guy that makes a lot of decisions—some good, some bad.” Rounding out Fury’s network is Olivia Colman‘s Sony Falsworth, “a high-ranking agent in the British Intelligence Service who has a past with Nick Fury,” according to Schwartz, whose interests may or may not always be aligned with Fury’s.

    While avid readers of the comics and Wikipedia may be expecting a big superhero slugfest in Marvel Studios Secret Invasion, it doesn’t seem to be in the cards. “This is a Marvel story where the humans can shine,” explained Smulders. “Even though there are aliens, and there’s going to be extraordinary fight sequences, this is about people on the ground talking to each other, and interviewing people, and really doing hands-on work to get the information needed.” While fans may have to adjust their expectations for the series, it sounds like Fury and crew will still deliver something special when Secret Invasion hits Disney Plus this Summer.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn Spotted at Iconic ‘Joker’ Location in Latest BTS Pics

    Lady Gaga’s Harley Quinn Spotted at Iconic ‘Joker’ Location in Latest BTS Pics

    Joaquin Phoenix‘s romp down the Shakespeare Avenue Stairs located in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx in 2019’s Joker turned the location into a destination. Now referred to as “The Joker Stairs”, the 132 stairs have become a must-see landmark in the city for fans of the film. Director Todd Phillips remained fairly fond of them, too, as a new batch of set photos from the sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, indicates that the film will return to the iconic location.

    As production has been ongoing in and around New York City, set photos have been fairly easy to come by, including a first look at star Lady Gaga in full Harley Quinn regalia. While she’s not decked out in one of Harley’s familiar outfits here, Lady Gaga‘s Harley is out for a stroll on the same stairs Arthur Fleck danced down in Joker.

    https://twitter.com/lislopees1/status/1642483840479363074?s=20

    Harley’s trek on the stairs certainly looks a little less joyful than Fleck’s gleeful descent. That’s all part of whatever director Todd Phillips, who can be seen chatting it up with Lady Gaga, has in store for the character in this particular part of the sequel.

    Joker: Folie à Deux will be released on October 4th, 2024 under DC Studios’ new Elseworlds banner, meaning the story told within the film will not be part of the continuity of the new DC Universe being established by DC Studios co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Set in the aftermath of the events of Joker, the sequel will see Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener join Lady Gaga as newcomers to the cast alongside returnees Phoenix and Zazie Beetz.

  • Fandango Reveals When ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Tickets Will Be Available

    Fandango Reveals When ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Tickets Will Be Available

    Advance ticket sales are one of the most interesting modern-day phenomena in the entertainment business. With so many theaters and so many screens in each theater dedicated to major releases, it’s increasingly rare for showings of those major releases to sell out. Given that opening weekend now essentially begins early Thursday afternoon in most places, there are dozens of opportunities to catch a tentpole release on opening weekend and, for those not living in major metropolitan areas, most of them can be done in relatively empty theaters. However, fans LOVE buying their tickets online as soon as possible and now Marvel Studios, via Fandango, has made it clear when tickets will be available for advance purchase for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

    Fans looking to book their trip to see James Gunn‘s final installment in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise can purchase tickets online beginning Monday, April 3rd. The announcement of the date came via a teaser for the film which included some brief snippets of new footage.

    In Marvel Studios “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” our beloved band of misfits are looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

    Official synopsis courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Publicity

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5th!

  • Director Peter Sohn on the Technical Challenges of Creating the Main Characters of ‘Elemental’

    Director Peter Sohn on the Technical Challenges of Creating the Main Characters of ‘Elemental’

    Disney and Pixar groundbreaking work in animation will once again be on display in Elemental. Beginning with 1995’s Toy Story, the animators at Pixar have been innovators and problem solvers as they continue to create visually stunning films. Their 27th film, Elemental, is no different as the creators laid out a huge challenge for the animators: bring fire and water to life to create the film’s two main characters, Ember and Wade. The animators were asked to keep in mind that while they were working with something recognizable, they were also creating something that had never been seen before: “Ember is fire, she is not on fire. Wade is water. He’s not something that’s wet.”

    Director Peter Sohn envisioned the characters and dreamt up the world they’d inhabit. At the global press junket for the upcoming film, Sohn explained some of the challenges the artists faced while trying to create characters who looked, behaved and reacted to situations in ways that are consistent with how fire and water would.

    The main challenge of fire honestly was, could we get something balanced that could be appealing and still exploit the element? That was the main challenge. We had tried fire that was really realistic, I know you guys saw a part of the presentation. That was just a tip of the
    iceberg of the reference, meaning we tried real, like realistic eyes. We tried, you know, we tried all sorts of things and they looked terrifying. I wish you could see more of it. We could make a good horror movie from that footage, honestly. But then there were 2D versions of Ember that were much more flatter.

    Peter Sohn
    ELEMENTAL, Disney and Pixar’s all-new, original feature film releasing June 16, 2023, features the voices of Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie as Ember and Wade, respectively. In a city where fire-, water-, land-, and air-residents live together, this fiery young woman and go-with-the-flow guy are about to discover something elemental: how much they actually have in common. “Elemental” is directed by Peter Sohn and produced by Denise Ream. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

    As you might imagine, a task of this magnitude, even for some of the world’s greatest animators, wasn’t done in a day. As Sohn explained, it took time for the artists to find the right “balance” for the character of Ember.

    And every time we saw the movements, you didn’t feel like it could touch anything or burn anything or it didn’t feel hot, you know, like where it was emanating, you know, the heat. But some of our artists found this balance between the two that I’m very proud of what they had
    accomplished to get to that, absolutely. That was a really hard challenge and I thought they found a great balance.

    Peter Sohn

    As tough as Ember was, it turns out Wade was even tougher. “He was just so unmanageable and he looked so weird all the time,” explained Sohn. “I just kept pushing the water, and I went over the line just ’cause I couldn’t see, but the way he moved played into that. He so easily could turn into Jell-O just by slowing some of the ripples down a little bit, or how fast he could turn into a ‘Soul’ character if the ripples didn’t appear. There were just so many avenues that he could shift into very quickly and that would surprise all of us.”

    Ultimately, as production designer Don Shank–whose work with Pixar dates back to 2004’s Incredibles–explained, the animators’ “design ideas inspired new technology, which inspired new design” creating one of Pixar’s most beautiful films to date. You can check out the fantastic work done by the artists at Pixar when Elemental hits theaters June 16th.

  • Ed Harris Reportedly Joins Marvel Studios ‘Wonder Man’

    Ed Harris Reportedly Joins Marvel Studios ‘Wonder Man’

    Marvel Studios streaming series Wonder Man, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams, is gearing up for production and continues to add to its already stellar cast. Demetrius Grosse was recently confirmed to have joined the series as Eric Williams, the brother of Abdul-Mateen‘s Simon and the villain known as the Grim Reaper, but it’s been known for some time now that Wonder Man will feature another villain. In late 2022, rumors swirled that Bob Odenkirk was offered the role of Simon’s agent, a role that was later revealed to be the primary antagonist of the project. Unfortunately, Odenkirk and Marvel Studios didn’t strike a deal but they did find a very capable replacement.

    According to YouTube personality Jeff Snieder, Westworld’s Man in Black, Ed Harris, has joined Wonder Man as Simon’s agent, Neal Saroyan. Murphy’s Multiverse first posited that Neal Saroyan was the identity of the character and the villain of the piece shortly after Odenkirk’s name was circulated in association with the project.

    The 72-year-old Harris is one of Hollywood’s most well-respected method actors and capable of turning any role into a memorable one. Harris has played memorable villains in The Rock, Enemy at the Gates, The Truman Show and National Treasure: Book of Secrets as well as a chilling performance in A History of Violence. He’ll certainly bring something special to the role, though it looks as though it will be quite some time before audiences get to see exactly what that is. Marvel Studios has dramatically slowed the streaming pipeline and Wonder Man isn’t expected to stream until late 2024 at the earliest.

    Source: YouTube

  • Marvel Confirms the Identity of Emilia Clarke’s ‘Secret Invastion’ Character

    Marvel Confirms the Identity of Emilia Clarke’s ‘Secret Invastion’ Character

    The identity of Emilia Clarke‘s character in the upcoming Marvel Studios streaming series, Secret Invasion, has been the subject of rumors and speculation since it was announced that the actress had joined the project. She’s been said to be playing Veranke, Abigail Brand and, more recently, said to be a Skrull named G’iah by insider Daniel RPK. Not everyone can be right…or can they?…but now Marvel Studios has made it official via a special look at the series from Vanity Fair.

    As shared by Daniel RPK, Clarke is playing the Skrull G’iah, the daughter of Talos, who audiences first met in 2019’s Captain Marvel. “Remember when Ben [Mendelsohn] was there with his wife and daughter? She’s the little Skrull girl grown up. She’s his daughter,” revealed Secret Invasion star Samuel L. Jackson. The character of G’iah was first introduced in Marvel Comics in 2019’s Meet the Skrulls, which has long been rumored to have partially inspired Marvel Studios streaming series.

    While the identity of Clarke’s character may not be a huge surprise (Marvel Studios made it pretty clear at the end of Captain Marvel that the character would return in some way), her role in the project might be: she’s part of an extremist group of Skrulls, led by Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik, who believed Talos had failed them, decided to stop waiting to find a new home and have begun taking over Earth. “It’s hardened her for sure. There’s a kind of punk feeling that you get from this girl,” said Clarke of growing up amidst the Kree-Skrull War as the daughter of a Skrullian leader. “She’s a refugee kid who’s had Talos for a dad, you know what I mean? Maybe the fact that we didn’t know he had a kid up until this point tells you everything you need to know about their relationship. There is a lot of angst and pain and anger and resentment. The group themselves are kind of anti-Talos.“

    These people promised a lot of stuff a long time ago, and not a lot has happened. So understandably, a certain amount of resentment has been built. There’s a lot of emotions that live within her, and there’s a lot of confrontational aspects to her character that have come from circumstance. You understand why she has the feelings that she does.

    Emilia Clarke

    Secret Invasion will certainly paint these extremist Skrulls in a different–and much more comic-accurate–light than in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home where they were victims of an ongoing war and even allies to humanity. Now that Gravik’s extremist faction is ready to move to the next step of their takeover of Earth, having G’iah and Talos on opposite sides will make for a very compelling arc when the series hits Disney Plus in June.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • ‘Green Knight’ Director David Lowery Helmed an Episode of ‘Skeleton Crew’

    ‘Green Knight’ Director David Lowery Helmed an Episode of ‘Skeleton Crew’

    Jon Watts‘s Star Wars streaming series, Skeleton Crew, wrapped principal photography some time ago but news about the show’s stable of directors is only just now trickling out. After it was recently revealed that Academy Award-winning directors The Daniels were behind the camera for one episode, it’s now been confirmed that David Lowery directed an episode of the series as well.

    One Take News originally shared the news of Lowery’s association with the show, news that was quickly confirmed via THR’s Aaron Couch. Lowery has worked with Disney before, first on 2016’s Pete’s Dragon and recently on Peter Pan & Wendy, which will stream on Disney Plus in April.

    Skeleton Crew, like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and Ahsoka, is set during the New Republic era of the Star Wars timeline. That largely unexplored timeframe, set between the fall of the Empire and the rise of the First Order, has proven to be fertile storytelling ground so far under the purview of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. Skeleton Crew will star Jude Law and, according to Lucasfilm, “tells the story of four kids who find themselves lost in in the vastness of the galaxy trying to find their way home.”

    Source: OTN

  • Latest BTS Photos from ‘Captain America 4’ Provide First Look at Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross, Tim Blake Nelson’s Villainous Leader

    Latest BTS Photos from ‘Captain America 4’ Provide First Look at Harrison Ford’s Thunderbolt Ross, Tim Blake Nelson’s Villainous Leader

    Harrison Ford and Tim Blake Nelson were the latest actors to be captured on the set of Captain America: New World Order. The set photos, courtesy of Just Jared, show Ford’s Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross and Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Sterns.

    A close look at Nelson shows the actor sporting a touch of green, indicating that the scenes shot today probably involved a mix of practical and VFX to run the actor into the villainous, gamma-infused Leader!

    News of Nelson’s return as the Leader was first announced back in September 2022 as part of Marvel Studios’ D23 presentation. The actor first portrayed the character in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. This will mark his long-awaited return, following rumors that initially had the character set to appear in She-Hulk. As for Ford, reports of his casting first circulated in October 2022. They were quickly confirmed, with the actor officially taking over the role of Ross for late actor William Hurt.

    The film, which sees Anthony Mackie take over the mantle of Captain America, is in production now. It is being directed by Julius Onah and will hit theaters on May 3rd, 2024.

    Source: Just Jared.

  • REVIEW: ‘The Bad Batch’ Pays a Heavy Toll in Two-Part Season Finale

    REVIEW: ‘The Bad Batch’ Pays a Heavy Toll in Two-Part Season Finale

    Season 2 of The Bad Batch has spent a great deal of time establishing the titular team as a burgeoning family. Following the harrowing events of the Season 1 finale, the team slowly retreated from their mercenary missions and turned their focus towards building a new life for themselves in a galaxy that continues to rapidly evolve around them. In Summit and Plan 99, the two-part finale to the sophomore season, Clone Force 99 is reminded just how much they have evolved and that you can only lose what you already have.

    While the preceding episode, Tipping Point, seemed to put al the ducks in a row for the finale, writers Jennifer Corbett (Plan 99) and Matt Michnovetz (Summit) did wonderful work in subverting expectations of a predictable sequence of events–thanks almost entirely to Saw Gerrera’s interloping–in the finale even if the end result was probably on everyone’s bingo card. The dual episodes made good on quite a few of the season’s ongoing developments and left enough hanging to allow Season 3 (Lucasfilm hasn’t officially announced a third season yet but it seems extremely likely even as Disney cuts back) to get off to a strong start.

    (L-R): Wrecker and Hunter in a scene from “STAR WARS: THE BAD BATCH”, season 2 exclusively on Disney+. © 2023 Lucasfilm Ltd. & ™. All Rights Reserved.

    The sacrifice and subsequent loss of Tech is probably most emblematic of the progress the series–and Clone Force 99–made this season. Undoubtedly the most annoying member of the team over the first season, Tech’s growth into an almost identifiable human, complete with emotions and everything, is a constant reminder that these clones are all more than their special purposes. While he didn’t wear them comfortably, Tech’s father-daughter relationship with Omega along with his new, romantic relationship with Phee were evidence that there was more out there for the Batchers than running merc missions. And just as they began to realize what they had, it was taken from them by the sheisty Doctor Hemlock and a vengeful Cid.

    Speaking of Hemlock, the full scope of his and Sleepy Sheev Palpatine’s sinister plan isn’t revealed in Tipping Point, which includes a great cameo by Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic updating Tarkin on Project Stardust, or Plan 99 but Omega’s role in it is. While the easy money was on Omega’s DNA being so special that it would crack the whole cloning process wide open, the finale revealed that Hemlock simply wanted Omega as a means to further manipulate Kaminonan clone queen Nala Se to work for the Empire. For the time being, Omega’s unaltered genetic code seems of little to no interest to Hemlock. Can the same be said, however, for Emerie Karr, whose identity as a sister clone of Omega’s was revealed in Plan 99? Karr does seem to have her own agenda and revealing herself to Omega only furthers that suspicion.

    Summit and Plan 99 worked together to provide an emotional gut punch that wouldn’t have been possible without some of the groundwork laid throughout the season. With Tech seemingly dead, Omega and Crosshair in the clutches of Hemlock and Ord Mantell no longer a safe haven for the remaining members of the Bad Batch, the not-yet-announced-but-all-but-a-sure-thing two-part Season 3 premiere is set up for an emotional return to Pabu before a high stakes rescue of the imprisoned clones. Season 2, taken in its totality, feels like the second act of a three-part story which would mean Season 3 would be the end of the line for the stories of Clone Force 99. Now that they have so much to lose, Season 3 is set up to be a helluva ride.

  • Deadpool Besties Dopinder and Blind Al Set for MCU Debut in ‘Deadpool 3’

    Deadpool Besties Dopinder and Blind Al Set for MCU Debut in ‘Deadpool 3’

    As the untitled Deadpool sequel gets closer to the start of production and the cast of the film begins to round out, a pair of familiar faces have joined the film. Karan Soni and Leslie Uggams, who portrayed Dopinder and Blind Al, respectively, have joined the project according to Deadline.

    The third time is a charm for both Soni and Uggams, both of whom debuted in 2016’s Deadpool and returned for the sequel in 2018. The duo joins stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as actors to make the jump from the Fox franchise to the MCU. They’ll star alongside newcomers Emma Corrin, who is reported to be the villain, and Matthew Macfadyen, who is reported to be a “third wheel” to Reynolds’s Deadpool and Jackman’s Wolverine. Shawn Levy, who worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project and with Jackman on Real Steel, will helm the threequel for Marvel Studios.

    Source: Deadline