Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • Release Date and Episode Titles Revealed for Volume 2 of ‘Star Wars: Visions’

    Release Date and Episode Titles Revealed for Volume 2 of ‘Star Wars: Visions’

    One of Disney +’s best Star Wars projects to date was 2021’s nine-episode anime anthology, Star Wars: Visions. The series consisted of shorts inspired by and set in the Star Wars galaxy that were not mandated to exist within the canonical timeline. The shorts were well received and a second season was ordered up fairly quickly and set for 2023. With Season 2 of The Bad Batch, Season 3 of The Mandalorian and Ahsoka all on the slate, 2023 is a busy year for Star Wars and fans wondered where Volume 2 of Visions might fit. Now we know.

    In an official release from Disney, Senior Vice President Franchise Content & Strategy at Lucasfilm James Waugh revealed that Volume 2 of Star Wars: Visions will stream on Disney Plus on Star Wars Day/May 4th! Like the first season, Volume 2 will consist of nine episodes from different animation studios, which were revealed in a Tweet.

    Waugh, who serves as an executive producer on Visions, talked about the studios and the “incredible” shorts they have put together for Volume 2.

    With Volume 2, we expanded our canvas to take audiences on a global tour of some of the most talented creators from around the world. Every short is incredible, full of heart, scope, imagination, and the values that make stories distinctly Star Wars — all while opening up bold new ways of seeing what a Star Wars story can be.

    James Waugh

    The release was accompanied by the episode titles, which are listed below with their animation studios and directors. The studios and directors are all newcomers to the series.

    • “Sith” (El Guiri, Rodrigo Blaas)
    • “Screecher’s Reach” (Cartoon Saloon, Paul Young)
    • “In the Stars” (Punkrobot, Gabriel Osorio)
    • “I Am Your Mother” (Aardman, Magdalena Osinska)
    • “Journey to the Dark Head” (Studio Mir, Hyeong Geun Park)
    • “The Spy Dancer” (Studio La Cachette, Julien Chheng)
    • “The Bandits of Golak” (88 Pictures, Ishan Shukla)
    • “The Pit” (D’art Shtajio and Lucasfilm Ltd., LeAndre Thomas and Justin Ridge)
    • “Aau’s Song” (Triggerfish, Nadia Darries and Daniel Clarke)

    May the 4th be with you!

  • Disney Set to Make a Splash at Super Bowl LVII

    Disney Set to Make a Splash at Super Bowl LVII

    Disney has several major tentpole films slated for release in 2023 and according to a new report, marketing for them is going into high gear. Deadline reports that Disney will be very active at this year’s Super Bowl, promoting as many as six of their upcoming films.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which will release just a few days after the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles square off in Super Bowl LVII, will certainly be on display during the big game. It is expected to be joined by spots for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Little Mermaid and Pixar’s Elemental with spots for Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny and The Marvels possible as well. In the case of The Marvels, Disney has yet to show off any footage of the new film other than to the audience in attendance at last year’s D23 Expo, meaning this would be the first look at the project for general audiences. In the past, it has often been the practice to release a full trailer online following a 30-second TV spot during the game.

    While Disney does have a multitude of streaming projects rolling out on Disney Plus this year, including Season 3 of The Mandalorian on March 1st, the report makes no mention of their plans for marketing those other than to add that Disney is not expected to showcase the upcoming Marvel Studios streamer Secret Invasion during the game.

    Other studios will be in on the fun as well, with spots for The Flash, Fast X, Scream VI, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts all set to debut.

    Super Bowl LVII will be played on February 12th and will be broadcast on Fox beginning at 6:30 PM ET.

    Source: Deadline

  • Dave Bautista Describes the “Perfect Ending” James Gunn Wrote for Drax

    Dave Bautista Describes the “Perfect Ending” James Gunn Wrote for Drax

    If you still have time to get to Vegas and place your bets on which member of the team doesn’t make it out alive in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, you might want to consider putting some coin down on Drax. Dave Bautista has consistently said that Vol. 3 would be his last turn as Drax as he looks to find “meatier parts” and “more dramatic roles” as he grows his acting career. Bautista has been so consistent in his stance that the actor is beginning to question why the stance is even newsworthy at this point, something he expounded on in a visit to The Tonight Show while promoting his new film, M. Night Shyamalan‘s Knock at the Cabin.

    “Yeah, it’s weird. I don’t know why it’s news,” Bautista told host Jimmy Fallon. “This is my seventh film as Drax,” the actor continued, “and my third Guardians. It was like our trilogy. That’s kind of what we all signed up for, to do a trilogy. And I think this will be the last version of our Guardians of the Galaxy.”

    “It’s hard, but it’s time,” Bautista said of his decision to walk away from the role of Drax. “We all had those perfect character arcs and such a storybook ending,” he explained. “I constantly relate it to the way I ended my wrestling career. I ended it on a storybook note. And I would never go back and tarnish that. And it’s the same with this,” Bautista said, adding that he “would never sign up for another job as Drax just to get a paycheck.”

    Drax has served as a largely comedic character throughout his appearances and while there will certainly still be some humorous moments in Vol. 3, it seems director James Gunn has constructed something much more dramatic for his MCU farewell which hits theaters on May 5th, 2023.

  • A Rumored New Frontrunner Emerges in the Hunt for Mister Fantastic

    A Rumored New Frontrunner Emerges in the Hunt for Mister Fantastic

    As Marvel Studios continues to search for their Fantastic Four, rumors continue to swirl about a slew of talented actors and actresses who may or may not be up for the roles. Adam Driver, Ryan Gosling and Diego Luna have all been rumored to be in contention for one role or another in the film and all might make sense depending on which role and the route that director Matt Shakman has in mind for the film. Until there’s an official announcement from Marvel Studios, it’s unlikely the rumor mill will stop churning and the latest turn has a fan favorite taking the lead as a front runner for the role.

    According to the anonymous source of the moderators of r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers, Academy Award nominee Dev Patel tops the list of candidates for the role of Reed Richards.

    Patel, whose work in 2021’s The Green Knight drew glowing reviews, is the right age for the role (32) and fits the bill of the type of talent Marvel Studios tends to grab for franchise roles such as Mister Fantastic. Though he’s been on the radar since his role in 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, Patel has consistently put together solid performances but has yet to take on a career-defining role. Landing the role as Reed Richards, which would presumably last at least a decade, would instantly make Patel one of the most recognized talents in film.

    Marvel Studios Fantastic Four is currently slated for a February 14, 2025 theatrical debut.

    Source: Reddit

  • The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Swamp Thing’

    The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Swamp Thing’

    James Gunn and Peter Safran have revealed the first half of the first chapter of the new DCU. In total, 10 projects are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2027, with 5 films and 5 streaming series adding to the interconnected Gods and Monsters story of the DCU. With so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s the skinny on Swamp Thing.

    Gunn and Safran have expressed their commitment to making sure that the DCU is full of diverse projects and Swamp Thing, which is being developed as a theatrical release, fits the bill. “Each set of filmmakers bring their own aesthetic to these films, and the fun is seeing how these tonally different works mash-up in the future,” said Safran of the DC Studios slate of projects, adding that Swamp Thing will be “tonally different” but “interconnected” to the rest of the slate.

    Set to be a horror film, Safran says that Swamp Thing will “investigate the dark origins” of the titular character and is among a handful of surprising projects in development, according to Gunn.

    Sources: DC, Variety

  • The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow‘

    The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow‘

    James Gunn and Peter Safran have revealed the first half of the first chapter of the new DCU. In total, 10 projects are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2027, with 5 films and 5 streaming series adding to the interconnected Gods and Monsters story of the DCU. With so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s the skinny on Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow.

    Tom King‘s 2021 comic will be adapted to a film of the same name in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. One of the most prolific and successful comic book authors of the last decade, King played an integral part in helping Gunn and Safran develop their Gods and Monsters slate. “Tom has been one of the architects of this entire situation,” said Gunn of King. “He’s been one of the guys in the room with us, along with four or five other writers. I love his take on these characters. He just turns them slightly to be something very unique.“

    Don’t expect the film to be a one-to-one adaptation of the book, however. Gunn describes the character as “much more hardcore” than the one from King’s comic book.

    In our story, we have Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents. Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that drifted away from the planet and she lived there for the first fourteen years of her life in a horrible situation where she watched everyone around her die. So, she’s a much harsher and more fucked up Supergirl than you’ve been used to thus far.

    James Gunn

    It sounds like the DCU will feature a Kara Zor-El who has a wildly different outlook on things than her good guy cousin, Kal-El. The contrast could make for some interesting twists when the film hits theaters.

  • The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Booster Gold’

    The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Booster Gold’

    James Gunn and Peter Safran have revealed the first half of the first chapter of the new DCU. In total, 10 projects are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2027, with 5 films and 5 streaming series adding to the interconnected Gods and Monsters story of the DCU. With so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s the skinny on Booster Gold.

    Described by Safran as “a loser from the future who uses his basic future technology to come back to today to pretend to be a superhero“, Michael Jon Carter will make his DCU debut in the HBO Max streaming series Booster Gold. The series was described as an “outright comedy” by Variety and Gunn described the story of the time-displaced 25th Century hero as “imposter syndrome as a superhero.”

    “How do you deal with that?”, asked Gunn, who added that the series will focus on how Carter “tries to use this future technology to be loved by the people of today and what is really at the base of that.” Gunn also mentioned that DC Studios is already in talks with an actor for the role and given his stated desire to continue to work with the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy films, it wouldn’t be surprising if Chris Pratt were that actor.

    Sources: DC, Collider, Variety

  • The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘The Brave and The Bold’

    The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘The Brave and The Bold’

    James Gunn and Peter Safran have revealed the first half of the first chapter of the new DCU. In total, 10 projects are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2027, with 5 films and 5 streaming series adding to the interconnected Gods and Monsters story of the DCU. With so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s the skinny on The Brave and The Bold.

    While Robert Pattinson will continue to serve as Batman in the DC Elseworlds The Batman: Part II and its related projects, the DCU will have a Batman of its own and fans will meet him–and his son, Damian–in a theatrical release titled The Brave and The Bold. The film will be based on Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son arc from his epic run on Batman that began in 2006 which Gunn called one of his “favorite Batman runs.” Gunn called Morrison “exceptionally influential” on the DCU slate which could hint at some other possible arcs that could be explored in other projects.

    The Brave and The Bold is “a story of Damian Wayne, who’s Batman’s actual son that he didn’t know existed for the first eight to ten years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin,” explained Gunn, who also called Damian his “favorite Robin.” The film will mark the first time a Robin has appeared in a live-action film since 1997’s Batman and Robin and it sounds like Damian may not be the only one to appear. “This is going to feature other members of the extended Bat-Family.” said Safran, adding “just because we feel like they’ve been left out of the Batman stories in the theater for far too long.“

    The focus of the film, however, will be the relationship between Bruce and Damian. “It’s a very strange sort of father-son story about the two of them,” said Gunn of The Brave and The Bold, who added that fans should expect Damian to be “a little son of a bitch.” It sounds like Gunn’s got Damian pegged. No release date or creative team was announced for the project.

    Sources: DC, Collider, Variety

  • The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Paradise Lost’

    The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘Paradise Lost’

    James Gunn and Peter Safran have revealed the first half of the first chapter of the new DCU. In total, 10 projects are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2027, with 5 films and 5 streaming series adding to the interconnected Gods and Monsters story of the DCU. With so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s the skinny on Paradise Lost.

    Set on the island nation of Themyscira before the birth of Wonder Woman, Paradise Lost is a “Game of Thrones’-ish story” that will explore “the political intrigue behind a society of all women,” according to Safran. Gunn expanded on Safran’s comments about the series, which he said will examine the “beautiful” and “ugly truths” behind Paradise Island.

    It’s an origin story of how this society of women came about. What does it mean? What are their politics like? What are their rules? Who’s in charge? What are the games that they play with each other to get to the top? I think it’s really exciting.

    James Gunn

    The series is being developed for HBO Max and will serve as an origin story for the Amazons, though it’s not clear what role they will have in the larger DCU narrative.

    Sources: DC, Collider, Variety

  • The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘The Authority

    The Skinny on The DCU’s ‘The Authority

    James Gunn and Peter Safran have revealed the first half of the first chapter of the new DCU. In total, 10 projects are expected to be rolled out by the end of 2027, with 5 films and 5 streaming series adding to the interconnected Gods and Monsters story of the DCU. With so much to take in, it can be a bit overwhelming. To make it easier, here’s the skinny on The Authority.

    The second film in the first half of the Gods and Monsters slate is The Authority, which Gunn calls a “very different kind of superhero story” and a “passion project.” The film is probably the most unlikely on the list given the history of the team of heroes it involves. The Authority was created as part of Jim Lee’s WildStorm universe which was eventually purchased by DC comics and, during the New 52 publishing initiative, integrated into the mainstream continuity. Fans may not be quite familiar with the team, which Safran compared to Jack Nicholson’s Colonel Jessup in A Few Good Men saying, “they know that you want them on the wall, or at least they believe that.” Gunn gave a little more detail of what to expect from this win-at-all-costs group.

    They are basically good-intentioned, but they think that the world is completely broken and the only way to fix it is to take things into their own hands, whether that means killing people, destroying heads of state, changing governments—basically, whatever they want to do to make the world better. We’ll see how that journey goes for them. There are morally gray characters (in our DCU), of which these are.

    James Gunn

    The film is currently being written, though Gunn did not reveal who was penning the project though he indicated he’s helped outline the story.

    I only have seven days in the week, all of which are used in the service of DC storytelling. I’m working all the time. I can only do what I can do. So we’re going to have to make a decision at some point. Whether or not, you know, is it better for me to, you know, I can write more. I already wrote all of that. I’ve written a lot of that. I’ve worked a lot on the outline for The Authority myself.

    James Gunn

    No release date has been slated for The Authority, though if DC Studios plans to put a second movie out in 2025, this project could potentially make that date.

    Sources: DC, Collider, Variety