Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • The Road Map to ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’

    The Road Map to ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’

    For nearly two years, fans of the MCU took to social media to voice their concern that Marvel Studios’ post-Infinity Saga era lacked direction. Those criticisms seemed misplaced at the time (imagine pretending to know that Thanos was coming following 2011’s Thor) but once Kevin Feige rolled out the first look at the Multiverse Saga at SDCC ’22, they became completely irrelevant. Feige’s ambitious plan for the new saga included another double-dip of Avengers films among the current total of 13 unreleased films (expect Spidey 4 to join that number eventually).

    Even with the One-Above-All’s plan laid out in plain sight, it’s still a bit hard to see how the MCU gets from here to there. After all, at this point in the Multiverse Saga, only a handful of projects have been…Multiversal. So which projects in Phases 5 and 6 are shaping up to be the most important on the road to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty? Here’s our best guess…

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

    This one isn’t much of a guess as it’s all but confirmed to lead directly to Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. But how? Our best guess is that the events of Quantumania won’t actually result in Kang getting turned loose into the world just yet. Why not? Because there’s just too much story to get through between Quantumania and The Kang Dynasty to have Kang running about all willy-nilly in the MCU for 2 years. What Quantumania can and will do, however, is establish Kang the Conqueror as a major threat to the Multiverse and it might also serve as the Multiverse Saga’s “Thanos is coming” moment. Whichever members of the Ant-Family make it out of the Quantum Realm will surely relay their knowledge of the villain to whoever it is that makes up the new team of Avengers. Sounds like it’s going to be Cassie Lang’s turn to follow in her father’s footsteps and make up for a big mistake…

    Loki, Season 2

    Season 2 of Loki both is and is not exactly what you think it is. As details about the villain of the series start to trickle out, fans are starting to put together some pretty great theories about what might happen…but most of those theories get off to a false start. Though Season 1 lead writer Michael Waldron is off working on Avengers: Secret Wars, Eric Martin (who did a great deal of work on Season 1), took the lead. The continuity from Season 1 to Season 2 is going to pay major dividends as Season 2 picks up directly where Season 1 left off. It’s just that Season 1 didn’t leave off in the way many believe it did. Season 2 will also deal with the now out-of-control Multiverse and see Sylvie faced with the consequences of the choice she made when she shanked He Who Remains. He warned her. She didn’t listen. What happens when she finds out just how bad it’s gotten? Finally, Season 2 looks to include Jonathan Majors‘ Kang. Is he the same Kang as the one in Quantumania? Has he escaped from the Quantum Realm or is this before he became trapped there? Is he a new Variant? Season 2’s gonna be a trip.

    The Marvels

    It’s likely that every project in Phases 5 and 6 will have something that is ultimately somehow related to one or both of the Avengers’ films in the Multiverse Saga. Whether it be plot points, character developments or threads left hanging, most of the projects will tie into them one way or another. The big rumor for The Marvels is that it will actually delve pretty heavily into the idea of incursions that was introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That’s a pretty important bit as Reed Richard’s explanation of what they are might not have given the entire picture, but just what he knew about them at the time.

    Captain America: New World Order

    Don’t expect Kang to pop in here or for a world-ending incursion to happen in the first act. Do expect this to be the first global-level story of the Multiverse Saga and for it to clarify some details that have been fairly casually thrown into different Phase 4 projects. The Sokovia Accord were established in Captain America: Civil War and the Avengers spent an entire movie fighting over them; those same accords were casually revealed to have been repealed in one line of dialogue spoken by Matt Murdock in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. So what happens when there’s something worth fighting over now? The present-day MCU has no Avengers. But they’ll need some in 2025 otherwise calling it Avengers: The Kang Dynasty would be pretty silly. Will the New Avengers be formed during this movie? Or will this movie be the pivot point for the Multiverse Saga in that it will make it clear that the time has come for the New Avengers to come together?

    Deadpool and Wolverine

    Hugh Jackman‘s revelation that whatever this movie is called will involve time travel all but confirms that it will be an incursion-fest. I actually love the idea of Deadpool causing a whole mess of incursions that accelerate the destruction of the Multiverse. He’s not a serious character who should be trying to face off against Kang, but it is in keeping with the character that his actions, as noble as he may think they are, would create a major mess that others would have to clean up. If this film becomes the adaptation of Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe which has been theorized here and there, it would be a wonderful way to build a true, all-inclusive Multiverse while capitalizing on Ryan Reynolds‘ popularity and love for Deadpool.

    Fantastic Four

    It’s hard to imagine a Fantastic Four film taking place in the MCU that doesn’t somehow connect to the Multiverse Saga. The current rumblings around the plot point toward it shaping up to be a little Cosmic in nature and to involve the Silver Surfer. Of course, at this point in the game, there’s no context for what his purpose in the film might be. Whatever the case, he’s certainly no villain but one of his comic book powers might serve an interesting purpose in Fantastic Four. When gifted with the Power Cosmic by Galactus, the Cosmic Wanderer gained Cosmic Awareness. This power allowed him to sense things about the universe that others couldn’t. He could perceive changes in energy in the universe and determine the location of said changes. If the 616 reality were in some jeopardy through an incursion, it’s incredibly likely that the Surfer would know about it first. From there it’s not much of a…stretch…to think he might find himself working with one of the smartest people on the planet to determine the nature of the incursion. From there it follows that Reed might create a device that would allow him to peer into other realities to see if they’re in similar danger. From there it’s possible he might meet other Reeds. Having a plan for dealing with incursions and/or Kang would seem like a pretty major deal. Could an evil Reed be the villain here? Another version of Kang, such as Immortus? Too many unknowns at the moment, but if Marvel Studios wants to set this apart from Fox’s efforts with the First Family, this would do the trick.

    Shang-Chi 2

    The rumored title of Shang-Chi and The Wreckage of Time opens up some fascinating possibilities for the sequel to 2021’s Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. More importantly, it also established one of Marvel Studios’ newest heroes as one of the key figures in the Multiverse Saga. The Wreckage of Time would seem to point directly at Kang’s involvement in this movie and, as indicated earlier, he still has to get out of the Quantum Realm somehow. I still think this movie takes place before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, though the current slate does not show that. I’ve been asking for a Shang-Chi and Ms. Marvel team-up and this could be it. Theories that those two characters have weapons that are ultimately a major part of the Multiverse Saga might be on to something, but instead of them being part of taking down Kang, what if they somehow end up being part of how he’s freed from the Quantum Realm. Just because Kang can’t get out doesn’t mean he might now have allies on the outside. Once freed from the Quantum Realm, Kang would certainly be at liberty to do some serious damage to the timestream.

    Nomad

    Source: MCU Exchange

    Is Nomad even happening?! There’s still no official word on the project that we first reported was in the works over 2 years ago, but it really is…right? Is it a TV series? A film? Nobody seems to know but if it were a film about Steve Rogers’ time returning the Infinity Stones, it could turn into an incursion-palooza that, much like Deadpool and Wolverine, could speed up the timeline toward Avengers: Secret Wars. As detailed here, a guy like Steve Rogers visiting these other timelines could be a way worse idea than you’d think. If he chose to right some minor wrong while he was in each of those alternate timelines (as nicely detailed in the image from MCU Exchange), this project could serve as the ultimate connecting piece between Marvel Studios’ two Sagas and show fans just how time messes back, as Tony Stark warned.

    It’s not exactly the Yellow-Brick Road, but these projects could easily set the stage for the events of The Kang Dynasty. How does the story go from there to Secret Wars? Stay tuned, True Believers…

  • Rumored ‘Thunderbolts’ Spinoff in the Works at Marvel Studios

    Rumored ‘Thunderbolts’ Spinoff in the Works at Marvel Studios

    Amid speculation that Marvel Studios would look to cut back on its output, a new rumor has emerged that the studio is developing a spinoff for an upcoming project that hasn’t begun production yet. According to insider Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios a Sentry-centric solo project, following the character who is rumored to be the villain of 2024’s Thunderbolts.

    The new rumor is interesting in that the Sentry has yet to be officially revealed as the villain of Marvel Studio’s Thunderbolts. The rumors of Sentry’s appearance in Thunderbolts stem from a report that Marvel Studios was looking to cast an actor to play an “evil Superman” in the film. That report generated a couple of rounds of speculation about which of Marvel’s Superman analogs might make the best “evil” version, first with Hyperion and then Sentry. With Thunderbolts being a Super Soldier-heavy project already, Sentry’s comic book ties to the Super Soldier serum form the foundation of a fairly strong argument that he’d be the better choice of the two.

    The latest rumor doesn’t indicate if the Sentry project, should it make its way out of development, would be a prequel or a sequel, though if the Marvel Studios adaptation of the character is anything like his comic book counterpart, he’ll be pretty tough to kill, especially for the group of characters who currently make up the Thunderbolts, so a sequel would not be off the table. Perhaps the development of a solo project could be used to help attract a big-name actor to the role who would be interested in signing on as more than just a one-off villain.

  • Star Wars Leading Man Shoots Down ‘Fantastic Four’ Casting Rumor

    Star Wars Leading Man Shoots Down ‘Fantastic Four’ Casting Rumor

    Some time ago a rumor began to make the rounds that an actor who had appeared in a Star Wars project was in the running for a role in Fantastic Four. This rumor, the actual dictionary definition of vagueness, unfortunately, generated a nearly infinite number of follow-up rumors one of which was that Andor star Diego Luna was in the running for Reed Richards. Luna recently addressed those rumors during an appearance on Kristian Harloff’s The Sith Council on his YouTube channel.

    When asked by Harloff if he would have any interest in taking a role with Marvel Studios, Luna made it pretty clear that his current obligations with Andor would keep him from doing that in the near future.

    I was talking about that this morning, like the rumors. When you become part of rumors, if half of the rumors were real, you know. It’s just incredible the amount of stuff that I see now out there. The only thing I can tell you, man, is that, for the next two years, I’m busy. In two years, we’ll see if what I want to do is even film. We’ll see.

    Diego Luna

    Of course, fans have a hard time believing anything any actor says these days about potential jobs with Marvel Studios and will probably dissect Luna’s comments for the next few days; however, Luna seems to be shooting pretty straight about his time commitment on Andor, a project on which he’s an executive producer. While Luna is rightfully a fan-favorite and a well-deserved media darling, fans are going to have to keep pulling names out of the Star Wars hat until they find the right one for a role in Fantastic Four.

    Source: The Sith Council

  • Gabriel Byrne Joins The Cast Of ‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

    Gabriel Byrne Joins The Cast Of ‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

    Lionsgate has begun marketing John Wick: Chapter 4 with a trailer and stills ahead of its re March 2023 release. The creatives behind the franchise have already confirmed that work on a fifth chapter of the John Wick franchise is in the works but the popularity of the character and the deep mythology of the world has already resulted in the birth of a John Wick Cinematic Universe. Two spinoffs within that shared universe, The Continental and Ballerina, are already at various stages of development. Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas, began production last month and now word of a newsworthy addition to its cast has arrived.

    According to Deadline, actor Gabriel Byrne has joined the cast of the Len Wiseman-helmed spinoff. Byrne’s role in the film, which will focus on de Armas’ Rooney, a ballerina/assassin who was briefly seen in John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum, was undisclosed in the report. Byrne joins Anjelica Huston, Norman Reedus and Lance Reddick as new members of the John Wick universe with Ian McShane reprising his role as Winston and Keanu Reeves is also expected to appear in the film, which takes place between Wick 3 and 4.

    Ballerina currently has no release date but is expected to be ready for theaters by late 2023/early 2024.

    Source: Deadline

  • Marvel Movies Dominate Fandango’s 2023 Most Anticipated List

    Marvel Movies Dominate Fandango’s 2023 Most Anticipated List

    All tolled, 2022 saw 9 Marvel properties released into the wild. Marvel Studios pushed out 3 films, 3 streaming series and 2 special presentations and Sony decided it was Morbin’ time. Of those properties, three of them were among the Top 10 Most Anticipated 2022 Movies as determined by Fandango last December. New year, new list, but once again Marvel properties lead the way in Fandango’s Top 10 2023’s Most Anticipated Blockbusters.

    To the surprise of mostly nobody, James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tops the list, which was compiled by polling more than 5,000 Fandango users. To the surprise of many, another Marvel Studios’ threequel made the top 3 in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. In between the two: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse which, interestingly enough, was also at #2 on the 2022 list before its release date was moved into 2023. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom and Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 (Mission Impossible 7) which appear at #6 and #7, respectively, on this year’s list, were also part of last year’s Top 10!

    Which films are you most excited to see and which ones are you most likely to hold off to see at home? Let us know!

  • What Films Should Fill Out Marvel’s Phase 6 Slate

    What Films Should Fill Out Marvel’s Phase 6 Slate

    In October, Marvel Studios significantly reshuffled their upcoming theatrical slate. The full ramifications of all the moves can get pretty overwhelming, but the end result of a series of changes is a major shift to the narrative structure of Phase 6.

    As first presented at SDCC ’22 (and remains unchanged as far as anyone knows), Phase 6 begins with Fantastic Four and ends with Avengers: Secret Wars. The “SDCC Slate” contained 5 films beginning in November 2024 and ending in November 2025. 2025 was set to be a monster year with two Avengers films releasing within 6 months of one another with one other untitled film releasing between them.

    Then came a delay to Blade, the shift of the date of Deadpool and Wolverine from February 2024 to November 2024, Fantastic Four from November 2024 to February 2025 and the move of Avengers: Secret Wars into 2026. The sum certainly looks to be greater than the total of its parts in this case. When placed side-by-side, it becomes clear that the “New Slate” not only stepped into Phase 7 territory but by doing so also added one film to the Phase 6 slate and put two films worth of storytelling between Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, creating a three film gap between them now.

    At this point, Marvel Studios has several theatrical projects at varying stages of development though only two of those have been officially acknowledged by the studio. What films should fill that three-film gap between Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars and why? We have thoughts…

    For the purpose of this exercise, the most recently updated Marvel Studios slate will be treated as it is “locked-in.” Thinking and speculating about projects four years away from release is tough going because the reality is that the most recent slate will change again, maybe multiple times, before Phase 6 wraps up the Multiverse Saga. However, for simplicity’s sake, this article is working within the slate as it currently stands. Under those conditions, here’s our best guess:

    Shang-Chi 2

    Theories about the true nature of Shang-Chi’s rings have always been interesting, but following the trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and the undeniable similarity they share with some of Kang the Conqueror’s gear, the game has really changed. Shang-Chi has always been primed to be a major part of the Multiverse Saga, but with Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton now on board to helm Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, it stands to reason Shang-Chi, and his rings, might play a much larger role in the Saga then originally imagined. The first film left the origin of the rings intentionally vague and an upcoming animated series is rumored to connect some dots between the rings, Kamala’s bangle and more. That series, which is being overseen by Todd Harris and potentially directed by Brian Kesinger, revolves around a secret society of earthbound aliens who scour the world for a series of powerful and influential artifacts. The rings are certainly just those types of artifacts and it’s possible that the aliens trying to find them are either affiliated with or working against Kang. Whatever the case, Shang-Chi’s a major player, the sequel is announced and seems like it absolutely must come out ahead of Secret Wars.

    Armor Wars

    Armor Wars has been part of Marvel Studios’ plans for the Multiverse Saga since before fans knew there was a Multiverse Saga. First announced in 2020 at Disney’s Investor Day, Armor Wars was originally developed as a streaming series before shifting gears and becoming a feature film. If the series was planned to be in the Multiverse Saga, it would stand to reason that the film will be too, especially given its close ties to Secret Invasion.

    Nomad

    We’ve always had Nomad as a streaming series, so this represents a major shift in thinking though nobody seems to know what to expect of it. However, the best “Nomad” story Marvel Studios could tell would be one following Chris Evans‘ Steve Rogers as he returned the Infinity Stones to their respective timelines. As explained by Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, an incursion can be caused when people travel between multiverses and alter that reality more than the allowable margin for error. If that’s true, that sweet sendoff for Steve and the end of Avengers: Endgame looks like it might be a pretty major problem now that He Who Remains is no longer around to protect the timeline. Could a Nomad feature film center on Steve’s journey to the other timelines where it’s revealed he actually caused multiple incursions?

    It’s not out of the realm of possibilities. As Steve told Tony, when he sees a situation pointed south, he can’t ignore it. Could little acts of do-gooderism during his visits to the timelines from which the Infinity Stones were borrowed actually end up accelerating the incursion process and speeding up the timeline to Secret Wars? It’s hard to say because not enough is currently known about what incursions are truly all about in the MCU, but if Evans is truly back for a pair of projects as reported, it’s hard to imagine that one of them is really just about him riding a motorcycle around the countryside and helping people change flat tires. Not with Secret Wars looming…

  • Hugh Jackman Confirms Major ‘Deadpool 3’ Spoiler

    Hugh Jackman Confirms Major ‘Deadpool 3’ Spoiler

    The hype for Marvel Studios’ untitled Deadpool and Wolverine film has been steadily growing over the past couple of months. Following the official announcement of the return of Hugh Jackman as Logan, rumors of the plot of the film began to populate the usual channels. One of the more interesting and sensible rumors indicated that Owen Wilson‘s Mobius and his employer, the Time Variance Authority were set to play a key role in the film. It looks like those rumors stand a strong chance of being proven true down the road.

    While explaining in an interview with Sirius XM how his character, who died in 2017’s Logan, would be able to make an appearance in the new film, Jackman gave a pretty simple answer…time travel!

    But all because of this device they have in the Marvel world of moving around timelines, now we can go back because, you know, it’s science. And so I don’t have to screw with the Logan timeline, which was important to me, and I think probably to the fans too.

    Hugh Jackman

    That handy little device Jackman referenced could well be one of the TVA’s TemPads, first seen in Season 1 of Loki. Jackman’s comments also indicate that, according to MCU logic, the events of the Deadpool and Wolverine film are going to create an alternate timeline and, most likely, an incursion. Given the most popular theories about the film include Deadpool visiting timelines from past Marvel films like Fantastic Four and the Fox X-Men franchise, it’s possible that his meddling in those timelines creates a number of incursions. Deadpool creating a mess that the new team of Avengers would end up having to clean up sounds like just the right way to bring the Merc with a Mouth into the MCU.

    Source: Sirius XM

  • REVIEW: ‘Jack Ryan’ Season 3, Episodes 1-4

    REVIEW: ‘Jack Ryan’ Season 3, Episodes 1-4

    The first two seasons of Amazon Studios’ Jack Ryan have been fun, binge-worthy entertainment that have, at times, felt more inspired by the Bourne novels than Tom Clancy‘s expansive Ryanverse. John Krasinski‘s CIA analyst has been called on him to be equal parts spymaster and tough guy as he was thrown into the thick of some fascinatingly complex scenarios. However, despite Clancy having published 17 Ryanverse novels, neither of the previous two seasons’ plots felt predicated on anything Clancy-esque. Familiar characters, sure; high-stakes political intrigue, check. But Seasons 1 and 2 seemed simply to be missing just a pinch of something. Season 3 seems to have found it by adding one key ingredient that helped launch Clancy’s incredibly successful career in the mid-1980s: the Russians.

    *NOTE: This review contains light spoilers for Episodes 1-4*

    While lie the previous two seasons it’s not an adaptation of any particular Clancy novel, Season 3, which feels almost uncomfortably familiar in light of current events, immediately feels like a Clancy novel come to life. Maybe a little The Cardinal of the Kremlin; maybe a little Red Rabbit; maybe it’s neither or both. Whatever the case, Season 3’s premise is built around a Russia willing to go to extremes to destabilize the region by any means necessary in order to restore the country to its former glory. The flashback used to open Episode 1, “Falcon”, establishes some key players and the central element of the season’s ongoing plot: a secret project called Sokol. In present day, many of those key players have become major movers and shakers in a part of the world that’s been greatly changed over the years, setting up arguably the series’ best work to date with the intricacies of spymasters, double agents and betrayal.

    And make no mistake, betrayal is the key theme of the first four episodes of Season 3. Who is betraying whom, who knows they are being betrayed and who doesn’t, and the ramifications of all the betrayals takes the better part of the first four episodes to start to crystalize but it makes for an intriguing enough premise. Of course, fans of the series already know that it’s more than just spygames: it’s also about big action. In that regard, the first half of Season 3 doesn’t disappoint. All the action beats you’ve come to expect from Jack Ryan are clear and present and the franchise hasn’t jumped the shark yet in terms of pushing the boundaries of reality.

    Over the course of the first two seasons of Jack Ryan, how you feel about John Krasinski‘s performance as the titular hero essentially determines your perception of the show. Whether by design or unfortunate accident, outside of Ali Suliman‘s Mousa bin Suleiman and Wendell Pierce’s grumpy James Greer, the supporting cast of characters aren’t especially memorable. Season 3 does little to change that, keeping it all Krasinski all the time. Especially wooden and boring depictions of the Eastern European characters make them easily forgettable members of a conspiracy that could otherwise cause far more suspense as the series turns the corner into the second half.

    The first half of Season 3 does shuffle the deck enough to keep fans of the franchise interested. The events of Episode 1 put Ryan in a situation that feels both familiar to the events of Season 2, but different enough that it allows for an impressive display of his resourcefulness. It’s here that creators Carlton Cuse and Graham Roland lean back into Bourne territory as they begin to establish Ryan as someone with the beginnings of a global reach. In that way, the scope of the franchise is beginning to expand in a way that will allow the fourth and final season of the series to tell a fittingly massive story while also setting up potential spinoffs that build out the universe.

    If you’re searching for a big action spy-thriller that makes you feel like the Cold War is back on, the first half of Season 3 of Jack Ryan will hit the spot. The first four episodes serve mainly as table setters for the big back half and while it’s a bit familiar, there’s just enough newness sprinkled in to make it worth a few hours of your time this holiday weekend.

  • A Brief History of James Gunn’s Love of Superman

    A Brief History of James Gunn’s Love of Superman

    Weeks after ascending to the top of DC Studios, James Gunn made a major statement about the future of the DC Universe when he announced that he was writing a treatment for an all-new Superman film. Gunn’s project, which he may ultimately direct, has no ties to Henry Cavill‘s Man of Steel or the Snyderverse and should be a signal to fans about the direction of the newly minted studio. Superman is a priority for DC Studios and by taking it on himself to write the script, Gunn is making sure his vision is the one that defines the character.

    Telling a good Superman story isn’t easy in the 2020s which means Gunn’s taking a lot of responsibility in his new role as co-chair. If fans don’t respond well to the new project, Gunn will take the heat. That’s a long way off, however, as the script is obviously just being developed now but that doesn’t mean that Gunn hasn’t had Superman on his mind for quite some time. In fact, he’s been very vocal about his love for and interest in the character over the last several years and has come close to either developing a Superman or Superman-adjacent property more than once! Here’s a look, albeit a brief one, at Gunn’s love of Superman.

    For Gunn, it likely all started in 1978 when, as a 12-year-old, he saw Richard Donner‘s Superman at a theater in Des Peres, Missourri. Gunn called Superman a “great movie” that “rivaled Star Wars” for him and, in a 2021 interview, credited it with getting him “really excited about the genre.”

    Before becoming the driving creative force behind Marvel Studios Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn wrote and directed 2010’s Super, a black comedy about a hero with no super powers which may or may not be a part of a cinematic universe where the “evil Superman” character from Brightburn exists, but even while he was tied up at Marvel, he remained a fan of Superman. In a long Twitter thread from 2016, Gunn made it clear that he enjoyed 2013’s Man of Steel despite some of his criticism about how it portrayed the hero, citing a lack of empathy as an issue.

    Gunn has always kept up a major presence on social media and in 2016 during a live Facebook Q&A, he was asked who would win in a fight between Hulk and Superman. At the time, Gunn was very much believed to be one of the architects of the future of Marvel Studios, making his response a bit surprising.

    Hulk vs Superman, who wins? Probably Superman, right?“He’s much more powerful than Hulk.

    James Gunn via Radio Times

    In 2017, after congratulating Zachary Levi for landing the lead role in Shazam!, Gunn was besieged on social media by fans for even mentioning a DC property. His response was pretty epic as he urged fans to drop the “Marvel vs. DC” mentality.

    Every time I mention anything DC, no matter what, my feed becomes an endless screaming match about BvS. You guys are never going to convince each other – it’s just a bunch of wasted energy. At least when you’re screaming at each other about Trump, it’s something of international importance. But it’s a 2 year old movie that some people like and some people don’t. Why is someone else’s opinion so important to you? As Marvel and DC super fans you have way more in common with each other than you do with the rest of the world. So why do you spend so much time raging at each other? It’s silly. Please just stop it. Stop engaging in that way.

    James Gunn

    Less than a year later, Gunn had been fired from Marvel and hired by the old guard at DC to direct The Suicide Squad. Interestingly enough, before moving forward on The Suicide Squad, Gunn had his pick of projects including a Superman film that he turned down. Gunn also indicated that while he ultimately chose not to direct it, he briefly considered a project centered around Superman’s dog, Krypto. Though he passed on the Superman project, Gunn later revealed that he nearly ended up including the character in The Suicide Squad…as the bad guy until he settled on Starro.

    I thought that was a very interesting story. But when I came up with Starro…he’s a character I loved from the comics. I think he’s a perfect comic book character because he’s absolutely ludicrous, but he’s also very scary in his own way … He used to scare the crap out of me when I was a child, putting those facehuggers on Superman and Batman and stuff. So, I thought he was one of the major DC villains that was probably never gonna be put into another movie. And if they did, they would do it like the ‘black cloud’ version of Starro — not a giant, walking starfish that’s a kaiju, that is bright-pink and cerulean blue. Just a ridiculously bright bad guy.

    James Gunn via Script Apart Podcast

    It’s safe to say that Superman, and the state of DC’s films, has been on Gunn’s mind for some time now. In that sense, it’s no surprise that he’s decided to make the character a priority in his early days as the co-chair after seeing him mostly sidelined by the previous regime. It looks like Gunn is going all in on that character as one of the building blocks of the DC Universe and given his love for the character, fans should look for a return to the character’s roots as a symbol of pure goodness and hope.

    Sources: THR, HH, Radio Times, Deadline, SYFY, Flickering Myth, Script Apart

  • ‘Violent Night’ Just the Beginning for David Harbour’s Warrior Santa

    ‘Violent Night’ Just the Beginning for David Harbour’s Warrior Santa

    Silent Night was certainly one of the surprise hits of 2022. David Harbour‘s ass-kicking, sledgehammer-wielding Santa Claus made quite an impact and has fans asking for more. Fortunately, according to co-writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who penned the Sonic the Hedgehog films, there’s no shortage of ideas for where to take Santa next…including mono a mono with the Easter bunny!

    In an interview with SYFY WIRE, Casey and Miller laid out potential plans for prequels and/or sequels to Violent Night. According to Casey and Miller, Violent Night barely scratched the surface in terms of what’s possible for this Santa. The film sets the stage for Santa’s violent dispatching of mercs by explaining he was a Viking once upon a time, but the writing duo believes there’s enough of Santa’s background on the cutting room floor to create a “full-on prequel.”

    We used to have more of his backstory in the first one and that got stripped out for pacing. I guess it’ll be a bummer if we never get a sequel, but part of us was was kind of happy because that just leaves more stuff to do in sequels. One thing we’ve learned from the Sonic movies is [that] sometimes painting yourself into a corner for the sequel sucks. Because you’re like, ‘Oh, man! I wish we hadn’t said that one sentence in the earlier movie!

    Josh Miller

    Miller adds that a prequel might be a little “complicated” in terms of budget and that a sequel is more likely. While they have plenty of ideas for what that might entail, they do seem certain that the next film will include characters cut from Violent Night: Santa’s elves and Mrs. Claus. Miller explained that “elves were part of our pitch,” for Violent Night, but explained that budgetary restraints around creating the North Pole led to them being cut from the film. That’s not stopping these idea men, however. According to Casey, if they do get to make a sequel “the elves are gonna be great.” Mrs. Claus was also originally in the film, including in a scene that Casey described as a “helicopter versus flying sleigh dogfight.” Ultimately, a casualty of the budget, Mrs. Claus will be back but according to Miller, she won’t quite fit the traditional depiction of the character. “The Vikings went down to Africa,” said the writer. “They discovered North America hundreds of years before Christopher Columbus, ‘discovered it. So really, the sky’s the limit for who could play Mrs. Claus because who’s to say at what point in his past he met her and where?“

    Whatever direction potential sequels may take, the writers assure that they will have the same 80’s-inspired, over-the-top action. Violent Night‘s action beats were heavily influenced by Die Hard, a film that has been considered an alt-christmas classic for quite some time. According to Miller, their vision for the Violent Night franchise includes more of what worked so well in the first film.

    There are so many movies that influenced Die Hard and that Die Hard influenced, that I think the special sauce of the franchise is always finding that weird middle ground of where Christmas movie tropes can kind of intersect with classic ‘80s/‘90s action movie tropes

    Josh Miller

    If you haven’t seen Violent Night, you can check out our full review here and still catch it in theaters now.

    Source: SYFY WIRE