Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • EXCLUSIVE: Details on The Red Dagger Lair in ‘Ms. Marvel’

    EXCLUSIVE: Details on The Red Dagger Lair in ‘Ms. Marvel’

    Episode 4 of Ms. Marvel saw Kamala Khan leave New Jersey and head to Karachi, where she quickly met Kareem, played by Aramis Knight, and learned about a secret order of protectors known as the Red Daggers. Part of keeping an order secret is having a secret location that’s tough to sniff out and the Red Daggers’ lair certainly fit that description.

    In the episode, it was revealed that the lair could be accessed through a hidden hallway behind a stove in a restaurant, something Kamala Khan found fascinating. According to Knight, the hidden lair, complete with sliding stove, was an entirely practical set and something that was kept secret from him and Iman Vellani until the day of filming.

    That set was 100% practical. The Chinese restaurant set as well as when I pushed the oven and it reveals the Red Dagger HQ in the hall…that was totally practical. So that day, while we were rehearsing-it was me and Iman and Sharmeen-and we were walking through the door and we weren’t even in costumes yet, loosely walking through it, I go to push the oven and I figured that the oven would maybe move back and we’d move to a different set. Little did I know, it was 100% practical. So when I pushed it back, it just kept rolling back, kept rolling back, like 20-30 feet into just, this huge hallway, and you walk down this hallway and you’re into that like beautiful blueish-green color of the Red Dagger lair. It was just amazing. We literally stopped in the middle of our rehearsal and were just like in awe of the set that they had built. It was incredible.

    Aramis Knight

    In a time where complicated sets are often touched up with VFX or shot using technology like the volume, a practical set of that size with so many moving parts is impressive. Equally impressive was the crew’s ability to keep it from the actors, allowing Vellani to get an authentic reaction to the hidden hallway that could inform her character’s discovery of it during filming. The set design has been top notch for all four episodes of Ms. Marvel and the lair of the Red Daggers is no different.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on the Importance of Bringing Kamala Khan to Life in the MCU

    EXCLUSIVE: Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on the Importance of Bringing Kamala Khan to Life in the MCU

    Episodes 4 and 5 of Marvel Studios latest Disney Plus streaming series, Ms. Marvel, were directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a veteran filmmaker with 20 years of experience. And while Obaid-Chinoy, who has won 7 Emmy and 2 Academy Awards for her documentary work, has plenty of time behind the camera, she is brand new to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Born in Pakistan, Obaid-Chinoy now plays a large role in bringing Kamala Khan, Marvel’s first Muslim superhero, to the screen from the pages of Marvel Comics. In an exclusive interview, the director explained why she wanted to be part of the creative team that brought Ms. Marvel to life.

    I think Kamala Khan changes the way we see superheroes. And I think the world is ready to embrace the fact that superheroes come in all shapes and forms and sizes. And that, in falling in love with the Khan family, in falling in love with Kamala Khan, you open yourself up to these experiences, to this culture, to this way of life, to this food and this music and these fabrics and sort of the richness of the texture of what it is to be an immigrant in America and to find your voice. I think she does this wonderful job of doing that.

    Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

    Through 4 episodes, it’s safe to say that Obaid-Chinoy and the rest of the Ms. Marvel team have succeeded in making fans fall in love with Kamala, her family and their story as the series is among the most-well reviewed projects Marvel Studios has put out to date. The character is already beloved by fans, who are already anticipating star Iman Vellani‘s next appearance in 2023’s The Marvels, and it’s safe to assume she’s going to play a large part in the future of the MCU.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on the Emotional Conclusion to Episode 4 of ‘Ms. Marvel’

    EXCLUSIVE: Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on the Emotional Conclusion to Episode 4 of ‘Ms. Marvel’

    Episode 4 of Ms. Marvel, “Seeing Red”, ended on a very TV-esque cliffhanger that saw Kamala Khan witnessing the events of the 1947 Partition, which divided the British-occupied Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan, displacing 10 to 20 million people amidst terrible and unprecedented violence that took the lives of as many as 2 million.

    The Partition has served as a key point in the story of Ms. Marvel so far as it’s part of the story of Kamala’s great-grandmother, Aisha, the character around whom the central mystery of the 6-part series continues to revolve. Whether Kamala traveled through time to 1947 in Episode 4, or if she’s part of a more immersive vision than the ones she’s previously had is unclear. What is clear, however, is that what she saw on the train platform, and what she’ll see in next week’s episode, will connect her to Aisha in a way that passed down stories from her family never could.

    In an exclusive interview with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, the director of episodes 4 and 5 of Ms. Marvel, Charles Murphy asked about the emotional final scene.

    Kamala is bringing audiences into something that is rarely visualized on screen, which is the 1947 Partition. And in that moment that she’s walking on the platform, she is not a superhero. She is bearing witness to this monumental period in history that carries such a generational trauma. I took hundreds of photographs from 1947 and recreated that on that platform to be able to tell that story.

    Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

    Obaid-Chinoy went on to explain how the details of the scene, specifically the conversations among those on the platforms, were part of an escalation of emotions that ended in the chilling final shot that showed millions of people chaotically scrambling, leaving friends and family behind.

    I wanted Kamala to be catching-to be listening into-these frenetic conversations that were taking place as people were leaving their homes. So she’s almost listening to snippets of conversations and each conversation makes you realize what it meant for those people to leave their homes and to leave relationships and to leave their family members. In the case of the father and the son, he was too old to travel and he was sending his son. This little girl thinks that her mom and her will no longer have a place on the train because it’s so packed. These two friends who are hugging, who’ll never see each other again. And so as she was walking through and she was looking, the anguish of the families was reflecting on her face as she was listening. So I think that by making it deeply personal and making it about families and them leaving their homes, anybody…it was transcending cultures and boundaries. Anybody who’s had to leave home or who’s experienced refugees could…it touched them in some way.

    Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

    In closing, Obaid-Chinoy touched on how important it was that the audience slowly realize the scale of the historical moment and how the camera work in the scene put audiences right into the midst of the frenzy.

    And the scale of it was so important, so to make her climb up on that train and to pull the camera back for you to realize that millions of people left their homes. You realize that when the camera pulls back, you see people just jumping onto the train and that frenetic energy…that is exactly how it was in 1947.

    Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

    Of course, the full extent of Kamala’s experience with Partition, and the mechanics of how she finds herself there, are still a mystery but given Marvel Studios’ track record of using the fifth episode of their streaming series to wrap up the ongoing mysteries of the series, fans will likely learn considerably more next week.

  • The 5 Most (and Least) Rewatchable MCU Films

    The 5 Most (and Least) Rewatchable MCU Films

    With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness now streaming on Disney Plus, MCU fans have the opportunity to rewatch the film-or at least certain parts of it at their leisure. And, according to some recent data, it looks like fans have turned it on more than either of the other two MCU films that also only had a 45-day theatrical window, Shang-Chi, and Eternals. The film is, for the most part, a fast-paced, wild ride through the multiverse, chocked full of crazy cameos and some of Marvel Studios’ most terrifying content to date. But will it, ultimately, be the kind of film fans go back to over and over again? Time will tell, but for now, let’s look at which films already do fit that category…and which don’t.

    The 5 Most Rewatchable MCU Films

    Ant-Man (2015)

    Everyone loves Paul Rudd and his energy makes 2015’s Ant-Man one of the MCU’s funniest films. Of course, Rudd’s not alone in bringing the laughs as he’s joined by Michael Peña’s Luis, whose attention to all the wrong details in his stories makes for laughs every time. Finally, the father-daughter relationship between Rudd’s Scott Lang and his daughter, Cassie, hits home and adds a layer of sweetness to the film.

    Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

    While Avengers: Endgame was received better critically, Infinity War provides fans with a steady flow of rewatchable moments that make it the perfect MCU film to have on in the background. From Cap’s catch of Proxima’s weapon to Thor’s arrival on Earth to the many highlights of the Battles of Wakanda and Titan, Infinity War acts as a highlight reel for the shared cinematic universe.

    Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2015)

    From start to finish, Captain America: The Winter Soldier puts out a steady flow of some of the best action in any MCU film to date. Beginning with the raid of the Lemurian Star, continuing to the best car chase the MCU has seen and the beautifully shot battle in the streets between Cap and the Winter Solider and finishing up with the emotional battle in the Hellicarrier, the Russo brothers, with the help of a fantastic score, made fans FEEL the action. While the MCU has had some pretty successful action scenes since this film still feels like it’s the best of the best in that regard.

    Guardians of the Galaxy (2015)

    James Gunn changed an awful lot from the way these characters were depicted in the source material and one of them cements this film as one of the most rewatchable MCU films. By giving Peter Quill a Walkman, Gunn found an organic way to incorporate music into the film and from the moment fans saw the first teaser footage, it was the music that drew them in. It doesn’t hurt that Gunn’s strength as a director is dealing with interpersonal dynamics-and he certainly had a lot of fun with that here-but every time fans see Star-Lord dancing on Morag, the good feelings come rushing back.

    Thor: Ragnarok (2015)

    The most dumb fun ever put into one MCU film. Ragnarok began the process of making Thor a lot less Shakespearian and a lot more fun. Director Taika Waititi figuratively and, in one scene, literally, deconstructed everything fans thought they knew about Thor and Asgard, allowing for the Odinson to be reborn-though he certainly had to suffer before he got there. Between the comedy and the fun action, Ragnarok is rewatchable from beginning to end and stands at or near the top of the list.

    The 5 Least Rewatchable MCU Films

    Captain Marvel (2019)

    A less than marvelous plot, run-of-the-mill action, and some really dull and poorly written characters combine to make this one tough to get through more than once. Sure, Ben Mendelsohn‘s Talos is pretty great, but for a film starring Brie Larson, Lee Pace, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jude Law, it really misses the mark. Like many MCU first films, this one does a lot of foundational work that will likely allow for a stronger sequel, but even there the film falls short by failing to really dive into the Kree-Skrull War, one of the comic’s longest-standing feuds, and making the Skrulls pretty boring.

    Eternals (2021)

    For a film based on one of Jack Kirby’s wildest ideas, very little is wild here and very little is Kirby here. Wooden and sleepy performances are everywhere in Eternals, with only Kumail Nanjiani and Don Lee escaping that trap. It also may have been a mismatch to put director Chloe Zhao, who works only with natural light, in charge of this group who, in the comics, are as bright and bold as any. Finally, the decision-making around how to adapt the Deviants to the MCU is as baffling as any, giving the name to some incredibly boring and very non-Kirby creatures. A missed opportunity for sure.

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

    As fantastically rewatchable as the first one is, the sequel never really comes near to that. While not necessarily a bad movie, outside of the big opening action sequence, it doesn’t recapture the charm of the first film, and parts of the second act can induce one to wonder what’s happening online rather than dig back in.

    The Incredible Hulk (2008)

    Other than introducing Banner and Thunderbolt Ross, this film has really had no reason for existing. Sure, we’re getting more of Abomination/Blonsky now, but adding cool characters to the shared universe doesn’t do enough save this one. As Captain Marvel, this film is full of talented names who fell victim to a story that was simply not that interesting. It’s probably for the best that it’s not available on Disney Plus, though it’s so unwatchable that it’s possible not many people even know it’s not there.

    Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

    Of all the films on this list, this is the hardest one to explain away. It has some of the MCU’s most memorable and creative action sequences, Jake Gyllenhall is a fantastic Mysterio and everyone loves Tom Holland; however, nothing about it screams “watch me again!”. Interestingly enough, the events of it are rendered completely meaningless by the end of No Way Home, so if you find yourself forgetting the big reveal at the end, you’ll be in the same boat as the in-universe population of the MCU.

    What 5 are you taking with you for a weekend retreat? What 5 are you retreating from? Let us know in the comments.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Scott Adsit on Bringing Baymax to Live-Action in the MCU

    EXCLUSIVE: Scott Adsit on Bringing Baymax to Live-Action in the MCU

    MCU fans may remember a rumor that Marvel Studios was looking to incorporate characters from Big Hero 6, specifically Hiro and Baymax, into their shared universe in a live-action appearance. As exciting as that rumor was, it was eventually debunked by a trade report, which indicated that Big Hero 6 and the characters associated with it were staying with the creatives at Disney and any new projects involving them would be done at that studio.

    One such new project involving the property is now available on Disney Plus in the form of BAYMAX!, a six-episode collection of shorts with a ton of heart (read our full review here) that takes the character back to his roots as a healthcare companion. Ahead of the premiere of the series, Charles Murphy had the opportunity to talk to actor Scott Adsit, who has voiced Baymax since Big Hero 6 debuted in 2014 and asked him if he’d be willing to get back in studio to bring him to life.

    I’d get in the costume for that. I’d get in the big rubber suit and inflate it and walk around. Absolutely! Because I’m a big Marvel nerd and I think all those movies are fantastic, so to step into one of them would be incredible.

    Scott Adsit

    Unfortunately for Adsit, it doesn’t appear as though he’ll get the chance to fill out that rubber suit anytime soon. But as the voice of Baymax for the better part of a decade, it’s good to know he’s willing to take up the part anytime. Maybe there’s hope for the future!

  • Chris Hemsworth Reveals His “Favorite Villain” in the MCU

    Chris Hemsworth Reveals His “Favorite Villain” in the MCU

    Through three solo adventures in the MCU, Thor has more often than not found himself facing off with members of his family as primary antagonists. Thor: The Dark World featured Malekith and Kurse, but even there Loki’s machinations featured prominently in the story. Thor: Love and Thunder breaks free of that pattern, bringing one of Thor’s most terrifying villains from Marvel Comics into the MCU: Gorr the God Butcher, played by Academy Award-winning actor Christian Bale. And according to Hemsworth, Bale’s work with the character was so special that he became Hemsworth’s favorite MCU villain.

    He’s my favorite villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I love everyone I’ve worked with, but this was particularly special.  And a lot to do with what Christian said before, there’s this empathic quality there, there’s a vulnerability.  You kind of find yourself going, oh what’s he’s doing is wrong, but I get the sort of motivation behind it.  And every time you work with someone different, different characters that bring different things out of you, and that was the case here.  And yeah, he did an incredible job. 

    Chris Hemsworth

    It’s high praise indeed, given that Hemsworth’s Thor faced off against his brother, played brilliantly by Tom Hiddleston, his sister Hela and, most notably Thanos, who sent the god of thunder down a dark path. It’s hardly surprising that Bale delivers big in his performance, however, because he’s never been known to mail in a performance. Audiences won’t have long to wait to see where Gorr fits on their lists of favorite MCU villains as Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8th.

  • What to Expect from Marvel Studios at SDCC ’22

    What to Expect from Marvel Studios at SDCC ’22

    Marvel Studios has confirmed it will have a presence in Hall H for the first time since 2019. Kevin Feige once said the studio wouldn’t go to SDCC if they couldn’t over-deliver, so fans must be in for a bit of a treat this July. What can fans expect? What should they not expect? Let’s think it through…

    A Major She-Hulk Presence

    The surest of sure things is that Marvel Studios’ presentation will have a heavy dose of their next big thing: the Disney Plus streaming series She-Hulk: Attorney At Law. By the time SDCC rolls around, it’ll have been about 2 months since the first full-length trailer for the series dropped, so a fresh trailer certainly makes sense given the series will begin streaming four weeks after SDCC. Marvel Studios always likes to have cast members on stage for SDCC presentations, so don’t be too surprised if star Tatiana Maslany shows up and, if they really want to blow the roof off of Hall H, Charlie Cox.

    First Look at Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

    black panther tenoch huerta

    The next surest thing for Hall H is that a good chunk of time will be devoted to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios’ final film of 2022. SDCC is just a month away and not so much as a teaser for the film has been released yet. That may change over the next couple of weeks as Marvel Studios could choose to release something online that would also play in front of Thor: Love and Thunder, or they could simply choose to wait and make waves at SDCC. It also seems likely that the cast of the film could be on stage, as was the case with Eternals in 2019, and Marvel Studios could finally acknowledge that Tenoch Huerta will be the MCU’s Namor, in addition to revealing some other cast members who will still be a surprise to general audiences who don’t follow things too closely.

    Disney Plus Updates

    Marvel Studios has a second season of What If…? that should be ready to go at some point in 2022, 3 live-action projects that have completed principal photography (Secret Invasion, Werewolf By Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special) and 3 others that are in production now (Echo, Loki Season 2 and Ironheart). Should fans expect major news about every one of those projects? Absolutely not, but some cast reveals and some first look footage would go a long way for pretty much any of them because nothing official from Marvel Studios has been revealed about any of them save Echo.

    It’s All About Phasing

    Marvel Studios’ fans sure seem to love big timeline photos even though the reality is that they’re subject to change. There’s been a lot of Phase 4/Phase 5 talk lately and Feige recently said he’d be showing fans a “tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap” in the coming months. So will there be a full Phase 5 reveal? Unlikely. But could Feige give fans a cool looking timeline for the rest of 2022 and for 2023? Sure.

    The Over-Deliver

    So far, nothing listed above would be either surprising or all that exciting for fans who are always starving for more. In 2019, the “over-deliver” was certainly the reveal that Mahershala Ali would be leading the Blade reboot. So what’s in store for 2022? The 2023 slate is 75% known and it’s widely believed that Blade will take the other spot. There are four dates blocked off for 2024, though no films have been assigned to them at the time this article is written. However, it’s expected that Fantastic Four and Thunderbolts are going to be two of them, so any news about another 2024 film would be pretty major. If he really wants to make a big enough bang that will carry over until D23, he could announce anything mutant-related or reveal whatever they’re calling the Secret Wars adaptation that fans are all expecting to be the Endgame of this new saga. There’s no way for us to know exactly what Feige will do, but the safe bet is that he’ll drop something major at SDCC, but keep many more big reveals in the bag for D23, which we continue to hear is going to be an absolute blast.

  • Taika Waititi on the Unexpected Love Triangle in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Taika Waititi on the Unexpected Love Triangle in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    It’s clear that there were no restraints placed on the creative mind of Taika Waititi during the production of Thor: Love and Thunder. If the promotional footage from the trailers have shown fans anything, it’s that the fourth Thor installment will be the Odinson’s wildest ride yet as his former flame, Jane Foster, comes crashing back into his life as a Thor of her own.

    Part of the mystery of Jane’s return is clearly tied to another of Thor’s loves: his hammer, Mjolnir. Destroyed by his sister, Hela, in Thor: Ragnarok, Mjolnir is back in Love and Thunder, and, as has been seen in the trailers, apparently more fond of Jane than the Odinson. In Mjolnir’s absence, of course, Thor had a new weapon, Stormbreaker, forged for him with the help of Eitri and a helping hand from Groot. During the global press conference for Thor: Love and Thunder, Waititi explained that because Stormbreaker’s handle is part of Groot, it was going to have some feelings about Mjolnir coming back into Thor’s life.

    Yeah. And Stormbreaker, I don’t know if this is the way anyone else thought about it, but you gotta remember Stormbreaker’s made of Groot’s arm. Well, you know, the handle is. And so Groot was like a teenager when he did that. So we felt like Stormbreaker was a young wif and had only just been born about five or six years ago. So it had to feel a little bit like an adolescent and it was like it was going through changes.

    Taika Waititi

    Reading between the lines, it appears that Waititi has indeed written a love triangle into Thor: Love and Thunder, though not one fans of the MCU saw coming, but rather one between a thunder god and his two weapons.

    Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on July 8th.

  • Emma Roberts Joins the Cast of ‘Madame Web’

    Emma Roberts Joins the Cast of ‘Madame Web’

    The cast of Sony’s Madame Web has grown again, this time adding Emma Roberts in another undisclosed role. Roberts joins Dakota Johnson, Isabel Merced, Celeste O’Connor and Sydney Sweeney in the Sony film.

    With so many unknowns about the film and the cast continuing to expand, it’s hard to even speculate about what character Roberts may be playing. It’s believed that Johnson will be playing Julia Carpenter, the second character to go by Madame Web in the comics. Rumors around Sweeney’s character range from Silver Sable to Black Cat to Gwen Stacy, while fans are convinced that Merced will play Anya Corazon. One thing is certain, however, Sony is loading up the film, to be directed by S.J. Clarkson, with major talent.

    In the comics, Madame Web was originally an older woman, Cassandra Webb, who possessed precognitive powers. Webb passed her powers, and the moniker, on to Julia Carpenter who held down the role during many major Spider-themed comic events. Madame Web will follow Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius and the recently wrapped Kraven the Conservationist in Sony’s ever-expanding universe of Marvel films.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Furiosa’ Synopsis Teases a War for the Wasteland

    ‘Furiosa’ Synopsis Teases a War for the Wasteland

    George Miller’s Furiosa, a prequel to 2015’s Fury Road, has begun production in Australia ahead of its May 19, 2023 release date. Now Warner Bros. has released a new synopsis for the film, which will see Anya Taylor-Joy step into the role of Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road, and reveal the origins of the “powerhouse character.”

    As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus.  Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe.  While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home. 

    Immortan Joe featured prominently in Fury Road and the comic series that followed. Furiosa served as Joe’s Imperator before betraying and eventually giving him a grisly death via a harpoon to the mouth. Though WB has not commented on who will be playing Joe in Furiosa, it’s believed that Tom Byrne (A Discovery of Witches) will be playing the younger version of the character, who was a Colonel during the Oil Wars that precede the event of the original Mad Max. The film will also star Chris Hemsworth, who may well be playing the opposing Warlord, Dementus, who will vie for dominance of the Wasteland with Joe.