Author: Charles Murphy

  • Netflix ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner on Series Status as MCU Canon

    Netflix ‘Daredevil’ Showrunner on Series Status as MCU Canon

    Earlier this week, Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, confirmed that Charlie Cox, who portrayed Matt Murdock and Daredevil over 3 seasons of the Netflix series, Daredevil, would be portraying the same character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cox will join Daredevil co-star Vincent D’Onofrio, who first appeared in the briefest of cameos in Episode 3 of Hawkeye, as actors who will portray their Netflix characters in MCU. While that makes for an exciting future, what’s not clear is if the their appearances in the MCU will be continuing the stories they began telling on Netflix, will serve as a soft reboot or will ignore them entirely and simply be the same actors playing entirely new versions of the same characters.

    With so much uncertainty over the topic, Twitter user Trash ‘n Treasure smartly asked one guy who might know: Daredevil Season 1 showrunner and director Steven DeKnight. Unfortunately, as it turns out, DeKnight is in the same boat as the rest of us.

    It looks like people will continue to debate the canonicity of the Netflix series until we have further evidence from the projects in which the characters will appear (and let’s be honest, even when faced with a factual answer, people will still debate it). However, while fans continue to dwell on the past of the characters, it’s a lot more enjoyable to focus on what seems like it’s going to be an exciting future for them. Regardless of whether or not the events of the Netflix series “happened” in the MCU, two actors who gave incredible performances are about to give fans a whole new set of events to enjoy and debate. With D’Onofrio and Cox expected to be fully revealed in the roles over the next two weeks, we wont have too long to wait to start enjoying them all over again.

  • RUMOR: Runtime of “Explosive” 5th Episode of ‘Hawkeye’ Revealed

    RUMOR: Runtime of “Explosive” 5th Episode of ‘Hawkeye’ Revealed

    While we haven’t seen the 4th episode yet, next week’s 5th episode of Hawkeye is rumored to be one that will set social media abuzz. After last week’s tease that Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, is Maya Lopez’s “Uncle”, it’s likely that the series will fully reveal the character soon so he can engage in the plot of the final act, making Episode 5 a great time to see him start busting some heads.

    Now, according to a report, we have a potential runtime for that 5th, potentially explosive episode. According to Amit Chaudhari, who seemingly nailed the runtimes for Episodes 3 and 4, Episode 5 will have a runtime of 42 minutes.

    The first three episodes of Hawkeye have run for 50, 52 and 44 minutes respectively. Subtracting the opening intro and closing credits, we’ve gotten about 44, 43 and 36 minutes of actual action, so a 42-minute episode would provide maybe 35 or so minutes of time to fold Kingpin into the action.

  • UPDATE: NO New, Potentially Spoilery ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Trailer Coming Soon

    UPDATE: NO New, Potentially Spoilery ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Trailer Coming Soon

    Update: a message from the BBFC indicated there will be no new trailer:

    A listing by the British Board of Film Classification confirms that Sony has cut a third trailer for the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. The premiere of the film is set to take place on December 13th and is already poised for a senses-shattering opening weekend at the box office, with an expected domestic take of over $250M.

    Sony has already pushed out two trailers for the film, with the most recent one fully revealing the film’s villains and the narrative around how they make the jump to the MCU from their own universes. While that trailer heavily featured Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock and Jaime Foxx’s Electro, it certainly held back on confirming the biggest rumor about the film: the return of Spider-Men past, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

    While everyone with an ounce of common sense knows the two will be in the film (plot leaks, leaked photos, leaked videos and, most recently, a leaked soundtrack all confirm it), Sony has generated a ton of social media buzz for the film by withholding them to this point. With the second trailer having been such a hit among fans, what would Sony have left to put in a third trailer for a film that’s already on pace to be among the highest grossing films of all time?

    Releasing a third, spoiler-heavy trailer just a few days ahead of the film’s release would be a curious move for a normal studio, but par for the course for Sony. An argument could conceivably be made that revealing Maguire and Garfield could drive more fans to the theaters, but pretty much every theater across the country is sold out for opening night, if not opening weekend. A confirmation of Charlie Cox’s role in the film, something Kevin Feige made possible by confirming that the actor would be playing Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the MCU moving forward, while still spoilery might be a little more reasonable. We’ll all find out together.

    Spider-Man: No Way Home hits theaters next week!

    Source: BBFC

  • RUMOR: Episode 5 of ‘Hawkeye’ Will Set Social Media Abuzz

    RUMOR: Episode 5 of ‘Hawkeye’ Will Set Social Media Abuzz

    While Episode 3 of Hawkeye, “Echoes”, let the proverbial cat out of the bag regarding the identity of the head of organized crime in New York City. The episode revealed that Maya Lopez’s “Uncle”, her father’s best friend, is the Kingpin of crime. What it didn’t QUITE explicitly reveal is the identity of the actor in the role of Wilson Fisk (though to fans of Vincent D’Onofrio’s work, it was incredibly clear). According to a new rumor, however, it looks like we might get that confirmation in next week’s 5th episode.

    In his weekly “Inside Line” column, TV Line insider Matt Mitovich fielded a question about Hawkeye. In response, Mitovich mentioned that he heard the episode would “blow up Twitter a bit.” While it’s obviously not a direct response, anyone pretending that Mitovich isn’t referring to not only the revelation of D’Onofrio returning to the role but also setting up the character as a major player in the MCU is simply looking to be contrarian.

    Ever since Charlie Cox was reported to be reprising his role at Matt Murdock, a report that was confirmed yesterday by Kevin Feige, fans of the Netflix series Daredevil were waiting for D’Onofrio to join him in making the jump to the MCU. Now, Hawkeye has brought D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk into the Sacred Timeline and it’s highly unlikely it was just for a cameo; it’s much more likely that this is just the beginning of this chapter of Fisk’s story.

    Source: TV Line

  • Rumor: ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ to Feature M.O.D.O.K.

    Rumor: ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ to Feature M.O.D.O.K.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania recently wrapped production and did so without much about the plot of the film being leaked. We do know that the film, which was recently bumped from a February to a July 2023 release, will see Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, Kathryn Newton as a recast Cassie Lang and Bill Murray join the returning cast of Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas. Now, a new rumor from The Direct, a character long rumored to be a part of the film will indeed make an appearance.

    Earlier this year, it was reported by GWW that M.O.D.O.K. was featured in an early draft of the script for the third Ant-Man movie written by Rudd. However, with new writer Jeff Loveness on board, it was unclear if M.O.D.O.K. made the cut. Another recent rumor pointed to M.O.D.O.K. having a role in the film and being voiced by Jim Carrey. According to the rumor from The Direct, M.O.D.O.K. did in fact make the jump from Rudd’s draft to Loveness’, but will not be voiced by Carrey and will have a major role in the film, though they were only able to speculate about what it might be.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is currently scheduled to debut in theaters on July 28, 2023.

    Source: The Direct

  • What Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Means for the Future of the Character

    What Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Means for the Future of the Character

    Late last night, Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, confirmed that Charlie Cox would be returning to the dual roles of Matt Murdock and Daredevil. Cox first appeared in the roles in 39 episodes of the Netflix streaming series, Daredevil, and in 8 episodes of the crossover miniseries, The Defenders, which brought the hero together with Netflix’s other Marvel heroes, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Danny Rand.

    Cox’s work in the role was universally well-received and when the series was cancelled in 2018, it came with a promise that the character would “live on in future projects for Marvel.” The non-renewal sparked the creation of the #SaveDardevil social media campaign and a great deal of social media outrage. It’s reasonable to assume that Feige saw and heard how beloved Cox was in the role and when Marvel Studios regained the rights to the character, found a way to start integrating him into the MCU’s Sacred Timeline narrative, beginning with Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    While Cox’s involvement in No Way Home was first reported nearly a year ago, the star did his best to evade questions about the topic. Over time, however, Cox softened and began to at least entertain questions about what a potential return to the role might entail. Now that Feige has confirmed Cox’s return, not only can Cox, who often looked uncomfortable while having to keep that return secret, breathe easy, but fans can also look back at some other rumors that linked Cox to future MCU appearances.

    Cox’s role in No Way Home has been reported to amount to an extended cameo as Matt Murdock but that appearance should set the stage for the actor to appear in multiple projects over the next several years. As I was told by a bulletproof source nearly a year ago, after his appearance in No Way Home, prepare to see a lot of Cox. Rumors persist that the next time we’ll see Cox will be the 2022 Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series She-Hulk. She-Hulk star Tatiana Maslany recently confirmed that the series was heavily influenced by the Dan Slott and Charles Soule runs on the comic; the latter is especially interesting in connection to a potential appearance by Cox. Soule, whose 12-issue run on the book began in 2014 (and is available for purchase here), is a lawyer himself and found a way to bring the two comic book counselors together for some fun. She-Hulk would be a great way for Marvel Studios to introduce that “reimagined, upgraded version” of Daredevil that he mentioned, including a new suit that would really set his MCU character apart from the one previously donned on Netflix. Something in a nice yellow should do the trick.

    Beyond She-Hulk, confidence in the rumors dwindles but the connections that exist between Daredevil and other characters currently in the MCU can point fans in the right direction when thinking about where he’s likely to appear next. Hawkeye, which is now streaming on Disney Plus, introduced both Alaqua Cox’s Echo and recently teased Wilson Fisk/Kingpin, who will be played by Charlie Cox’s Daredevil co-star, Vincent D’Onofrio. With an Echo series in development, it’s possible that both Daredevil and Kingpin appear in supporting roles. Recent rumors also point to Marvel Studios now developing a solo Daredevil project, though whether it’s a film or streaming series was unknown. With She-Hulk in 2022, Echo in 2023 and a potential Daredevil project in 2024, it’s safe to say audiences will find themselves seeing a lot of Cox over the next 3 years. But could there be more than that in store for fans?

    The beauty of integrating Daredevil into the MCU’s Sacred Timeline is that it allows the character to operate both in his own street-level corner and interact with other characters in an already fully-developed world. Spider-Man: No Way Home and She-Hulk are just the tip of the iceberg in this regard. Daredevil and Spider-Man have a long standing friendship and with Marvel and Sony reportedly getting ready to collaborate on another trilogy, fans could see the two spending some time on some rooftops in the future. For fans of the comics and the animated series, it’s a relationship they’ve been waiting to see and one that couldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. With D’Onofrio hinting that he’d like to see his character take on Spider-Man down the road, it’s possible that a future Spider-Man or Daredevil project could see the two bringing one of their classic comic book Team-Ups to the screen to take on the Kingpin. The possibility also exists of seeing Daredevil join the Avengers down the road. While the character has always been more comfortable in the confines of Hell’s Kitchen, he did join the New Avengers for a spell during the “Fear Itself” event.

    The reality is that there plenty of options out there for Cox to continue to give the character new life. Feige’s confirmation of Cox returning to the role is no small thing. Daredevil has nearly 60 years worth of stories, some of which stand among the best in the history of Marvel Comics. His rebirth into the MCU as an all-new, all-different Daredevil allows for the studio to keep what they liked about the character (which is pretty much just Cox) and retell the parts of the story they think need retelling. Future projects could dive back into Frank Miller’s work and allow the character to have another run in with Elektra, a showdown with a comic-accurate Bullseye and the reworking of the Hand to make it the threat it deserves to be; it could also take an entirely different route and follow the spirit of other great runs by the likes of Brian Michael Bendis, Charles Soule or Mark Waid. While fans wait to see how Marvel Studios adapts the Fantastic Four and X-Men to the MCU, they should be equally excited to see how they handle Daredevil.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Kinney Updates the Progress on Wimpy Kid Sequel ‘Rodrick Rules’

    EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Kinney Updates the Progress on Wimpy Kid Sequel ‘Rodrick Rules’

    An animated adaptation of the 2007 classic children’s book, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, hit Disney Plus last weekend and seemed to land with the target audience. Author Jeff Kinney served as writer and executive producer for the film and chatted with our own Arlyn Murphy last week.

    Disney and Kinney must have been fairly confident in the public’s reception of the first film as the two have already teamed up on adapting the sequel into the same 3-D animated format. That film, Rodrick Rules, is slated for a release on Disney Plus sometime next year. During the interview, Murphy inquired into how efforts on the sequel were proceeding:

    (Things) are going very well. You know, we’ve got a really great script, we’ve got great performances, great actors and it’s a really different kind of story. The scope is a little bit bigger than the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie; the canvas is a little bit bigger and the themes are a little bit heavier. I feel really good about it. I can’t wait to introduce it to the world.

    This first film certainly seemed like a bit of an experiment for the streaming service and the results seem to have been mostly positive. The shorter runtime was a nice way to introduce the characters and the Wimpy Kid world through a lot of humor aimed at kids. The film did, however, touch on some other themes, themes that Kinney seems keen to explore in Rodrick Rules. As you can read here, Kinney hopes to keep the Wimpy Kid train rolling and adapt all the books into animated films and Rodrick Rules in the next step in that plan.

    The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is streaming now on Disney Plus.

  • Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Confirmed by Kevin Feige

    Charlie Cox’s Return as Daredevil Confirmed by Kevin Feige

    Almost a year to the date that Murphy’s Multiverse broke the news that Charlie Cox would be reprising his role as Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, has confirmed the report.

    In an interview with CinemaBlend, Feige was asked if Cox would be the man for the job should Daredevil join the MCU and Feige was uncharacteristically forthcoming with his response:

    If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil. Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen.

    Cox filmed scenes as Matt Murdock for Spider-Man: No Way Home, which releases in less than two weeks, and has been rumored to appear again in She-Hulk and Echo as well as potential solo Daredevil project. Cox first played the character over three seasons of the Netflix series, Daredevil, as well as in The Defenders.

    Source: CinemaBlend

  • James Gunn Teases More Potential ‘The Suicide Squad’ Spin Offs

    James Gunn Teases More Potential ‘The Suicide Squad’ Spin Offs

    The Suicide Squad spin off series, Peacemaker, is set to make its streaming debut on HBO Max in just over a month and will continue the story of John Cena’s Christopher Smith. The 8-episode series looks like it’ll pick up Smith’s story right where it left off, finding him working with some of Amanda Waller’s Task Force X aides and also introducing some new characters, including Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante. The footage we’ve seen so far looks seems to indicate the series will play to the strength’s the Cena brought to the character in The Suicide Squad and, if we’re being honest, looks like it’ll be a hell of a lot of fun.

    Gunn genuinely seemed to love working on The Suicide Squad. He wrote and directed the film and took great care to develop the main characters, giving them all their time to shine. While Cena’s turn as Peacemaker certainly stood out for Cena’s willingness to be the butt of the joke, Harley Quinn, Ratcatcher 2, King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, Rick Flagg and Bloodsport all took turns captivating audiences. While the film marked the end of the road for a couple of their stories, several of the characters walked away from the wild events of the film, leaving room for more stories to be told.

    Gunn, who has always been responsive to fans on social media, was asked if there could be any more spin offs to The Suicide Squad, potentially for some of the characters mentioned above, and while he didn’t give a direct answer, he also didn’t say no.

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1467619864886099968

    Gunn recently indicated he had some more ideas about potential DC properties he’d like to develop in the future, so perhaps another spin off series is among them. Could the stars align for an Idris Elba-led Bloodsport series? Earlier this year, Gunn indicated that the potential for such a series existed, though it wasn’t something in development at that time. Elba seemed to truly enjoy playing the character and should he be open to reprising the role, certainly carries the star power required to lead a big budget series. Time will tell what Gunn has in mind, but until then fans have plenty to look forward to with Peacemaker streaming on HBO Max on January 13th.

  • Murphy’s Team-Up, Volume 9: Favorite Comic Book Adaptation of 2021

    Murphy’s Team-Up, Volume 9: Favorite Comic Book Adaptation of 2021

    John Sabato

    Sweet Tooth' Renewed for Season 2 on Netflix – The Hollywood Reporter

    My favorite comic book property this year had to be Netflix’s Sweet Tooth. Jeff Lemire’s original comic is one of my very favorites and was such an interesting read. The series mostly stays true to it’s source material but isn’t afraid to make creative changes that let it stand apart from the comic. It’s a sweet and wholesome story that sees a young hybrid boy and a grizzled survivor of the plague travel what’s left of the world to find the answers to what came first: the plague or the hybrids?

    Anthony Canton III

    Review: Doom Patrol season 3 ends on a solid if unremarkable note

    There’s something to be said for a show that continues to get better over each of its three seasons. Doom Patrol does that in spades. There’s a level of self awareness, humor, and introspection that makes it the best live-action comic book adaptation I’ve seen. The casts performances particularly this season have been extraordinary. Nuanced, tragic, and some even angry. Brendan Fraser in particular has been a standout in bringing such a broken character like Robotman to the screen. We’ve had a lot of good to great entries in comic book tv and film this year, but no property quite understands it’s assignment like Doom Patrol.

    Nathan Miller

    Eternals Earth Born Celestial 300 Miles Tall | Screen Rant

    My favorite comic book project of the year is EternalsI loved how the film made me feel. Through the performances, direction and soundtrack, I felt the weight of human history, the joy of friendships and found family, the terrifying vastness of space, and the drive of needing to pull together to tackle environmental problems. Intellectually I think the film points toward the future of storytelling, in leaving behind The Hero’s Journey and embodying a more collective journey beyond binary perspectives. It’s a shame more people didn’t initially appreciate the film’s complexity, but hopefully that will change over the next few years, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe enriches its appreciation retrospectively. I’m looking forward to Chloe Zhao’s sequel and the Eternals themselves eventually appearing alongside other established MCU characters.

    João Pinto

    This wasn’t my first choice, but someone with impeccable taste got to that one first (thank you to my friend, JJ!). But in a sense, this show deserves to take the top spot. WandaVision was a pop culture phenomenon. Due to many production delays that affected several projects, it ended up becoming the first Marvel Studios project to be released after the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic and to say audiences were hungry for content is an obvious understatement. The weeks the show was on were some of the best ever to be a comic book fan. The theories ran wild as the show lent itself to the sort of online discourse that drove everyone insane by the sheer magnitude of some of the hot takes. Covering it was a blast as well. I must say that the Murphy’s Multiverse team covered that show as well as any other site, big or small, did. It showed us how much fun we could have while doing something that hopefully everyone enjoyed, and in a way, it became the stepping stone for the work we’ve been doing covering every show ever since. By the enjoyment I got from covering it to following it as a fan it deserves its spot on my favorite comic book adaptations of 2021 list.

    Joseph Aberl

    Both 'Shang-Chi' Post-Credits Scenes, Explained (Spoilers)

    I think my favorite comic book adaptation of the year must be Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I have no prior knowledge or history with the character. So, I went in pretty open about the adaptation. I was hoping for at least some fun kung-fu actions inspired by classics from the genre. Yet, the film went above and beyond as I ended up with an incredibly heartfelt story that also manages to open up the MCU in a creative way. I cannot wait to see Simu Liu’s future with the character and what a sequel might offer.

    Charles Murphy

    The Suicide Squad Trailer Reveals Bloodsport Put Superman in ICU with  Kryptonite Bullet - Den of Geek

    This will probably come as a shock to absolutely everyone, most of all JJ, but my favorite comic book-based project of 2021 was not a Marvel property. James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad takes the top spot for me and it’s not a particularly close race. While I certainly loved Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, The Suicide Squad feels like the most complete story. While the casts of WandaVision, Loki and Black Widow were lights out, the cast of The Suicide Squad was all but perfect. And finally, while Marvel Studios did a great job bringing some less-than-popular characters this past year, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport stands as not only the best reinvention of a little known comic book character in the past year, but also arguably of all time. After a year in which the comic book-based entertainment we all love was painfully absent, we had plenty in 2021 but none of them quite matched the quality of The Suicide Squad.

    Hunter Radesi

    Loki' Is the Perfect MCU TV Show - Variety

    I’m as surprised as anyone to be writing this, but I think the quirky magic of Loki was my favorite experience with a comic adaptation this year. I was firmly against the idea of this project from the start, and you can probably find old tweets of mine stating the show would be a waste of resources on a character whose story I felt was already over. I couldn’t have been proven more wrong. Michael Waldron and Kate Herron managed to craft a fresh, unique spin on the genre that left me wanting more every week. Absolutely charming performances from every member of the cast, genuinely joyous twists and turns throughout, and constantly beautiful set pieces that begged you to keep your eyes on the screen. I think I finally understand why my friends love Dr. Who so much. Can’t wait for the next season.