Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • ‘ANT-MAN 3’: How Marvel Studios Tiniest Franchise Could Make Big Noise in Phase 5

    With the Infinity Saga complete, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to enter a bold, new and Avenger-less era. While the specifics aren’t entirely clear, it seems that Phase 4 of the MCU will only last for 2 years and as we continue to learn more about it, it certainly seems like at least part of its purpose is to prepare us for something, to use familiar Marvel terminology, All-New and All-Different.

    Black Widow, The Eternals, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder will hit the big screen while The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, What If…? and Hawkeye (and possibly Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk) will continue the narrative over on Disney Plus. It appears as if The Eternals is going to be a deep dive into the ancient history of the MCU while also planting the seeds for future stories. As I discussed before, Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse of Madness, in conjunction with WandaVision and Loki, seems poised to change the very nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe by truly opening up and exploring the multiverse. The other projects really seem like they’ll be utilized to transition to legacy heroes (Yelena Belova, Falcon-Cap, Jane Foster/Thor and Kate Bishop) or expand the reach of the MCU into previously unexplored corners and genres (Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings). What’s interesting is that we can’t be entirely sure which of these projects takes place in the MCU’s present day of 2023 which allows the MCU to potentially go on for another 2 years without assembling new heroes to fill the void left following the disassembling of the Avengers following Avengers: Endgame.

    Enter the MCU’s smallest franchise: Ant-Man. Both Ant-Man and Ant-Man and The Wasp were smaller budget films that followed major MCU event films in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Avengers: Infinity War, respectively, and were never perceived as “must-see films” despite the second film’s connection to the events of Avengers: Endgame. If there is any truth to the rumors, first shared on our podcast, that Ant-Man 3 may serve as the platform on which the Young Avengers assemble, we could see the final film in Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man trilogy grow to new heights both in popularity and in its impact on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In following up on the original Young Avengers rumors, I haven’t come across any confirmation of their appearance, but I have consistently heard from other sources to expect something on a much larger scale for Ant-Man 3, so large that the studio has already begun early pre-production work on the film. So while I still can’t confirm Ant-Man and the Young Avengers, I also still can’t entirely rule it out and am left to think about just what that film could look like.

    Given that Ant-Man 3 is happening in 2022, the film wouldn’t introduce audiences to the characters, but it could serve as the film in which the team unites. Just exactly who will be on the team isn’t entirely clear, but there are some members who should be ready to go by 2022. Cassie Lang is already in the MCU and definitely ready to rock and roll as her dad’s parter. It appears as though WandaVision will introduce two members of the team in twins Tommy and Billy Kaplan, aka Speed and Wiccan, the children of the Vision and Scarlet Witch, and Kate Bishop is set to make her debut in Hawkeye, meaning we could have 4 core members of the first iteration of the team by the end of 2021. That leaves Teddy Altman, aka Hulkling, Elijah Bradley, aka Patriot and Nathaniel Richards, aka Iron Lad, (aka Kang!) as founding members of the team that still need to be introduced. Given the introduction of the Kree-Skrull conflict in Captain Marvel, it’s not too tough to imagine a way for Hulkling to show up and given that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier will deal with the legacy of Captain America, it is possible that we find a way to get to Patriot. That leaves us with the most interesting and problematic of the Young Avengers: the young, future Kang.

    In the comics, Nathaniel Richards, after discovering he is fated to become the evil warlord Kang, travels back in time to seek the help of the Avengers. Finding them disassembled, Richards hacks into the Vision and discovers that the Avengers have identified a group of teens who could step in as the next generation of heroes if anything should happen to them. Richards assembles these heroes, the Young Avengers, and begins filling the void left by the Avengers. the Young Avengers ultimately came into conflict with Captain America and Iron Man after their exploits gained the attention of the two Avengers. While the two groups butted heads, they eventually came together to intervene in a major conflict between the Kree and Skrulls that centered around the heritage of one of Hulkling.

    Well it’s unlikely we see a direct adaptation of their comic book origins, it’s not too hard to see a way that they could slide into the MCU. The present day of the MCU, as seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home, is a time without Avengers. As I mentioned above, many of the characters will be introduced ahead of Ant-Man 3, so it’s just a matter of bringing them together. Given that Ant-Man is one of the few remaining Avengers and the only one with a film franchise, it certainly seems possible that we could see some universe shifting events including the Young Avengers take place in the third film.

    The family friendly franchise seems like a great place to introduce the new team and provide them with opportunities to be mentored by Earth’s remaining Avengers. In a recent interview, Mark Ruffalo indicated that this sort of mentorship might indeed be something we see in the future, saying he’d like to see the Hulk interact with the new heroes that will be introduced and act as a “guru to some of the younger ones.” While I’m not sure we’ll see an actual academy with classrooms and lunch breaks, I could certainly see Scott, Hope, Clint, Rhodey, and Hulk (and maybe even Wanda and/or Vision) bringing a bit of an Avengers Academy vibe to the story. As for what that story might be, I think Avengers: Endgame may have left some a bread crumb or two.

    Tony Stark invented time travel and, as he told Cap, when you mess with time, it tends to mess back. While that certainly happened within the events of Endgame when Thanos traveled forward to 2023 to lay waste to Earth, I’m not sure we’ve seen the end of time messing back. If ever there were a time to introduce Kang, it would be in the next few years. Should Marvel Studios version of the Fantastic Four hit theaters ahead of Ant-Man 3, say in February of 2022, the great 31st century conqueror could be first introduced there, making his younger self’s appearance possible in Reed’s third Ant-Man film. Of course this is nothing but pure speculation and there’s probably all kinds of timey-wimey stuff to consider, but one can always ponder the possibilities.

    How would you like to see the Young Avengers brought together in the MCU? Let me hear your thoughts below!

  • EXCLUSIVE: Elisabeth Shue to Appear in ‘COBRA KAI’ Season 3

    Actress Elisabeth Shue was on set for the third season of the hit You Tube series Cobra Kai where she will revisit the role of Ali Mills, the childhood sweetheart of star Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso.

    Shue’s return has been the subject of teases and rumors since season two aired last spring, but it had been kept under wraps as season three began filming. Shue was on set for several days this week to film what should amount to an extended cameo appearance.

    Cobra Kai, an acclaimed series chock full of 1980’s nostalgia, sees Macchio’s LaRusso face-to-face with his childhood nemesis, Johnny Lawrence, played brilliantly once more by William Zabka. Season three is expected to air sometime in 2020.

  • Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 26

    Episode 26 of Murphy’s Law is now available on Sound Cloud!

    Charles Villanueva and Charles Murphy share their opinions on the newly launched Disney Plus, The Mandalorian, Murphy’s Mutliverse’s recent WandaVision scoop, the 5 new Marvel Studios release dates and more!

    https://soundcloud.com/murphyslawpodcast/episode-26

  • Marvel Studios Sets Release Dates Through 2023; Moves to 4 Films a Year

    Marvel Studios made a major move last Friday afternoon when it added 5 new release dates to its already impressive slate of productions. In adding one new date in 2022 and four in 2023, Marvel Studios, which once put out four films in a 2 year span, will now put out one film per quarter.

    Thanks to Disney+, Marvel Studios is already set to produce an unprecedented number of projects, expanding their ability to tell more and different types of stories. Moving to 4 release dates per year likely means that, beginning in 2021, fans of the MCU won’t go more than a month or so without some sort of new content. At this point, all of the films are untitled, though we have a good idea of what some of them will be, even if we can’t be sure which of the new dates they will fill:

    October 7, 2022

    February 17, 2023

    May 5, 2023

    July 28, 2023

    November 3, 2023

    It’s important to note that February 18, 2022 and July 29, 2022 are also, at the moment, unannounced, giving us 7 “open dates.” It’s probably safe to assume that most of the dates will be filled by some combination of the projects announced by Feige at SDCC, so Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Blade, Captain Marvel 2 and The Fantastic Four will join the newly announced third Ant-Man to fill up 5 of the 7 slots. It’s also possible that Marvel Studios will attempt to introduce the X-Men into the MCU at some point in 2023 and to give Ryan Reynolds Deadpool a go in either 2022 or 2023.

    The Mahershala Ali championed Blade reboot would seem a perfect choice for the October 7, 2022 date to take advantage of the horror aspects during the Halloween season, though at this point all anyone can do is speculate.

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, once penciled in for the May 2020 release date now filled by Black Widow, would seem to fit nicely into the May 5, 2023 slot as it gives Gunn time to fulfill his contractual obligations on Suicide Squad before concluding his MCU trilogy.

    When it was originally announced, Captain Marvel was slated for a July 6, 2018 release before being caught in the shuffle when Sony and Disney reached an agreement on how to use Spidey, so it wouldn’t be entirely shocking to see the sequel plant its flag on July 28, 2023.

    Any way you look at it, all any of us can do at this point is guess and get ready to enjoy more MCU content than most of us ever thought we’d see!

  • Marvel Studios ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’: Who is John Walker?

    Marvel Studios ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’: Who is John Walker?

    As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, Marvel Studios continues to draw from its large stable of characters for their upcoming projects. For fans whose exposure to Marvel characters has come from seeing them on the big screen, knowledge of these characters can range from being barely familiar to Jon Snow levels of knowing; fortunately, Murphy’s Multiverse is here to help. Welcome to a Murphy’s Multiverse Meet and Greet.

    In July of 2019, Kevin Feige revealed that actor Wyatt Russell would be portraying John Walker in 2020’s The Falcon and The Winter Solider. First introduced in 1986’s Captain America #323, Walker, also known as U.S. Agent, followed an interesting arc that saw him introduced as a villain before taking on the title of Captain America and joining the West Coast Avengers for a time. Described by creator Mark Gruenwald as someone “who embodied patriotism in a way that Captain America didn’t—a patriotic villain”, Walker sometimes served as the dark shadow of Steve Rogers both in his actions as a villain and even in his interactions with his Avengers teammates once he was reformed. Like Rogers, Walker’s enhanced abilities were the result of an experimental process in a lab; unlike Rogers, Walker was not, at heart, a beacon of morality.

    Over the years Walker has continually found himself working on both sides of the law: he fought against Norman Osborn’s Thunderbolts but also found himself serving as the Captain America analogue on Osborn’s Dark Avengers. While he always believes he’s doing what is best for his country, his short fuse and reactionary nature have often led to him brutally killing his enemies, drawing an even greater contrast to Rogers.

    So how does Walker fit into The Falcon and The Winter Soldier? While Feige likes to remind us that he doesn’t like making live-action adaptations that are drawn entirely from comics, the comics do give us a pretty decent idea of what we might see. After one of a few times that Steve Rogers gave up the Captain America identity, the U.S. Government’s Commission on Superhuman Activities (an organization that could very well be run by Thunderbolt Ross in the MCU) chose John Walker to serve as their new Captain America after also considering Nick Fury and Sam Wilson for the job. The recently revealed concept art for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier indicates that the series follow the lead of the comics in this instance as Walker certainly looks the part of the government’s “New Cap.”

    While Walker is likely not the main villain of the series, he is certainly going to begin the series at odds with Sam and Bucky who are likely to be exploring their own ways of keeping Rogers’ legacy alive. This should lead to some interesting conflicts between the two sides, perhaps reminiscent of their interactions in Nick Spencer’s 2015’s Captain America: Sam Wilson which saw the two men come on opposite sides of how to ideologically carry Cap’s legacy in the modern world.

    Whatever the case, I fully expect Walker’s U.S Agent to make it out of the series and to continue to appear in the MCU. Where we might see him again remains to be seen, but with the Daniel Bruhl’s Zemo returning to an Avenger-less, a stint on the Thunderbolts, should they appear, would seem about right for Walker.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Details on Marvel Studios ‘WANDAVISION’

    EXCLUSIVE: Details on Marvel Studios ‘WANDAVISION’

    Production on Marvel Studios Disney Plus series, ‘WandaVision‘, began last week (as I first reported and Kevin Feige confirmed) and thanks to a new source, I was able to uncover a few interesting details about one of Marvel Studios most anticipated upcoming projects. It won’t do me much good to explain it, but due to the “newness” of the source, I’m hesitant to share the information, but I’ve decided to go ahead because while it’s all interesting, none of it is so shockingly spoilery that fans will be extremely disappointed if it doesn’t turn out. With that said, here we go!

    Parts of the Show Will Film in Front of a Live-Studio Audience

    The show’s director, Matt Shakman, has described ‘WandaVision‘ as an “epic action sitcom” and star Elizabeth Olsen described it as a “mash-up” of classic sitcoms. In that vein, parts of the first half of the series will be filmed in front of a live-studio audience. The long-running sitcom “I Love Lucy” was the first scripted show to be performed in front of an audience and, in an homage to it, the cast of ‘WandaVision‘ will be performing in front of small, seated audiences. While the series will seemingly jump through time in order to pay homage to various sitcoms, the first episode seems to be set in the 50s, just like “I Love Lucy.” Obviously strict NDAs will be signed, so don’t look for too many spoilers to leak out, but it will certainly add an interesting dynamic to production of the show as the cast will be able to feed off the energy of the audience.

    Wanda and Vision Are Starting the Perfect 50’s Nuclear Family

    As indicated by the concept art, Wanda and Vision are playing at being the ideal Nuclear Family. For much of the early part of the series, we won’t be seeing the synthezoid version of Vision. Vision will look an awful lot like we saw him in Avengers: Infinity War and be holding down a job as he and Wanda build their life in the suburbs.

    Of course the perfect nuclear family means doing all those perfect nuclear family things like having kids, hosting parties and hanging out with your neighbors…

    Kathryn Hahn is Playing a Character Named “Agnes”

    Since she was announced as joining the cast as Wanda’s “nosy neighbor”, it’s been widely speculated that Kathryn Hahn would be playing Agatha Harkness. This can probably be traced back to an old 4chan “leak” which really seemed to be some educated guesses mixed in with a lot of uneducated guesses. While there’s no telling what twists and turns might develop over the course of the series, Hahn is, at least on the surface, playing a character names Agnes who seems to be Ethel to Wanda’s Lucy.

    It’s possible that Hahn’s Agnes could be a version of little-known Marvel Comics character Agnes Ames who first appeared in the 1960’s comic, Modeling With Millie. It’s also possible that Agnes is a new character created just for the series and it’s also possible that she isn’t exactly what she might appear to be. However, for the time being, all we can say is that Wanda’s nosy neighbor is named Agnes and appears to be another homage to “I Love Lucy.”

    While it’s still unclear exactly what Feige’s vision is for this show, it’s starting to come into focus. It appears that the show will, in fact, essentially be two different shows and from that I think we can deduce that there’s going to be a pivotal event that tips the scales towards the “action epic” part. Fans of the comics can probably begin speculating now, but we’re going to have to wait and see just what Feige has cooked up for us.

    Please let me know your thoughts on what I’ve shared with you here and what your expectations are for ‘WandaVision.’

    Thanks for supporting Murphy’s Multiverse!

  • Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 25

    In this edition of Murphy’s Law, Charles Villanueva teamed up with the Marvel News Desk team of Adam Barnhardt (@adambarnhardt), Caleb Borchers (@CalebABorchers) and Rhiannon (@NYCRhi), friends of ours from our time together at MCU Exchange.

    We chatted about our most anticipated MCU projects, memories from our time there together and more. Please have a listen by clicking the link below!

    Episode 25-Mighty Marvel Team-Up

  • ‘DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ Will Irrevocably Alter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    Over the course of the first 23 MCU films, several films stand out as having steered the longform narrative. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, CAPTAIN AMERICA:THE WINTER SOLDIER, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, THOR: RAGNAROK and ANT-MAN AND THE WASP all featured choices, consequences and plot points that impacted more than just the events of those films. It’s hard to argue that Bucky’s reintroduction in The Winter Soldier, the implications of which rippled through the MCU for 5 years, might not have been the point from where the MCU changed forever. It was the beginning of the end of the Avengers, the inciting moment that lead to Civil War and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes being scattered around the globe when its people needed them most. The heroes, of course, came back together to defeat Thanos but it cost them dearly and we are left with a world, 4 years into the future, without a team of Avengers to defend it, alternate timelines created by their attempt to undo Thanos’ destruction and a group of survivors who have experienced a great deal of loss and trauma. While the first two films of Phase 4, 2020’s BLACK WIDOW and THE ETERNALS, don’t seem primed to explore the repercussions of AVENGERS: ENDGAME, it’s beginning to become clear which film will and, by doing so, become a game changer in the same way as Age of Ultron or Ragnarok before it: DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS.

    While we know very little about the plot of the sequel at this point, it’s becoming clear that it is being set up to be the fulcrum of Phase 4 and, perhaps, the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Following its introduction in 2016’s DOCTOR STRANGE, the idea of the multiverse was largely left to marinate in the minds of fans before being brought back into the spotlight in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME. Though Quentin Beck’s story of the multiverse turned out to be nothing more than part of his plan to deceive Peter, it did bring the idea back to the forefront of fan’s minds so when Kevin Feige revealed the full title of the Doctor Strange sequel at last summer’s SDCC, it caused an uproar. At that time, we found out that Wanda would be a key player in the film and that the events of WANDAVISION would spill directly into it. Just recently, Feige indicated that DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS would also be connected to the events of LOKI, which will somehow follow the unredeemed 2012 version of the Lord of All Liars on a trip through time, already making the Scott Derrickson sequel the central hub for MCU fans in 2021.

    While we don’t know exactly what to expect from DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS or how WANDAVISION and LOKI will impact it or be impacted by it, it certainly seems that the film is positioned to reshape how we will think about the MCU going forward. Opening up the true multiverse means almost endless possibilities for story telling going forward. Other universes mean other versions of familiar characters, territory that has been mined in the comics for decades. It might also mean new characters such as Captain Britain, the Squadron Supreme or Miles Morales. Having Strange learn to navigate between these universes could also mean he might come into contact with cosmic entities that exist outside the confines of a singular universe, being such as Eternity, the Living Tribunal or even the Beyonder, who might have a thing or two to say to the Sorcerer Supreme.

    In the way that CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER set the pace for the longform narrative for the films from 2014-2019, it’s possible that DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS could set the stage for the next several years of films after 2021. If anyone is looking for a path the connects Sony’s films to the MCU or for some version of SECRET WARS to make its way to the big screen, it seems like establishing the true multiverse is a necessary first step.

  • Welcome to Murphy’s Multiverse

    Welcome to Murphy’s Multiverse. This is something I’ve considered doing for some time now. This allows me to share my thoughts in more than however many characters Twitter gives me and to get back into doing some of the writing I enjoyed so much in my time at MCU Exchange and That Hashtag Show. I plan to use it to host my scoops, our podcast and as a place to continue growing as a thinker and member of an enormous fan community. Be patient as I work through the bugs. Hopefully this is the right amount of fun for all of us.

  • EXCLUSIVE: New ‘BLACK ADAM’ Script Features Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Stargirl

    EXCLUSIVE: New ‘BLACK ADAM’ Script Features Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Stargirl

    Note: This article was originally published by Charles Murphy at That Hashtag Show on March 8, 2019.

    In 2014, Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment made headlines with the announcement that Dwayne Johnson had signed on to star as the titular character in a solo Black Adam film. Nearly four and a half years later, we’ve still yet to see Johnson suit up as the DC Comics antihero, with the studio passing on what seemed like sure fire appearance in Shazam, but it seems that things might be looking up on that front.

    Late last month, scribe Adam Szytkiel, who was brought on by New Line back in 2017 to pen the Johnson vehicle, turned in an updated draft of the script which is sure to please fans of DC Comics. Szytkiel’s script seems to be taking some cues from Geoff Johns’ early 2000’s work with the character and sets up a battle of heavyweights as it pits Hawkman against the protector of Khandaq!

    The studio will be looking to cast an actor, 30-39, to take on the role of Carter Hall with an emphasis on landing someone the audience can believe could go toe-to-toe with the Brahma Bull!

    The script also features Adam’s fellow JSA members Atom Smasher and Stargirl, the two of whom have often been depicted to be in a relationship in the comics. The studio will be searching for talent, 20-29, to play the duo.

    While plot details are being kept under wraps, the addition of Hawkman to the film could certainly indicate that the studios is at least entertaining the thought of pushing the envelope on the amount of violence we’ll be seeing on screen. In a 2018 interview, producer Hiram Garcia stated that the film was not going to be “softened up” for audiences and the inclusion of Hawkman would seem to indicate that they’re standing by that claim.

    Black Adam is tentatively set for a March 2020 start of production and is currently searching for a director.