Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Leak Reveals Potentially Massive Spoilers Involving Three Infinity Saga Stars

    ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Leak Reveals Potentially Massive Spoilers Involving Three Infinity Saga Stars

    Cameras have been rolling on Avengers: Doomsday for just over five months and Marvel Studios has gone to great lengths to try to keep details about the 2026 film in house. With most of the movie being filmed either on a soundstage or in locations that are very secluded and/or secure, the studio has managed to limit the  major leaks that have plagued almost every project it has produced in the past five years…until now, perhaps.

    A recent rumor indicated that Chris Evans –who has not been officially announced as part of the cast of the film–would be reprising tlhis role as Steve Rogers and that his story would pick up where itedt off in Avengers: Endgame. Now, a pair of social media reports have combined to shed an even brighter light on the role and reveal the first truly major spoiler from the project. Proceed with caution…

    The rumor mill began rolling when photographer UnBoxPHD shared the news that Tom Hiddleston was on the set of Avengers: Doomsday to film. That information could in no way be considered spoilery given that Hiddleston was among those announced as part of the cast in March; however, a follow-up report by a trusted Marvel insider may have connected a series of dots and revealed a major plot point.

    https://twitter.com/UnBoxPHD/status/1961126358735523887?t=5XOWu3kYGtLXd8wFW3FIzw&s=19

    According to longtime social media scooper Daniel Richtman, Hiddleston filmed his scenes along with Evans and Haley Atwell, presumably at the “Luke Cage house.”

    Tom Hiddleston has filmed a scene in Steve and Peggy’s home where he’s having a [conversation] with them.

    -Daniel Richtman

    If accurate, it means that the God of Stories will have left his throne at the Citadel at the End of Time from where he protects the Multiverse. And it would take something incredibly important to cause him to make that choice…

    Though it’s far from confirmed, such a scene could very well lend support to rumblings recently making the rounds that suggest Steve Rogers’ decision to live a life “in the past” with Peggy caused the first incursion and has made him the target of Doctor Doom’s ire. Aside from the rich possibilities of Rogers and Loki meeting again on screen (remember, this is the Time Heist Variant of Loki, which means he has a past with Rogers but has evolved over the course of an incredible journey), having Avengers: Doomsday tie directly into the epilogue of Avengers: Endgame would be a smart move for the studio. It also presents an intriguing dynamic in which Rogers–The Man Out of Time who led Earth’s Mightiest Heroes to victory over Thanos–inadvertently started the destruction of the Multiverse while Loki–the God of Lies whose attempt to conquer Earth assembled the Avengers–must now try to save it…again.

  • Lucasfilm Reveals the Main Cast of ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ as Production Begins

    Lucasfilm Reveals the Main Cast of ‘Star Wars: Starfighter’ as Production Begins

    As cameras roll on the first day of principal photography of Star Wars: Starfighter, Lucasfilm has released the film’s main cast via a press release on StarWars.com.

    After months of rumors, Ryan Gosling was confirmed as the film’s star during Star Wars Celebration Japan. The press release confirmed the casting of Matt Smith, who joined the cast in August as “the next great villain in the Star Wars universe,”and will Mia Goth, who was cast in June, in antagonizing Gosling’s yet-to-be-named hero.

    Young actor Flynn Gray (Wednesday), Lanterns and Rebel Ridge star Aaron Pierre, British comedian Simon Bird, West End Hamilton star Jamael Westman, Daniel Ings (The Gentlemen) and Amy Adams wereball officially announced as part of the cast of director Shawn Levy‘s film.

    I feel a profound sense of excitement and honor as we begin production on Star Wars: Starfighter. From the day Kathy Kennedy called me up, inviting me to develop an original adventure in this incredible Star Wars galaxy, this experience has been a dream come true, creatively and personally. Star Wars shaped my sense of what story can do, how characters and cinematic moments can live with us forever. To join this storytelling galaxy with such brilliant collaborators onscreen and off, is the thrill of a lifetime.

    -Shawn Levy

    Source: StarWars

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: A Second ‘Avengers’ Film Will Hit Theaters in 2027

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: A Second ‘Avengers’ Film Will Hit Theaters in 2027

    Though not many were convinced they could pull it off, Marvel Studios once planned to roll out a pair of Avengers films in six months. During the studio’s Hall H panel at SDCC ’22, Kevin Feige revealed that 2025 would feature the studio’s first Avengers films since 2019, with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty arriving in May and Avengers: Secret Wars in November. It was an ambitious plan but one that would certainly have ended up with Marvel all but printing its own money.

    The Phase 6 double dip wasn’t in the cards for the studio. A pair of strikes, some box office duds and a pivot to a new villain later, May 2025 has come and gone without an Avengers movie and it will now be December 2026 before Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters. As part of Disney’s new strategy, Doomsday will be the only Disney-owned Marvel film in theaters in 2026 and 2027 isn’t looking much better, with an untitled film on the books for July and Avengers: Secret Wars in theaters in December. For a studio struggling to hit big at the box office, less needs to be more…which means that July 2027 film needs to hit and hit big.

    While Marvel Studios Multiverse Saga slate has been through plenty of shuffling and canceling, a recent trade report indicated that the studio intends to hold onto the July 2027 date. If that’s indeed that case, the studio really only has two apparent options.

    A Small-Budget, Non-Multiversal Flick

    If Marvel Studios is intent on putting a film in theaters in July 2027, they sure haven’t given any indication that it will be a property of which the public is not already aware. As of now, the hiring of new writers or directors has not been made public and no new production companies that aren’t already believed to be accounted for have been made. That would mean that the film would be something that’s been in development for a few years and that would, of course, bring to mind Blade.

    Though a series of unfortunate events has befallen the film, most recently resulting in it being removed from the studio’s 2025 slate, a recent update from Kevin Feige made it sound as though Blade was headed in a positive direction and would eventually make it’s way to theaters. With a script that’s been in the works for years and at least a partial cast, Blade is precisely the type of project that the studio could pull together in a short amount of time, assuming they find a director willing to give it a run. It’s also the type of film they could produce on a relatively low-budget, allowing them to get a dub at the box office while spinning a yarn that won’t detract from but could add to the overarching Multiverse Saga plot–similar to Ant-Man and The Wasp and Captain Marvel, both of which released between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame–while also telling a standalone tale.

    An All-New, All-Different Avengers Film

    And then there’s another option…Marvel Studios making good on its insane plan to roll out two Avengers films in a calendar year…

    After rolling out an Avengers film every three years before dropping Infinity War and Endgame one year apart, the studio has used the first five years of the Multiverse Saga to spin a whole lot of disparate tales and introduce a whole lot of new characters…only to never follow up on very many of them. That’s left a bad taste in the collective maw of fandom as heroes such as Shang-Chi, Moon Knight and She-Hulk have been, to date, one-and-dones. And now, as the Multiverse Saga finds itself accelerating to its end, it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine incorporating them all into the cast alongside the stars announced as part of the cast of Avengers: Doomsday; however, releasing a third Avengers film in theaters in July 2027–between Doomsday and Secret Wars–might provide the narrative runway to make it possible.

    Verily, Disney’s new approach has shorted Marvel…but a “secret” third Avengers film would ensure that the studio would own the box office for 12 months. Whether it’s Avengers: Time Runs Out, Avengers: Battleworld, Avengers: Everything Dies or Avengers: Illuminati (an Illuminati project was 100% in development at the studio at one point in time), a bridge spanning Doomsday and Secret Wars is a fascinating and cash-rich opportunity for Marvel.

    Logistically, it’s a legitimate possibility that  work has been being done on these films, even under different names, for at least three years. Ideas can be cut and pasted and altered under the purview of the new creative team. Typically, principal photography on a Marvel Studios film lasts 3-4 months… Doomsday is already in its fifth month. Secret Wars was originally set to film back-to-back before a year’s with of space was added..but who is to say that between now and September 2026, cameras aren’t continually rolling?

    Given there’s no shortage of exciting potential storytelling opportunities including characters old (Steve Rogers) and new, the potential for a third Avengers film in the Multiverse Saga  cannot be dismissed out of hand. The studio put a significant amount of time and resources into multiple projects that no longer have a place in the saga; however, that leaves them with a chunk of material from which to draw the skeleton of a third film which fits nicely into the continuity of the saga.

    And, of course, they could just bail on the date…

  • James Gunn Addresses the Growing Hype around the Final Episodes of ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2

    The first episode of the second season of Peacemaker received high praise after it debuted on HBO Max, allowing the DCU to continue gathering momentum as it gets rolling. But according to series creator and DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn, fans–and even critics who were sent early screening packages for the show–have a lot to look forward to

    In an interview with Screen Rant, Gunn explained that he was behind the decision to only let the press screen the first five episodes of the new season, claiming the remaining three simply held too many surprises to risk letting them into the wild.

    “I am the one who’s keeping the three episodes away from everybody because there are too many surprises in those last three episodes,” explained Gunn. “Especially 6 and 8, they are just crazy, my favourite things I’ve ever done of anything.”

    Gunn may have recently given away one of the surprises by all but confirming that Blue Beetle will appear in the sophomore season but the appearance of one hero would hardly be enough to keep three episodes from the screening package. What could have Gunn so excited? With him serving as the creative CEO of DC Studios and also as the creator of the four-film Superman Saga, it’s nearly impossible to say; however, given when Peacemaker filmed, it is potential appearances by David Corenswet or Milly Alcock should not be counted out.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • Marvel Studios Has Begun Work on Its First Post-Multiverse Saga Film

    Marvel Studios Has Begun Work on Its First Post-Multiverse Saga Film

    “Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men,” teased Feige in November 2024. “Again, [it’s] one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back.” Now, following a recent report that casting for the film would “begin soon,”work on the age of mutants has finally begun at Marvel Studios.

    What I can say is, it’s just inherently interesting and complex material. The core idea of what X-Men is involves complexity.

    -X-Men director Jake Schreier
    In an interview with Empire, director Jake Schreier confirmed that he he is now on the clock for Marvel Studios X-Men.

    “I can’t say anything about it, but we’ve started work on X-Men, and that’s obviously very, very exciting,” said Schreier, who directed the very well-received Thunderbolts* which debuts on D+ August 27th.

    “There are so many things that I didn’t know about before I started [Thunderbolts*],” he explained. “The biggest learning curve for me was the proportion of the action to the more emotional, character-driven scenes, and how, even though it’s more shooting days than I’ve ever had, they get eaten up quite quickly by the action stuff. By the time we got to the end of it, it felt like, ‘Oh, now I feel like we get how to do this a little bit better.’”

    After officially taking the reigns of the film in May, Schreier teased the studio’s complex take on the team of mutant heroes in a July interview with The Playlist. “It’s an incredible opportunity with super interesting characters and [much] internal conflict,” he said of helming the first MCU-set X-Men film. “These characters are wrestling with their identity and place in the world—that’s inherently interesting and complex material.”

    X-Men is expected in theaters in 2028.

    Source: Empire

  • James Gunn Seemingly Confirms a Surprising Hero Will Make His DCU Debut in ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2

    Recently, DC Studios co-chair and Peacemaker creator James Gunn has drawn parallels between how John Cena‘s Christopher Smith was able to move from an “in-between universe” into the DCU and his plans for Blue Beetle, who made his big-screen debut in 2023.

    “Peacemaker was always in a weird place. People say he was part of the DCEU but he wasn’t really,” said Gunn in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes.”He was part of this “in-between Universe” of DC when there was nobody really making sure that everything was connected and at a time when they were going to rewrite everything with The Flash.We were kind of able to do whatever we wanted and we had that brash ending, which I loved, it was one of my favorite things from the whole season, but it just didn’t fit in with the DCU. And Peacemaker, there’s hardly anything else that you need to change for him, he can slide very easily into the DCU, same with Blue Beetle. They just kind of fit in very nicely, we just have to retcon a couple of things,” the DC boss explained. And it seems as though heat have had Blue Beetle on his mind for a reason.

    In an additional portion of the Rotten Tomatoes interview, Gunn seems to all but confirm that Blue Beetle will appear in an upcoming episode of Peacemaker Season 2.

    After the interviewer shares his love for the character with Gunn and expresses his desire to see Blue Beetle appear in Peacemaker, a grinning Gunn “Well, you know, I won’t say you’re not in luck.”

    Given Season 2’s use of the Multiverse as a primary plot device, a number of options are in play, including following up on the disappearance of Ted Kord, the original Blue Beetle, that was mentioned in the 2023 film. Whatever the path, it’s certain that the film’s star Xolo Maridueña, who has been teasing his character’s DCU future, will play some role.

    New episodes of the second season of Peacemaker debut weekly on Thursdays on HBO Max.

  • ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Star Reveals His Golden Age Alter Ego

    ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Star Reveals His Golden Age Alter Ego

    David Denman came to fame playing Roy Anderson over 31 episodes of The Office. It took him one episode of the second season of Peacemaker to make his presence known.

    Playing an alternate dimension version of Peacemaker’s brother, Keith, Denman was a standout in “The Ties That Grind.” The episode teased John Cena‘s Christopher Smith with a what if…? scenario in which the dynamics of his family were completely flipped from the violence he had known in his own dimension, where he killed his brother and father. Instead, Smith stumbles into a world where his father, Auggie, and his brother work with him to fight crime as the Top Trio; however, while Chris is Peacemaker and Auggie looks to still be the White Dragon, Keith’s alter ego was kept secret…until now.

    In an interview with Comic Book, Denman revealed that his character goes by the name Captain Triumph, a Crack Comics character created in 1943 who later came under the purview of DC Comics.

    Though it’s highly unlikely Denman’s version of the character will share much with his comic book counterpart, it’s a fun nod to a character with a very interesting publication history.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Eternals’ Star Reveals Marvel’s Plans for the Failed Franchise

    ‘Eternals’ Star Reveals Marvel’s Plans for the Failed Franchise

    At a time when it seemed Marvel Studios could not miss, it delivered one of its biggest disappointments. 2021’s Eternals failed to land with critics and, in a fresh post-COVID environment, struggled at the box office. The film deviated heavily from the much-discussed “Marvel formula“, introducing a large cast of characters and leaning heavily into philosophical influences.

    It was clear at the time that the studio had big plans for future projects, including a major role for Kit Harrington‘s Dane Whitman and a spinoff featuring Harry Styles‘ Starfox, who appeared in one of the film’s tags. However, as time went on, it became clear that Eternals was likely to be a one-shot. After rumors of Marvel shelving a sequel to Eternals landed online in early 2024, Kevin Feige confirmed that there were “no immediate plans” to move forward with a follow-up.

    Despite having one of the studio’s most talented ensemble casts, the only lasting impact Eternals has had on the MCU was to introduce Adamantium into the mix in Captain America: Brave New World. Even without a sequel in the works, the film’s stars such as Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden and Kumail Nanjiani have yet to find themselves integrated into other projects, leading to speculation they may never be seen again, despite some of them being more than willing to return to the MCU.

    Yeah! I mean, listen, I have plans today. I don’t know if they have plans. I would love to come back. But I’m sort of waiting to hear when or if that’s going to happen. I’m hoping I get to do more. I had a great time playing that character. It’d be a shame if he’s a sort of one and done. But, you know, the decision’s not mine to make.

    –Kumail Nanjiani on the future of the Eternals franchise, January 2023

    In 2023, Nanjiani indicated that while he would “love to come back” as Kingo, he was unaware whether or not Marvel had plans to move ahead with an Eternals sequel. Now, in a new interview, Nanjiani opened up about Marvel Studios grandiose plans for the failed franchise and how it’s poor landing impacted him.

    “It came out right after COVID, so I had a year and a half at home to be just like, ‘When this thing comes out…‘” said Nanjiani of the anticipated impact Eternals would have on his career. “It came out, it got really bad reviews, and it didn’t do that well. It shattered me too much. That was when I was like, ‘Oh, I need to go to therapy to figure this out.”

    Any disappointment fans may have had in the response to the film multiplied for Nanjiani. As he shared, Marvel intended for Eternals to launch its own franchise, including additional movies, video game appearances and even a ride at Disney Parks.

    “I was like, ‘This is going to be my job for the next ten years.’ I signed on for six movies. I signed on for a video game. I signed on for a theme park ride. They make you sign on for all this stuff,” explained Nanjiani. “You’re like, ‘Okay, so I’ll be doing Marvel movies every year, and in between, I’ll do my own little things. Whatever I want to do.’”

    Reading between the lines of Nanjiani‘s comments, it sounds as though not only was an Eternals trilogy in the pipeline but also appearances in other projects, likely including Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, which has since been scrapped, and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, four years later, Nanjiani‘s Kingo has only appeared in Marvel Animation’s What If…? and as he explained, it doesn’t sound as though he has any future appearances scheduled at the moment.

    “None of that happened,” he lamented. “For me, what really hit me was realising that too much of my self-esteem is wrapped up in other people’s reactions to my work. People have way bigger problems than this.”

    Of course, recent years have provided plenty of evidence that the studio never truly puts any character fully to rest. Tim Roth and Tim Blake Nelson recently returned to their respective roles after more than a decade on the sidelines and with an all-new, all-different mutant-centric saga on deck, maybe there will be new life for the Eternals, too.

    Source: YouTube

  • James Gunn Explains ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2’s Big Retcon

    James Gunn Explains ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2’s Big Retcon

    Before the DCU officially got underway with Creature Commandos in December 2024, DC Studios co-chair James Gunn had already muddied the canon waters. In what seemed to be an odd choice at the time, Gunn explained that events from The Suicide Squad or Season 1 of Peacemaker would “automatically become canon” when they were talked about in Creature Commandos.

    Released in 2021, The Suicide Squad introduced John Cena‘s Peacemaker to fans as part of a second team of degenerates sent by Amanda Waller to Corto Maltese. The events of The Suicide Squad, including the death of Rick Flag at the hands of Peacemaker, serve as the set up for Season 1 of Peacemaker. With Amanda Waller, who was featured in both projects, and Rick Flag’s father both appearing in Creature Commandos, and again in Season 2 of Peacemaker, a clear line of continuity seemed to be established from one project to the next…but then Gunn threw in a twist.

    “The truth is almost all of Peacemaker is canon with the exception of Justice League… which we will kind of deal with in the next season of Peacemaker,” Gunn teased in a November 2024 interview.

    Gunn was, of course referring to the season finale of the first season of Peacemaker, which featured some high profile cameos following the episode’s big battle. As Peacemaker and his crew walked away from the ashes of the barn battle, four members of the Justice League arrived on the scene. But with the DCEU dead and buried, how could they exist if Peacemaker is DCU canon?

    Ahead of the Season 2 premiere of Peacemaker, social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello shared word that Gunn’s decision to “deal with it” was to erase the Justice League entirely, replacing them with the Justice Gang during a “Previously in the DCU” opening. And that’s exactly how it went down, almost.

    3 CENTURIES AGO, the first superpowered beings, known as METAHUMANS, appeared on Earth, ushering in a new era of GODS AND MONSTERS.

    3 DECADES AGO, an extraterrestrial baby was sent in a spacecraft to Earth, and adopted by Kansas farmers.

    3 YEARS AGO, the baby, now grown, announced himself as SUPERMAN, the most powerful metahuman of all.

    3 WEEKS AGO, Superman stopped the country of BORAVIA from invading JARHANPUR, sparking controversy around the world

    3 HOURS AGO, a metahuman called the HAMMER OF BORAVIA attacked Superman in the city of METROPOLIS.

    3 MINUTES AGO, Superman lost a battle for the first time.

    While Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Superman and Supergirl did appear, the latter two were NOT members of the Justice Gang at that time because as Gunn reminded fans on Threads, the events of Peacemaker Season 1 happened “before Superman.” That also explains the absence of Metamorpho, who teamed up with the heroes, and why Clark was so familiar with those characters in Superman. According to Gunn, the Man of Steal and his cousin have been able to “team up with them a lot like they did in Superman,” in the three years since Clark announced himself as Superman.

    To recap, the events of Peacemaker Season 1 take place in the new DCU continuity before Superman and, as made clear by Rick Flag Sr.’s reference to the “Luthor incident,” Season 2 takes place after the events in Metropolis. Easy as that!

  • New Report Reveals Marvel’s Future Plans for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    New Report Reveals Marvel’s Future Plans for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Daredevil: Born Again star Charlie Cox caused quite a stir recently when he referred to the shows upcoming second season as the “final” one during an appearance at Galaxy Con. Co-star Vincent D’Onofrio quickly chimed in online, stating that as far as he knew, there was “a good chance” the show would have a third season.

    D’Onofrio‘s comments were consistent with those of Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum, who earlier this year explained that the studio hoped to see Daredevil stories told on D+ for years to come. “Season 2 will come out next year, and then hopefully season 3 and season infinity after that,” said Winderbaum. “I think this world is extremely rich, and there are many stories to be told on the streets of New York.” Now, a new report reveals that work on Season 3 is already being scheduled ahead of a hoped-for renewal.

    According to Nexus Point News, “Marvel Studios has already begun prepping for a potential renewal and is aiming to begin production on season 3 in March 2026 and shoot through the Summer, similar to season 2’s production schedule.”

    NPN also shared word that Cox and D’Onofrio each signed three-season deals, meaning that if a fourth season is in the cards, both stars would have to renegotiate their respective deals.

    Season 2 of the series wrapped production in July and is set for a March 2026 release.  The sophomore season looks to pick up right where Season 1 left off: with New York City under Kingpin’s increasingly tyrannical rule.

    Source: NPN