Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Charles Murphy

  • First Trailer for ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Shows Off the Team’s Astonishing Powers

    First Trailer for ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Shows Off the Team’s Astonishing Powers

    Six years after it was announced to be in development at SDCC ’19, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps will debut this summer. After months of rumors surrounding the cast, Marvel revealed that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach were locked in to fill the roles of Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, respectively. After an hour-long social media countdown that was designed in the mold of NASA’s televised launches, the first public trailer for the film put the All-Star cast on center stage with each member of Marvel’s First Family showing off their astonishing powers…with th very notable except of Mister Fantastic.

    The trailer also provides a first look at the film’s villain, Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson. It’s safe to say this take is far more comic accurate than the cosmic fart cloud seen in 2005’s Fantastic Four.

    Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald,Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.

    -Official Synopsis for The Fantastic: Four First Steps

    The film also stars John Malkovich as the Red Ghost, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser and Sarah Niles.

    The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to debut in theaters on July 25, 2025.

  • ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Calls Back to a Major Infinity Saga Turning Point

    ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Calls Back to a Major Infinity Saga Turning Point

    Though the cracks started to show in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, it wasn’t until Captain America: Civil War that the Avengers disassembled. Split over the Sokovia Accords, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes fought against each other with Captain America and Iron Man taking the leads on opposing sides. Without the Avengers, Thanos’ invasion of Earth faced little opposition until it was too late. And while the heroes reunited to undo Thanos’ unimaginable attack, the Multiverse Saga remains without an assembled group of Avengers.

    Replacing the late William Hurt as Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in Captain America: Brave New World, Harrison Ford looks to change that in a new clip from the upcoming film.

    With the events of Captain America: Civil War a perhaps a distant memory for fans (unless they’ve been working through The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before Captain America: Brave New World), the conversation between President Ross and Sam Wilson serves as a necessary reminder to fans that not all is right with the world despite the defeat of The Mad Titan.

    While it’s not expected that Sam will put together a team in the film, it’s clear that a new roster of heroes will need to be assembled soon with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on deck.

    Captain America: Brave New World hit theaters on February 14th.

  • Third Time’s a Charm: Marvel Studios Reportedly Considering ‘Babygirl’ Star for Major X-Men Role

    Third Time’s a Charm: Marvel Studios Reportedly Considering ‘Babygirl’ Star for Major X-Men Role

    With a script by Michael Lesslie in the works, an all-new take on Marvel’s mutant heroes, the X-Men, is just around the corner. With confirmation from the Marvel Studios Head Honcho, Kevin Feige, the “the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men,” the clock is truly ticking on the arrival of the popular heroes, who could lead their own MCU film as soon as 2027.

    While there’s been no date set aside for an X-Men film just yet, Feige’s comments combined with rumblings from various insiders about potential castings have fueled hope that key members of the team may make their MCU debuts ahead of the ensemble film. Over the past two months, rumors and reports have indicated that the studio is looking to cast the roles of Kitty Pryde and Gambit and that Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has emerged as a front runner for the role of Jean Grey/Marvel Girl. Now, a new rumor from a familiar source reveals another young star who is on Marvel’s radar to play one of the X-Men’s most well-known characters.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Babygirl star Harris Dickinson is among those being a considered for the role of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops.

    Even as he shared the rumors, Sneider was careful to point out that his information should be taken with a grain of salt and that Dickinson was in no way locked into the role. In that sense, perhaps the most important take away then isn’t Dickinson’s name but rather his age and relative notoriety. While the actor is a talented up and comer, he’s hardly a household name just yet, suggesting the studio will be searching for such actors to fill out its roster of X-Men.

    Whether it’s Dickinson or another young star in the role, X-Men fans will cling to hope that the next iteration of Cyclops is not done as dirty as James Marsden and Tye Sheridan‘s versions were by Fox. Since the earliest days of the team’s comic book adventures, Cyclops has been a central and often controversial character. Here’s hoping that Lesslie‘s script draws influence from the comics and not Fox’s poor choices with the character.

    Source: The Hot Mic Podcast

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: What If…There Were More Children of Thanos?

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: What If…There Were More Children of Thanos?

    Assembled by Thanos as he massacred half of the inhabitants of each planet he conquered, the Black Order served the Mad Titan in his efforts to collect the Infinity Stones. Also referred to as The Children of Thanos, Ebony Maw, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive and Cull Obsidian appeared in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, while thier “siblings”, Gamora and Nebula, played larger roles in the Infinity Saga and beyond.

    Thanos’ children were adopted (read abducted) orphans (read trophies) from the civilizations he conquered. Given his status as one of the most feared and powerful beings in the universe, it would be foolish to believe that he only conquered six planets and took only six trophies. Indeed Avengers: Endgame briefly showed Nebula and Gamora’s attack of the planet Korbin; assuming Thanos is a creature of habit, it would follow that at least one Korbinite could be counted among his “children.” And as much as I wish this was an article about Beta Ray Bill, it isn’t; it is, however, about a pair of characters who served Thanos in the pages of Marvel Comics and may just be set to appear in the Marvel Television Streaming series Ironheart.

    Created by Jim Starlin and first appearing in Iron Man #55, Roclite siblings Gh’Ree and R’Hos Blood–better known as the Blood Brothers–are massive aliens who originally worked for Thanos. The duo evolved over the years and were interesting enough to make 71 appearances but are still certainly considered minor characters that might not be on many fans radars…but what if they should be?

    Headlining the article “Connecting Imaginary Dots” speaks for itself and I’ll let socmed and message boards have their fun; however, an IMDB listing for Ironheart is interesting enough to ponder if the Blood Brothers might somehow have found their way into the upcoming D+ series.

    Zoe Terakes, who joined the cast of Ironheart in 2022, is listed on IMDB as “Blood Sibling.” That’s it. That’s the evidence. But it’s certainly worth considering if the MCU’s iteration of the Blood Brothers may play a role in Riri Williams’ origin story.

    While it’s true that the majority of Ironheart will take place post-Riri’s appearance in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it will also dip into her origins, including (probably) why she was building a Stark-esque suit in the first place.

    Set after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Television’s Ironheart pits technology against magic when Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne)—a young, genius inventor determined to make her mark on the world—returns to her hometown of Chicago. Her unique take on building iron suits is brilliant, but in pursuit of her ambitions, she finds herself wrapped up with the mysterious yet charming Parker Robbins aka “The Hood” (Anthony Ramos).

    -Official Synopsis for Marvel Television’s Ironheart

    Ironheart boasts an incredibly impressive cast. Alden Ehrenreich is widely believed to have been cast as Ezekiel Stane, the son of Jeff Bridges‘ Iron Man villain, Obadiah Stane. Manny Montana (Cousin John) and Shea Couleé (Slug) look to be members of the crew of Anthony Ramos’ Parker Robins with Couleé likely a version of Marvel Comics Ulysses Lugman and Montana a version of John King, the actual cousin of Robbins. And then there’s Lyric Ross, who looks to be taking on the role of Riri’s best friend, Natalie, who, in the comics, was shot and killed in front of Riri when she was 13. But, what if…she wasn’t shot in the MCU but rather killed by the Children of Thanos as they invaded Earth?.

    Sure, Thanos’ invasion of Earth was all about getting the Time Stone from Doctor Strange but it’s absolutely worth remembering that Chicago was home to Victor Timely for a period of time in the 1860s and might otherwise, for myriad reasons, be a place an alien looking to conquer Earth might send some bad ass Blood Siblings.

    As always, if you’re betting, take the field over this theory. This isn’t inside info; it’s not a rumor worth spreading; it’s just tossing out an idea based on limited info. And even if the Blood Brothers do appear in Ironheart as the Blood Siblings, there are plenty of other options for why and how they are there. So the moral of the story is…Mephisto.

    Ironheart is set to debut (finally) on D+ on June 24th.

  • ‘It Ends With Us’, ‘1923’ Star In the Mix for Major Marvel Studios Role

    ‘It Ends With Us’, ‘1923’ Star In the Mix for Major Marvel Studios Role

    Though cameras haven’t begun rolling quite yet, Marvel Studios has a busy year ahead. While the biggest news will almost certainly center around the two films headed into production this year (Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4), a trio of streaming series are also slated for filming. The Paul Bettany-led Vision and Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again are both reportedly getting underway in February, keeping Marvel Television busy for the first half of the new year. Next up on the list is a series that has come together quickly after being put on the back burner for a couple of years.

    First revealed to be in development as a film in 2022 with Moon Knight scribe Sabir Pirzada on board to write the script, Nova reentered development as a streaming series in early 2024. Described by Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum as “an amazing ensemble piece” that will explore “how heated that Richard Rider kind of world can get,” Nova picked up veteran TV crime writer Ed Bernero as its showrunner in December. And while Bernero puts together a writers room and prepares the series’ scripts, a new report suggests that casting for the project is already underway.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Marvel has begun to narrow down it’s list of potential candidates to bring the Human Rocket to life in the MCU. At or near the top of that list, according to the longtime Hollywood insider, is It Ends with Us and 1923 star Brandon Sklenar.

    Recent reports indicated that Nova will introduce the classic Marvel Comics’ villain Annihilus and pit the Bug-Lord against a young team of Nova Corpsmen. Given Bernero‘s background, which  includes Criminal Minds, the NBC crime drama Third Watch and Crossing Lines, a crime drama that focuses on an elite team of special investigators, it seems reasonable to assume that while Rider will be the series’ central figure, the other Corps members will feature prominently in the action.

    With the studio looking to lock down an actor for the role of Richard Rider now, it’s possible that production could get underway in the next six months or so. That said, it’s been believed for some time that Nova will not be included in the Multiverse Saga and won’t stream on D+ until 2027.

    Source: Hot Mic

  • New Report Reveals Denzel Washington’s Villainous Marvel Studios Role

    New Report Reveals Denzel Washington’s Villainous Marvel Studios Role

    Fresh off his performance as the Machiavellian Macrinus in Gladiator II, Denzel Washington may be preparing to play another agent of chaos. In November, Washington casually revealed that writer/director Ryan Coogler had created a role for him in the as-yet-undated third film in the Black Panther franchise. Following Washington’s reveal, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, officially announced the film was in development; however, little information about the threequel has been available…until now.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Washington will be portraying the disruptive and devious Achebe in Black Panther 3.

    Achebe’s arrival in Wakanda has been anticipated for some time and while he would have made a fine antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the events of the sequel may have perfectly primed a path for the villain to wreak havoc.

    Between 1998 and 2003, Christopher Priest wrote 60 issues of Black Panther for Marvel Comics. Priest’s run began with T’Challa in an interesting pinch: a girl who was a part of T’Challa’s Tomorrow Fund, an organization he founded in the United States, has been found murdered. Meanwhile, refugees flock to Wakanda’s border, led by the enigmatic Reverend Doctor Michael Ibn al-hajj Achebe. In T’Challa’s absence, Achebe makes his move to overtake Wakanda.

    By introducing the Wakandan outreach center in 2018’s Black Panther, Coogler created the MCU’s equivalent of the Tomorrow Fund. Black Panther 3 could open with a scenario similar to Priest’s run that would require Shuri to leave Wakanda to investigate, leaving an opening for Achebe. Her absence, paired with the devastation from Namor’s attack, would provide the perfect scenario to allow Achebe to further destabilize Wakanda and then attempt to assume control.

  • Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Moved One Oft-delayed Project to the Scrap Heap

    Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Moved One Oft-delayed Project to the Scrap Heap

    Boom! You lookin’ for this? Apparently, in the case of Armor Wars, Marvel Studios was not. Originally developed as a D+ streaming series before being reworked as feature film, it now seems as though the Don Cheadle vehicle has been scrapped.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel Studios has moved on from the project. Additionally, Comic Book Movie claims to have heard that the project is “as good as dead.”

    Should Armor Wars indeed be scrapped, it would be perhaps the least shocking development around the project (the most shocking being that it was ever announced in the first place). The studio struggled to put it together as a series and its connection to the abysmal Secret Invasion likely did it in as a film.

    Last Fall, Cheadle cast doubt on how much life was in the project when he was asked where it stood on Marvel Studios slate, which was changing rapidly at the time. “You can find out and let me know,” said Cheadle, adding “I don’t know, I’m not sure where anything is right now. I think things are going through a lot of changes, and we’ll see what happens, we’ll see what it is.“

    Sources: MTTSH, CBM

  • Review: ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’

    Review: ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’

    How bad could this possibly go? First announced as Spider-Man: Freshman Year during 2021’s Disney + Day, Marvel Animation’s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man made a hard pivot away from telling the origin story of the MCU’s Peter Parker. Setting the series elsewhere in the Multiverse allowed showrunner Jeff Trammell to tell a story “adjacent to the main continuity” without being constrained by that continuity. The result is an alt-universe take on Spider-Man that will surprise you far more than you might imagine and that you are destined to love.

    There’s a reason why we changed the title to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s about the neighborhood. It’s an ensemble show. Every character is well-defined and has amazing arcs, from Peter and Nico to Lonnie and Pearl.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    Spider-Man is easy to get right. And make no mistake, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man gets Spider-Man as right as can be imagined. Beyond the THWIPS and quips, the animated series puts the full range of Spidey’s powers on display in ways that have never been brought to bear in animation or live-action. For all the preemptive pishposh about the series’ style, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man delivers a level of web-slinging, wallcrawling action that no Spidey project to date has so much as dared to approach. For every complaint about the still characters in a scene, the animators answer with moments that fans from across all mediums will find themselves rewinding.

    It does have a lot of DNA that is very similar to the MCU depiction of the Tom Holland Spider-Man, but it really also draws all the way back to Steve Ditko.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    Far more difficult than summarizing Spidey is pinning down Peter Parker. The true measure of success for any Spider-Man project should be establishing and reinforcing to the audience who the man behind the Spidey mask is…and who he continues to choose to be against all odds. From beginning to end, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man works incredibly well. It does so not only because it allows Peter time to mature but also because it’s clear that Aunty May has provided him room to grow. The slice-of-life approach to Peter’s story, beginning with the origin of how he became Spidey and following through well until the end of the series, makes this one of Marvel Entertainment’s most successful efforts to date.

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is an animated series that follows Peter Parker on his way to becoming a hero, with a journey unlike we’ve ever seen and a style that celebrates the character’s early comic book roots.

    -Official Synopsis, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

    If the series does have a weak point, it is that everybody is somebody. In a world where someone who can attend school may end up being someone and in a series meant to be exactly what it is, there is no room for error. On an overwhelmingly positive note, however, while Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is Year One for Spidey and Year Zero for Lonnie Lincoln, so, so many of Spidey’s supporting characters are given incredible life. Sure, you’ll hear deserved praise for Colman Domingo‘s Norman Osborn, but everyone’s performance from Hugh Dancy‘s Otto Octavius to Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil to the spectacular surprises meant to surprise the audience add up to something none of us have seen quite yet.

    Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man debuts on Disney Plus at 3:00 AM on January 29th.

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Making Room for a Highly-anticipated Hero in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Making Room for a Highly-anticipated Hero in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Despite a rough couple of years, heading into Year 16 it’s safe to say that Marvel Studios still has plenty left in the tank. Even after an uneven Phase 5, the Multiverse Saga promises to introduce The Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom, characters whose presence in the MCU was once nothing but a pipe dream. According to Kevin Feige, Avengers: Secret Wars will open the door to the X-Men, finally bringing the mutant heroes to the MCU after being mismanaged by Fox. And those headliners are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what fans have to look forward in 2027 and beyond.

    Marvel’s greatest Cosmic hero, Richard Rider, will finally make his long-awaited debut in the as-yet-undated D+ streaming series, Nova; a new generation of young heroes will come together to form the Champions; and a group of young mages and mystics from across all dimensions are rumored to set foot in Strange Academy. As bumpy as the ride through the Multiverse Saga has been, there’s plenty to look forward to once it comes to an end; however, it’s not quite there yet…and a new report indicates that one long-awaited character has some major work to do before it’s all said and done.

    It seems as though Marvel Studios has finally found the right vehicle to introduce the Spirit of Vengeance into the MCU. According to social media scooper @ApocHorseman, a Ghost Rider will play a “major role” in 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday.

    Word of the potential appearance comes months after Marvel TV boss Brad Winderbaum addressed the persistent rumors surrounding the character’s absence from the MCU. Though the new report from @ApocHorseman does not reveal which Ghost Rider from the pages of Marvel Comics will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, Winderbaum may have given it away, saying “I would wanna do the Danny Ketch era of Ghost Rider.”

    While it’s unclear and a little confusing as to what role a Spirit of Vengeance might have in Avengers: Doomsday, it’s likely fans will concern themselves very little if one shows up…especially if the studio manages to land Ryan Gosling in the role.

  • New Rumor Suggests Casting Is Underway for Two Key Members of Marvel Studios’ All-New X-Men

    New Rumor Suggests Casting Is Underway for Two Key Members of Marvel Studios’ All-New X-Men

    As the sixth anniversary of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox approaches, Marvel Studios has done very little with the treasure trove of live-action rights that fell to them in the merger. While Deadpool & Wolverine was a box office success for the company and Hugh Jackman‘s return as the best their is at what he does was a wonderful treat, it’s safe to say that Wade Wilson was well down the list of characters MCU fans were anticipating to appear.

    That’s all about to change, of course, as Marvel’s First Family, The Fantastic Four, will make their MCU debut this summer. And then, there’ the X-Men. Though mutants have been sparsely sprinkled into several projects over the past few years, fans are craving an all-new take on Marvel’s Children of the Atom and things are indeed gathering some Juggernaut-ish momentum on that front.

    Last spring, Michael Lesslie was tasked with scripting Marvel Studios’ first X-Men film. While Kevin Feige has yet to publicly reveal too much about the film, he has made it clear that even though “some X-Men players that you might recognize” will appear before the end of the Multiverse Saga, the mutant heroes won’t take center stage until after 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

    Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men.

    Kevin Feige

    However, an infinite multiverse allows for infinite storytelling possibilities, including the introduction of a few major muties before they move into the spotlight. Rumors have made the rounds that Lesslie’s script focuses on an X-team that closely resembles the roster of heroes from Marvel Animation’s very popular and successful X-Men ’97. As expected, original X-Man Jean Grey would be among those characters and recent reports indicated that Marvel is already looking at actresses to fill that role. Now, a new rumor from a trusted Marvel insider claims that Marvel is also looking to fill the role of another X-Men ’97 star in addition to one of Feige’s favorite characters.

    According to Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has begun the process of casting for the roles of Remy LeBeau and Kitty Pryde.

    The news is consistent with an earlier report from Richtman in which he claimed Gambit and Shadowcat were the leads in an early draft of Lesslie’s script. The news that the studio is looking for a new actor to portray Gambit will certainly be disappointing to fans of Channing Tatum‘s version of the character seen in Deadpool & Wolverine; however, there’s always hope that Tatum will be one of those recognizeable X-Men players teased by Feige.

    Since it’s still in the scripting stages, Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot hasn’t been placed on Disney’s release calendar; however, with a trio of films set for 2028, it’s beginning to look increasingly likely that the X-Men will indeed make it into the MCU within a decade of the Fox merger.