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  • ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ May Still Stream in 2020

    ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ May Still Stream in 2020

    I’m not one to shy away from sharing good encouraging news about the MCU, and this bit is far from official word, but nonetheless certainly a good sign for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

    See below an Instagram post supporting #BlackLivesMatter by Anthony Mackie’s personal makeup artist on FaTWS Latoya Henderson (filmartist_toya).

    “We’re getting a Black Captain America this year.” This is, I stress, not official word the show will definitely still stream in 2020. They still have significant work to complete, however one assumes Latoya might know a thing or two on the subject, and spoken to the man himself about it maybe, so this is definitely an encouraging sign that we will see Sam and Bucky in the series this year!

    Our most recent rumblings from sources both public and anonymous point to The Falcon and Winter Soldier resuming filming in Atlanta in late July and currently negotiating to return to Prague, probably in August. Charles Murphy recently indicated on his Twitter that should the series complete filming by the end of September, they should still make a 2020 streaming on Disney plus. Fingers crossed this is the case.

  • Sophia Di Martino Seemingly Prepping to Resume Filming ‘LOKI’

    Sophia Di Martino Seemingly Prepping to Resume Filming ‘LOKI’

    A new Instagram post by Salma Hayek yesterday signaled that she’s expecting reshoots for The Eternals to begin soon, now actress Sophia Di Martino seems to indicate that prep for filming her series Loki is beginning to ramp up as well! See the post below!

    While we’ve been hearing that the Disney plus Marvel series might resume in July, along with the other Marvel shows WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, further evidence like this is certainly an encouraging sign! On top of that Tom Hiddleston was spotted by a fan in Georgia a few days ago. They are perhaps not quite ready to start up again yet but it seems the production wheels are indeed turning again!

  • Salma Hayek Teases Upcoming ‘ETERNALS’ Reshoots

    Salma Hayek Teases Upcoming ‘ETERNALS’ Reshoots

    A new Instagram post from The Eternals star Salma Hayek indicates that reshoots/additional filming for the MCU film should begin soon! Check it out below!

    Reshoots several months after a “wrap” are pretty common and definitely expected. Still it’s good to see things beginning to pick up again for these MCU projects. Hopefully we’ll get more details soon to share with you all on the when and where The Eternals will resume filming.

  • BREAKING NEWS: ‘FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Negotiating a Return to Film in the Czech Republic

    BREAKING NEWS: ‘FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Negotiating a Return to Film in the Czech Republic

    A Facebook post by Czech Republic casting company Extrasfilms has indicated that they are indeed still working out the details and negotiating for Falcon and the Winter Soldier to return to filming in Prague. I apologize for the very rough Google translate to English below but I have checked with a couple of friends there to confirm what the post means.

    It also mentions that the TV series Carnival Row and Wheel of Time are both expected to return there to film at the end of July or early August.

    This is definitely encouraging news! Prague is a beautiful city and I know there were some amazing places they had plans to film. I so look forward to seeing it in the series!

  • What Anthony Mackie’s ‘FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Update Means

    What Anthony Mackie’s ‘FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Update Means

    A recent interview by Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show with Anthony Mackie sparked an expected burst of articles in comic-book-movie-blogger-land quoting Anthony on the status of his upcoming TV series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Unfortunately, it seems like there is some confusion about how much the series has left to film and when they might go back, so I thought I would try my best to bring clarity to some of that based on what I know.

    Let’s start with Anthony’s quote from this interview:

    Well, I’m happy to say, we are not cancelled, we are on hold. So we’re going back hopefully sometime soon and finish it up. We have very little stuff to do. I’m very happy with it. We have a little bit more we can go back and do but everybody rest assured, it will come out. We are not cancelled.

    When Anthony says “very little stuff” and “a bit more” please bear in mind that the man was filming this series for close to 5 months before they were put on hold. “Very little stuff” in comparison could certainly still amount to several weeks at least, which is what has been previously reported. And certainly it could be his “bit more” is just in reference to his character’s part, while stunt crew and other actors may have much more to do beyond that to finish up.

    Case in point, in a Sebastian Stan interview with SAG AFTRA Foundation interview last month, Seb said they had “roughly a few weeks of shooting” left on FaTWS.

    That is certainly “a bit more” than some might think going by the “very little stuff left to do” headlines I’ve seen recently. Please understand, I don’t say this to tear down my fellow bloggers, only to make clear that there is indeed a significant amount of work left to do on Falcon and The Winter Soldier and I don’t want to give fans a false hope about it finishing up super fast and being ready for an August 2020 premiere. This seems to me and other much more “in the know” types I’ve spoken to, to be near impossible. I hate saying that, many who’ve been following me on Twitter a while know this show is my #1 I’m looking forward to the most. But I can’t deny it seems unrealistic the show will make August 2020, and perhaps not even the Fall.

    On March 6, Czech extra casting company Extrafilms posted on Facebook that there was specifically 3 weeks of filming to be done in and around Prague. The casting call for active runners and bike riders to film at a stadium there mentioned the shoot had a filming date of March 20th. My friend from the Czech Republic @FFilmu on Twitter had also found street permits revealing that the production would likely have been there until March 23. The production was shut down and began leaving around March 10-11, meaning nearly 2 weeks should have been remaining to film in the Czech Republic.

    Around this same time, I also spoke to Atlanta resident @loburger, the same guy who caught some great footage of them filming at Atlantic station and more set images referencing Samson Development, about what was going on at his location. He told me, via a couple friendly security guards watching over things, that the series was meant to return for a bit more filming at that location at the end of month. So it was going to be two more weeks in Prague and then back to Atlanta for at least a little more. He also mentioned to me on March 10th they still seemed to be constructing more stuff for sets there. As of May 16th, according to @loburger everything was still there at that point. In other words, definitely more planned to do in Atlanta, I’d say. Whenever that may be.

    You might at this point say, “Okay, there’s only 3 weeks left to film. No problem, they can finish that in July for August or in August for September. No problem.” Except, there are some pretty damn big problems. One of the biggest for pretty much everyone worldwide being COVID-19.

    Even if they’ve completely straightened out the script to remove some or all of the “pandemic” elements to the story which we believe would have involved a Madbomb storyline, and they have the same amount of planned reshoots left as they did before the shutdown, there is the risk of everything shutting down again. There is also the high likelihood that everything will take significantly longer to film based on new COVID safety guidelines limiting crew, extras, and actors and dictating what they must do to stay safe. So maybe approximately 3 weeks left becomes 4 to 6 weeks? Maybe cases spike and they have to stop again for several months? Or maybe they plan to start and have to throw out those plans last minute, make different plans, or just keep waiting. While I have heard that perhaps mid to late July is the expected time filming will resume for many productions, including the Disney Plus shows, there is no set start dates that we’ve heard about yet, and even if there were it could very well change at the last minute. All we can do is wait and see.

    Because unfortunately, there are much bigger problems and caveats in the way of the series finishing. COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Georgia all the while the state continues to loosen restrictions on social distancing and other preventive measures. This is all very worrisome and as much as I want the shows, I want the people making them to stay safe more.

    While things currently seem to be more stable over with my friend in the Czech Republic @FFilmu, and some filming has resumed there with plenty of guidelines. That could change quickly for the worse as well. And yes, I do believe that they want to return to Prague to complete filming there. But that would again involve a smaller crew, less extras, and in all likelihood take longer than the estimated 2 weeks left to film there unless other plans are made.

    So what happens if Georgia and Prague are not feasible or too dangerous due to this virus spiking? Los Angeles has been trending poorly with the virus as well. On top of that, a significant problem is studio space is hard to come by all over. This is yet another big problem for any of these shows to get finished this year. Everybody wants to finish their movies and TV series that have been paused, not just Disney and Marvel.

    Now that I’ve depressed everyone including myself here. I do think there is hope that both The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision are completed and air in 2020. But we must be cautious with our optimism to avoid a very possible let down with further delays. You may now understand why Disney/Marvel have refrained from officially announcing changes to the release dates of these shows. I suspect that it is due to continued uncertainty due to the virus about when these series can be completed. Even with filming done there would still editing and vfx to finish on new footage, scoring, and I’m sure other elements to complete. That all takes time. And I’m sure most if not all of you reading this wouldn’t want them to rush it.

    I truly believe these shows will be worth the wait tho. So hang on, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and those of us longing for our favorite MCU characters to return will get there. I am very hopeful of that.

  • ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Madripoor Gang Jacket Revealed

    ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Madripoor Gang Jacket Revealed

    Many of you reading this may remember a little over 6 months ago when The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was doing a week long shoot in Griffin GA. Just Jared posted a large batch of photographs from the shoot revealing a nasty bike gang and other unknown forces harassing our heroes Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes along with the villainous Zemo.

    Instagram user Justbeachy4stacy visited this set in Griffin one night, just as she had visited the Barnesville set the month prior. We spent quite a bit of time the night she went, chatting in DM about what was happening there and if she was seeing any stars. She spotted Anthony Mackie but was too star struck to take a picture, just missed Daniel Bruhl, may have seen the director talking on the phone at one point, and saw a really big bald guy she thought was probably an actor but couldn’t place.

    In our conversations at one point she showed me a picture she snapped of the back of someone else at the snack area. She said she thought he was actor or extra. I couldn’t tell who it was but I was very intrigued by the symbol on the back of the jacket pictured below.

    I held back the image at the time thinking it might be a piece to a puzzle for another day. But now with a Murphysmultiverse.com redesign and relaunch and still no real clear idea what the symbol may mean, I felt it was as good a time as any to share and let people discuss it.

    And I will say, it may mean nothing, or it may be an Easter egg for us to pick up on later, or it may have a larger link to some of our villains who Bucky, Sam, and Zemo face in what we now know was Madripoor.

    At least some of the biker gang members surrounding the boys in those Just Jared pictures are wearing the same jacket, only cropped out to mostly cut out the gang symbol. See on the right on this image, and on the left on this one.

    Here’s a closer look at the symbol on the jacket itself.

    A number of villains immediately came to my mind upon seeing this symbol. Red Skull & Mephisto, of course, immediately spring to mind.

    Mephisto

    The Madripoor dragon, and other traditional villains of Madripoor spring to mind as well. We know there was extra casting calls for gang members of various ethnic groups for this shoot. IMDb lists at least one stunt actor as a Yakuza gang member, although it seems as if the group surrounding Bucky and Sam in those Just Jared shots are not exclusively Japanese but a mix of people. So again it is unclear if it’s one group which is a mix, or multiple different groups surrounding them.

    Madripoor Dragon

    But those don’t seem like quite the right fit for this image. There’s also the white sort of claws there, and faint circle around the head. It actually made me think of M.O.D.O.K. first. Could this be a redesign of that very strange and distinct looking villain? Perhaps an Easter egg, or perhaps a hint of him taking control behind the scenes in Madripoor? Or perhaps it’s something else entirely.

    M.O.D.O.K.

    What do you think? Let us know in the comments!

  • A ‘Black Widow’ Actor May Have Made the Jump to ‘Shang-Chi’

    A ‘Black Widow’ Actor May Have Made the Jump to ‘Shang-Chi’

    I came across something kind of interesting during a recent check of IMDb for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. One of the Widows in the upcoming Black Widow film is listed as a stunt performer on Shang-Chi as well!

    Jade Xu and the other Widows in the Black Widow trailer.

    A quick double check of Jade Xu’s Instagram confirms that she was indeed in Sydney Australia for a new Marvel adventure there beginning March 1st until at least March 8. Good enough to confirm for me that the listing can be trusted.

    Could it be one of the Widows survives the events of Black Widow and appears in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings? Or is she simply doing some miscellaneous stunts? Her height and build, I believe, would make her a good candidate to double Awkwafina’s character, widely rumored to be Shang-Chi’s sister Fah Lo Suee, so this is another strong possibility.

    The reason I’m really excited by this stunt performer being listed for these projects is the very high level of skill she possesses. We are certain to get some great fighting sequences with a stunt actress like this involved!

    Jade Xu, per her IMDb listing, is a 3 time Wushu/Kung Fu World Champion and began her martial arts training at 6 years old. You can find examples of her athleticism and grace on her Instagram, YouTube channel, and website jadexu.com

    Jade Xu

     

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Actress Fala Chen May Have a Key Role in ‘SHANG-CHI’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Actress Fala Chen May Have a Key Role in ‘SHANG-CHI’

    For those of you unfamiliar with the Connecting the Imaginary Dots articles on Murphy’s Multiverse, basically this is for stuff we find, that is not officially confirmed, but are more speculative pieces based on other information and “proof” we are putting together to make our conclusions.

    A very recent Connecting Imaginary Dots written by me was just today confirmed to be correct by Discussing Film. You can check out my previous detective work here!

    This Connecting Imaginary Dots may not have quite as much backup as my Erin Kellyman article linked above, but strap in people because I really think I’m onto something here too!

    Let’s begin with a quite accidental find while I was a bit bored and looking for more news to share with you all. As you will see below, actress Fala Chen, who can be seen in HBO drama The Undoing starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant this Fall, has some rather interesting Marvel related follows.

    More importantly, Simu Liu and Destin Cretton (star and director of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, respectively) are mutual follows with Fala. Now of course actors can mutually follow each other, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re working together. But it made me look a little closer.

    This post is from Fala’s Instagram on January 3rd 2020. At first it isn’t obvious but a few commenters on the post guessed it and then it became obvious by the symbol on the upper right of the screen. She is on an Air New Zealand plane. Likely traveling somewhere “down under.”

    A check on her Twitter shows a link to the same post but a bit more information in the tags: #newjob, #actorslife

    And to that I say, “Ah-ha!… The plot thickens!”

    The following post on January 24th shows Fala preparing to celebrate Chinese New Year with friends, presumably somewhere in New Zealand or Australia.

    Notice who liked it?

    Another post below was a few days later but obviously the same dinner of dumplings being prepared. See who liked it again? And that comment?!

    Hmmmmm….

    Now do me a favor okay? Scroll up this page back to the image around the table. See the guy with the black t-shirt working on the *green* dough?

    Those arms, those pecks…Could that by any chance be our upcoming superhero Shang-Chi, aka Simu Liu himself, helping prepare the dumplings? You can probably guess, I think it is!

    Further evidence of her filming Shang-Chi or something there for an extended period include her arriving January 3rd but not seeming to leave until a February 22 post in Los Angeles (which director Destin Cretton liked), a Valentine’s day flowers picture which appears to be in a very nice cast trailer, and a post on February 12 talking about unwinding after a 13 hour work day.

    Yup. Obviously this is not confirmed or official by any means but I would have to say an actress that is mutually followed by the star and director of a movie, travels to a far away place where they’re filming, stays over a month and a half, hangs out with the star, gets her posts liked by both, etc, etc… She’s probably working on Shang-Chi. And probably a significant role.

    For an idea who Fala Chen may be playing look back at this Charles Murphy Exclusive back in January which stated that MI-6 agents Clive Reston, Black Jack Tarr, and Leiko Wu are being introduced in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

    “A Chinese female, 26-39 for Wu”

    Fala is a very beautiful, 38 year old Chinese born actress who, per her IMDb page, speaks Mandarin, English, Cantonese, and Japanese. This would most certainly be a perfect fit for Leiko Wu.

     

  • ‘WANDAVISION’ Production News and The Czech Republic Reopens for Filming

    ‘WANDAVISION’ Production News and The Czech Republic Reopens for Filming


    I’m delighted to bring some positive Disney Plus/Marvel news to you all today, I’ve heard through a trusted source that WandaVision has finished filming after all and possibly VFX on the series is done as well. All that’s left is the editing (barring any reshoots, of course). Previous information was that there was still a bit of filming left, signs indicating that it had to do with references and changes to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier pandemic storyline. But it sounds like it will be straightened out in editing, at least in WandaVision’s case.

    What does this mean for when we might see the Scarlet Witch and her beloved Vision on our TV screen? Well, we may need to keep our feet on the ground a bit here, as it seems unlikely they’d air the show very far ahead of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness which is currently scheduled for release on March 25, 2022. There is also the matter of finishing up The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s filming, 3 weeks at least, before WandaVision airs. The shows were originally scheduled in a certain order for a reason, and if WandaVision has things that spoil The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, even without the reference to the pandemic story line in it anymore, it is unlikely that WandaVision would be moved ahead of it unless there are major changes and reshoots to that show.

    In other tentatively positive news, it was reported today via The Hollywood Reporter that the Czech Republic will now allow productions to resume filming there. The testing, guidelines and sanitation standards that need to be followed in order for everyone to be safe, however, would certainly complicate The Falcon and The Winter Soldier returning to finish up. No word yet on when they may.

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Wakandans Will Appear in ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Wakandans Will Appear in ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

    The question that has been nagging at me pretty much since it was announced that Helmut Zemo would be a significant presence in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series is: Will we see or hear from Wakanda in the series? How could they possibly have Zemo on the loose and not involve or at least hear from Wakanda? He killed their king after all. I believe I have found evidence for an answer to this very question. Since nothing is officially confirmed here, please feel free to treat this as a “connecting imaginary dots” type speculation post, but based on quite a bit of evidence that I’ve gathered below.

    As I’ve pointed out, Zemo killed Wakanda’s King T’Chaka during the events of Captain America: Civil War, and it was clear in Black Panther that not everyone there agreed with T’Challa’s decision to not make Zemo face justice in Wakanda. So it really makes no sense for Wakanda not to be involved with recapturing Zemo should he escape, and of course we also have a bond formed between Bucky and Wakanda for helping to save his life from the Winter Soldier programming. Surely Shuri would want to check on her patient, right? It only makes sense that someone from Wakanda should appear in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, even if briefly.

    As for my other supporting evidence Wakandans will show up in the series, I have spotted several stunt actresses now who seem to be involved with FaTWS, AND previously played stunt doubles for Wakandans in the films.

    Stunt Actress #1: Sadiqua Bynum is listed in IMDb to appear as a stunt person in episode 1 of FaTWS. She was previously a Dora Milaje in Black Panther. At first I thought perhaps she was stunt double for Adepero Oduye’s character, and that’s still entirely possible. But this timing would also line up perfectly for when Zemo is seen in the beginning in prison.

    Stunt actress #2: Jenel Stevens on her Instagram was definitely with the FaTWS stunt team in Prague while the series was briefly filming there and enjoying some sightseeing with her stunt family. She previously was a stunt double for Okoye in Avengers: Endgame and a Dora Milaje in Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther. It’s unclear what episode they were working on there, but Daniel Bruhl recently confirmed in a German interview on Instagram that he was in Prague filming briefly before he had to leave. Perhaps Jenel is there doing stunts for someone completely separate from Wakanda, but I do have to wonder.

    Stunt Actress #3: Janeshia Adams-Ginyard. This one is not listed in IMDb for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier yet, but other evidence within her Instagram shows her filming some significant stunt work in Georgia at the end of November/early December. Coincidentally, the same time period Daniel arrived and immediately started filming German prison scenes and a probable Zemo escape in the show. Other evidence she is involved with FaTWS and may be playing a Dora Milaje is some video on her Instagram of her performing a fun dance at the same location that Aaron Toney and other FaTWS stunt people have been rehearsing AND another interesting video at the same location during that time of her practicing her staff twirling. Check it out, especially the tags.

    On top of that, this stunt actress had to remove her lovely purple hair and go around with a beanie most of the time while she was there! Sounds kind of like a Dora Milaje doesn’t it? Well she also played Okoye’s stunt double & Dora Milaje in Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame!

    So, we now have at least two stunt actresses who have previously played Dora Milaje or Okoye, probably 3, definitely involved with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. It is certainly possible they are doing stunts for other characters (for Adepero Oduye’s character, for instance). I definitely can’t rule that out, but that all together with a clear need to hear from Wakanda in this series in regards to Zemo, and Bucky to a lesser degree, it seems a pretty good bet to make that Dora Milaje if not Okoye herself is appearing in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier!