Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Eyes 2024 Release, Director Hopes to Add Leonardo DiCaprio One Day

    ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Eyes 2024 Release, Director Hopes to Add Leonardo DiCaprio One Day

    We’ve long waited for an update on what the future has in store for Squid Game. During a Netflix-hosted press conference in Seoul, we finally got a few teases of what’s to come from the series writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who teased what his hopes are for the South Korean hit series.

    In it, he confirmed that the second season will not include a Hollywood actor but is open to expanding in future seasons. In fact, he already has someone in mind potentially. It seems that he hopes to have Leonardo DiCaprio on board at one point in a future season.

    There will be no known Hollywood actor in Season 2. That’s not in the plan and if the stage changes, maybe in Season 3 – but for Season 2, it is still set in Korea. Leonardo DiCaprio did say he’s a big fan of ‘Squid Game,’ so maybe if time or chances allow, we can ask him to join the games.

    Hwang Dong-hyuk

    He also has confirmed that production will start in 2023 on the second season and Squid Game may finally make its return in 2024. There’s also a real-world replica in development by Netflix that’ll see real people imitating the games just without the deadly consequence. There’s no word of a Western adaptation but perhaps we’ll simply see these worlds collide as the in-universe game goes international.

    Source: Variety

  • RUMOR: ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel Eyeing Early 2025 Release

    RUMOR: ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel Eyeing Early 2025 Release

    There’s been a lot of rumors making the rounds before San Diego Comic-Con and D23 gave us a tease of what’s to come. Among them was the hint that we’d get the announcement for a Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings sequel that was surprisingly never revealed. We did find out its direct Daniel Destin Cretton will be tackling the next Avengers movie titled The Kang Dynasty, but it seems he may be getting busier than expected.

    According to a new Reddit rumor as shared by The Direct, it seems that Shang-Chi is getting a sequel and is likely eyeing a 2025 release window. It is even surprisingly more exact with February 15th as the potential release window. Of course, we still have to take this with a grain of salt but given the first film’s success, a sequel seems like a no-brainer, especially if Cretton proved himself enough to take on an Avengers movie.

    It looks like he’ll be quite a bit busier in the near future, especially with him also producing an adaptation of Wonder Man for Disney+. Of course, there’s no clear news if that series is also set to release ahead of the new Avengers films, or perhaps it might be something that takes place afterward.

    There are a lot of possibilities and there’s a question about how the director might tackle the production; there’s a chance they might be currently mapping out the next few years for the director and it’ll be interesting to see if Kang might even have a role in the Shang-Chi sequel potentially.

    Source: Reddit via The Direct

  • Paul Greengrass to Adapt Stephen King’s ‘Fairy Tale’

    Paul Greengrass to Adapt Stephen King’s ‘Fairy Tale’

    That headline seems like something out of a fairy tale but Deadline has reported that Paul Greengrass is indeed set to not only adapt Stephen King‘s latest bestselling novel Fairy Tale, but it seems he’s also going to produce and direct the project. It seems that King is actually a big fan of Greengrass, which led to him getting his hands on the project. The director had the following to say on the project:

    Fairy Tale is a work of genius. A classic adventure story and also a disturbing contemporary allegory.

    Paul Greengrass

    He’ll direct a story about a young 17-year-old boy who ends up inheriting keys to a world where good and evil are constantly at war. Of course,e as you may guess, this fairy tale world may potentially threaten our world just as much as its own. The film has no home yet but it seems that quite a few studios and streamers are interested in getting their hands on the project.

    Stephen King adaptations have seen a new resurgence after the success of It. Netflix has become quite popular as a home for various adaptations such as 1922 and Gerald’s Game. So, they may be a frontrunner to potentially get their hands on the project but it does seem like a high-fantasy series worthy of a theatrical release.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Spectacular Spider-Man’ May Be Heading to Disney+ in October

    ‘Spectacular Spider-Man’ May Be Heading to Disney+ in October

    It’s felt like half an eternity ago when Sony announced that they’ve made a deal with Marvel to release some of their projects on Disney+. The first-look deal with Netflix had many wondering if that limits what they’ll add in but slowly throughout the last few months, we saw the iconic Spider-Man franchise find its way home to Disney+. Now, one of the most popular animated shows is finally getting the same love.

    As shared by Discussing Film on Twitter, it looks like Spectacular Spider-Man‘s first season is heading to Disney+ on October 19th. There’s no word when we might expect the second season but there’s a chance that is still a few more months out. Its addition to Disney+ and the upcoming X-Men: The Animated Series revival might have many hoping that this could give the classic animated series another chance on the platform with a third season.

    Disney+ is “the Home of Marvel” according to Disney and they seemingly are trying to make sure every property under the sun ever produced with that brand makes it there. The Sony deal is the first time they’re able to bring Spider-Man back and the cooperation for the Home-themed trilogy definitely played a big part in that movement. Perhaps the fallout that almost sank No Way Home‘s original vision made their connection stronger and led to the current climate of these projects getting released on the platform.

    Source: Discussing Film

  • Amazon Found its Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid for Untitled Series, ‘Eternals’ Writers Attached

    Amazon Found its Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid for Untitled Series, ‘Eternals’ Writers Attached

    It seems that Amazon is moving forward with a new series that’ll take another look at the story of Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. For now, the series has no title but will be produced by Joe and Anthony Russo‘s AGBO. It seems the studio won it from Disney+ and Peacock in a bidding war. The scripts will be written by Kaz and Ryan Firpo, who were the masterminds behind the Eternals film.

    As it stands, they have added Regé-Jean Page and Glen Powell as Cassidy and the Sundance Kid respectively. Both have been seeing a soaring success in their franchise with Page‘s role on Bridgerton and Powell fresh off a jet engine-fueled production like Top Gun: Maverick. Amazon is seemingly all in with this project, as they are envisioning it as a larger franchise with various series and spinoffs.

    It should be noted that this version of the story takes place in an alternative America similar to For All Mankind and Man in the High Castle‘s approach. It’s unclear just how they’ll tackle the story and if that also means it’ll take place during the modern day. Still, it seems the project was quite the hot commodity with big streamers going after it.

    The project still has no name while The Hollywood Reporter calls it Butch and Sundance. It’s also another big step forward for AGBO productions, which has been quite busy with The Gray Man’s recent release on Netflix and another big project on the horizon. It also is part of their Amazon deal which includes the upcoming project Citadel that has Josh Applebaum and Andrew Nemec attached.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Neil Blomkamp’s ‘Gran Turismo’ Adds Archie Madekwe to Star Opposite David Harbour

    Neil Blomkamp’s ‘Gran Turismo’ Adds Archie Madekwe to Star Opposite David Harbour

    It looks like Neil Blomkamp‘s upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular Sony gaming franchise Gran Turismo is truly turning into high gear. Not only did it recently add David Harbour in the main role, but it also has now cast Archie Madekwe of Apple TV+’s See fame in a major role. It’s a big step forward for the actor’s career as there’s a lot of hope to build up a big franchise with this adaptation.

    It seems he’ll take on the role of the driver in this feature film, which means he’s taking on the main role while Harbour will be an old driver that teaches him how he should dominate the race tracks. With Gran Turismo‘s focus on being a driving simulator, there’s no exact word which driving sport will be at the focus or if they might explore his rise to fame throughout different types.

    The film is based on a script by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin with PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Career Swan in producing roles. They are also joined by Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. It seems that production may already start next week which gives Harbour enough time to work on the project before he potentially starts getting ready for his return as Red Guardian in Thunderbolts.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Marvel Studios Taps ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Writer to Tackle ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’

    Marvel Studios Taps ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Writer to Tackle ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’

    It looks like not only does Avengers: The Kang Dynasty have a director in Destin Daniel Cretton, but they’ve also added Jeff Loveness as its writer. It seems his work on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has put him on the map to tackle the feature, which is fitting given that the film also introduces the main threat of Kang the Conqueror, played by Jonathan Majors, after the introduction of his variant in Loki.

    It’s safe to say that they’re likely to set on continuing his work on the character, who’ll have a bigger role considering the name of the film’s title. In a way, Marvel Studios is relying more on familiar writers that have already had their experience in the franchise, similar to how Michael Waldron introduced the multiverse concept in Loki and went on to tackle the Doctor Strange sequel.

    There’s also a fun trend of Marvel Studios hiring Rick and Morty writers for its various projects. Loveness and Waldron are both veterans of the animated series and it seems their experience with sci-fi concepts has made them the perfect candidates for these projects. Even the writer of the Pickle Rick episode, Jessica Gao, has been spearheading the She-Hulk: Attorney at Law project.

    It opens up the question of who might get their hands on the Avengers: Secret Wars film, especially with them still actively searching for the director. They may be considering Ryan Coogler for the role of director, and perhaps Michael Waldron may return as well, especially as he set up the idea of the Incursions in his Marvel projects.

    Source: Deadline

  • New ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Concept Art Reveals Unused Doctor Strange Variant

    New ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Concept Art Reveals Unused Doctor Strange Variant

    In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we took our first real trip throughout the multiverse, or at least Doctor Strange was forced to when helping a young America Chavez. Throughout his travels, we are introduced to two Variants of the talented yet arrogant sorcerer, yet it seems that there was one more that didn’t make it beyond the concept stage.

    Concept artist Darrell Warner revealed a new piece of concept that offers a first look at “Marvellous Melvyn,” a street magician version of our popular doctor. It seems this version of the character was part of the initial pitch by Scott Derrickson before Sam Raimi took over production, which took the production into a very different direction.

    The design is great and it’s really a shame that we didn’t get to see this version of the character. Not only would it have given Benedict Cumberbatch a fun new interpretation to bring to life, but perhaps he may have been an unwilling traveler that ends up getting dragged along for a journey he is definitely not equipped for. It’s also great that the designer got to work with thee costume designer Graham Churchyard to bring the idea to life.

    We can always theorize on the “what if” of the original Scott Derrickson‘s sequel of his Doctor Strange film that introduced magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Perhaps it is somewhere out there in the multiverse that got a chance to see it and they could use the What If…? series to introduce a few of those concepts that didn’t quite make it.

    Source: Instagram

  • Disney+s ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ Adds Mychala Lee to Round Out the Cast as Mallory

    Disney+s ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ Adds Mychala Lee to Round Out the Cast as Mallory

    It looks like Disney+’s upcoming adaptation of Spiderwick Chronicles has rounded out its cast with Mychala Lee, who is set to take on the role of Mallory. It’ll adapt the book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, which will explore the story of a bunch of kids moving back to Michigan with their mother where they are pulled into a magical world.

    Lee joins the cast of Lyon Daniels and Noah Cottrell, who will play the twins Jared and Simon. Joy Bryant will play their mother and they’re also joined by Christian Slater‘s Mulgarath. According to Variety, Lee‘s character is described as “a classic firstborn child. She is extremely Type A, smart, determined, and ambitious. She strives for perfection in everything she does, from learning to drive to her passion for fencing. While she loves her brothers, her parents’ divorce and her life being uprooted is putting more than the usual strain on their normal sibling rivalry“

    Disney+ has been quite busy expanding beyond its Marvel and Star Wars offerings by entering the young adult market. Spiderwick Chronicles is only slowly getting ready for production but they’ve already been busy working on the adaptation of Percy Jackson, which just recently got a first look released. So, it seems we’ll have quite a bit more heading our way soon.

    Source: Variety

  • Matthew McConaughey’s Soccer Film ‘Dallas Sting’ Scrapped Shortly Ahead of Production Start

    Matthew McConaughey’s Soccer Film ‘Dallas Sting’ Scrapped Shortly Ahead of Production Start

    Here’s a surprise but it looks like six weeks before Matthew McConaughey‘s film Dallas Sting was completely scrapped by Skydance. It was going to be directed by The Falcon and Winter Soldier‘s Kari Skogland but the plug was pulled due to allegations regarding how it’ll adapt the true story of a girl soccer team’s trip to China back in 1984 from Dallas.

    The story explores this soccer team’s story of beating the odds and defeating some of the world’s best players back in the day with McConaughey set to play their coach Bill Kinder. It seems that the drama this story was based on may have a much more “disturbing” story that hasn’t been told which led Skydance and the producers to pull the project six weeks ahead of production start.

    There is a disappointment in the air at Skydance, as they were excited to tell the story of this team’s accomplishments, but sometimes there are limitations and challenges when adapting real-world stories. It seems that the project was also in the stages of finalizing its casting and here’s hoping that everyone involved with the project gets a chance at another.

    The known cast so far consisted of Dopesick’s Kaitlyn Dever who was going to play the coach’s daughter. They already invested quite a bit of money, as they were hoping to include real soccer players, who they would train their acting abilities. Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch of GLOW fame worked on the script.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter