Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • Hulu’s ‘Futurama’ Episode Titles Revealed, Teases Storylines and Returning Characters

    Hulu’s ‘Futurama’ Episode Titles Revealed, Teases Storylines and Returning Characters

    Futurama is back, baby! Well, at least again as Hulu has given the series another season exclusive for the streaming service. The former Fox series went through quite some growing pains when the voice of Bender, John DiMaggio, didn’t sign on yet to return but luckily things ended up working out contractually. So, the entire cast is set to reprise their iconic roles once again in the returning series.

    While we haven’t gotten many details on how they’ll approach the new season, especially with how the last season wrapped up, Hulu has shared the official episode titles. ScreenRant was able to share them with us and offered a little insight into what stories we might expect in the Hulu continuation.

    Check out the list of episodes right here:

    • “The Impossible Stream,”
    • “Rage Against The Vaccine,”
    • “Zapp Gets Cancelled,”
    • “The Prince And The Product,”
    • “Related To Items You’ve Viewed,”
    • “Children Of A Lesser Bog,”
    • “How The West Was 1010001,”
    • “I Know What You Did Last Xmas,”
    • “Parasites Regained,”
    • “All The Way Down.”

    The titles definitely tease the usual self-referential nature of the project. “The Impossible Stream” definitely sounds like they’ll play on the fact that the series returned through a streaming service while “Rage Against the Vaccine” will definitely talk about current issues that are raging. Zapp Brannigan’s episode also sounds quite timely and it’ll be interesting to revisit the character with a more updated perspective. It’ll definitely be fun to see what the team has cooked up for us.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • Netflix’s ‘Resident Evil’ Won’t Return for Season 2

    Netflix’s ‘Resident Evil’ Won’t Return for Season 2

    Netflix has decided not to move forward with its Resident Evil series, which will end with only one season that was made available back on July 14th. The series hasn’t had a strong following as the streamer hoped for, as it wasn’t dominating its Top 10 category and it seems that the viewing numbers just weren’t there either. To be fair, the idea of releasing anything after the monolith that is Stranger Things also didn’t help and undercut the project’s release which hit a decent 72.7M hours viewed at the #2 spot. It didn’t quite get the word-of-mouth they may have hoped as it dropped in its second weekend and was no longer in the Top 10 after three weeks.

    Netflix’s model isn’t very friendly to new projects starting out, as their expectations are extremely high for any project, and the higher the budget, the more retention it needs to show. Even The Sandman which has had one of the slowest drops for any series may not get a renewal simply for how high the expectations are for this project. There is still quite a bit out there for those looking for their fill, but keep that in mind that binging the show and keeping it high is important to keep it going. Wednesday, One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and more are good contenders for more IP-based offerings with growing potential.

    Resident Evil was created by Andrew Dabb and takes place 14 years after the virus hit. We explore Jade’s story, the daughter of Albert Wesker, as she uncovers the connections between her father and the Umbrella Corporation. While the series had some creative elements, it didn’t quite go viral as The Sandman did with most people pointing out the random dancing sequence, which ended up getting shared on social media platforms like Tik Tok. It also shows that an IP name doesn’t ensure success for these projects.

    Source: Deadline

  • Ezra Miller Met With Warner Bros. Executives to Ensure ‘The Flash’ Isn’t Scrapped

    Ezra Miller Met With Warner Bros. Executives to Ensure ‘The Flash’ Isn’t Scrapped

    DC and Warner Bros. Discovery are in the headlines for many different reasons. While mostly the reception to whatever WB is currently up to has been quite negative, the drama surrounding Ezra Miller wasn’t helping. After scandals started piling on, many feared or wondered what exactly the future has in store for the long-in-development The Flash film. As it turns out, Miller has now had a sit-down with the studio executives to discuss everything that has been going on.

    There are no exact details on what was discussed in the meeting, but given the recent circumstances, it’s not hard to imagine. They sat down with executives Pam Abdy and Michael De Luca joined by their agent, who recently took over the motion picture division from Toby Emmerich. As many different issues are coming together and a project with a massive budget of $250M is on the line, there’s a lot to ensure.

    It seems that the potential scrapping of the project has also pushed Miller to seek help, which is a good sign and shows how committed they are to the character. It seems this was the first time they’ve talked since they took over the division especially as the film is still in its post-production stage. Warner Bros. Discovery believes in the project as it has tested as high as Christopher Nolan‘s Batman films, which is definitely something they are striving to ensure makes its way into theaters. So, here’s hoping everything works out moving forward.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • RUMOR: Amazon May Have Purchased Electronic Arts

    RUMOR: Amazon May Have Purchased Electronic Arts

    Here’s a shocker if it turns out to be true. According to GLHF (via USA Today), Electronic Arts may have been purchased by Amazon. Supposedly, the announcement would follow at some point today, which is perfect timing given how future games are being discussed during GamesCom throughout the week. There are no exact details yet but rumors have been making the rounds for some time that EA was looking for a buyer with Apple and Disney as other alternative buyers.

    Amazon has long been trying to move into the gaming market with a stronger dominance and game adaptations have turned out quite successful for one of its main competitors, Netflix. The Witcher and Arcane are iconic franchises brought to life and EA’s library may open up plenty more opportunities for them to do the same. It also continues the trend of media markets being way more streamlined as even larger companies are facing quite a few troubles in the modern landscape.

    Right now, there’s no confirmation that this purchase has taken place but it would definitely be a big move similar to how Microsoft recently purchased Bethesda for $7.5 billion. Investments are all the rage right now as many races to get their hands on the next major intellectual property. We’ll have to see how this potentially also influences EA’s future releases, especially their big titles like Madden, FIFA, Apex Legends, and more.

    Source: USA Today

  • Neil Gaiman Purposefully Leaked ‘The Sandman’ Script to Ensure it Wouldn’t Be Filmed

    Neil Gaiman Purposefully Leaked ‘The Sandman’ Script to Ensure it Wouldn’t Be Filmed

    Neil Gaiman is living the life as he’s had one successful adaptation after the other. Netflix has just recently released the live-action adaptation of The Sandman, something many believed was unadaptable. It’s been quite a success for the streamer and Gaiman has been busy promoting the release. Yet, in a recent interview, the writer revealed that he purposefully leaked the script of an earlier Hollywood adaptation to ensure that it wouldn’t be adapted. According to Gaiman, he believed “it was the worst script” he’s ever read.

    It was the worst script that I’ve ever read by anybody. A guy in Jon Peters’ office phoned me up and he said, ‘So Neil, have you had a chance to read the script we sent you?’ And I said, ‘Well, yes. Yes, I did. I haven’t read all of it, but I’ve read enough.’ He says, ‘So, pretty good. Huh?’ And I said, ‘Well, no. It really isn’t.’ He said, ‘Oh, come on. There must have been stuff in there you loved.’ I said, ‘There was nothing in there I loved. There was nothing in there I liked. It was the worst script that I’ve ever read by anybody. It’s not just the worst Sandman script. That was the worst script I’ve ever been sent.

    Neil Gaiman

    There’s a hilarious trend in the one he mentions, as it was by infamous Wild Wild West producer Jon Peters, who almost tried to force a giant spider into an earlier draft of a Superman pitch by Kevin Smith before a mechanical spider made its debut in the Will Smith film. It seems that it had its origins in The Sandman adaptation that Gaiman sent to Ain’t It Cool New.

    It had giant mechanical spiders in it… Lucifer, Morpheus and the Corinthian were identical triplets. They were a family of identical brothers, and it was all a race to see who could get the ruby, the helm and the bag of sand before midnight on 1999, before the new millennium started, because whoever got it would be the winner. That was the plot.

    Neil Gaiman

    It’s not every day that you see someone takes matters into their own hands to avoid an obvious trainwreck but Gaiman wasn’t going to let his franchise be dismantled this way. There’s also something hilarious about Peters‘ obsession with a giant mechanized spider being in one of his films. Luckily, his action did end up avoiding it getting made.

    Source: Variety

  • First Look at ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Steelbook; Four Deleted Scenes Revealed

    First Look at ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Steelbook; Four Deleted Scenes Revealed

    Thor: Love and Thunder‘s Disney+ release has been recently confirmed for September to celebrate Disney+ Day. For those that like to collect these projects physically, the wait for that release is luckily not too long after. The digital release is set for September 9th with the physical one planned for September 27th. It’ll be made available with on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD.

    ScreenRant has also shared a first look at the movie’s cover art for the Steelbook available at Best Buy. It’ll feature the poster designs featuring Jane Foster and Thor in their iconic pose from the comics. The interior even includes the yelling goats pulling the chariot in a clever design replicating the boat we see in the Marvel Studios film.

    The Blu-ray will include a gag reel and audio commentary from Taika Waititi. There are also three featurettes included by the titles of Hammer-Worthy: Thor and The Mighty Thor, Shaping a Villain, and Another Classic Taika Adventure. There are also four deleted scenes included, such as the team looking for Zeus, two scenes spending more time with Star-Lord and Mantis, as well as a potential alternative sequence of Zeus passing on his weapon to Thor.

    It’ll be interesting to see if we get a different side of Zeus in these deleted scenes, but it’s curious they left out some of the confirmed scenes of Gorr’s bloody path of killing all gods. It seems like they aren’t including them so it’s not an option for people considering it as canon given the gruesome fate of some Thor veteran characters.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • Episode Count for ‘Stranger Things’ Final Season Revealed

    Episode Count for ‘Stranger Things’ Final Season Revealed

    After a successful fourth season on Netflix, it’s bizarre to think that work is only just really getting going on the final season of Stranger Things. Shortly after its release, the official writers’ account on Twitter revealed that they started work on the fifth and (sadly) final season of the Netflix cult hit.

    Now, they have shared a new update as it seems like they are now grinding out the upcoming final season of Stranger Things. Of course, they aren’t teasing any plot lines or even characters but it definitely looks like they are only steps away from starting work on the episodes. What is surprising though is that this may have confirmed that the final season will consist of eight episodes.

    Of course, things might change as they prepare the episodes and various plotlines but it does seem safe to say that eight episodes is what they are currently going for with the release. The series creators, the Duffer brothers, have hinted that they are avoiding another nine-episode season and trying to keep it smaller in the last season. While we’ll have to wait quite a bit until we get more details on what exactly the season has to offer, it looks like things are finally moving along for the final confrontation between Vecna and Eleven.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘One Piece’ Director Promises “Great Fights” Alongside “Tears and Laughter”

    ‘One Piece’ Director Promises “Great Fights” Alongside “Tears and Laughter”

    While it’s unclear just how long the wait might be until the series finally releases on Netflix, One Piece director Marc Jobst has taken to his Twitter account to hype up what the show has to offer Many long-time One Piece fans will know that while the action is a big part of the franchise, the love that many have for the project comes down to the emotional moments. Jobst made sure to highlight that we’ll definitely get all three in the upcoming series.

    It certainly sounds promising if they can truly bring these elements together the way they intend. A while ago, now-showrunner Matt Owens joined the online One Piece community to highlight that these elements are definite when adapting Eiichiro Oda‘s original work that’s been running for 25 years.

    The Netflix series has been slowly wrapping up production, as most of the main cast have seemingly already made their way home. Just earlier today, Sanji actor Taz Skylar shared a heartfelt post on Instagram thanking everyone he had a chance to work with on the production, highlighting just how close the team has grown throughout the production of Netflix’s One Piece.

    There’s no definite release date or even window for the series; which Netflix commonly only confirms just a few months before it is set to release. Though they started promoting it even before they showed anything from their other big IP adaptation, Avatar: The Last Airbender. With a cast and crew that came together like a family echoing how Oda approaches his stories, it seems it is in good hands.

    Source: Instagram, Twitter

  • ‘She-Hulk’s Mark Ruffalo Teases Hulk’s Future in the MCU

    ‘She-Hulk’s Mark Ruffalo Teases Hulk’s Future in the MCU

    Mark Ruffalo makes his return in She-Hulk, Attorney at Law, which further explores his time as Smart Hulk and living with the consequences of his own actions. We get the perfect juxtaposition with Tatiana Maslany‘s Jennifer Walters just trying to live a normal life as much as possible. Still, her life is flipped upside down when a Sakaaran ship appears out of nowhere.

    While it’s the main catalyst for her transformation into She-Hulk, the second episode of the Disney+ series also revealed that there might be some unfinished business for our favorite former Gladiator. Many have their theories, especially with rumors of a World War Hulks project in development, but Variety got the chance to ask Ruffalo directly, who shared his thoughts on returning to Sakaar.

    I don’t know. It certainly does suggest that. There has been some conversations about what happened in the two years where Hulk abandoned Banner and the Avengers [on Sakaar], and the emergence of Smart Hulk, which hasn’t ever fully been answered. I think maybe we’ve given four sentences to that time period since then. It’s really an interesting, exciting part of the Hulk story and Banner story.

    Mark Ruffalo

    he also highlights that he could imagine exploring the idea of Planet Hulk or World War Hulk at one point in the storyline, and the ship sighting may be setting that very future up.

    I do think that the trip to Sakaar is a good place to start and what that means to the idea of what the fans have been asking for — this idea of Planet Hulk or World War Hulk or just the journey that Banner and Hulk have to make to come to peace with each other. That’s really interesting to me, and I do feel like there is some interest in exploring that down the line.

    Mark Ruffalo

    Whatever the future may have in store for Hulk, it definitely looks like he’s here to stay. Alongside Thor and Hawkeye, they make up the rest of the original Avengers, and with two films confirmed in the future, we’ll see if they might be the ones to unite the team against its newest threat.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Drawn Together’ Writers to Adapt IDW’s Upcoming Comic ‘Family Time’

    ‘Drawn Together’ Writers to Adapt IDW’s Upcoming Comic ‘Family Time’

    It looks like the writing duo Matt Silverstein and Dave Jeser, known for their work on Drawn Together, Accidental Love, and Solar Opposites, are going to adapt the IDW comic Family Time. The writer James Asmus (Quantum and Woody) is also attached alongside artist Edison Neo (Snake Claws). The sci-fi comedy will be a co-development deal as they’re working on a television series and original comic book property, as the series is set to get released next summer. IDW publisher Nachie Marsham has the following to say on the project:

    At IDW, we are perfectly poised to develop properties that live in the same universe, across various platforms. We’re thrilled that our first Entertainment and Publishing co-development project is with Matt and Dave; their comedic talent is off-the-charts. We know their vast background, combined with IDW’s robust expertise, will produce great content, both in print and on-screen.

    Nachie Marsham

    Executive Vice President of IDW Entertainment, Paul Davison, also had the following to say on the project:

    Working in tandem with our colleagues at every level within our Entertainment and Publishing divisions brings a wealth of opportunities for writers, producers, and other creatives to develop projects across various verticals simultaneously. It’s an ideal landscape for a creator’s vision to be realized.

    Paul Davison

    It sounds like an exciting project and it’ll be interesting to see how it comes together, especially how they’ll have the tie-in comic play into how they adapt this project.

    Source: Deadline