Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • Winter Soldier and Cloning Labs Heading to ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Later This Year

    Winter Soldier and Cloning Labs Heading to ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Later This Year

    After quite a wait for a new hero, it seems like we’re seeing a lot more updates from Marvel’s Avengers. Not only did we get Jane Foster’s thor as a recent addition to the game, but now the announcement has come that Winter Soldier is also going to become a playable character later this year. They have not given us an exact release, but there are some exciting things heading our way in the upcoming months.

    The update 2.7. will not just include Bucky Barnes but also will see the return of MODOK in the Cloning Labs mission. It was first teased all the way back when the game was about to launch but is finally making its grand arrival in the game. It seems these missions alongside a new one featuring Monica that’ll be part of the September 2.6 release heading our way in September.

    There’s no definite release window for the Winter Soldier update, but it does seem that he’ll arrive before the year ends. No word on how he’ll play exactly but he won’t be an echo character like Jane Foster was. They also highlighted that the new streaming offerings from Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation’s new Plus model gave them quite the boost in new players. So, we might be able to expect a lot more from the game moving forward.

    Source: Forbes

  • ‘She-Hulk’ Director on Allowing Improvisation With CG Characters

    ‘She-Hulk’ Director on Allowing Improvisation With CG Characters

    She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has finally found its way to Disney+, offering Marvel Studios’ first comedy. The big challenge is seemingly creating a classic comedy concept with fully CG characters. Director Kat Coiro points out that same challenge in an interview with Variety, as they had to find a way to make the series stand out visually with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while still playing in a comedic world.

    It’s really about pinpointing those comedic scenes that are about rhythm and banter and dialogue, and allowing those to be shot in the way that traditional comedies are — often cross shooting and allowing actors to improvise. Now, you add to that CG characters, and it’s a whole ‘nother level of complex. When you watch the first episode, you see that Mark [Ruffalo] and Tatiana [Maslany] are bantering.

    Kat Coiro

    She highlights how they found a balance with the VFX, especially in how important it was to be “really prepared” to ensure that they could also have fun with the concept.

    There’s a comedic point of view there. They’re also two CGI characters who require incredible amounts of VFX passes. So it was about being really prepared, knowing exactly how we were going into it, so that we could then allow them space to have fun. That really is the challenge. You have to have fun. To have a comedy, there has to be a sense of playfulness. There has to be a sense of trust that you can improvise and go off script and explore things.

    Kat Coiro

    It definitely sounds like a challenge to go off script with a CG character, especially with the work required to make these characters stand out as realistic as possible. Still, it’s important for a comedy to allow its actors to breathe with the moment-to-moment comedy to add something special to the series. So, it seems they tried their best to have a balance of both.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘She-Hulk’s Head Writer Teases Abomination’s Original Multi-Episode Trial

    ‘She-Hulk’s Head Writer Teases Abomination’s Original Multi-Episode Trial

    Any project goes through various drafts before the camera ever start rollinig. Sometimes things come together as the original pitch is being reworked or when other writers offer input to further develop these projects. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law‘s head writer, Jessica Gao, reveals that she always had planned to include Emili Blonsky in some form, but reveals he originally had a bigger role early on.

    My pitch for the show is pretty close to the show that you’re watching. All the kind of key foundational elements were there: Emil Blonsky/Abomination was always in the pitch. Bruce was always in the pitch. I didn’t know if I could use them. I didn’t know what their relationship was to Abomination anymore. But I thought, you know what? This is what I want — so I’ll just pitch it. Thankfully, they liked all of it.

    Jessica Gao

    It does seem like not too much changed from the original pitch, yet she goes on to highlight that Blonsky’s trial was changed the most, as it originally was going to take part across multiple episodes before they realized the difficulty of keeping a trial interesting for that long.

    When I went in, it definitely skewed a lot more heavily towards Blonsky’s trial. In my original pitch, it was an actual trial and it spanned multiple episodes. When we got into the writers’ room, inevitably things change as you’re developing the show and as you start writing. And one thing that we all realized very slowly was none of us are that adept at writing, you know, rousing trial scenes.

    Jessica Gao

    Now, there’s already a reaction to this honesty from Gao downplaying the value they brought to creating a law comedy. She’s not saying they couldn’t bring together a lawyer show but rather that they were likely struggling to keep the Abomination trial interesting across multiple episodes. Poor wording does make it look rather negative which is easy bait for the usual online discourse.

    Plus, it would’ve restricted them in a corner so they rather focused on their strengths, a show that’s more about a persona balancing their life who happens to be a superhero and lawyer. An important lesson here: always play to your strengths rather than forcing something.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘One Piece Film: RED’ Becomes Franchise’s Highest-Grossing Film in Just 10 Days

    ‘One Piece Film: RED’ Becomes Franchise’s Highest-Grossing Film in Just 10 Days

    Now that’s quite the record. It seems that One Piece Film: RED has already become the highest-grossing film in its cinematic counterpart within just 10 days. Eiichiro Oda‘s iconic manga is no stranger to releasing films and it seems that the return of Shanks has led to the latest entry overtaking One Piece Film Z‘s position in a record time.

    The film’s official Twitter has shared that it already passed 5 million tickets sold and earned around 7 billion yen, which is equivalent to $52.9M. to put that in perspective, Z managed to pull in 6.87M during its run back in 2012. There is speculation that the film’s use of music and topping worldwide charts helped boost the film’s popularity. It’s also not available in all international markets, which will also add to its growth and we’ll see just how big the franchise with a live-action adaptation on the way from Netflix and Tomorrow Studios.

    Of course, there’s also the fact that this sees the return of fan-favorite Shanks in a much bigger role than he’s probably had throughout the entire series’ 25-year run. The announcement of One Piece entering its final saga definitely also shook some fans to their core given just how long it has been going. Perhaps the timing was perfect. As of now, the film is likely going to make around 15 billion yen, which would be ahead of Jujutsu Kaisen 0‘s run but it does seem unlikely it’ll pass Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.

    Source: Crunchyroll

  • Latest Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Castings Hint at Syrup Village Arc

    Latest Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Castings Hint at Syrup Village Arc

    It looks like some small news is trickling out for the live-action Netflix adaptation of One Piece. Matt Owens and Steve Maeda have been busy bringing one of manga’s most iconic stories to life. with the uncertainty surrounding past adaptations, it’s no wonder that some are cautiously optimistic but the set videos and castings have been quite promising. We knew that a shorter runtime would lead to fewer stories being included but it does seem like we’re definitely going to get a flashback for Usopp and the iconic battle of Syrup Village.

    As first shared by @OP_Netflix_Fan first, actress Bianca Oosthuizen has seemingly revealed that she will be taking on the role of Sham, a member of the Kuroneko Pirates. The character might not be as memorable as the many others we meet along the Strawhat’s voyage, but it definitely confirms that we’ll see the Kuroneko pirates make their live-action debut in the series. That is not all, as Chanté Grainger has also seemingly been confirmed as Usopp’s mother, Banchina.

    It should be noted that Oosthuizen also notes that she worked on an episode directed by Emma Sullivan. This reveal adds an interesting question, as we know that she was responsible for the Baratie episode as well. It does seemingly hint that these two arcs may take up an episode each. We don’t know if Baratie could also get split up into two episodes due to how much it covers but we’ll probably have to wait quite a bit longer before we find out.

    As such, it’s safe to say that Syrup Village will be given some time during the show’s runtime. It does make you wonder how they might adapt some elements of Usopp’s origin and how he joins the crew, as it’s one of the lesser liked arcs in the storyline. Still, their addition does keep us tied until we get some more official news whenever we get our next major casting announcement for some big roles.

    Source: Pursch Artistes, Spotlight

  • ‘She-Hulk’: Mark Ruffalo Teases Tatiana Maslany’s Return in Next ‘Avengers’ Film

    ‘She-Hulk’: Mark Ruffalo Teases Tatiana Maslany’s Return in Next ‘Avengers’ Film

    We’re only a few days away from Tatiana Maslany premiering as She-Hulk on her new Disney+ series. She’ll be joined by Mark Ruffalo‘s return as Hulk, who has been a fixture throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s runtime. It seemed like a no-brainer that he’d continue to keep the role alive and maybe even appear in a future Avengers film, but he has now accidentally also confirmed that Tatiana Maslany is definitely going to appear in the one of the two upcoming Avenger movies.

    He doesn’t really give away which one it’ll be, but he goes on to highlight that “there’s not going to be another Avengers without her,” which would hint at a potential return to the role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty that will release in 2025. There’s also the already confirmed sequel of Secret Wars which is set to follow just a few months later; though things can always change until then.

    It’s fun how Mark Ruffalo continues to stay true to his leaking ways. Almost a shame Tom Holland wasn’t around to help him and add a few more casting confirmations. Still, it does make sense that they’d set her up to return in an upcoming project like Avengers. We might even see her in other shows, as introducing a heroic lawyer does open up many ways of bringing her into the fold. Whatever the case might be, the MCU is continuing to open up in interesting ways.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Directors to Tackle Big Thunder Mountain Movie for Disney

    ‘Hawkeye’ Directors to Tackle Big Thunder Mountain Movie for Disney

    The theme park adaptations continue as Disney has set their eyes on bringing the classic attraction of Big Thunder Mountain to life. Not only that, it seems they already have two directors attached, which are Bert and Bertie. They’ve both recently worked with the House of Mouse on the Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye series, where they offered some of the series’ best.

    They are also set to write the script with Scott Free and LuckyChap Entertainment in a producing role. It’ll create a story around the 1979 Disneyland ride, which is set to have a new version released. It features a mine cart ride through a mining town on the search for gold, it is probably one of their most iconic theme park rides to date.

    There isn’t a word exactly on how they will try to wrap a story around this simple premise, but the studio has done it before. Pirates of the Caribbean is definitely the standout franchise from this theme park adaptation wave, but they also recently had a hit with Jungle Cruise and are working on another attempt at The Haunted Mansion. It’ll be interesting to see how they’ll bring the project to life and what Bert & Bertie bring to the table of this adaptation.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Star Wars Visions’ Producer on Going Beyond Anime With Volume 2

    ‘Star Wars Visions’ Producer on Going Beyond Anime With Volume 2

    Many were relieved when it was announced that Star Wars Visions would return for a second season. The animation anthology became quite the hit with its unique take on the iconic franchise. Not only did it offer small stories that each brought something new to the table, but it also included some truly fantastic animation. Many were surprised when the announcement dropped that the second volume would go beyond Japan, but it seems that is exactly the intention of executive producer James Waugh.

    The first anthology is anime because we all loved the style of it, but personally my intention for Visions was to always let it be a more broad palette, because there’s so much great animation work going on in the world. There’s so many interesting voices in all sorts of other mediums that are really focused on animation right now. And we really wanted it to be, in a way, a “sub-brand” that allowed for different creators to come celebrate Star Wars from their own unique cultural perspective.

    James Waugh

    The animation varies from country to country, and opening up the possibility of other countries contributing does add something that’ll make the next season stand out.

    And so Visions volume two is sort of a global tour of some of the most interesting animation studios on a global level. We have studios from Africa, Chile, England, Ireland, France, India… and the guiding light there was that we wanted their storytelling to be a reflection of what Star Wars meant in their culture, but also a reflection of the myths and stories that could only come out of their cultural context. Spring next year is currently where we’re targeting and I think it’s an absolutely beautiful anthology.

    James Waugh

    Luckily, spring isn’t too far away anymore and it’ll b exciting to see what stories will get explored, especially how the individual mythologies play into the storytelling approach. It also opens up the possibility of many more new stories to join the anthology over many years to come, which is always an exciting prospect for this varied galaxy far far away.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘The Flash’s Ezra Miller Breaks Silence on Recent Events

    ‘The Flash’s Ezra Miller Breaks Silence on Recent Events

    There’s been a lot of controversy surrounding The Flash star Ezra Miller, especially due to continued accusations that have reached a threshold of many wondering what the future has in store for the film. Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision to cancel Batgirl with the controversies surrounding The Flash star had many baffled and there were even hints on how they might tackle it.

    It seems that something is happening now after all, as Miller has broken the silence on his recent behavior as revealed by Variety. It seems that he has opened up about the legal issues and accusations. He seemingly apologizes for his behavior and highlights that he’s back towards a “healthy, safe and productive stage” of his life.

    The future of The Flash has been a massive question mark, especially with the controversies surrounding its stars. It was already pushed back by an entire year; ironic given just how often the project seemingly was postponed before it even got a chance to start production. After going through many directors and writers, the drama surrounding the project seemingly just added to its issues. We’ll have to see how they handle it moving forward and if this is their first attempt at repairing the PR surrounding the project.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘She-Hulk’ Actress Teases Wong’s Unorthodox New Friend

    ‘She-Hulk’ Actress Teases Wong’s Unorthodox New Friend

    We all knew that Wong is making his return in the upcoming She-Hulk: Attorney at Law series. We don’t know exactly how he’ll fit into the greater narrative, or if he’ll simply have a case that needs to be solved by Jennifer Walters. Either way, it does seem like one thing will change for the Sorcerer Supreme, he’s going to make a rather unorthodox friend in the upcoming series.

    As revealed during the Disney+ series’ premiere, actress Patty Guggenheim revealed that she is playing a character named Madisynn, who was recently hinted at in a promo for the She-Hulk series. She reveals that her character and Wong will become friends in a way and she eve calls him “Wongers” throughout their time together.

    It definitely sounds like Wong won’t have it easy in the upcoming series, especially if she is involved with whatever case he gets dragged into. It’s funny to see someone who has become the Sorcerer Supreme that has to deal with things beyond the usual world-ending threats. It’ll be interesting to see how his story plays out when the Disney+ series releases later this week.

    Tatiana Maslany will lead a new cast of characters that’ll offer a more legal look at the world that Marvel Studios has built since 2008 with the first Iron Man. It’ll be interesting to see how they set-up this part of the MCU and how it might even expand beyond what we know so far.

    Source: Twitter