Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • First ‘Venom 3’ Set Photos Reveal ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Connection

    First ‘Venom 3’ Set Photos Reveal ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Connection

    There have been some leaked images from the set of Venom 3 as production finally started, but it was hard to make out what exactly was happening in these scenes. Some theorized that Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock was wearing the same outfit that we saw in the post-credit sequence of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which brought the symbiote into the mainline Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Now, Hardy has unveiled the first image from the set, which confirmed the connection. So, it seems safe to say that the film takes place directly after Brock’s return from the MCU in his original dimension. We still don’t know if this is the same universe where Morbius and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film take place, but it means we’ll get to explore the fallout of these events. Who knows if it might even tease a potential multiversal storyline?

    We’ll have to wait a bit longer until we know how exactly it might tie into the events, but also if they will stick with whatever they are shooting. Who knows how much things will change once the WGA strike comes to an end and they are compensated as they should be? Of course, they may just be sticking to the first draft that was finished some time ago, but all that remains a mystery for some time moving forward.

    Source: Instagram

  • Emily Rudd Shares How She Got Into ‘One Piece’

    Emily Rudd Shares How She Got Into ‘One Piece’

    Netflix just recently unveiled the first teaser trailer for One Piece, which is their next major release besides the return of The Witcher. With 3 Body Problem and Avatar: The Last Airbender postponed until 2024, it’s their last major push for the year. And, they went all out during TUDUM where Decider’s Raven Brunner got a chance to interview the actress Emily Rudd, who plays Nami in the series.

    She got the chance to sit down and talk to the actress about the dream opportunity of playing an iconic character like Nami. In the interview, she shared how she ended up meeting showrunner Matt Owens and how he was a big part of her getting into the series. also, he seemingly set his mind on getting One Piece to Netflix when he pitched it for her to check out.

    I’ve always known about One Piece – it’s a massive IP – but I didn’t start watching [the show] until I met our showrunner, Matt Owens, who has been my best friend for the last six years. We are with the same agency and they said, “Hey, you’re both nerds – go have coffee, chat it out.” And we did. He was like, “Yeah, I think I’m going to bring One Piece to Netflix. You should watch it if you haven’t.” And I was like “Okay, yeah, I’ll dive into 1000 plus episodes.” But I did.

    Emily Rudd

    She goes on to highlight that she hasn’t quite caught up with the anime, she definitely read all the manga. Rudd also highlighted how different it is for her reading the iconic journey of the Straw Hats compared to the anime.

    Well, I read all the manga. I’m still working on the anime. There’s something about reading where I feel like the information is going into my brain in a very healthy way, and then with the anime, I was getting distracted.

    Emily Rudd

    The big selling point of this show is the way the cast interact with each other. Many of the cast members seem to just be the characters they will portray in the live-action sequence. Rudd highlights that they spent a lot of time together, but highlights she was with Inaki Godoy quite a bit due to seeing him like a little brother.

    We all kind of spent time with each other equally, but I spent a lot of time with Iñaki [Godoy] and we definitely developed this older-sister-younger-brother dynamic. He’s 19 and I am not, so I felt a little protective of him. But, also he’s so energetic, so playful — it’s infectious. We created silly little bits that we just milked to death. 

    Emily Rudd

    It definitely sounds like they had a lot of fun behind the scenes. Going by a lot of the promotional material so far, the group’s dynamic is quite infectious. One can see that Netflix also saw the potential and is definitely not holding back with promoting the show with videos of them just hanging out. Here’s hoping the wait for the next trailer isn’t too far off so we can get a good look at how they are together on screen.

    Source: Decider

  • Netflix Unveils ‘One Piece’ Collaboration with S.H.Figuarts

    Netflix Unveils ‘One Piece’ Collaboration with S.H.Figuarts

    Early on during the production of the live-action One Piece series, Netflix hinted that they want it to become their next major Stranger Things. Of course, they hope the show becomes a major player on the app that makes good use of the original stories’ many years worth of story to tell, they also had a different hope which is seemingly coming true.

    Tamashii Nations’ action figure brand S.H.Figuarts has unveiled that they are working on a collaboration with the live-action One Piece series. That means we’re getting some high-quality figurines based on the iconic take of these live-action takes. The timing is also perfect, as they also revealed our first look will be available at the upcoming Anime Expo 2023 this weekend.

    This collaboration is likely just the first, as YouTooz who already hinted at a figurine based on Inaki Godoy’s Monkey D. Luffy. So, we might expect an announcement soon or perhaps they are still trying to build up the reveal ahead of the weekend. Who knows if this also expands to potential figurines based on the iconic ships or various landmarks from the live-action take. Netflix is certainly all-in for this project to work.

    As mentioned previously, One Piece wants it to be the next Stranger Things and that means they want it to sell merchandise. A lot of major projects don’t just live off of their viewership, similar to how Squid Game became a massive success with the various merch even though it has only released a single season so far. If there is any project that has the potential, it definitely is One Piece.

    Source: Instagram, YouTooz

  • New ‘One Piece’ Website Teases Netflix’s Take on the Marines

    New ‘One Piece’ Website Teases Netflix’s Take on the Marines

    Netflix has been heavily promoting the upcoming live-action One Piece series. They invested a lot and are not holding back on promoting it, which gave us some posters early in the year leading up to a trailer reveal during TUDUM. Shortly after the event, with a release in late August on the horizon, we got a new special website for those wanting to join the live-action Straw Hats on Netflix. The biggest addition is that it also includes some rather curious teases for the series.

    The website strawhatgrandfleet.com gives you a chance to sign up and become a “Nakama” of the Straw Hat’s Grand Fleet (a great reference to the manga). In the background, you can see various posters that are likely part of the show with a showcase of some curious references. ‘s backgrounds. They paint a good picture of how this pirate-infested world is living and that perhaps the Marines aren’t as much of our friends as one thinks.

    The biggest tease is that the “World Government” is included by name with a Big Brother poster. Those eyes even include little swirls that might be a reference to a recent reveal. They are warning many pirates throughout while also highlighting “Absolute Justice,” which is an iconic tagline of a major character we don’t meet until much later in the storyline. It looks like we’ll see a lot of propaganda throughout the series which also feels like a fitting way to adapt the Marines in a Western live-action adaptation that has similar experiences with police.

    The best little inclusion is the Tangerine Juice poster that has the name of Belle-Mère, who is an important character for Nami. If you look closely, there are also some Wanted posters for unknown characters. Though, the posters are quite close to the ones we see in the manga, which is a great little touch. You can even see the Berry symbol in the left bottom corner. Here’s hoping we have more to see in the coming weeks.

    Source: One Piece

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Heading to a Soft $65M Domestic Opening Weekend

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Heading to a Soft $65M Domestic Opening Weekend

    Indiana Jones is a household name and while it’s a franchise that has way more breaks between releases than others, the nostalgia factor alone would seem like the perfect draw for audiences. Yet, it seems that even Harrison Ford’s return to the iconic role isn’t going to be putting a lot of butts in the cinemas. As of now, the film seems to be heading to a $65M opening weekend in 4,500 theaters.

    Globally, it’s not looking too much larger as it’s heading towards $80M with a potential total of $150M worldwide. Now, that isn’t a terrible start mind you but the issue lies in the fact that the film costs around $295M. That is excluding marketing and promotion costs, which makes it the most expensive entry in the franchise. So, the film has a long shot at turning a profit.

    It’s also set to open below Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which pulled in $100M in May of 2008. That film went on to make $790M globally and remains the highest-grossing entry of the franchise. James Mangold is taking over from Steven Spielberg with Dial of Destiny, but it seems a mixed reception from critics due to a risky Cannes showcase that may be backfiring on Disney and Lucasfilm.

    The film could still make a decent amount but it would need to make at least 600M to cover its production budget with another 200M minimum to cover its marketing budget, which might be far more expensive than we think. So, it’s a high gamble from Disney and who knows if they’ll be willing to do the same. This lower opening also continues to highlight that what some are trying to call superhero fatigue is affecting the entire blockbuster scene. Did theaters overestimate how ready audiences are set to return?

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Prey’ Director Joins ‘Stranger Things’ Final Season

    ‘Prey’ Director Joins ‘Stranger Things’ Final Season

    While Stranger Things’ final season is still on hold until the writer’s strike ends, it looks like some plans are still being put into motion. As first reported by One TAke News, Dan Trachtenberg who famously directed the Predator prequel Prey and 10 Cloverfield Lane, will join the upcoming fifth season as a director. While it’s unclear what episode he is set to tackle or even if he’s going to tackle multiple going in.

    This isn’t his first TV work, as he also was the one who directed the pilot episode for Amazon’s The Boys, and also worked on Netflix’s Black Mirror: Playtest. He’s the second bit of news we got from Netflix recently, as during their TUDUM event it was confirmed that Terminator alum Linda Hamilton is also joining the cast of the sequel. Sadly, it seems like Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to stick to Fubar for now.

    It’ll be interesting to see what exactly their plans are for the final season. While each season paid tribute to different horror genres, such as The Blob in Season 3. Perhaps after teasing the Freddy Krueger influences in its latest season, they might go all-in on a 90s slasher-inspired season. Hamilton joining would be a fun hint at them playing around with a new type of horror.

    Source: One Take News, Empire

  • ‘Secret Invasion’ Outpacing ‘Ms. Marvel’s Viewership

    ‘Secret Invasion’ Outpacing ‘Ms. Marvel’s Viewership

    There’s always been a lot of discussions surrounding what makes a show successful on Disney+. We have very little insight outside of third-party analysis like Samba sharing various viewership numbers from the first five days. Marvel Studios’ latest show, Secret Invasion, has been released and it looks like the show has outpaced Ms. Marvel’s initial release.

    According to Samba TV, the show has been watched by 994K US households within its first five days. That is, as they point out, above Ms. Marvel’s 775K but below the last Diseny+ series, She-Hulk which pulled in around 1.5M. While the difference is big when compared to the sitcom that released last year, it does make sense given that there’s no major character name in the title and it’s more subtle marketing strategy.

    It’s easy to point to the AI drama surrounding its opening title to be a reason it has lower viewership, but we tend to overanalyze these types of discussions in the offline world. Plus, Ms. Marvel is a showing of how not every Marvel show is going to be a massive multi-million release in its first five days; especially as this is just an estimate based on external data. It’s an easy connection point but not hard to say if it truly is a causality; similar to how we underestimate how few know about Ezra Miller’s history when it comes to The Flash’s box office.

    What will be interesting is to see if the viewership numbers rise over the coming weeks, especially with how the series focuses on twists and turns throughout its six-episode season. Shows like Apple TV+ have different metrics, why The Crowded Room opening to 192K households over three days could be a success for that streamer but detrimental to others. A lot of Marvel shows saw viewership rise throughout its multiple episodes and could do the same here as word-of-mouth kicks off from what happens in the latest episodes but only time will tell.

    Source: Twitter, The Direct, Twitter (Crowded Room)

  • BREAKING: James Gunn Has Found His Superman and Lois Lane

    BREAKING: James Gunn Has Found His Superman and Lois Lane

    The wait has finally come to an end. Superman Legacy director James Gunn has seemingly found his leading duo. After weeks of testing, even going as far as last week to having various duos in costume to enact scenes for the film, Gunn has seemingly settled on who David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan to become the leading pair in the first true DC Cinematic Universe film directed and written by the co-CEO of DC Studios.

    Corenswet is taking on a major role for this film, as he’ll not only be in the shadow of Snyderverse’s Henry Cavill but also have to set up the entire DC Cinematic Universe. All their plans ride on the success of this film and it’s no wonder that they went all out to ensure that they have the right duo together to show what this new franchise is all about.

    Corenswet is most known for his break-out role as Ryan Murphy in The Politician. He also has worked on projects like Pearl, We Own This City, and is about to be seen in the Twister sequel, Twisters. Brosnahan has quite the career with her work on projects like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Blacklist, House of Cards, and is currently filming The Amateur. So, they definitely are bringing something new to the table and will hopefully get a good look at them in costume before production starts.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Infinity Train’ Creator Working on ‘Among Us’ Animated Series

    ‘Infinity Train’ Creator Working on ‘Among Us’ Animated Series

    Sus. Looks like the popular game Among Us is heading to CBS Studios in the form of a new animated series. CBS Eye Animation Productions is working together with INnersloth, the developers behind the game, to bring the iconic whodunnit to the small screens.

    Not just that, but they already have a showrunner involved as Owen Dennis is attached as executive producer, who famously created the iconic Infinity Train series. The following logline has been shared:

    Members of your crew have been replaced by an alien shapeshifter intent on causing confusion, sabotaging the ship, and killing everyone. Root out the ‘Impostor’ or fall victim to its murderous designs.

    Big Mouth and Star Trek: Lower Decks‘ production company Titmouse is the main animation studio behind the series. Among Us was originally released in 2018 and managed to pick up speed during the pandemic, as many friends used the game as a way to hang out with their friends throughout the lockdown. It’ll be interesting to see how they bring this simple concept.

    Source: Variety

  • Phoebe Waller-Bridge Wants Her New ‘Tomb Raider’ Series to be “Dangerous”

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge Wants Her New ‘Tomb Raider’ Series to be “Dangerous”

    Before the writer’s strike, Indiana Jones star Phoebe Waller-Bridge was busy working on a new Tomb Raider series. While she is standing in solidarity with them, she still got a chance to share her own excitement of tackling a character that is near and dear to her heart. She does, however, confirm that she did not remain much of a gamer in her youth, as she gamed herself “into the ground”.

    My parents were very smart because they didn’t actually limit me. They could sense that I was going to just game myself into the ground, and I did. I packed the PlayStation away, and I was like, ‘I’ve got to not do that because I’ve got to write and read and do other stuff.’

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge

    Still, the one thing that always stuck with her was the character of Lara Croft. Something about her just stuck with her even if she regrets the way she “changed when they realized that they could market her as a sex symbol.” Still, she wants to use her chance to explore the character in a new way with the upcoming TV series.

    There’s room to do something really quite dangerous. And if I can do something dangerous and exciting with Tomb Raider, I already have an audience of people who love Lara and hopefully will continue to. And that is a very unusual position to be in. It’s the old Trojan horse.

    Phoebe Waller-Bridge

    A “dangerous and exciting” take on Tomb Raider is definitely fitting given how we spend our childhood taking on dinosaurs. So, we definitely want to relieve that thrill that we had when we were kids, but there’s definitely a challenge in another adaptation of Lara Croft. Many still hold true to the iconic version portrayed by Angeline Jolie. So, there’s quite a bit of pressure on whoever will take on the task.

    Source: Vanity Fair