Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • RUMOR: Possible Leaked Footage Offers First Look at Long-Rumored ‘Persona 3’ Remake

    RUMOR: Possible Leaked Footage Offers First Look at Long-Rumored ‘Persona 3’ Remake

    A Persona 3 remake has always been something fans of the Atlus franchise joked around about. Not only because technically there are three other Persona entries that have yet to receive much love since the PSP era but also due to the many rumors that have lit a little spark of hope throughout the years. Still, the concept of an actual remake with Persona 5‘s engine has picked up quite a bit of steam as of late with a new rumor sparking the conversation earlier this year and we may have even gotten our first look at the project.

    While not officially confirmed, user @AVtoGAMEnoYAMI has taken to Twitter and shared some footage of Yukari Takeba shooting her arrows at a shadow. Out of context, it looked like an impressive fan-made concept, especially as we don’t see her using an Evoker (the gun they point at themselves) and she also is seemingly using a bow from a Persona than something that was provided in the game. Plus, you don’t see the SEES armband either or any hint at the group.

    https://twitter.com/AVtoGAMEnoYAMI/status/1644990912328798208

    Yet, the animation looks well done, the background is definitely Tartarus, and with the many rumors, it just feels like a curious timing to leak. What adds weight to it potentially being real is the fact that an additional showcase included the long-rumored Jet Set Radio sequel and most notably Beta footage of Sonic Frontier with a boss that was only confirmed to exist in concept art and never made it into the final game.

    Supposedly this is footage that was shared initially 2021 during an internal meeting held in 2021, which would match with one of the earliest hints that Atlus might be working on trying to bring many of its iconic IPs back with remasters or remakes as first hints were given in 2020 of this new development (still waiting for Tales of Arcadia).

    There’s a chance that what we’re seeing above was just a pitch visual using some minimal visuals to showcase the idea of remastering the game or an early test build that didn’t include all details. Of course, it also still remains a mystery and hasn’t been given a DMCA by Sega since it leaked online which means it might not be true (though they also may not want to raise any flags by doing so either).

    For now, it’s just a rumor and if it turns out to be fan-made, it is extremely well done. Sadly the recent live stream that was hinted at in March was mostly about the Blu-ray release and an additional artbook from the stageplay inspired by the Persona series. So, who knows just how long we’ll have to wait for an actual game announcement but rumors pointed to Persona 3‘s remake hitting this year. So, all eyes will be on Summer Game Fest and whatever PlayStation stream is heading our way as some others believe reveals are “a ways off.”

    Source: Twitter, Twitter

  • SWCE: Lucasfilm CEO Offers Update on Rian Johnson and Taika Waititi’s ‘Star Wars’ Films

    SWCE: Lucasfilm CEO Offers Update on Rian Johnson and Taika Waititi’s ‘Star Wars’ Films

    Star Wars Celebration came with an announcement of an entire trilogy of new Star Wars films. Yet, it once again leaves us with quite a few questions surrounding the ones that have been announced. Recent reports hinted that quite a few planned films were scrapped and even the latest announced film just lost its writer. So, there’s a lack of hope that they’d truly move forward with their projects.

    Luckily, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy was able to offer some insight into where they stand with those films. It seems that the Rian Johnson trilogy that was announced a while back is pretty much on hold for eternity, as Johnson is busy with the Glass Onion sequel and seemingly has no interest to return anytime soon.

    Rian and I talk all the time. He is unbelievably busy. So we’re not actively involved in anything at the moment because he’s doing another one of the ‘Glass Onion’ movies and then God knows what else. But he really wants to step back into the space. It’s a big commitment of time, so that’s really on him.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    In regard to Taika Waititi’s mysterious film, she only stated that he is actively working don’t he’s script all on his own. After Thor: Love and Thunder’s reception, there might be some concern he might take the franchise into a goofier direction given his “very, very unique voice” but it seems they won’t be getting involved until he is ready to direct it.

    Taika is still working away. He’s writing the script himself. He doesn’t really want to bring others into that process and I don’t blame him. He has a very, very unique voice. So we want to protect that and that’s what he’s doing. But we’re going to make that one day.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    It’s definitely interesting to know that at least Waititi’s project is seemingly moving forward, but it is strange that they won’t just outright state that they have no more plans for Johnson’s trilogy. By the time they actually get films out, his project might even be superfluous given whatever his initial goals were with the project. Of course, perhaps them actually pushing out films might inspire him to once again give it his full attention. For now, we can only continue to wait and see if the franchise actually returns to theaters.

    Source: Variety

  • SWCE: Currently No Plans for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Season 2

    SWCE: Currently No Plans for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Season 2

    Obi-Wan Kenobi was a unique entry in Star Wars’ Disney+ saga, as it moved away from the show that kicked off the long-form storytelling era of Lucasfilm, but also refocused on a major character from the original Prequel trilogy. Ewan McGregor returned to the role and explored what happened to the former Jedi Master after the Empire started emerging from the ashes of his own failures.

    In an interview with Kathleen Kennedy, the CEO of Lucasfilm, she revealed that while McGregor is quite eager to do another season of Obi-Wan Kenobi, they currently have no real plans to move forward. It was originally imagined as a limited series by showrunner Deborah Chow, there’s also no necessity to move forward as the initial story was wrapped up in the original vision of the series.

    That is not an active development. But I never say never, because there’s always the possibility. That show was so well-received and [director] Deborah Chow did such a spectacular job. Ewan McGregor really wants to do another. Everybody’s all hands on deck with what we’re doing right now, as you can see by what we showed everybody [at the Celebration]. We’ll turn our attention to that again maybe down the road.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    It’s definitely interesting that they are keeping the door open to potentially explore more within this corner of the galaxy, but it does seem like there’s no real necessity. The quiet reunion between the padawan and his former master adds a nice little bow to Kenobi’s story that pushes him forward even with the uncertainty of the future. It would be exciting to know what he was up to after protecting the Skywalkers but perhaps it’s best to leave that to our imagination.

    Source: Variety

  • SWCE: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Will Return for Season 2

    SWCE: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Will Return for Season 2

    Star Wars Celebration is the event that keeps on giving, as another piece of news has arrived that Tales of the Jedi is set to receive a second season. The announcement came from its creator Dave Filoni, who has slowly taken over a larger and larger role in supervising the future of the franchise. Not only is he set to direct a film that’ll culminate all the series that spun out of The Mandalorian, but generally continues his work on the animated entries of the franchise.

    He jokingly only stated that the animated anthology series “was so fun the first time, I decided to do some more” during the panel on the 15th anniversary of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There are no details on what the next season will focus on, as the first one consisted of six episodes that split the story between Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku’s early days.

    There’s a chance we might get to spend some more time with familiar Jedi from the franchise’s past, but it does seem his focus remains with those from The Clone Wars era. It would be great if they use this anthology series to potentially add some depth to our favorites from the sequel era, especially now that Daisy Ridley is set to return in the near future with a new sequel to the sequel trilogy.

    Source: Twitter, Star Wars

  • ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ to Dehtrone ‘Frozen 2’ as the Biggest Animated Opening Ever

    ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ to Dehtrone ‘Frozen 2’ as the Biggest Animated Opening Ever

    After that initial critical reception, it seems audiences do not care at all how people viewed The Super Mario Bros. Movie as it is on its path to becoming the biggest animated opening weekend ever. Going by now, its projection is pushing the film towards an impressive $195M domestic opening but what will truly make it the biggest release yet is that it’ll probably end its global bow over a 5-day weekend at $368M.

    The title was previously held by Frozen 2, which opened globally to $358M. It’s an impressive feat for the latest Illumination film that also made quite a bang last year with its Minions sequel almost making a billion and becoming one of the year’s biggest releases. The studio’s approach to animation may not be welcomed by critics, but it certainly works for audiences.

    There’s a lot of discussion surrounding the latest performances by Disney’s animation projects with Super Mario Bros. Movie and recently Puss in Boots: The Last Wish pulling some incredible performances at the box office. While many might go the Internet’s usual route of taking information out of context, there’s a lot at play here that to some degree is Disney’s own fault.

    Dreamworks and Illumination don’t have a “streaming home” per see, which means that there’s no expectation that their projects will eventually be available. Disney, however, spent almost three years building a “streaming first” strategy which has shot their staying power at the box office with even more frontloaded box office performance and even negative critical reception having a bigger impact due to “can always watch it later.”

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is one of Marvel Studios’ weakest releases at $467M, which is still a number most would hope to have on their resume. With a weak Chinese market, which elevated its previous entries, and the previous streaming strategy, Disney took away any real need for its core audience, families, to watch it while it is in theaters. Same as we saw with its animated fair that does incredible numbers on Disney+. With the announcement of a digital and physical release ahead of Disney+, we’re seeing the first attempts to make up for that very issue.

    It’ll be essential to ensure their animated projects have a strong showing as families simply aren’t there and Super Mario Bros. Movie has the advantage of nostalgia with boomers and Millenials at its side. Its performance is comparable to Avatar: The Way of Water and Star Wars: The Force Awakens which are both built strongly on nostalgia. Hell, even Top Gun Maverick got that extra boost for the same reason, and we’re seeing a much more noticeable trend that studios are likely going to abuse moving forward.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Number

  • Lucasfilm Head Reveals ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is the Longest Entry Yet

    Lucasfilm Head Reveals ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is the Longest Entry Yet

    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the next entry in the franchise that hasn’t had a new entry since 2008. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tried to revive the franchise with Shia LaBeouf set to take over the franchise, but it didn’t quite pick up the pace that many hoped it would and the latest addition is once again returning to its true main star, Harrison Ford.

    We’re finally not too far away from Dial of Destiny’s release and during Star Wars Celebration, Collider used the chance to ask Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy to offer some insight into how long the next entry will be, and it seems that the film will be the longest yet.

    It’s around two hours and 22-23 minutes. I will say that the early movies were shorter. They were under two hours and 15 minutes. And we talked about that quite a bit… But as you know, with runtime, it’s all about how you feel, right? So, if you’re sitting in a movie, and it feels long… The reason this is interesting is because long-form storytelling is something that we like in the streaming space. So, I think it might be that it’s some kind of carry over from that. But God knows, this year there were so many three hour-plus movies that I felt I wasn’t getting any work done, trying to see them.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    Even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was only slightly above two hours. So, if they stick to this length, James Mangold will have the longest entry in the Indiana Jones franchise. So, the next entry is going to have one of many firsts as we return to the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. It also will introduce us to a new cast of characters and does open up the possibility of continuing the legacy of this story in a new and unexpected way.

    Source: Collider

  • Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Seemingly Filming Again in South Africa

    Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Seemingly Filming Again in South Africa

    Sadly, there’s still no exact release date or footage of Netflix’s attempt at bringing One Piece into live-action but a post from Craig Fairbrass may have hinted that they are filming in South Africa again. For those getting worried, touch-ups or reshoots aren’t uncommon for modern productions and are just a way to take in feedback to make sure the final product is as great as it can be.

    Fairbrass, who plays the owner of the Baratie Zeff, took to Twitter to announce that he is on his way home. He confirms that he was back in Cape Town to film, but doesn’t give away how long he worked on the project. He also has his blond hair again which might be for his role. What stands out, however, is that this is seemingly his third trip there but in a past tweet, he revealed he had to leave for some time due to a COVID case on set.

    It’s unclear if they wrapped the reshoots with him involved but there’s a chance they might still be filming. Whatever their production time window looks like, it certainly is a sign that the project is closing in on its final version, and with Geeked Week a few months away, we might be nearing some more teases of the project.

    Source: Twitter

  • James Gunn Hints at Talks for a Marvel-DC Cinematic Crossover

    James Gunn Hints at Talks for a Marvel-DC Cinematic Crossover

    James Gunn is now the co-CEO of DC Studios and has the unimaginable task of righting the ship that was the DC Extended Universe. Now, simply pushing it forward as the DC Cinematic Universe, he aims to wrap up what was filmed before him while setting his sights on the future. Interestingly enough, it seems his friendship with Kevin Feige has led to some “light and fun” talks about a potential DC-Marvel crossover down the line.

    In an interview with Empire, he reveals that while his first priority is to ensure that he fully takes charge of the DCU after wrapping up work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But he seems quite open to potentially working on some kind of crossover; even if it likely would require a lot of legal work to make it happen.

    I’m certain that’s more likely now that I’m in charge [at DC], Who knows? That’s many years away, though. I think we have to establish what we’re doing [at DC] first. I would be lying to say that we haven’t discussed it. But all discussions have been very, very light and fun.

    James Gunn

    With Gunn at the charge, it definitely will change many of the restrictions that we saw in the past for the franchise. While some corners of the Internet have already cried out in terror, there’s a bright future ahead for a truly interconnected franchise. While juggling TV and video games in addition to films might sound quite a bit challenging, if anyone could make it work it’s definitely Gunn.

    Source: Empire

  • First Look at Blumhouse’s ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Hints at Familiar Storyline

    First Look at Blumhouse’s ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ Hints at Familiar Storyline

    Five Nights at Freddy’s was a project that everyone was keeping a close eye on. It was trapped in production hell for quite some time, as creator Scott Cawthon seemingly couldn’t really find the right script for this project. Yet, that all changed when it finally started filming in February.

    Only a few months later, they confirmed that the film will already arrive later this year on October 27th. Not just that, but it’ll be a simultaneous release; something we thought forgotten in the COVID era of cinematic releases. Five Nights at Freddy’s is going to release in theaters and also streamed on Peacock for those excited to check out their favorite horror franchise in live-action.

    Not just that, we also got a first look at the series, which includes the animatronic of the iconic bear with a young child in his arm staring at the Pizza restaurant that is seemingly falling apart. Curiously though, this imagery hints that the storyline of the first entry might be quite similar to that of the recent game release Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, where a Freddy animatronic helped out a young child with the others trying to eat him.

    They definitely have some big plans for the franchise, as one of its stars, Matthew Lillard, has confirmed he’s signed on for three films. Rumors have it that he’s going to play its main antagonist, who is best known as Purple Man and they might be taking elements from multiple games and scattering them across the trilogy. With an October release, we might expect a trailer in the coming months to give us a better hint at what they have planned for us.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Warpinig Towards $195M+ 5-Day Opening Weekend

    ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Warpinig Towards $195M+ 5-Day Opening Weekend

    It looks like early estimates have been quite off for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as the biggest Nintendo adaptation of one of their most popular characters is on its way to ending its five-day domestic run at $195M. There’s a chance it might even go beyond the $200M mark but either way, it is already far ahead of its initial expectations.

    As such, it’ll also beat up Finding Dory‘s $135.1M three-day opening as it’s set to land at around $137M and will be the second-biggest opening for an animated film just behind Incredibles 2. Its initial expectations had it at around $127.5M and it’s now only a question of time before they announce a sequel.

    While critics weren’t too kind to the film, families are loving it and it even managed to pull in an A CinemaScore. It also makes the biggest opening for Illumination and is likely to become the second-biggest 5-day release since the first Transformers film.

    That Easter release was a clever timing to get this film out as it’s mainly getting its boost from the generation that grew up with these games; giving git that boosts that family audience would lack on their own with past releases this year.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter