Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • Disney’s ‘HAUNTED MANSION’ Reboot Adds ‘LOKI’s Owen Wilson

    Disney’s ‘HAUNTED MANSION’ Reboot Adds ‘LOKI’s Owen Wilson

    It looks like Owen Wilson has eyed a few more projects together with Disney, as Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Loki actor will star in the upcoming reboot of Haunted Mansion. It’ll join another popular adaptation of one of Disney’s popular theme park rides. Director Justin Simien is famous for his work on Dear White People and Bad Hair Day, but the upcoming horror-comedy will be his first big-budget adaptation. It’s our first update on the film since LaKeith Stanfield and Tiffany Haddish joined the project back in July.

    The story still remains under wraps, but it’ll not venture too far away from the 2003 film featuring Eddie Murphy. It’ll explore a family that moves into the titular mansion that is being, you guessed it, haunted. It’s eyeing an October production start in Atlanta. Disney just recently had a successful launch with Jungle Cruise and seems to be eyeing various theme park attractions. They just recently greenlit a sequel and we might see many more get adapted.

    There’s also the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot that’s been in production for some time, which was announced back in June 2020. Margot Robbie and Christina Hodson joined the project and will revive the popular franchise that may have been their most successful adaptation of a park ride-themed film. It’ll be curious if Haunted Mansion‘s success might also see potential sequels moving forward.

    Source: Hollywood reporter

  • RUMOR: Netflix Rebooting ‘POKÈMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU’ To Tie Into New TV Series

    RUMOR: Netflix Rebooting ‘POKÈMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU’ To Tie Into New TV Series

    Here’s a curious rumor. In July, Lucifer‘s Joe Henderson was hired by Netflix to develop a live-action adaptation of Pokémon for the streaming service. It looks like they may have some bigger plans, as Illuminerdi shared the news that they’re also looking to develop a film that interconnects with the ongoing series. They do not go into detail but they do word that it won’t be a continuation of the popular Detective Pikachu film but act like a reboot. It’s uncertain if this means it’s an actual reboot of the 2019 film, or rather simply meant as a reboot of the franchise overall as they also highlight that no continuation of the Warner Bros. film by Rob Letterman is planned.

    It makes sense they’ll reboot the franchise from scratch. However, it seems unlikely the film will release ahead of the TV series. It seems like a safer bet to establish the world, as they might try to include hints at a bigger picture. It would be great if they utilize these films as highlights of side characters arcs, or even as the tournament to end a seasonal arc on a high note.

    It won’t be cheap adapting this unique world filled with creatures that state their own name in repetition. The film did an amazing job selling a living and breathing world filled with Pokémon and it’ll be interesting if Netflix takes a different direction to make it stand out from the previous entry. The combination of realism with the cartoon designs worked surprisingly well but they might take a very different direction. It’ll join a variety of Netflix series eyeing a live-action adaptation of Anime and it won’t be the last.

    Source: Illuminerdi

  • ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ New Roadmap Offers First Glimpse at Spider-Man

    ‘MARVEL’S AVENGERS’ New Roadmap Offers First Glimpse at Spider-Man

    It’s been a long wait but Crystal Dynamics finally dropped the updated roadmap that teases what is heading our way in the coming months. Not just that, we even got a full State of the Game blog that updates us on where exactly the game is. In the roadmap, we got the tease that the Spider-Man update will release alongside the game’s first Raid which will see your team of Avengers face off against Klaw one more time. It’ll include a new enemy type called Echoes and a Power Level increase. Now, the big takeaway here is that this will come alongside the long-awaited release of Spider-Man, who even has a brief tease in the roadmap.

    An image showing our upcoming content roadmap.

    @PlayAvenger was able to get a high-res version of the brief tease he has in the image facing off against Klaw. It’s curious that the character is titled as a “New Hero Event” and is not getting his own focus like in the past.

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1435650150538653698

    The first thing that catches our eye is that Spidey has his classic suit. So, that’s likely his base design staying true to what made the character iconic. Of course, he’ll likely release with some minor story elements, but the naming does highlight that this is only on PlayStation and probably gets a special focus as a result of it.

    Now, let’s get to the rest of the roadmap. It’s a bit slim overall, as we have no mention of Patrol Mode or even the mysterious Cloning Labs. The only mention is that news will follow once they have something concrete. Still, it seems they finally will give us our first Raid in the form of a mission titled “Discordant Sound.” It’ll also act as a final arc in his story from War for Wakanda expansion. New enemy types known as Echoes will spawn from the big bad. The blog highlights that this will also give us our first real glimpse at what the future of the game has in store for us.

    2022 will have a stronger focus on cinematic content, but they remain vague on what they have in store. The big focus is the rework of their base structures that includes gear, resources, and earnable comestics. It’s great they are setting a clearer focus, but it does feel a bit empty in comparison to the last roadmap without any actual months. Still, the Disney+ Nameplate challenge for Hawkeye would hint that these elements are eyeing a November release alongside the show’s premiere.

    Source: Play Avengers, Twitter

  • Hall of Murphy: Episode 1 – ‘THE SUICIDE SQUAD’

    Hall of Murphy: Episode 1 – ‘THE SUICIDE SQUAD’

    Murphy’s Multiverse has a brand new podcast ready for you called Hall of Murphy, where Joe and John sit down to discuss the latest films, TV Shows, and new surrounding the DC Extended Universe. Join us in the first episode as we sit down and discuss James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad:

  • ‘THE CROODS: FAMILY TREE’ Series Heading to Hulu and Peacock

    ‘THE CROODS: FAMILY TREE’ Series Heading to Hulu and Peacock

    DreamWorks isn’t done with the Croods family quite yet, as they just announced a brand new animated series based on the popular film franchise titled The Croods: Family Tree. It’s heading to Hulu and peacock and will start streaming as of September 23rd. Mark Banker and Todd Grimes are serving as executive producers on the series. We also got a brand new poster for the new series:

    The story will continue where A New Age left off, as the Croods and the Bettermans learn to live together in an ideal prehistoric farm. You can expect a lot of misadventures as the two families try to overcome their differences as they adjust to living together in a tree house. Kelly Marie Tran once again voices Dawn with Amy Landecker joining as Ugga.

    The franchise started back in 2013 which explored the prehistoric family. Initially, the cast consisted of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, and Clark Duke. They returned for the sequel film but will be voiced by other actors in the series. The film was one of the few that managed to release during last year’s pandemic and tested the waters on how the Box Office may perform. You can check out the first trailer here:

  • HBO’s ‘THE LAST OF US’ Pilot Wraps Production With First Look at New Logo

    HBO’s ‘THE LAST OF US’ Pilot Wraps Production With First Look at New Logo

    HBO has been hard at work preparing their upcoming adaptation of Naughty Dog’s popular The Last of Us. We got our first look at the series entering production back in July, which featured Pedro Pascal as Joel and Pedro Gabriel Luna‘s Tommy. It teased a very familiar scene from the original game’s intro. Russian director Kantemir Balagov was hired to direct the pilot for the series and he just took to his Instagram to share that he has wrapped work on the episode’s pilot. In the image, he also shares a look at the production logo for the series.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CTOazs-LKHG/

    It’s sad that the director was only attached for the pilot, but hopefully he may return for a future season. The adapation will bring the story of Joel and Ellie to life, as they travel through the United States on the search for the Fireflies. It’s their only hope to utilize Ellie’s immunity to save humanity. We still don’t know if the series might take a unique route, especially as they added a few new names to the cast, such as the original voice of Tommy, Jeffrey Pierce, playing a new character.

    While Balagov took over directing duties for the pilot, other episodes will be taken over by Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi. The series focus on introducing some internationaly acclaimed directors is a great move, as it offers quite a bit of diversity to make the series stand out from the original game franchise.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Final Trailer Uploaded Early on YouTube

    ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Final Trailer Uploaded Early on YouTube

    Many films were faced with quite a few delays since the pandemic hit the world back in 2020. Among them was the next entry in the James Bond 007 franchise featuring Daniel Craig in the titular role. No Time to Die is eyeing an October 8th release and it looks like the trailer has accidentally gotten released early on YouTube, as it is currently not listed but available in the official James Bond 007 YouTube’s trailer playlist. You can check out the final trailer for the upcoming film here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JUyLgwrC4Y&list=PLroUsGOhJjhJB1sG1cZDDzDZOJs7rbeTd

    The footage includes some iconic moments from his previous films and highlights every mission he has gone through. It seems to highlight that the upcoming entry will be the grand finale for Craig‘s time as the iconic UK agent. At least, the trailer is trying to sell it like it was the Avengers: Endgame of the franchise. What continues to stand out with the latest entry is the action. We get a bit more from the car stunt that was teased in earlier trailers as well as glimpses of the various weaponry that he’ll fall back on. He even is working alongside Lashana Lynch‘s 007, who took over the title in his absence.

    It’s not uncommon for trailers to get uploaded ahead of their release, but it’s curious that it’s set as unlisted. The official Twitter account did share a special sneak peak focused on the Aston Martin. So, it may have been to kick off today’s final trailer release but was accidentally available when you access the playlist.

    Source: YouTube

  • Disney+ to Revive ‘THE ROCKETEER’

    Disney+ to Revive ‘THE ROCKETEER’

    It looks like Disney is ready to revive a cult classic, as Deadline is reporting that a new film titled The Return of the Rocketeer will bring new life into the 1991 classic, The Rocketeer. It’ll release on Disney+ with David and Jessica Oyelowo set to produce through their Yoruba Saxon banner. Ed Ricourt will pen the script with David Oyelowo also potentially starring int he titular role. There is currently no director attached. It’ll be the first film under Yoruba Saxon’s first-look deal with Disney. Deadline also shared some first story details, as it will follow a retired Tuskegee airman, who takes up the mantle.

    Ricourt made his mark with the hit Now You See Me and Marvel’s Jessica Jones. He even was a consulting producer on that series and went on to pen Raising Dion for Netflix. He has some heavy shoes to fill by bringing Joe Johnston‘s 1991 film to life while staying true to Dave Stevens original graphic novel. The story of a young pilot finding a jetpack and helping others stuck with many over the years.

    Updating the project and acting as a sequel is a smart move. Rather than just retelling the original, they can continue the legacy set up and even see how the character would look like in a new era. It heading directly to streaming is a curious decision and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of budget the film will get. The franchise did make a return in 2019 as a children show on Disney Junior and Disney Channel, which followed a young girl named Katherine “Kit” Secord, which was promptly cancelled after only one season.

    Source: Deadline

  • Disney Already Working on ‘JUNGLE CRUISE’ Sequel

    Disney Already Working on ‘JUNGLE CRUISE’ Sequel

    Looks like Disney was quite satisfied with Jungle Cruise‘s performance, as the House of Mouse already green lit a sequel. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt will also return as their respective characters, Frank Wolff and Dr. Lily Houghton. Co-writer Michael Green is also slated to return. Hollywood Reporter believes that Jaume Collet-Serra is also returning to direct the project alongside the original’s producers. Johnson took to Twitter to share his excitement on the sequel announcement:

    The film was one of Disney’s simultaneous releases on Disney+ Premier Access and theaters. Even with the additional pricing tag, the film saw a good success as it premiered at $34.2M in domestic sales. It added an additional $30M on the streaming service and it managed pass the $100M in its fifth weekend. Currently, it stands at $187M worldwide.

    So, it certainly looks like that Disney has been quite satisfied with its Box Office performances and sees a lot of potential in the franchise. With the pandemic still raging, there’s also a good chance the film would’ve pulled in more during regular times. All eyes are currently on Disney’s first theater-exclusive release to give a good indicator what the future holds for the domestic Box Office with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter, Twitter

  • ‘ETERNALS’ Shares Themes With Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-Winner ‘NOMADLAND’

    ‘ETERNALS’ Shares Themes With Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-Winner ‘NOMADLAND’

    Marvel Studios is starting to venture into new territory with its upcoming projects. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will offer our first martial arts-inspired film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s also the mysterious project by Chloé Zhao, as the Eternals ventures into the long history before the Avengers fought their first enemy. In an interview with Empire, producer Nate Moore teased how the film will reflect the themes she used in Nomadland.

    Chloé’s interested in telling stories about outsiders who find themselves adrift in new worlds. Nomadland and Eternals both share that DNA. Nomadland doesn’t have the same bells and whistles as Eternals, but it has the same thematic resonance.

    It’s not uncommon for directors to build upon themes and stories they’ve introduced in other films. Sometimes it’s the venture into taking unique aspects on the same topic that showcases their talent in telling stories. Nomadland and Eternals may explore very different types of beings, but it highlights that no matter where we come from, we all can become outsiders in this strange world of ours.

    The Eternals promised not to intervene in human history. They are forced to watch how events unfold following the strict orders of their creators, the Celestials. Some have distanced themselves from these beings while others, like Gemma Chan‘s Sersi, tried to connect with humanity. It seems clear that this conflict will lie at the core of the story and it’ll be interesting to see how their decisions may shape the future of the MCU.

    Source: Empire