Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • New ‘The Suicide Squad’ Artwork Reveals Deathstroke Had Bloodsport’s Role

    New ‘The Suicide Squad’ Artwork Reveals Deathstroke Had Bloodsport’s Role

    The Suicide Squad has finally released in theaters and on HBO Max. Even with a lukewarm Box Office opening over the weekend, it’s proving quite popular on the streaming service. It introduces us to some new characters from the DC canon alongside some familiar faces from the previous entry. One of the highlights is the newly introduced character of Bloodsport, who is played by Idris Elba in the film.

    Yet, it looks like his role might’ve been very different at one point as Twitter user @DCversio1 shared an image from behind-the-scenes with various artwork in the background. Once you take a closer look you’ll notice that Bloodsport’s leading position is taken by the iconic DC anti-hero, Deathstroke. It’s possible they kept the artwork for production purposes but already realized the role would be perfect for Bloodsport.

    https://twitter.com/DCverso1/status/1425084579212406787

    James Gunn did reveal that the character almost made the cut into the film. Yet, we never got into any insight into what role he would’ve had and it seems he almost was the leading man of the original second team throughout the film. The other members, King Shark, Peacemaker, Polka-Dot Man, and Ratcatcher 2, are present in the visual.  We sadly don’t see the first team from the film, which might reveal its original line-up.

    Still, it’s a shame we didn’t get the return of Deathstroke, who only briefly returned in Zack Snyder’s Justice League for a brief appearance. He was played by Joe Manganiello in both versions of the film. It’s uncertain if he was up for the role, or Idris Elba would’ve taken on a new interpretation of the character. Still, Bloodsport’s unique weapons added a great visual flair to the film, and it hopefully is just the beginning of Elba‘s time in the DCEU.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Runtime Revealed

    ‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Runtime Revealed

    It looks like we finally got an inclination on how long the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will be. It seems Cinemark has included the official runtime in its listing of 2 hours and 12 minutes. As such, the film will be the same length as the non-MCU film X-Men: First Class but longer than Doctor Strange by a few minutes. It’s still quite a few minutes shorter than the 2 hours and 14 minutes Black Widow ran in July. Black Panther and The Incredible Hulk are ahead by a minute in runtime.

    The film will follow Simu Liu‘s Shang-Chi, who is forced to return to the Ten Rings organization and face his father’s legacy. We got a glimpse of the confrontation between the two that’ll end up as a tug of war for the right on wielding the ten rings. On the way, it seems he’ll also face some unlikely and familiar foes.

    The runtime seems to be generally on par with most Marvel Studios and overall modern Hollywood films. It’ll be interesting to see how much time we really spend with Shang-Chi’s early childhood and time living in the United States before his past comes back to haunt him. Early trailers teased quite a bit of mythology getting explored in the film.

    It’s crazy to think we’re only a few weeks away from its release, as it originally planned for a February release. Of course, the production also got pushed back due to the pandemic. So, the team had more time to work on it. It got shifted back by a few months when Black Widow took its original July release. Here’s hoping current developments don’t mean that Eternals loses its November release slot.

    Source: Cinemark via Games Radar, Quora

  • Marvel and DC Faces Controversy as Creators Speak Out on Lack of Compensation

    Marvel and DC Faces Controversy as Creators Speak Out on Lack of Compensation

    Marvel and DC films have been quite a success for the companies involved. Yet, the harsh reality unveils that it hasn’t been too kind for the creators of the characters, we’re seeing on the silver screen. In a very revealing piece by The Guardian, we get insight into how comic creators are facing the harsh restrictions set by frugal companies and their refusal to compensate their creators.

    We get quite a few examples of how contractual wordings are quite the slippery slope. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created the iconic Watchmen series that became the basis for a popular HBO series. They had a contractual share on merchandise profits, but they simply retitled it “promotional items” and refused to pay out the comic creators.

     

    Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons – Tommy Girard

     

    An anonymous Marvel creator had the following to say after his character’s appearance in the popular film franchise:

    I’ve been offered a [special character contract] that was really, really terrible, but it was that or nothing. And then instead of honouring it, they send a thank you note and are like, ‘Here’s some money we don’t owe you!’ and it’s five grand. And you’re like, ‘The movie made a billion dollars.

    It’s just a small glimpse into how contractual obligations are misconstrued. Harley Quinn’s Jimmy Palmiotti also recommended to lawyer up when you work with a comic book company. They also get a ticket to the premiere alongside the check, but there is no obligation to do so. The reason this practice is the norm is due to how comic creators work for the companies. Marvel seems to be quite infamous for its tight contracts and frugal approach. It’s not too surprising given the rumors surrounding their CEO Isaac Perlmutter.

    Still, it’s terrible to read how these creators of our childhood classics are being treated to this day and, hopefully, this is the necessary wake-up call to make due. If you’re interested in reading the full article on the controversy, you can check it out here.

    Source: The Guardian

  • Leaked ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Set Photo May Reveal New Quantum Realm Ship

    Leaked ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Set Photo May Reveal New Quantum Realm Ship

    It looks like the first set photo from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have found their way online. @AntManNews found a delivery driver’s photos, who dropped something off in Pinewood Studios. It included the following prop that seems to have enough space to house two individuals. Its delivery also correlates with the location being where Peyton Reed teased a production featuring The Mandalorian’s Volume. So, it’s very likely they’ll use this prop to film interior shots of the ship. It seems the director might be pulling from his experience with the Disney+ show to utilize

    Of course, it’s uncertain if it truly will be used as the Quantum Realm ship, which we first saw in Ant-Man and the Wasp. The subtitle of this entry gives away the revisit to the iconic location. We know that Kang the Conqueror will make his debut in the film after Jonathan Majors brought one of his Variants to life in Disney+’s Loki. There’s a chance this ship might belong to him. We know that the TVA is connected to the character, and they rely mostly on their time doors. So, it seems safe to say that it might be connected to our titular heroes.

    The return to the Quantum Realm is an exciting prospect, as Avengers: Endgame opened the doors to how it plays a key role in how the universe works. Kang’s connection to time travel also opens up the possibility of visiting different points in history throughout the film, besides potentially visiting the mysterious bubble city hinted at in the last film. Perhaps Ant-Man was in the background of Eternals first meeting with humanity after all.

    Source: Facebook via Twitter

  • ‘Morbius’ Director May Have Accidentally Confirmed an Appearance by ‘Venom’s Tom Hardy

    ‘Morbius’ Director May Have Accidentally Confirmed an Appearance by ‘Venom’s Tom Hardy

    Sony has two major films in development based on the Spider-Man franchise that doesn’t include the iconic wall-crawler. Venom: Let There Be Carnage sees the return of Tom Hardy as the titular anti-hero. His film was slated for September, but there are already first signs it’ll potentially get delayed by a month. He’ll soon be joined by Jared Leto‘s Morbius, which got pushed back to January 2022.

    The latter teased a connection to the wider universe with a trailer cameo by Michael Keaton’s Vulture, but it seems the director Daniel Espinosa may have given away another cameo. When asked about how it is to direct big stars, he mentioned a few known actors in the film and also name-dropped Tom Hardy. Here’s the translated answer from the interview with MovieZine:

    It usually feels strange before the day begins, when you look at the schedule and stand on the set yourself. When you walk around there, the recording looks just like a Swedish production, but then when you look at the schedule and read names like Michael Keaton, Jared Leto, Tom Hardy, then it feels cool and very exciting. But once you start working, it’s exactly the same thing. An actor wants a director and actors want to be directed.

     

    Spider-Man"-Kultfigur in "Morbius" oder "Venom 2"? Darum können Marvel-Fans darauf hoffen - Kino News - FILMSTARTS.de

     

    As there has never been a word on his inclusion, it seems the director may have accidentally let his involvement slip in the interview. It looks like Sony doesn’t want to waste any time building up their wider universe. If Hardy does end up in the film, he may end up being a post-credit sequence that connects the films to a new, wider universe. Sony has also recently cast Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the role of Kraven the Hunter.

    So, they may have plans to integrate his character into this new wider universe that may or may not include Tom Holland’s Spider-Man moving forward. His inclusion would be an exciting direction forward as Sony continues to build upon Spidey’s vast number of adversaries throughout comic history. Who knows if a new attempt at the Sinister Six is in the future.

    Source: MovieZine, IMDb

  • UPDATE: ‘Agents of SHIELD and ‘Snowpiercer’ Composoer Jason Akers Not Working on ‘Hawkeye

    UPDATE: ‘Agents of SHIELD and ‘Snowpiercer’ Composoer Jason Akers Not Working on ‘Hawkeye

    UPDATE: It looks like Jason Akers isn’t working on the Disney+ series after all. The composer took to Twitter to reveal that he’s not directly involved with the project. So, he’s neither is its composer nor working in Hawkeye’s music department.

     

     

    Source: Twitter

     

    We haven’t heard much on the upcoming Hawkeye series since the announcement it would release in November. Disney+ has been focused quite a bit on its release of Marvel Studios’ first animated series, What If. So, it might still be some time before we get our first full trailer for the series. Luckily, it seems DisInsider’s Derek Cornell has an update for the series, as Jason Akers may have joined the series music department.

     

     

    He has quite the repertoire, as he worked in the music departments of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Sony’s God of War, Snowpiercer, and even Black Sails. He’s also had some experience with Marvel in the past, as he worked on 42 episodes of Marvel TV’s Agents of SHIELD series as a scoring assistant. So, he has some experience working with Disney and Marvel. His exact role in the series remains unknown.

    It’ll be interesting how they tackle the soundtrack of Hawkeye. So far, each soundtrack stood out and matched the series perfectly. Loki was a standout among them. The Disney+ series focusing on the archer will have a more grounded story. We also know that Clint Barton will likely be deaf throughout the series, which could add a curious meta-level to the soundtrack.

    We still know very little about the series, and it’ll be interesting how it expands the franchise. The latest entries have been more world-altering. So, a street-level series is a good chance to flip the pace. It also adds a new flair to their Disney+ ventures. There’s a lot more heading our way in the future. So, who knows, how it may surprise us.

    Source: Twitter, IMDb

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’: Merchandise Teases a Larger Role for Doctor Strange

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’: Merchandise Teases a Larger Role for Doctor Strange

    It’s been quite a day, as one piece of merchandise after merchandise has gotten released online for Spider-Man: No Way Home. First off, we got a closer look at Spidey’s new suit with magical webbing. Then, there’s also a tease of Mysterio’s legacy living on through his believers that seemed to have even created their own visuals. That wasn’t all, as there’s also quite a bit of merchandise teasing a much larger than an anticipated role for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange. Quite a bit of the merchandise features the Doctor alongside Spidey as if they are parallels of each other. The visuals also are built up similar to Homecoming’s use of Iron Man in its promotion.

     

     

    His design in this merchandise is quite different from the Funko that got released earlier last month. In it, he was wearing snow boots and a shovel alongside his classic cape. It was believed he had a minor role, but it seems he could be a strong force throughout the movie after all. They certainly want to highlight that he is indeed in the film, while also playing around with some iconic Spider-Man visuals. Spidey and Strange’s faces combined pays tribute to an iconic visual from the comics that we briefly saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    It would be curious if he takes on a more antagonistic role. Spidey is a hot-headed teenager who has the world trying to hunt him down. Perhaps he believes that his magic could help him solve the issue at hand. Once he gets his hands on a magical item, he might end up getting chased by Strange throughout the film. At this point, anything is possible, as we still anxiously wait for any trailer to tease what the film has in store for us. Either way, it looks like we’ll get a lot more of Doctor Strange before he heads into the Multiverse of Madness.

    Source: Hot Topic, Hot Topic, Amazon

  • Mysterio’s Legacy Lives in New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Merchandise

    Mysterio’s Legacy Lives in New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Merchandise

    The hype surrounding Spider-Man: No Way Home is surreal, as we are still waiting for a trailer almost weekly at this point. Sony postponing the upcoming release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage in New Zealand has some red flags. Still, it looks like the film is not wasting any time getting merchandise, as we got a closer look at Spidey’s black-gold suit with magic webbing. That’s not all, as some more merch on Amazon offers a look at some familiar designs featuring Mysterio’s legacy that’ll carry on after the finale of Far From Home.

     

     

    The new merchandise features drawings of the iconic villain with a question mark and the bold statement: “We Believe Mysterio.” So, it looks like the Daily Bugle’s work has influenced the masses way more than we thought, and Spidey won’t have an easy time. It’s still uncertain how much of the film will follow his story facing the public’s belief in him as a murderer before magic gets involved.

    We’ve actually seen this “Believe” design before. It was first teased when the first set of photos of the film hit the internet almost seven months ago. It was part of a poster on a newsstand with a bit more detail. Furthermore, it seems almost as if they are taking inspiration from Qanon followers to bring this to life in the upcoming film, and build upon the strong messaging from the first film on fake news. It’ll be interesting to explore how far Mysterio’s powers reach even after his death in the last film.

    Source: Amazon

  • New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Merch Showcases Peter Parker’s Magical Webbing

    New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Merch Showcases Peter Parker’s Magical Webbing

    We’re still anxiously waiting for any sign of life from Spider-Man: No Way Home. At this point, we know more about the film through merchandise than anything else. It’s been a month since we got our first look at a suit that seemed inspired by the Spider-Man game. The golden-black design stood out from the rest, and it looks like the suit will give our favorite wall-crawler some new magical abilities. Hot Topic has released a new shirt that holds the name”Magic Web.” It confirms that Peter is getting quite the upgrade in the upcoming film.

     

    Marvel Spider-Man: No Way Home Magic Web Hoodie

     

    Interestingly enough, there’s a second shirt that is called the Gold Web Shot with a red variant of his costume, but it’s very likely just a recolor for the shirt. Still, the high-quality look at his magical webs makes you realize that his high-tech suit’s Funko Pop also includes a blue magical circle. So, these two suit designs might be more connected than we think. It’s also interesting that this might be the second version of Spidey to utilize magic in the MCU, as Zombie Hunter Spider-Man wields Strange’s cape in the upcoming What If series.

    If we look at other shirts featuring the black-gold costume, it seems that the red lining on his fingertips isn’t always included. It only seems to be available when he uses magic. Perhaps the black suit is connected to these abilities, and his original costume pops out while using it. As more merchandise is finding its way online, it hopefully means we’ll finally get a trailer to see if all these rumors surrounding the film are true.

     

    Source: Hot Topic

  • ‘Black Widow’ and ‘The Suicide Squad’ Showcase Streaming’s Biggest Hurdle: A Lack of Transparency

    ‘Black Widow’ and ‘The Suicide Squad’ Showcase Streaming’s Biggest Hurdle: A Lack of Transparency

    There’s a major shift in the cinematic landscape happening as we speak. Up until before the pandemic hit, Netflix dominated the streaming landmark. We never found out just how successful their projects were, but saw their subscription numbers continue to grow. Now, Disney+, Apple+, and HBO Max have entered the market. In addition, we’ve entered a year when major motion pictures no longer are theater-only releases. HBO Max and Disney+ Premier Access offer accessibility to popular films in different ways. It’s taken a bite out of their Box Office numbers and shows we’re adapting to a brand-new market.

     

    Disney Plus suffers technical difficulties at launch - Portland Press Herald

     

    Disney+ is a very special case due to Disney doing something rather surprising. They’ve released the opening weekend sales of their Premier Access showings. Yet, they only did it as of Black Widow and never followed up on it. So, its success is up in the air due to no transparency if those numbers have changed at all since the initial opening weekend. Samba TV claimed its US market doubled over the course of the second, which would be insane considering it already made 60M in one weekend. A lawsuit followed by Scarlett Johansson to claim its digital release hampered her initial contract and is still an ongoing discussion to this day.

    There’s also the uncertainty surrounding HBO Max. The Suicide Squad opened to a lower than expected Box Office, as it failed to hit its initial $30M prediction. The Delta variant is still considerable across the world and is hampering Box Office results alongside other key factors. HBO Max offers the film for free with a same-day release as theaters.  Once again, we only know how it’s doing in theaters, but not on the service. We are reliant on Samba TV to give us information to guess if it’s a streaming success or not. We commonly only find out when an executive likes to share a success story, like he did today with The Suicide Squad being their second most-watched film during its simultaneous theater release.

     

    Here are all the HBO Max films and shows you can watch | CNN

     

    We’re entering a new generation where a film’s success will be more than its Box Office income and physical sales. Just releasing information during its launch does not give a great estimate of a film’s overall performance. Plus, it seems like these metrics are more a PR move rather than useful information if it’s not communicated consistently. As we enter the new era, it’s time for more transparency. Third parties can only offer estimates, and it’ll get more difficult if this model wants to remain. Plus, digital-only releases like Pixar’s Luca or The Tomorrow War depend on estimated Nielsen ratings for any sign of life. It’ll become more difficult to understand how and why a film deserves a sequel or not. At some point, they can no longer keep these numbers under lock and key.

    Relying purely on Box Office numbers could paint their productions in a negative light.  The Suicide Squad is a perfect showcase of that, with headlines calling it a disappointment based on purely one metric. Black Widow’s Box Office is hindered by a lack of Chinese release and a lack of understanding of how Disney+ Premier Access performs for repeat viewers after its initial launch. Even if companies don’t want to provide these metrics, they are essential for understanding a film’s overall performance, as well as relevant for their talent’s individual contracts as the current allegations showcase. The streaming era is here, but the industry refuses to fully embrace all that comes with it.

    Source: Twitter