Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • Aegon’s Conquest Eyed as a New ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel

    Aegon’s Conquest Eyed as a New ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel

    It almost seems like HBO’s entire Game of Thrones story is to build a series around the Targaryen family line rather than the many houses that exist. While there were a wide variety of projects hinted at early on, there was a hint that they are potentially readjusting their focus after the success of House of the Dragon. A new report by Variety has revealed that HBO how hopes to go even further into the Targaryen past.

    While the project is in its early stages with no writer attached, HBO seemingly wants to explore the story of Aegon the First. The story would revolve around his conquest of Westeros alongside his wives/sisters Viseny and Rhaenys. It seems they aren’t going to jump headfirst into another series but rather wants to take a different approach this time around.

    They seemingly want to produce a feature film that would then set up a series, though nothing is set in stone. As they have no writer or director attached, who knows if this project will truly move forward but it’s no surprise they want to go 300 years into the past before the events of the original Game of Thrones, as even House of the Dragon continued to praise what the original Aegon has accomplished.

    What truly stands out is HBO slowly trying to move into the theatrical market. There is an ever-growing market after the pandemic, and there is seemingly a hope to make good use of it. Game of Thrones is one of the biggest IPs that HBO has produced. So, who knows just how much potential a high-budget fantasy film would offer with the iconic dragons at war? If House of the Dragon is anything to go by, it’s no wonder they want to make use of it.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Persona 5’ Mobile Beta Reveals When it Takes Place After the Original

    ‘Persona 5’ Mobile Beta Reveals When it Takes Place After the Original

    There were many questions once the reveal came for Persona 5: The Phantom X. While it has Persona 5 in the title, it is not developed by Atlus and there was some confusion surrounding where it might take place in the timeline of the original. Persona 5 Strikers is a direct sequel to the original entry and excludes any references to Persona 5 Royal.

    P5X teased the original cast as part of its game, or at least in its gacha mechanic. As noticed by Twitter user @ScrambledFaz, who actively tested out the Beta version and shared some interesting details on the game. It seems the Beta included the first palace as well as a look at its base mechanics. The gacha and stamina systems are quite a bit concerning.

    Either way, in a new post, it seems that there are a variety of films you can check out while playing the game and it may offer our first hint at when exactly the film takes place in the Persona timeline. While each story is telling its own story, they are still somewhat connected in one storyline. Going by these posters, it seems the game may take place ten years after the original in 2026.

    There is, however, one aspect that adds some confusion. As also pointed out by Faz, there’s a calendar in the main character’s room that seemingly reveals a 2022 date. While it still seemingly takes place in the future, it does add some confusion on where exactly the latest entry will place.

    Perhaps the poster with the King Kong reference is just when the film takes place. Either way, it takes place quite a few years after the original and it also seems like all the Persona 5 characters aren’t the characters we’ve come to love in the various games but just figments created in the guise of their original. It also makes sense given its a new story but requires a gacha mechanic to add various other characters. Perhaps we’ll see some other characters join from previous games.

    Source: Twitter

  • New Rumor Puts a Number on Marvel Studios’ Future Yearly Output

    New Rumor Puts a Number on Marvel Studios’ Future Yearly Output

    Quality over quantity has been the long-echoed outcry on the internet surrounding Marvel Studios’ direction during the pandemic. With up to four shows on top of three films, it seemed like they were hoping too put out as much as they could. There were hints that Bob Chapek‘s era has forced them to also enforce more Disney+ releases to promote the streaming service while also trying to adjust to something no one ever expected to delay their releases for two years.

    Marvel Studios was playing catch-up but there was enough drama to overshadow the troubles most production companies are facing in the current timeline. CG over specific shots in a 2+ hour project were the signs of this development, and many discussions have surfaced online. Ironically, most of this discourse only really arrived during 2022 and has been hyper-fixated on in the current mythos.

    That was until Bob Iger once again took over as Disney CEO and many new rumors have surfaced hinting at a new yet old direction. Ironically, the number of rumors of potential projects was one of the causes for concern, these new rumors are potentially doing the same thing. On The Hot Mic, Jeff Sneider has added more fuel to the fire of a more regulated output in the form of an exact project count moving forward.

    Marvel’s target output has been reduced. I don’t know if this has been reported, or if this was a line in the trades, or whatever, but I’m told that the target output has been reduced from four shows and four movies a year to two shows and three movies a year. And of course that’s malleable. You could get one on either side of that, or whatever.

    Jeff Sneider

    Two series and three films a year seem to be the current direction for 2023. We just recently saw Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania release with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Marvels on the horizon. We also had the longest pause between series releases with Secret Invasion finally getting its June release and likely only the second season of Loki on the horizon. While some future schedules might hint at a different schedule, they have reshuffled their schedules quite a bit as of late.

    It is kind of funny to think that this schedule matches what we had with the Netflix series and the Marvel movies, as we had two series and three films every year. Yet, we also had additional Marvel series like The Runaways, Agents of SHIELD, as well as Cloak and Dagger. 2018 to 2019 technically had more projects airing with a higher number of episodes compared to the “stuffed” 2022 but perhaps the Marvel studios branding is creating the illusion of such. Either way, the current rumor mill will likely have many happy to see the studio dial it down.

    Source: YouTube via The Direct

  • ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Dethrones ‘John Wick 4’ with a Decent Opening Weekend

    ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Dethrones ‘John Wick 4’ with a Decent Opening Weekend

    the final numbers are in and the Dungeons & Dragons film has barely missed out on the $40M mile but still pulled in an okay $38.5M. While it is higher than its initial predictions, which were set relatively low but not surprising given how sci-fi and fantasy struggle at the box office at times, it’s still going to face an uphill battle to make up for its high $150M budget. Internationally, the film has made around $71.5M with a softer $33M global cume.

    The reviews and PostTrak score are hinting that the film might have a chance at some strong legs but with tough competition on the horizon, it’s anyone’s game at this point. Including a premiere at SXSW, the marketing spend on this film is quite high and it’ll definitely need those legs to keep going but The Super Mario Bros. Movie is already on the horizon next weekend. As both share a similar audience, this year might become quite the bloodbath at the box office.

    John Wick Chapter 4 faced a surprising 62% drop to $28.2M after its record opening. Some thought it would drop lower with its strong word-of-mouth. “Blockbuster” releases have faced much higher drops since the pandemic started as people are much more selective in their viewing choices but this won’t stop John Wick’s latest adventure to become the highest-grossing of the franchise.

    Source: The Wrap

  • New Hint at Possible ‘One Piece’s Netflix Release Date Surfaces

    New Hint at Possible ‘One Piece’s Netflix Release Date Surfaces

    We’re still anxiously waiting for an update on the live-action adaptation of One Piece that is heading to Netflix. Since the poster reveals in January, the project has been silent but that isn’t too uncommon in how Netflix promotes most of its projects. So, we only have a tease of the main cast’s costumes from behind. The biggest rumor, however, that followed was a hint at a late August release on the streaming platform for One Piece that still hasn’t been confirmed.

    Interestingly enough, a new article from the South African newspaper, The Saturday Star, features an interview with Nojiko actress Chioma Antoinette Umeala. As shared by the actress on her personal Instagram account, the article seemingly adds to the fact that the series might be getting an August release with the following statement.

    She also appears as Nojiko in One Piece, a live-action adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s beloved manga story, to be released on Netflix in August.

    Keep in mind, this is still not an official confirmation that the series will release in August. Netflix has yet to release any specific time and they commonly won’t do so until around two months before a series’ release. There’s a good chance that they simply took the recent rumor as confirmed and added it to the article. It’s not the first time something like this has happened but there’s always a chance some information was accidentally shared in the process. So, we’ll just have to wait for that official confirmation and if they really release it in August, we might find out in June.

    Source: Instagram

  • Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis Campaigns for ‘One Piece’ Role

    Oscar Winner Jamie Lee Curtis Campaigns for ‘One Piece’ Role

    We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on when we can finally see Matt Owens and Steven Maeda‘s attempt at bringing Eiiichiro Oda‘s iconic One Piece series into live-action. The passionate team behind the project makes this an anime adaptation that should not be missed out on with the potential to break the ongoing curse of adopting the medium.

    Even though we haven’t even seen the first season, there are already some talks about who else could take on an iconic role further down the line. One of the biggest fan castings was of long-time One Piece fan Jamie Lee Curtis getting a chance to play Dr. Kureha. Even her daughter, Ruby Guest, said she’d be interested as Chopper is her favorite Straw Hat and now it seems the recent Oscar winner isn’t wasting any time to get cast.

    Curtis took to her personal Twitter account to seemingly start campaigning for the role with the hashtag #CurtisforKureha. She even added an image of the character with her face on it, which highlights just how great this potential casting would be for the series, and an opportunity to have an Oscar winner of all people join this high-profile Netflix series.

    https://twitter.com/jamieleecurtis/status/1641909128640757761

    Emily Rudd, who plays Nami in the live-action adaptation, even took to Twitter further push that she should be cast in the project. So far non of the showrunners have reacted but they’ll be keeping their eyes on the actress once they know they can move forward with a second season, which would feature the character. We already have hints that they started work on a second season in case of renewal by Netflix. So, here’s hoping the series pulls in those record-breaking numbers that the streaming service is looking for.

    Source: Twitter

  • Atlus Teasing “Exciting News” for ‘Persona’ Fans in Upcoming Livestream

    Atlus Teasing “Exciting News” for ‘Persona’ Fans in Upcoming Livestream

    There’s something funny about how Atlus loves using Persona concerts to announce projects. The thing is, there’s now a live stream announcement for the Blu-Ray release of the Persona Super Live performance, and also hinted at “exciting news” for the franchise to arrive during the broadcast. It’s a way to get people to check it out on April 9th but it raises the question of what exactly they might mean.

    Now, to temper expectations that are likely going to flare up as we’ve been desperate for any news on the rumored Persona 3 Remake and especially Persona 6. The 25th Anniversary also teased something one could describe as exciting going by early teases, but we ended up getting a bunch of merchandise as part of the announcements.

    Yes, we did get the remasters of Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax but they didn’t quite give us a hint at the future. Maybe this Blu-Ray release is a way to balance that out and add some big news at the tail-end of the showcase. It’s also their way of establishing their own little Nintendo Direct equivalent but we should not expect anything big for now.

    Source: GameRant, Persona Central

  • Disney Finds its Lilo for the Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Adaptation

    Disney Finds its Lilo for the Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’ Adaptation

    So far, we only knew that Zach Galifianakis has joined the upcoming live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, but it seems they have finally found one of their leads. Newcomer Maia Kealoha has been cast in the role that’ll bring the 2002 version to a new generation with director Dean Fleischer Camp of Marcel the Shell With Shoes On fame. The script is based on work by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright.

    The news was first reported by Knight Edge Media and is now confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. The story seemingly is set to stay quite true to the original adaptation, which saw the story of an alien experiment make his way to Earth and ending up as the adoptive dog of a local Hawaiian girl named Lilo. Their bond is what defines the heart of the story in addition to the beauty of Hawaii adding that additional charm.

    It’ll be interesting to see who might give Stitch his iconic voice. Chris Sanders played the character in the original film and given he’ll very likely be a fully CG character, he could potentially return to the role. Though, they might also find an A-list celebrity to bring the character to life. Perhaps Chris Pratt wants to nab one more voice-acting gig after The Super Mario Bros. Movie and the upcoming Garfield movie.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Knight Edge Media

  • Simu Liu Talks Potential ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel

    Simu Liu Talks Potential ‘Shang-Chi’ Sequel

    We’re still waiting for the official confirmation that Shang-Chi‘s sequel is on the horizon. Outside of quite a few rumors, Marvel Studios has been surprisingly shy about announcing one even as the first entry was quite the critical darling. It also was the first sign of strong legs for the studio that it hasn’t quite enjoyed since the pandemic recovered.

    Still, the film’s star Simu Liu has shared his thoughts on what it means to tackle a sequel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, especially after introducing the world to this unique corner of the universe. He also highlights that he hopes they can “still afford Michelle Yeoh” after her major Oscar win for Everything Everywhere all at Once.

    Going into a sequel feels exciting. It doesn’t necessarily feel like there’s a pressure to perform or a pressure to exceed. It feels like we’ve established a world and there’s just something really nostalgic and exciting about returning to that world that we’ve spent so much time ideating on and thinking about. And then, we’re getting to revisit some things, but also show the viewer new things. We’ll deliver all of the amazing action that we were celebrated for on the first movie, but then also hopefully explore new sides of Shaun’s character and the characters around him. That is, of course, if we can still afford Michelle Yeoh. She’s on top of the world and just the queen of everything.

    Simu Liu

    It’s strange to think how much time has passed since the film was released in theaters. There was something special about this kung fu-inspired project, and here’s hoping we get quite a few more. There’s also the rumor of a potential 10 Rings Disney+ spinoff they might be working on. So, we’ll see if we get more out of the Shang-Chi corner of the MCU.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Director Reveals How They Got [SPOILER] to Cameo

    ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ Director Reveals How They Got [SPOILER] to Cameo

    The following article contains a major spoiler for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. So, only continue at your own risk if you haven’t watched the film.

    Dungeons & Dragons is a very self-contained story with an already stacked cast including Hugh Grant, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and more. Yet, there’s a fun little cameo in the middle of the film that further explores Rodriguez‘ character of Holga Kilgore. We learn that she gave up everything for her love but not being able to let go would push them further apart.

    The funniest part, the cameo of her tiny lover was nonother than Bradley Cooper. It’s a very out-of-nowhere cameo that is perfect and it’s funny how Cooper keeps playing small characters in big-budget releases. Especially as we’ll see him return as Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in just a few more weeks.

    So, the question on everyone’s mind might be how they managed to get this A-list character to join the production. Well, it turns out that director John Francis Daley. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Daley reveals he sent him an unfinished film to convince him to join.

    Well, I co-starred with Bradley [Cooper] on the show KitchenConfidential when I was 19 years old, and we appreciated each other’s careers from afar after that experience. And so when this opportunity came up, we knew we wanted someone to inhabit the role that brought with it this sense of gravitas and just full-on acting chops. So I don’t remember who it was that pitched Bradley, but the second I heard the name, I thought, “Oh, let’s go for it.” So we sent him a copy of the unfinished film and he loved it. So he was ready to jump on board, and it was such an awesome day.

    John Francis Daley

    It was a great little surprise to see him in this tiny role. not only was it one of the funniest jokes in the film seeing Olga’s preference for men but having Cooper‘s sincerity in the role gave us one of the most heartfelt moments in the film.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter