Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Black Widow’ Passes $150M Domestically as M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Old’ Takes Top Spot

    ‘Black Widow’ Passes $150M Domestically as M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Old’ Takes Top Spot

    We’ve entered the third Box Office weekend for Black Widow and it’s not looking good for the domestic Box Office overall’s development. M. Night Shyamalan‘s Old took the top spot with a painful $16.5M. It beat out Snake Eyes, which aimed to revive the G.I. Joe franchise. The Henry Golding-led project garnered $13.3M at the Box Office. Even with a smaller budget of $88M, the overall Box Office of the weekend has been rather subpar. Even last week’s top spot holder, Space Jam: A New Legacy, dropped to the fourth spot by 69%. It proves that pandemic releases are extremely frontloaded.

    Black Widow held unto the third spot of the domestic Box Office. It even managed to break the pandemic record for passing $150M ahead of F9‘s record. The film did hold surprisingly stated in comparison to its second weekend with a 55% drop. It seems very likely it might pass the latter’s overall domestic Box Office, but worldwide suffering from a limited release. Especially F9‘s dominance in the Chinese movie market is making it this summer’s tentpole release. $215M of its total $621M Box Office was purely in China.

     

    F9 Review: Justin Lin Gets Fast & Furious Back on the Right Track | IndieWire

     

    Marvel Studios’ latest entry release in the market remains uncertain. Its Disney+ release has been hurting the film’s potential longevity. But, there have been some similar developments with and without digital releases. The second-week drops have been around 65 to 70% for each film. Space Jam continues the tradition and showcases that repeat viewing is reserved for home. Disney has never released the follow-up numbers for their digital release, but there were hints through third-party analysis that it almost even doubled in its second week.

    The lack of transparency is the issue and in comparison to other MCU films, Black Widow is on par with Phase 1 releases. The true test will end up being Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Its September release without a Disney+ Premier Access option may offer a better look at how strong the hold is for an MCU project without the digital influences. Yet, current developments with the Delta Variant may hint at Plus, the current issue with its Chinese release also opens up many questions regarding Marvel’s dependency on foreign Box Office.

    Source: Variety, Forbes (BW), Forbes (SE), The Numbers, The Numbers (F9)

  • New ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Funko Leak Teases Multiple Strange Variants

    New ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Funko Leak Teases Multiple Strange Variants

    It looks like a new Funko Pop list has found its way online that leaks some rather interesting new additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It includes a list of characters for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel. There aren’t many surprised in the Disney+ list, but the Strange sequel has the most interesting teases. The list includes the known characters of Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Christine Palmer, Mordo, America Chavez, and Rintrah.

    That is not all, as it also teases different Variants of our titular hero and Wong. The list includes Supreme Strange, Defender Strange, and Defender Wong. The Defender naming could be a new costume, but the inclusion of Supreme Strange, who is to make his debut in the upcoming What If series hints at him facing different Variants across the multiverse. Instagram user mariobros612 shared the leak.

     

     

    The inclusion of the dark version of Doctor Strange is a curious one. In a way, it makes sense he would join the live-action adaptation, as we did see a regular version of the character in the first What If trailer. So, the series and his upcoming film might intersect at some point, which also adds some credence to the live-action inclusion of Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter. It’s only been a few days since she was rumored to appear in the Doctor Strange sequel. So, the inclusion of his What If counterpart adds more credence to this rumor. The film is set to release in March and we might get a trailer before the end of the year that may finally hint at how much of the multiverse Strange will face in the upcoming film.

    Source: Instagram

  • Marvel Studios’ Multiverse is Both a Blessing and a Curse

    Marvel Studios’ Multiverse is Both a Blessing and a Curse

    Loki has unleashed the multiverse. It’s probably what you’ve been reading for the last two weeks since the episode was released. Everyone is excited to finally explore the possibilities of multiple Variants of our favorite heroes existing. It offers some credence to the rumors of Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man getting joined by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. It even opens up all kinds of possibilities for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yet, there is one big problem with this new development. It creates an easy-to-exploit way to solve future issues. Its existence establishes brand new trappings that could hurt future Marvel storytelling through an overreliance. The multiverse could end up as the franchise’s biggest Deus Ex Machina.

     

    Here's What Loki's Multiverse Should Bring Us In The MCU

     

    What do I mean by that? The phrase once referenced ancient plot devices’ in Greek and Roman theatre performances. Yet, it has become the go-to term for unexplainable or random plot points that solve storylines. To give an example, 1954’s The Lord of Flies by William Golding famously had a naval officer appear at the perfect time to shift an ongoing plot point. In the world of comics, Batman’s utility belt serves that function by offering the exact tool he needs to solve his problem. In a way, the multiverse is Marvel Studios’ new storytelling utility belt. They can tell new types of stories yet also fall into the trapping of relying on it to solve any potential problem.

    The newly introduced multiverse opens up many new avenues for the franchise. Yet, it also creates a plethora of potential plot holes and exploits. With hints pointing at iconic characters from other franchises returning, it seems like an easy pass to introduce characters from alternative dimensions to solve problems. Our main hero can’t take on the enemies on his own? Fine, here are others from the multiverse to aid him. It could end up being more convenient than purposeful, which is a challenge for Marvel studios’ future directors to juggle.

     

    What is the TVA from Loki in Marvel comic books? | GamesRadar+

     

    Kevin Feige and his crew have proven some foresight by setting specific rules for how the multiverse works in their franchise. They even tied it into how time traveling, which could prove helpful to avoid one element complicating the other. There’s also the question of how long the multiverse will remain, as it could be a temporary element for the Kang-focused overarching storyline. We know that the end goal lies in the Multiversal War, but the path to that point will be a complicated one.

    There’s a chance that only specific films will deal with this storyline, which includes Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange sequel as well as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Here’s hoping we get a bit more insight into how these storylines will intersect in the franchise’s future. So, only a specific group will have to directly tackle the outcome of Loki while others are more independent. The path ahead won’t be an easy one for Marvel Studios, but it’ll be exciting how they reinvent the franchise through this new direction.

  • New ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Set Video Shows Harrison Ford in Action

    New ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Set Video Shows Harrison Ford in Action

    We’ve been anxiously following the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. It is the grand return of Harrison Ford in the iconic role. The cast has also been shaping up, as a week ago Antonio Banderas officially joined the production. Set photos even confirmed the appearance of Toby Jones in the film. Still, we’ve only gotten a few glimpses from the set and what we can expect from the upcoming sequel. Now, we got our first look at some action sequences from the upcoming film that features Ford trying to take down some henchmen, which got shared by TikTok user coreomega2.0. Video was privat3ed and reuploaded by @3CFilm.

    The sequence sees him get the upper hand before one of the henchmen isn’t too impressed by the sign. It’s great to see an action sequence that shows the vulnerability of our main protagonist. Jones isn’t the youngest. So, he can’t just punch his way through every scenario as he used to. We see him think on his feet, as he just runs off.

    Funny enough, this does feel very fitting for the Indiana Jones franchise. While he has taken out quite a few bad guys with his fists, he does end up using his head to get out of various situations. We might even get a tribute to the classic scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, where he takes the logical route of just pulling out his gun instead of going through a long sword fight. Ford‘s age might restrict their approach to action sequences, which might inspire some creative approaches throughout the film’s run.

    Source: TikTok via Twitter

  • New ‘What If’ Funko Pop for Party Thor Revealed

    New ‘What If’ Funko Pop for Party Thor Revealed

    We’ve covered quite a few of Marvel Studios’ Funko Pop lines. They’ve offered some insight into character designs or even confirmed leaked storylines for the upcoming What If series. We normally get a small line-up of characters ahead of the series premiere with new reveals following shortly after. Yet, the animated series might have the largest line-up ahead of its August premiere.

    It makes sense with each episode focusing on a new Variant from the recently established multiverse. Just the other day we got our first look at an exclusive Black Widow and Collector Funko Pop for Marvel’s Collector Box. It seems they aren’t the only one, as Party Thor’s Funko Pop is heading to Walmart.

     

    The episode will explore a party so large, it threatens the future of the galaxy. We got a glimpse of this version of Thor facing Ultron bots in an earlier trailer, which may hint at them intersecting at some point. We still don’t know exactly if each episode will be unique and then crossover at some point. We did get a full look t his golden armor with some early artwork leaks. It seems like this version of the God of Thunder never learned humility as he became the next ruler of Asgard. Here’s hoping we get another glimpse n the coming weeks of what this party is all about and who the guests might be. If he involves the entire galaxy, we might see quite a few familiar faces join the festivities.

    Source: Twitter

  • RUMOR: Disney+ May Have Found Its Live-Action Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn Actors

    RUMOR: Disney+ May Have Found Its Live-Action Ezra Bridger and Grand Admiral Thrawn Actors

    Some rumors seem to keep coming and going. Star Wars is quite popular and has been surrounded by quite a few over the last year. Ever since The Mandalorian expanded into new Disney+ series, many have wondered what iconic characters from history’s past might make a grand return. Especially now that Ahsoka is getting a live-action series and can tie up loose ends for Star Wars Rebels. The latest rumor is one of those, as it seems Lucasfilm may have found their live-action versions of Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger.

    Aladdin‘s Mena Massoud is eyed for the role of Ezra, which we first heard rumors around five months ago from Kessel Run Transmission. It didn’t help when he posted an iconic line of Ezra’s some time ago on Instagram, which added more fuel to the rumor. He’ll be joined by Lars Mikkelsen, who will join Katee Sackhoff as one of the few actors to voiced a character and play them in live-action. His performance was quite memorable and added a new depth to the vicious admiral. They are set to potentially appear in an upcoming Disney+ series.

    If this casting turns out to be true, they may make their live-action premieres in the upcoming Ahsoka series. It’s uncertain if they might connect to an overarching plot that was built up with The Mandalorian series, but there’s a lot of potentials. Thrawn in competition with Giancarlo Esposito‘s Moff Gideon would be an amazing dynamic to see in the franchise’s future. Here’s hoping we get a confirmation by the time The Book of Boba Fett releases.

    Source: LRM

  • New ‘What If’ Funko Pop Leak Offers Closer Look at Black Widow and Collector

    New ‘What If’ Funko Pop Leak Offers Closer Look at Black Widow and Collector

    It looks like the next wave of What If Funko pops have found their way online. It’s been only three weeks since the first wave found its way online featuring Captain Carter, Star-Lord T’Chall, Hydra Stomper, Gamora, and Doctor Strange Supreme. Now, the next two Funko’s have found their way online from the upcoming animated series that will be available with the Marvel Collector Corps. They feature the version of Black Widow from the post-apocalypse and The Collector. Instagram user dis.trackers provided the first look at the new Funko Pops that are a must-buy for many collectors.

     

    It’s been around two months since we first heard about the post-apocalyptic episode featuring Black Widow. The episode would explore the aftermath of Ultron dropping Sokovia and decimating the planet. It could be the first time we see the comic location known as the Wasteland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We don’t have any details on the episode, but the official poster does tease Vision in Ultron armor wielding all Infinity Stones. So, he might’ve finally obtained his perfec body and ruled the galaxy while he was at it.

    The Collector isn’t too much of a departure from what we know of the character. There was a tease of T’Challa facing off against him, which seems to be the most likely episode to feature him. In it, Yondu picks up the Wakandan instead of Peter Quill and he becomes an integral part of the Ravagers. The trailer teases a very unique dynamic between the two and could see the world unravel in a unique way. Wht If premieres August on Disney+ and we can’t wait to see what other scenarios we might witness.

    Source: Instagram

  • REPORT: ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ To Feature Familiar Faces and Family Drama

    REPORT: ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ To Feature Familiar Faces and Family Drama

    The Continental will finally enter production with director Albert Hughes on board. Instead of an ongoing series, it’ll be a three-episode event that explores the history of a young Winston at the iconic hotel of the John Wick series. There has been no casting yet, but the Illuminerdi may have gotten their hands on some details regarding the show’s cast. It confirms that young Winston won’t be alone, as Charon, the famous concierge of the Continental, also has a role in the series. Still, some other characters may hint at the overarching story.

    In a world full of hitmen, it isn’t too surprising that some new faces from the underworld will join the show. There’s mention of a Vietnam War veteran and his sister who run their father’s dojo and are gun runners. There’s also the mob boss Cormack. He will work closely with Winston’s brother, Frankie, and his Vietnamese wife, Yen. We’ll also meet Winston’s investor’s Mr. and Mrs. Davonport. There’s also the mention of the cleaner Charlie. He will act as a mentor for Winston and his brother.

    The big highlight is that the show will reveal a mysteriously dark past of Winston throughout the series run. As we never meet his family, their future might be part of it. There’s a hint that Frankie’s actions will put his brother and wife’s life at risk. So, it won’t be easy for him to leave the mob life. It’ll be curious to see if we get a brief glimpse or hint at John Wick’s past in the show. Outside of this Baba Yaga name, we know very little about his past. Perhaps Winston is keeping some secrets very close to the chest.

    Source: Illuminerdi, SlashFilm

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Details for July’s OLT Update Teases Super-Adaptoid’s Return

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Details for July’s OLT Update Teases Super-Adaptoid’s Return

    It’s been a long wait but the first Omega-Level Threat is getting released next week. Marvel’s Avengers has been teasing the endgame content since it was released. Sadly, the pandemic and a rough release had other plans and it continued to get pushed back. While the original Cloning Labs are still in limbo, Kate Bishop’s long-promised OLT got a release date. Now titled “Family Reunion,” we’ll return to the iconic mission with a brand new level of challenge. Crystal Dynamics shared a new blog post with more insight into what we can expect alongside the new trailer.

     

     

    Alongside a new Omega Exotic gear, the mission will provide players with weekly rewards when finished. It is multiplayer only and also includes the Multiplayer Mega Hives that include new Hivemind gear. The big takeaway from the OLT is that this is simply a template to introduce more challenging versions of content. It’s the same mission as Family Reunion that is more challenging. The big changes lie in the fight against the Super-Adaptoid who will feature new abilities. Some modifiers add to the challenge and you’ll face a Tachyon Rift timing.

    CD teases that this is merely a glimpse into what is coming with the future. Wakanda will get an OLT that features unique challenges and even enemies that push the story further. So, we should just see this as the beginning of that new direction. The update will go live on July 27th and there is still time to get a group of friends together to prepare for what is promised as the game’s biggest challenge. The game will also be free-to-ply from July 29th until August 1st on PlayStation 4, PS5, Stadia, and Steam. Xbox players will get it at a later date.

    Source: Play Avengers, YouTube, Twitter

  • Anna Torv Joins HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ as Tess

    Anna Torv Joins HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ as Tess

    It looks like HBO isn’t quite done yet with their The Last of Us series. Just recently, the voice of Tommy, Jeffrey Pierce, joined the series as an original character. His original role was given to Gabriel Luna who will play Pedro Pascal‘s brother in the upcoming series. The series has now found its Tess, as Anna Torv has joined the video game adaptation in the iconic role. Her character was the catalyst that would get Pascal‘s Joel on the journey across America in the hope to find a cure for the plague infecting the world. That cure comes in the form of Bella Ramsey‘s Ellie, with who he build a deep bond throughout their journey.

    We still know very little about the series. It seems to be following the plot of the game quite closely, but they’re also adding new characters. The casting announcement for Trish is a good sign that they will focus on the game’s main story beats. We might get some new side quests throughout the run that offer more insight into our main duo.

    Torv is well-known for her role in the series Mindhunter. Yet, her breakout series was Fox’s Fringe series and her appearance in Secret City. She was involved with an HBO polygamy drama alongside Ryan Murphy which didn’t happen. So, she is no stranger to working with the studio. She’s a great addition to the all-star cast and we can’t wait to see the adaptation by Chernobyl‘s Craig Mazin.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter