Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • BREAKING: Liv Tyler to Return in ‘Captain America 4’

    BREAKING: Liv Tyler to Return in ‘Captain America 4’

    No, you read that correctly but Marvel Studios will finally reintroduce Betty Ross to the world, as Liv Tyler is set to reprise her role from The Incredible Hulk in the upcoming fourth entry of the Captain America franchise, Captain America: New World Order. Anthony Mackie‘s Sam Wilson will take on the mantle he took over during Falcon and the Winter Soldier as he faces some new threats.

    For those that might’ve forgotten, she played the role in 2008 and hasn’t been in a Marvel Studios project since. It was the second entry in the franchise right after Iron Man in the same year when Edward Norton was still attached as Bruce Banner. If they have bigger plans for her character, she will also have her first meeting with Mark Ruffalo, who took over in The Avengers back in 2012.

    She’s not the only returning actor from that long-forgotten Hulk film, as Tim Blake Nelson is also finally appearing as the Leader in the Captain America film. While it will also feature her father, Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, the late and great William Hurt sadly won’t be returning, but his character will live on with Harrison Ford is set to take over the role in the upcoming film.

    It’s interesting to see so many Hulk characters in a Captain America film, but it may be set up more in the future. Liv Tyler was actually rumored for some time to appear in a Marvel project. Once again it reminds you just how big this franchise has grown and the legacy it still holds with characters returning we haven’t seen in almost 15 years.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Questlove to Direct Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’ Live-Action Hybrid

    Questlove to Direct Disney’s ‘The Aristocats’ Live-Action Hybrid

    Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has made a name for himself by winning an Oscar for Best Documentary and it seems that it already kickstarted his career to tackling a live-action hybrid of the Disney classic, The Aristocats. The news has just arrived that he will be making his directorial debut and acting as an executive producer on the project. Not just that, but he’s also set to oversee the music for the project.

    Questlove might be familiar to many as part of The Roots. He also acted as the composer for the project of Vincent N Roxxy and some may know him for his role as Curley in Pixar’s Soul. Though, he might be most famous for his time as musical director on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. So, he definitely makes for a great choice to bring the iconic music from the original into modern times. There’s no word if this will remain a musical like the original or take a different direction.

    The Aristocats wasn’t among Disney’s biggest animated features but it definitely was memorable for its jazz-inspired music. The 1970 classic was written by Tom McGowan and Tom Rowe and has some iconic music composed by Floyd Huddleston and Al Rinke including “Le Jazz Hot” and famously “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat.” The new film is written by Will Gluck and Keith Bunin. Tarik Trotter, Shawn Gee, and Zarah Zohlman are attached as executive producers for Two One Five Entertainment.

    Source: Deadline

  • Amy Jo Johnson Opens Up On Not Joining ‘Power Rangers’ Netflix Reunion Special

    Amy Jo Johnson Opens Up On Not Joining ‘Power Rangers’ Netflix Reunion Special

    Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Now and Always is the perfect callback to a bygone era. With some returning faces, it’s great to see that our love and adoration for this series in our childhood has not gone away even after all this time. Yet, not all faces are set to return for the Netflix reunion special. Former Pink Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson, took to her Twitter to share why she and the recently passed away Jason David Frank may have decided not to join the production.

    She doesn’t really give a specific answer but the “wear spandex in my 50s” reaction may be quite genuine as she’s moved away from the character. She’s been quite busy with her directing career, such as being involved with one of the episodes of Superman and Lois’ second season. Though, she’s certainly happy for those that did return from the original era and she doesn’t rule out that she might have some involvement with the franchise’s 30th anniversary.

    https://twitter.com/_amyjojohnson/status/1640026992992038912

    There will be a pink ranger in the series, played by the second to hold the mantle, Catherine Sutherland. Austin St. John also couldn’t return due to facing criminal charges. The second Red Ranger, Steve Cardenas, is taking on the role in this special. They are joining David Yost and Walter Jones as the Blue and Black Rangers respectively. There is also a tribute to the late Thuy Trang, who played Trini, Yellow Ranger in the series and it’s uncertain if they also added a tribute to Jason David Frank after his tragic passing in late 2022.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘John Wick 4’ Opens to an Impressive $137.5M Worldwide

    ‘John Wick 4’ Opens to an Impressive $137.5M Worldwide

    It looks like people are all-in for John Wick: Chapter 4. The franchise continues to grow and has managed to wrap up its weekend with $73.5M. That would put it above the recent $70M expected opening from 3,855 theaters. It’s come pretty far from the first John Wick‘s opening of $14.4M and has now passed the record set by the previous Parabellum entry of $56.8M.

    Internationally, the film did quite well as it passed all expected pre-release estimates and opened to $64M. As such, the film now proudly stands at a franchise’s best of a $137.5M global opening. Not many films can claim that their fourth entry managed to continue growing the franchise’s box office revenue with only nine managing to hold that title in the past 40 years.

    Lionsgate might also be quite happy as this is the highest opening they’ve had since The Hunger Games opened to $102.6M back in November of 2015. So, it has been a while since they had such a big hit in theaters. The latest film entry did make up 62% of the weekend gross and it was slim picking for the rest. Shazam: Fury of the Gods did slightly better than the expected 70% drop but a 68% drop with a $30M opening isn’t something you want to see, families truly aren’t back in theaters yet.

    Source: The Wrap, Deadline

  • New ‘Joker 2’ Set Photo Hints at Another Member of Batman Rogue’s Gallery

    New ‘Joker 2’ Set Photo Hints at Another Member of Batman Rogue’s Gallery

    It seems like quite a few set photos are finding their way online from the set of Joker: Folie á Deux. The big reveal came in the form of our very first look at what Lady Gaga‘s take on Harley Quinn looks like. It’s definitely as grounded as you’d expect from the Joker franchise with her mostly having the iconic design from the original on her shirt and the red jacket. It’s definitely a departure from her original design but not too far off from what we see her wear in recent iterations.

    However, that isn’t the only thing that is revealed in this new batch of set photos, as The Hollywood Handle has unveiled one more that includes a reference to another member of Batman’s iconic rogue’s gallery. If you look closely, one of the signs states “Dent is the Clown” in a protest to allow Joaquin Phoenix‘s Arthur Fleck out of prison. Of course, if the name Dent is used in correlation with the law, it can only mean one thing: Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face exists in this timeline.

    Now, it might not actually be in reference to Harvey Dent but perhaps his father. Bruce Wayne is quite young in this timeline, which would make it strange that a character that commonly is teased as a close friend is quite a bit older than him. Though it’s not entirely impossible that they just take this direction and have most of Batman’s rogue’s gallery exist as he was growing up and shape him similarly to Gotham‘s approach.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘John Wick 4’ Eyeing $70M+ Opening as ‘Shazam 2’ Faces Harsh Drop

    ‘John Wick 4’ Eyeing $70M+ Opening as ‘Shazam 2’ Faces Harsh Drop

    We have another strong opening for a smaller budgeted project, as John Wick Chapter 4 is definitely heading for a strong $70M+ opening. It pulled in a strong $29.4M over Friday night including Thursday previews. As such, it is currently on track to $70.6M but strong word-of-mouth might even push it further. It seems that a strong push is through IMAX, PLF, and 4DX locations with over a third being from those types of theatrical experiences. It’s also showing a strong 93% PostTrak with a higher recommendation rate than even its predecessor John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

    The target audience here remains men over 25, which made up around 48% of its viewership, highlighting their strong showing in theaters remains what is keeping the medium afloat and matches with previous record-breaking releases. Currently, the problem still remains with younger and family audiences that aren’t quite where they were pre-pandemic times, as they could’ve made a difference for more family-oriented offerings like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and even the recently released Shazam: Fury of the Gods.

    Speaking of, the Shazam sequel pulled in $2.35M on its second Friday, which is a strong 80% drop. As such, the film is expected to pull in $8.6M over the weekend. That is a 71% drop from its initial release which isn’t something a film wants with a $30M opening. To put that into perspective, that is a harsher drop than even Ant-Man 3, which at least had a $106M opening on its back to balance it out somewhat. At this rate, Shazam might not even pass $200M worldwide which it would need to break even on its production budget. FAmily-friendly superhero offerings might be suffering the most at the moment.

    Source: Deadline, The Numbers

  • Victoria Alonso’s Lawyer Strikes Back, Claims She Was “Silenced” by Disney

    Victoria Alonso’s Lawyer Strikes Back, Claims She Was “Silenced” by Disney

    The story surrounding Victoria Alonso‘s departure from Marvel Studios is starting to take on quite a messy direction. At first, there were claims that she was a kingmaker that wrecked the studio’s relationship with various VFX agencies. Then, a report arrived that she was fired due to her involvement with Argentina, 1985 after being repeatedly told that it is in breach of her contract with Disney.

    Now, the story is getting her lawyer involved, who has openly struck back at the statements and even put up some rather scathing statements in regard to her sudden cancelation. Patty Glaser claims that Alonso has been “silenced” by Disney but only hints that a revelation to this claim will follow in some form or another.

    The idea that Victoria was fired over a handful of press interviews relating to a personal passion project about human rights and democracy that was nominated for an Oscar and which she got Disney’s blessing to work on is absolutely ridiculous. Victoria, a gay Latina who had the courage to criticize Disney, was silenced. Then she was terminated when she refused to do something she believed was reprehensible. Disney and Marvel made a really poor decision that will have serious consequences. There is a lot more to this story and Victoria will be telling it shortly—in one forum or another.

    Patty Glaseer

    The claim may be in reference to a statement she made towards Bob Chapek during 2022 GLAAD awards after the Florida “Don’t Say Gay” bill incident. Though that wouldn’t make sense given that she was fired under Bob Iger‘s leadership rather than that of Chapek, who even Disney ousted due to the way things have been going as of late. Supposedly, she was no longer allowed to do press for any Marvel projects.

    At this point, stories aren’t quite adding up and it’s becoming a “he said, she said” storyline. The report surrounding Argentina, 1985 wasn’t an official statement but a report from Hollywood Reporter. So, the lawyer antagonizing Disney in reaction to that story is certainly a curious reaction. Whatever these consequences may be, we’ll have to see what exactly it might mean for everyone involved.

    Source: Variety

  • Laurence Fishburne Confirms His MCU Return in ‘What If…?’

    Laurence Fishburne Confirms His MCU Return in ‘What If…?’

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania skipped out on a few of its iconic characters introduced throughout the first two entries. Sadly, we will have to wait a bit longer to see Laurence Fishburne return as Bill Foster once more, but it seems the wait might not be as long as we may have assumed.

    While promoting John Wick Chapter 4, the actor revealed in an interview with Brandon Pope TV that he voiced his character once again in the upcoming second season of What If…?. While he doesn’t give away any details, it’s great to know that we’ll get a bit more from the actor in the MCU sooner rather than later.

    We’ve wondered if we might see Bill Foster in Thunderbolts, as his adoptive daughter Ava Starr, better known as Ghost, is set to have a major role in the story. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to explore what has happened to the two of them after Ant-Man and the Wasp.

    Of course, there’s still a chance they might add him for a brief appearance or they’ll hint at what happened to the two after the events of that film. Who knows how they were affected by the Blip and if her involvement with the unlikely team is to protect him.

    Either way, it’s great to know that the second season of What If…? will feature another familiar face and we’ll get our first look at an animated Laurence Fishburne. He’s always been an actor who had a great time and perhaps he’ll get to do something a little crazy like finally become Giant Man in the animated spinoff.

    Source: Twitter

  • New Details on Victoria Alonso’s Marvel Studios Exit Emerge

    New Details on Victoria Alonso’s Marvel Studios Exit Emerge

    To say Victoria Alonso suddenly leaving Marvel Studios was shocking is an understatement. She was a big part of the early days of the studio and while there are many stories making the rounds in regard to her handling of the Special Effects for various projects since she took over the role in 2019, it seems there’s a bit more to this story after all.

    In a new report by The Hollywood Reporter, they unveil that a big part of her exit was due to her work on the film Argentina, 1985. She was among eight producers for the international product that is distributed by Amazon. Yet, it seems she has breached her contract even after she was warned about her involvement which ended up leading to her contract termination. The breach is part of her 2018 contract that wouldn’t allow employees to work for competing studios.

    It seems she never asked for permission to get involved with Argentina, 1985. Though, IndieWire seemingly also reported that she had the okay on the project it’s uncertain how many elements are at play with veteran executives getting fired. It seems her Oscars appearance as a producer alongside director Santiago Mitre just added to the chaos.

    It seems that being busy with this project also had her distracted from her VFX job which was also hurting her reputation with recent reactions to the effects in the latest Marvel films, which was a general struggle for the industry after the pandemic. So, with its head distracted, it becomes hard to find a balance.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Michael Gandolfini Teases His ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Character

    Michael Gandolfini Teases His ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Character

    Michael Gandolfini has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in an undisclosed role for the Disney+ revival/sequel series Daredevil: Born Again. Even with the return of Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox, there will be something unique that’ll make it stand out from the previous iterations. Gandolfini‘s casting, for example, started a wave of rumors that he might be Wilson Fisk’s son in the upcoming series but in an interview with Collider, Gandolfini could only hint at one aspect of his character.

    I believe all I can say about my character is that my character is from Staten Island, and that’s about it.

    Michael Gandolfini

    While he can’t really divulge any details, Staten Island is certainly an interesting detail. It confirms that he’s a character that is from a New York City borough and might add just that little more weight to him potentially being connected to Fisk. Still, one thing is for sure: Gandolfini is excited to be part of this franchise.

    I mean, it’s incredible. It’s so, so exciting and daunting and everyone is so nice and so talented. I remember getting my first text from the producer, I was driving, and it said, ‘Welcome to the MCU!’ You see that and it just, like, hits you, you know? I teared up, and it’s just like, ‘Oh my God!’ I’m very grateful and lucky.

    Michael Gandolfini

    He also goes on to highlight that he’s “excited to be in Hell’s Kitchen” and we’ll see “the version of Daredevil” that we’ve come to love in the Netflix series not so long ago.

    I think people are going to really be excited to be in Hell’s Kitchen and see the version of Daredevil that everyone knows and loves, but now a part of this much bigger world where all of these other players are now in play, so it’s exciting.

    Michael Gandolfini

    Gandolfini‘s excitement is definitely infectious and it’ll be interesting to see who he is actually playing. If the rumors are true, there’s something interesting about getting to know Fisk through the eyes of his own son. We did meet his adoptive daughter in Alaqua Cox‘s Echo. So, who knows if there was a more sinister side to him that Echo was lucky to avoid.

    Source: Collider