Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘House of the Dragon’: Set Photos Offer First Look at Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Targaryen Royalty

    ‘House of the Dragon’: Set Photos Offer First Look at Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Targaryen Royalty

    All eyes have been anxiously awaiting the first look at HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off. We’ve seen a plethora of series getting announced throughout the last months, such as Tales of Dunk and Egg and, most notably, House of the Dragons. The latter has entered production and already rounded out its cast with some heavyweights, which includes Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, and Matt Smith. After a long wait, we finally got our first look at the upcoming spin-off, as some set photos have found their way online through the Daily Mail. They offer us a look at Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy on the beach in very familiar-looking Targaryen outfits.

     

     

    The series will take place 3,000 years before the original show and explores Targaryen’s history before Emilia Clarke‘s Daenerys Targaryen started her conquest of Westeros. Smith is playing Prince Daemon Targaryen and is sporting the iconic ice-blonde hair that the family is famous for. They are filming at Holywell Bay Bech in Cornwall. D’Arcy is playing his wife and niece Rhaenyra Targaryen. Their designs hint at a parallel between them and their successors, who would face a grim fate.

    We still know very little about the upcoming project, but we can expect a lot of murder and dragons once it releases. It is uncertain if the other projects are in some form of early production. We don’t know where exactly the story will take place, as we could see the Targaryens travel throughout Westeros or they may focus on Dragonstone Beach, which seems like the fitting location for this shoot. Hopefully, we get some more set photos that might tease Dragonstone Castle in the near future.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • Matt Lanter Hints at His Return as Anakin Skywalker in Future ‘Star Wars’ Projects

    Matt Lanter Hints at His Return as Anakin Skywalker in Future ‘Star Wars’ Projects

    Hayden Christensen is returning as Anakin Skywalker in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. It’s the grand return of the actor in the role since 2005. We have been following the adventures of the young Jedi before he became Darth Vader in Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Matt Lanter voiced the character in the animated series and breathed some new life into the character with his portrayal. Well, it looks like he might also return alongside Christensen in a new project. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly for Jupiter’s Legacy, he hinted that he will return as the character in the near future.

    There’s some new Lucasfilm Animation going on. I’ve been a part of some things I can’t talk about yet. You’ll see Anakin again. I never quite put Anakin down, whether I’m doing a video game or something new for Lucasfilm Animation.

    There is a good chance that he’ll return n May’s release of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, but it seems like there might be some more projects in development. We could see some more The Clone War spin-offs in the future, as Star Wars continues to expand in animation. He also hints at it potentially involving a video game. It would be interesting to partake in the Clone War from a gaming perspective as a Clone Trooper working alongside the Jedi. Perhaps we even get to revisit the time in a Jedi Fallen Order sequel. His return may also open up the door for Ashley Eckstein to return in the role of Ahsoka Tano. We might get more news once The Bad Batch releases on May 4th.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Snowpiercer’s Chinaka Hodge Joins ‘Ironheart’ as Head Writer

    ‘Snowpiercer’s Chinaka Hodge Joins ‘Ironheart’ as Head Writer

    It looks like one of Marvel Studios’ many Disney+ shows has finally found its head writer. Variety reported that Chinaka Hodge has joined the upcoming Ironheart production as its head writer. It will star Dominique Thorne as the iconic inventor Riri Williams, who ends up creating the most advanced suit of armor since Tony Stark’s Iron Man suit. Hodge has built up quite a career with her work on Apple’s Amazing Stories, TNT’s Snowpiercer, and her work in poetry. She is also a founder of The Getback alongside Snowpiercer star Daveed Diggs. According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch, the series will consist of six episodes, and production is slated for May. He may be implying pre-production, as no casting news has been made so far.

    Her upcoming Marvel Studios project explores the story of a newly invented character. Williams made her debut back in 2015 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato. The 15-year-old MIT student created her own armor by reverse engineering his work. He would end up encouraging her in the comics to continue down the path of heroism. Of course, the MCU saw the passing of the hero during Avengers: Endgame, which means her origin story might be quite different.

    Variety couldn’t offer any details, but there is a good possibility that her series leads into Don Cheadle‘s Armor Wars. It’ll see Tony’s biggest nightmare come true as the world has caught up with his technology, which includes Riri Williams. It’ll be interesting to see how they integrate her character into the franchise and if she might also have a larger role moving forward, as many young heroes are slowly taking over.

    Source: Variety, Twitter

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard in Talks to Direct Next MonsterVerse’s Film

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard in Talks to Direct Next MonsterVerse’s Film

    It looks like the hashtag movement #ContinuetheMonsterverse worked, as Hollywood Reporter has just revealed that Godzilla vs. Kong‘s director Adam Wingard is already in talks to tackle the next entry in the MonsterVerse franchise by Legendary Studios. As stated by THR, this is a great surprise after Godzilla: King of the Monsters underperformed with only $386M in the worldwide Box Office. Luckily, the latest entry passed $400M globally while releasing simultaneously on HBO Max and during a pandemic. It is the top-grossing movie since the pandemic completely halted the market last year. It also isn’t even opening in all markets, which could add to its performance moving forward. It is uncertain which character’s story he would continue.

    As Godzilla vs. Kong was originally going to end the franchise after it lost Box Office momentum, this is great news for MonserVerse fans. It is uncertain if this project will be fast-tracked, as Wingard is also set to direct a ThunderCats adaptation. Still, according to their report, the director was heavily involved with the development of the Hollow Earth plotline and they have been cooking up ideas since. They even believe that a Son of Kong project might be in the works and could be the one he’ll tackle next. Legendary will try to build on this film’s success and they seem to be looking at spinning off multiple installments. So, we could see Godzilla and Kong splinter off into their own franchises before they get a second showdown. Whatever they decide, we cannot wait to see more Titans in the future.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Elizabeth Banks to Voice Pebbles in Fox’s ‘Flintstones’ Sequel Series ‘Bedrock’

    Elizabeth Banks to Voice Pebbles in Fox’s ‘Flintstones’ Sequel Series ‘Bedrock’

    It looks like The Flintstones are making a grand return, as Warner Bros. Animation has greenlit a new sequel to the original series. It will be titled Bedrock and takes place 20 years after the original ended. They even already confirmed the first casting, as Elizabeth Banks will be voicing an adult Pebbles while serving as executive producer. The series has been in development since 2019, which Variety reported back in the day. The story will focus on Pebbles starting her own career as Fred Flinstone is about to retire. They are bout to enter the Bronze age and leave the Stone Age behind, which will lead to some conflicts as the old-timer has to adapt to the new era.

    Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceauos‘ Lindsay Kerns will write and act as executive producer. Banks and Max Handelman will also join via Brownstone Productions. Fox Entertainment president, Michael Thorn, had the following to say on the sequel series’ production:

    Long before the Simpsons and Springfield, the Griffins and Quahog, or even when the Belchers started serving burgers on Ocean Avenue, there were the Flintstones and Bedrock. Their imprint on the animation universe is undeniable and the idea of adapting it for today’s audience is a challenge we here at Fox are very much looking forward to taking on with Warner Bros., Elizabeth, and Lindsay. No pressure whatsoever, really.

    As The Flintstones family is known as the first family of primetime animation, it’s great to see the franchise make a grand return. It originally ran for six seasons from 1960 to 1966 on ABC. There have been many attempts to revive the show in the past even with two live-action films. Seth MacFarlane originally pitched a reboot back in 2011 which didn’t move forward. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle the story and

    Source: Variety (Bedrock), Variety (First Reporting)

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Demon Slayer: Mugen Train’ Dominate the Box Office

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ and ‘Demon Slayer: Mugen Train’ Dominate the Box Office

    It looks like it was a good weekend for the Box Office, as it was a tight race between Warner Bros. Mortal Kombat reboot and Japan’s Demon Slayer: Mugen Train. After Godzilla vs. Kong seemed to revive cinemas after a long pandemic-induced hiatus, there was a lot of hope that the next films would continue that momentum. Luckily, it seems that hope wasn’t misplaced, as Mortal Kombat opened to a sizeable $22.5M. It had some tough competition, as with little more than half the cinemas, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train garnered an impressive $19.5M. With it, the Anime has earned the biggest domestic debut of all time for a foreign-language film.

    What makes these numbers even more impressive is that both projects are R-rated. So, we aren’t just talking about the usual PG-13 fair. BoxOffice Pro’s Shawn Robbins offered a comparison to Wonder Woman 1984 to highlight how far we’ve come:

    To really get a sense of how far pandemic-era moviegoing has progressed, we just have to look at the fact that two R-rated films with some crossover audience appeal are combining to nearly triple the opening weekend of Wonder Woman 1984 just four months ago. People are increasingly comfortable and ready to get back to the movies

    We also need to consider that the latest adaptation of Mortal Kombat was also released simultaneously on HBO Max. Even so, it managed a respectable $50.1M internationally. These projects had a strong male viewership and were able to dominate the April marquee, which normally is flooded by larger Hollywood projects. In a way, the consequences of the pandemic may have helped some of the smaller projects that might’ve otherwise struggled. Godzilla vs. Kong held on to the third title making $86.6M domestically.

    It also may be a sign that Anime films, which are normally targeting a niche group, have a much stronger chance in the US market. Demon Slayer‘s first film released in Japan last year and was the countries’ top-grossing film. It now stands at a very impressive $400 million.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Another ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Leak Reveals Black Widow’s MCU Skin

    Another ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Leak Reveals Black Widow’s MCU Skin

    It looks like we weren’t quite done yet, as another Marvel Cinematic Universe has been leaked online. This time around, we are getting our first look at a brand new Black Widow skin. It isn’t one that seems inspired by the upcoming film but once again a design taken directly from Avengers: Endgame. It seems to hint that they might roll out the various costumes from different entries in the franchise but focused on the film that featured the most of them. We just got our first look at Captain America and Hawkeye (who is in this image once again) that continue showcasing the amount of detail that went into these film-based skins. @mmmmmmmmiller shared a closer look at the skins.

    We also got another closer look at the Captain America skin in all its glory:

    There certainly seems to be a lot of detail in these new skins. You’ll notice that Cap’s headpiece doesn’t match the rest of the suit and it seems that when it replaces the skin, it keeps the originals hair and face model. So, it is uncertain how much they might change when they are officially released. In the case of Black Widow, we might even get the hairstyle she had in the film. They put a lot of work in translating these designs and it is exciting to see how they’ll look once they are available with the release of May’s Red Room Takeover event.

    Source: Twitter (BW), Twitter (CA)

  • First Look at ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ MCU Captain America and Hawkeye Skins Leaked Online

    First Look at ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ MCU Captain America and Hawkeye Skins Leaked Online

    Marvel’s Avengers is no stranger to leaks and it looks like their new Marvel Cinematic Universe-inspired skins are finding their way online. A few days ago, we got our first look at a Professor Hulk design that was stripped straight from Avengers: Endgame. Now, it looks like two more have found their way online. It looks like Endgame might be the main focus for the first series of skins, as Captain America’s scale uniform and Hawkeye’s Ronin skin from the film have leaked online.

    Someone posted them in a response to a tweet by @Laajune__, who teased how these skins ended up being revealed. It seems that changing skins after dying in a Mega Hive mission, which leads to your current outfit getting replaced with the MCU skins. User @Sksk37474251 then posted the first look at both skins.

     

     

    The costumes look fantastic and are direct adaptations of the films. It is curious though that they seem to be focusing on the Endgame designs, but they are the most recent for many of these characters. There is a good chance that Black Widow, the main star of the upcoming event, will also get skins from her upcoming film, which is slated to release in July. Crystal Dynamics confirmed that we will get our first look officially at the upcoming developer stream. It’ll be interesting to see if they showcase the already revealed skins, or we get something new.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘American Horror Story’ Spin-Off Recasting Season 1’s Rutger Twins

    ‘American Horror Story’ Spin-Off Recasting Season 1’s Rutger Twins

    It looks like the American Horror Story spin-off is actively exploring past seasons in creative ways. We just got our first look at the return of Evan Peters‘ Tate Langdon. It is starting to point that American Horror Stories is going to revisit the place that started it all, as we also saw the team return to the iconic Murder House from the first season. They are still keeping most of the stories’ plot under wraps, but it will certainly be a trip down memory lane. It looks like the first season will see a few more returning characters, as the twins Troy and Bryan.

     

    It Looks Like The Creepy Twins From The Very First Episode Of 'AHS' Are Back

     

    The first hint came from the AHS fan page on Instagram, where they hinted at the return of the red-headed twins. Now, the actors that originally portrayed them have aged since the original first season premiered in 2011. So, we can confirm that they are actively looking to recast the two. Yet, they are active only looking for one actor with twins being a plus. Their description matches the original appearance. The character is described as a “mischievous teenager, who is always playing pranks and wreaking havoc.”

    It seems they are taking into account the difficulty of finding twin actors that would match Kari and Bodhi Schultz‘s description. So, if they only manage to find one actor to fit the bill, they may reshoot the scenes with him playing the other twin. We’ll see how they play into the story and if this tale will offer a new perspective on the original first season of the series, or maybe visit a brand new victim of the murder house once it airs.

    Source: Instagram

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Confirmed no PvP Plans

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Confirmed no PvP Plans

    The weekly tradition continues as we cover the latest developer stream of Crystal Dynamics. They offered some great insight into where their current projects are, as development has streamlined quite a bit after facing the tribulations of the pandemic. A few of the bugs have also been discussed and given some slight updates. Without further ado, here are the biggest takeaways from the events:

    • They discussed various bugs, such as Mega Hive’s resetting, sound cutting off, and enemies not spawning in certain areas. Crystal Dynamics is also actively looking into the Gamma bug. So, we might have to expect some nerfs shortly.
    • Most of the Omega-Level Threat bugs have gotten squashed. Now, they are going to forward it for QA testing to ensure everything works. The team even teased a video that will announce its release date. The most complex OLT is currently getting looked at.
    • The MCU skin wasn’t showed off this week, but they promised we’ll get one next week as they will also offer more details on the Red Room Takeover. There was the recent skin leak for a Professor Hulk costume from Avengers: Endgame.
    • Patrol Mode was a highlight in the stream, as it will include quest chains for credits. They are testing it out with four characters. It is a big area to explore, and they are looking into adding fast travel points in the future. If it turns out to be popular, they will work on more levels of this design. They also accidentally revealed that random boss events could happen.

     

    Buy Marvel's Avengers - Microsoft Store en-IN

     

    • We can expect more information on post-Level 50 progressions shortly.
    • Gear 2.0 was teased once again with the updates heading our way in the near future. They seem to have some plans for next week.
    • The team would love to create a MODOK villain sector but teased one for Super Adaptoid.
    • PVP got shot down during the live stream. So, we shouldn’t expect it as they remain focused on offering PVE content.
    • There are some interesting UI changes in development for the game. In general, they will communicate these in their newly updated Weekly Blog. They also confirmed that the roadmap is going to continue growing and change as the weeks go by.

    It is interesting that they are far along with their work on the OLTs and Patrol mode. They have teased that we’ll get a lot more insight next month on things, which will be quite exciting as the Tachyon Anomaly will be continuing for the next two weeks. I’ve been having fun playing alongside multiple Hulks and just annihilate AIM. So, hopefully, we’ll get these as a permanent addition, which they seem interested in adding. Here’s looking forward to next week.

    Source: Twitch