Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Eternals’: Closer Look at Celestials Leaks Online

    ‘Eternals’: Closer Look at Celestials Leaks Online

    Marvel Studios broke the silence on Shang-Chi recently with a brand new trailer. It has been the first trailer for a new film in the franchise since Black Widow’s last year. We haven’t seen anything from Eternals even though it was originally going to release at the end of last year. So, most of our knowledge about the film stems from various leaks, especially revolving around toys and artwork. Well, it seems that trend continues as another leak offers a closer look at some of the Celestials that will be showcased in the upcoming film through user @EternalsTalks.

    In the comics, the Celestials are the beings that created the race of Eternals and that will carry over into the films. It is uncertain how large their role will be, but they will give us our first glimpse at the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We did meet the head of one in Guardians of the Galaxy. So, we might even get the story of how KNowhere ended up becoming what it is today.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Captain America 4’ in Development

    ‘Captain America 4’ in Development

    It looks like Falcon and the Winter Soldier was simple the interlude, as The Hollywood Reporter has learned that Captain America 4 is in development. The film will pick up where the Disney+ series left off with Sam Wilson taking on the new role. Falon’s head writer Malcolm Spellman is penning the script with staff writer Dalan Musson. Now, they couldn’t divulge any more information other than that the new film is in development. It is likely that Anthony Mackie will take on the mantle continuing from the season finale.

    It is uncertain if it might be the grand return of Chris Evans in some form, whose absence was never given much information outside of “being gone.” There is also the potential return of Wyatt Russel‘s John Walker, who held the mantle in the series. The season explored the

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • First Plot Details for ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ Revealed

    First Plot Details for ‘John Wick’ Spin-Off ‘The Continental’ Revealed

    Keanu Reeves returned to cinemas in style when he took on the role of John Wick. The character became a household name, and the franchise continues to expand. Lionsgate is developing a spin-off series that will focus on the mercenary hotspot, The Continental. In 2019, Ian McShane confirmed that he’s not returning as Winston. He’s the owner of the hotel chain, which made it a curious reveal. It made many questions about which approach they’ll take. Well, it looks like Lionsgate TV chairman Kevin Beggs finally offered some insight as the spin-off is a prequel.

    What we’re exploring in The Continental is the young Winston and how it came to be that he and his team of confederates found their way into this hotel which we have met for the first time in the movie franchise 40 years later. That’s the arena. I won’t give away more than that, but Starz really leaned into this take also, and they have been great collaborators. And how we’ve approached this first season is as three essentially 90-minute events, which you could construe as a limited series or a limited event series.

    It seems they had a variety of pitches before they decided they wanted to explore a 1970s New York City. Beggs also revealed that Reeves won’t appear in the series, but he will join the project as an executive producer. The backdrop and origin story of the iconic hotel does offer a unique direction. It looks like it might not run for multiple seasons but rather be a limited series built up similarly to Sherlock. It’ll be interesting to see how they expand the Wick-verse moving forward.

    Source: SlashFilm (McShane), SlashFilm (Prequel)

  • How Sony is Winning the Steaming War By Not Participating

    How Sony is Winning the Steaming War By Not Participating

    Sony hasn’t had the easiest time. While possessing some major franchises, it still had a rough time staying competitive. Unlike some competitors, the company isn’t truly dependent on the film market, but it still hurts if an entire studio faces some harsh developments. Sadly, it wasn’t just their film department. The Sony conglomerate had hit a low after losing £3 billion in 2012. The £800 million write-downs for its film division weren’t helping matters due to falling DVD sales in 2017. At the start of the pandemic, many questioned the studio’s longevity, as many others establish their own streaming services. Well, Sony took a very different approach that is finally paying off.

     

    Poor Corporate Governance Fueled Sony's Meltdown | Nippon.com

     

    Their filming divisions finalized two major streaming deals in the last month. First, they announced that Netflix would become their exclusive streaming home. It meant that upcoming films would join the service as of 2022. Also, they get a first look at any new projects. It was a curious choice after they pitched Silk to Amazon. Many wondered if this was the end for Marvel Studios ever getting to bring all the Marvel properties together on Disney+. It also could have darker implications for the ongoing cooperation between Disney and Sony, as they already had a falling out in the past for the character’s continued existence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Suddenly, Sony dropped the news that they have signed a multi-year contract to make their projects available through Disney’s streaming service. It revealed that Netflix has access for a limited time before they’re made available on Disney+. While the Spider-Man franchise was in the spotlight, they will have access to all of their available franchises from 2022 to 2026. There was no word if original scripted series might also be heading to Disney+, but it doesn’t exclude the chance that Tom Holland‘s Spidey could get an original series at some point. It’ll be interesting to see the implications for their overall deal and the longevity of Spider-Man within this universe.

     

    How anyone can make a Spider-Man suit, step-by-step - befores & afters

     

    Why is this such a clever idea? Well, the streaming market is getting crowded. Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ have established their position at the top. CBS All Access took on the new name Paramount+ and is trying to sell the service with the long-awaited Halo live-action series. Apple+ had 33 million users but is struggling to get them to pay. HBO Max is also dominating the market as they even managed to see a higher subscriber growth than Netflix in the first quarter of 2021. Instead of worrying about surviving in this highly competitive market, Sony made the right call by using the franchises they own as leverage to make deals with not just one but two of the biggest competitors in the market. Now, they pretty much reap the rewards without the work of programming and marketing an entirely new service. It’ll be interesting to see how Sony continues to develop with this new deal.

    Source: The Guardian (Resurgence), The Guardian (Sony Pictures) PR Newswire, Variety, Financial Times

  • UPDATE: First Look at ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ MCU Skin for Professor Hulk Leaked

    UPDATE: First Look at ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ MCU Skin for Professor Hulk Leaked

    UPDATE: Well, it looks like that MCU skin might be real after all, as user @VWarrior31 shared the new skin animated within the game. If this is a fake, someone really invested a lot of time to trace those movements so there is a good chance this MCU skin is real.

     

    We’ve known for some time that the first set of Marvel Cinematic Universe-inspired skins will be released in May alongside Marvel’s Avengers Red Room Takeover event. The team has been sharing their excitement for the new skins in their developer streams and we were going to potentially get the first look this week. Well, it looks like we truly did get the first look but not in the dev stream as originally planned. A Reddit user shared the first look at a costume ripped straight from Avengers: Endgame‘s Professor Hulk costume. @AssembleCast and @DammitEthan noticed the similarities to the Hot Toys figure, which gave a closer look to the full-body suit on Twitter and brought it to my attention.

     

    Professor hulk MCU skin glitch (not mine originally but from a user on another forum)
    byu/nhillier inPlayAvengers

     

    Now, it seems that a strange visual glitch created the suit. There is a possibility that the original skin and the developed MCU skin might be connected through code, which led to this activating. Yet, it could be that someone invested a lot of time to replicate the costume. So, we have to take it with a grain of salt for now. Crystal Dynamics might still give us a first look this Friday. So, we will see if they confirm this costume. It still looks believable as its lighting matches the other characters. There is no similar skin to readjust to turn it into this MCU’s version. If this design turns out to be real, it hopefully will relieve many people’s fear of the “inspired” word used in the roadmap. It seems pretty accurate to the films, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Marvel Studios signs off on the usage of these designs. Here’s hoping we get a better look at others soon.

    Source: Reddit, Twitter

  • Russel Crowe May Have Confirmed That He is Playing Zeus in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Russel Crowe May Have Confirmed That He is Playing Zeus in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    It looks like Russel Crowe may have joined Alfred Molina‘s approach to discussing their work with Marvel, as in an interview he revealed that he is playing Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder. It was shared on Twitter by user @tlatnews with the audio bit from the actor’s interview with Joy 94.9. In it, he talks about taking a bicycle to film his final day and just outright states that he is playing the Greek father of the gods.

    https://twitter.com/tlatnews/status/1385291213490769925

    It is kind of hilarious how he states how he’ll be “Zeus-ing about” and it sounds like a line that would actually be in the film from Taika Waititi. Marvel Studios is famous for keeping a lot of their projects under secrecy, but Crowe is the second person to let slip about his involvement and role in an upcoming film. Alfred Molina famously just dropped the bomb by confirming the rumors of his involvement with Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    Now, the addition of a Greek god in the fourth entry of Thor is quite a game-changer. It opens up the possibility of Hercules making his MCU debut in the film. There is also the confirmation of Gorr the God Butcher having a major role in the film, which could hint at a dark future for these gods as they might come face-to-face with the character played by Christian Bale. We’ll see if the first trailer also gives us a glimpse of how they might factor into the story.

    Source: Joy 94.9 via Twitter

  • ‘PEN 15’s Maya Erskine Joins Disney+’s ‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’

    ‘PEN 15’s Maya Erskine Joins Disney+’s ‘Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi’

    It looks like the Obi-Wan Kenobi series has added one more actress to the ever-growing cast. PEN 15‘s Maya Erskine has seemingly joined the cast and has a supporting role for three episodes. It isn’t specified who she might be playing, as the series’ plot remains under wraps. So far, we only know it takes place 10 years after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and nine before A New Hope. It will also see the “rematch of the century” between Obi-Wan and Vader, as Hayden Christen will reprise the role of Anakin Skywalker.

    The actress has also recently appeared in Insecure and the Scoob! film. She has been nominated for multiple WGA Awards and even got an Emmy nomination for her work on Hulu’s PEN 15. Erskine is currently in the Hulu series Casual and will star in the film Sacramento alongside Michael Cera. The upcoming Disney+ series is in pre-production and slated to start production soon. The six-hour-long series will be directed by The Mandalorian director, Deborah Chow.

    Disney+ is expanding its Star Wars offerings, as Obi-Wan Kenobi will be joined by various spin-offs of the streaming service premiere show and the Rogue One spin-off, Andor. 2021 will be dominated by Marvel Studios’ series but May will see the release of The Clone Wars spin-off, The Bad Batch that will continue where the previous series left off. The end will be finished off with the first spin-off of The Mandalorian that will focus on Boba Fett before its third season sees the return of Din Djarin.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’: Joe Taslim’s 4-Film Contract Hints at Sub-Zero’s Dark Future

    ‘Mortal Kombat’: Joe Taslim’s 4-Film Contract Hints at Sub-Zero’s Dark Future

    We are only a day away from Mortal Kombat finally releasing in theaters and HBO Max. In anticipation, Sub-Zero actor, Joe Taslim, shared his excitement for the project with Variety. In it, he revealed that he has signed up for four more installments if the film turns out successful. Now, it isn’t uncommon nowadays that actors have multiple sequels in their contracts. What makes this particular contract interesting is the history that Bi-Han has in the games. Of course, there is a chance that the film takes a unique direction for his character, but the signs are hinting at his future echoing the games.

     

    Mortal Kombat's Joe Taslim Reveals He's Signed on for Four Sequels

     

    HBO Max released the first seven minutes of the film, which gave us our main conflict between Hanzo Hasashi and Bi-Han. Now, if you haven’t played the games only continue reading at your own risk. For those that have played the original trilogy from 1992 to 1995, their battle would eventually lead to one of them winning. Scorpion took the life of the one that murdered his family. His brother, Kuai Liang, would take on the mantle, but his brother’s soul wasn’t truly able to rest.

    In Mortal Kombat II, a secret character named Noob Saibot made his debut. We would later find out that this is actually a resurrected Bil-Han, who would continue his conflict with Scorpion and even his younger brother. The sorcerer Quan Chi took his humanity and turned him into a pure evil soul seeking vengeance. Now, the film series might take a very different approach to not just repeat the games. There is a chance he might end up living on, as Kuai Liang is notably absent. We’ve theorized that the original character, Cole Young, could be revealed as the younger Sub-Zero. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what the future of Sub-Zero could look like.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Spider-Man’ Heading to Disney+ Through Multi-Year Disney-Sony Deal

    ‘Spider-Man’ Heading to Disney+ Through Multi-Year Disney-Sony Deal

    It looks like Disney and Sony have been busy making deals behind the scenes, as Deadline just reported that they have reached a multi-year deal for post-day-1 releases of Spider-Man and other franchises on Disney+. This deal also covers Hulu and the various outlets owned by Disney. Now, the major reveal is that every theatrical release from 2022 to 2026 will move to Disney once their runs on Netflix end. Keep in mind, there is no confirmation when or how this will take place, as the specific plans haven’t been finalized.

    […] gives Disney enormous programming potential across its platforms and makes them key destinations for a robust collection of Spider-Man films.

    Now, this is quite the game-changer. We all expected that the Spider-Man franchise wouldn’t find its way to Disney+ after the Netflix deal, but it seems that Sony has been playing the long game here. At the time, the wording hinted at the streaming giant becoming their main home for digitally accessible content, but this changes the landscape. There is also the possibility that it opens up the possibility for Disney to develop Spider-Man spin-offs that connect to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or if this deal will also extend Tom Holland‘s franchise. There are a lot of questions coming out of this deal and we probably won’t get any answers anytime soon, but the developing partnership between Disney and Sony is a rather curious one. Hopefully, we will get some more news on how this deal may affect the MCU’s Spider-Man franchise in the near future.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Soul’ Animated Short Heading to Disney+

    ‘Soul’ Animated Short Heading to Disney+

    It looks like Pixar wasn’t quite done yet with the world of Soul, as an upcoming short titled 22 vs. Earth will revisit the character voiced by Tina Fey. It will be directed by the original film’s editor, Kevin Nolting. The short will act as a prequel to the event of the original film, as 22 remains skeptical about what Earth has to offer long before she meets Joe Gardner. It will revisit The Great Before where she recruits five new souls to join her little rebellion. Nolting shared his enthusiasm and what inspired him to revisit the character.

     

     

    While making Soul, we talked about the why of a new soul not wanting to live on Earth, but it didn’t ultimately belong in that movie. 22 vs. Earth was a chance to explore some of the unanswered questions we had about why 22 was so cynical. As a fairly cynical person myself, it felt like perfect material.

    Their excitement to explore the cynicism of 22 in contrast to the other soul’s naive outlook on the world. The Pixar veteran hopes to explore these blank slates and contrast them. After going through one mentor after another, maybe she sees herself as one of these young souls. I’ll be interesting to see if it may even directly build up to her first meeting with Jamie Foxx‘s Gardner and set off the events that will change her outlook on Earth.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter