Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Wraps Production as Jeremy Renner Hints at Additional Photography

    ‘Hawkeye’ Wraps Production as Jeremy Renner Hints at Additional Photography

    It looks like one more 2021 Disney+ show has wrapped up production, as Jeremy Renner shared the end of Hawkeye‘s production on his Instagram story. The series will introduce the world to Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop, who is set to take on the iconic mantle. It will also introduce the world to the character of Echo, who will be played by Alaqua Cox. As Instagram Stories tend to vanish after some time, Twitter user @OYLmcupodcast luckily shared a screenshot featuring Renner covered in wounds. Now, fans of Matt Fraction‘s My Life as a Weapon run might be excited to see them embracing the original story. There is also a rather interesting wording by the actor that may hint at plans set for additional photography.

    Unlike classic TV productions, Marvel Studios approaches their projects like long-form films. As such, they also offer their teams the possibility to do multiple takes and tweak their work with additional photography. Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings will also return for some additional work next week. These are commonly planned far in advance to offer some time before release to add scenes or make sure every sequence hits as it should. Of course, we could also interpret his wording about the future of the character in the MCU. As of now, it is uncertain if Jeremy Renner‘s Clint Barton will have a future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as he passes on the title to Kate Bishop. It’ll be interesting to see if the series offers more insight once it releases later this year.

    Source: Instagram via Twitter

  • RUMOR: New Details on a Possible ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ Remake Surface

    RUMOR: New Details on a Possible ‘Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic’ Remake Surface

    More information is hitting the web hinting at the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic being in development. The original game released in 2003 and was followed by a sequel subtitled The Sith Lords. Sadly, the third entry was scrapped before The Old Republic MMORPG was released in 2011 and is still going strong. The story took place, as the name implies, 4,000 years before the Galactic Empire was formed. It has been a popular franchise that many wanted to see make a grand return even if it was via a Disney+ show. It’s looking more and more realistic.

    We got the first report on it by Cinelinx’s Jordan Maison in January, where he revealed that EA isn’t involved. He also hinted at the game integrating elements from both entries to update it for the current Star Wars canon. Now, another report by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier hinted that the game is further in development than expected. He hinted that it has been kind development since 2019 and that Aspyr Media might be working on the game. There have also been rumors that BioWare is heavily involved, as they created the original.

    Aspyr Media is no stranger to Star Wars, as they’ve been involved with various recent ports of Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast and Star Wars Racer. The reports seem to imply this will be a remake from the ground up, or if they are simply reworking the original to update it. There is also no word if this might also include a remake of the sequel or if they will rework the story. We could see a similar adaptation to Final Fantasy VII Remake, which split up its story in multiple sequels. We’ll see if we get an official remake in the near future.

    Source: Cinelinx, MinnMax, Aspyr

  • ‘Secret Invasion’ Adds ‘Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke

    ‘Secret Invasion’ Adds ‘Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke

    It looks like one more cast member is joining the upcoming Secret Invasion Disney+ series and this one is quite the catch for Marvel Studios. Variety has exclusively learned that Game of Thrones‘ Emilia Clarke is in talks to join the original series. Marvel Studios has declined to comment and her role remains unspecified. There is a possibility she is playing the character “Mina” who is described as a “very competent spy that can slip in and out of situations with ease.” It’s uncertain what role she may play in the story, but she could be one of Fury’s closest allies. Of course, she may also turn out to be a Skrull as you cannot trust anyone in an adaptation of 2009′s Secret Invasion. It’ll be interesting if we see more announcements in the coming days.

    She’s the second casting announcement for the Disney+ show this week, as just yesterday Olivia Colman was revealed to be in negotiations. Marvel Studios is still keeping the lid shut on the story and who they might be playing. So, we might not find out until later in the year, as production starts to ramp up. Clarke is a massive addition to the cast, as the four-time Emmy nominee has been continuing to rise in star power since her time as Daenerys Targaryen on HBO’s Game of Thrones. It isn’t her first time working with Disney, as she also had a large role in Solo: A Star Wars Story that seemed to set up a future storyline for the actress.

    Source: Variety

  • RUMOR: Latest LEGO Toy Leak Hints at a New ‘What If’ Spider-Man and ‘Loki’s Throg

    RUMOR: Latest LEGO Toy Leak Hints at a New ‘What If’ Spider-Man and ‘Loki’s Throg

    At this point, I think Marvel Studios will not trust any toy companies anymore. It looks like, once again, a leak from the toy company has offered a bit more insight into an upcoming project than it should be. The site Brick Fan has uncovered a list of LEGO Minifigures that are inspired by the various Disney+ shows. It includes quite a long list of characters, such as WandaVision‘s Scarlet Witch and White Vision alongside Bucky and Sam Wilson’s Captain America, which got heavily teased in the last episode of Falcon and Winter Soldier. It also includes some confirmed characters for the What If series, T’Challa as Star-Lord, Zombie Captain America, and Captain Britain. Of course, you’re not here for the already well-known characters.

    The list includes the first mention of Lady Loki. She’s been rumored since the first potential hint at a child-version of the God of Mischief hit the web. There is also the mention of Loki alongside Throg, which could hint at the character’s live-action debut in the June series. He isn’t just a Thor version of frog, but actually, a man named Simon Walterson. He was turned into a frog by Loki in the comics. Now, the list also includes some reveals for What If. There is mention of a version of Steve Rogers, who holds the title Spider-Man. There was an interview some time ago where Chris Evans revealed he would love to be Spider-Man, but disliked the costume. So, maybe his wish finally came true. We have to take this with a grain of salt, but it would be quite a curious direction if it turns out to be true.

    What gives this some credence is the inclusion of a Thanos version of Gamora. Her artwork was leaked alongside Ultron not too long ago. If we consider that would imply the other characters included in this Minifigure group may make their appearance in the MCU’s future. The curious inclusion of Steve Rogers as Spider-Man makes it a bit questionable, as the character does belong to Sony. Perhaps this could be a sign for a new era, as he can appear on the Disney+ projects. It’ll be interesting to see how this potentially pays off once the series release.

    Source: Brick Fan via The Direct, ScreenRant

  • RUMOR: ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 May Feature Chewbacca’s Wookie Race

    RUMOR: ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3 May Feature Chewbacca’s Wookie Race

    The wait between the first two seasons of The Mandalorian was a long one. What didn’t help was that Disney+, at the time, barely had any high-profile content to make the year go by faster. Well, 2021 will certainly shake that up with various Marvel Studios productions and new Star Wars entries filling out the year. As such, the story of Din Djarin will be delayed by a bit as its first spin-off takes center stage, The Book of Boba Fett. News has been sparse on the upcoming Star Wars series outside of May’s Star Wars: The Bad Batch. Luckily, it seems that the Bespin Bulletin was able to get their hands on some interesting info, as they revealed that the third season will see the return of Chewbacca’s Wookie race.

     

    They point out that it is uncertain if this may be a familiar face or a brand new character for this series. There is a chance that it is just a background character. So, it is hard to say if the Wookiees will have any relevance to the series’ plot. We’ve seen various alien races in background shots and the galaxy is quite connected for them to appear. Now, there is also some production information regarding the two series, as The Book of Boba Fett was still in production as of April at the same location that The Mandalorian uses. They may still be filming at Manhattan Beach Studios. As such, it is hard to say if the third season will enter production any time soon, but they seem to be slowly wrapping up the Fett-focused spin-off. For now, it would be great to see Mando visit Kashyyyk to add some variety to his usual revisits to Tatooine.

    Source: Instagram

     

  • RUMOR: PS5’s ‘Silent Hill’ Game Still in Development at New Studio

    RUMOR: PS5’s ‘Silent Hill’ Game Still in Development at New Studio

    Silent Hill fans have been through a rollercoaster in the last year. Quite a few rumors were pointing to a brand new title being in development for Sony. Around six months ago, a group of well-known insiders leaked various info on a “Project 0” that may be in some form of development at Sony’s Japan Studio. There was mention of a reveal at last year’s The Game Awards that sadly never got realized. The new entry would be a PlayStation 5 exclusive, as Sony had full creative license over the Konami franchise. Keiichiro Toyama, the first game’s director, was returning alongside the second game’s composer Akira Yamaoka. In a way, it seemed almost too perfect before news on it sadly died down.

    New starting piling up that made the rumors seem rather unlikely. Toyama left Sony and founded a new studio at the tail end of last year with Bokeh Game Studio. He is working on a new horror game and wants to keep his creative vision, which may be the reason he left Sony behind. On top of it all, Sony closed down its Japan Studio squashing any potential for the franchise to make a grand return.

     

    Silent Hill wird in Kürze online verfügbar sein. Stimmt, in Dead by Daylight

     

    Well, it seems that there might be some hope after all. Resetera leaker KatharsisT, who brought us the last bit of news on the game, has revealed that the game is still in some stage of development. He claims that the lack of announcement may be tied to the new studio taking over. He is hesitant to reveal which one.

    Japan Studio was only rumored and never confirmed. We’ve seen studios co-operate in networks on games. So, the secondary studio could’ve taken over. Sadly, we still have to take this with a grain of salt, as there is no official word on Konami working closely with Sony or even an announcement of a new Silent Hill game being in development. We’ll hopefully get some kind of information this year if these rumors turn out to be true.

    Source: PC Games Insider, Siliconera, Games Industry, GameRant (Silent Hill), GameRant (MGS)

  • ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ Sequel Director Trio Revealed

    ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ Sequel Director Trio Revealed

    It looks like the next entry in the animated Spider-Man franchise will have a trio of directors. The official Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse shared the new trio of directors that will tackle the project in a Twitter post. It reveals that Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson are taking over directing duties.

    It isn’t uncommon for animated features to have multiple directors due to their complexity of coordinating the various aspects of the process. They are taking over from Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, who brought the story of Miles Morales to life. The reveal is in a clever thread where they played on the bagels scene from the original film before suddenly dropping the director revealed.

    It’ll be interesting to see how they continue the previous entries’ story. Some time ago, we did report that there is a possibility they are adding the villain of Spot into the film. His abilities would be the perfect addition to a multiversal storyline that forces Miles to meet up with others and explore brand new environments. We might remain focused on the primary three from the first film. It is also a curious surprise that none of the previous directors are making a return. So, they might be trying to reinvent with each film to add a new flair to it. We cannot wait to see what direction the sequel will go and if it will remain focused on Miles, or even introduced a brand new member of the Spider-Verse family.

    Source: Twitter

  • Marvel Studios’ Nate Moore Hints at a ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Season 2

    Marvel Studios’ Nate Moore Hints at a ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Season 2

    Ever since WandaVision kicked off a new era for Marvel Studios. They’ve now explored the ventures of long-form storytelling with series that run over multiple episodes. Of course, any series has the potential to expand with future seasons. There have been some hints that Loki might be the first to explore a multi-season run, but it looks like Marvel Studios is already eyeing a second series to expand. In an interview with IndieWire, Marvel Studios VP of Production and Development, Nate Moore, offered the following insight on Falcon and Winter Soldier getting a sequel season in comparison to Wanda’s take-over of Westview.

    I think ‘WandaVision’ is a show you can only do once. She can’t go back into that reality. That is such a complete arc of what that character can do and what that story wanted to do, whereas ‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’ is really about dealing with, to me, the legacy of what a superhero is, through the lens of Captain America and his shield, but ultimately through the lens of all these different characters. And that’s a story I think you can revisit in subsequent seasons because it’s an evergreen story. It’s a conversation.

    It’s certainly an interesting approach and there is a lot they can explore about the title of Captain America in future seasons. We only scratched the surface with Bradley’s story and they could also revisit the storyline of Nuke. There have been countless failed experiments to revive the super-soldier serum. So, it offers a lot of opportunities to expand upon that. Plus, there was the hint that maybe Danny Ramirez‘s Joaquin Torres may take on the mantle of Falcon. With Sam Wilson most likely taking on the title of Captain America, Torres has to live up to a brand new legacy. It’s not a confirmation just yet, but certainly, a pretty big indicator that a potential future season is on Marvel Studios’ radar for Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

    Source: IndieWire

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Continues Marvel’s Exploration of Father Issues

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Continues Marvel’s Exploration of Father Issues

    Finally, the trailer for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings dropped. We got our first look at Simu Liu in the titular role, as he tries to live his own life out of the shadow cast by his father Tony Leung‘s Wenwu. After a ten-year rest, his father calls upon him to take over the leadership of the Ten Rings. His return into the world he tried to leave behind will re-awaken some dormant issues between him and his estranged parent. Now, producer Jonathan Schwartz highlighted the focus

    The core of Shang-Chi’s arc in the comics is really a family drama. That was something that Destin keyed into really early on in our conversations, the idea of taking this broken family and this really dark, even abusive family background and seeing what that does to a child over time.

    This story isn’t the first time that Marvel Studios has explored a dark and abusive relationship like this. Avengers: Infinity War put quite a bit of focus on how Thanos turned his adoptive daughter into the perfect killing machine. Of course, it pushed her away from him, as his warped view of the world left a deep rift between them. Let’s not even get started on his abusive behavior towards Nebula and how that even destroyed any chance for his daughters to bond.

     

    Avengers: Endgame fan theories that could be true

     

    Now, Thanos wasn’t the only father leaving a long-lasting scar on his child. Tony Stark’s journey was haunted by the sins of his father early on. The second entry in his trilogy highlighted that very legacy weighing down on Stark, who translated that into some rather destructive behaviors. Learning to overcome his issues allowed him to embrace his mentor role for Peter Parker. Now, unlike Gamora, he was able to make amends with his father in Avengers: Endgame even if Howard Stark had no idea he was talking to his son from the future. Still, it offered a more positive ending for Tony to take away and push him towards his final decision.

    Marvel Studios wasn’t the only live-action adaptation in the Marvel family exploring family ties as a core anchor for their storytelling. Marvel TV gave us the ever-expanding family in Agents of SHIELD. The relationship between Phil Coulson and Daisy Johnson, especially during the second season while being hunted by her biological father. We witnessed her even sacrifice a potential relationship with him to ensure he doesn’t have to live with the nightmares of his own actions driven by desperation to find her. Daisy carried that weight with her with Coulson taking on that role she was missing.

     

    What Happened To Daredevil's Dad? This 'Defenders' Moment Brought Up The Past

     

    Now, an episode that hit home with me was in Daredevil. The close relationship between the Murdocks before tragedy would eventually separate them was laid out in just a few episodes. We see a father struggling to meet ends meet by doing the only thing he believes he can do. The weight of trying to take care of his son and ensure he doesn’t repeat his mistakes will tear at anyone’s heartstrings. In a way, the story of parentage and how it defines the next generation will continue carrying an important role in the MCU, as younger heroes take over legacy titles. It looks like Shang-Chi is kicking off a new generation of heroes with father issues.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’: Marvel Studios Teases Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Future Role in the MCU

    ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’: Marvel Studios Teases Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Future Role in the MCU

    The latest episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier introduced the world to a Marvel legacy character. Julia Louis-Dreyfus entered the scene and introduced the world to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. The character has deep ties to the comics as she was a member of SHIELD, Nick Fury’s lover, temporarily Madame Hydra, and so much more.

    Now, with a resumé like that, it is a miracle she hasn’t had a larger role earlier in the series, but it seems her timely appearance to aid John WAlker at his low point may have a darker implication for the future. Marvel released a new interview with the team over at Marvel Studios discussing her addition. Executive producer Nate Moore discusses the parallels between her and Fury, as well as teasing her future.

    Whenever we talked about Valentina, even in the writer’s room, she was sort of a more acerbic, funnier, but darker Nick Fury. Someone who knows her secrets, who’s not afraid to operate in the moral gray area, but maybe who isn’t as inherently altruistic. Having a character like Valentina in the show, and actually in the MCU, is interesting because I think she’ll be making more waves sooner rather than later.

    Of course, if you compare a character to Nick Fury, it leads to a rather interesting parallel. Just like the eye-patch-wearing SHIELD agent, she seems to be recruiting people for something. It looks like the possibility of a Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers team has become a reality. Of course, Moore also hinted that we’ll get a lot more of Valentina shortly. He could be referencing that the character was originally to appear in Black Widow, which may hint at her return in July. There are also the other Disney+ shows that offer Valentina some new potential recruits.

    Source: Marvel