Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • First ‘Final Fantasy 7 Remake’ DLC Reveals the Return of Yuffie

    First ‘Final Fantasy 7 Remake’ DLC Reveals the Return of Yuffie

    I didn’t expect this. In the latest PlayStation State of Play, we got a look at various upcoming game releases and the showcase of upgrades for PlayStation 5 owners. Among them, we got a showcase of 2020’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake with new textures, lighting, and so much more. It even comes with some Quality of Life improvements. We finally get a Photo Mode to see all the detailed work in the game. The biggest surprise was the reveal of an entire story chapter focused on everyone’s favorite ninja Yuffie. The new story will be available for PlayStation 5 players and is titled “Intergrade“.

     

     

    It starts with a recap until we suddenly get a brand new sequence looking at Midgar through a telescope. It quickly reveals Yuffie’s updated design and introduces a new cast of characters. We even get some gameplay that shows her maneuverability on the field. It looks like they want to add a lot more ways to get around the map in the sequel. Yuffie’s Intergrade storyline will take place at the same time as the original game.

    The trailer even ends on a curious cliffhanger. It reveals a mysterious character, who may be the main antagonist for this storyline. The DLC will be released on June 10th worldwide, and it will expand the franchise before the official sequel gets released. I didn’t expect any smaller content drops, as they already broke the original game into multiple pieces. It also is a brand new story that wasn’t a part of PlayStation’s Final Fantasy 7 release in 1997, so we might see more additions in the future. I cannot wait to revisit this world on the next-gen console.

    Source: YouTube

  • ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ Adds ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler in Undisclosed Role

    ‘Shazam: Fury of the Gods’ Adds ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler in Undisclosed Role

    We recently reported that Shazam‘s upcoming sequel Fury of Gods is eyeing a May production start in Georgia. Well, some casting news just dropped that would help support it, as The Wrap has revealed that West Side Story‘s Rachel Zegler has joined the sequel in a key role. She is the second Colombian American actress to join a DC production right after Sasha Calle‘s casting as Supergirl for the upcoming The Flash film.

    There are no details on what character she might be playing, as the film’s script is still kept under wraps. There is a chance her character could be connected to a report from four months ago. It was about the film looking to cast Greek mythologies’ Three Sisters. She could be playing one or even portray all three if they want to go down a triplet route with their portrayal. Her career has been rising, as the singer and actress will star opposite Ansel Elgort in the upcoming remake of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg.

    The upcoming sequel will continue the story of Billy Batson, who can transform into an adult with superpowers after saying the iconic word. Zachary Levi will return to play the titular hero, whose name is the summary of the six gods, whose powers he was given. David F. Sandberg is also back to direct the film. He will bring a screenplay by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan to life, which will explore the aftermath of Billy giving his adoptive siblings similar abilities. 

    Source: The Wrap

  • Hulu’s ‘M.O.D.O.K.’ Series to Premiere in May

    Hulu’s ‘M.O.D.O.K.’ Series to Premiere in May

    It is going to be a massive year for Marvel. Marvel Studios is lining up around six series to release on Disney+ throughout the year. There have still been some remnants of the original Marvel TV team, whose last projects are getting released. Helstrom released at the end of last year exclusively on Hulu without the iconic branding, which made it feel disconnected from the other releases. The streaming service has one more Marvel series, and that is the upcoming stop-motion series MODOK. After a long wait, we finally got the official release date. According to an official post by the service, it will release on May 21st. Not just that, the release date also came with a brand new trailer that teases a lot of insanity, fights with SHIELD, and a new perspective on Marvel’s world. 

    The series will follow the Mental Organism Designed Only for Killing.  Patton Oswalt will be voicing the giant head. It will follow the iconic Marvel villain as he balances leading AIM as a company, his dream of conquering the world, and still maintaining a family life. The series was created by Stoopid Buddy Stoodios, who many might know from their work on Robot Chicken. It originally was intended to crossover with other series, which would become The Offenders series. Marvel canceled Howard the Duck, as well as Tigra and Dazzler. There currently do not seem to be any plans for MODOK to continue beyond its first season as Marvel Studios expands into Disney+.

    Source: Twitter, Slash Film

  • EXCLU: HBO’s ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Eyeing a May Production Start in NYC

    EXCLU: HBO’s ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ Eyeing a May Production Start in NYC

    Love is a tale as old as time. In 2003, Audrey Niffenegger tested its timelessness with her novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife. It told the story of Henry, who has a gene that makes him involuntarily travel through time. Of course, his absence strains his relationship with his wife, Claire. The story got adapted into a film back in 2009 by Warner Bros.’s New Line division. Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana were in the leading roles.

    Steven Moffat, the creator of BBC’s Sherlock and former Doctor Who showrunner, plans to adapt the story once more for HBO. The series still has no release date, but we learned that HBO is eyeing a May production start. It looks like the production is planning to film in New York City. It is uncertain if they plan to change the book’s location from Chicago to the Big Apple. There is also the chance that as he travels through time, he may arrive in different locations at various points in time, so anything is possible.

     

     

    Moffat has been an avid fan of the story, as it was the inspiration for the Doctor Who episode, “The Girl in the Fireplace.” Of course, his experience with time travel shows will be a great help with the drama. He will serve as writer and producer for the series alongside executive producers Sue Vertue and Brian Minchin. Moffat gets the chance to adapt a story he adores, which is always an exciting prospect. It makes you wonder if he’ll also sneak in a few references to his previous work.

    Source: HBO, Deadline

  • ‘Halo’ to Premiere Exclusively on Paramount+ in 2022

    ‘Halo’ to Premiere Exclusively on Paramount+ in 2022

    It hasn’t been an easy road for Microsoft’s adaptation of Halo. It seems like it has been in development for an eternity. After a long silence, the adaptation has finally gotten an update in the form of a new home. It has been announced that the show will not premiere on Showtime but will become an exclusive series on the new streaming service, Paramount+. They are currently eyeing a premiere in the first quarter of 2022. The series will be produced by Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey‘s Amblin Television.

    According to Deadline, they have already filmed around 60% of the first season before it got shut down due to the pandemic. It is uncertain when it was decided that the series would be added as an exclusive to the streaming service. CEO of Showtime, David Nevins, had the following to say about the series:

    It delivers the visceral excitement of playing the game, along with a much deeper emotional experience around the Spartans, human beings who got their humanity chemically and genetically altered. The story is about reclaiming what makes them human, and therefore it’s a very powerful story.

    It also came with the first look at the series logo, which remains very true to the original game’s version:

    Showtime will be focused on premium adult programming, as ViacomCBS starts its new streaming venture. Even after all this time, we haven’t seen a single still from the series. It is uncertain if it will focus on Master Chief’s story from the original games, or explore something unique.

    Source: Deadline, Twitter

  • ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Release Date Revealed Alongside New Trailer

    ‘The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers’ Release Date Revealed Alongside New Trailer

    It has been quite the day for Disney+, as they’ve been releasing one reveal after another. They are using the current TCA event to showcase their upcoming series to get some release dates out and answer a few questions. Loki got a new release date in June and it looks like another series got its release date. Disney+ has confirmed that The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is going to release on the service as of March 26th. It also came alongside a new poster and trailer that teases the next generation of misfits standing up for what they believe in.

    The new Mighty Ducks series looks like a promising look at kids coming together. The original franchise that started in 1992 consisted of three films. Game Changers is the first live-action series that will see the return of screenwriter Steven Brill and producer Jordan Kerner. Brill is serving as head writer for the series, while Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa will serve as showrunners. The franchise also had an animated series that had nothing to do with the original franchise, as it focused on anthropomorphic ducks that played the game. Only the iconic team’s symbol and the name carried over into the animated adaptation. I would love to see an animated series in the background that pays tribute to the animated series.

    Source: Twitter

  • EA and BioWare Will No Longer Develop ‘Anthem’s NEXT Update

    EA and BioWare Will No Longer Develop ‘Anthem’s NEXT Update

    BioWare’s release of Anthem has been hotly discussed online for the last few months. They have been working on a massive update, which got titled Anthem NEXT, which would bring new life into the live-service game. In an official post that was released today, they confirmed that development has stopped on the project. The game will continue to run, but it will not get any new additional content in the future.

    The small team has been hard at work developing this massive update for the game, which would see a complete revamp of its core gameplay loop. They have been adding improvements and various updates, but people were wondering about what the NEXT element would include. Not too long ago, it got revealed that EA was reviewing the 2.0 update, as it was uncertain if the 30-man team could continue development. Sadly, it seems the studio has decided to focus on upcoming titles, such as the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect entries.

    Christian Dailey, who is the executive producer of the game, apologized to the Anthem community in an open letter on BioWare’s blog. The good news is that the game will continue to be playable for fans, so the game isn’t truly dead but won’t see any future updates. EA and BioWare will continue working on their next franchises. The update’s long development cycle and the necessary funds may have been a large part of why EA decided to discontinue it. We’ll see how Anthem‘s legacy will leave its mark on current and future Games-as-a-Service.

    Source: BioWare, GameRant

  • Marvel Studios’ Future Disney+ Shows Will Stick to a Six-Hour Runtime

    Marvel Studios’ Future Disney+ Shows Will Stick to a Six-Hour Runtime

    We’ve been wondering for some time what the future of Marvel Studios’ venture into Disney+ would look like. The release of WandaVision is our first real glimpse, as we anxiously waited between episodes for how the series would unravel. One of the many questions we wondered about was the length of these series, as different shows will run for a specific length. Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be around six hours long with six episodes. WandaVision will consist of nine hours and was also predicted to have a similar running time. It looks like future projects will stick to this series length according to Kevin Feige, who was presenting at the TCA event.

     

    Interestingly, they are going to set a specific length for their series. The advantage of releasing series on streaming platforms is that you aren’t restricted to your show’s lengths or episode count. Interestingly enough, Marvel’s run on Netflix followed a similar structure, where they restricted the shows to a 13-episode runtime. However, they did not set a specific overall runtime, so episodes ranged from 45 minutes to over an hour. So, the choice to restrict the show’s overall runtime might be a reaction to ensure that the story being told doesn’t overstay its welcome. We’ve seen these complaints with the Netflix series, which seem to drag on at times. It will be interesting to see if they start mixing it up in the future, but for now, we can expect this six-hour run to be a connecting factor between all upcoming shows.

    Source: Twitter

  • Kevin Feige Confirms Marvel Studios Won’t Explore R-Rating Beyond ‘Deadpool 3’ For Now

    Kevin Feige Confirms Marvel Studios Won’t Explore R-Rating Beyond ‘Deadpool 3’ For Now

    The TCA has kicked off and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige got an entire panel to discuss the franchise’s future. While the event’s main focus remained on Disney+, some people got into questions regarding other properties. Most notably, they wondered if we would be seeing more R-rated films or projects in the franchise’s future. Interestingly enough, Feige confirmed that the now confirmed Deadpool 3 film is the only one in development.

    What makes this so interesting is that it indirectly reveals that Blade will not be R-rated. The vampire hunter’s first live-action adaptation was quite famous for it, especially with the amount of blood used in the property. It will be interesting to see how they’ll approach the project and if they’ll showcase the darker side of a vampire-focused story. Of course, we’ve had vampire films with a PG-13 rating in the past, so technically, they aren’t forced to use it. Deadpool will most likely remain the only franchise with the R-rating moving forward, as the character is building on the franchise of the past entries. He does confirm that they are open to potentially exploring darker themes, but it won’t have any priority on their side.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Monsters at Work’ to Release on Disney+ in July

    ‘Monsters at Work’ to Release on Disney+ in July

    It is quite the day for Disney+. We just got the release date for Loki confirmed, which will not premiere a month later than originally announced. Star Wars: The Bad Batch is going to arrive on May 4th. Now, Well, it looks like one more upcoming Disney+ series just got an official release date, as it was revealed that Disney’s animated series Monsters At Work is going to premiere July 2nd on the streaming platform.

    The series will work as a sequel to the original Pixar series Monsters Inc. and will continue to flesh out the franchise. The last time we visited Monstropolis, it was Monsters University, which explored Mike Wazowkis and James P. Sullivan’s college years. This series will feature the return of Billy Crystal and John Godman in the iconic roles, but will mainly focus on brand new monsters. Now that the power plant is run by children’s laughter rather than screams, a young scarer Tylor Tuskmon, who is played by Ben Feldman, will be in for a rude awakening with the company’s new direction.

    Source: Twitter, Decider