Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead Join ‘Moon Knight’

    Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead Join ‘Moon Knight’

    We are only a week away from WandaVision finally premiering. Disney+ will be a new hub for Marvel Studios to expand into completely new territory. They have already revealed a wide variety of shows that include the introduction of the teenage superhero Ms. Marvel, Clint passing on the torch in Hawkeye, and chasing the legacy of Captain America in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. One of the biggest additions is the inclusion of Moon Knight. The story about a former mercenary losing his mind and becoming a vigilante has just as many facets as Marc Spector has personalities.

    It was a huge reveal when it was announced that Oscar Isaac was being eyed for the lead role. Shortly after, we got the confirmation that Egyptian filmmaker Mohamed Diab was also going to join the show, which is spearheaded by showrunner Jeremy Slater. It looks like he will be joined by two more directors, as The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead will also be directing some episodes. There is no exact number given, but THR confirms that Diab will be responsible for a sizeable chunk of the episode count.

    The show is expected to start filming in Budapest as of March. Benson and Moorhead have made their name with their low-budget horror film in 2013, Resolution. They got on Guillermo del Toro‘s radar after the release of their film Spring a year later. Their latest film Synchronic included Marvel veteran Anthony Mackie in its cast. It’ll be interesting to see what they bring to the table, as they explore Spector’s broken psyche.

    Source: THR

  • Marvel Studios’ ‘Legends’ Is Good, But It Can Be Better

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Legends’ Is Good, But It Can Be Better

    Yes, I used a tagline from Wonder Woman 1984 to discuss Marvel Studios’ latest addition: Legends. I can’t help myself, as the title was just too perfect. The first Disney+ original show produced by Marvel Studios is an interesting one. Technically speaking, WandaVision will be the first actual show, but this is the first series released by Marvel Studios. It even is categorized as a documentary series interesting enough. The idea is perfect for any Disney+ subscriber who doesn’t have a categorical memory of Marvel Cinematic Universe history. I enjoyed watching the premiere episodes, but it felt like something was missing. It wasn’t until I saw a tweet by @RICHARDLNEWBY that my gears started to turn. So, I started to ponder ideas that could’ve made this good series even better.

    Right now, Legends is an official supercut of each character’s history in the MCU. The first episodes highlight the moments that defined Wanda and Vision’s journey so far. The series exists to build up the release of WandaVision and every subsequent franchise. It is no longer than seven-minutes per episode and re-uses existing assets to highlight their journey to this point. It works well and is a great idea to help those that haven’t actively memorized every moment or just needed a pick-me-up after the year-long hiatus.

     

     

    Yet, it feels like there was an opportunity here to do more. As Newby pointed out, there is no mention of the character’s comic origins, no interviews with the actor, or even highlighting their transition from concept art to live-action. It would’ve been the perfect opportunity to showcase all the artwork and ideas that never made it to the screen. Especially now, as specific entries in Marvel Studios’ Art Of book collection aren’t easy to purchase.

    However, I want to go one step further and highlight what I believe to be the truly missed opportunity of this base concept. Legends could’ve been an actual show with its cast. I think it should’ve been the MCU’s version of Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross‘ iconic Marvels mini-series. The Daily Bugle has already gotten introduced in Spider-Man: Far From Home, so it would’ve been the perfect time to introduce Phil Sheldon.

     

     

    We see all these events unfold from the perspective of a regular news reporter. In each episode, Sheldon works on a case that revolves around one of the characters. For example, he could’ve explored Wanda’s sudden disappearance. It would lead him to retrace her steps, visit the remains of Avengers Headquarter. He may interview people that worked there and their impression of the former Sokovian. In a way, his existence allows Marvel Studios to fill in the blanks that occur between each film’s release. We get witness accounts of various events and gain a new perspective.

    It probably is an unrealistic expectation that this show would exist to fill in the blanks. The route they chose was the financially most viable option, as you don’t need to cast people, write scripts surrounding each episode while also mapping out productions so it’ll be ready in time. Still, I would love to see this concept explored as a Disney+ series at some point. It is the reason I started the podcast series LockeDown, as it was just such a fun idea to explore the MCU beyond the heroes we know. The Legends concept is good as it is, but I believe there is a lot of potential here to make it a great and memorable addition to Marvel Studios’ library of content.

  • LockeDown #3: SHIELD Rises From The Ashes Into Space

    LockeDown #3: SHIELD Rises From The Ashes Into Space

    John Locke is back exploring the latest stories, as we face the ghosts of our past. SHIELD seems to be making a comeback but with a new twist. The uncovered documents from a lost HYDRA base may have unveiled Red Skull’s strange fascination, while a monument to our failure is about to be taken down. What could it mean? Only one way to find out by checking out the latest episode:

     

     

    If you enjoyed the episode, don’t miss out on our Early Access by subscribing to our Patreon. Be one of the first to listen to the next entry by clicking here and becoming a Patron:

  • Karen Gillan May Be Joining ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Australian Production

    Karen Gillan May Be Joining ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Australian Production

    It looks like we might have one more member of the Guardians of the Galaxy joining Thor: Love and Thunder. A while back it was confirmed that we would at least see Chris Pratt return as Star-Lord, but there was no real confirmation if the entire team of ragtag space adventurers would also make an appearance. We barely know if they play into the story in any way after Thor left with them into space at the end of Avengers: Endgame. As the production is set to start in Australia, we’ve been keeping an eye out for any member of the team heading out there. Luckily, our very own Lizzie Hill noticed the actress Karen Gillan sharing some pictures of her arrival in Australia on Instagram.

     

     

    Of course, her being in Australia does not confirm her participation in the film directly. It would make sense for Nebula to appear in the film, as we also saw her on the Guardian’s ship when they left Earth. Still, her inclusion makes absolute sense, especially as Star-Lord is already confirmed to appear. I could imagine that Thor is trying to help them during one of their missions but ends up screwing up, which gets him ejected from their ship. While he has gained some of his confidence back, he might still need some time to recover mentally from the events. Marvel Studios did confirm that a part of the film will focus on Jane Foster and Valkyrie, so who knows if the Guardians are really around for much of the film. Hopefully, we get some kind of confirmation soon, but it is fun to speculate.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Loki’s Michael Waldron Set as Writer for Kevin Feige’s ‘Star Wars’ Film

    ‘Loki’s Michael Waldron Set as Writer for Kevin Feige’s ‘Star Wars’ Film

    World’s are finally colliding as Kevin Feige is starting production on his very own Star Wars film. Deadline has learned that Michael Waldron will be spearheading the script that will explore the galaxy far, far away. Waldron‘s career at Disney seems to be at an all-time high, as he was the head writer of the upcoming Disney+ Loki series and penned Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. It seems that this is also part of a massive deal that will see him be involved with many more future projects. Feige is set to develop and produce the film for Lucasfilm, but no director is currently attached.

    Lucasfilm is trying to reinvent its approach to the iconic franchise started by George Lucas back in 1977. After ending the original numerical series with the Rise of Skywalker, they are looking at individual stories that connect to the wider galaxy. Patty Jenkins and Taika Waititi are both set to direct their films that don’t openly have any known connection with each other. The Mandalorian was their first step in this direction, so we might see more standalone stories that end up getting spin-offs at one point.

    It is great to see how much Disney believes in Waldron. It adds a lot of excitement to the quality we can expect for both Loki and the Doctor Strange sequel. He has quite an extensive resume, as he started his career on Rick and Morty, which earned him an Emmy during its fourth season. He also was the creator of Starz’s wrestling drama Heels. It’ll be interesting what spin both he and Feige have in store for the Star Wars franchise.

    Source: Deadline

  • Doctor Strange May Enter the Wasteland In the ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    Doctor Strange May Enter the Wasteland In the ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    WandaVision is only a week away from premiering. It will kick-off a new era of multiversal stories. The first teasers already are teasing that not everything is as it seems. Yet, it will only be the beginning, as Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness will be the franchise’s first horror film. It will affect many other films and projects, such as Spider-Man 3 and the upcoming What If series, whose recent trailer teased the existence of Marvel’s zombies. It gave me an idea about what other comic elements we could see get adapted in the film. They can explore so many aspects of the diverse multiverse. I had so many ideas that I will primarily focus on one short story featured in the film. I also had to consider what was already on the horizon, as we know that Blade will introduce us to the likes of vampires. Without

    Welcome to the Wasteland

    I confess that part of this idea came from the recent Marvel’s Avengers reveal that Hawkeye’s storyline will be Future Imperfect. It inspired me to revisit the Old Man Logan storyline, which introduced us to a screwed-up post-apocalyptic world known called the Wasteland. With some wondering, if they might bring back characters from the Fox universe, the Wasteland would be a perfect remnant. Perhaps the part of the multiverse that they explore is the consequences of when they failed X-Men: Days of Future Past. Everyone is gone, and the Sentinels won. From the ashes of the world, a fractured civilization was trying to cling to whatever was left. In its remnants, a new leader emerged who would rule it under his own rule of violence.

     

     

    Doctor Strange finds himself lost in the middle of what seemed to be a desert. There he meets a man named Logan. Unable to continue his travel for the time, he is welcomed by the kind stranger, who has an eerie resemblance to Hugh Jackman. He tells him the story of how the Sentinels destroyed mutants and humanity all the same. After some time, they were no longer a threat after being deactivated by a random EMP blast. Finally, mankind had some hope. Well, at least that was until a sudden invasion of monsters from beyond the stars. Creatures that everyone calls the Brood, who would infest one city after another. They replace the symbiotes that were present during the Old Man Logan storyline. In their wake, a hero emerged, who saved them from this new threat. In a way, he started becoming the leader of the Wasteland.

     

     

    Facing a Familiar Face

    Strange realizes that there is one object he needs to continue his multiversal travel, and it so happens to be in the hands of that very ruler. The only issue was that they were looking for lives beyond an area infested with the Brood. Luckily, Logan offered his help as a guide through the Wasteland to find the mysterious leader. As every good film needs an action sequence, they soon realize that the Brood has still been expanding. It seems that the mysterious leader wasn’t able to keep them at bay after at all. In the middle of the plague, there stood the one that was supposed to destroy them. In reality, he was controlling them through a strange device. Strange instantly recognized who the ruler is, but at the same time, it seemed like someone else. It was the Hulk. It was a version of the character we haven’t seen since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.

     

     

    Once he noticed his visitors, he sends the Brood after them. Suddenly, Logan pulls out three claws on each hand to protect Strange from the onslaught, whose magic was facing its limits. He realizes that the item he needs is the thing that lets Hulk control these beasts. As they get closer, Logan confronts the Green Goliath. The good doctor tries to cry out to Banner and uncover why he would do this. The now-bearded titan reveals that the post-credit sequence from the original film meant that Hulk was slowly taking over Banner’s mind. The Sentinel and Brood invasions were merely stepping stones for him to finally taking over so he could take his vengeance on the world. He would stand above everyone else so that they would learn fear.

    In their conflict, Strange can get the missing piece but doesn’t want to leave Logan behind. He tells him he has nothing to worry about as the confrontation rages between two immortal beings surrounded by what seems to be an endless horde of alien bugs. Strange leaves the Wasteland behind, scared of the realization of what horrors could unfold once Banner loses control someday. He swears to make it up to his new-found friend. Perhaps the man known as Logan exists in his world as well. These thoughts remained in his mind as his travel through the multiverse of madness continues.

  • ‘Knightfall’s Natalie Holt to Score ‘Loki’

    ‘Knightfall’s Natalie Holt to Score ‘Loki’

    It is crazy to think we are so close to finally getting some Marvel Cinematic Universe content after a long hiatus. WandaVision finally premieres next week. It is going to be the first of potentially six shows for 2021. It’ll be followed-up by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier before Loki joins the service in May. We still know very little bout the shows, as it wasn’t until the recent Disney Investor’s Day that we got an official first look at most of the series alongside a release date. All eyes were on WandaVision, as it is releasing soon, but it looks like Loki has also been quite busy.

    According to Film Music Reporter, Natalie Holt has joined Loki. She joins director Kate Herron and head writer Michael Waldron’s production team. Holt is known for her work on the TV series Knightfall and Amazon Prime’s upcoming Herself. She was also a part of 2014’s Paddington music department. It’ll be interesting to see what she brings to the series. The brief melody played during the initial Loki trailer is already a fantastic tease of what is to come.

    It is crazy to think what a huge surprise the series focused on the God of Mischief turned out to be. When they first announced he was getting his series, I did not expect him to meddle in humanity’s history alongside the TVA. I also didn’t expect he would turn out to be the MCU’s version of D.B. Cooper, so we’ll see how else he ends up leaving his mark throughout time.

    Source: Film Music Reporter, IMDb

  • Two-Episode ‘WandaVision’ Premiere Teased by French CANAL+ Magazine

    Two-Episode ‘WandaVision’ Premiere Teased by French CANAL+ Magazine

    Just yesterday, Charles shared the news that WandaVision will consist of nine episodes. So, it opened up the theory that we will most likely see two episodes during next week’s premiere. Well, it looks like that has finally been confirmed, as @V727Mr just shared an excerpt of the official French Le Mag CANAL+, which confirms that we will be welcomed to Marvel Studios’ first adventure into long-term storytelling with two initial episodes.

    The fact that CANAL+’s official monthly magazine reveals this is a good sign for its validity. To those that don’t know, it is a French premium television channel that embraces a hybrid model. Disney+ was made available through the service during its launch back in April. I already couldn’t wait for January 15th, so this isn’t making the wait any easier. It does open up the question if the show will follow a strict comedy format of 22-minutes per episode early on. The Mandalorian was quite flexible with its episode length, so we will see if Marvel is a bit more restrictive with their approach.

    As CANAL+ has shared the news, it is strange that Disney hasn’t advertised this fact. Yet, there is a chance they are building up to it shortly before release. It’s not uncommon for marketing to wait until the last minute to give away something that would give people a bit more hype before the release. We might get an official teaser in the next few days that finally reveals it, but it is still exciting to think not just one but two episodes. With the confirmation that we can expect nine episodes, it makes you wonder if we’ll get another two in the show’s second week as well.

    Source: Twitter, Vivendi

  • ‘WW84’ Suffers a 67% Box Office Drop In Its Second Week

    ‘WW84’ Suffers a 67% Box Office Drop In Its Second Week

    In our last look at the Box Office, it seemed that Wonder Woman 1984 was doing fairly well alongside its HBO Max release. It looked like nothing was standing in the way for Warner Bros. 2021 strategy to premiere its films simultaneously in theatres and on its new streaming service. Now, the only question was if the film would have legs to compete with Tenet‘s numbers when it launched back in September. Well, it looks like the true test revealed the negative influence of the streaming service, as WW84 domestic gross dropped by 67% in its second week. It is in stark contrast to the original Wonder Woman‘s 43% drop. It is closer to that of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad. As such, the film has earned $28.5 million in ten days.

    With these numbers, it seems unlikely the film will pass Tenet‘s domestic cume of $58M, but it could still grab the second spot, which is held by The Croods: A New Age‘s $34M. This stark drop may be connected to the availability via HBO Max, as even with a strong opening there is no reason to return to theaters once you’ve seen it. So, those few that are willing to visit a cinema within the current pandemic might not be as willing to do so. Of course, WB may be more interested in the long-term gain with how many additional subscribers they gain, which could counter the stark drop.

    The film still has time to make a comeback, but at this point, it seems unlikely until Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon by March. That film will be made available in theaters and Disney+’s Premium Access. We will see if the $30 additional costs will have a lessened effect on the film’s performance. It is difficult to really pinpoint any development given the current situation, so as Forbes points out, the usual Christmas legs may not apply after such a drop. The film’s discourse is also rather mixed, so that may have left an imprint. For now, WB may be questioning their 2021 film release plan.

    Source: Forbes

  • How Yozora May Have Been Set-Up Since 2005’s ‘Kingdom Hearts 2’

    How Yozora May Have Been Set-Up Since 2005’s ‘Kingdom Hearts 2’

    I am an avid fan of the Kingdom Hearts franchise. At first, the base concept sold me, as I could never imagine how Final Fantasy would mesh with Disney. The first time I ever saw the game was on a demo disk that came with Final Fantasy X. I’ve fallen in love with the bizarre concepts introduced with each new entry ever since. The latest entry, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory added a musical spin-off that, in classic Tetsuya Nomura-style, is canon to the ever-growing story of the franchise. What started with a young kid named Sora trying to save his friends from ever-lurking darkness has turned into quite the convoluted chaos. We git introduced to beings known as Nobodys, who are the bodies whose hearts turned into Heartless. Our Keyblade-wielding heroes can jump into dreams, back through time, and who knows what else nowadays. Yet, the latest revelation has given me a feeling that this may have been set-up in 2005.

     

    Keep in mind, if you haven’t played Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory yet, you will get spoiled for the major revelation in that game. Only continue at your own risk.

    The ending of Melody of Memory gave us an essential bit of information on what happened to Sora after he vanished. He now exists in a world beyond the light, darkness, and everything in-between. At first, they describe it as a fictional world known only as Unreality, or Quadratum. The name is Latin for Square, which connects to the new character revealed in Kingdom Hearts 3 Re:Mind named Yozora. His name translates to Night Sky in Japanese, which is the same in Latin for Noctis, who was originally the protagonist of Nomura‘s Final Fantasy Versus XIII. We briefly visit this location in the secret boss against Yozora, which looks like a replication of real-life Shibuya. We get introduced to it in the base game for the third entry, as Yozora was a video game character for our heroes. It fits with the fictional world description. It is a world beyond that of light, darkness, and everything in-between. In a way, it is fiction, as it never existed. There was a location we visited a long-time ago that actually might be connected to it.

     

     

    Now, playing around with that thought, I came to realize we visited a location that technically did not exist. It became the home base for the first incarnation of Organization XIII but was never really fleshed out. It only held the name The World that Never Was, where one could find the Dark City. We never really get a backstory on why this place was the hiding spot for the Nobodys in Kingdom Hearts 2, but it made for a memorable trip. I think many still remember Memory’s Skyscraper, where Sora and Roxas had their final confrontation in that game. It probably was chosen by Xemnas, who was the Nobody of our main protagonist, Xehanort. Going into detail on that character’s history will take quite a lot of time. The reason I bring this up connects to the post-credit sequence of Melody of Memory. Keyblade Master Yen Sid pointed out that the ancient masters could travel between realities, which means that Xehanort was aware Quadrantum existed.

    So, how does it all connect? I believe that The World That Never Was is a remnant pulled from Unreality through the Realm of Darkness. That caused it to turn into the Dark City. A newer character known only as Master of Masters, or MOM, shaped the moon above Quadrantum in a post-credit sequence, which fans know means he is after the True Kingdom Hearts. He may have passed on this knowledge to Xehanort at one point in history, as we briefly see them interact as master and student. This connection would also explain the mystery surrounding the Organization XIII member Luxord. So far, he is the one character who is still shrouded in mystery. Well, that was until the good ending from the Yozora fight. Robin Atkin Downes, who voices Luxord, reappears when Yozora awakes from his battle with Sora in Quadrantum. As such, we can only assume he may have been brought with the city when it turned into The World That Never Was. It’s just a theory, but if it turns out to be correct, I might repeat Luxord’s words from Re:Mind:

    Impressive, is it not?