Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • REPORT: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Will Be The Longest ‘Ant-Man’ Film

    REPORT: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Will Be The Longest ‘Ant-Man’ Film

    If there ever is a tradition with any Marvel Studios project, it’s the long discussions surrounding what runtimes the latest epic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have. With only a month left to go before its next major release, the speculation began on just how long Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania might end up being. Would the usually comedy-centric franchise stick to a shorter runtime or expand with its more Avengers-level-style teasing?

    Well, it seems that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be the longest entry in the trilogy, as according to Fandango the film will run for two hours and five minutes. That puts it well ahead of Ant-Man‘s one hour and 57 minutes. Ant-Man and the Wasp was only a minute longer than its predecessor. The film’s runtime puts it ahead of other Marvel Studios films like Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. Though, it’s not going to rival any of some of the major crossover films, which share some of the longest runtimes in the franchise.

    When compared to the Phase 4 entries, the film is only a minute shy of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ runtime. Though, Thor: Love and Thunder remains the shortest entry of that Phase, as it’s still the only film to be under two hours. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicks off Phase 5 and it’ll be interesting to see if these longer projects remain and only a handful tends to stick to shorter runtimes moving forward; a potential learning from the last films.

    Source: Fandango

  • New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Vulture in Scrapped Finale

    New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Vulture in Scrapped Finale

    It’s not new that Marvel Studios’ productions go through a variety of changes. Not only do they rewrite the scripts before production starts, but they aren’t strangers to also adapting on the fly if necessary. That especially became a necessity during COVID, as the pandemic didn’t make it easy for any production to stay on schedule or even remain in its original slot, forcing it to adapt story elements to adhere to the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    In the case of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we always wondered just how much was changed throughout production, especially with the inclusion of a variety of actors from legacy projects. There was one aspect that stood out from No Way Home and that was the lack of any villains representing Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man. As it turns out, Storyboard artist Phil Langone shared a drawing from one of the finales that seemingly includes Michael Keaton‘s Vulture as part of the ensemble.

    It was always funny how the film had the opportunity to establish the Sinister Six but ended up short one member. Perhaps during or before production started, they simply couldn’t get the version of the story together as they intended. Perhaps Keaton wasn’t available for the film, as he did end up reprising the role in Morbius. Whatever the case might be, we’re sadly stuck with what could’ve been off seeing a fully formed Sinister Six and the return of a great villain. Perhaps a future project could see his long-awaited return.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Sea Beast’ Sequel in Development, Director Signs Deal with Netflix

    ‘Sea Beast’ Sequel in Development, Director Signs Deal with Netflix

    It looks like director Chris Williams has made quite the impression with Netflix, as he has now signed an overall deal with the streaming studio. It seems that he has two projects currently in development with one being a direct sequel to his film The Sea Beast. The animation legend has worked for 25 years at Disney Animation on various Oscar-winning and nominated films. It seems the deal came together shortly around when they were wrapping up work on his first project.

    We had just wrapped up on the Sea Beast and we were in the post-production phase when we started talking about me continuing at Netflix and working on something else. They were cool about letting me know they wanted me to stay. I felt so supported throughout the making of Sea Beast, even though it was a massively ambitious movie. That represents a financial investment and risk, and they were always cool letting me making the movie I wanted to make. I always value people’s opinions and I will always listen to what anyone has to say. But they never forced my hand and they never made me do anything other than let me do the movie I wanted to make. And I really appreciated that. And so I wanted to do it again.

    Chris Williams

    William‘s first big project outside of the usual walls of Disney was his Moby Dick-inspired story of The Sea Beast, which was inspired by movies from his youth. It’s no surprise that Netflix would want him back, as his film is the most-watched animated film in Netflix’s library even with some stellar competition already on the platform.

    With that success, Netflix has penned a deal with Williams to produce two originals for the studio. The sequel will follow the continuing adventures of Jacob Holland, but he’s also set his eyes on an original fantasy film that would be a combination of The Princess Bride meets The Lord of the Rings.

    I pitched an original fantasy story. And it would be similar to Sea Beast in that I would create a completely cohesive world. Tonally, it would be between Lord of the Rings and Princess Bride. It’s like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings where you have a history that leads up to the point where the story begins, and it’s a huge world with multiple events going on outside the story being told. But at the same time, I want to have fun with some of the conventions that Princess Bride did. It’s not parody and it’s not making fun of it, but it has a perspective that is light and refreshing.

    It definitely sounds like he has ambitious plans and Netflix is definitely on board to see where their investment in his vision goes. With the success of his previous project, it makes sense they wouldn’t want to lose the talent they have already working for them.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • James Cameron Confirms ‘Avatar 2’s Profitability and He’ll Make All Planned Sequels

    James Cameron Confirms ‘Avatar 2’s Profitability and He’ll Make All Planned Sequels

    James Cameron has been quite open about the importance of how profitable Avatar: The Way of Water will be. While he mapped out up to five sequels, if the franchise doesn’t prove financially stable for Disney, the new owner of 20th Century, there’s no point for them to invest upwards of $400M per entry moving forward. Luckily, the film has had some truly impressive legs throughout the Holiday season and in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director James Cameron confirmed the film will be profitable in the “next few days.”

    It looks like just with the momentum that the film has now that will easily pass our break even in the next few days, so it looks like I can’t wiggle out of this, I’m gonna have to do these other sequels.

    James Cameron

    He does slightly reluctantly share that he will be quite busy for the next few years. Avatar 3 has already finished filming and they are working on bringing the world to life CG-wise. He also confirms that the fourth and fifth entries are already written as well.

    I know what I’m going to be doing the next six or seven years. The point is we’re going to be okay. I’m sure that we’ll have a discussion soon with the top folks at Disney about the game plan going forward for Avatar 3, which is already in the can – we’ve already captured and photographed the whole film so we’re in extended post-production to do all that CG magic. And then Avatar 4 and 5 are both written. We even have some of 4 in the can. We’ve begun a franchise at this point. We’ve begun a saga that can now play out over multiple films.

    James Cameron

    It certainly sounds like the director will be quite busy in the next few years, but he does love the franchise. He’s also talked about expanding Avatar in multiple ways and even with a new director taking over when he eventually no longer can. So, if it remains as profitable, we’ll see a lot more of Avatar in the future of our cinemas.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • RUMOR: Damon Lindelof’s Untitled Star Wars Project May Already Be Casting a POC Lead

    RUMOR: Damon Lindelof’s Untitled Star Wars Project May Already Be Casting a POC Lead

    Star Wars has continued to grow, but its cinematic ventures took quite the set p back throughout the last few years. Rogue Squadron was originally set to release this year. Yet, project ha to show any development or even start filming. So, we don’t know what the future might have in store for their cinematic ventures. Suprrisingly, it seems that an only recently announced project in the works by Damon Lindelof may have entered a casting phase.

    In the podcast The Hot Mic, it was hinted that the film may already be casting its lead. It’s currently looking for a person of color. No real details are known besides that the main lead is likely to be male and it may be the film to hit the December 19th, 2025 release date that is currently set without any specified project connected at the moment, but that’s only a theory. For now, we still have to take this rumor with a pinch of salt.

    We first heard the news that the Watchmen showrunner was working on the project back in March of 2022, but nothing besides that. As trust in Lucasfilm hasn’t been high on them ever meeting their goals with any cinematic franchises, it seems like if this rumor turns out true, the project moved forward at quite a fast pace. If this turns out to be true, we might get some more details in the coming months as they prepare to film later this year.

    Source: YouTube via The Direct

  • Hugh Jackman Teases a Wolverine He’s “Never Done Before” in ‘Deadpool 3’

    Hugh Jackman Teases a Wolverine He’s “Never Done Before” in ‘Deadpool 3’

    Deadpool is about to return with his third film entry, which will also mark his arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is still some uncertainty about how exactly they’ll accomplish it and if he might find his own insane way of traveling from the Fox universe.

    The announcement that he’ll be joined by Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine added a lot of speculation and excitement given his return since he hung up the claws back with Logan back in 2017. In an interview with People, he shared what inspired him to return to the role in Deadpool 3.

    When I keep thinking of me and Ryan, of Deadpool and Wolverine, which are classic comic-book rivals, there’s also a dynamic that I’ve never really got to do before as Wolverine. I just thought, ‘This is gonna be fun. Something I’ve never done before. I can’t wait.

    Hugh Jackman

    It seems to be able to do something new with the character was what mainly gave him the inspiration, but he also highlights getting a chance to “be punching the shit out of each other the whole time” may have also become a fun selling point.

    I think being on set with [Ryan] every day and those two on film in every city together everyday…I think it’s fair to say they’ll be punching the sh*t out of each other the whole time. All jokes aside, I’ll probably have more fun on this movie than any other I’ve ever done.

    Hugh Jackman

    There has been some outcry over his return after the finality of Logan, but considering that the first two Deadpool films built up their reality. The sequel even went out of its way to mock the film and we’ve all wanted these two to finally confront each other; a true Wolverine vs. Deadpool clash to get rid of the aftertaste of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

    Source: People via ComicBookMovie.com

  • ‘Loki’ Concept Artist Reveals Inspiration for Jonathan Major’s He Who Remains

    ‘Loki’ Concept Artist Reveals Inspiration for Jonathan Major’s He Who Remains

    Not too long ago, we got our first tease for the upcoming second season of Loki. The story will pick up where we last left off, as Sylvie killed He Who Remains, a Variant of Kang the Conqueror, who was keeping the multiverse from branching out. It was our first meeting with Jonathan Majors‘s impressive take on the character that already left a lasting impression before we meet another Variant in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Quantumania.

    We still have to wait a bit before we find out when to expect the release of the second season, but concept artist Wesley Burt took to his personal Instagram account to share a look at the finalized concept art for He Who Remains. He also pointed out that he was inspired by “a lounging Miles Davis at the end of time.” Of course, he also highlights the inclusion of He Who Remains and Immortus as inspiration from the comics.

    It seems this work will be included in the upcoming Art of Loki book, which has traditionally been released alongside the various shows a few years later. So, it’s great that this tradition continues, and given how visually unique the Disney+ series was in comparison to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’ll be great to get a look behind-the-scenes at how they brought this unique vision to life. Now, we’re left with the question if Majors will return in the second season, as his Conqueror Variant was teased at the end of the series.

    Source: Instagram

  • Nicolas Cage Won’t Return as Spider-Man Noir in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’

    Nicolas Cage Won’t Return as Spider-Man Noir in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’

    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is finally about to get a sequel, which twists the concept of the original. Miles Morales finds himself chased through the multiverse by others of the Spider-Man creed, but the reasoning still remains a mystery. He still has the allies that he met in his first travel before Across the Spider-Verse, but it seems that one member is sadly not returning.

    In an interview with ScreenRant, Nicolas Cage reveals that he did not return to voice the character of Spider-Man Noir in the sequel. There is still a chance they may have animated a cameo for the character, he’ll not have any voice lines going by the statement shared by Cage.

    You’d have to ask Sony. I don’t know what’s going on with that. No one’s spoken to me about that. Ask them. I don’t know. I really don’t. I wish they would. I love Spider-Man Noir, too. I think that’s a great character. Spider-Man’s the coolest superhero. And then you combine that with Cagney and Bogart and Edward G. Robinson, come on, it’s a great character.

    Nicolas Cage

    It’s a shame that we won’t get his quirky take on the character, but there’s a third entry on the horizon that could see his return as well. For now, most of the work went into the first sequel and who knows how things might’ve changed in the production that sees his potential return. There’s also the question if others besides Gwen Stacy and Peter B. Parker will appear at all, as there haven’t been any hints at Kimiko or Spider-Ham returning, at least for now.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • ‘M3GAN’ Opens Strong, Unlikely to Dethrone ‘Avatar 2’

    ‘M3GAN’ Opens Strong, Unlikely to Dethrone ‘Avatar 2’

    The latest January horror release is upon us from Blumhouse Productions. The long-awaited M3GAN is finally in theaters, which showcases a modern take on Child’s Play with a PG-13 horror. The film has opened around 3,400 theaters in North America, and it’s opening to quite a strong start. The film was projected to make around $17M to $20M, an impressive start on a tiny $12M budget.

    As such, the film will likely make its money back internationally in the coming weeks and has a good chance of picking up the pace over the weekend if it ends up quite popular with audiences. The PG-13 rating could end up pushing the film further at the box office.

    As of now, the film has pulled in $2.75M in its Thursday previews, which sets it on the perfect path to reach its projects. Though it won’t beat Avatar: The Way of Water as the film has dominated theaters since its pre-Christmas release. The film is expected to have a soft 50% drop to around $30M, which would keep it at the top spot.

    M3GAN is playing the usual January counterprogramming strategy, as it’s generally a dead month for releases and has become quite popular for horror films. Most projects avoided Avatar‘s release in the Holidays, and this became quite profitable for the company, but M3GAN is hopefully going to start a strong 2023 release schedule that would push the box office to its usual legs from back in 2019. It seems unlikely it’ll revive that quickly, but each year the box office has been showing some growth.

    Source: Variety

  • One Cancelation After Another: Netflix May Be Pushing Subscribers Away

    One Cancelation After Another: Netflix May Be Pushing Subscribers Away

    There’s something bizarre about the streaming age. We’ve hit a point where some aspects are being dialed back to make it more financially safe. Up until now, Netflix had free reign over the industry and could invest wherever they see fit. We commonly could always expect a second season for any project no matter how good or bad it was. They also became the home for many series that ended up getting canceled; some even hoped that their favorite show could get picked up to this day as Lucifer did some time ago.

    Yet, we’re not in that same era anymore. There’s so much competition out there with heavy hitters like Disney+, Hulu, Amazon, and HBO Max; the latter imploding in its own way. There are also various smaller offerings on the table trying to establish their own market with Peacock Paramount+, ESPN+, and many more. Even internationally some networks are establishing their very own streaming options to build their own markets. It’s slowly turning into a free-for-all that is making the investment quite a bit more difficult.

    So, the question becomes how Netflix can establish itself in that market. Would they innovate to offer something unique like their attempt to try interactive games in the platform? Would it be to invest in more unique IPs like a Power Rangers cinematic universe or other popular IP like Avatar: The Last Airbender or even One Piece? They are doing all that but it’s being overshadowed by one simple fact: most of their new shows don’t survive beyond a single season.

    We just got the news that 1899, a supernatural mystery series by the creators of Dark, has been canceled after one season. While some smaller releases simply don’t pull in an audience like Blockbuster and are more flexible with their format, it’s bizarre to see a high-investment like 1899 not even being given a longer run to truly bank on its entire mystery concept. The show was pitched with multiple seasons in mind and it pulled in an audience going by its performance on the streaming service. Yet, there’s no clear reason given on why the series was passed on.

    Netflix seemingly wants to recreate the virality they’ve seen with select projects. To some degree, their strategy seems to be to throw out as many shows to ensure that one or the other manages to pull in some massive viewership numbers. Wednesday was a huge success, even managing to compete with Stranger Things. Yet, it’s an external production and may even end up on a new platform if they don’t invest enough money; adding more pressure to the series to keep up its high viewership with future seasons.

    There is the other issue that Netflix doesn’t own all rights to their projects. There’s a reason that the various Marvel series left the streaming service with them having a prominent placement on Disney+. Wednesday even currently sits in an uncertain spot as MGM is now owned by Amazon and they could end up losing the rights to what would’ve been their next major hit franchise. Even The Sandman was on shaky ground due to it being a DC project and requiring Warner Bros. Discovery’s approval to move forward.

    So, Netflix is slowly losing the projects that would make it stand out while nuking anything that would have a chance to grow throughout multiple seasons. But that’s not all, as viewers are slowly losing interest in whatever they are offering if this trend continues. Why even invest any time into watching their newest series if the chances of a show surviving are so slim? There’s also the fear that shows one is invested in like the live-action One Piece or Avatar: The Last Airbender if their chances to survive are so minimal.

    Netflix opened up for transparency in how shows perform, but their actions don’t seem to fully reflect what they are looking for in how a series performs. Unlike Disney, they are far more dependent on the success of their series as they don’t fully invest in the merchandise until after it was proven successful; see how long it took before Squid Game or Stranger Things offerings found their way out into the market. Their wait-and-see approach goes against their high-investment gamble, as it creates a bizarre mixture of risk-averse actions with money being thrown out left and right.

    Some franchises are given quite a bit of time such as One Piece being in some form of production since 2017. A Power Rangers cinematic universe is being developed for quite some time now as well, which would indicate they are in for the long haul. Yet, their recent actions don’t seem to truly match some of their investment choices. It creates this feeling of a lack of commitment to these projects they invest in, which reflects upon the viewers as well.

    We also can’t forget Netflix’s desperate attempt to keep users from password sharing, which they hope would lead to an increase in subscribers. Yet, it doesn’t truly ensure any churn for the streamer, and may likely lead to some not wanting to return. It’s been ingrained into our culture by this point that it would push away subscribers without any true benefit for them to sign-up. At this rate, Netflix is becoming its own worst enemy and may push people away, as enough alternatives are on the market.