Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • More Evidence for ‘Eternals’ Sequel Surfaces

    More Evidence for ‘Eternals’ Sequel Surfaces

    No matter where one lands on the Phase 4 debate, Marvel Studios has ventured out quite a bit with their latest entries to avoid the franchise growing stale on the formula the Internet has proclaimed it suffers from since its inception. Among one of the most divisive entries was Eternals, a film by Chloe Zhao that tried a little something different with how it depicts heroism and the galactic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Now, more evidence has surfaced that Marvel Studios may have plans for a sequel to Eternals, as Don Lee a.k.a. Ma Dong-seok‘s Big Punch Entertainment, his management agency, has released a curious public statement teasing some of his upcoming projects. The Twitter account @UPDATEETERNALS translated the message which hints at some of the upcoming projects including Criminal City 4, Wilderness, Crime City 3, and, you guessed it, Eternals 2.

    There are still quite a few spots in Phase 6 that haven’t been given a project and we haven’t heard from Zhao in a while regarding what she’s working on next. While critics and fans have been somewhat harsh on the project since its release, a recent movement has been sharing their enjoyment of the picture now that Phase 4 has wrapped up.

    There were also a lot of open questions we were left with after the final moments of that film, especially with how Arishem teased his judgment of Earth at a later point. If rumors surrounding the plot of Captain America: New World Order are true, there’s a big chance that we witness the consequences in an Eternals sequel.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Black Panther 2’ Director Opens Up on T’Challa’s Original Story

    ‘Black Panther 2’ Director Opens Up on T’Challa’s Original Story

    There will always be the question of “what if” in the back of our minds, as we try to unravel what was the original plans for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever before the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman. His T’Challa had a big future as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but a new direction had to be found after the unexpected developments. In an interview with New York Times, director Ryan Coogler got a chance to open up on what his original plans were for the story that he had envisioned for Boseman to continue on.

    It seems that Coogler’s original plans were for T’Challa to try and connect with his son after the blip. The plan was “for his 8th birthday, they do a ritual where they go out into the bush and have to live off the land.” We get elements from this storyline scattered throughout, such as the reveal of his son in the post-credit sequence and that idea seemingly was explored when Shuri and Queen Ramonda try to work through their grief.

    It’s unclear though if the events would unravel in a similar way. Still, this original storyline also would not have worked with a recasting of T’Challa. Having a story about T’Challa trying to save the world with his son by his side. It wouldn’t just feel right to explore that story with someone besides Chadwick Boseman in the role. Either way, we’re now entering a new era for the Wakandans and the introduction of young T’Challa opens up an interesting future to explore.

    Source: New York Times

  • ‘Black Panther 2’s Script Always Included Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val

    ‘Black Panther 2’s Script Always Included Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val

    Ryan Coogler had a lot of challenges when it came to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever with everything that has happened in the last few years. Many were worried about the inclusion of Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the story, but it turns out that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was always part of the story he envisioned for the film as revealed by co-writer Joe Robert Cole.

    Ryan will have a different perspective as the director, but I’ve never had a conversation where I was asked to incorporate something that didn’t feel organic. The dynamic of the U.S. being an instigator and Western powers being an instigator, that always existed. It wasn’t, ‘Oh, we need to find a reason to make this character exist.’ It was, ‘Oh, this is already in here and there’s this wonderful actress available.’ It always starts from the story and the ideas

    Joe Robert Cole

    Ryan Coogler did confirm though that her character’s role had to be dialed back to make room to deal with T’Challa’s death; the film’s way of paying tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman.

    Yeah, nobody was shoehorned in or asked to be put into the movie or anything like that. Actually, in this version, [Louis-Dreyfus’s role] was pared back in order to make space for dealing with T’Challa’s death. And we had Val in there before she even appeared in any of the other movies, before Black Widow and [the series] Falcon and the Winter Soldier. People assume that we were told to put her in, but she was there from the beginning.

    Ryan Coogler

    He goes on to highlight that the conflict originally had more involvement from Val, who had a more active part in the film. Sadly, he doesn’t go into any details regarding how that would’ve evolved the story.

    Yeah. But it was a combination. Val [the C.I.A. director, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus] was much more active. It was basically a three-way conflict between Wakanda, the U.S. and Talokan. But it was all mostly from the child’s perspective.

    Ryan Coogler

    The film’s ending does imply that the story element that was originally part of this film might be explored in the future in some way. Plus, while it may have made some question why Val was included to begin with, it still gave us a future conflict that fits perfectly into Namor’s own plans moving forward.

    Source: New York Times

  • Ethan Hawke on a Potential Return to the MCU in the Future

    Ethan Hawke on a Potential Return to the MCU in the Future

    Marvel Studios has always had one issue: they tend to kill their villains after just one movie. They have made an effort to move away from that trend but there are scenarios of actors that may only have interest for a limited time in a villainous role, such as Moon Knight‘s Arthur Harrow played by Ethan Hawke. In an interview with The Playlist, it sadly seems like he’s not likely to return anytime soon.

    I really don’t know. There are so many things I want to do [outside of Marvel]. With the pandemic lingering around in the rearview mirror a little bit—knock on wood—I feel drawn to doing a play. I find that top of my mind again as I walk down the street and think, ‘When am I going to get back on the stage again?’ Because that always feels healthy. It turns me on, and it turns my brain on in a way.

    Ethan Hawke

    He also goes on to discuss the difference between being involved in film and television to what he hopes to accomplish by exploring play. Hawke definitely looks quite excited to enjoy that theater experience.

    There’s so much energy in the film community about commercial interests; it’s just so omnipresent. How did the film do? What’s it going to make financially? How’s it going to connect with an audience? And there’s just something wonderful as a storyteller, as you said, not to be concerned with that. Let’s just kind of touch the true flame of it. Let’s get some people in a room together and sing them a song or tell ’em a story. The theater constantly reorients my brain, so hopefully, that’s a thing sometime soon.

    Ethan Hawke

    While it would be a shame not to have Hawke back, Moon Knight did end in a way that could keep the door open for him to return but also make sure that if he’s not interested it was only a one-time venture for the actor.

    Source: The Playlist

  • Ethan Hawke Reflects on How Oscar Isaac Inspired Him to Join ‘Moon Knight’

    Ethan Hawke Reflects on How Oscar Isaac Inspired Him to Join ‘Moon Knight’

    Moon Knight was one of Marvel Studios’ most ambitious projects. While it had its own struggles like any other project, there was something special about just how dedicated everyone was to the project. It even managed to bring some talented actors into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke. Hawke had a chance to reflect on how he was inspired to join the franchise, and it was all Isaac.

    And I saw a real opportunity with Oscar Isaac for Moon Knight. There was a fire inside Oscar about that project. He really wanted to play that part. And that’s a good sign. With Oscar, I could tell he was going to do his damnedest to give an outstanding performance inside a blockbuster [laughs].”

    Ethan Hawke

    He goes on to highlight how they approached it and even praised Marvel for how “they love actors” and just how “very generous” they are, highlighting something that has been always debated online.

    And I thought, ‘Well, hell, I’d like to help him try to do that.’ It was just two actors in the middle of a big swashbuckling event piece. We could at least try to do what we do inside of it. And I really had a great time, to be honest. The exciting thing about the people at Marvel is that they love actors. They’re very generous towards actors, and they really understand that if there’s a likely high correlation—if an actor is really turned on to give an outstanding performance— the chances of the audience responding well to that are very high. What we don’t like is audience members are watching somebody phone it in, right?”

    Ethan Hawke

    There’s something nice to Hawke‘s comments and it seems that the experience was also worth his time. It’s also great to see how open the studio is to embracing the actor’s involvement with their projects.

    Source: The Playlist

  • Winston Duke on M’Baku’s Future in the MCU

    Winston Duke on M’Baku’s Future in the MCU

    Black Panther has made many actors into icons and Winston Duke‘s M’Baku was among the many instant fan favorites. Not only was he a major player in the first film, but even went on to get the spotlight in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. He just recently made his return in the Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever, which saw the cast help keep Chadwick Boseman‘s legacy alive.

    Of course, there’s more to the franchise’s future as the Marvel Studios’ cinematic universe continues to further explore these characters. He believes that “The power of what Marvel has become is that it doesn’t belong to any one actor or anyone lead or character.” It was his way of highlighting that he doesn’t know where we’ll see M’Baku next but it mainly depends on when Marvel decides to bring him back.

    Sadly, it seems that he might know exactly where he’ll make his return but he still seems up to potentially returning for more entries. There are a lot of potential storylines that could pick up where Wakanda Forever left off, especially now that the story implies he’s taken over as the king of Wakanda after Shuri passed on the mantle. Whenever Marvel Studios is ready to further expand its universe, it seems that Winston Duke will be back around to give us more of the lovable M’Baku.

    Source: Esquire

  • ‘The Witcher’ Showrunner Teases More Netflix Spinoffs

    ‘The Witcher’ Showrunner Teases More Netflix Spinoffs

    The Witcher is only a few more days away of releasing its second spinoff, The Witcher: Blood Origin. After the success that was the first season, Netflix moved forward fast with the animated film The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf before moving forward with a live-action prequel series. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Lauren Hissric hinted that we may be getting more in the near future.

    We have plans to keep this going in various permutations. I love the mothership, I’m going to stick to it, but obviously, we have Blood Origin coming out. I hope that this doesn’t end for a while. So I think the possibilities are endless, and we’ll see what happens

    Lauren Hissrich

    It looks like they have quite a few plans moving forward. Blood Origin wasn’t quite the critical success they may have hoped even with some big names attached like Michelle Yeoh. The series currently stands at 39% approval rating by critics and there’s the question if fans will have a similar reaction. Of course, there are also the viewership numbers that might be the real test for Netflix if there’s more to The Witcher moving forward, especially when Season 4 rolls around with Liam Hemsworth in the title role.

    Henry Cavill will be given a “heroic sendoff” in the upcoming season that may pull in some strong numbers but the question remains if it can keep up that momentum for her plans for many more seasons to continue. The possibilities are endless but Netflix’s patience may not be for a franchise that can’t pull in the numbers to make the budget worth their time.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly, Rotten Tomatoes

  • ‘The Witcher’ Showrunner Teases Henry Cavill’s “Heroic Sendoff”

    ‘The Witcher’ Showrunner Teases Henry Cavill’s “Heroic Sendoff”

    There have been so many reports on why Henry Cavill decided to leave The Witcher after its upcoming third season. Stories from behind the scenes tease strife between him and the writers due to it not being accurate enough to the books in his opinion. Then there were the accusations by former writers that the writer’s room was openly mocking the source material. No matter where the project stands, it seems that Cavill is still getting quite a sendoff from the project.

    In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Witcher showrunner Lauren Hissrich has teased that he’ll reserve a “heroic sendoff” for the actor’s tenure as Gerald of Rivia. Even with all the rumors circling, she highlights the actor’s dedication to the role and wants to honor that commitment with a proper farewell.

    Henry has given so much to the show and so we want to honor that appropriately.

    Lauren Hissrich

    She also goes on to highlight what they’ve tried to accomplish with Season 3, especially highlighting that they may be the closest ever to a “one-to-one adaptation of the books.” Hissrich highlights how they tried to adapt Time of Contempt in the next season.

    What is so interesting is that season 3, to me, is the closest thing that we’ve done as a one-to-one adaptation of the books. Obviously, we can’t do every page, but Time of Contempt gave us so many big action events, plot points, defining character moments, huge reveals of a big bad. There’s so much to do that we were able to stick really, really closely with the books.

    Lauren Hissrich

    While Cavill is set to leave behind a role he was quite committed to, it does seem like they are at least trying to honor the time they spent together. It’s unclear if any of the rumors may be confirmed or not, we still have a season to look forward to.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Finds its Belle-Mere

    Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Finds its Belle-Mere

    We’re still waiting for an update on the upcoming live-action adaptation of One Piece. We haven’t had an official casting in some time but luckily enjoyed a recent update by the manga’s creator Eiichiro Oda himself teasing that the project is going to be “amazing” or “great” depending on the translation. Still, the CVs of various actors have given us a few teases of actors that were cast in various smaller roles from the production.

    The same has just happened with actress Genna Galloway, who revealed in her CV that she’s playing the role of Belle-Mere as first shared by @OP_Netflix_Fan on Twitter. For those that might not know the character, she’s the adoptive mother of Nami (Emily Rudd) and Nojiko (Chioma Umeala). She plays an integral part in the development of Nami’s character and the famous Arlong Park Arc.

    That is not all though, as her Spotlight CV also includes a rather curious detail. Josef Kubota Wladyka directed the episode(s) she was a part of. The Tokyo Vice director was rumored to have a role in the production all the way back in June. We still don’t know how many episodes each director tackled but it definitely has been quite interesting getting these tidbits.

    We might have to wait until 2023 to get an official update on the production but these tidbits have been great to hold us over until we finally got an update. Conway is no stranger to working with Netflix, as she was involved with this year’s Resident Evil. So, it’ll be interesting to see what she brings to her next project.

    Source: Spotlight via Twitter

  • ‘Avatar 2’, ‘The Batman’, Black Panther 2′ and More Shortlisted for Oscars

    ‘Avatar 2’, ‘The Batman’, Black Panther 2′ and More Shortlisted for Oscars

    It’s a big year for cinema, even while the box office has been struggling. We’ve seen some massive successes beat expectations, such as Top Gun Maverick taking the cinema by storm. Marvel was building back its pull at the box office with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. We’ve had indie standouts like Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Whale, The Banshees of Inisherin, and more. DC was even back in style with a creative new take on their iconic Dark Knight in The Batman.

    Now, the time has once again arrived for what the future has in store as we enter the awards season. The Oscars has just dropped its shortlisting for those films that may gain a nomination for the 95th Academy Awards. This is not the final nomination list but rather the first breakdown of those projects that have a chance of getting the coveted nomination.

    Here’s a quick highlight of some noticeable nominations for this year. Original Score has nominated some big projects like Avatar: The Way of Water, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Devotion, Glass Onion, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Nope, and more. “Hold my Hand” by Top Gun: Maverick and “Lift Me Up” from the Black Panther sequel join the Original Song shortlist among many others.

    The superhero and blockbuster genre once again dominates the Visual Effects shortlist, which includes The Batman, Wakanda Forever, and the Doctor Strange sequel, but is also joined by All Quiet on the Western Front, Jurassic World Dominion, Nope, and more. Though it would be hard to imagine the Avatar sequel not winning the category considering James Cameron‘s mastery of the arts over the many years of production.

    It’ll be exciting to see how the year turns out, and with the variety of projects currently out there, this might be one of the most exciting Oscars yet. Of course, everyone will have their favorite and feel like one project over the other should’ve won but it’s always great to celebrate the accomplishments of cinema from an indie, blockbuster, or just a movie lovers perspective.

    Source: Oscars