Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • Justice League Meets RWBY in New Animated Project

    Justice League Meets RWBY in New Animated Project

    No, you did not read that title wrong but it looks like the multiverse is opening up in unexpected ways. The Hollywood Reporter has unveiled that DC is partnering with Rooster Teeth for the project Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One. Besides a bizarrely long title, the story will see Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Vixen, Cyborg, and Batman transported to the world of Remnant. Now once again stuck as teenagers, they work alongside the heroes Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang to take down Grimm before he destroys everything.

    The project is based on a script by Meghan Fitzmartin with RWBY director Kerry Shawcross set to helm the project. The project has a massive cast that includes the following:

    • Chandler Riggs as Superman
    • Nat Wolff as Batman
    • Natalie Alyn Lind as Wonder Woman
    • Ozioma Akagha as Vixen
    • Jen Brown as Pyrrah
    • Aaron Dismuke as Oscar
    • David Errigo Jr. as The Flash
    • Shannon McCormick as Professor Ozpin
    • True Valentino as Cyborg
    • Jeannie Tirado as Green Latnern

    The original RWBY cast is also back with Lindsay Jones as Ruby, Kara Eberle as Weiss, Arryn Zech as Blake, and Barbara Dunkelman as Yang. There are no further details on this project and it’s uncertain if this might be something they’ll release for Direct-to-Video or Streaming. It surprisingly marks the second time these two worlds collide, as there was also the comic line published by DC from 2021 until 2022. Perhaps, there were already plans for this release around that time, building up to the adaptation.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Nikyatu Jusu Set to Direct ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Sequel for MGM

    Nikyatu Jusu Set to Direct ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Sequel for MGM

    Night of the Living Dead is back and it looks like MGM is already set to return to the iconic zombie franchise. Nanny‘s Nikyatu Jusu is already attached to direct the film for Village Roadshow Pictures, Westbrook, Origin Story, Vertigo Entertainment, and Sanibel Films. It seems the deal was grown out of a “highly competitive situation.” The film will be based on a script by LaToya Morgan, who is no stranger to zombies given her time on The Walking Dead. MGM is setting it for a theatrical run.

    George A. Romero‘s original adaptation Night of the Living Dead back in 1968 was technically the film that defined the genre and went on to spawn sequels, reboots and countless others trying to capitalize on the “Living Dead” genre. To this day, Night of the Living Dead already has five sequels directed by Romero and it’s uncertain if this one will continue where the last entry left off. It’s plot is under wraps and it’s only titled as a sequel and not a reboot.

    Jusu has made quite the splash with her work on Nanny, which was the first horror film to win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which also made her only the second Black female director to receive the reward. So, it’s no surprise that Amazon wasn’t going to waste any time to get her attached to a new project, especially one with such a legacy behind it. It’ll be interesting to see if they try to stick to what makes this genre iconic or rather try to twist the genre on its head with a new look t a zombie-infested world.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Avatar 2’ No. 1 in All International Markets, Strong Day One Box Office

    ‘Avatar 2’ No. 1 in All International Markets, Strong Day One Box Office

    It looks like James Cameron already on a roll, as the day one estimates are already at $15.8M in specific international markets, which includes France, Germany, Italy, and Korea. It’s looking quite strong, even at 99% in some markets and it’s 124% ahead of the original Avatar and even 13% higher than Jurassic World: Dominion. It’s Chinese release isn’t as strong as hoped due to COVID issues in the market. It’s made an additional $5.41M over Wednesday and Thursday.

    Korea has also pulled in $2.6M additionally on Thursday with the Wednesday release being the market’s second highest opening day for the month ever. To no surprise, Avatar: The Way of Water has pulled in thee top spot in all markets with barley any competition out there to slow it down. Estimates surrounding China are quite shy with the markets uncertainty but it’ll still give the film a decent boost for its release.

    Will the film be as record breaking as everyone believes it’ll be? Most still truly believe that the film has a good chance to break records, 2022 has been a rough year for the bo xoffice. Besides a lack of releases and the market building any momentum, there’s the potential that this film could have the same legs that Spider-Man: No Way Home had with no real competition after its release this week. Still, it’s uncertain if it’ll have the same legs that pushed its original release after Top Gun: Maverick already dominated this year.

    Source: Deadline

  • Patrick Brice to Adapt ‘Party & Prey’ for Legendary and AfterShock Media

    Patrick Brice to Adapt ‘Party & Prey’ for Legendary and AfterShock Media

    It looks like Legendary Entertainment is joining forces with Aftershock Media to devleop a feature film based on the graphic novel Party & Prey by Steve Orlando and Steve Foxe. Patrick Brice of Creep fame is already attached to adapt the film based on a script by Rob Forman. The graphic novel only released last year, which explores the story of Alan, who meets Scott at a nightclub, who he shares a strong chemistry with and ends up at his house. There, they both uncover each other’s dark secrets as they end up having a wild night together. Foxe had the following to share on the adaptation:

    Creating PARTY & PREY alongside Alex, Juancho, Hass my fellow Steve, and the crew at AfterShock was a taboo thrill all its own an opportunity to tell a violent horror story entrenched in the gay community, without its rough edges sanded off for easier consumption. I can’t wait to see P&P interpreted into a new medium for an entirely different audience to discover.

    Steve Foxe

    The film will be produced by Lee Kramer, David Sigurani, and Jon Kramer. Max Zupanovic will also co-produce alongside the original creactors Orlando and Foxe, who have an executive producing role. Orlando shared his enthusiasm about the adaptation.

    From our nightmares to reality, in the best way possible! Here we are at a moment with PARTY & PREY that we never expected, but couldn’t be more excited for! This has been a story that’s clawed its way to life from the start, first from out of both my mind and Foxes, but as well from those of Alex Sanchez, Juancho! and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. And, of course – AfterShock! I couldn’t be prouder of this book – its lens, its action, its horror, and its representation across the board. We created the comic we wished would be on the stands, and now I couldn’t be more honored and energized for the world to see it on the screen.

    Steve Orlando

    It’ll be interesting to see how they adapt the story and thrillers are always a good seller. Plus, it’s a production for the queer community, as highlighted by its creators, which once again pushes representation in every genre forward.

    Source: Deadline

  • Henry Cavill Won’t Return to ‘The Witcher’ Even After Losing Superman Role

    Henry Cavill Won’t Return to ‘The Witcher’ Even After Losing Superman Role

    Just yesterday, we’ve been hit with some depressing news as just as Henry Cavill finally got a chance to return in the role of Superman one more time in Black Adam, it seems DC Studios has decided to move forward without him after all. He seemingly even left his role of Gerald of Rivia from Netflix’s The Witcher. Just as he lost one role, many hoped this would mean he’d get a chance to return to the franchise that is near-and-dear to his heart. Yet, it seems that won’t be the case either.

    Variety has shared that Cavill won’t return to The Witcher even as the fan demand has spiked since he moved on from Superman. Season 4 is still moving forward with Liam Hemsworth in the title role that Cavill held for the first three. Of course, the reception of him leaving the series was not met with welcome arms by the community, especially after recent reports that the writing staff openly mocked the original source material. Add them moving away from the original source material, fans are peeved even as the series remains a strong Netflix Original.

    Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has denied the recent allegations made by former writer Beau DeMayo, but there still has been some doubt. It’ll be interesting to see if the series can remain its viewership with the new lead. If they don’t manage to pull in their audience, they may have to reconsider their plans for the franchise moving forward especially now as the spinoff Blood Origin is about to release.

    Source: Variety

  • Dwayne Johnson Turned Down a Cameo in ‘Shazam 2’

    Dwayne Johnson Turned Down a Cameo in ‘Shazam 2’

    You know what’s weird? That the Shazam franchise has seemingly no real direct connection to the Black Adam franchise even though those characters are famously rivals in the original comics. During San Diego Comic-Con, Warner Bros. had a panel promoting both next entries, especially with Shazam: Fury of the Gods‘ original release around the corner, but they didn’t use the chance to have these obviously connected characters interact with each other to hype up fans. There was no Zachary Levi squaring off against Dwayne Johnson eventhough that would’ve been the perfect build-up for these two characters. Now, it seems that Dwayne Johnson has even turned down a potential cameo in the upcoming Shazam sequel.

    The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez took to Twitter to react to a post highlighting that these two characters won’t likely ever meet due tot he DC Studios’ shake-up with its new co-heads very likely rebooting the entire franchise. There, he highlighted that Johnson passed on a cameo in the upcoming sequel and was approached directly to join in. It would’ve made sense to also build up to an eventual confrontation in the third entry but it seems even more apparent that Johnson‘s interpretation of the character is purely as Superman’s rival.

    The actor hasn’t been subtle about it, especially trying to sell his film on the return of Henry Cavill to the role; who ironically now also won’t return again after all that work threatening Warner Bros. executives to get him back. He’s been hyping up the character’s involvement quite a bit and their “big clash” which isn’t really Black Adam’s usual M.O. to beginw ith. Characters change in adaptation but one can see that he chose a character he personally liked and wanted to turn him into a Trinity level character. You have to respect the hustle but also it’s sad that he’s also the reason Black Adam was taken out of the original script for the first Shazam film only to completely move the character away from his base mythology.

    Source: Twitter

  • Amazon to Publish Crystal Dynamic’s Next ‘Tomb Raider’ Entry

    Amazon to Publish Crystal Dynamic’s Next ‘Tomb Raider’ Entry

    While Crystal Dynamics has been busy with their first attempt at a Games-as-a-Service model in Marvel’s Avengers and joined the production of Perfect Dark‘s next entry. Now, they have finally confirmed that they are already working on the next entry to the popular and iconic Tomb Raider franchise. Yet, there seems to be a new publisher in town, as they’ve announced that Amazon Game Studios will be the one to release their next “multiplatform adventure.”

    It’s not a surprise that they were going to have a new publisher, especially due to Square Enix having gone out of its way selling its entire Western division. While it would be easy to say taht the sale was out of nowhere, Square hasn’t been too subtle on how they’ve struggled with their Western divisions as most of their productions were struggling to reach extremely high estimates with little marketing to truly push it.

    Square sold Crystal Dynamics to the Embracer Group, one that has been growing at a rapid rate by simply purchasing its way into the market. Now, it seems that they’ve closed a deal with Amazon Game Studios for its next release but it’s uncertain if they might become a home for the studio’s future releases. There’ also the question of what’ll happen to Marvel’s Avengers that was released by Square Enix and has been facing an upward struggle. For now, we have to see what the future has in store.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Shazam’ Star Joins Disney+’s ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’

    ‘Shazam’ Star Joins Disney+’s ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’

    It looks like Disney+ has nabbed an up-and-coming star for its adaptation of the Spiderwick Chronicles. In a new report from Variety, they reveal that Shazam star Jack Dylan Grazer has joined the cast for the upcoming series. It seems he won’t be appearing personally though, as he’ll be voicing the character of Thimbletack, a boggart that lives withint he Spiderwick Estate’s walls. He described to be “hundreds of years old, Thimbletack is still a teenager amongst his kind, a mischief-maker with an explosive temper. He could be a great help to the Grace children…if only he could learn to control his own larger than life emotions.”

    He joins an already strong cast that includes Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Joy Bryant, Christian Slater, and Mychala Lee. Paramount Television is producing the series alongside 20th Television with Aron Eli Coleite set as its showrunner. Kat Coiro is currently attached to direct the first two episodes but it’s unclear who is working on the rest. It’ll adapt the popular book series by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

    We’re excited to see what they do with this adaptation and Disney+ has been quite clever in expanding its young adult offering. This series joines Percy Jackson as one of their many adaptations of classic children/young adult stories. So, they may be building their own market similar to how Netflix has been quite focused on bringing anime into live-action (somewhat desperately at times). So, we’ll see if they manage to pull it off and create their next key market moving forward.

    Source: Variety

  • Sam Worthington Teases Jake Sully’s Journey in ‘Avatar 2’

    Sam Worthington Teases Jake Sully’s Journey in ‘Avatar 2’

    Avatar: The Way of Water is just around the corner and we’re anxiously waiting for our chance to see what director James Cameron has in store for us. We’ll see the return of franchise stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, and more on the big screen, as we venture out into Pandora one more time (and many more trips already planned for the future).

    In the official press event for the Avatar sequel, Sam Worthington got a chance to tease the journey that Jake Sully will go on in Way of Water. The man gave up his humanity to live with the love of its life, Neytiri. Now that he has his newly found family, he’s going to have to face his biggest challenge yet: trying to keep them together.

    Well I think in the first one, you know, he says it in the voice over: “‘Open your eyes.” I think he’s opened his eyes to love, and the love of culture, the love of the planet and the love of Neytiri. I think in this one it’s the natural extension of that, they have a family, and it’s, to be honest, about the protection of that love and that world and that culture. I always saw it as the simplest form, you know, and his, his partner in crime is a very fiery person. He just tries to be the earth, and we just happen to have a lot of water.

    Sam Worthington

    Avatar has always been about love at its core, especially with its environmental message having a strong focus. Now that we’re moving away from the forest, we’re going to see how a new environment affects Jake and his family’s normal life. The trailers also tease that a new conflict is on the horizon, which means that his journey isn’t going to be an easy one.

  • ‘Avatar 2’ Heading for Massive $175M Opening Weekend

    ‘Avatar 2’ Heading for Massive $175M Opening Weekend

    It looks like people are ready to explore Pandora once again, as Avatar: The Way of Water is on its way for a massive $175M opening. Even at its lower end it’ll be at $150M but it’ll definitely be taking its share at the box office normally reserved for superhero tentpoles nowadays. Of course, nostalgia is a big part of selling films nowadays as proven by Top Gun Maverick this year.

    What makes this box office stand out is that it’ll more than double the original’s box office opening of $77M domestically from 2009. That film managed to remain in cinemas as a powerhouse ending on an impressive $760M in the United States even with that strong but not record-shattering opening box office. The question remains if the sequel will have the same legs. As of now, Avatar: The Way of Water already has sold $38M in advance ticket sales which is ahead of Jurassic World Dominion and Top Gun Maverick, but behind Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

    It’s easy to assume that James Cameron has that staying power with any of his film, but at over 3 hours, that’s a big ask of audiences. It’s visuals might make up for that time and there’s no real competition as it wraps up the year but it’s hard to predict nowadays. It could end up having a superhero opening with Top Gun’s legs or simply play similarly to last year’s powerhouse release Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    It’s international opening is also enjoying the addition of China, a market that hasn’t been very welcome throughout the year and has a chance of surpassing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ $449M international opening. As of now, it’s international cume seems to be between $250M to $350M but as we near the weekend we’ll get a better idea of how it’ll perform. China already has $22M pre-sales and could end up at $100M by Sunday even with 33% of cinemas still closed due to COVID.

    Unlike most films of this year though, the weight on this project making around $2 billion is going to weigh on its box office results. With a production budget north of $350M, Cameron and Disney are all-in to make sure this film will be a success. It’s kicked off with 85% on RottenTomatoes with 117 reviews. If audience’s agree, the question is if the film will get the leg-boosting A+ CinemaScore or end up on the lower side of the A Score altogether. For now, we’ll have to see what the rest of the week brings.

    Source: Variety, Rotten Tomatoes