Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • HBO Max’s ‘Velma’ Adds Constance Wu, Sam Richardson, Glenn Howerton and Many More

    HBO Max’s ‘Velma’ Adds Constance Wu, Sam Richardson, Glenn Howerton and Many More

    Mindy Kaling has been busy during New York Comic-Con promoting her upcoming HBO Max series, Velma. The darker take on the Scooby-Doo franchise explores the story of Velma Dinkley before she joins Mystery Inc. or even is a thought. While details have been sparse, it looks like we finally got the full cast revealed for the series.

    Mindy Kaling takes on the role of Velma while Sam Richardson joins to take on the iconic role of Norville, better known as Shaggy. Glenn Howerton will play the series’ take on Fred with Constance Wu taking on the role of Daphne. They are joined by Frank Welker, Jane Lynch, Russell Peters, Wanda Sykes, Melissa Fumero, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Stephen Root, Cherry Jones, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Sarayu Blue, Yvonne Orji, Fortune Feimster, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Kulap Vilaysak.

    The first time we got a good look at the project was with a still during May’s upfronts, where they first confirmed their take on Velma will be of South Asian descent. The new take will definitely be interesting but it highlights how the franchise continues to be quite popular and open to many different iterations throughout the years. We’ll see if the childhood classic finds its footing as an r-rated project.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Keanu Reeves Wants to Play MCU’s Ghost Rider

    Keanu Reeves Wants to Play MCU’s Ghost Rider

    Marvel and Keanu Reeves have long been looking for a chance to unite in an upcoming project. While there’s still no confirmation on how they’d find the right role for him, it seems he’s already gotten his eyes on one. During an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the actor shared what role he’d love to take on and it turns out he wants to play the Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider.

    Not only that, but he also went on to praise the work of Marvel Studios and how they’ve started to develop their films. It certainly sounds like the actor wants to become a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and while others have also been eyeing the role of Ghost Rider, there are enough versions he could choose from.

    It’s really cool. I think the way that the Marvel films have developed and what they are is really spectacular and it would be great to be a part of that.

    Keanu Reeves

    We’ll see if Reeves makes his MCU debut at some point in the near future, but it’ll definitely make headlines once he’s finally confirmed to be a part of this franchise. John Wick was a new starting point for the actor and it’ll be interesting to see what his future looks like in the world of nostalgia.

    Source: YouTube via EW

  • ‘Eight Crazy Night’s Director Almost Adapted ‘Kingdom Hearts’ as an Animated Series for Disney

    ‘Eight Crazy Night’s Director Almost Adapted ‘Kingdom Hearts’ as an Animated Series for Disney

    There have been many theories that Disney has been trying to adapt Kingdom Hearts in some capacity beyond the games. Considering the series is based in the many worlds from their long-running IPs, it seemed like the perfect show for them to adapt that plays into nostalgia while also offering something new to draw an audience in.

    As it turns out director Seth Keasley, famous for the Adam Sandler animated film Eight Crazy Nights, was actively working on a Kingdom Hearts pilot that even managed to test well. While the initial script he received was just like the game featuring characters from the game series reliving the Disney story, he got a chance to rewrite the script that tested incredibly well. Yet, the project seemingly never picked up and a recent experience seemingly led to him wanting to share what that pilot would’ve been like.

    At the time, we weren’t even really allowed to do sequential story, like every episode had to stand on its own and also with the pilot, it had to stand on its own, it had to be ‘episode seven’. I couldn’t do the origin story… so I said, I like it, I wanna do it and then they gave me a script and I read the script and the script read like an episode of Aladdin co-starring the characters from Kingdom Hearts. And I was like, ‘I don’t wanna do that’, I said, ‘I don’t like the script, I wanna do a rewrite,’ and they said, ‘You’re fired,’… I was like, ‘It’s not that I hate the script, it’s that this reads like an episode of Aladdin co-starring Kingdom Hearts characters and I really think that this should be like an episode of Kingdom Hearts that happens to take place in the world of Aladdin.’ So I got to do a rewrite. I spent a lot of time with a writer and we came up with a new version that definitely felt like Kingdom Hearts.

    Seth Kearsley

    In his YouTube video, he highlighted that he had no idea about the gaming franchise before tackling the project but did explore it. He seemingly fell in love with it once he gave it a shot and tried to give it a chance. It’s crazy to think that this project never picked up and only now details are finding their way online.

    There were some rumors hinting at a potential Disney+ series being in some form of development, which has never been officially announced or even hinted at. It still is a project that would make a lot of sense fo the Disney-owned streamer but we’ll still have to wait for more details on the fourth entry in the gaming franchise. Perhaps the next entry might spark some interest to revive a TV project once again.

    Source: YouTube via ScreenRant

  • Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Adds 2 More to Cast

    Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Adds 2 More to Cast

    There was a lot of hope and excitement for Tudum to potentially offer our next glimpse at the live-action adaptation of One Piece. Netflix has seemingly been all-in with the project and highlighted it during their big event of the year. Yet, it somehow only got a brief mention in Japan’s Tudum section without any news update hitting the web. While we might have to wait a bit longer for any real insight into how the production is going, especially with it having wrapped production not too long ago, it seems we can at least add two more to the series cast.

    According to their CVs, actor Nathan Castle has joined the production as the character of Koushirou while Brett Williams will play Merry. For those not familiar with the story and remembering the boat being named Going Merry, Williams is not playing the Straw Hats iconic boat that they secured in the East Blue. He’s actually taking on the role of Kaya’s butler, who we meet in Syrup Village alongside Jacob Romero Gibson‘s Usopp.

    In the case of Castle, he is set to play Koushirou who plays an important role in the backstory for Mackenyu‘s Zoro. He is nonother than Roronoa’s swordmaster and the father of Kuina. We would later also find out more about his family’s lineage but in the East Blue Saga, which the upcoming Netflix series will adapt, he’s mainly featured in the flashback exploring what inspires Zoro’s goal. It’ll be interesting to see if they might allude to some elements that didn’t get revealed in the manga until almost 25 years later.

    Source: ERM Stars, ERM Stars

  • REPORT: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Eyeing February Production Start, Will Return to New York City

    REPORT: ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Eyeing February Production Start, Will Return to New York City

    There have been many theories surrounding Marvel studios’ upcoming revival project Daredevil: Born Again. The Disney+ series is going to consist of 18 episodes, the most we’ve ever seen from any Marvel series so far on the streaming service. The character is set to make his MCU premiere in costume with the upcoming She-Hulk episode, but it looks like Charlie Cox is already getting ready to return to the role sooner rather than later. According to Discussing Film’s Jacob Fisher, it seems they might start production on the Disney+ series as of February.

    With the episode count, it might be Marvel Studios’ longest production yet as they’re set to film the entire year. Not just that, they are forgoing their usual Atlanta production but actually return to New York City as their primary filming location. This is quite significant, as it continues how the previous productions brought the series to life, which was a massive deal between Netflix, ABC Studios, Marvel, and NYC to exclusively film there on location. So, locals will be certainly keeping their eyes out to get a shot from the production.

    The series main star Charlie Cox did actually tease they might return to New York to film, but there never was a confirmation. Some also thought they may have mixed it up due to it being the Netflix production location. Marvel Studios made its home in Atlanta, which made it the usual location e expect many of these shows to film at but this could be a great start to showcase them taking extra steps to ensure the Daredevil series stays true to the Netflix series that came before.

    Source: Twitter

  • Netflix’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Pitch Included Buliding an MCU-Inspired Franchise

    Netflix’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Pitch Included Buliding an MCU-Inspired Franchise

    Amazon has been making quite the splash with its work on Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. While there has been the usual online backlash for any changes or adaptations from the original source material, they have offered something that feels like a blend of J. R. R. Tolkien’s work and Peter Jackson’s iconic film trilogy. As it turns out, it seems that other pitches would’ve taken the franchise in very different directions.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix and HBO have also pitched their takes on how to push the franchise forward. While the Tolkien estate famously has its problems with Jackson‘s adaptations, it seems that Netflix wanted to take a franchise-based approach by building various spinoff series focused on Gandalf and Aragorn.

    While the concept works for comic book-based stories, it unsurprisingly “freaked out the estate” and may have been one of the reasons it was pushed towards Amazon’s pitch of just telling a unique story. Amazon Studios TV co-head believes that they won through their “collective passion and fidelity to Tolkien” but it wasn’t an easy win. HBO also was part of the bidding process and seemingly wanted to just retell the original trilogy with a focus on the Third Age once again.

    The $250M reported budget was seemingly something Netflix initially put out to get their hands on the intellectual property. While they have moved on with other adaptations and their hope to build a Power Rangers-focused franchise, it definitely seems like the bidding process wasn’t an easy one for everyone involved.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • New ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Concept Art Offers First Look at Daniel Craig’s Scrapped Cameo

    New ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Concept Art Offers First Look at Daniel Craig’s Scrapped Cameo

    While Doctor Strange‘s travel through the Multiverse of Madness wasn’t as cameo-filled as many hoped, it still gave us some great bloody cameos. The return of Patrick Stewart as Chares Xavier stole the show alongside the fan-casting-turned-reality with John Krasinsky as Mr. Fantastic. Still, there’s always a little sense of what might have been when first teases came of what sadly had to get scrapped due to the pandemic.

    Among them was the MCU debut of Daniel Craig as Balder the Brave. Not only would he have been the Illuminati’s stand-in for Thor but also open up the Norse mythology. Of course, the biggest shame is that we almost had 007 but luckily concept artist Darrell Warner has given us a first look at what the character would’ve looked like if they managed to go through with it.

    While it seems like a one-time chance to make it a reality, we’re still in the middle of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga. So, there’s still a chance they might revisit the character in a future entry such as through Secret Wars. We still don’t know if this character actually ever existed in the mainline MCU.

    So, we’ll see if they’ll potentially use him as a way to force Thor to explore more secrets that his father has kept from his family. Considering he got a surprise sister in Thor: Ragnarok, maybe a new half-brother is the perfect addition to pushing him further off the cliff after all the loss he had to endure up until now. Only time will tell if they will make this a reality after all.

    Source: Instagram

  • RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    We’ve long speculated on who might be the next foe in Transformers‘ latest cinematic release. As the franchise moves away from Michael Bay‘s time with the characters, it’s starting to embrace more elements from the original animated series. The upcoming entry by Steven Caple Jr. will introduce the world to elements from the Beast Wars storyline and act as a sequel to Bumblebee. If a new rumor is to believed, we might also know how exactly they will be facing.

    While there’s no word if Megatron or Starscream might return, we do know that the Terrorcons and Maximals will have a role in the film. Yet, it seems that @ViewerAnon took to Twitter to share that the film will include Unicron as it’s big bad. There’s no word if he’ll potentially have an overarching role or they might use the Lord of Chaos for multiple entries.

    If the rumor is true, it’s certainly quite a step up to have a planet eater as your main bad guy. With his focus on devouring the multiverse, perhaps it’s a concept they want to use to make the new film franchise stand out. Marvel’s quite busy building up their own multiversal storyline as DC hopes to do the same with The Flash. So, it seems fitting that one of the other massive pop cultural cinema franchises also takes its chance into the wider multiverse. Perhaps it’s also their way of establishing their new timeline while keeping the door open to revisit the old franchise in some way.

    Source: Twitter

  • David Ramsey’s CW Arrowverse Series ‘Justice U’ Still in Development

    David Ramsey’s CW Arrowverse Series ‘Justice U’ Still in Development

    The CW’s future has been a big question mark for some time. As Warner Bros. Discovery seemingly was restructuring its future projects, it was unclear just how they’d keep their CW network going. As it turned out, they simply decided to give up their majority stake in it and are focused on still producing shows for the network.

    Still, quite a few of their DC shows are slowly coming to an end with the big question being if we can expect more in the future. Among them was a project spearheaded by Arrow veteran David Ramsay titled Justice U and it seems that he’s offered a little insight into where the project currently stands with TVLine.

    We’re on the second draft of a script, and we just closed the deal on a writer. I’m not sure I can say her name, so I won’t, but we’re very close to submitting our second draft. It’s still in development, and we’re moving forward.

    David Ramsey

    So, it seems like they are still working on it and they are still in the early script phase. This isn’t the same scenario as what we saw with Powerpuff, which had an entire pilot filmed before they decided to move on from the project; with still no update on where exactly it stands currently. So, we’ll have to see until they start confirming production starts on a pilot.

    Source: TVLine

  • Eiza González Denies Elektra Casting Rumors for ‘Daredevil’s Disney+ Series

    Eiza González Denies Elektra Casting Rumors for ‘Daredevil’s Disney+ Series

    You know that casting rumors can reach a new level of insanity when an actress has to confirm they aren’t involved in any way directly on Twitter. Eiza González has been rumored to potentially take on the role of Elektra in the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again.

    It’s uncertain where the rumor started but the reaction has not been great with many mad at a potential recasting of Elodie Yung from the Netflix run of Daredevil. It seems that the negativity surrounding this rumor has reached a boiling point for the actress to outright deny any castings on Twitter; highlighting she’s already busy with Netflix’s adaptation of Three-Body Problem.

    One cannot deny the extent that some rumors circulating online nowadays. They even led to negative reactions surrounding projects focused on the multiverse, as fan favorites didn’t show up leading to some online upset about them not showing up as “was promised.” The online discourse has changed quite a bit since the pandemic first hit and expectations have skyrocketed after a long drought.

    While some managed to offer exactly what some rumors hinted at, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, other projects have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Daredevil has become quite popular online through his adventure on Netflix, which also sets a very specific expectation for what defines that character and his world. So, the weight on anyone involved with the project won’t be trivial.

    Source: Twitter