Murphy's Multiverse

Author: John Sabato

  • Aubrey Plaza Joins ‘The White Lotus’ Season 2

    Aubrey Plaza Joins ‘The White Lotus’ Season 2

    Fans of the first season of the HBO Max original series The White Lotus are anxiously awaiting the next entry. The next season is rumored to take place at another White Lotus resort, moving away from the one located in Hawaii with an all-new set of characters. As such, the series might be taking an anthology approach moving forward. Variety is now reporting that Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza will be the next guest, as she officially joins the second season. The actress is set to be a series regular, playing the character of Harper Spiller. Harper is on vacation with her husband and his friends, however, no casting has been made on her supporting cast.

    Plaza joins Sopranos star Michael Imperioli, who is set to play the role of Dominic Di Grasso, another guest, who is traveling with his son and father. A while back it was reported that Jennifer Coolidge would be returning from the first season, but it was never confirmed by HBO Max. If she does end up returning, she’ll very likely be reprising the role of Tanya McQuoid. There is currently no set production start and it’s uncertain what the location might be this time around. Mike White, the series creator, is returning to work on the series alongside producers David Bernad and Mark Karmine.

    Source: Variety

  • REPORT: New Casting Breakdowns for Mai and Ty Lee in Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Revealed

    REPORT: New Casting Breakdowns for Mai and Ty Lee in Netflix’s ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Revealed

    Production on the upcoming live-action adaption of Avatar: The Last Airbender is currently in motion, as they continue to add new cast members. Just a few weeks ago the project added Yvonne Chapman as Avatar Kyoshi, Maria Zhang as Suki, Casey Camp-Horinek as Gran-Gran, and Elizabeth Yu as Princess Azula. With Azula set to make an early appearance, it seems she won’t be alone, as Mai and Ty Lee may also appear in the world of Avatar a bit earlier than expected.

    The Illuminerdi is reporting that the two will appear in the first season and has even shared the first character descriptions for both of them. The production is looking to cast an East Asian actress, who is 15 years old to play Mai. She is described as a “courteous daughter of a politician” who was sent to a private school for children of her political standing. Yet, she is also described as a “brooding teenager who finds her guarded and affluent life tedious.” Mai doesn’t wear her emotions on her sleeve and can often be seen as “quite deadpan.”

    Netflix’s looking for the same age and heritage for the actress to play Ty Lee, who attends the same school as Mai. She is described as “cheerful, bubbly, and athletic.” Ty Lee is “an adept acrobat and gymnast” and we may see her actively move around while holding conversations with people, as she can never sit still. As such, she does her utmost to be liked by the people around her. She and Mai are both described as “recurring guest performers,” which hints that we’ll get more of them than initially expected.

    No talent has yet to be announced for either role as the series continues production. They may get announced by the studio in a similar fashion to the three previous cast members. For now, we can only wait, as Avatar: The Last Airbender also doesn’t have a release date just yet.

    Source: Illuminerdi, Avatar News

  • ‘Batgirl’ Set Photos Features a Mural With a First Look at Michael Keaton’s Updated Batman Suit

    ‘Batgirl’ Set Photos Features a Mural With a First Look at Michael Keaton’s Updated Batman Suit

    One of the biggest mysteries that surrounded the upcoming Batgirl film was who they’d choose as their Batman. A while back the directors teased that Batman would be in the film and only gave us a hint with the statement, it’ll be “the real Batman“. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that we’d receive a confirmation. Michael Keaton will be the one to reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. If rumors are to be believed, it’ll take place in a post-Flash DCEU where he has taken over as the main Batman from Ben Affleck.

    Production on Batgirl has recently started in Glasgow, as the streets are transformed into Gotham City. What stands out is that new set photos have caught crews prepping a mural of Batman in a suit similar to Keaton‘s. What stands out is the yellow emblem with an updated look. It even seems like they streamlined the design he made famous back in Batman and Batman Returns.

    The most notable difference here is the cowl: Keaton‘s original design was a singular piece with his cape and offered very limited mobility for the actor’s neck. It now looks to be much more separated from the cape and much thinner.

    Batgirl is currently set to release in 2022, exclusively on HBO Max. The film will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah. The film is set to star Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon alongside J.K. Simmons reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon with Brendan Fraser as the Gotham City arsonist and notorious Batman rogue Firefly.

    Source: Twitter

  • Iman Vellani Spotted in Atlanta for Rumored ‘Ms.Marvel’ Reshoots

    Iman Vellani Spotted in Atlanta for Rumored ‘Ms.Marvel’ Reshoots

    Kamala Khan is set to make her live-action debut this year in Ms.Marvel, one of the next series set to hit Disney+. While we don’t have an exact release date for the series just yet, we know it’s set to premiere sometime this summer on the streamer. So far, it’s the only 2022 Disney+ released by Marvel Studios that have any release window. Recent rumors surrounding the series say it is set to undergo quite a bit of reshoots before its debut.

    For now, it was mostly just a rumor making the rounds, but it seems the cast might be arriving, as star Iman Vellani has been spotted arriving in Atlanta. Instagram user epik_Ink2020, who confirmed multiple celebrity arrivals in Atlanta via his instagram account in the past, shared a new image with the actress confirming she’s in Georgia.

    Atlanta Filming has also made a statement on her arrival after having teased the potential reshoots:

    Her arrival does add some fuel to the rumors and it seems likely that they’ll start production on the series’ reshoots. A few months back, leaked promotional material revealed that Ms. Marvel no longer had her embiggening abilites and instead had been replaced with crystallized Green Lantern-like energy constructs. It is rumored she harnesses the power through the bangle she is seen wearing in the same image. This change has been quite controversial amongst fans as her Embiggening abilites played quite a pivotal role in her journey as a young pakistani girl growing up in the United States.

    Ms.Marvel is still set to release this summer as of right now, but the extent of these reshoots could possibly affect the series release. It’s unknown just what the reshoots will change, or if these decisions were made prior to Vellani‘s filming on The Marvels, it’s unlikely her power set with be changed.

    SOURCE: Twitter, Instagram, The Direct

  • Leaked ‘Batgirl’ Set Photos Seems to Hint at Hugo Strange

    Leaked ‘Batgirl’ Set Photos Seems to Hint at Hugo Strange

    After a long wind up, Batgirl has finally begun production. They are currently busy filming in Glasgow. This is now the third Bat-centric DC film to claim Glasgow as its headquarters and background for Gotham City, following The Batman and for a brief time, The Flash. With production preparing for exterior shots, the streets of Glasgow have been transformed into Gotham City with all sorts of vehicles and posters. Already it seems like some set photos found their way online featuring posters that may hint at a more sinister presence behind the scenes in Gotham City.

    The set photo teases the existence of the notorious Batman villain, Hugo Strange. A poster on-site with the captions “Excellent! Excellent!” features a man with a striking resemblance to Hugo Strange with a bald head and sinister grin. The only thing missing would be his iconic coke bottle glasses, which seem purposely scratched out.

    Hugo Strange first appeared in Detective Comics #36, where he first went up against Batman after using a concentrated lightning machine to cover Gotham City in a thick and dense fog. It allowed his gangs to rob Gotham Cities banks without being seen. Strange was also one of the first Batman villains to figure out his identity. He would later return and begin experiments on insane asylum patients, using growth hormone serums to turn them into giant monsters and send them on a destructive path throughout Gotham city.

    The character is still around to this day and made his live-action debut in Gotham, in which he was the root cause of so many villain origins as products of his experiments at the Indian Hill research facility. He also was one of the main antagonists of Batman: Arkham City. It’ll be interesting to see if they are building up his appearance later down the line, or he might have a role in the film.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Peacemaker’ Pop Up Offers a Closer Look at More Helmets

    ‘Peacemaker’ Pop Up Offers a Closer Look at More Helmets

    Peacemaker is almost upon us just a few months after his first live-action appearance in The Suicide Squad. He is quite the oddball, on a quest for peace that includes killing anyone and anything that gets in his way, sporting a colorful outfit and a chrome dome that helps him stick out like a sore thumb even more than he did before. His helmet is his most iconic feature, and it seems the Peacemaker series is going to run wild with infinite possibilities as to what these helmets could be.

    The past few trailers for Peacemaker have given us a look at a few new helmets in the series. We get a glimpse at Christopher Smith’s base of operations that includes a display case full of unique helmets, which in the comics have different functions. A new pop-up event for the HBO Max series features a display case with a few new helmets that we have yet to see before and gives us names for said helmets.

    One of the first helmets is an “Underwater World” that most likely gives him the ability to breathe and see underwater. The next is reminiscent of his early helmets, featuring an obscenely and comically large fin that’s dubbed the “Screwdriver.” His final helmet is called the “Itchy Dan” and is a basic Peacemaker but instead features a forehead of spikes that could prove quite useful in a headbutting match. It’ll be interesting to see if he wears these helmets or if they are simply a closer look at what else his display case includes.

    Source: Twitter

  • Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ No Longer a Theatrical Release, Heading to Disney+ Exclusively

    Pixar’s ‘Turning Red’ No Longer a Theatrical Release, Heading to Disney+ Exclusively

    Disney seems to be quick in making release decisions when it comes to their Pixar films. It transitioned the studio’s last few films like Soul and Luca to exclusive releases on Disney+ in a heartbeat. With the rising threat of the Omicron variant, Disney seems to have pulled the plug on yet another Pixar project that was initially set to hit theaters and moved it to their streaming service.

    Pixar’s upcoming film Turning Red has been pulled from its intended theatrical release and will instead be made available exclusively on Disney+. The film will still keep its March 11th release date but there are no plans to offer a theatrical showing. The animated feature will stream like any other show or movie on Disney+. We also have to note that it will not be a part of the premier access program that Disney started at the beginning of the pandemic with the release of Mulan.

    Turning Red is a film about a young girl whose ability to turn into a giant red panda, the only catch is that she only turns into this giant red panda when her emotions get the best of her and isn’t able to control some sudden transformations.

    Turning Red is set to star Rosalie Chiang, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Sandra Oh, James Hong, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, Hyein Park, Ava Morse, Addie Chandler, and Orion Lee. The film was directed by Domee Shi and features music by frequent Disney collaborator Ludwig Göransson

    Source: Twitter

  • New ‘The Batman’ Images Offers a Closer Look at Batman Confronting Catwoman

    New ‘The Batman’ Images Offers a Closer Look at Batman Confronting Catwoman

    The Batman is set to hit theaters in just a couple of months with Matt Reeves bringing an all-new Gotham City to big screens with a new Batman played by Robert Pattinson. The film has taken quite a while to hit screens with the ongoing pandemic impacting both the production and release. However, the film looks unlikely to move again – at least, as of now.

    With marketing and promotion kicking off for the film, some new stills have been released via USA Today featuring new looks at Batman and Selina Kyle. The first image features Bruce Wayne in the Batcave while the other offers a familiar look of Batman and Catwoman on top of a Gotham skyscraper. We’ve seen quite a bit from this rooftop interaction between the two, but this looks to be one of clearest looks yet and gives us a great look at Selina’s Catsuit.

    As we get closer and closer to the release of The Batman we can probably expect Warner Bro. to ramp up their marketing. Another trailer for the film was just released around a week ago focusing on the relationship of Batman and Catwoman, which will be an essential part of the film’s upcoming story.

    The Batman is currently set to release in theaters on March 4th, 2022 with Robert Pattinson in the titular role alongside Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, and Colin Farrel.

    Source: USA Today via Twitter

  • RUMOR: ‘The Witcher’ Season 3 To Begin Production in March

    RUMOR: ‘The Witcher’ Season 3 To Begin Production in March

    The Witcher has become quite the hit for Netflix, with the streamer building a universe around the popular franchise for fans to enjoy outside of the books and video games. The second season of the mothership series just hit Netflix, while The Witcher: Blood Origin, a prequel set hundreds of years before the events of Geralt’s story, is set to debut on the service sometime in 2022. And now, thanks to a new report, it seems the third season could be kicking into action a little sooner than some thought, in what could be just a couple of months from now. 

    Redanian Intelligence, a news source for all things Witcher, reports the third season of The Witcher is set to begin production sometime in March. The third season of the series has reportedly already been written, with writing on the third season beginning before the second season had even begun. Production was initially reported to begin in February with the series set to wrap sometime in July, however, with that pushed back a month, it now seems the production could wrap sometime in August. 

    With the next installment already in development and looking to kick off quite soon, it seems plausible that fans could see the third season debut sometime in early-mid 2023, with a possible Spring release date. No official word has been issued yet on Season 3 outside of its renewal, and no casting has been announced either, but that could change in the next few months as production ramps up.

    All eight episodes of The Witcher Season 2 are now streaming on Netflix.

    SOURCE: Redanian Intelligence

  • Closer Look at Thor’s Battle Armor in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Closer Look at Thor’s Battle Armor in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    One of the many Marvel Studios’ projects releasing this year is Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth entry into the Thor franchise and the second one from director Taika Waititi. Thor returns following the events of Avengers: Endgame where we last saw him jet off into space with the Guardians of The Galaxy. We recently got a good look at Thors all-new look from the upcoming film via some promotional artwork, and now it seems there’s a bit more to it with yet another look being unveiled. 

    Alongside Jane Fosters’ brand, the new look is Thor sporting a blue and gold armored look, however, this armor is a bit different than the one we previously saw. New artwork reveals Thor’s all-new gold and blue-winged helmet with a bird’s beak at the center. Along with the helmet, Thor is sporting golden armored sleeves for the god of thunder along with a bit more silver than we saw before.

    https://twitter.com/m_newsiverse/status/1479484837106966528?s=20

    Thor’s look in this film looks to be inspired by the battle armor he once donned in the comics, all the way back in 1987’s Thor #378. The armor was initially used by Thor following Hela placing a curse on the God of Thunder, rendering his bones to be as weak as glass and unable to heal as fast as he once was. There’s no indication that this will play any factor in Thor: Love and Thunder, and as of right now, it seems to be an homage to a look the character once sported. 

    Thor: Love and Thunder is currently set to hit theaters on July 8th, 2022

    SOURCE: Twitter