Murphy's Multiverse

Author: John Sabato

  • ‘The Flash’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Despero

    ‘The Flash’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Despero

    Season 8 of The Flash is set to kickoff with a multi episode crossover over titled “Armageddon.” The crossover will see many popular and familiar faces from across the Arrowverse return for a team-up alongside Barry Allen. The five part crossover event will see the return of Brandon Routh as the ATOM, Javicia Leslie as Batwoman, Cress Williams as Black Lightning, and Kat McNamara as Mia Queen. The characters will return to help Flash face Despero, a galactic warlord who has made his way to earth.

    New set photos from the set of Flash have given us our very first look at Despero, played by Tony Curran. While it isn’t exactly a full look at the villain, some tracking cut outs give us a look at his shoulders and up, sporting a classic pink look with elf like ears and a large fin. The only thing that seems to be missing is the third eye that allows him to use his Psionic abilities.

    https://twitter.com/pagmyst/status/1432554527115251714?s=21

    Despero is quite the foe. For those unfamiliar with the character he first appeared all the way back in 1960’s Justice League of America #1, and was created by Mike Sekowsky and Gardner Fox. Despero hails from the planet of Kalanor, which he rules with an iron fist as a tyrant. Despero made travels the galaxy looking for foes worthy of a fight, and may explain why so many past characters will return in this years crossover event to help defeat Despero and send him back to Kalanor.

    SOURCE: Twitter

  • ‘DOOM PATROL’ Spinoff ‘DEAD BOY DETECTIVES’ In The Works at HBO Max

    ‘DOOM PATROL’ Spinoff ‘DEAD BOY DETECTIVES’ In The Works at HBO Max

    The third season of Doom Patrol is quickly approaching, as the season premiere rears its face on September 23rd, exclusively on HBO Max. The Titans spinoff has made quite the name for itself, with its off-beat and distinct comic book sensibilities. This popularity seems to have paid off as a spin-off of the spin-off is now in the works at HBO Max, and will follow the adventures of Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine in the Dead Boy Detectives.

    HBO Max has ordered a pilot for what could be a potential new property for the franchise. The project is being written by Steve Yockey, who will serve as an executive producer on the project alongside Jeremy Carver. This will mark yet another DC property to fall under Greg Berlanti’s umbrella with Berlanti Productions, who is also set to produce the pilot.

    Though the pilot is currently set to begin filming in November, no names are currently attached to the project. Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant are will play Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine in the upcoming season of Doom Patrol, but neither actor is currently believed to be attached to the project.

    This wouldn’t be the first time an actor was recast for a spin-off, with actor Bruno Bichir was replaced by Timothy Dalton as Niles Caulder when the show scored its spin-off. The series will follow the characters, created by Neil Gaiman, as they remain in the world of the living to solve paranormal crimes, instead of moving on into the afterlife.

    SOURCE: Variety

  • Cartoon Network Greenlights ‘BATMAN’ Damian Wayne Holiday Special

    Cartoon Network Greenlights ‘BATMAN’ Damian Wayne Holiday Special

    Animation has always been a strong suit for DC and Warner Brothers, with so many classics under their belt, film and TV alike, such as Batman the Animated Series, Justice League, and Justice League The New Frontier. However, one thing that has yet to be explored in these animated projects is a one-off holiday special, unless you can consider Batman: The Long Halloween a holiday special.

    Cartoon Network has given the green light to a new DC Holiday special titled Merry Little Batman, a film that’ll follow a six-year-old Damian Wayne who has found himself all alone in Wayne Manor. The film will take a bit of a Home Alone-style approach with Damian suiting up as “Little Batman” in order to defend his Home and Gotham City from the supervillains who’ve run rampant around the big city intent on destroying Christmas.

    Knowing Damian Wayne and the way he was raised, he seems like quite the force to be reckoned with in a Kevin Mccallister-type role. The animated feature has to announce any casting or set a release date. Warner Bros. Animation will serve as a producer on the project alongside Mike Roth, who will direct and as well as executive produce on the project. The feature screenplay was written by Morgan Smith.

    SOURCE: Variety

  • ‘GUARDIANS’ Producer on James Gunn’s Return to Vol. 3

    ‘GUARDIANS’ Producer on James Gunn’s Return to Vol. 3

    The Guardians of The Galaxy is one of those obscure groups of characters from the comics that many didn’t really have a clue about but found success thanks to the way James Gunn handled their story, managing to turn an unknown property into a billion-dollar franchise. But the future of that franchise became uncertain when Gunn was embroiled in a scandal regarding decade-old tweets and then later fired for them. However, it wasn’t all bleak as Gunn managed to find his way back to where he started when he was rehired a year later.

    Producer on both Guardians films and the upcoming Shang-Chi film, Jonathan Schwartz, recently sat down for an interview with our very own Charles Villanueva where he expressed how important and happy he was to have Gunn back for the third and final film in the trilogy.

    It’s great to have him back. It’s super exciting. I’m a huge fan of James. It would have felt very weird to try and do a Guardians movie without him because he is such an important voice when it comes to putting those movies together and I think you feel that when you watch them. They feel so specific to James and to what he wants to do as a director. So I’m very, very pleased and excited that he’s able to come back for Vol. 3 and complete that trilogy.”

    It’s safe to assume that the entire fandom shares the same sentiment with Schwartz. Gunn recently achieved the same kind of success he did with Guardians when his own twisted vision of DC’s Task Force X, The Suicide Squad, came out last month to incredible reviews. To have him be absent for the group of misfits that put him on the mainstream map would have been a travesty.

  • ‘INJUSTICE’ Animated Movie Sets Release Date

    ‘INJUSTICE’ Animated Movie Sets Release Date

    All the way back in 2013 NetherRealm Studios and Tom Taylor brought the DC Universe into its ultimate clash, the Injustice storyline. The game was released alongside a comic, written by Taylor. With over 150 issues it was a mega-hit, bringing Batman and Superman head to head and splitting the DC Universe down the middle. The franchise would go onto score a second game as well as yet another comic that would run for another over 70 issues continuing the story from the first game.

    A while ago it was announced that an Injustice animated adaption would be coming from WB Animation, DC, and WB Home Entertainment. The film would bring to life the best-selling first installment in the franchise, showing us the murder of Lois Lane and the fall from grace for Superman, as the Regime and Insurgency form. The animated feature has set a release date of October 19th, 2021, launching on digital platforms and Blu-Ray on the same day.

    Matt Peters directed the project with Rick Morales producing alongside Jim Krieg. The film was written by Ernie Altbacker who previously wrote Batman: Hush. Justin Hartley is set to voice Superman, Anson Mount as Batman, Gillian Jacobs as Harley Quinn, Janet Varney as Wonder Woman, Derek Phillips as Aquaman and Nightwing, Brandon Michael Hall as Cyborg, Reid Scott as Green Arrow, and Victor Zsasz, Anika Noni Rose as Catwoman, Kevin Pollak as Joker and Jonathan Kent, Zach Callison as Damian Wayne and Jimmy Olsen, with Yuri Lowenthal as Flash, Shazam, and Mirror Master.

    SOURCE: IGN

  • ‘SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS’ Has Wrapped Filming

    ‘SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS’ Has Wrapped Filming

    The Shazamily is returning with both the cast and director picking up their respective roles for another electrifying ride through the DCEU. It was announced last year at DC Fandome that the next film in the franchise would be titled Shazam: Fury of The Gods, leading many to wonder just what gods they’d be facing since they’d all been killed by Ares centuries ago.

    While the second Shazam film isn’t set to release until 2023, director David Sandberg announced yesterday that filming has wrapped. This has left quite a large gap of time in between the end of production and release allowing for some speculation to begin.

    https://twitter.com/ponysmasher/status/1432850458566176773?s=20

    With filming having already concluded and release so far out, what could occupy all that time aside from post-production? Possibly pre-production on a third film. One of the biggest issues the films face is with its actors. The cast is mostly made up of child actors who’ve all began to sprout up quite fast in the past years. The issue they need to avoid here is most likely the child actors outgrowing the actors who play their powered-up counterparts. With all this time in between, With how much time they have in between releases, they could easily get cameras rolling sometime in 2022 following post-production on Fury of the Gods.

    Shazam: Fury of the Gods is currently set to release on June 2nd, 2023 with Zachary Levi set to return as Captain Marvel. The film will see the family up against the daughters of Atlas with Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu set to play two of the older sisters, Hespera and Kalypso.

    SOURCE: Twitter

  • ‘Batgirl’ Confirmed to Shoot In Glasgow

    ‘Batgirl’ Confirmed to Shoot In Glasgow

    Things are moving quite fast on the Batgirl film after spending years in development hell. Once the film found its directors, it was off to the races. It was announced just a few weeks ago that actress Leslie Grace would indeed be putting on the cape and cowl to suit up as the titular hero in her very own solo film.

    While the film has set no release date for its HBO Max debut, production seems to be ramping up with Glasgow Live reporting it is set to kick off in November. Batgirl will mark the third DC film to make its way to Glasgow as the setting for Gotham city after The Batman and The Flash both recently wrapped up filming there. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah both recently arrived in Glasgow to do some scouting ahead of principal photography.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CTATfQTiOrO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

    With filming on the project beginning so soon and recent sets in Glasgow being a hot spot for paparazzi, it’s likely DC Fandome could give us not just a release date, but our first look at Grace suited up to avoid the first photos coming from the streets of Glasgow.

    Batgirl will be directed by El Arbi and Fallah, with a script written by Christina Hodson, who previously wrote both Birds of Prey and The Flash. The film will also see the return of JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, following his short appearance in Justice League.

    SOURCE: GlasgowLive

  • RUMOR: Netflix’s ‘AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’ Live-Action Series Casting Azula

    RUMOR: Netflix’s ‘AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER’ Live-Action Series Casting Azula

    Avatar The Last Airbender made its streaming debut last year right as the pandemic struck the world, acting as a bit of light in a tough time for everyone. The show struck quite the cord once again, causing everyone to fall back in love with the show’s story and characters. With everyone ablaze about the series many quickly remembered that Netflix was deep in the development of a live-action adaption of the beloved story, a bittersweet concept for some.

    Azula's Creepy Ladies Are the Best Part of Avatar

    Casting for Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko was just recently revealed by Netflix as the project takes one giant leap forward. It seems that the studio may also be actively casting for the role of Princess Azula, Zuko’s estranged sister and daughter of Fire Lord Ozai. AvatarNews is reporting that the role of Azula is being cast for the first season. No details on the casting have been made, but casting will likely test out the actresses chemistry with Dallas Liu, who was recently cast in the role of Zuko.

    The casting of Azula may raise quite a few eyebrows for many die-hard fans of the series. While she is quite the fan favorite, she has no role in the first season. It’s not until the end where she is tasked with hunting the Avatar and her brother Zuko by the Fire Lord. It’s right on the heals when her brother betrayed the Fire Nation. It’s possible the actress may not debut until the very end of the season, or we get more background on the sibling’s relationship before she is tasked with hunting him down.

    Source: AvatarNews

  • Lashana Lynch Spotted with ‘THE MARVELS’ Cast and Director

    Lashana Lynch Spotted with ‘THE MARVELS’ Cast and Director

    The Marvel family will finally unite in the upcoming sequel to 2018’s Captain Marvel, with Carol Danvers set to team up with Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau. With all these newcomers, it would be nice to see a few familiar faces. Luckily, Samuel L. Jackson already teased his return as Nick Fury and Jude Law also potentially making a return. Yet, it seems that they may not be the only returning characters.

    Recently the cast and director of The Marvels were spotted out in public with actress Lashana Lynch, who previously played Maria Rambeau in the first Captain Marvel film. The character was briefly mentioned in Wandavision, where we met an older version of her daughter working for S.W.O.R.D. In it, we found out that Maria had passed away due to cancer sometime during the blip.

    https://twitter.com/MarvlUpdates/status/1431669126578249730

    Its currently unknown if Lynch has indeed joined the upcoming film, but seems possible if she was spotted with both DaCosta and Parris, who are both newcomers to the franchise. If she is indeed in the film, the role will most likely be limited and set in the past. Perhaps we can explore her life after the first film and the formation of S.W.O.R.D. It’ll be interesting to see them explore the Rambeau’s relationship with Captain Marvel, as there seemed to be some resentment towards Carol from Monica seen in a brief moment in WandaVision. Here’s hoping we find out more in the near future.

    Source: Twitter

  • Joy Omanski and Neil Hopkins Upped to Series Regulars for ‘STARGIRL’ Season 3

    Joy Omanski and Neil Hopkins Upped to Series Regulars for ‘STARGIRL’ Season 3

    Stargirl‘s second season has just begun on the CW network after moving from the DC Universe streaming service. It is set in the aftermath of the Injustice Societies defeat. Now, our heroes face a reality where they are no longer needed. The upcoming episode will see the return of Sportsmaster and Tigress, who were thought to be locked away after they took down ISA’s satellite and sent them packing. It seems this wont be the last we see of them.

    Deadline is reporting that both Neil Hopkins and Joy Omanski have been promoted to series regulars in the upcoming third season of Stargirl, which was green-lit before the second had even premiered. The pair are definitely one of the shows deadliest duos, posing as quite the challenge for the JSA upon their first few missions, but the dynamic between the pair is quite perfect and it’ll be great to have them back.

    DC's Stargirl' 1×06 Photos: Sportsmaster and Tigress Villains | TVLine

    While there isn’t any details on the upcoming third season, and filming has yet to begin, its possible we could see the Crockett crime family come together in the future of the series. Cindy Burman is on the hunt to form her own ISA with Tigress and Sportmaster’s daughter, Artemis being high on her list as a potential candidate. The series could even potentially bring in the Crocketts oldest daughter, Cheshire. Artemis and her might become fan favorites with their inclusion on Young Justice.

    Stargirl‘s second season is currently airing on the CW Network every Tuesday. The sophomore season features the return of Brec Bassinger and Luke Wilson as Stargirl and S.T.R.I.P.E as a new evil makes its way to Blue Valley, one that could be deadlier then the entirety of the ISA.

    Source: Deadline