Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Nicole

  • Prime Video Unveils First Look at Emma Roberts in ‘Space Cadet’

    Prime Video Unveils First Look at Emma Roberts in ‘Space Cadet’

    Prime Video has unveiled the first official look of Emma Roberts in the new movie, Space Cadet. The film, which is written and directed by Liz W. Garcia (Purple Hearts), follows a Florida party girl named Rex (Roberts), who “turns out to be the only hope for the NASA space program after a fluke puts her in training with other candidates who may have better resumes, but don’t have her smarts, heart, and nerve. “

    Along with releasing the first look at Roberts’ Rex, Prime Video also confirmed the supporting cast. Joining Roberts are Poppy Liu (Hacks), Gabrielle Union (L.A.’s Finest), Tom Hopper (The Umbrella Academy), Colombian pop star Sebastián Yatra, David Foley (The Kids in the Hall), and Desi Lydic (Awkward). Also appearing in the film are Kuhoo Verma (Plan B), Yasha Jackson (The Flight Attendant), Troy Iwata (Dash & Lily), Andrew Call (Z: The Beginning of Everything), and Josephine Huang.

    Space Cadet is being produced by Stampede Ventures, Greg Silverman, and Jon Berg. Executive producing the project are Gideon Yu, Chris Bosco, Emma Roberts, Liz W. Garcia, and Michael Tadross. Set to launch on Prime Video in over 240 countries sometime next year, Space Cadet does not yet have a release date.

  • ‘Disenchanted:’ Amy Adams on Returning for the Sequel

    ‘Disenchanted:’ Amy Adams on Returning for the Sequel

    In 2008, Disney released Enchanted starring Amy Adams. The film, which stars Adams as Giselle, a young maiden sent away to New York by Queen Narissa, proved to be a massive success for the studio. It earned $340 million at the worldwide box office on a reported $85 million budget. And yet, despite the film’s success, a sequel to the film wasn’t officially announced until Dec. 2020. During a virtual press conference for the film, Adams was asked what it was like to return for the sequel.

    Adams explained that there was a lot to consider when returning for Disenchanted. It was important for them to really think about where Giselle’s story ended off with Enchanted, a film that sees her undergo so much growth, and where she would be over a decade later.

    “For me, it was interesting ’cause we were looking at where Giselle would be now. And, you know, when we leave her in the last movie, there’s been an evolution from the beginning of the movie of Enchanted to who Giselle is at the end of the movie,” she explained. “So sort of taking that evolution of who she might be after spending 10 years, but also making sure we keep her grounded in sort of the truth of her feelings, but without losing that joy and that naiveite and innocence and purity that makes Giselle so special.”

    Adams continued, noting that she wanted to expand on what she loved about the character from the original film. She also enjoyed getting to work with the returning cast, as well as some of the film’s newest additions. “So that’s sort of where my launching place was, was taking everything that I loved about Giselle in the first movie, and then just getting this opportunity to spin it throughout this one,” she said. “It was really just such a pleasure, and getting the returning cast together. It was so fun to get to see everybody just step back into it, and that we were lucky enough to have everybody come join us. And I can’t thank them enough, and I’m very appreciative. And then for our new cast members, I was just so, so, so pleased to get everybody we have.”

    Unlike its predecessor, Disenchanted will be skipping theaters when it releases later this week. The highly-anticipated sequel to Enchanted will instead stream exclusively on Disney+ beginning on Friday, Nov. 18th.

  • James Gunn & Peter Safran are Mapping Out 8-10 Years of DC Stories

    James Gunn & Peter Safran are Mapping Out 8-10 Years of DC Stories

    James Gunn and Peter Safran officially took over DC Studios at the beginning of the month, and while they’ve been in charge for less than two weeks, the duo seem to have big plans for DC Studios. On Thursday, the duo joined David Zaslav on a Zoom call to formally introduce Gunn and Safran to their Warner Bros. Discovery cohorts in a virtual town hall.

    Safran noted that, like with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the hope is for DC Studios to tell an overarching story. “This was such a unique opportunity to tell one great overarching story. One beautiful big story across film, television gaming, live-action, and animation.”

    Safran is perhaps best known for producing the Aquaman films and the Shazam! movies. He’ll now work with Gunn in order to craft an overarching story that’ll span across theater, television, and animation. For Gunn, he was thrilled to help build the newly founded DC Studios in order to make DC great. “The opportunity to make DC as great as it can be and as it should be — that is the reason why I’m doing this job because I know that Peter and I can do that.”

    Gunn also noted that, he’s been working with some of the best “thinkers” in the industry recently along with Safran, although no names were noted. He also revealed that they’re mapping out a massive story to be told over eight to ten years. “We spent the past couple days with a group of some of the best thinkers in the industry, the best writers in the industry starting to map out that eight to 10 year plan of what it’s going to look like in theater, in TV, in animation, across the board for these characters.”

    Up next for DC on the big screen is Shazam! Fury of the Gods which hits theaters on March 17th, 2023.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Kicks Off Overseas with $10M+ on First Day

    ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Kicks Off Overseas with $10M+ on First Day

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is here to save the box office.

    The long-awaited sequel to 2018’s Black Panther began hitting theaters today, and current estimates have the film opening to $10 million overseas. For those curious about where that places the sequel regarding other superhero flicks, that’s well ahead of Black Adam (225%) and The Batman (45%). It is, however, lower than the original Black Panther by 27% and Thor: Love and Thunder by 31%. The original Black Panther, of course, was pre-pandemic and Love and Thunder had the summer box office working in its favor.

    The movie opened in France, Germany, Italy and Korea – among other markets – on Wednesday and opened in the top spot in all markets. France led the way with $2.2 million, which makes for the 3rd highest opening day of 2022, while it opened to $1.4 million in Korea. Indonesia and Germany both saw the film pull in $900k, while Thailand took in $800k.

    The film hits Latin America markets today, and so far, it’s doing good business with $4 million — which is not included in the $10 million total above. The film, still in previews, is currently No. 1 across the region, including both Brazil and Mexico. 

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever kicks off its run stateside tonight via previews, with a wider release set for Friday. The latest estimates have the film looking at a $365 million opening at the worldwide box office, although that could always change.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ Adds Momona Tamada & Alyvia Alyn Lind

    ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ Adds Momona Tamada & Alyvia Alyn Lind

    Two more have joined the cast of The Spiderwick Chronicles for Disney+. Deadline has reported that Momona Tamada (The Baby-Sitters Club) and Alyvia Alyn Lind (SyFy’s Chucky) are the latest to join the series.

    Tamada will play Emiko, a local teen from Henson who is a member of the out-patient group therapy at the Meskwaki Psychiatric Hospital. While Lind will play Calliope – a Fetch who has taken this disguise to be able to stay close to the evil ogre, Mulgarath. The duo is set for recurring roles in the series.

    The live-action Spiderwick series, which is based on the bestselling books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, stars Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell and Christian Slater. It tells the story of two twin brothers, Jared and Simon. After they move from New York to Michigan, into a run-down ancestral home – The Spiderwick Estate – with their mother and sister, Mallory (Mychala Lee), Jared and Simon soon find themselves pulled into an alternate and fantastical world. The series consists of eight books in total and was previously adapted into a feature film in 2008 by Paramount Pictures. That adaptation was a misfire and only earned $164 million worldwide despite receiving an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

    The first two episodes of The Spiderwick Chronicles will be directed by She-Hulk director Kat Coiro. Locke & Key‘s Aron Eli Coleite will serve as the showrunner; he’ll executive produce the series with Coiro, Black and Dierlizzi. Also executive producing the series are Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, and Julie Kane-Ritsch.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘It’ Prequel Series at HBO Max Sets Showrunners

    ‘It’ Prequel Series at HBO Max Sets Showrunners

    Earlier this year, it was announced that HBO Max was developing a prequel to IT. The series, which is titled Welcome to Derry, had set Wonder Woman writer and It: Chapter Two producer Jason Fuchs as the head writer of the series. Now, Variety has announced that Fuchs, along with Brad Caleb Kane, will serve as co-showrunners on the series.

    Fuchs reportedly wrote the screenplay for the first episode of the series, based on a story he wrote along with Andy and Barbara Muschietti. Andy Muschietti, of course, directed both IT films starring Bill Skarsgård as the dancing clown, Pennywise. While not set in stone, the hope is that Muschietti will direct the pilot episode of the series. Fuchs, Kane and the Muschiettis will produce the series, with the Muschiettis producing through their Double Dream banner.

    Fuchs is perhaps best known for his work on Wonder Woman, Pan and Ice Age: Continental Drift. While Kane has written for episodes of shows such as Warrior, Black Sails and Fringe.

    As it stands, details regarding the series are being kept under wraps, but it’s said that Welcome to Derry will be a prequel to 2017’s It: Chapter One. No release date, or casting, has been announced.

    Source: Variety.

  • REVIEW: ‘Zootopia+’ Feels Unnecessary

    REVIEW: ‘Zootopia+’ Feels Unnecessary

    Zootopia, the movie, proved to be a massive success for Disney when it was released back in 2016. The animated film, which centered on a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox, earned an impressive $1.024 billion at the worldwide box office during its theatrical run. Yet, despite its massive success, Disney has not officially given the greenlight to a Zootopia sequel. Instead, the studio opted to develop a series for Disney+ centered on some of the film’s most notable characters. The series delves deeper into events from the film, giving movie fans more time to enjoy these key moments, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s great.

    Like another Disney+ series, I Am Groot, there’s truly no real reason for Zootopia+ to exist. While the directors have previously teased wanting to explore the world further, the episodes are just too short to really be of note. There’s nothing of substance to the series, which is understandable – with six episodes, the longest of which is 8 minutes, it’s hard to really tell much story wise. That isn’t to say fans of the film – and families – won’t devour this series.

    The six episodes often feel like deleted scenes that the directors wanted to revisit in one for or another. Some are hilariously enjoyable – namely “The Real Rodents of Little Rodentia” and “Dinner Rush” – while others lack charm. The animation is fantastic, and the voice acting is stellar, per usual. The problem, though, is that despite their short length, most of these shorts feel incredibly long. These could have easily been added to a Blu-Ray or DVD release.

    Zootopia+ is far from a necessary watch, and there’s a good chance it’s arriving too late, but for a quick watch? It’s enjoyable. Children will certainly love every moment of this series, especially the musical number in “Duke the Musical,” and there’s something for adults planted throughout each short. Like the film, the humor straddles the line perfectly between adult and family friendly. Had the shorts been given a bit more time to breathe, Zootopia+ could’ve been a home run, in its current state, though, it feels underdeveloped.

    Overall: Disney expands upon the excellent Zootopia with a series that, while not necessary, is sure to delight audiences of all ages.

  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Eyeing Massive $365M Opening

    ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Eyeing Massive $365M Opening

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to open huge at the box office this weekend. The sequel to 2018’s massively successful Black Panther is eyeing a $365 million worldwide opening. That includes a projected domestic between $175M-$185M and $180 million internationally. Those numbers would put Wakanda Forever on track for an opening between $355M to $365M.

    Should those numbers hold, that’ll give Wakanda Forever the third highest debut of the pandemic following fellow Marvel movies, Spider-Man: No Way Home ($568M) and Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness ($429M). Unsurprisingly, box office experts expect Wakanda Forever to dominate the box office for some time. With little to no competition, Wakanda Forever could realistically dominate until Avatar: The Way of Water releases on Dec. 16.

    Since estimates came online, Wakanda Forever has been consistently tracking for an opening North of $175 million. With positive word of mouth, it’s entirely possible Wakanda Forever‘s box office haul will only continue to climb.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stars Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Danai Gurira, Florence Kasumba, Lupita Nyong’o, Martin Freeman, Tenoch Huerta, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Mabel Cadena and Alex Livinalli. It’s set to hit theaters on Nov. 11th. Tickets are available now.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Season 4 of ‘Manifest’ Debuts to 57.1 Million Hours Viewed

    Season 4 of ‘Manifest’ Debuts to 57.1 Million Hours Viewed

    Manifest debuted the first half of Season 4 on Netflix last week to impressive numbers. It was revealed today that the series easily took the No. 1 spot on last week’s Top 10 list on Netflix. The first 10 episodes of Season 4 are said to have pulled in 57.1 million hours viewed within the first three days on the service. Also impressive, the first season of Manifest also reentered the top 10 with 20.3 million hours viewed ahead of Season 4’s debut.

    When Manifest was canceled by NBC last July, the series ended up being shopped around, but at the time, it seemed uncertain it would find another home. In fact, even Netflix initially passed on saving the NBC drama. But as fans continued to stream the series and the number of viewers continued to grow, the streaming giant retracted its initial decision and decided to save Manifest. It’s of note that, in the end, Netflix ended up having to beat out NBC to renew the show for a fourth season.

    The fourth season of Manifest consists of 20 episodes and sees the return of its all-star cast consisting of Melissa Roxburgh, Josh Dallas, Athena Karkanis, J.R. Ramirez, and more. As of now, there’s no release date for the second half of Manifest Season 4.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Ian McShane Joins ‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

    Ian McShane Joins ‘John Wick’ Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

    Lionsgate’s John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, has added Ian McShane to its cast. The news was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter with the outlet reporting McShane will reprise his role as Winston, the manager of the Continental. He will star opposite leading lady Ana de Armas. The film follows a young woman with killer skills who uses said skills to get revenge when her family is killed by hitmen and is set within the John Wick cinematic universe.

    McShane has appeared in every John Wick film to date as Winston and reprises the character once again in John Wick: Chapter 4. Outside of the John Wick universe, McShane has appeared in titles such as American Gods as Mr. Wednesday, Hellboy, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and the HBO series, Deadwood.

    The movie is being produced by John Wick director Chad Stahelski, Basil Iwanyk, and Erica Lee. The project is being overseen by Brady Fujikawa and Chelsea Kujawa for Lionsgate. Production on Ballerina is expected to kick off on Monday with Len Wiseman (Underworld) directing from a screenplay by Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 4). As of now, the film does not yet have a release date.

    Source: THR.