Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Nicole

  • Anders Holm Joins ‘Godzilla & The Titans’ Series at Apple

    Anders Holm Joins ‘Godzilla & The Titans’ Series at Apple

    Anders Holm is the latest to join the cast of Apple TV+’s Godzilla & the Titans series. The news was revealed by Variety on Monday morning, with the outlet reporting that Holm has signed on for a major recurring role in the series. Further details regarding his role are currently unknown. He joins an impressive cast that includes Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Joe Tippett, Elisa Lasowski, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell and Mari Yamamoto.

    The series, which does not yet have an official name, follows the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that managed to level San Francisco. Following the revelation that monsters are real, the series will explore one family’s journey to uncover “buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.” The upcoming series hails from Legendary Television and is part of the ever-expanding Monsterverse franchise. Chris Black and Matt Fraction co-created the series and will serve as executive producers on the project, while Black will serve as the showrunner.

    Holm is perhaps best known for his work on the Comedy Central series, Workaholics. He has also appeared in The Mindy Project and Netflix’s Inventing Anna. He can next be seen in The Muppets Mayhem on Disney+.

    Matt Shakman, who helmed WandaVision for Marvel Studios, is on board to direct the first two episodes. As of right now, no planned release date has been announced.

    Source: Variety.

  • ‘Smile’ Surprises With $22 Million Opening, ‘Bros’ Stumbles

    ‘Smile’ Surprises With $22 Million Opening, ‘Bros’ Stumbles

    Paramount’s latest offering put a smile on the faces of moviegoers this weekend. Smile, directed by newcomer Parker Finn, pulled in an impressive $22 million over the weekend. The movie earned $8.2 million on Friday, which includes the $2 million the movie pulled in from Thursday previews. Smile‘s performance is all the more impressive considering the film had a modest budget of $17 million.

    Smile, which stars Sosie Bacon, focuses on a therapist who meets a graduate student that has recently witnessed a gruesome suicide. Soon after, she begins experiencing frightening experiences she can’t explain. In order to survive, she’ll need to confront her past in order to escape her horrifying new reality. The film also stars Caitlin Stasey, Kyle Gallner, Robin Weigert and Kal Penn.

    The only other new release this weekend, Bros, failed to take off at the box office. The movie took in $4.8 million this weekend, well under expectations for the film. Smile managed to come in fourth place, beneath Don’t Worry Darling and The Woman King. The former, of course, took in $7.3 in its second weekend, bringing its 10-day domestic haul to $32.8 million. While the latter, The Woman King, came in third with $7 million from 3,504 cinemas, bringing its domestic haul to $47 million. Coming in fifth was the Avatar re-release which took in $4.7 million from 1,860 theaters for a 10-day domestic total of $18.1 million.

    Source: THR.

  • Universal Developing a New ‘American Pie’ Movie

    Universal Developing a New ‘American Pie’ Movie

    Universal is looking to bring back American Pie. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Definition Please filmmaker Sujata Day has signed on to helm a new American Pie movie. Day will write and direct the film which is said to be a fresh take based on her original pitch to the studio.

    Day is perhaps best known for her role as Sarah on HBO’s Insecure. However, she recently begun to turn her talents to behind the camera. Her directorial debut, Definition Please, in which she also starred, won the grand jury award for best narrative feature at San Francisco CAAM Fest. The film was acquired by Ava DuVernay’s Array banner and is now available to stream on Netflix. Prior to Definition Please, Day directed the YouTube Series, This Is My Story, featuring LeVar Burton.

    American Pie was released in 1999 and quickly proved to be a success, amassing $225 million worldwide on an $11 million budget. It spawned two sequels, as well as a direct to video franchise titled American Pie Presents, currently consisting of five titles. As of now, the latest American Pie film has no release date, nor has any of the cast been announced.

    Source: THR.

  • Marvel Studios Developing ‘Armor Wars’ as a Movie Instead of Disney+ Series

    Marvel Studios Developing ‘Armor Wars’ as a Movie Instead of Disney+ Series

    Ever since it was officially announced, fans have eagerly been awaiting news regarding Marvel Studios’ Armor Wars. The project was to be made into a Disney+ series, however, outside of Yassir Lester being announced as the head writer, very little news seemed to surface regarding the project. Lester and leading man, Don Cheadle, assured fans it was coming, though, and now it appears we might have a reason as to why the project is moving so slowly.

    The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Marvel Studios is developing Armor Wars as a feature film instead of a Disney+ series. Both Lester and Cheadle remain on board the project. The project is being redeveloped into a feature film, which is more than likely why Armor Wars still lacked a release window during Marvel Studios’ D23 presentation. The decision was made as Marvel felt the best way to tell the story was through a feature film rather than a television series. Production on the six-episode series was expected to begin in early 2023, however, crew members were said to be notified today that is no longer happening.

    The title of the series was inspirited by a storyline in the Iron Man comics from 1987 and 1988 by writers David Michelinie and Bob Layton and artist Mark Bright. It focused on the highly advanced technology of Iron Man falling into the wrong hands.

    As of now, Armor Wars does not have a release date or director attached to the project.

    Source: THR.

  • Disney Developing ‘Figment’ Movie

    Disney Developing ‘Figment’ Movie

    Disney is developing a movie based on the character Figment. The news comes courtesy of Deadline, with the outlet noting that Seth Rogen will produce the project through his Point Grey banner. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu writers Dan Hernandez and Benji Samit are on board to pen the screenplay for the movie. As of now, no director is attached to the project.

    Created in 1983 by Walt Disney Imagineers Tony Baxter and Steve Kirk, and other collaborators, Figment has long been a fan favorite thanks to the character’s Epcot ride, Journey Into Imagination. The character, while not as popular as others, has quite the devoted fanbase – not only have Figment fans prevented the ride from being removed, but they’ve willingly stood in line for hours to sell out merchandise featuring the character at theme parks. (Back in January, a limited-release Figment popcorn bucket was released and quickly sold out at Walt Disney Parks.) Disney has previously included the character as an easter egg in 2015’s Inside Out and 2019’s Toy Story 4.

    Along with penning 2019’s Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Hernandez and Samit also wrote The Addams Family 2 and helped to create the forthcoming Hulu series, Koala Man. The duo also worked on the TV series One Day at a Time, as well as the Apple TV+ series, Central Park.

    Source: Deadline.

  • REPORT: First ‘Blue Beetle’ Screening Reveals Film’s Rough Runtime

    REPORT: First ‘Blue Beetle’ Screening Reveals Film’s Rough Runtime

    When Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the plug on Batgirl back in August, fans rightfully wondered what this meant for other DC films, including Blue Beetle. Despite the studio seeking to revamp its DC line-up, Blue Beetle director Angel Manuel Soto has been adamant that his film is safe. While it is said the film had issues throughout production, Blue Beetle looks to be taking one step closer to being finished as it held a screening last night.

    A new report, courtesy of Big Screen Leaks, suggests that Blue Beetle is currently clocking in at 165 minutes. This information is based on the cut that was screened last night. As always, things can and often do change closer to a film’s release date.

    https://twitter.com/bigscreenleaks/status/1575145854486413313

    Should this runtime hold, that’ll put Blue Beetle around the same length as Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and right under fellow DC movie, The Batman. Of course, given that this is an early screening, it’s more than likely the film will be cut down further leading up to its release next year.

    Blue Beetle is directed by Soto from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer. It is set to hit theaters on Aug. 18th, 2023 and stars Xolo Maridueña in the titular role alongside Susan Sarandon, Harvey Guillén, Raoul Max Trujillo, George Lopez, Elpidia Carrillo, Belissa Escobedo, Adriana Barraza, and Damián Alcázar.

    Source: Twitter.

  • Bassam Tariq Exits ‘Blade’

    Bassam Tariq Exits ‘Blade’

    Blade has hit yet another setback.

    The Hollywood Reporter has announced that director Bassam Tariq has left the project. Marvel Studios confirmed the news, revealing that the director will remain an executive producer on the project. While Tariq’s exit is unfortunate, it does seem to be genuinely due to the film’s repeated delays, as the director also released his own statement on the matter.

    “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film. We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.”

    Marvel Studios

    “Its been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.”

    Tariq 

    Marvel Studios is already on the hunt for a new director. It’s likely we’ll hear news on that front in the coming weeks, although no names have been mentioned as being in contention just yet. THR was also able to confirm our report that Beau DeMayo was, in fact, brought on to rework the script.

    Blade is set to star Mahershala Ali in the title role, with the cast also including Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre. Also part of the cast is Milan Ray. The first draft of the screenplay was penned by Watchmen’s Stacy Osei-Kuffour. The film was set to hit theaters on Nov. 3rd, 2023.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Star Trek 4’ Taken Off Paramount’s Release Schedule

    ‘Star Trek 4’ Taken Off Paramount’s Release Schedule

    Star Trek 4 won’t be boldly going anywhere anytime soon. The sequel has officially been removed from Paramount’s upcoming film slate. The film, which was being produced through J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot banner, was originally set to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023.

    Unfortunately, the news shouldn’t be too surprising. Star Trek 4 faced yet another setback when director Matt Shakman exited the project after signing on to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. Prior to Shakman’s hiring, Paramount had brought on Jessica Jones director S.J. Clarkson to helm the film, but she ended up leaving the project and eventually signed on to direct Madame Web for Sony. While Noah Hawley (Fargo) and Quentin Tarantino were being eyed to direct other Star Trek films that ultimately never came to fruition.

    The fourth film was set to see the return of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Filming was set to begin by the end of this year. With no director attached, however, there was no chance of the project meeting its planned 2023 release date.

    Updating…

    Source: Variety.

  • Netflix Not Moving Forward with ‘Grendel,’ Show Being Shopped

    Netflix Not Moving Forward with ‘Grendel,’ Show Being Shopped

    A little over a year ago, it was announced that Netflix had given a series order to Grendel with Katy Keene‘s Abubakr Ali set to take on the titular role. The show’s first season would have consisted of 8-episodes and hailed from Resident Evil and Supernatural‘s Andrew Dabb, who was to serve as the showrunner. Unfortunately, Deadline has confirmed that Grendel is no longer happening.

    Per Deadline, despite being given a series order, Netflix is not moving forward with the project, although a specific reason for the cancellation has not been revealed. The outlet only notes that the decision was made in the midst of production, so there’s only a “partial eight-episode season filmed.” With Netflix passing on the project, the series is set to be shopped to other networks and streaming services.

    Along with Ali, Grendel was set to star Jaime Ray Newman, Julian Black Antelope, Madeline Zima, Kevin Corrigan, Emma Ho, Erik Palladino, Brittany Allen and Andy Mientus. The series would have centered on Hunter Rose (Ali) as he seeks vengeance in New York’s criminal underworld. Ali would have been the first Arab Muslim male actor to portray a series lead in a comic book adaptation with Grendel.

    Source: Deadline.

  • REVIEW: ‘The Munsters’ Blu-Ray Review

    REVIEW: ‘The Munsters’ Blu-Ray Review

    When we here at Murphy’s Multiverse exclusively revealed that Rob Zombie was working on a reboot of The Munsters, it’s safe to say hopes were high. After all, the reboot has long been a passion project for the musician and filmmaker. Unfortunately, there’s nothing redeeming regarding this reboot.

    The Munsters, of course, focuses on the Munster family. Lily, a 150-year-old vampire, is eagerly looking for the man of her nightmares. While her father, The Count, has her idea of the type of man she should go for, Lily soon finds herself drawn to Herman, a seven-foot-tall, green experiment much to her father’s dismay. As the duo get to know one another, they quickly fall in love and seek to get married, they’ll soon encounter plenty of hijinks along the way. It’s a simple enough story, but one that doesn’t warrant a reboot.

    It’s frustrating because Zombie has been trying to make The Munsters for some time now. His love of the original and his drive to make the film should’ve produced something of quality. Instead, fans are treated to a film that looks like it was crafted for television — it’s shot cheaply and there are moments when the cinematography is downright terrible. To put it in better terms: It looks like an episode of Doctor Who from ten years ago.

    There are two areas in which The Munsters kind of succeeds. The set design is pretty great. There’s no denying the set is constructed to capture the campiness of the original television series. The film also does a great job of not forgoing the absurdity of the original series. Sadly, though, that’s about as interesting as this reboot manages to get during its 110-minute runtime. It often drags, lacking any sort of charm or true purpose. It doesn’t help, either, that Zombie insists on using the same core cast for most of his films. It’s unfortunate enough that the screenplay is weak, but to make matters worse, the cast is subpar. ‎Sheri Moon Zombie and Jeff Daniel Phillips are both severely miscast.

    Moon Zombie and Phillips admittedly both try to deliver good performances. The problem is they’re both simply out of their leagues on this one. They seemed to have been cast out of convenience rather than skill. And while it does work for some of Zombie’s other films, in this case, though, the filmmaker played it too close to the chest. This take on a classic like the Munsters could’ve benefited from someone else tackling the screenplay and an A-List cast.

    The Munsters is meant to be light-hearted and campy. It’s meant to be exciting, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. Sadly, Zombie’s The Munsters is simply a snooze fest that is best to avoid. You’ll be counting down the minutes, questioning what the purpose of this reboot truly was, all while growing frustrated you wasted the time to check it out.