Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Nicole

  • Sublime Biopic Coming from ‘Hunger Games’ Director Francis Lawrence

    Sublime Biopic Coming from ‘Hunger Games’ Director Francis Lawrence

    The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence is teaming with Sony Pictures on a Sublime biopic. Sublime was one of the biggest acts of the 90s and has gone on to become one of the most famous acts in music to this date. The band consisted of lead singer Bradley Nowell, bassist Eric Wilson, and drummer Bud Gaugh. Nowell, of course, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 28, but that hasn’t kept Sublime’s legacy from living on. To this day, Wilson and Gaugh tour as Sublime with Rome, with Rome Ramirez on the vocals and guitar.

    Sublime‘s Gaugh and Wilson, along with Bradley’s widow, Troy Nowell, and son Jake have given their blessing both to the film and Lawrence.

    “Wow — we can’t believe this is finally happening, and we couldn’t be more honored and excited to have the great Francis Lawrence and Chris Mundy telling our story. We are so grateful to Peter Paterno and Dave Kaplan/Surfdog for their years of persistence and vision in getting this film going and thankful to Sony’s 3000 Pictures and Chernin Entertainment for believing in us and getting it on the big screen. We know Bradley’s talent and spirit will be part of this incredible journey.”

    The biopic is being developed by Sony’s 3000 Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, about:blank, Dave Kaplan, and Peter Paterno. Kaplan and Paterno are said to have been the driving force behind the project for some time now, having helped to put the final pieces together.

    “We’re thrilled Sublime’s insanely cool and important story will finally be told. Peter Paterno and I spent the last six years searching for the right partners, and we are pinching ourselves with this ‘Dream Team’ of Elizabeth Gabler and Marisa Paiva at 3000 Pictures, Francis Lawrence, Chris Mundy and the Chernin folks and can’t wait to see this film get made.”

    Dave Kaplan

    Ozark scribe Chris Mundy is set to write the film.  Gaugh, Wilson, as well as Troy Nowell and Jakob Nowell on behalf of Bradley Nowell’s estate, will help executive produce the movie. While Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and David Ready producing for Chernin Entertainment along with Lawrence from about:blank and Kaplan of Surfdog/DKM and Paterno of KHPS producing. As of now, the film does not have a release date.

    Source: Deadline.

  • John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’ Returning to Theaters Once Again

    John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’ Returning to Theaters Once Again

    Halloween looks to be coming early.

    A new report from The Hollywood Reporter states that John Carpenter‘s Halloween is set to return to theaters for a limited time along with the fourth and fifth Halloween sequels. This marks the second year in a row that the films have been re-released into theaters.

    CineLife Entertainment, Compass International Pictures and Trancas International Films are working together to help bring Halloween, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers back to theaters. As of now, there are reportedly 670 screenings planned across 417 theaters later this month.

    “We are ecstatic to once again showcase the legendary Halloween franchise in theaters and continue our strong partnership with Trancas International Films and Compass International Pictures. Halloween fans nationwide showed their unwavering appreciation for the iconic series over the years, and we are overjoyed to have the opportunity to bring back such a well-received tradition.”

    Bernadette McCabe, CineLife Entertainment’s Executive VP

    The decision to re-release the Halloween films should help to boost an otherwise quiet box office. While Barbarian is doing great business, there’s little else being released this month with the exception of Don’t Worry Darling from Warner Bros. Discovery. And the forthcoming release of Halloween Ends next month might help to increase interest in returning to where it all started.

    The first Halloween was released on Oct. 25, 1978, and would go on to spawn a film franchise that is still relevant to this day. While there were some missteps along the way, 2018’s Halloween, which brought back Jamie Lee Curtis, proved to be a hit among fans and critics alike and pulled in $255 million worldwide. While the sequel, Halloween Kills, only pulled in $131.6 million worldwide following a day-and-date release on Peacock, it was still enough to see the threequel through.

    Halloween Ends will hit theaters on Oct. 14th.

    Source: THR.

  • Manny Jacinto is the Latest to Join ‘Star Wars’ Series ‘The Acolyte’

    Manny Jacinto is the Latest to Join ‘Star Wars’ Series ‘The Acolyte’

    From The Good Place to a galaxy far, far away. Deadline reports that Manny Jacinto has been cast in the forthcoming Star Wars series, The Acolyte. The actor joins an impressive cast that consists of Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), and Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim). Details regarding Jacinto’s character are being kept under wraps.

    Jacinto is perhaps best known for his role as Jason Mendoza in The Good Place. His other credits include Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers and Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor, and he also appeared in the movie of the year, Top Gun: Maverick, as Lt. Billy ‘Fritz’ Avalone. The busy actor is also set to appear in The Knife, Cora Bora and Balestra.

    The Acolyte is being described as a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a “galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging Dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” The project was first announced in April 2020, with Lucasfilm finally confirming the series in December 2020.

    Russian Doll‘s Leslye Headland will serve as the series director, writer, executive producer and showrunner on The Acolyte.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola Joins ‘Ironheart’

    Rashida “Sheedz” Olayiwola Joins ‘Ironheart’

    Production on Marvel Studios’ Ironheart might be nearing the end of its production, but the series continues to add to its growing cast. Deadline reports that Rashide “Sheedz” Olayiwola has joined the growing cast in an undisclosed role.

    Olayiwola’s previous credits include Insecure and A Black Lady Sketch Show. She is currently a staff writer on the HBO Max series, South Side. Up next for the busy comedian and actress is the animated Netflix series, Good Times, where she is set to voice the series regular character, Lashes by Lisa. She is also a writer and star on the upcoming IFC/AMC series, Sherman’s Showcase.

    Ironheart, which consists of six-episodes, hails from head writer Chinaka Hodge and stars Dominique Thorne as Marvel character Riri Williams. Olayiwola joins a cast that includes Anthony Ramos, Shakira Barrera, Manny Montana, Alden Ehrenreich, Regan Aliyah, Shea Couleé, and Zoe Terakes. Sam Bailey (Dear White People) and Angela Barnes (Atlanta) are directing the forthcoming Disney+ series.

    Ironheart is set to hit Disney+ sometime in 2023.

    Source: Deadline.

  • ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ Alum Jeanine Mason Joins Season 3 of ‘Upload’

    ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ Alum Jeanine Mason Joins Season 3 of ‘Upload’

    Jeanine Mason looks to have found her next project. Variety reports that the Roswell, New Mexico alum has signed on to appear in Season 3 of Prime Video’s hit series, Upload. The outlet states Mason will play Karina Silva, a charming senior Horizen executive who is in charge of new product development and cybersecurity.

    The actress is coming off of Roswell, New Mexico, the second adaptation of the Roswell High books from author Melinda Metz, where she played Liz Ortecho. The series ran for four seasons on the CW, with the series ending its run earlier this month on the network. Prior to Roswell, the actress starred in ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Sam Bello, as well as the ABC Family series, Bunheads. She’ll join a cast led by Robbie Amell and Andy Allo.

    The second season of Upload finally premiered earlier this year, two years after the first season debuted. It was announced in May that Prime Video had given a third season pick-up to Amazon, and up until now, little to no news has been made available regarding the forthcoming season.

    The half-hour series hails from Greg Daniels, who has worked on titles such as Parks & Recreation, King of the Hill and The Office, to name a few.

    Source: Variety.

  • ‘Squid Game’ Earns History-Making Emmy Wins

    ‘Squid Game’ Earns History-Making Emmy Wins

    Last night, the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards took place and the Netflix drama, Squid Game, managed to earn history-making wins. After making history for its nominations, Squid Game walked away with multiple wins last night. Leading man Lee Jung-jae won Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk won for Best Directing for a Drama Series. Jung-jae’s win makes him the first Asian man to win the award, and the first to win it for a non-English show.

    The series first made history back in July when it became the first non-English language drama to secure an Emmy nomination in the main drama category. Outside of Jung-jae and Dong-hyuk’s nominations, the series also received 12 additional nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series.

    Squid Game took the world by storm when it debuted on Netflix last year. It quickly became one of the streaming service’s biggest titles ever, and fans have been eagerly awaiting a second season ever since. Thankfully, Dong-hyuk has confirmed Season 2 and Season 3 are in the works, although no specific timeline as to when they’ll be released has been unveiled. Along with a second season, Netflix is looking to expand the Squid Game franchise with the addition of a reality series inspired by the hit series.

  • ‘The Little Mermaid’ Teaser Reels in 104 Million Views

    ‘The Little Mermaid’ Teaser Reels in 104 Million Views

    On Friday, Disney unveiled a sneak peek at its forthcoming The Little Mermaid remake starring Halle Bailey at D23. The short clip released on social media showed brought viewers on a journey through the ocean, showcasing the stellar CGI work done on the sealife and water, while also offering a quick glimpse of Bailey as Ariel and her vocals on “Part of Your World” for the film. Since its release online, the teaser has amassed over 104 million views, per Variety.

    It’s an impressive feat on its own, but especially when looking back at the teaser views of some of Disney’s other live-action remakes. Cruella, for example, pulled in 68 million views, while Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin pulled in 94 million views and 74 million views, respectively. Even more impressive is that these numbers do not include views from the U.K., Ireland or Australia. Both Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin proved to be huge successes, surpassing the $1 billion mark at the box office.

    While there were some people who responded negatively to the teaser, for atrocious reasons, the overall response online has been positive. Celebrities such as Zendaya, Halle Berry, and Keke Palmer have shared the teaser online along with their excitement. While many viewers have also released heartwarming reaction videos of their young children responding to Bailey as Ariel, showcasing their elation because Ariel looked like them.

    The Little Mermaid is directed by Rob Marshall and stars Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Art Malik, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy. Also part of the cast are Daveed Diggs, Jacob Tremblay, and Awkwafina, who all lend their voices to characters in the film. The movie swims into theaters on May 23rd, 2023.

    Source: Variety.

  • RUMOR: Ryan Coogler Could Be up for ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

    RUMOR: Ryan Coogler Could Be up for ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

    In July, shortly after Marvel Studios announced the next two Avengers films, Deadline revealed that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director, Destin Daniel Cretton, had signed on for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. It was a smart choice, following Cretton’s work on Shang-Chi, however, it also left many curious which director would step in to direct the other Avengers film — Avengers: Secret Wars. A new report from The Weekly Planet podcast suggests that Black Panther director Ryan Coogler might be in the running to direct Secret Wars.

    “And Ryan Coogler, here’s another scoop, Mason, is at the very least one of the directors, is currently in talks for Secret Wars. Which makes a lot of sense and yeah, the source here says, this is a reliable source, this person says ‘a fairly obvious choice.’ And it is. That makes sense.”

    The Weekly Planet Podcast

    Of course, this should currently be taken as a rumor. While Coogler would be an obvious choice for the gig, the director does have a lot on his plate. Along with finishing up work on the highly-anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Coogler also has an overall deal with Disney+. One of those projects he’s developing as part of his deal is Ironheart, which is currently in production in Atlanta. However, he’s also rumored to be developing a Dora Milaje-centric television series. It’s currently unknown if he’s developing any further television shows, but if he is, that could also prove to be a hindrance as Secret Wars is slated for release in 2025.

    If Coogler were to be selected for Secret Wars, it would be a smart choice on Marvel Studios’ behalf. Like with Cretton, Coogler retained his own personal style while working on a massive superhero film. If given the chance to bring that to Secret Wars, Coogler could deliver something truly special to end Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Source: The Direct

  • REVIEW: ‘Margaux’ is a Flawed but Terrifying Thriller

    REVIEW: ‘Margaux’ is a Flawed but Terrifying Thriller

    In 1999, the Disney Channel released a movie called Smart House that showcased how quickly artificial intelligence can become terrifying. While the film wasn’t exactly terrifying, given it was a Disney Channel original movie, it still presented a scary reality of a world driven by AI. Margaux takes the concept of Smart House and ups the ante, resulting in a terrifying thriller.

    Margaux is a film that centers on a group of college friends as they rent a smart house for a weekend of partying. Simple enough concept, right? Unfortunately, though, things soon begin to turn into a disaster for the students. The smart house, which prefers to be called Margaux, first tries to cater to the students by giving them the house of their dreams. It takes their social media information and any other easily accessible information to design their rooms to their liking. It also uses the information to know their likes and dislikes. That in itself is terrifying, but the film only continues to become horrifying from then on.

    Drew (Jedidiah Goodacre) rented the smart house to try and reconnect with his college friends after the quartet managed to become more distant over the years. However, from the get-go, things do not go as planned. His girlfriend, Lexi (Vanessa Morgan), ends up joining them and creating an uneasy tension within the group. This is where the film struggles initially, as it becomes all about tropes. Lexi is the social media influencer girlfriend, Drew is the model boyfriend, while Hannah (Madison Pettis) is the nerd of the group, Clay (Richard Harmon) is the stereotypical stoner, and Kayla (Phoebe Miu) and Devon (Jordan Buhat) are the adventurous couple. It’s frustrating how much time the film spends on these stereotypes. Lexi is made out to be an airhead and Clay seems incapable of being anything besides a stoner — the film’s two strongest actors are so poorly underused because their characters are underdeveloped.

    If viewers can get beyond these frustrating moments, they are sure to find some enjoyable moments in Margaux. Hannah isn’t the best character, but she does get to shine in the third act. It is at this point that Margaux excels. While the scenarios presented on screen are far from realistic, they are so well-written, it’s hard not to be engulfed by the chaos occurring on screen. If the film had managed to perform at this level throughout? It could’ve been something special. But it spends too much time trying to be Cabin in the Woods if that movie had been made in a smart house.

    Is Margaux a great film? No. It has plenty of faults and, honestly, some of the acting is rather subpar. However, despite all of this, it’s a terrifying thriller that takes our obsession with social media and technology and shows how easily it can destroy us. If you’re looking for a thrill ride heading into the Halloween season, Margaux is certainly worth a watch. It’s a fun ride for what it is.

    Margaux is available on digital now.

  • D23: Ke Huy Quan Joins the Cast of ‘Loki’ Season 2

    D23: Ke Huy Quan Joins the Cast of ‘Loki’ Season 2

    During Marvel Studios’ presentation at D23 today, it was revealed that Ke Huy Quan has joined the cast of Loki Season 2. Exclusive footage from Season 2 was shown at the convention, showing Quan as a TVA employee.

    News of Quan’s casting comes as the actor is coming off of the critically acclaimed Everything Everywhere All at Once where he played Waymond Wang. He is perhaps best known for his work in The Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Quan joins fellow series newcomer Rafeael Casal, as well as returning cast Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku and Richard E. Grant.

    Production is currently underway, with the series set to take place immediately after the events of Season 1.