Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Nicole

  • Lena Headey Originally Had a Role in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Lena Headey Originally Had a Role in ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Over the past few months, rumors have suggested Game of Thrones alum Lena Headey was set to make her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At the time of the rumors, the project she was reportedly involved in wasn’t entirely clear, but it was thought she would appear in Thor: Love and Thunder in some capacity. While Headey’s casting was never officially announced, Variety has confirmed she did have a role in the project – but she was ultimately cut.

    The news comes as the outlet states Headey is being sued for $1.5 million by her former U.K. agency Troika over unpaid commission fees relating to a number of projects. Among those projects is none other than Thor: Love and Thunder. The agency, which has since rebranded as YMU, is claiming that the actress owes them approximately $500,000 – a 7% fee based on her earnings for the Marvel Studios film. While Heady did film something for the project, the actress does not appear in the final cut of Thor: Love and Thunder, and her role remains unknown.

    Despite the agency’s claims, Headey is insistent that YMU is not entitled to any fees from her earnings on Love and Thunder as director Taika Waititi approached her for the film directly.

    Thor: Love and Thunder will hit theaters next weekend.

    Source: Variety.

  • AMC’s ‘Alan Wake’ Series Searching for a New Showrunner

    AMC’s ‘Alan Wake’ Series Searching for a New Showrunner

    AMC’s adaptation of the beloved video game Alan Wake is in search of a new showrunner. Variety has announced that Peter Calloway, who worked on Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger, has exited as the series showrunner due to conflicting project timelines. With Calloway out, the search is on for a new showrunner.

    Following Calloway’s exit, two producers have signed on to the project. Jon Jashni, who is the former president of Legendary Entertainment, and Jeff Ludwig, former vice president of scripted film and television production for Ritchie/Wigram Productions have joined as executive producer and producer, respectively. They’ll be joined by Tim Carter and Tomas Harlan of Contradiction Films, who will help produce the series alongside Sam Lake, the creator of the Alan Wake video game.

    The series focuses on Alan Wake, who is a best-selling thriller novelist. He’s on a mission to solve the mystery behind his wife’s disappearance during a vacation in the small fictional town of Bright Falls, Washington. However, as he tries to unravel the mystery, he soon finds himself experiencing events from his latest novel that he doesn’t remember writing.

    The series is still in the very early stages of development at AMC, so no premiere date has been announced as of yet.

    Source: Variety.

  • Peacock Sets Premiere Dates for ‘Vampire Academy’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’

    Peacock Sets Premiere Dates for ‘Vampire Academy’ and ‘Pitch Perfect’

    Peacock has set premiere dates for a slew of upcoming series. On deck for the streaming service are the small screen adaptations of both Vampire Academy and Pitch Perfect. The former, of course, is based on the best-selling book series by author Richelle Mead, while the Pitch Perfect series is a continuation of the beloved film franchise.

    Vampire Academy, which consists of six books, was originally adapted for the big screen in 2014. The film starred Zoey Deutch, Dominic Sherwood, Lucy Fry and Danila Kozlovsky. The film was both a critical and box office failure, receiving a 16% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earning just $15 million at the worldwide box office. The new series hails from Julie Plec, who helped adapt The Vampire Diaries for the small screen, and Marguerite MacIntyre. It stars Sisi Stringer, Daniela Nieves and Kieron Moore.

    Set to debut on Sept. 15th, the synopsis for Vampire Academy is as follows:

    From executive producers Julie Plec & Marguerite MacIntyre comes a story of friendship, romance and danger. In a world of privilege and glamour, two young women’s friendship transcends their strikingly different classes as they prepare to complete their education and enter vampire society. One as a powerful Royal, the other a half-vampire Guardian trained to protect against the savage ‘Strigoi’ who threaten to tear their society apart. That is, if Royal infighting doesn’t do the job first.

    The small screen continuation of Pitch Perfect is titled Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin. It will debut on Peacock on Nov. 23rd. The television series will take place several years after the last Pitch Perfect film. Adam Devine‘s character, Bumper Allen, has since moved to Germany in hopes of reviving his music career and soon finds one of his songs has become huge in Berlin.

    Source: Variety.

  • Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton Join ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ for Focus

    Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton Join ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ for Focus

    Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton are teaming up for Focus’ Lisa Frankenstein. The film, which will be the directorial debut of Zelda Williams, was penned by Jennifer Body‘s Diablo Cody. It centers on an unpopular high schooler in 1989 who accidentally re-animates a handsome Victorian corpse during a lightning storm. She then starts to turn him into the man of her dreams using the broken tanning bed in her garage.

    Along with penning the script, Cody will serve as a producer on the film alongside Mason Novick who is producing through his MXN Entertainment banner. Cody and Sprouse have previously worked together on Tully, Young Adult, Jennifer’s Body and Juno. Jeff Lampert serves as an executive producer and Focus Features’ Vice President of Production and Development, Michelle Momplaisir, serves as the creative executive on the project.

    Sprouse, of course, stars in the CW’s Riverdale which is readying for its sixth and final season. While Newton is set to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. She has previously appeared in Universal and Blumhouse’s critically acclaimed Freaky.

    Principal photography is slated to begin on Lisa Frankenstein later this summer. As of this writing, a release date has not yet been set for the film.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Amazon to Produce a Feature Adaptation of ‘Eight Billion Genies’

    Amazon to Produce a Feature Adaptation of ‘Eight Billion Genies’

    Amazon Studios is looking to adapt Eight Billion Genies. The news comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, with the outlet revealing Amazon has picked up the rights to the comic book series by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne. While the streamer is looking to craft a feature adaptation of the comic, its plans for the property go well beyond just a single movie.

    The Hollywood Reporter has revealed Amazon is hoping to make feature films, series and more involving the limited comic book series. Amazon hopes that the property will serve as an “expansive cross-media universe” starting with a feature film. Soule and Browne are on board as executive producers on the project. As of now, a director is not yet attached to the project.

    Eight Billion Genies is an eight-issue limited series from Soule and Browne that officially hit stores in May. It asks the question, what would happen if every single person on the planet was granted a genie and one wish. After every person is granted a genie, the world is ultimately transformed forever, as people wish for varying desires that include receiving superpowers and bringing back lost relatives.

    This is the second title from Soule and Browne to be receiving the adaptation treatment, as their other series, Curse Worlds, was optioned for the small screen.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Head Writer Has Not Yet Heard About a Second Season

    ‘Moon Knight’ Head Writer Has Not Yet Heard About a Second Season

    Ever since Moon Knight completed its first season on Disney+ earlier this year, fans have been hopeful that the series would return for another outing. While the series was initially billed as a limited series, leading up to the show’s finale, Marvel Studios notably changed its promotional wording from “series finale” to “season finale.” This led to plenty of speculation that, unfortunately, has yet to result in an official confirmation that the series has been renewed. In a new interview with head writer Jeremy Slater, he revealed that he has not yet been contacted about a second season.

    When asked by Playlist if he’d heard about a second season of Moon Knight, Slater revealed that hadn’t heard anything. “I haven’t had any conversations with Marvel. I think a lot of those decisions are ultimately going to be in the hands of Kevin Feige because he’s the guy with the master plan,” he told the outlet. “And of course, Oscar Isaac, because he’s not signed up for the sort of traditional seven-film contract or whatever other actors have signed. Oscar has the ability to do as much or as little “Moon Knight” as he wants to. I think he had a great time playing the character, and I think he really enjoyed the process and is happy he did it. But I also think he’s not a guy who’s going to rush in and just sort of churn out a sequel just because the first one was popular.”

    Isaac, of course, stated he would gladly return for a second season, but only if the story under the right circumstances. He’d confirmed back in May that there’d been no official plans to continue the series, however, the right story could get him to return so long as it made sense.

    Moon Knight is currently streaming on Disney+.

    Source: Playlist.

  • Warner Bros. SDCC Plans Revealed

    Warner Bros. SDCC Plans Revealed

    The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that while certain properties from Warner Bros. Discovery will be showcased at San Diego Comic-Con next month, CEO David Zaslav is looking to make big changes to the company’s approach at the convention. Per the outlet, this year will mark the first time that Warners – including DC. – will not have a presence on the convention floor. In recent years, the company has had a huge presence on the convention floor, including signings from the Justice League cast in recent years.

    Perhaps the biggest news, however, is that there will be no presence for the CW at SDCC. Fans of The Flash and Superman & Lois, unfortunately, should not expect the panels and promotion of recent years. This, of course, shouldn’t be too surprising. Along with cleaning most of its slate, the CW is expected to go up for sale which more than likely had an impact on the decision to forgo SDCC. The lone exception will be Riverdale, with the series set to make its final Hall H appearance ahead of its sixth and final season on the network.

    While Warner Bros. Discovery will not have a floor presence, titles such as House of Dragons and Sandman will make a huge splash at the convention thanks to HBO and Netflix. There will also be panels by DC Publisher and CCO Jim Lee, as well panels for animated titles (for young and old), and Warner Bros. Games. There will also be a special screening of the first two episodes of Harley Quinn, as well as the premiere of the animated film Green Lantern: Beware My Power, which will be followed by a Q&A.

    The decision to rethink how Warner Bros. Discovery approaches Comic-Con is said to be so that the company can be “more strategic” as the convention has cost Warners approximately $25 million in past years due to the floor installation, travel for its talent and tech costs for presentations. It remains to be seen whether or not this change is permanent in coming years, or if this is merely a one-time change.

    Source: THR

  • Eisner Award Winner Saladin Ahmed Part of Creative Team Behind ‘Drac: Son of Dante’

    Eisner Award Winner Saladin Ahmed Part of Creative Team Behind ‘Drac: Son of Dante’

    Drac: Son of Dante is being crafted as a 15-part webcomic series for Tapas Media and Endeavor Content. It is free to read exclusively via Tapas Media’s site and mobile app, with the first two episodes having already launched. More episodes will release weekly on Fridays. It is said to introduce a new and contemporary mythology to the origins of Dracula, with the hopes that it will resonate with “multicultural and youth audiences alike.”

    The series follows Dane, an eerie, flute-playing immortal who soon finds himself drawn to the human condition despite the judgment of his kind, vampires. It soon becomes an obsession of Dante’s, only to erupt into a conflict for the ages when his son, Drac ultimately chooses a human bride. 

    “I couldn’t be more excited to be collaborating with such a ridiculously talented group of creators,” said Ahmed. “The team’s accolades speak for themselves. But it’s the living energy my fellow writers – along with artists, editors, producers, and musicians – have brought to DRAC: Son of Dante that’s going to make this a story people talk about for a long time to come.”

    Ahmed served as a writer on Drac: Son of Dante along with Son M., Rob Markman and Deron Bennett. He also serves as an executive producer along with King, Free, Eric Pertilla and Layne Eskridge. Ray-Anthony Height, Don Ho, Craig Yeung, Sam Curtis, Marc Yarza, Butch Mapa, JJ Lopez, Federico Dalloccio, Paulo Sampaio and Marissa Louise all worked on the art for the series with Quelle Chris (Judas and the Black Messiah) scoring the project.

    Ahmed is an acclaimed novelist, comic book writer and poet. He made his Marvel comics debut with the critically acclaimed Black Bolt, which went on to win the 2018 Eisner Award for Best New Series. He has since penned Miles Morales: Spider-Man and The Magnificent Ms. Marvel. Most recently he co-created Abbott for Boom Studios, as well as contributed to episodes for Spotify’s hit podcast, Batman Unburied.

    Source: Deadline

  • Disney + Series ‘American Born Chinese’ Adds ‘Hacks’ Star to Cast

    Disney + Series ‘American Born Chinese’ Adds ‘Hacks’ Star to Cast

    The news comes courtesy of Variety, with the outlet revealing the Hacks breakout has nabbed a guest role in the forthcoming series. She joins a cast that includes the likes of Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, and Ke Huy Quan. Liu will portray Princess Iron Fan, a character described as “enchanting” and having magical powers.

    The Disney+ series, American Born Chinese, is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang. It follows Jin Wang, who’ll be played by Ben Wang, who is described as a high schooler trying to juggle a social life with his immigrant home life. After meeting a foreign exchange student named Wei-Chen, played by Jim Liu, the duo soon see their worlds colliding as Jin soon finds himself in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

    Liu, who first broke out with the role of Kiki on the HBO Max series, Hacks, is building a busy resume. Along with American Born Chinese, Liu is confirmed to appear in the AMC anthology series, Tales of the Walking Dead, as well as the Amazon series adaptation of Dead Ringers. Outside of Hacks, she has previously appeared in shows like Better Call Saul and Hulu’s recently canceled Dollface.

    American Born Chinese hails from writer and showrunner Kelvin Yu, as well as Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), who’ll serve as a director and executive producer on the series.

    Source: Variety

  • Jason Schwartzman the Latest to Board Prequel to ‘The Hunger Games’

    Jason Schwartzman the Latest to Board Prequel to ‘The Hunger Games’

    The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has added yet another actor to its growing cast. Jason Schwartzman joins the cast as Lucretius “Lucky” Flickerman. Not only is the character the host of the 10th Hunger Games, but he is also an ancestor of Caesar Flickerman’s, who we saw played by Stanley Tucci in The Hunger Games franchise. Schwartzman joins the previously announced Tom Blyth as Coriolanus Snow, Hunter Schafer as Tigris Snow, Josh Andres Rivera as Sejanus Plinth, and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray. 

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a prequel to The Hunger Games films and is based on the book of the same name. Francis Lawrence, who helmed three of the four Hunger Games films, is returning to direct the prequel. He directs from a script by Michael Lesslie (Macbeth).

    The synopsis for the film is as follows:

    Years before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, the girl tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favor. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird and a snake.

    The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will be produced by franchise producer Nina Jacobson and her partner Brad Simpson, as well as Lawrence. Suzanne Collins, who penned The Hungers Games books, will also serve as an executive producer alongside Tim Palen and Jim Miller. Production on the film is currently underway for a planned Nov. 17, 2023 release.

    Source: THR