Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Nicole

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Centered on Jon Snow in Development

    ‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff Centered on Jon Snow in Development

    As HBO prepares to launch its first Game of Thrones spinoff series, titled House of the Dragon, the network is looking to grow its Game of Thrones universe even further. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that HBO is currently developing a spinoff series centered on Jon Snow with actor Kit Harington attached to star.

    It is of note that, while the project is in development, it hasn’t necessarily been given a series order. Should the project receive an official order from HBO, Harington will reprise his role as Snow from Game of Thrones. While details are sparse regarding the project, the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones saw Snow learn plenty about who he truly was – including his name, Aegon Targaryen. The Jon Snow series will differ quite a bit from the other projects in development, as those stories are focused on unknown stories from the past, while the Jon Snow series would allow the series to revisit fan-favorite characters.

    As of this writing, there are seven Game of Thrones projects in various stages of development at HBO. House of Dragons, the first of the spinoffs, will hit HBO on Aug. 21st and tells the story of a civil war within House Targaryen and is set about 200 years before the events in Thrones. Also confirmed to be in development are 10,000 Ships with showrunner Amanda Segel, 9 Voyages with showrunner Bruno Heller, and Dunk and Egg with showrunner Steve Conrad. Also in development are three animated titles, including The Golden Empire.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Top Gun Maverick’ Beats ‘Doctor Strange 2’ to $400M Domestically

    ‘Top Gun Maverick’ Beats ‘Doctor Strange 2’ to $400M Domestically

    Top Gun: Maverick continues to fly high. The Tom Cruise-led film has crossed the $400 million mark at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing movie of the year, pulling ahead of Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which is sitting at $398.7 million domestically as of Monday. With a $401.8 million domestic haul, so far, Maverick has also earned a spot as the second-highest grossing movie of the pandemic following Spider-Man: No Way Home. When all is said and done, Top Gun: Maverick will easily find itself in the billion-dollar club at the worldwide box office.

    As for Jurassic World: Dominion, the dino-flick pulled in another $12.7 million on Monday, bringing its four-day total to a decent $157.7 million. While that’s a less than impressive Monday haul for the month of June, it’s still notable during a pandemic. For comparison’s sake, though, Dominion’s first Monday was below 2015’s Jurassic World ($25.3 million) and 2018’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($14.7 million). With the release of Lightyear this weekend, Dominion is expected to see a fair 58% drop in its second weekend with experts predicting it’ll pull in another $61 million.

    With a fresh rating of 82% on Rotten Tomatoes, Disney and Pixar’s Lightyear looks likely to upset Maverick and Dominion at the box office this weekend. As to how high Lightyear will fly, however, remains to be seen.

    Source: Deadline

  • REVIEW: Bonus Features for ‘The Northman’ Blu-Ray

    REVIEW: Bonus Features for ‘The Northman’ Blu-Ray

    The Northman is a film that seemingly came and went with little to no fanfare. The R-rated feature only pulled in $68 million at the worldwide box office, which isn’t all that impressive when the film was estimated to cost $90 million. While The Northman is technically ‘fresh,’ according to Rotten Tomatoes, with 89%, the general audience didn’t seem as enthusiastic with an audience score of 64%. With the release of the Blu-Ray last week, however, The Northman has a new lease on life with plenty of bonus features that’ll (hopefully) intrigue audiences enough to give the film a second chance.

    Included on the Blu-Ray for The Northman are a total of nine deleted and extended scenes. That’s a pretty impressive amount, unfortunately, though, the only one that is seemingly worth checking out is “Yule Murmur Dance and Aurvandil’s Speech,” which is admittedly ridiculous and yet features a strong performance by Ethan Hawke, who is severely underused in the film. Most of the other scenes seem pretty useless, although the extension of the “Bosa Saga” could have benefited the film, with “Hel’s Gate Open” being an exception. Would it have strengthened the movie? No, but it is a beautifully crafted scene and Nicole Kidman commands every second of it.

    As for the featurettes, they’re… okay. Honestly, unless you’re a fan of the film? It’s hard to get excited over the content of the featurettes. “The Faces of Vikings” and “An Ageless Epic” are both semi-interesting, but that’s mainly due to hearing what the stars involved with the project have to say — especially leading man Alexander Skarsgård, who speaks about the movie with such passion. It’s evident all involved wanted to stories of the old Icelandic sagas and the history of the Vikings. One of the most fascinating things of “An Ageless Epic” is that it delves into all of the hard work director Robert Eggers put into the film. It’s evident this was a passion project for him, and the cast clearly felt the same way during production.

    The Northman‘s Blu-Ray release might not contain a plethora of bonuses, but for fans of the Eggers film, it’s a great addition to the collection. Some of the deleted scenes are honestly impressive, as are some of the extended scenes. As for the featurettes, well, while they are nothing to write home about? They are enjoyable and do offer a good look behind-the-scenes of this epic. For those eager to look more into the story Eggers crafted, then the limited bonus features offer just that.

    In the end: The Northman wasn’t this writer’s cup of tea, but the extra features are worth a look for those that loved the Eggers film.

  • REVIEW: ‘Scare Zone’

    REVIEW: ‘Scare Zone’

    When it comes to watching indie horror movies, every so often you’ll come upon a true gem of a movie. Scare Zone is not one of those gems. At all. Scare Zone is something that feels half-baked. It truly never comes together and it’s all the more evident in the final scenes of the film. The best way to explained Scare Zone is that it feels like a project that was filmed for some friends to gain experience making movies. The scares are terrible, as is the acting for the most part. The most frustrating thing about Scare Zone, however, is that the premise for this film was promising. So, how does such an interesting premise go so wrong? That’s the question you’ll be asking yourself after watching this indie horror movie.

    The press release for Scare Zone notes that the movie hails from the creator of such rides as Shrek 4D in Universal Studios and Pirates 4D! in Sea World. It’s odd that these are used as selling points. A Shrek ride isn’t exactly something viewers will want to consider when debating to watch Scare Zone, even if the ride is enjoyable. Perhaps the most frustrating part of the movie, though, is that it was filmed at Halloween Horror Nights. In a film that is supposed to tease what would occur if a killer nested in a haunted house, Scare Zone could have easily taken advantage of its setting and yet, it doesn’t. It never feels as though the movie understands how to tell its proposed story. Sure, horror films have a habit of trying to be funny before all hell breaks loose, but Scare Zone seems determined to be funny more so than scary. It’s a mixture of the acting and the poorly written dialogue that kill this movie as soon as it starts.

    An idea is nothing if it is poorly executed. While writer-director Jon Binkowski had a great idea, it didn’t translate to the screen. What if there was a killer that lived on set of a haunted house-type attraction and was driven to kill unsuspecting workers? It is a great concept and something that would make sense to film at Halloween Horror Nights. Unfortunately, Scare Zone feels like a minimal effort take on the premise. It spends a fair amount of time trying to build a relationship between two of the haunted house workers, and a majority of the kills aren’t even shown. The ones that are? Well, they’re more amusing than scary.

    If Binkowski had the budget along with better talent and a tighter script, Scare Zone could’ve been an enjoyable little horror movie. But this isn’t about what-ifs, this is about a movie that falls apart almost instantly. It’s described as a well-received indie horror film, so perhaps there are others that enjoyed Scare Zone despite its problems. This writer sadly was not one of them.

    One final note: There are some flashing lights in the film. Unfortunately, though, the film has no warning, so please keep this in mind.

  • Netflix’s ’The Old Guard 2’ Adds Uma Thurman and Henry Golding

    Netflix’s ’The Old Guard 2’ Adds Uma Thurman and Henry Golding

    Uma Thurman and Henry Golding are joining the cast of The Old Guard 2.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thurman and Golding will join returning cast members Charlize Theron, KiKiLayne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The Old Guard 2 is based on the comic book series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, which tells the story of a group of immoral warriors led by Andy (Theron) who meet a new one of their kind, Nile (Layne), as they soon find themselves suffering from repercussions from their centuries-old way of life in the modern age.

    Rucka penned the script for The Old Guard 2, which will be focusing on the second arc of the comic books. Directing this installment will be Victoria Mahoney who made headlines as the first second unit director on a Star Wars film with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She takes over for Gina Prince-Bythewood, who had to exit the sequel due to other commitments.

    The Old Guard first hit Netflix on July 10th, 2020. Since its initial release, the film has remained one of the most-watched original films on the streaming service with 186 million hours watched within its first 28 days of release.

    Thurman, who is best known for the Kill Bill films, is coming off the recently released Disney+ movie Hollywood Stargirl. While Crazy Rich Asians breakout, Golding, most recently toplined Snake Eyes and wrapped filming on Assassin Club, while also recently lending his voice to Star Wars: Visions.

    As of this writing, there is no release date set for The Old Guard 2 on Netflix.

    Source: THR.

  • Amazon Renews ‘The Boys’ For Season 4

    Amazon Renews ‘The Boys’ For Season 4

    A week after Season 3 debuted, Prime Video has renewed The Boys for Season 4. The Emmy-nominated series based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson has been a huge hit for the streaming service. Vernon Sanders, who serves as the head of global television for Amazon Studios, expressed excitement over the return of the hit series. “From our first conversation with Eric Kripke and the creative team about Season Three of The Boys, we knew the show was continuing to get even bolder—an impressive feat considering the wild success of the Emmy-nominated second season.”

    Sanders continued, “The Boys continues to push boundaries in storytelling while also being relentlessly entertaining and threading the needle on social satire that feels all too real. This stylized world of the series has incredible global reach and the viewership for opening weekend is proof of that. We are immensely proud of the cast and crew that has spawned a franchise for Prime Video, and we look forward to bringing more of The Boys to our customers.”

    While Prime Video, much like some of the other streamers, does not release official ratings, the streaming service did note that Season 3’s debut saw the worldwide viewership for the series grow by 17% from Season 2 and an astounding 234% from Season 1.

    The streaming service is putting a lot of faith into The Boys, having already commissioned the animated series Diabolical and the still untitled college spinoff series. While no news has been announced regarding a potential second season of Diabolical, Sanders didn’t shut it down. “We thought there was a two-fold opportunity with Diabolical. One was to get The Boys fans excited about and get it out early. But we also wanted to see if there was another bite of the apple once the mothership show returned, and we are seeing real engagement and growth of the show there. We’ve definitely had conversations with the producers about what the next installment would look like.”

    As for the untitled college spinoff, Sanders couldn’t say too much. Since it was announced, the spinoff series has seen plenty of changes from both behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera – from new showrunners to big casting changes. Sanders did call it “different” from The Boys, but with the spirit of the hit series. Production on the untitled college spinoff is currently underway for a projected 2023 release.

    The fourth episode of The Boys Season 3 is now live on Prime Video.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    HBO Max’s Dead Boy Detectives is adding a new co-showrunner to the mix.

    On Thursday, Variety announced that Beth Schwartz has joined the HBO Max series as co-showrunner. She will co-showrun alongside Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant). She will also executive produce the title for the streaming service. This marks a return to DC for Schwartz as she previously served as the showrunner for the final two seasons of The CW’s Arrow. Along with working on Arrow, Schwartz helped to develop Sweet Tooth for Netflix. She served as the co-showrunner for that show’s first season. Jim Mickle will serve as the sole showrunner for Season 2 of Sweet Tooth.

    Dead Boy Detectives was ordered to series back in April. The series is based on DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The Dead Boy Detectives, Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, first made their live-action debut in the critically acclaimed Doom Patrol series. George Rexstrew has been cast as Edwin Payne, while Jayden Revri has been cast as Charles Rowland. Other members of the cast include Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace, Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse, Yuyu Kitamura as Niko and Jenn Lyon as Esther.

    The pilot episode was penned by Yockey and directed by Lee Toland Krieger (Shadow and Bone). Schwartz will executive produce the series alongside Yockey, Jeremy Carver, and Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions.

    Source: Variety.

  • Jake Schreier to Direct Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’, Shoots Next Summer

    Jake Schreier to Direct Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’, Shoots Next Summer

    It has long been rumored that Marvel Studios was looking to make a Thunderbolts movie, and now, it appears the movie has taken one step closer to becoming a reality. Per Deadline, Marvel Studios has hired Jake Schreier to direct the film. He’ll direct from a script by Black Widow writer Eric Pearson. The trade report confirms an earlier report from KC Walsh that Thunderbolts was in development.

    Schreier is mainly known for his music video work, having directed videos for the likes of Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Outside of music videos, he has work on television shows such as Kidding and Netflix’s Beef, which will star Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.

    According to the trade report, the studio is eyeing a summer 2023 start of production and starting to line up its roster for the film. In the comics, the Thunderbolts have seen a shifting roster that has seen villains posing as heroes, villains forced to work for the government and, more recently a group of heroes adopting the name. The original team debuted during the mid-90s when Baron Zemo and a group of villains disguised themselves as heroes when many of Earth’s mightiest were “killed” by Onslaught. Zemo would seemingly be very much in play for the MCU team, which could already under construction with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’ Val as the mastermind. She already has Yelena Belova and John Walker under her thumb and will be looking to add another member to her team in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

    With a Summer 2023 start of filming, it’s likely that Thunderbolts could end up as part of Marvel Studios 2024 slate. The studio has unannounced films scheduled for February 16th, May 3rd, July 26th and November 8th of that year.

  • Amazon Pickups Season 2 of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Ahead of Season 1 Debut

    Amazon Pickups Season 2 of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Ahead of Season 1 Debut

    Ahead of its Season 1 premiere, Prime Video has given a second season order to The Summer I Turned Pretty. The series, which will debut later this month, is based on the Jenny Han novel of the same name. The book tells a multigenerational story about a love triangle between one girl and two brothers, as well as the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children.

    “When I decided to adapt ‘Summer’ for television, I knew we’d need more than one season to honor the story we are telling,” Han said in a statement to Variety. “To receive a second season pickup ahead of the premiere of Season One is beyond my wildest dreams. I am so grateful to Amazon Studios for this amazing vote of confidence in our show, and cannot wait to bring our incredible team back together to tell the next chapter in our story.”

    “As fans anticipate the beach fun and young romance in the upcoming first season, we’re excited to announce more summer to come with a second season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios. “We look forward to our Prime Video customers returning to Cousins Beach with Jenny Han and her characters as they continue their coming-of-age journeys for another season.”

    The decision to renew The Summer I Turned Pretty shouldn’t be entirely surprising. After all, like Han’s hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which was adapted by Netflix, the Summer series consists of three books: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You, and We’ll Always Have Summer.

    Han served as the co-showrunner on the first season alongside Gabrielle Stanton. However, Stanton is expected to move into an executive producer role on Season 2, with Sarah Kucserka coming on board to serve as a co-showrunner with Han.

    The Summer I Turned Pretty will officially debut on June 17th. The series stars Lola Tung, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Alfredo Narciso, and Minnie Mills, with Colin Ferguson and Tom Everett Scott.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Inventing Anna’s Julia Garner Offered the Role of Madonna in Upcoming Biopic

    ‘Inventing Anna’s Julia Garner Offered the Role of Madonna in Upcoming Biopic

    Deadline has revealed that Julia Garner is set to play Madonna in a forthcoming biopic about the pop icon. Per the outlet, Garner managed to emerge the favorite from over a reported dozen candidates. The actress is said to have been a frontrunner for the part for a few months now, however, the offer was just now presented to the rising actress. It is expected Garner and her team will accept the offer.

    A biopic about Madonna has been in the works for a while now, but this is the first real movement on it. In the past, Madonna has expressed interest in having Florence Pugh (Black Widow) portray her in the film. Interestingly enough, Pugh is among those reported to have been in contention for the role at one point. Other actresses that auditioned included Alexa Demie (Euphoria), Odessa Young (The Professor), Bebe Rexha, and Sky Ferreira. The production took its time trying to find the right actress for the role, with those auditioning needing to showoff not just their singing abilities but also their abilities as dancers.

    The untitled Madonna biopic is currently set up at Universal Pictures and is expected to follow the early days of the “oft-controversial artist and queen of perpetual reinvention.”

    Universal Filmed Entertainment Group chairman Donna Langley won the project in a bidding war between studios. Amy Pascal, the former Chairperson of the Motion Pictures Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment, is on board as a producer.

    As of right now, the film does not yet have a release date.

    Source: Deadline.