Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Mission Impossible 8’ Delayed by a Year, New Name Potentially

    ‘Mission Impossible 8’ Delayed by a Year, New Name Potentially

    The strikes are turning 2024 into a wasteland at this rate. While some projects were pushed back, the hope that perhaps everything gets cleared in time to promote major releases is becoming a major issue. Marvel Studios is still sticking to its The Marvels release but it’s not been rosy for theaters looking towards the next year, or even 2025.

    Still, it seems Tom Cruise’s next major entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise has been delayed by an entire year as Paramount has also pushed A Quiet Place: Day One back around two months. Seems they are being quite cautious going into next year. The other bizarre decision is that Dead Reckoning Part Two is going to get its own title. That is kind of a weird way to react after already naming the previous one Dead Reckoning Part 1.

    It seems production wasn’t finalized on the film, which has now been bumped back to May 23rd, 2025 from its initial June 28th, 2024 release. There’s also a high expectation of other major releases getting pushed back even further. Even Spongebob Squarepants’ new film has been pushed back to December 19th, 2025, as it gave its release date to Mission Impossible. We’ll have to see what remains of next year’s slate.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘The Marvels’ Box Office Tracking Towards Potential $75M+ Opening

    ‘The Marvels’ Box Office Tracking Towards Potential $75M+ Opening

    The headlines surrounding The Marvels are surprisingly harsher than you’d expect from a tentpole summer release like The Flash. DC’s general struggle this summer has led to some mixed feelings on what the future has in store for the superhero genre yet other releases seem to hint that the genre isn’t fully out. At the same time, there are enough examples throughout the entire summer that blockbuster fatigue is a bigger issue looming over cinemas going into a strike-affected 2024.

    The current projection for The Marvels have been a bit all over the place. Box Office Pro has a more subdued $50M with a high point of $70M. Its pre-sales trackings are quite a bit behind other Marvel tentpoles, especially 2023 releases. It also simply be a showcase that the frontloading era these films have enjoyed fizzled out early on, as even Elemental proves there are still some legs for Disney releases.

    Projections by The Hollywood Reporter are a bit more positive with a potential high of $80M for the Marvel Studios release, which may be quite a bit behind the initial Captain Marvel with its $153.4M. Three female leads are a big selling point of the project, especially after the success of Barbie a few months back It also grew from its initial $70M prediction but word-of-mouth is going to be the deciding factor here. However, the fact that its leads can’t actually promote the film is likely a huge factor.

    What also seems to be easily forgotten is that Captain Marvel enjoyed the build-up towards Avengers: Endgame and her potentially major role in that franchise “ender” as some claim it was. So, we might be seeing what the film originally might have opened to plus the name-change could also be a factor that people aren’t seeing it necessarily as a sequel even if trailers try to highlight that aspect (to be fair, barely any MCU entry acts like a true sequel but rather just an additional chapter for a specific character).

    Is it the end of Marvel Studios? Who knows at this point, but they are still holding on better than DC is with a questionable reboot. What everyone believed was the “biggest flop” of the year with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania turned out to be a high bar barely any major release would reach. Even after the summer blockbuster, the film remains the eight highest-grosser of the year domestically.

    The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Barbie were the exceptions rather than the rule this summer which saw major franchises like The Flash, Dungeons & Dragons, Shazam, Transformers, Indiana Jones, Blue Beetle, and even Mission Impossible fizzle out with huge post-COVID budgets. Exhibitors should be more scared that going to the movies is becoming a rarer occurrence and relying on two or three tentpoles per year is not going to keep the box office afloat long-term; even if some are hailing the end of superhero movies and its fatigue discussions.

    Source: Box Office Pro, The Hollywood Reporter, The Numbers

  • ‘Deadpool 3’ Vacates 2024 Release Date

    ‘Deadpool 3’ Vacates 2024 Release Date

    Marvel Studios’ Deadpool 3 has reportedly vacated its release date. Deadline reports that the superhero flick will no longer make its previously announced May 2024 release date. This, of course, is due to the ongoing actors strike. The outlet further reports that, even if the strike should be resolved soon, the film isn’t expected to resume production until early 2024.

    It’s thought that Captain America: Brave New World, which was set for a July release, could move up to May 3rd. That film, unlike Deadpool 3, managed to finish production prior to the strike. However, nothing has been decided as of now. Should the film move, that would open up the July 26th date, as well as the December 20th date, which originally belonged to the delayed Thunderbolts film.

    The ongoing strike is expected to impact even more films, so it’s likely we’ll see even more films pushed back soon. Until the studios opt to finally meet the demands of the actors.

    Source: Deadline

  • Live-Action ‘Gargoyles’ in Development for Disney+

    Live-Action ‘Gargoyles’ in Development for Disney+

    It seems that the iconic Disney cartoon from the 1990s is making its way to Disney+ once more, but this time as a live-action series. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gary Dauberman and James Wan’s Atomic Monster is set to help develop the series based on the iconic series that featured, you guessed it, Gargoyles living in modern-day facing unlikely enemies. It’s in early development and it seems Wan alongside Michael Clear is attached to executive produce while Dauberman will act as showrunner and writer on the series. This also signifies the WGA contract moving Disney+ away from their head writer experiment.

    Gargoyles ran for three seasons between 1994 to 1997, which saw a bunch of gargoyles end up in modern-day New York. They are released from a thousand-year curse and end up becoming the protectors of the city at night, as they are but simple statues during the day. Greg Weisman originally created the series and it became an iconic part of 90s’ cartoon culture alongside X-Men: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series with is more adult themes.

    It seems that Disney considered an adaptation back in 2010 but after the flop of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, they did not move along anymore. Dauberman is a big get given his success with horror franchise Annabelle and his involvement with The Conjuring. He also made his directorial debut with Annabelle Comes Home, which opens up the possibility that he’ll also act as director on the series in some format, but that has not been confirmed in any way.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Shawn Levy Says ‘Deadpool 3’s May 2024 Release Date Is in “True Risk”

    Shawn Levy Says ‘Deadpool 3’s May 2024 Release Date Is in “True Risk”

    Despite some positive momentum in the immediate aftermath of the settlement of the WGA strike, actors remain on strike as negotiations between SAG and AMPTP have broken down once again. As such, productions for screens both big and small remain on hold and with the strike now looking like it might drag into November or beyond, 2024 release dates are certainly in jeopardy. One project with such a date is Marvel Studios Deadpool 3 which was already deep in production in London when the strikes shut everything down. Should the SAG strike resolve soon, could the Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman team-up make its May 3rd, 2024 release date?

    It doesn’t sound good, according to director Shawn Levy. In a recent interview with Yahoo!, Levy, who worked with Reynolds on Free Guy and The Adam Project and with Jackman on Real Steel, admitted that while “half the movie” has been shot and edited, he’s uncertain if they can make the date…or if the film is even still slated for May 3rd.

    I wish I knew. I don’t even know if we officially have [a release date]. I know we were gonna be May 3. Certainly, the actors’ strike and the long pause in production have put that release date in true risk. We’ve shot half the movie. I’ve edited half the movie. We’re dying to get back to work and get this movie out next year.

    Shawn Levy on the chances that Deadpool 3 makes its release date

    After reshuffling its entire release slate in June, Disney has remained silent about what to expect in 2024 and beyond since, even skipping SDCC where they’ve often had a big presence. Should cameras roll on Deadpool 3 again in 2023, it might be possible for the film to make the May 3rd date; however, given recent concerns with VFX workers at Marvel Studios, it seems more likely that it might end up being pushed down the road a bit. Perhaps it might find itself filling the staked-out July 26th, 2024 release date that once belonged to Thunderbolts (which will certainly not end up in theaters until 2025) and is now set aside for Captain America: Brave New World. As fun as speculating is, however, it’s fruitless to think too hard about all these dates until the SAG strike is resolved AND cameras start to roll again.

    Source: Yahoo!

  • Marvel Studios ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Getting a Creative Retooling

    Marvel Studios ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Getting a Creative Retooling

    As Marvel Studios looks to completely overhaul how it produces its streaming series, one of its most anticipated projects is getting a complete creative retooling. According to a new report from THR’s Borys Kit, the creative team behind Daredevil: Born Again, which was announced at SDCC ’22 and began production earlier this year, will be entirely replaced.

    THR’s report explains that the lengthy shutdown caused by the WGA and SAG strikes gave Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, and the executive producers of Daredevil: Born Again time to evaluate the work that had been done on the show and come to the conclusion that the direction it was headed in wasn’t one in which they wanted to continue. As a result, head writers Matt Corman and Chris Ord were cut loose along with the directors of each episode. While it’s expected that some of the completed footage will be used, the retooling will be significant and Marvel Studios is on the look for new writers and directors. The hope is that the new team will align better with the original intent behind all Marvel’s projects which is to respect the source material.

    Updating…

    Source: THR

  • ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ Moves to Roku

    ‘The Spiderwick Chronicles’ Moves to Roku

    In a surprising move, The Spiderwick Chronicles has found a new home on the small screen. Originally ordered to series by Disney+, the upcoming series will now move to Roku. The news comes courtesy of Deadline with the outlet reporting that Roku has picked up the U.S. rights to the adaptation of the beloved books by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

    “It is an honor to bring The Spiderwick Chronicles, a spectacular adventure-filled story led by the incredible Christian Slater and Joy Bryant, exclusively to The Roku Channel,” Brian Tannenbaum, Head of Originals at Roku Media said in a statement to the press. “We cannot wait to introduce this exquisitely crafted series, imagined by a world-class creative team, to millions of streamers.”

    The Spiderwick Chronicles will serve as the biggest title for Roku to date. As Deadline notes, to date, the Roku channel has mainly been the home to former Quibi content it acquired in 2021 after that service shut down. The series is produced by showrunner, Aron Eli Coleite, director Kat Coiro, Tony DiTerlizzi, Holly Black, Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg, Julie Kane-Ritsch and Grace Gilroy.

    The series, which consists of eight episodes, hails from Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television. It stars Joy Bryant and Christian Slater and is expected to debut on Roku in early 2024.

    Source: Deadline

  • New Report Hints at ‘Aquaman 2’ Drama and New Claims against Jason Momoa

    New Report Hints at ‘Aquaman 2’ Drama and New Claims against Jason Momoa

    There’s something bizarre about the DCEU at this point. Ever since the beginning under the supervision of Zack Snyder, the entire franchise seems to be riddled with issues and questionable decisions on many levels. While he had an initial plan, it got derailed at every possible step along the way, and even with new heads James Gunn and Peter Safran, it seems the franchise isn’t on a path to full recovery.

    After The Flash’s ongoing drama, it seems that the other remnant of the original DCEU is also facing some massive troubles. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is seemingly filled with a lot of drama surrounding its main stars Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, and surprisingly Elon Musk as well. The production has been another major tentpole release that ballooned to a $215M budget. All these revelations seemingly came from Heard’s own therapist that fans paid to get access to as part of the trial.

    Early on, the Johnny Depp-Heard trial was all over the news and cast doubt that she’d have a role in the film. As it turned out, Momoa was also against her being on set and seemingly dressed up like Depp in a drunken stupor. It established a hostile environment and he was actively trying to push her out of the film, where she was set to return as Hera. Though DC spokesperson has made a statement that this wasn’t the case. Some even testifying against the claims.

    Jason works his ass off, likes to have a beer once in a while like everyone, but doesn’t show up drunk to set. And he isn’t dressing like Johnny Depp. He has always dressed in that bohemian style.

    It’s hard to say what is and isn’t true from all this, but more reports also hint that the relationship with director James Wan wasn’t the best either. He supposedly treated her “like a pariah” due to the limitations set on the production due to the court case. There are also reports that Heard was nearly fired from the production but an unlikely person came to ensure she could keep the role. That was her ex-boyfriend Elon Musk, who sent a “scorched-earth letter to Warner Bros. threatening to burn the house down” to ensure she could remain in production.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Loki’ is Disney+’s Second Biggest Premiere of 2023

    ‘Loki’ is Disney+’s Second Biggest Premiere of 2023

    It looks like the god of mischief remains a major player for Disney+ even if The Mandalorian still holds the crown. The streaming service is highlighting that the second season of Loki pulled in 10.9m views worldwide in its first three days. As such, it managed to have around 512M minutes watched. While Ahsoka was touted with 14M views recently, those numbers were a five-day tally which means that Loki is only behind The Mandalorian in 2023’s big number game.

    The first season still remains one of the most-watched series on the streaming service and the anticipation for a sequel season was quite high even if marketing was a bit more subdued. Though that is likely still more reflective of Marvel not trying to rock the boat too much given people’s ongoing discussions of fatigue surrounding the genre and franchise, but that didn’t seem to stop Loki one bit going into its sophomore season.

    At the end of the day though, it’s always difficult to say if these shows are breaking any records. The reactions to Loki have been more positive when compared to The Mandalorian’s third season. So, who knows if the coming weeks might help the show grow? There’s definitely potential and we still don’t know how big Secret Invasion was earlier this year outside of third-party analysis pointing to it being a smaller release when compared to others. So, we’ll see if Disney is willing to share any more data moving forward.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘One Piece’ Season 2 Will Explore the “Challenge of Leadership”

    ‘One Piece’ Season 2 Will Explore the “Challenge of Leadership”

    While it’s been revealed that the scripts for the second season are not ready as initially revealed by One Piece’s producer, they do have some outlines ready. As such, Deadline used the opportunity to at least ask showrunner Matt Owens what the overarching theme might be going into the second season. The first had a strong emphasis on One Piece’s core theme of chasing your dreams but it seems they want to expand on that a bit more.

    Without saying too much, and speaking to any new characters that we might meet, I would say a major theme that we’re working with in Season 2 is the challenge of leadership. From Luffy’s perspective, he’s got his crew now, and they are setting out to the Grand Line. They’re doing the thing, and there are a lot of challenges that come with that responsibility. And that theme ties into some other stories and characters that I won’t give away just yet. But the challenge and leadership is a big theme for us in Season 2.

    Matt Owens

    The Grand Line is a treacherous environment where survival isn’t as simple as one would think going by the run time of the series. So, it’s a perfect opportunity to explore what it means to be a leader, which also ties into some of the strongest moments from the Arabasta arc. The contrast between one major pirate crew that we’ll be introduced to has already been hinted at in the first season.

    Plus, we know that Smoker has a major role and would also have a leadership role for his marine squad. so, there’s a lot of potential to build upon the contrast between the various major players in this theme and it feels like a natural continuation of what we saw with Luffy in the Baratie episodes as well. Here’s hoping the wait won’t bee to long.

    Source: Deadline