Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • New Domain Registration Further Hints at ‘Persona 3’ Remake

    New Domain Registration Further Hints at ‘Persona 3’ Remake

    Looks like news and hints are piling on as of late. Earlier this year, we got our first rumor hinting at a future Persona 3 remake. It wasn’t too surprising if it had any validity given the project was voted as the top choice to get reworked by fans and there has been some concern over Atlus remastering the PlayStation Portable variant rather than tweaking the original Persona 3 FES release.

    Earlier today, some supposed footage had leaked from a 2021 internal meeting at Atlus. While only a rumor at the time, the footage included one of Persona 3‘s main characters in a new model alongside never-before-seen Sonic Frontiers footage including an enemy that was only featured in concept art but not in the final release. It doesn’t confirm it and is just a rumor but it still is a curious leak.

    Now, it seems another hint may have surfaced, as Twitter user @MbKKssTBhz5 has shared a new domain that has been registered in Japan. The title P3RE.JP doesn’t really give away what it is for but would match the naming that Atlus has given its other entries. The microsite for Persona 5 Royal is titled P5R.JP and would match this overall naming. Other titles haven’t received their own site to give a better comparison.

    https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1645169046290149379

    It seems like the naming was set earlier this month in 2023, which could hint that they are preparing the site for an upcoming announcement. It’s not uncommon that these kinds of site registrations are renewed or done ahead of announcements, but with P3 and a “RE” hinting at Remake, perhaps there’s more to this rumor than we thought at first. It’s definitely something to keep a close eye on.

    Source: Twitter

  • No One Can Stop ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ at the Box Office

    No One Can Stop ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ at the Box Office

    Wahoo! The Super Mario Bros. Movie has gone on to beat even the earliest expectations. Initially, it was set for around $130M domestic opening before it was corrected to a $195M 5-day run. Now, the film hasn’t slowed down one bit as it pulled in enough that set it for a $205M run, which would knock Transformers: Reven of the Fallen to second place and take the record, not just as an animated film but for cinema overall.

    Overall, the Easter weekend 3-day gross would place it in third behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice ($181M) and Furious 7‘s $161M. Overseas it also pulled in $173M by the end of its run and would place it at $377.2M worldwide. Keep in mind, the film hasn’t opened in Japan, Nintendo’s core market, as of now and that could’ve pushed it to $400M if there wasn’t a delayed release.

    As such, the film stands strong as the biggest opening for an animated film ever, as it has officially dethroned Frozen 2 from that very spot. The film has pulled in the most patrons since Spider-Man: No Way Home over the 5-day weekend and it’s a good sign for 2023 that we’re seeing a more diverse performance from films, such as Creed 3 becoming the biggest opening for a sports movie.

    What makes Super Mario Bros.’ success so interesting is the fact that the film simply fought against its rather critical reception going into the weekend. Perhaps similar to Top Gun Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water, audiences are simply looking for simplicity and thrill nowadays as other franchises try to add complexity to avoid any fatigue setting in. Is this a new era of video game-based games after the success of Sonic the Hedgehog as well, or are we just seeing nostalgia dominate once again?

    Source: Deadline

  • RUMOR: Possible Leaked Footage Offers First Look at Long-Rumored ‘Persona 3’ Remake

    RUMOR: Possible Leaked Footage Offers First Look at Long-Rumored ‘Persona 3’ Remake

    A Persona 3 remake has always been something fans of the Atlus franchise joked around about. Not only because technically there are three other Persona entries that have yet to receive much love since the PSP era but also due to the many rumors that have lit a little spark of hope throughout the years. Still, the concept of an actual remake with Persona 5‘s engine has picked up quite a bit of steam as of late with a new rumor sparking the conversation earlier this year and we may have even gotten our first look at the project.

    While not officially confirmed, user @AVtoGAMEnoYAMI has taken to Twitter and shared some footage of Yukari Takeba shooting her arrows at a shadow. Out of context, it looked like an impressive fan-made concept, especially as we don’t see her using an Evoker (the gun they point at themselves) and she also is seemingly using a bow from a Persona than something that was provided in the game. Plus, you don’t see the SEES armband either or any hint at the group.

    https://twitter.com/AVtoGAMEnoYAMI/status/1644990912328798208

    Yet, the animation looks well done, the background is definitely Tartarus, and with the many rumors, it just feels like a curious timing to leak. What adds weight to it potentially being real is the fact that an additional showcase included the long-rumored Jet Set Radio sequel and most notably Beta footage of Sonic Frontier with a boss that was only confirmed to exist in concept art and never made it into the final game.

    Supposedly this is footage that was shared initially 2021 during an internal meeting held in 2021, which would match with one of the earliest hints that Atlus might be working on trying to bring many of its iconic IPs back with remasters or remakes as first hints were given in 2020 of this new development (still waiting for Tales of Arcadia).

    There’s a chance that what we’re seeing above was just a pitch visual using some minimal visuals to showcase the idea of remastering the game or an early test build that didn’t include all details. Of course, it also still remains a mystery and hasn’t been given a DMCA by Sega since it leaked online which means it might not be true (though they also may not want to raise any flags by doing so either).

    For now, it’s just a rumor and if it turns out to be fan-made, it is extremely well done. Sadly the recent live stream that was hinted at in March was mostly about the Blu-ray release and an additional artbook from the stageplay inspired by the Persona series. So, who knows just how long we’ll have to wait for an actual game announcement but rumors pointed to Persona 3‘s remake hitting this year. So, all eyes will be on Summer Game Fest and whatever PlayStation stream is heading our way as some others believe reveals are “a ways off.”

    Source: Twitter, Twitter

  • SWCE: Lucasfilm CEO Offers Update on Rian Johnson and Taika Waititi’s ‘Star Wars’ Films

    SWCE: Lucasfilm CEO Offers Update on Rian Johnson and Taika Waititi’s ‘Star Wars’ Films

    Star Wars Celebration came with an announcement of an entire trilogy of new Star Wars films. Yet, it once again leaves us with quite a few questions surrounding the ones that have been announced. Recent reports hinted that quite a few planned films were scrapped and even the latest announced film just lost its writer. So, there’s a lack of hope that they’d truly move forward with their projects.

    Luckily, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy was able to offer some insight into where they stand with those films. It seems that the Rian Johnson trilogy that was announced a while back is pretty much on hold for eternity, as Johnson is busy with the Glass Onion sequel and seemingly has no interest to return anytime soon.

    Rian and I talk all the time. He is unbelievably busy. So we’re not actively involved in anything at the moment because he’s doing another one of the ‘Glass Onion’ movies and then God knows what else. But he really wants to step back into the space. It’s a big commitment of time, so that’s really on him.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    In regard to Taika Waititi’s mysterious film, she only stated that he is actively working don’t he’s script all on his own. After Thor: Love and Thunder’s reception, there might be some concern he might take the franchise into a goofier direction given his “very, very unique voice” but it seems they won’t be getting involved until he is ready to direct it.

    Taika is still working away. He’s writing the script himself. He doesn’t really want to bring others into that process and I don’t blame him. He has a very, very unique voice. So we want to protect that and that’s what he’s doing. But we’re going to make that one day.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    It’s definitely interesting to know that at least Waititi’s project is seemingly moving forward, but it is strange that they won’t just outright state that they have no more plans for Johnson’s trilogy. By the time they actually get films out, his project might even be superfluous given whatever his initial goals were with the project. Of course, perhaps them actually pushing out films might inspire him to once again give it his full attention. For now, we can only continue to wait and see if the franchise actually returns to theaters.

    Source: Variety

  • SWCE: Currently No Plans for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Season 2

    SWCE: Currently No Plans for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Season 2

    Obi-Wan Kenobi was a unique entry in Star Wars’ Disney+ saga, as it moved away from the show that kicked off the long-form storytelling era of Lucasfilm, but also refocused on a major character from the original Prequel trilogy. Ewan McGregor returned to the role and explored what happened to the former Jedi Master after the Empire started emerging from the ashes of his own failures.

    In an interview with Kathleen Kennedy, the CEO of Lucasfilm, she revealed that while McGregor is quite eager to do another season of Obi-Wan Kenobi, they currently have no real plans to move forward. It was originally imagined as a limited series by showrunner Deborah Chow, there’s also no necessity to move forward as the initial story was wrapped up in the original vision of the series.

    That is not an active development. But I never say never, because there’s always the possibility. That show was so well-received and [director] Deborah Chow did such a spectacular job. Ewan McGregor really wants to do another. Everybody’s all hands on deck with what we’re doing right now, as you can see by what we showed everybody [at the Celebration]. We’ll turn our attention to that again maybe down the road.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    It’s definitely interesting that they are keeping the door open to potentially explore more within this corner of the galaxy, but it does seem like there’s no real necessity. The quiet reunion between the padawan and his former master adds a nice little bow to Kenobi’s story that pushes him forward even with the uncertainty of the future. It would be exciting to know what he was up to after protecting the Skywalkers but perhaps it’s best to leave that to our imagination.

    Source: Variety

  • SWCE: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Will Return for Season 2

    SWCE: ‘Tales of the Jedi’ Will Return for Season 2

    Star Wars Celebration is the event that keeps on giving, as another piece of news has arrived that Tales of the Jedi is set to receive a second season. The announcement came from its creator Dave Filoni, who has slowly taken over a larger and larger role in supervising the future of the franchise. Not only is he set to direct a film that’ll culminate all the series that spun out of The Mandalorian, but generally continues his work on the animated entries of the franchise.

    He jokingly only stated that the animated anthology series “was so fun the first time, I decided to do some more” during the panel on the 15th anniversary of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. There are no details on what the next season will focus on, as the first one consisted of six episodes that split the story between Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku’s early days.

    There’s a chance we might get to spend some more time with familiar Jedi from the franchise’s past, but it does seem his focus remains with those from The Clone Wars era. It would be great if they use this anthology series to potentially add some depth to our favorites from the sequel era, especially now that Daisy Ridley is set to return in the near future with a new sequel to the sequel trilogy.

    Source: Twitter, Star Wars

  • ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ to Dehtrone ‘Frozen 2’ as the Biggest Animated Opening Ever

    ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ to Dehtrone ‘Frozen 2’ as the Biggest Animated Opening Ever

    After that initial critical reception, it seems audiences do not care at all how people viewed The Super Mario Bros. Movie as it is on its path to becoming the biggest animated opening weekend ever. Going by now, its projection is pushing the film towards an impressive $195M domestic opening but what will truly make it the biggest release yet is that it’ll probably end its global bow over a 5-day weekend at $368M.

    The title was previously held by Frozen 2, which opened globally to $358M. It’s an impressive feat for the latest Illumination film that also made quite a bang last year with its Minions sequel almost making a billion and becoming one of the year’s biggest releases. The studio’s approach to animation may not be welcomed by critics, but it certainly works for audiences.

    There’s a lot of discussion surrounding the latest performances by Disney’s animation projects with Super Mario Bros. Movie and recently Puss in Boots: The Last Wish pulling some incredible performances at the box office. While many might go the Internet’s usual route of taking information out of context, there’s a lot at play here that to some degree is Disney’s own fault.

    Dreamworks and Illumination don’t have a “streaming home” per see, which means that there’s no expectation that their projects will eventually be available. Disney, however, spent almost three years building a “streaming first” strategy which has shot their staying power at the box office with even more frontloaded box office performance and even negative critical reception having a bigger impact due to “can always watch it later.”

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is one of Marvel Studios’ weakest releases at $467M, which is still a number most would hope to have on their resume. With a weak Chinese market, which elevated its previous entries, and the previous streaming strategy, Disney took away any real need for its core audience, families, to watch it while it is in theaters. Same as we saw with its animated fair that does incredible numbers on Disney+. With the announcement of a digital and physical release ahead of Disney+, we’re seeing the first attempts to make up for that very issue.

    It’ll be essential to ensure their animated projects have a strong showing as families simply aren’t there and Super Mario Bros. Movie has the advantage of nostalgia with boomers and Millenials at its side. Its performance is comparable to Avatar: The Way of Water and Star Wars: The Force Awakens which are both built strongly on nostalgia. Hell, even Top Gun Maverick got that extra boost for the same reason, and we’re seeing a much more noticeable trend that studios are likely going to abuse moving forward.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Number

  • James Gunn Reveals When to Expect Season 2 of ‘Peacemaker’

    James Gunn Reveals When to Expect Season 2 of ‘Peacemaker’

    The HBO Max streaming series Peacemaker was one of the surprise hits of 2022. Spinning out of James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad, the series followed John Cena‘s titular character as he once again teamed up with Amanda Waller and A.R.G.U.S. to stop Project Butterfly. Even as Gunn took a new role as the co-chair of DC Studios and looks to start with a clean slate, a second season of Peacemaker remained on the slate though how it will transition into the new DCU continuity remains to be seen.

    Needless to say, Gunn is a very busy man these days. Not only is he helping Peter Safran to create and oversee the projects in Chapter 1 of the new DCU, titled Gods and Monsters but he’s also writing and directing Superman: Legacy, one of the most anticipated projects on the slate. With all that going on, fans have begun to question when Gunn will find time for the second season of Peacemaker. As is his way, Gunn took to Twitter to answer those questions.

    While talking about the upcoming Gods and Monsters slate, Gunn indicated that Season 2 of Peacemaker won’t be released until after Superman: Legacy. Interestingly enough, production on the second season of the streaming series was reported to be planned to take place after Gunn wrapped his press responsibilities for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 which means it may sit in the can for quite some time before release.

  • Lucasfilm Head Reveals ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is the Longest Entry Yet

    Lucasfilm Head Reveals ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ is the Longest Entry Yet

    Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is the next entry in the franchise that hasn’t had a new entry since 2008. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull tried to revive the franchise with Shia LaBeouf set to take over the franchise, but it didn’t quite pick up the pace that many hoped it would and the latest addition is once again returning to its true main star, Harrison Ford.

    We’re finally not too far away from Dial of Destiny’s release and during Star Wars Celebration, Collider used the chance to ask Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy to offer some insight into how long the next entry will be, and it seems that the film will be the longest yet.

    It’s around two hours and 22-23 minutes. I will say that the early movies were shorter. They were under two hours and 15 minutes. And we talked about that quite a bit… But as you know, with runtime, it’s all about how you feel, right? So, if you’re sitting in a movie, and it feels long… The reason this is interesting is because long-form storytelling is something that we like in the streaming space. So, I think it might be that it’s some kind of carry over from that. But God knows, this year there were so many three hour-plus movies that I felt I wasn’t getting any work done, trying to see them.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    Even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was only slightly above two hours. So, if they stick to this length, James Mangold will have the longest entry in the Indiana Jones franchise. So, the next entry is going to have one of many firsts as we return to the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr. It also will introduce us to a new cast of characters and does open up the possibility of continuing the legacy of this story in a new and unexpected way.

    Source: Collider

  • SWCE: ‘Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’ Composer Kevin Kiner to Score ‘Ahsoka’

    SWCE: ‘Clone Wars’ and ‘Rebels’ Composer Kevin Kiner to Score ‘Ahsoka’

    Since 2008, composer Kevin Kiner has created the musical scores for nearly all of Star Wars animated projects. A veteran of The Clone Wars, Rebels, The Bad Batch and Tales of the Jedi, Kiner’s original works have accompanied many of the franchise’s most beloved characters as they have made their way through the galaxy far, far away. It’s only fitting, then, that Kiner make the jump from animation to live-action with the crew of the Ghost in the upcoming streaming series Ahsoka.

    As part of the Ahsoka panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023, it was announced that Kiner did indeed create the musical score for Ahsoka, which streams this August. An argument could be made that outside of creator Dave Filoni, Kiner may know Ahsoka Tano the best, having created her theme and scoring over 200 episodes of shows in which she was often one of the main characters, including the recent Tales of the Jedi which told the origins of the character.

    Ahsoka will begin streaming on Disney Plus in August.