Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Strange World’ Stars Reveal a Wild Glitch in the Matrix

    ‘Strange World’ Stars Reveal a Wild Glitch in the Matrix

    Disney Studios Animation’s newest film, Strange World, is a pulpy throwback influenced by the works of authors H.G. Wells and Jules Verne featuring characters based on iconic blasts from the past such as Ka-Zar and Doc Savage. Co-director Don Hall (Big Hero 6) describes the film as an exploration of the universal father-son relationship told through 3 generations of the Clade family.

    As always, Disney has assembled a fantastic voice cast for the project, including Jake Gyllenhall as Searcher Clade and Dennis Quaid as his father, Jaeger, a legendary, larger-than-life explorer whose life’s work took him away from his family. Strange World isn’t the first time Quaid and Gyllenhall portrayed a father-son duo on screen, having played Jack Hall and Sam Hall, respectively, in the 2004 disaster flick The Day After Tomorrow; however, as Quaid revealed in the global press conference for Strange World, the two stars had never previously met!

    When asked about what parallels there were in the chemistry between him and Gyllenhall in the two film, Quaid laughed, saying “This is the first time Jake and I have been in the same room, actually.” The actor went on, seemingly jokingly, to say, “I’ve never seen any of those films, so I didn’t know what he looked like.” Gyllenhaal backed up Quaid’s comments, saying “I literally never met Dennis until this moment, which is really –yeah.” Quaid continued saying, “In Day After Tomorrow, we really didn’t have scenes together.” In an effort to answer the original question, Quaid did point out that the pair of actors have swapped one key part of their arc in the two films, saying to Gyllenhall, “The only difference is, is that I was searching for you and now you’re searching for me.”

    Despite working “together” on two projects, it took a press junket to bring Gyllenhall and Quaid into the same room together for the first time. A glitch in the matrix if ever there were one. Strange World hits theaters November 23rd.



    DENNIS: Yeah. In Day After Tomorrow, we really didn’t have
    scenes together. The only difference is, is that I was
    searching for you and now you’re searching for me.
    STRANGE WORLD – GLOBAL PRESS CONFERENCE [00:16:15]
    JACQUELINE: Seriously, though.
    DENNIS: Yeah.
    JACQUELINE: Did you all do that on purpose? Or it just
    happened? Just happened, okay.
    DENNIS: Just happened.
    JACQUELINE: Just cute. I’m just kidding. Jeff Ewing from
    Looper has a question for Jaboukie. Ethan Clade is such a
    modern different protagonist than so many we’ve seen in
    prior Disney films. To you, why is the character such as
    Ethan important addition to the Disney canon?

  • ‘Wakanda Forever’ Faces Harsh Friday Drop, But Still Set to Dominate the Weekend

    ‘Wakanda Forever’ Faces Harsh Friday Drop, But Still Set to Dominate the Weekend

    It definitely looks like Marvel Studios’ projects are quite frontloaded in their release, as even Black Panther Wakanda Forever with an A CinemaScore faced a harsh Friday-to-Friday drop. It pulled in between $17.9M and stands at a chance of making up to $70M. It’s definitely a harsh 79% drop but not the worst that Marvel Studios has seen this year, as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness dropped by 81% on its second Friday. It’s even lower than Thor: Love and Thunder‘s 80% and not too far from Black Adam’s 72%. Perhaps it’s a general genre trend in a market with less to offer.

    As Deadline points out, there’s a chance it’ll make up to $70M and could stand at a 65% drop for its second weekend total. At that rate, it’s only around 3% lagging behind Multiverse of Madness, which is massive considering it was a prime summer release in May. Plus, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are around the corner which could give it a massive boost with very little competition. So, it does seem safe to assume it’ll hold the top spot going into its third weekend.

    The Black Panther sequel already passed $400M worldwide and could be moving similarly to the previous entry. For those wondering if it’ll pass the billion-dollar mark: it doesn’t seem like a sure thing but if it holds after this weekend there’s still a chance it could outdo the Doctor Strange sequel. Even if some want to call this “the end of Marvel” once again, the films are still financially doing better than most and after much-calling fatigue since even after Avengers: Endgame‘s release. It’s the kind of fatigue many others would dream about.

    Source: Twitter, Deadline, Collider, The Numbers

  • New Working Title for ‘Deadpool 3’ Reveals the Size of Hugh Jackman’s Role

    New Working Title for ‘Deadpool 3’ Reveals the Size of Hugh Jackman’s Role

    When Ryan Reynolds revealed that Hugh Jackman was returning as Wolverine for Deadpool 3, it was met with equal measures of shock and excitement. Fans, and even Jackman, believed that Logan was the swan song for the actor in the role he’d dedicated the better part of two decades to play. As the film draws nearer to its scheduled April start of production, more information about it has begun to trickle out, including a working title that might give an idea of just how big Jackman’s role in the film will be.

    According to insider Daniel RPK, the working title of the film is no longer Deadpool 3, but rather Untitled Deadpool and Wolverine Film. If the character’s name is in the title, audiences can definitely expect a heavy dose of Wolverine and not just a glorified cameo. If anyone has doubts, the title confirms that Wolverine will absolutely share the spotlight with Deadpool in the Marvel Studios film.

    As information about the plot of the film has begun to leak out, it sounds increasingly more likely that at least part of the plot will involve time travel and/or multiverse shenanigans. Owen Wilson is rumored to be reprising his role as TVA Agent Mobius and recent rumors have pointed to the film visiting the universes inhabited by the characters from Marvel films not made under the Marvel Studios banner. One possibility could see the film adapting the comic arc Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, and which could lead to a wild ride for everyone involved as Deadpool Kills multiple non-MCU universes.

    The currently untitled Deadpool and Wolverine Film will hit theaters in November 8, 2024.

  • Ncuti Gatwa’s ‘Doctor Who’ Run Finds its New Companion

    Ncuti Gatwa’s ‘Doctor Who’ Run Finds its New Companion

    Even in a world filled with time-wimey things, there are some rules that apply no matter what happens. One of those is that the Time Lord known as the Doctor always has a companion that joins him on his travels through time and space. With a new doctor on the horizon in Ncuti Gatwa, it always was the question of who might take on that very role. Perhaps we’ll see a familiar face or even someone completely new. As it turns out, it was the latter.

    Millie Gibson of Coronation Street fame has joined the upcoming 15th incarnation of the beloved Time Lord as his companion by the name Ruby Sunday. She’ll take on the role once the new season returns later next year. No details have been shared on what we can expect of her character or when she might show up in the story, especially with Gatwa not taking on the role directly after Jodie Whitaker‘s run.

    There have been many iconic companions in the past and it’ll be quite interesting to see what she’ll bring to the table. Hopes are high with the new season as well, as it might shake things up. Not only is David Tennant briefly returning to take on the role of the Doctor, but it’ll have ea new home internationally on Disney+. There have been hints that Disney is also adding some investment into the series to help it grow; crazy to think given it’s been running for over 50 years by now. So, we’ll see what this new season might do to mix things up.

    Source: Twitter, The Guardian

  • Disney+’s ‘Percy Jackson’ Finds its Hades and Hephaestus

    Disney+’s ‘Percy Jackson’ Finds its Hades and Hephaestus

    Disney has been all-in with their Disney+ expansion and while most of it was dominated by two brands, they aren’t slowing down in trying to establish their own new major franchises. Among the many projects they currently have, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is one that has some of the biggest potential in adapting the iconic young adult novels.

    The project had quite the casting already with Walker Scobell cast as Percy joined by Aryan Simhadri‘s Grover and Leah Sava Jeffries as Annabeth. The project went on to add Jessica Parker Kennedy, Olivea Morton, Jason Mantzoukas, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and many more to its cast. Now, it has found two more major additions that’ll surely have book fans excited.

    Variety has revealed that they have cast Jay Duplass as the Disney+ shows’ version of Hades, who is described as “an outcast from his family and a misunderstood genius. He holds a grudge for past wrongs and plays his cards close to the chest.” Timothy Omundson will take on the role of Hephaestus, who is the god of blacksmiths, who was disabled when thrown off Mount Olympus but has a legendary strength.

    The casting is definitely exciting and it does seem like Disney is all-in with the project. We’ll see if they’ll already get working on a second season or wait it out until viewership numbers are in, but the cast is already quite promising and the first look from D23 hinted at an adaptation that’ll surely stand out from the original films.

    Source: Variety

  • James Gunn Teases Rocket’s Origin and an Emotional Ending for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

    James Gunn Teases Rocket’s Origin and an Emotional Ending for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

    The start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 5 will finally give us the third and final James Gunn-directed entry of Guardians of the Galaxy. It’ll be the end of an era for one of Marvel’s most popular teams. The film is bound to have an emotional resolution for various characters, one of which will be the Bradley Cooper-voiced Rocket Raccoon. While in an interview with the Phase Zero podcast, James Gunn confirmed this to be the case. The director discussed how Vol. 3 will focus on the origins of the animal and how that plays into the end of this saga.

    It tells this story about Rocket and where he came from and where he’s going, and how that ties into everybody else, and the end of this iteration of The Guardians.

    James Gunn

    After being a seminal part of this universe, it’s fitting that the Guardians of the Galaxy would take a turn for the emotional heading into the ending of their trilogy. And the story of Rocket Raccoon appears in line to be the main arc of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, especially with the casting of Chukwudi Iwuji as the main antagonist in the High Evolutionary. And having seen the initial trailer for the film at San Diego Comic Con this year, this author can confirm the film will be leaning heavily into more serious themes while wrapping up the stories of these characters.

    The concept of weight-filled emotional themes was prevalent on the mind of James Gunn while in production for Vol. 3. And it’s why he found special solace in producing the more light-hearted Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special in tandem with the Marvel Studios feature film. This is what the director had to say about balancing the two tonally different projects at the same time.

    Doing this goofy thing like once every four days, and then going and shooting four days of Guardians Vol. 3, and then going back, it almost created a lot of whiplash. But it was also almost like The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special days were like snow days, you know? Those were the… that was recess. That was fun!

    James Gunn

    In addition, James Gunn confirmed that he considers The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special to be “required watching” in order to best experience Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 this coming May. Gunn elaborates on concepts that will be introduced for the team and how the short film allowed him to spend less time on exposition in the first act of the feature film.

    People should see the Holiday Special. You’re obviously gonna learn a lot about where the Guardians have been in the past few years. You know, you’re gonna see how they now inhabit Knowhere. They’ve got a new ship called the Bowie. They’ve got a dog [who] is part of their crew now who has telekinesis named Cosmo. So where you get to learn all that, and then there’s a couple of bigger pieces of spoiler-y lore. You’re gonna learn all of those things. In a way, the Holiday Special was a Trojan Horse for me to sneak in stuff that becomes important in Volume 3, so I don’t have to spend a lot of time at the beginning of that movie explaining it.

    James Gunn

    The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special releases on Disney+ on November 25. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 releases exclusively in theaters of May 5, 2023.

    Source: Comicbook.com

  • ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Director Shares His Approach to the Film

    ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Director Shares His Approach to the Film

    James Mangold, famous for his work on Logan and Ford V Ferrari, is taking on a daunting task. He’ll be the first new director to helm an entry in the Indiana Jones franchise, which has all been directed by Steven Spielberg, who is still actively a producer on the project. Still, it seems that he wasn’t scared of tackling this story once again and shared in an interview with Empire how he approached the material, especially with an older Harrison Ford in the leading role.

    It became really important to me to figure out how to make this a movie about a hero at sunset. The issues I brought up about Indy’s age were not things I thought were being addressed in the material being developed at the time. There were ‘old’ jokes, but the material itself wasn’t about it. To me, whatever you greatest liability, you should fly straight towards that. If you try to pretend it’s not there, you end up getting slings and arrows the whole way.

    James Mangold

    It’s definitely interesting that he’s avoiding the age topic completely, even if some jokes may have found their way into the script. Still, the topic was even the main focus in the last entry that released back in 2008, especially with the set-up of a new generation taking over that wouldn’t lead to anything. So, we’ll see just how the story will revolve around Indiana Jones and what is even the main mystery, as we still haven’t heard what the title will be for the latest entry in the franchise.

    Source: Empire

  • Harrison Ford Reveals Why He Returned to Play Indiana Jones One Last Time

    Harrison Ford Reveals Why He Returned to Play Indiana Jones One Last Time

    Indiana Jones is finally making a return, and Harrison Ford is still set to take on the role even after all these years. It was 2008 when we last saw him take on the mantle with a few hints at a new generation taking over, but new director James Mangold alongside writers Jez and John-Henry Butterworth managed to convince the actor to return to the role once again.

    In a new interview with Empire, he shares what we can expect from the project and seems quite excited about the adventure he joined, even if it seems like production wasn’t easy on this latest action-adventure production.

    It’s full of adventure, full of laughs, full of real emotion. And it’s complex and it’s sneaky. The shooting of it was tough and long and arduous. But I’m very happy with the film that we have.

    Harrison Ford

    He goes on to highlight that he was always open to potentially returning to the role, and it mostly depended “if a script came along” that was just right to truly return to Doctor Jones.

    I just thought it would be nice to see one where Indiana Jones was at the end of his journey. If a script came along that I felt gave me a way to extend the character.

    Harrison Ford

    It seems that his heart was definitely in it and Mangold managed to tease him with a story that was worth exploring once again. It’s not the first time he took a look at an aging hero in a world that changed, as he did the same with Logan and it’ll be interesting to see if this film manages to hold that same level of weight.

    Source: Empire

  • James Gunn Reveals When he Pitched ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’

    James Gunn Reveals When he Pitched ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’

    Next week will bring the final Marvel Studios project of 2022, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. It will be the second Special Presentation created by Marvel, and while there aren’t any others announced, it would seem unlikely that it’ll be the last. It’s a new concept for the Disney+ platform, but it seems that the origins of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special date back to around 2016. According to director James Gunn, the initial idea for the holiday special was pitched to Kevin Feige during the production of Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 in 2016.

    It’s certainly interesting to follow the history of how this unique project for the MCU came to be. Much like Werewolf by Night in October, the Special Presentation format is a natural evolution of the One-Shots that used to exist and are a unique way to continue narratives for Marvel. Fans have already thought up a large number of ideas that could work well in this short-film format.

    Assuming Guardians was the first Special Presentation to be pitched, James Gunn deserves credit for this new creative direction. And it could certainly bode well for the creativity Gunn can bring to the table as the new head of DC Studios (on top of the strong showings he’s already had there with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker).

    The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special premieres exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, November 25.

  • DC Studios May Unveil Future Plans in a Few Months

    DC Studios May Unveil Future Plans in a Few Months

    Peter Safran and James Gunn have only recently taken on the role of DC Studios’ co-CEOs. Warner Bros. Discovery gave them the daunting task of creating a future timeline for how they envision a united DC Comics-based cinematic universe. CEO David Zaslav wants his Marvel Cinematic Universe and he found the perfect guys for the job. Yet, they only joined three weeks ago and it seemed like we’ll have to wait a while before we get any news.

    A new post by The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez on Twitter has seemingly hinted that we could find out about their plans sooner rather than later. He not only teased that a Superman revival starring Henry Cavill is potentially on ice until this long-term plan is finalized but also they may unveil it in the coming months. It’s unclear though if he is referencing a presentation within Warner Bros. or even plans to share it publicly.

    While Marvel Studios knows how to get a crowd riled up with their San Diego Comic-Con showcase, it would be a first for them to fully showcase a roadmap like this. It could be a way to stand out even from the monster that is Marvel Studios, but it would seem unwise to show all your cards if they will have to change either way. Of course, there is a possibility that they simply tease projects that are set to arrive as of 2025 to set the groundwork for what exactly they are planning. For now, we’ll have to wait and see.

    Source: Twitter