Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Kumail Nanjiani Cast Some Doubt on the Status of ‘Eternals 2’

    Kumail Nanjiani Cast Some Doubt on the Status of ‘Eternals 2’

    Marvel Studios Eternals served as a departure from the “Marvel formula” that has often been at the center of criticism of MCU films. Ironically enough, the departure from that formula became the center of criticism of Eternals, leaving fans wondering when, and maybe even if, a sequel might happen. Earlier this year, however, Patton Oswalt, who voiced Pip the Troll in a sequence that could set the stage for a potential sequel, claimed that a sequel was in the works. Shortly after that statement, it seemed clear that Oswalt was just repeating something he’d read online and not prematurely sharing any official info.

    In an interview with The Playlist, Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani gave a little insight into what the situation with Oswalt may have been all about.

    I have no idea. I don’t think Patton was right. I think that there was a hoax website – one of those where it’s like one letter off from the real one. They tweeted it, and it spread around and I think that’s what Patton saw.

    Kumail Nanjiani

    While Nanjiani obviously isn’t able to speak for Oswalt, it does sound like he may have a little better grip on exactly what happened. While Eternals 2 doesn’t seem to be a sure thing, Nanjiani’s Kingo, who was one of the film’s brightest spots, will be referenced in two upcoming MCU projects and, according to the star, he’d love to continue playing him.

    I honestly don’t know anything. I would love for Kingo to come back. I love playing that character…That one’s very fun to play, you’re just in a good mood. You do finger guns, you’re like a movie star – what’s not to love? You’re just in a good mood the entire time.

    Kumail Nanjiani

    Having a group of characters such as the Eternals in the shared universe without them ever showing up again or interacting with corners and characters is certainly hard to imagine; however, there’s no guarantee that any future interactions or arcs involving the characters will be part of a sequel. Some of the characters have been Avengers in the past and with two Avengers team-ups on the slate, they could show up there as the Multiverse Saga concludes. Until official word comes down from Marvel Studios, it remains best practice to remember that the actors are often the last one’s to know what’s going on behind the scenes.

    Source: The Playlist

  • Netflix to Adapt ‘Gears of War’ for Feature Film and Animated Series

    Netflix to Adapt ‘Gears of War’ for Feature Film and Animated Series

    Another marquee video game franchise has officially found its streaming home. It has been revealed that Netflix has acquired the media rights to produce projects based around the Gears of War video game series. This comes after what has been described as a competitive negotiation process over the past number of months. The franchise had gradually become one of the most successful for the Xbox consoles. The announcement comes on the 16th anniversary of the franchise launch.

    After coming out as the victors in the bidding war, Netflix has high aims for Gears of War to become a stalwart for the service, including the production of a live-action feature film based on the franchise. This will then be followed by transitioning the intellectual property into an adult-animated series. No creative member has yet to be attached to either project. If both the film and the animated series go well, then Netflix would then plan to further expand the franchise. Video game adaptations have tended to be a mixed bag for the film industry, and with that in mind, it would be wise to not get too far ahead of expectations for this new acquisition by Netflix when there’s still a great deal of time before the release of the first project.

    The Gears of War video games are set on a planet in the midst of a societal collapse due to the arrival of the Locust, a species of creatures from the underground that have taken control of above. It is then the responsibility of the Delta Squad and their leader Marcus Fenix to lead the last hope for humanity.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Daniel Kaluuya to Voice Spider-Punk in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’

    Daniel Kaluuya to Voice Spider-Punk in ‘Across the Spider-Verse’

    The ensemble of the animated Spider-Verse is expanding even more for the upcoming sequel. It has officially been announced that Academy Award-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya will be playing Spider-Punk in 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. While many of the characters in the film are Peter Parker Variants, the Spider-Punk mantle is a Variant of a character named Hobie Brown. He joins an already stacked voice cast including Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, and Jason Schwartzman among others. The film is being directed by the trio of Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson.

    Not much is known about what the sequel will entail, but it is confirmed that it will follow Miles Morales (Moore) on a new multiverse-traversing mission with a new team of Spider-people. These include reuniting with Spider-Gwen (Steinfeld) and Peter B. Parker (Johnson) while meeting the likes of Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman (Rae), Spider-Man 2099 (Isaac), and now Daniel Kaluuya’s Spider-Punk. It has also been confirmed that Spot, played by Jason Schwartzman, will be the main antagonist of the project.

    Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk, a homeless teenager who fights to represent the oppressed citizens of New York City in his universe, was created by writer Dan Slott in 2014. Having an actor with the stature of Daniel Kaluuya voicing the role seems to indicate a major role for Spider-Punk in this upcoming sequel. Kaluuya is best known for his Academy Award-winning performance in Judas and the Black Messiah alongside his lead roles in both of Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Nope.

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is scheduled to release theatrically on June 2, 2023.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Cast Confirmed for ‘Star Wars’ Series ‘The Acolyte’ 

    Cast Confirmed for ‘Star Wars’ Series ‘The Acolyte’ 

    Filming on The Acolyte has begun production and Lucasfilm has confirmed the show’s core cast. The series, which is set to star Amandla Stenberg, will focus on the final days of the High Republic era. Joining Stenberg are the previously announced Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) and Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game).

    (L-R): Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae and Director Leslye Headland on the set of Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2022 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    Also confirmed to star in the series are Dafne Keen (His Dark Materials), Rebecca Henderson (Inventing Anna), Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll), Dean-Charles Chapman (1917) and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix).

    The Acolyte is being described as a mystery-thriller that will take viewers into a “galaxy of shadowy secrets and emerging Dark side powers in the final days of the High Republic era.” The project was first announced in April 2020, with Lucasfilm finally confirming the series in December 2020. Per Lucasfilm, “A former Padawan reunites with her Jedi Master to investigate a series of crimes, but the forces they confront are more sinister than they ever anticipated.”

    Russian Doll‘s Leslye Headland will serve as the series director, writer, executive producer and showrunner on The Acolyte. Filming on the Disney+ series is officially underway in London.

    Source: EW.

  • Angelina Jolie Almost Played a Villain in ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Angelina Jolie Almost Played a Villain in ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Angelina Jolie is an international superstar and, more recently, a Marvel superhero. The actress joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2021’s Eternals as the semi-immortal warrior Thena, but as it turns out, this almost wasn’t her first venture into the world of Marvel comics. An upcoming novel by Sean O’Connell, titled With Great Power, gives some of the first in-depth details on the development of Sam Raimi‘s unmade Spider-Man 4, and may have revealed an alternate timeline where Jolie was attached as an original supervillain. It’s well-known that actor John Malkovich was in line to play the film’s main baddie, the Vulture, and that Anne Hathaway would have appeared as a new love interest for Tobey Maguire as the Black Cat. Now, it would seem Jolie was being sought by Sony to portray Adrian Toomes’ vengeful daughter – The Vulturess.

    According to an early access report from The Direct, the studio wanted the former Mr. & Mrs. Smith star to take over as the movie’s main villain after Malkovich‘s Vulture met an untimely demise. Jolie‘s unnamed potential character would have played a role throughout the film, as “an accomplished executive representing a venture capital firm that was trying to buy the Daily Bugle.” After her father’s death, presumably in the second act, Jolie would have put on the Vulture suit herself and taken up the mantle. Notably, this information falls in line with a longstanding rumor that Hathaway‘s Felicia Hardy would have been revealed as Toomes’ daughter and set up as the Vulturess instead of Black Cat. It’s unknown if Black Cat and the Vulturess were separate characters in the story, or if Hathaway simply slipped into Jolie‘s role when the part became vacant. Either way, it makes for a fascinating look into a world where Spider-Man 4 actually happened.

    Source: The Direct.

  • Ryan Coogler Reveals a Key Weakness of Namor’s in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

    Ryan Coogler Reveals a Key Weakness of Namor’s in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to introduce one of Marvel Comics’ oldest characters into the MCU, but with a unique twist. The sequel will see Namor, known in the comics as the Sub-Mariner, come into conflict with the nation of Wakanda. However, instead of being the ruler of Atlantis, this iteration of Namor rules an underwater nation known as Talokan.

    Namor has long kept his nation secret but the events of Wakanda Forever threaten that secrecy, bringing the winged-footed mutant to the shores of Wakanda. He’s already been seen flying in the trailers and showcasing some pretty impressive resiliency, but from what director Ryan Coogler says, audiences haven’t seen it all just yet.

    [There’s] no equal in terms of his capabilities, being able to breathe underwater and breathe at high altitudes and walk around on land. He’s incredibly strong, he’s as strong as Thor, and if he’s around enough water he can be as strong as the Hulk.

    Ryan Coogler

    Despite all the changes to the character and the creation of a new underwater nation, Coogler’s comments do seem to highlight one of Namor’s classic weaknesses from the old comics: his need to return to the water to regain his strength. If he’s away from the water for too long, not only would Namor be weak, it could be fatal. This is a flaw that was exposed by some of Marvel Comics heroes and villains in the past, so it’s possible that it may come into play in the film, which releases in theaters on November 11th.

    Source: Marvel.com

  • James Gunn Reacts to Ayer Cut Trending, Teases DC Studios’ Future Approach

    James Gunn Reacts to Ayer Cut Trending, Teases DC Studios’ Future Approach

    If there ever is one thing that stands out on Twitter (ignoring current events), it was the fact that the director and now co-CEO of the newly formed DC Studios, James Gunn, has always been quite vocal about stories that would end up trending online. He’d often shoot down rumors before they would start getting too much traction.

    In his new position, he can no longer be as vocal as possible with every little project he’s involved with, but with a sudden influx of #SaveLegendsofTomorrow and #ReleaseTheAyerCut hashtags on Twitter, he took to his personal account to share some insights into what fans may expect from the franchise.

    He goes on to highlight that their core focus remains on exploring the future storylines for the franchise and not just retelling stories that already existed. He highlights “telling the biggest story ever told across multiple films, television shows & animated projects,” which hints at the new DC Universe won’t just rely on live-action adaptations, as even Marvel moved away a bit from having direct influences from their new animated series.

    It’s definitely great to see James Gunn react to what is being discussed online, especially with the way the Ayer Cut discussions have spun out of the long-battled Snyder Cut. We likely will have to wait at least until next year or even 2024 to get a clear vision of what the future looks like for DC Studios’ line-up, especially with Gunn‘s work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 going on until the films May release. So, we’ll have to be patient.

    Source: Twitter

  • Water 7 Arc Will be Featured in ‘One Piece Odyssey’

    Water 7 Arc Will be Featured in ‘One Piece Odyssey’

    There were quite a few questions on what we should expect from One Piece‘s latest game that takes a new direction. Unlike the previous game, One Piece is once again exploring the concept of a Straw Hat-focused RPG titled One Piece Odyssey. The story sees our favorite pirates trapped on an island after their ship the Thousand Sunny is surprisingly destroyed.

    There were some worries that the game may restrict the team to a rather simple island without much variation. Yet, we were then surprised with the reveal that you’ll be visiting memories of the Straw Hats crews throughout the adventure. That not only confirmed various new locations and storylines to revisit, but it also opened up the question of what storylines may find their way to the story. So far, we only knew about Alabasta but now it seems Water 7 Arc is also going to be playable.

    In a tweet shared by @newworldartur, they include an interesting scan that reveals the information on One Piece Odyssey‘s next playable level. It offers the first tease of Kaku’s appearance, who’ll likely be a boss in the storyline, and it also seems that Franky’s original pre-time skip design will be available. It’s unclear though if the character is the one we know from the main storyline, or the straw hats meet a version from their memories.

    This new showcase is very likely also going to be followed by a new trailer. The game is set to release in January to kick off the year and is also still part of the 25th anniversary of One Piece. So, we’ll likely find out more once the next trailer drops and gives us a good look at how the adaptation may twist the original story, as it’ll feature Straw Hats that have already lived through these events.

    Source: Twitter

  • Tenoch Huerta on the Challenge of Tackling Namor as an Antagonist in ‘Wakanda Forever’

    Tenoch Huerta on the Challenge of Tackling Namor as an Antagonist in ‘Wakanda Forever’

    Black Panther Wakanda Forever is just around the corner, as it not only continues where the previous left off but also opens up the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a new corner, the introduction of Talocan. Tenoch Huerta is set to take on the role of Namor, who is a major player in the comics but is taking on a more antagonist role in the sequel.

    With the prospect of the character being more than just your run-of-the-mill Marvel villain, the actor and director Ryan Coogler had a tough challenge to find the perfect balance on how to explore the character’s story. Huerta opened up on the challenge in the official press conference for the upcoming Marvel Studios release.

    It is tricky, when you have a character like this, because you are the antagonist. You gonna destroy something that is not just in the story, but the people, you know? The people outside. A lot of people feel identification with Wakanda, and I’m include myself in Wakanda, and the narrative and representation and everything. So, now I have to play the bad guy who destroy [laughs], or try to destroy that legacy. And but at the same time, I think Ryan, the script, and, you know, he found a way to make it human, to justify why that people do that kind of thing.

    Tenoch Huerta

    The character taking on Wakanda and the challenge of still keeping a chance of people rooting for the character even after he attacks Wakanda, a place they’ve become familiar with and connected throughout the years. He highlights the beauty of the story by exploring grief from different perspectives, as the story explores “two characters, taking different directions with the grief and the threat” that faces them. In turn, it makes the core of the story quite human.

  • RUMOR: ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ May Feature 2 Familiar Spider-Men

    RUMOR: ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ May Feature 2 Familiar Spider-Men

    Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse sadly got postponed into the next year, but it hasn’t lost any momentum in regards to what we can expect from the latest entry of the animated Spider-Man franchise. There have also been many theories that concepts like the Spider-Verse would simply open up the potential crossover with existing franchises from Sony’s hope to expand the license alongside their MCU counterpart.

    If a new rumor is to be believed, we may see at least two pre-established Spider-Men in the upcoming sequel. There seems to be an opportunity that the Marvel Cinematic Universe equivalent of Peter Parker will appear though it’s unclear if Tom Holland will actually voice the character. What makes this interesting is that this would mark the first time he appeared in a Sony-developed project rather than one from Marvel Studios.

    The other returning face might be the one we met in Insomniac’s Spider-Man gaming franchise. The character was famously voiced by Yuri Lowenthal though his face design got changed in the remaster and Miles Morales spinoff. Supoposedly there have been ideas thrown on the table of also including other returning characters. Not only Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire, but also former animation voice actors Josh Keaton and Christopher Daniel Barnes.

    They definitely would make for an interesting addition, especially if they might even offer Spider-Verse‘s Miles potentially entering live-action. There’s a lot of potential with this expansion and here’s hoping they make full use of it, as each universe also is set to be animated differently.

    Source: Cosmic Circus