Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • The Arrival of the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Online May be Imminent…and It’s Too Short

    The Arrival of the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Online May be Imminent…and It’s Too Short

    If more than a decade covering this industry has taught me anything, it’s that there’s nothing more important than when a trailer for an upcoming movie will release…well, other than runtimes. Thankfully, fans have known for some time now that the wait for the first look at Avengers: Doomsday wouldn’t be much longer since it’s been confirmed to be attached to James Cameron‘s Avatar: Fire and Ash. However, it’s rare that trailers truly debut theatrically as they are almost always released online ahead of time. So when will that teaser drop on Disney’s social media channels?

    According to industry insider Daniel Richtman–who has LONG worn the trailer info crown–Disney is planning to release a teaser for a major upcoming movie on December 11th. While Richtman clearly states that he can’t be sure it will be the teaser for Avengers: Doomsday, the studio has already rolled out teasers and trailers for almost all of its major 2026 releases, increasing the odds that it will indeed be Doomsday.

    Should it be Doomsday on December 11th, fans won’t have much footage to see. According to Cryptic4KQual, who has also long been a reliable source of trailer information, the teaser will be “a bit above a minute in length.” Runtimes!

    With the film still a year away, it’s unlikely Marvel would want to give too much a way, holding onto some key bits and pieces for next summer; however, the studio also knows it needs to make sure fans are blown away by the first look to hopefully help get them back in theaters following a less than awesome year at the box office.

  • Further Details Emerge on Scarlett Johansson’s ‘The Batman 2’ Villainous Role

    Further Details Emerge on Scarlett Johansson’s ‘The Batman 2’ Villainous Role

    Matt Reeves made a major splash in landing Scarlett Johansson in a lead role in his upcoming sequel to 2022’s The Batman. Synonymous with Marvel Studios early success, Johansson remains a bonafide movie star in an era where those are harder and harder to find.

    Following the initial report by Nexus Point News, fans immediately began theorizing about Johansson’s role, with Poison Ivy an early favorite. However, industry vet Jeff “The In” Sneider shot that idea down while adding enough additional context to lift another Batman baddie into contention.

    Sneider shared word that Johansson will indeed be the film’s villain with the caveat that she may also be the new love interest of Robert Pattinson‘s Bruce Wayne. And for many fans, that was enough to go on to believe that the actress will be playing Andrea Beaumont, also known as The Phantasm.

    Picking the right villain that digs into what that does and goes into his past and his life, that was what drove that discussion.

    -Matt Reeves

    Given what’s known about the role, Beaumont–who first appeared the 1993 animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm–is as good of a fit as can be imagined. Reeves has previously revealed that the new film’s villain has never been featured in live-action Batman films before and Beaumont as a love interest-turned antagonist does indeed fit that description.

    Fans had previously believed that Reeves was teasing Hush, a character created by Jeph Loeb in 2022, who was seemingly set up in the first film. Given Hush’s connections to Wayne’s past, he did seem to fit if the film is going to explore the billionaire more than the Bat. However, Johansson’s casting has changed that a bit and a further excavation of The Phantasm’s creation only strengthens the likelihood that’s who she’ll be playing.

    While it’s certainly not out of the question that Johansson could be playing a gender-swapped Hush that serves of an amalgam of multiple characters, including Beaumont, knowing Reeves‘ desire to keep his Batman Epic Crime Saga rooted in noir-style storytelling makes The Phantasm a fantastic fit.

    Though The Phantasm is an original character created Alan Burnett and Paul Dini for the animated feature, the character was derived from a pair of characters who first appeared in Mike Barr’s four-issue Batman: Year Two comic. Given that The Batman was a “Year One” tale, it’s certainly an interesting coincidence that the sequel’s villain could be connected to a “Year Two” tale.

    Though Batman: Year Two isn’t on anyone’s best Batman stories list, it introduced Rachel Caspian as a love interest for Batman. It also introduced her father, Judson, who was eventually revealed to be a villain named the Reaper. Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm loosely weaved those characters into Andrea Beaumont, the film’s femme fatale.

    There is an exploration to be had, and one of the explorations for me was to do something that pushes even further into the character of Bruce Wayne.

    -Matt Reeves

    With The Batman-Part II clearly cut out to be another piece of hardboiled detective noir work from Reeves and the villain intended to help the story connect to and explore Wayne’s past, Beaumont checks all the boxes. Her history and path to becoming a vigilante closely mirrors Wayne’s, allowing for a new angle on how the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne set their son on the path to becoming Batman, making the sequel the “Bruce Wayne” movie that Reeves wants to create.

  • CCXP: DC Studios’ ‘Supergirl’ Exhibit Confirms Title Change, Shows Off New Suit and Reveals Lobo’s Comic-Accurate Weapon

    CCXP: DC Studios’ ‘Supergirl’ Exhibit Confirms Title Change, Shows Off New Suit and Reveals Lobo’s Comic-Accurate Weapon

    Additionally, photos from the exhibit have provided wonderful shots of Milly Alcock‘s Kara Zor-El’s costume and teases the chained hook that will be used by Jason Momoa‘s Lobo.

    Ahead of CCXP ’25 in San Paulo, Brazil, DC Studios’ Supergirl exhibit has become a hot spring of news.

    Thanks to Omelete, it’s been confirmed that the film–originally titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow–has indeed been simplified to Supergirl, as has long been believed.

    Updating…

    Source: Omelete

  • Scarlett Johansson Joins Robert Pattinson in ‘The Batman-Part II’

    Scarlett Johansson Joins Robert Pattinson in ‘The Batman-Part II’

    As Matt Reeves The Batman sequel prepares to begin principal photography early next year, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is poised to join the project.

    According to Nexus Point News, Scarlett Johansson will star alongside Robert Pattinson in the 2027 film.

    NPN’s report was confirmed by Deadline, who added that Johansson‘s role in The Exorcist was initially throwing a hitch in the giddy up but is no longer an obstacle. As you might expect, nobody knows who ScarJo will play in the film but Poison Ivy will certainly be the odds on favorite until we learn otherwise. Additional reports have indicated that Johansson will be playing a villain in the film with Andrea Beaumont among fan favorite options.

    Source: NPN

  • Details from First ‘Supergirl’ Teaser Arrive Online Ahead of Expected CCXP Debut

    Details from First ‘Supergirl’ Teaser Arrive Online Ahead of Expected CCXP Debut

    Buzz has been building that DC Studios was planning to provide the first look at its next theatrical release, Supergirl, at this weekend’s CCXP. And now, evidence is mounting that indicates that may well happen.

    X user @UniversoDCnauta claims to have been made privy to some details of the first look at director Craig Gillespie’s upcoming movie.

    According to the source, who accurately described some beats from last year’s first Superman teaser, the first look at Supergirl will be set to an unidentified Blondie song. The user also described the tone as “fun” and “focused on action” and that the teaser would feature shots of a hungover Kara and Krypto lifting his leg to pee.

    Kara nursing a hangover is certainly consistent both with what was learned about her in Superman and in Tom King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, the run on which the film is based.

  • Talented Trio Tops Reported Shortlist to Tackle Techno-Organic Terror in ‘Man of Tomorrow’

    Talented Trio Tops Reported Shortlist to Tackle Techno-Organic Terror in ‘Man of Tomorrow’

    After months of speculation and teasing, confirmation finally came down the pipe that the sadistic supervillain Brainiac would indeed make his theatrical debut in the Superman not-really-but-also-kind-of-sequel Man of Tomorrow.

    The Coluan Collector of Worlds will serve as the “bigger threat” that catalyzes the team up between David Corenswet‘s Kal-El and Nicholas Hoult‘s Lex Luthor, which director James Gunn has described as a “complicated” scenario.

    With principal photography on Man of Tomorrow set to get underway in April, casting for the film has begun, including the search for an actress to play a character believed to be Wonder Woman and an actor willing to disappear behind prosthetics to bring Brainiac to life. In mid-November, Dracula star Claes Bang reportedly read for the role and now, a follow-up report claims that a pair of actors have joined Bang on the shortlist to land the role of Brainiac.

    According to Nexus Point News, Doctor Who star Matt Smith and Academy Award-Winning actor Sam Rockwell have joined Bang on the shortlist to play the supervillain.

    The report makes it clear that no offers have been made at this point and that ultimately, a cash-conscious approach by parent studio Warner Bros. may constrain Gunn‘s casting reach.

    Man of Tomorrow will hit theaters on July 9, 2027.

    Source: NPN

  • Captain America’s Team of Avengers OFFICIALLY Revealed in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Promo and It Includes One Shocking Surprise

    Captain America’s Team of Avengers OFFICIALLY Revealed in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Promo and It Includes One Shocking Surprise

    With the first teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday set to release this month, Disney has just revealed the composition of one of the film’s core teams. As part of a larger Disney showcase held in Italy, Sam Wilson’s team of Avengers has been revealed…and it includes a very unexpected member.

    As seen in the video below–which also features the Fantastic Four, New Avengers and X-Men, Sam’s Avengers will include Thor, Ant-Man, Shang-Chi, Falcon and the God of Stories, Loki.

    Interestingly enough, a variant of Loki recently went by the moniker of Avenger Prime in Marvel Comics Avengers Forever and Avengers Assemble events.

    The current iteration of Loki in the MCU has MUCH in common with Avenger Prime Loki and indeed fans have theorized that the character, last seen at the Citadel at tht End of Time in the Loki Season 2 finale, might take on such a role in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

    With the teaser set to drop soon, we’ll see just how much Marvel Studios is willing to let out of the bag!

  • James Gunn Shuts Down Major DC Studios Casting Rumor

    James Gunn Shuts Down Major DC Studios Casting Rumor

    James Gunn loves social media. Whether teasing his next projects or shooting nearly every false rumor to hell, the DC Studios’ co-chair’s impressive omnipresence feels reminiscent of one who observed the universe from a Mobius Chair. And something new has caught his eye.

    A recent casting call for a new, male actor in Gunn’s next theatrical project, Man of Tomorrow, somehow quickly evolved into rumors that Steve Trevor was set to join the cast of characters of the Superman sequel.

    Despite the complete lack of evidence AND cautionary rhetoric from some established rumor mongers and proven sources, the Trevor buzz took hold and, eventually, came to the attention of Gunn, who quickly took control of the situation with a single “nope.”

    With Trevor off the board, all fans can do is hope that somewhere in the depths of DC Comics’ vast stable of characters, Gunn has located one who can be a male. Though the odds may seem stacked against him, don’t count Gunn out just yet!

  • New Rumor Has Millie Bobby Brown Headed to the MCU Again in Major X-Men Role

    New Rumor Has Millie Bobby Brown Headed to the MCU Again in Major X-Men Role

    Millie Bobby Brown is no stranger to rumors about her involvement in MCU things. Her visit to the set of Avengers: Infinity War had fans convinced she was joining the franchise. Rumors persisted that Brown was set to play Eternals Peter Pan analogue, Sprite, and while Brown teased that she’d had discussions with Marvel Studios, that role went to Lia McHugh and Brown has spent the last several years filming Stranger Things Season 5, limiting her availability for other major projects.

    The return of the directors Anthony and Joe Russo to the MCU to helm Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars has lead to renewed rumors and speculation that Brown, who the lair directed in the Netflix’s Electric State, would join the MCU now that shes closed the book on Stranger Things. The directing duo have made no bones about their admiration for the young actress, saying they would “put her in anything” they make moving forward.

    Millie is on the list for every project. You just can’t ask for a bigger star right now. And [she is] somebody who is passionate about the work, passionate about promoting the movie, passionate about getting up every day and coming to set, making the crew feel good, she has adopted hundreds of dogs, she brings them to set with her; it is like everybody is having an emotional care day with he dogs. She is just lovely. Yeah we will put her in anything.

    -Russo Brothers

    Though there’s been no word of Brown joining the cast of either film just yet, it’s possible she’s poised to join one or both film, with additional photography planned for Doomsday this spring ahead of principal photography for Secret Wars. However, even as Marvel Studios prepares to end its current saga, work is already underway for the next, which will feature a heavy dose of mutants…and new rumor suggests that Brown may be in line for a key role as a member of the studio’s first team of X-Men.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel is considering casting Brown as one of the core members of the team, though stops short of naming the role.

    After several years with little to no movement, Marvel Studios X-Men reboot began to gather some momentum in the Fall of 2023 when Kevin Feige began meeting with writers to discuss pitches for the project. By April 2024, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes writer Michael Leslie had landed the gig and rumors quickly emerged that that the MCU’s first X-Men film would feature two fan-favorite characters as the leads: Kitty Pryde and Gambit.

    In May, Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier signed on to direct what he’s called a “complex” take on the X-Men. With the Russos rumored to be joining the Marvel Studios’ Parliament to help oversee the “Mutant Saga,” could Brown be in the mix for Kitty Pryde, a character Feige has long been rumored to want to have at the center of Marvel’s X-Men stories? She certainly carries a ton of cache with young audiences and, at 21, fits the bill for the studio’s “youth-focused reboot.” Casting on X-Men should get heated up after the New Year–it not even in the next few weeks–so this particular rumor may resolve itself one way or another relatively soon.

  • A New Rumor Suggests Wanda Maximoff Will Return for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’…But Elizabeth Olsen May Not

    A New Rumor Suggests Wanda Maximoff Will Return for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’…But Elizabeth Olsen May Not

    Despite a lengthy absence from the MCU, Elizabeth Olsen remains one of Marvel Studios’ highest-profile stars. Incredibly talented and beloved by a coven of stans rivaled only by Tom Hiddleston‘s crew, Olsen has made Wanda Maximoff one of the shared universe’s most complicated characters.

    I just wanted everything to feel like some version of an advancement, even if the advancement is someone feeling a different reaction to the pain and loss. We also haven’t seen her have a reaction to what happened in Westview. Even if we watched her go through trauma and loss, we haven’t seen her go through the loss of the children. I think, for any parent — I would assume, because I’m not one — the loss of the child would always be much harder than the loss of anyone else important in your life. I just wanted to make sure it was a constant evolution forward and not repetitive…How do we make this different but still part of the woman that we know?

    -Elizabeth Olsen

    Shaped by continued trauma, Wanda has gone from villain to hero to villain again but despite her apparent death in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there’s still plenty more runway for the character to return to the MCU. Kevin Feige has teased a future for Wanda and Olsen has remained open to returning to the role, though despite being at the center of multiple rumors, the actress has denied involvement in any upcoming projects, including Avengers: Doomsday, saying “nothing has been agreed on” in regards to her future in the MCU. However, a new rumor has kicked up some interesting ideas online, including the potential return of the character without Olsen in the role.

    Social media scooper James Mack passed along word from a source that a “good and heroic version of the Scarlet Witch” from Earth-10005 will appear in Avengers: Doomsday. Interestingly enough, despite having a description of the character’s costume, Mack mentions he is uncertain if Olsen will be playing this new variant.

    It’s an all together wild collection of tidbits but it can’t be completely ruled out as fabrication. While Olsen does not seem to have been on set during principal photography on Avengers: Doomsday, extensive additional photography is planned to get underway early next year. With rumors that the film’s script may not have been complete while filming was underway, it’s entirely possible that Olsen…or whoever else steps into the role…might not have had to have been on set yet.

    With the Young Avengers/Champions coming together and her two, reincarnated sons counted among their number, it’s hard to imagine the character and the star behind her will be left on the sidelines for long.