Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Bassam Tariq Exits ‘Blade’

    Bassam Tariq Exits ‘Blade’

    Blade has hit yet another setback.

    The Hollywood Reporter has announced that director Bassam Tariq has left the project. Marvel Studios confirmed the news, revealing that the director will remain an executive producer on the project. While Tariq’s exit is unfortunate, it does seem to be genuinely due to the film’s repeated delays, as the director also released his own statement on the matter.

    “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film. We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.”

    Marvel Studios

    “Its been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.”

    Tariq 

    Marvel Studios is already on the hunt for a new director. It’s likely we’ll hear news on that front in the coming weeks, although no names have been mentioned as being in contention just yet. THR was also able to confirm our report that Beau DeMayo was, in fact, brought on to rework the script.

    Blade is set to star Mahershala Ali in the title role, with the cast also including Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre. Also part of the cast is Milan Ray. The first draft of the screenplay was penned by Watchmen’s Stacy Osei-Kuffour. The film was set to hit theaters on Nov. 3rd, 2023.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Star Trek 4’ Taken Off Paramount’s Release Schedule

    ‘Star Trek 4’ Taken Off Paramount’s Release Schedule

    Star Trek 4 won’t be boldly going anywhere anytime soon. The sequel has officially been removed from Paramount’s upcoming film slate. The film, which was being produced through J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot banner, was originally set to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023.

    Unfortunately, the news shouldn’t be too surprising. Star Trek 4 faced yet another setback when director Matt Shakman exited the project after signing on to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. Prior to Shakman’s hiring, Paramount had brought on Jessica Jones director S.J. Clarkson to helm the film, but she ended up leaving the project and eventually signed on to direct Madame Web for Sony. While Noah Hawley (Fargo) and Quentin Tarantino were being eyed to direct other Star Trek films that ultimately never came to fruition.

    The fourth film was set to see the return of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Filming was set to begin by the end of this year. With no director attached, however, there was no chance of the project meeting its planned 2023 release date.

    Updating…

    Source: Variety.

  • BREAKING: Hugh Jackman Returns as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3’, Gets September 2024 Release

    BREAKING: Hugh Jackman Returns as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3’, Gets September 2024 Release

    No, you read that correctly but it looks like Hugh Jackman isn’t quite done yet with his role as Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds shared a new video on his official Twitter account and suddenly dropped the news that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in the upcoming third Deadpool movie. Not only that but he also revealed that the film will premiere on September 6th, 2025.

    There’s a fun reference in regard to the film not being featured during D23 but this random drop is right up Reynold‘s usual marketing scheme for the character. Instead of being a part of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are still going to explore Deadpool as part of the original 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men. Perhaps this is meant to not only send off the character into the multiverse but also as a way to wrap up the trilogy, which has repeatedly mocked their relationship.

    We also got a new logo fitting for Wolverine’s return and includes the Marvel Studios logo.

    This is technically the first non-mainline MCU project to release throughout the Multiverse Saga and it seems fitting that they’d make use of some familiar elements. If they are still waiting for an opportunity to fully use some elements from the original before they start building their own. Who knows if this also opens up the possibility of Hugh Jackman reeturning in Avengers: Secret Wars. After him seemingly leaving the role behind, it’s crazy to think Wolverine is back in style and perhaps he hopefully gets to finally wear the iconic suit this time around.

    Source: Twitter

  • Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer Series Takes ‘Cobra Kai’s Top Spot with 196M Hours Viewed

    Netflix’s Jeffrey Dahmer Series Takes ‘Cobra Kai’s Top Spot with 196M Hours Viewed

    There’s been quite a few controversies surrounding Ryan Murphy‘s adaptaiton of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Yet, it seemingly didn’t stop the series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story from reaching a rather impressive top spot with 196.2M hours of viewing after its September 21st premiere on Netflix. The series even managed to push Cobrai Kai‘s latest season off of the top spot and dominated the week.

    It actually ended up in the third spot as the September 16th premiere series Fate: The Winx Club took the second spot with 61M hours viewed in its first week. Still, the Karate Kid spinoff series managed to pull in 38.1MM hours viewed, which is still a substantial drop. The Crown still remained in the Top 10 listing and has been gaining quite a momentum since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. It seems that the next season’s promotion was perfectly timed.

    Dahmer‘s growth in popularity has been a curious one even if crime dramas are always big pulls for any broadcaster or streamer. Still, some that had this lived experience actually shared their voices on the Netflix show recreating these moments. Also highlighting the fact that they weren’t involved and are living through some hardships with these dramatic depictions of lived experiences from the 1992 sentencing of Jeffrey Dahmer.

    Source: Variety, Insider

  • ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Netflix Series Rounds Out Ensemble Cast

    ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Netflix Series Rounds Out Ensemble Cast

    As Netflix continues its search for its next breakout hit to follow up the successes of Stranger Things and Squid Game, one project anticipated to do the trick is the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. With principal photography having wrapped for the series in early June, the waiting game for new information is well underway. Now, fans of the hit Nickelodeon series have been treated to a large swath of new castings for the Netflix adaptation. Below are the 20 casting additions officially announced.

    • Amber Midthunder as Princess Yue
    • A Martinez as Pakku
    • Irene Bedard as Yagoda
    • Joel Oulette as Hahn
    • Nathaniel Arcand as Chief Arnook
    • Meegwun Fairbrother as Avatar Kuruk
    • Arden Cho as June
    • Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi
    • Daniel Pudi as The Mechanist
    • Lucian-River Chauhan as Teo
    • James Sie as The Cabbage Merchant
    • Momona Tamada as Ty Lee
    • Thalia Tran as Mai
    • Ruy Iskandar as Lieutenant Jee
    • Hiro Kanagawa as Fire Lord Sozin
    • C.S. Lee as Avatar Roku
    • François Chau as the Great Sage
    • Ryan Mah as Lieutenant Dang
    • George Takei as Koh
    • Randall Duk Kim as Wan Shi Tong

    For fans of The Last Airbender, these are certainly some exciting revelations as many of these are quite memorable characters to the lore of the franchise. Some specific castings of note include James Sie reprising his role as the unfortunate Cabbage Merchant, a character deeply ensconced in the online zeitgeist of the cartoon. Also of note, the casting of Ghosts’ Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi may surprise some due to him being significantly younger than the character’s previous depiction, though it makes sense with the high physicality of the role. What might be most interesting, though, is the apparent inclusion of Mai and Ty Lee in the first season despite originating in season two of the animated series. With that in mind, it seems likely that Princess Azula and her team will have more of a built-up presence early on in this incarnation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

    It’s not currently announced as to when the series will release on Netflix. Though with production having wrapped earlier this year, a 2023 release feels quite logical.

    Source: Variety

  • Netflix Not Moving Forward with ‘Grendel,’ Show Being Shopped

    Netflix Not Moving Forward with ‘Grendel,’ Show Being Shopped

    A little over a year ago, it was announced that Netflix had given a series order to Grendel with Katy Keene‘s Abubakr Ali set to take on the titular role. The show’s first season would have consisted of 8-episodes and hailed from Resident Evil and Supernatural‘s Andrew Dabb, who was to serve as the showrunner. Unfortunately, Deadline has confirmed that Grendel is no longer happening.

    Per Deadline, despite being given a series order, Netflix is not moving forward with the project, although a specific reason for the cancellation has not been revealed. The outlet only notes that the decision was made in the midst of production, so there’s only a “partial eight-episode season filmed.” With Netflix passing on the project, the series is set to be shopped to other networks and streaming services.

    Along with Ali, Grendel was set to star Jaime Ray Newman, Julian Black Antelope, Madeline Zima, Kevin Corrigan, Emma Ho, Erik Palladino, Brittany Allen and Andy Mientus. The series would have centered on Hunter Rose (Ali) as he seeks vengeance in New York’s criminal underworld. Ali would have been the first Arab Muslim male actor to portray a series lead in a comic book adaptation with Grendel.

    Source: Deadline.

  • How ‘Werewolf By Night’ Slighted VFX in Favor of Practical Effects

    How ‘Werewolf By Night’ Slighted VFX in Favor of Practical Effects

    Marvel Studios’ first Special Presentation, Werewolf By Night, has been widely discussed as a love letter to monsters that was inspired and pays homage to the Classic Universal Monster movies of the early 20th Century. Among the first rumors about the project were that star Gael García Bernal’s lycanthrope appearance would be entirely practical in order to cement that “classic” aesthetic. In a recent interview with Phase Zero, director Michael Giacchino confirmed the rumors and detailed the work-intensive process.

    The trailer for Werewolf By Night gave fans ample opportunity to check out the look, including a portion of it where Bernal’s Jack Russell changes into the werewolf, a shot that Giacchino said took months to plan and execute.

    Now the other thing about that shot is it was all done in-camera. That’s not a visual effect, that shot. That was all done in-camera and that took months to design and figure out how we were going to do it, but Joe Farrell, our visual effects supervisor, was incredible in helping put that together. But that is almost exactly as I storyboarded that moment, exactly that… so wherever we could do practical, in-camera effects, we did it, and I would say there [are] a ton of them in there, you just would never even know.

    Michael Giacchino

    The use of practical effects absolutely paid off in setting Werewolf By Night apart from other Marvel Studios projects which rely heavily, if not entirely, on VFX. Those effects, in addition to the project being screened in black and white and the campy nature of the writing, have been among aspects of the project listed in what amounts to effusive praise for the project ahead of its October 7th release on Disney Plus. With Giacchino teasing more monsters in the future, perhaps what is old is new again and fans should prepare for a second age of practical effects!

    Source: Phase Zero

  • Kevin Feige Teases the Scarlet Witch’s MCU Future

    Kevin Feige Teases the Scarlet Witch’s MCU Future

    Elizabeth Olsen has become a driving force behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her character’s journey from orphan to one of the most powerful characters in the Multiverse has been one of the MCU’s most impressive, long-term character arcs and Olsen’s work in WandaVision stands among the best performances given in the 14-year history of the franchise. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw Wanda turn heel, fully embrace the Scarlet Witch and eviscerate some of the Multiverse’s mightiest heroes before realizing the enormity of what she’d done and bringing Mt. Wundagore down around her.

    Since Multiverse of Madness premiered early in 2022, rumors have begin to swirl that despite her apparent demise, Marvel Studios had future plans for Wanda in not one, but two projects. A solo Scarlet Witch project and an adaptation of Avengers: The Children’s Crusade have both been the source of fairly legitimate rumblings, though Marvel Studios has had nothing to say on the subject…until now. In a recent interview with Variety, both Kevin Fiege and Olsen gave some insight into what the future might hold for the character.

    As fans of the MCU might come to expect, Olsen is hesitant to reveal even the slightest bit of information about whether or not there even is a future for the character, saying “I really don’t know my future. There’s nothing that has been agreed on.” Fortunately, and perhaps a bit uncharacteristically, Feige was a touch more loquacious.

    There really is so much more to explore. We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash. I don’t know what that means.

    Kevin Feige

    Essentially, Feige is subscribing to the narrative that many fans have been quick to point out: though the circumstances seemed dire for Wanda as Wundagore came crumbling down, there’s no reason to surmise that one as powerful as the Scarlet Witch couldn’t have survived. More than that, Feige’s praise of Olsen is effusive, calling her “incredibly humble and incredibly down-to-earth” behind the scenes while also stating that she is “a force of nature” when “those cameras roll.” To cap it off, Feige enthused that he’d “work with Lizzie for another 100 years” before teasing “anything’s possible in the multiverse!” Certainly not the type of “I-said-a-lot-without-saying-anything” answers Feige tends to give nor a nail in the coffin of the character.

    Even after being told of Feige’s comments, Olsen remained mum on the topic of her return. But with her sons rumored to appear in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, two rumored projects that would feature her and Avengers: Secret Wars ahead, it’s hard to imagine that Marvel Studios would leave the Scarlet Witch buried in the rubble.

    Source: Variety

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Blade’ Recruits ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Scribe Beau DeMayo

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Blade’ Recruits ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Scribe Beau DeMayo

    Beau DeMayo is becoming a go-to-guy for Marvel Studios. Part of the writer’s room for Moon Knight and the head writer and executive producer of X-Men ’97, the revival of the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series, it looks like DeMayo may have joined the crew of one of Marvel Studios’ most anticipated feature films, Blade.

    While Disney has not commented officially on it, DeMayo has taken up temporary residence in Atlanta where Blade is in pre-production. In a recent Instagram post first pointed out by a Murphy’s Multiverse Discord patron, DeMayo showed off the Atlanta skyline from what he called his “new office.” While there are other Marvel projects underway, as a writer DeMayo would almost certainly not be joining one that was already deep into production. After running through the possible scenarios, Blade becomes the only logical choice. The start of principal filming has been delayed several times, recently pushed from an October kickoff to November, potentially allowing DeMayo a pass at the script.

    Stacy Osei-Kuffour was brought on as the film’s writer in February of 2021 and the studio had originally intended to begin production in late Summer of 2022 ahead of the project’s November 3, 2023 release date. Looking back at the bread crumbs, it’s likely that DeMayo has been attached to the project for a month or two now to polish up an already finished script by Osei-Kuffor rather than completely rewrite the story. Having multiple writers take a pass at movie scripts has become a fairly common practice at Marvel Studios, using the opportunity to take advantage of the strengths of different writers. Having DeMayo in Atlanta as pre-production gets underway is entirely in line with Marvel Studios’ past precedent and gives the new writer time to work intensely and closely with the film’s cast and crew to ensure the script is tight before filming begins. At this point, there’s no expectation of the film’s release date being delayed, keeping it on track for a late-2023 release.

  • REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Runtime Makes It the MCU’s Second Longest Film

    REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Runtime Makes It the MCU’s Second Longest Film

    The final film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may be one of Marvel Studios’ longest features to date. According to new listings on the Cineplex and Regal websites, the Ryan Coogler-directed sequel will be 161 minutes (two hours and 41 minutes) long. If true, that runtime makes it the longest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Avengers: Endgame, which ran over three hours.

    While still unconfirmed, a longer runtime could suggest that Wakanda Forever is taking its time to explore a larger story amidst the heavy nature of the film stemming from the passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. According to the film’s synopsis, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje fight to protect Wakanda from intervening world powers as the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, along with War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). Tenoch Huerta will be making his appearance in the MCU as Namor, and the sequel also features Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, ahead of the Ironheart Disney+ series.

    While runtimes ultimately say quite little about the contents of a film, fans love to speculate. Before they were released, Eternals was deemed too long and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was deemed too short by those on social media. If Wakanda Forever does end up being the longest non-Avengers film in the MCU, it could be the result of a packed storyline, a slower-paced narrative, or both. In any event, the filmmakers likely took their time crafting the emotional follow-up to the iconic Black Panther.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022.

    Source: Cineplex and Regal