Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Squid Game’ Creator Discusses Concerns About the Upcoming Reality Series

    ‘Squid Game’ Creator Discusses Concerns About the Upcoming Reality Series

    When Netflix announced that a Squid Game reality competition spin-off was in the works, fans of the hit Korean survival drama were understandably surprised. The original series explored how capitalism and greed can destroy lives, and yet here the streamer was approving a real-life version, called Squid Game: The Challenge, in which 456 players will compete for a massive cash prize, seemingly missing the point of the show.

    Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk was given the opportunity to comment on the spin-off after winning the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the show. He was asked about Squid Game: The Challenge backstage in the press room, and he doesn’t appear too worried about the prospect. He explained:

    Yes, I am aware of the reality show being created. I actually met with the creator yesterday, and they had many questions for me. What I hope is that they will be carrying on my vision and intention as much as possible for the show.

    Hwong Dong-hyul

    While Hwang is upbeat about the spin-off, he understands why fans were concerned:

    I think that even though our show does carry quite a heavy message, and I know there are some concerns of taking that message and creating it into a reality show with a cash prize, however I feel like whenever you take things too seriously, that’s really not the best way to go for the entertainment industry. Doesn’t really set a great precedent. So I would say that reproductions of such efforts are going to bring new meaning to the industry, and I hope that this is going to be a great new direction for the industry overall.

    Hwong Dong-hyui

    Squid Game: The Challenge is a 10-episode series being filmed in the U.K. English-language speakers from around the world were invited to apply for their shot at winning $4.56 million.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Riverdale’ Actress Madelaine Petch To Lead ‘The Strangers’ Remake Trilogy From Lionsgate

    ‘Riverdale’ Actress Madelaine Petch To Lead ‘The Strangers’ Remake Trilogy From Lionsgate

    As reported by Deadline, Madelaine Petsch (Riverdale), Froy Gutierrez (Cruel Summer), and Gabriel Basso (Hillbilly Elegy) have been cast in the Lionsgate remake of The Strangers, which has begun production in Slovakia. Renny Harlin (Cliffhanger) is directing the first installment of a trilogy and has already signed on to direct the second and third installments.

    The original The Strangers was a home invasion film written and directed by Bryan Bertino in his feature debut, starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. It was a sleeper hit when it was released in May 2008 by Universal Pictures and became a cult classic in the years since, with the sequel The Strangers: Prey at Night being released in March 2018.

    Producer Courtney Soloman described why the remake was being tackled:

    When setting out to remake The Strangers, we felt there was a bigger story to be told, which could be as powerful, chilling, and terrifying as the original and could really expand that world. Shooting this story as a trilogy allows us to create a hyperreal and terrifying character study. We’re fortunate to be joining forces with Madelaine Petsch, an amazing talent whose character is the driving force of this story.

    Courtney Soloman

    The new Strangers movie will follow Petsch’s character as she drives across the country with her longtime boyfriend to start a new life in the Pacific Northwest. When their car breaks down in Venus, Oregon, they are forced to spend the night in a remote Airbnb, where they are terrorized by three masked strangers from dusk to dawn. Lionsgate intends to expand the story in novel and unexpected ways with its sequels.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ Alum Jeanine Mason Joins Season 3 of ‘Upload’

    ‘Roswell, New Mexico’ Alum Jeanine Mason Joins Season 3 of ‘Upload’

    Jeanine Mason looks to have found her next project. Variety reports that the Roswell, New Mexico alum has signed on to appear in Season 3 of Prime Video’s hit series, Upload. The outlet states Mason will play Karina Silva, a charming senior Horizen executive who is in charge of new product development and cybersecurity.

    The actress is coming off of Roswell, New Mexico, the second adaptation of the Roswell High books from author Melinda Metz, where she played Liz Ortecho. The series ran for four seasons on the CW, with the series ending its run earlier this month on the network. Prior to Roswell, the actress starred in ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy as Dr. Sam Bello, as well as the ABC Family series, Bunheads. She’ll join a cast led by Robbie Amell and Andy Allo.

    The second season of Upload finally premiered earlier this year, two years after the first season debuted. It was announced in May that Prime Video had given a third season pick-up to Amazon, and up until now, little to no news has been made available regarding the forthcoming season.

    The half-hour series hails from Greg Daniels, who has worked on titles such as Parks & Recreation, King of the Hill and The Office, to name a few.

    Source: Variety.

  • Mahershala Ali’s ‘Werewolf By Night’ Cameo Was Reportedly Cut

    Mahershala Ali’s ‘Werewolf By Night’ Cameo Was Reportedly Cut

    If you were one of the many fans confused at Mahershala Ali‘s random voice cameo at the end of Eternals then Werewolf By Night would have been the MCU project to make up for that confusion. A rumor from the Weekly Planet Podcast is claiming that Ali was originally supposed to make his live-action appearance in next month’s Werewolf By Night Halloween special but was cut due to scheduling problems. According to podcast host James Clement:

    Anyway, here’s a scoop, Mason… Blade, I can’t prove this, was originally set to debut in a Halloween special but was cut due to scheduling conflicts… Monster hunter, goes to a monster house. Makes sense, love that. It’s not happening, apparently.

    Announced 3 years ago in SDCC 2019, the Blade project has long been in the works. By the time the film releases next November, it’ll be 4 years since Ali was announced. With a project taking this long, it makes sense for Marvel Studios to introduce the character elsewhere while fans wait for the film. There’s no telling if there are other plans to have Blade appear in an upcoming film but fans are surely excited to see the character finally debut in the MCU.

    Source: Weekly Planet Podcast via MCU Direct

  • ‘Mud’ Star Jacob Lofland Latest to Join ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

    ‘Mud’ Star Jacob Lofland Latest to Join ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

    The cast for the sequel to 2019’s Joker continues to grow as the start of production draws nearer. Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener have already joined Joaquin Phoenix in the film and now young star Jacob Lofland has as well. According to a trade report, Lofland will play a role associated with Gotham’s Arkham Asylum.

    THR’s sources indicate that Lofland will play an inmate in the asylum where Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck was shown to be at the end of Joker. With Lady Gaga on board the project as Harley Quinn, it seems that Arkham will be the film’s primary setting.

    Todd Phillips is returning to direct after the first film generated significant buzz for WB, garnering 11 Academy Award nominations and 2 wins, including Best Actor for Phoenix. Joker: Folie à Deux is currently slated to hit theaters on October 4, 2024.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Squid Game’ Earns History-Making Emmy Wins

    ‘Squid Game’ Earns History-Making Emmy Wins

    Last night, the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards took place and the Netflix drama, Squid Game, managed to earn history-making wins. After making history for its nominations, Squid Game walked away with multiple wins last night. Leading man Lee Jung-jae won Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while series creator and director Hwang Dong-hyuk won for Best Directing for a Drama Series. Jung-jae’s win makes him the first Asian man to win the award, and the first to win it for a non-English show.

    The series first made history back in July when it became the first non-English language drama to secure an Emmy nomination in the main drama category. Outside of Jung-jae and Dong-hyuk’s nominations, the series also received 12 additional nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series.

    Squid Game took the world by storm when it debuted on Netflix last year. It quickly became one of the streaming service’s biggest titles ever, and fans have been eagerly awaiting a second season ever since. Thankfully, Dong-hyuk has confirmed Season 2 and Season 3 are in the works, although no specific timeline as to when they’ll be released has been unveiled. Along with a second season, Netflix is looking to expand the Squid Game franchise with the addition of a reality series inspired by the hit series.

  • ‘Stranger Things’ Director Hints at Cinematic Universe for Netflix Series

    ‘Stranger Things’ Director Hints at Cinematic Universe for Netflix Series

    Cinematic Universes are all the rage as many are still chasing after what Marvel Studios has seemingly accomplished. While that franchise still moving forward with more diverse projects that offer something new, many others still trying to get theirs going. Yet, there are some surprising new additions to the “cinematic universe” catch-up such as Netflix trying to build one based on the Power Rangers, which is fitting given the legacy series’ way of building multiple teams throughout the years. Yet, it seems they also have plans or one more franchise, Stranger Things.

    Stranger Things veteran Shawn Levy, who is currently also set to direct the third Deadpool movie, teased the future plans for the popular Netflix series and seemingly confirmed they are building a “STCU” and he’s currently taking a few cues from his work with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

    Yes, we are building out the STCU, and now that I’m spending time with [chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment] Kevin Feige, I’m learning a lot about how to manage a universe. So I’m taking those skills and applying them to the STCU.

    Shawn Levy

    Some might have concerns regarding a “Cinematic Universe” approach to the series but we’ve heard in the past that the Duffer Brothers are already working on spinoff projects. So, they may simply be looking into ways to use the Upside Down as a basis for various horror franchises. They also are likely simply using the name with the various future entries that simply take place in the same world as Stranger Things but

    Source: Variety

  • Don Cheadle May Have Hinted at Rhodey Being a Skrull in ‘Secret Invasion’

    Don Cheadle May Have Hinted at Rhodey Being a Skrull in ‘Secret Invasion’

    When Don Cheadle took the stage to talk about Secret Invasion at D23 Expo 2022, Kevin Feige mentioned that it wasn’t the series he was there to discuss. To that end, Cheadle and Feige gave an update on the Disney Plus streaming series Armor Wars, a project that fans have begun to wonder quite a bit about over the past few months.

    Feige and Cheadle assured fans that not only was the project still in the works but that it is on track to go into production next year and would connect directly to the events of Secret Invasion. With Secret Invasion set to explore an MCU where Skrulls have infiltrated every corner and with Rhodey set to play such a key role, one has to wonder if he’s been simmed himself, which would put one of the MCU’s most senior members in a very tough and surprising spot.

    In an interview with Phase Zero, Cheadle walked on eggshells while describing where Rhodey will be when Armor Wars kicks off, but left just enough room to make everyone unsure of his fate in Secret Invasion.

    At a very different place and in a way that is something I can’t really talk about but it’s going to be very surprising to a lot of people. And the great thing is that there’s going to be so much opportunity to learn about him and for him to learn about himself and for us, hopefully, to really be able to get behind what makes him tick.

    Don Cheadle

    With Secret Invasion being adapted to the MCU, it’s long been assumed that at least some of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes would be Skrulls in disguise. With a small number of Avengers set to turn up in the series, unlike the comic event which involved all of Marvel’s heavy hitters, Rhodey is as good a bet as any to be an alien infiltrator. How long could it have been? And would he even be aware of his status as a Skrull spy (in the comics, many of the Skrulls are so deeply embedded in their infiltration that they don’t even know they aren’t the people they are swimming)? We’ll find out soon as Secret Invasion should hit Disney Plus early in 2023.

    Source: Phase Zero

  • Brendan Fraser Calls Cancellation of ‘Batgirl’ “Disappointing”

    Brendan Fraser Calls Cancellation of ‘Batgirl’ “Disappointing”

    We’ve found ourselves smack in a Brendanaissance as Brendan Fraser makes his triumphant return to Hollywood. The actor has been making quite the comeback in the past few years like with DC’s Doom Patrol and has been receiving quite a bit of praise for his work in the upcoming Darren Aronofsky film The Whale. Fans were excited to see Fraser return to the DC Multiverse in an antagonist role for Batgirl, but sadly Warner Brothers Discovery decided to throw a wrench into the plans and cancel the film.

    In an interview with Variety, the actor shared his disappointment in an interview with Variety in regards to the decision, even going as far as to call out Warner Bros. Discovery’s CFO for downplaying the recent events.

    Well stop talking about it because Gunnar Wiedenfels does not want people thinking about this, thats what I read. Its disappointing, the fans really wanted to see this film made. I was there, Leslie Grace is a dynamo, like she’s like a power q-tip, she just goes for it, she looks great in the outfit, the movie itself was shot and conceived for a smaller screen and in this age that we’ve come out of now, between streaming service vs theatrical release, it wound up being the canary in the coal mine. So, what can we learn from this? Work with trusted filmmakers, like Darren [Aronofsky].

    Brendan Fraser

    Fraser was set to play Firefly, a violent arsonist who’d been let down by the system and turned to a life of crime in order to support his family, taking his fiery rage to the streets of Gotham City in order to make ends meet. We can only hope that one day the film somehow sees the light of day, but for now, fans will have to get their fill of Fraser in the DC Universe with Doom Patrol, with a new season coming soon.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Armor Wars’ Star Confirms Disney+ Series Plot

    ‘Armor Wars’ Star Confirms Disney+ Series Plot

    Marvel Studios has built up a reputation at this point for taking the iconic comics and giving them a unique spin. No matter where one lands if that works for them, it still gave them an opportunity to adapt iconic storylines to the recurrent timeline they’ve built over the years while also making it unique for new viewers. If Don Cheadle is anything to go by, they are going to keep this tradition with his upcoming Disney+ series Armor Wars.

    While he doesn’t give away any details, he does confirm that it’ll take inspiration from the original comic storyline in which Tony Stark’s technology lands in the wrong hands, and this time around forces his friend Rhodey to once again don his War Machine armor to ensure this doesn’t become a bigger issue. In an interview with ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis, he does highlight though that Marvel will still “tip it on its head.”

    As Marvel does, it’s also an opportunity to take the mythology and tip it on its head a little bit and come up with different ways to tell the story. So, it’s doing that and doing that in spades.

    Don Cheadle

    Armor Wars was announced quite a while ago but seemingly got pushed back for some time. Cheadle teases that Rhodey is going to be at a very different place that he can’t reveal but hints that it’s “going to be very surprising.” He has a role in Secret Invasions as revealed in the Disney+ series trailer and it’ll be interesting to see how it ties into the bigger mythology.

    Source: YouTube