Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Duke Nukem’ Film in Active Development with Legendary Entertainment

    ‘Duke Nukem’ Film in Active Development with Legendary Entertainment

    News has officially broken on a creative team for an upcoming film based on the popular 1990s video game franchise Duke Nukem. Josh Heald, Jon Hurwitz, and Hayden Schlossberg, creators of the popular Karate Kid revival series Cobra Kai, are set to produce this film. Legendary Entertainment has picked up the film rights to the project from Gearbox.

    No writer or director is currently attached to this iteration of the project and an active search is currently underway. Though it might not be a surprise to see at least some creative involvement from the trio of producers based on their previous line of work. Whether that be the three of them creating Cobra Kai, Heald writing Hot Tub Time Machine, or Hurwitz and Schlossberg helming numerous projects in the Harold & Kumar franchise.

    The Duke Nukem video game franchise began in 1991 and has officially made over $1 billion throughout its various games. Duke Nukem follows the adventures of the titular hero in various pastiches of 1980s action movies with him serving as the stereotypical protagonist based on films of the era dealing with a mass alien invasion within Los Angeles. Their games were a major part in introducing the mainstream success of first-person video games within the industry.

    With the popularity of the video games and their basis within over-the-top action movies, Duke Nukem has been a long-sought-after film adaptation. However, it’s consistently been within “development hell” despite numerous attempts to green-light the project. Most recently, Gearbox had an adaptation in the works with Paramount Pictures that would have had John Cena in the lead role, but it ultimately fizzled out over time.

    It remains to be seen what direction will be taken with this film and if this trio of producers and Legendary Entertainment will finally be able to get this film off the ground and into production.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Paramount Sets Lindsey Beer to Write and Direct ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Reboot

    Paramount Sets Lindsey Beer to Write and Direct ‘Sleepy Hollow’ Reboot

    A staple film around the Halloween season is one of Tim Burton’s best, Sleepy Hollow. The story follows constable Ichabod Crane, as he travels to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of murders, each one found decapitated by an unknown assailint. The film was quite the hit, pulling in over $200 million at the box office back in 1999. The movie starred some of the biggest names at the time, including Johnny Depp alongside Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Christopher Lee, and Ian McDiarmind. Now it seems Paramount is ready to return to the little town and feel the wrath of the Headless Horseman once more.

    Deadline reports that Paramount is working on a reboot of the 1999 film with Lindsey Beer set to both write and direct the film. Details remain underwraps, with no other talent currently attached to the project. The film is set to be produced by Todd Garner and Spencer Walker for Broken Road Productions.

    Beer has made quite the name for herself as a writer in Hollywood these days, as shes has written multiple upcoming films such as Hello Kitty, Bambi, and even the upcoming Star Trek film for Paramount. She’s even working as the showrunner and creator for The Magic Order on Netflix, a series adapted from the comics of the same name by Mark Millar.

    Sleepy Hollow will be her second job as a director, having recently just wrapped on Paramounts Pet Sematary film, which is now in post-production and eyeing a release later this year.

    SOURCE: Deadline

  • Chris Evans Discusses the Challenges of a Potential Return as Captain America

    Chris Evans Discusses the Challenges of a Potential Return as Captain America

    While on the press tour for Pixar’s upcoming film Lightyear, star Chris Evans has discussed a wide variety of topics about the film and his career. Naturally, his time within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America would be a talking point. This is especially the case with rumors that have long been circulated that Evans has already signed on to return as Steve Rogers for at least one more future project, even after his send-off in Avengers: Endgame. However, in an interview with Phase Zero, Chris Evans has seemingly shot down those rumors as he discussed the potential personal risks of returning to the role.

    I don’t want to disappoint anybody, but I just don’t know…it’s tough, it was such a good run and I’m so happy with it and you know, it’s so precious to me. It would have to be perfect. It would just be scary to rattle something that is so dear to me. And that role means so much to me, so to revisit it would be a tall order.

    Chris Evans

    The concerns from Evans are certainly valid as Steve Rogers had one of the most successful runs as a character across the board as Captain America throughout his near decade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. To make a return would run the risk of at least slightly spoiling his immaculate seven film run. Though if there is any film studio that could best handle the gravitas of Captain America, it would be Marvel Studios. They’ve successfully shown this the skill to handle irreverent returning characters from other cinematic franchises within the past year between Patrick Stewart returning as a variant of his ever-popular portrayal as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprising their respective versions of Spider-Man to mass creative, critical, and commercial success in Spider-Man: No Way Home. If Marvel Studios has been able to find this success with legacy franchises, one could certainly think it’ll land with returning legends from the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself.

    Ultimately, time will tell on if Chris Evans will indeed return as Captain America and the full story on when it may have been agreed upon.

    Source: Phase Zero

  • Netflix’s ’The Old Guard 2’ Adds Uma Thurman and Henry Golding

    Netflix’s ’The Old Guard 2’ Adds Uma Thurman and Henry Golding

    Uma Thurman and Henry Golding are joining the cast of The Old Guard 2.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Thurman and Golding will join returning cast members Charlize Theron, KiKiLayne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The Old Guard 2 is based on the comic book series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, which tells the story of a group of immoral warriors led by Andy (Theron) who meet a new one of their kind, Nile (Layne), as they soon find themselves suffering from repercussions from their centuries-old way of life in the modern age.

    Rucka penned the script for The Old Guard 2, which will be focusing on the second arc of the comic books. Directing this installment will be Victoria Mahoney who made headlines as the first second unit director on a Star Wars film with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. She takes over for Gina Prince-Bythewood, who had to exit the sequel due to other commitments.

    The Old Guard first hit Netflix on July 10th, 2020. Since its initial release, the film has remained one of the most-watched original films on the streaming service with 186 million hours watched within its first 28 days of release.

    Thurman, who is best known for the Kill Bill films, is coming off the recently released Disney+ movie Hollywood Stargirl. While Crazy Rich Asians breakout, Golding, most recently toplined Snake Eyes and wrapped filming on Assassin Club, while also recently lending his voice to Star Wars: Visions.

    As of this writing, there is no release date set for The Old Guard 2 on Netflix.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Opens Big at the Box Office Despite Being Hit Hard by Critics

    ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’ Opens Big at the Box Office Despite Being Hit Hard by Critics

    The latest Jurassic World film pulled in $18 million in Thursday previews. Dominion is expected to rake in a fair amount of money this weekend with a projected $125 million, however, Top Gun: Maverick’s continued box office dominance could dampen Dominion’s haul. Especially as Dominion has mixed reviews heading into its opening weekend stateside. With a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, that’s well below both Jurassic World (71%) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (47%).

    The Jurassic World films, which are a continuation of the beloved Jurassic Park franchise, have proven to be box office juggernauts in recent years. The first Jurassic World movie opened to a stunning $208 million back in 2015, eventually going on to earn $1.6 billion globally. The sequel, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, opened three years later to $150 million and ended its theatrical run with $1.3 worldwide. It remains to be seen how Dominion will perform, however, with original Jurassic Park stars Sam Neill, Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern all returning, it’s possible nostalgia could serve as a selling point for the film.

    While the film is only now just releasing stateside, it has been released in a few overseas markets already. The film has made $55 million internationally so far across 15 markets. That’s without the film opening in China; that will finally happen this weekend, where it is thought it’ll open to approximately $15 million. If that number holds, it’ll serve as the biggest Hollywood opening in China this year ahead of The Batman’s $12.1 million opening earlier this year.

    Source: Variety

  • Amazon Renews ‘The Boys’ For Season 4

    Amazon Renews ‘The Boys’ For Season 4

    A week after Season 3 debuted, Prime Video has renewed The Boys for Season 4. The Emmy-nominated series based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson has been a huge hit for the streaming service. Vernon Sanders, who serves as the head of global television for Amazon Studios, expressed excitement over the return of the hit series. “From our first conversation with Eric Kripke and the creative team about Season Three of The Boys, we knew the show was continuing to get even bolder—an impressive feat considering the wild success of the Emmy-nominated second season.”

    Sanders continued, “The Boys continues to push boundaries in storytelling while also being relentlessly entertaining and threading the needle on social satire that feels all too real. This stylized world of the series has incredible global reach and the viewership for opening weekend is proof of that. We are immensely proud of the cast and crew that has spawned a franchise for Prime Video, and we look forward to bringing more of The Boys to our customers.”

    While Prime Video, much like some of the other streamers, does not release official ratings, the streaming service did note that Season 3’s debut saw the worldwide viewership for the series grow by 17% from Season 2 and an astounding 234% from Season 1.

    The streaming service is putting a lot of faith into The Boys, having already commissioned the animated series Diabolical and the still untitled college spinoff series. While no news has been announced regarding a potential second season of Diabolical, Sanders didn’t shut it down. “We thought there was a two-fold opportunity with Diabolical. One was to get The Boys fans excited about and get it out early. But we also wanted to see if there was another bite of the apple once the mothership show returned, and we are seeing real engagement and growth of the show there. We’ve definitely had conversations with the producers about what the next installment would look like.”

    As for the untitled college spinoff, Sanders couldn’t say too much. Since it was announced, the spinoff series has seen plenty of changes from both behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera – from new showrunners to big casting changes. Sanders did call it “different” from The Boys, but with the spirit of the hit series. Production on the untitled college spinoff is currently underway for a projected 2023 release.

    The fourth episode of The Boys Season 3 is now live on Prime Video.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    HBO Max’s Dead Boy Detectives is adding a new co-showrunner to the mix.

    On Thursday, Variety announced that Beth Schwartz has joined the HBO Max series as co-showrunner. She will co-showrun alongside Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant). She will also executive produce the title for the streaming service. This marks a return to DC for Schwartz as she previously served as the showrunner for the final two seasons of The CW’s Arrow. Along with working on Arrow, Schwartz helped to develop Sweet Tooth for Netflix. She served as the co-showrunner for that show’s first season. Jim Mickle will serve as the sole showrunner for Season 2 of Sweet Tooth.

    Dead Boy Detectives was ordered to series back in April. The series is based on DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The Dead Boy Detectives, Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, first made their live-action debut in the critically acclaimed Doom Patrol series. George Rexstrew has been cast as Edwin Payne, while Jayden Revri has been cast as Charles Rowland. Other members of the cast include Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace, Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse, Yuyu Kitamura as Niko and Jenn Lyon as Esther.

    The pilot episode was penned by Yockey and directed by Lee Toland Krieger (Shadow and Bone). Schwartz will executive produce the series alongside Yockey, Jeremy Carver, and Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions.

    Source: Variety.

  • The Morning After Huddle: June 10, 2022

    The Morning After Huddle: June 10, 2022

    Tag team back again! Check it to wreck it, let’s begin! Welcome to another edition of The Morning After Huddle! Shout out to my partner-in-print, Dalbin, for covering the Huddle yesterday. It seems this offseason has a recurring theme of NFL players giving back and Darius Leonard has joined the charge.

    Here’s what you need to know:

    • I’m totally biased, but as if Darius Leonard couldn’t be any better of a player, he is donating $15,000 to the victims of Uvalde. His Maniac Foundation is covering the cost of custom caskets for several children. Leonard told reporters, “Once I heard the terrible news about the Uvalde school shooting, I knew that I wanted to do something to help those suffering.”
    • Hopefully, Jason Garett is better off the field than he was on (maybe he should call up Tony Romo for advice) because Garrett will reportedly join Maria Taylor and Tony Dungy on Football Night in America. It’s still currently unknown if Garrett will still replace Drew Brees as an analyst on Notre Dame games.
    • Finally, (I know you have been waiting with bated breath) your Key Signings Roundup: My Indianapolis Colts signed defensive tackle Caeveon Patton. Patton participated in the Colts’ 2021 veteran mini-camp and rookie mini-camp on a tryout basis. 

    That’s it for today’s Huddle. Catch us on the flip side tomorrow morning, with your coffee, for your Saturday edition of more news you want to know.

    ICYMI: Thursday – June 9, 2022 Edition

  • HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Adds Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson 

    HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Adds Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson 

    HBO’s The Last of Us is doubling up on familiar faces. It was revealed during a panel at Summer Game Fest that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson will both have major roles in the upcoming television adaptation of Naughty Dog’s iconic franchise. The pair originated the protagonist roles of Joel and Ellie in 2013’s hit PlayStation exclusive, and both returned in 2020 for the acclaimed sequel The Last of Us Part II. It’s been known for some time that The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal and Game of Thrones breakout Bella Ramsey will take over as the leads for the live-action show, and it was confirmed during the panel that Baker and Johnson will indeed be playing different characters than they do in the game series. They join Merle Dandridge in the exclusive club of performers both in the original project and it’s adaptation.

    Also revealed at the panel is the increased role of franchise creator Neil Druckmann in HBO’s creative process. After directing both video game installments, Druckmann will helm an episode of the series on top of writing and executive producing. It was promised that with Druckmann’s help, the show would ensure a faithful retelling of the story and it’s intricately detailed world. This information is in direct contrast to earlier claims from Druckmann that the HBO series would differ from the original game in significant ways. However, it’s always possible both statements are true in their own right, with changes being made while the overall story stays true to it’s initial design. Either way, the fact Baker and Johnson want to be involved is probably a good sign.

    Source: Naughty Dog

  • Jake Schreier to Direct Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’, Shoots Next Summer

    Jake Schreier to Direct Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’, Shoots Next Summer

    It has long been rumored that Marvel Studios was looking to make a Thunderbolts movie, and now, it appears the movie has taken one step closer to becoming a reality. Per Deadline, Marvel Studios has hired Jake Schreier to direct the film. He’ll direct from a script by Black Widow writer Eric Pearson. The trade report confirms an earlier report from KC Walsh that Thunderbolts was in development.

    Schreier is mainly known for his music video work, having directed videos for the likes of Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar. Outside of music videos, he has work on television shows such as Kidding and Netflix’s Beef, which will star Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.

    According to the trade report, the studio is eyeing a summer 2023 start of production and starting to line up its roster for the film. In the comics, the Thunderbolts have seen a shifting roster that has seen villains posing as heroes, villains forced to work for the government and, more recently a group of heroes adopting the name. The original team debuted during the mid-90s when Baron Zemo and a group of villains disguised themselves as heroes when many of Earth’s mightiest were “killed” by Onslaught. Zemo would seemingly be very much in play for the MCU team, which could already under construction with Julia Louis-Dreyfuss’ Val as the mastermind. She already has Yelena Belova and John Walker under her thumb and will be looking to add another member to her team in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

    With a Summer 2023 start of filming, it’s likely that Thunderbolts could end up as part of Marvel Studios 2024 slate. The studio has unannounced films scheduled for February 16th, May 3rd, July 26th and November 8th of that year.