Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Iman Vellani Shares How She Was Introduced to Ms. Marvel

    Iman Vellani Shares How She Was Introduced to Ms. Marvel

    Iman Vellani is living the dream. As a superfan of Marvel and the MCU, she now gets to play Kamala Khan, who is also a superfan of the heroes of her own world. She just happens to also gain out of this world abilities to become a superhero herself. On top of it all, she was a Pakistani-American who became an icon for many that wanted to see themselves in comics. That story isn’t too different for Vellani, as she shares in an interview with Variety.

    My first introduction to her was through “Ironheart”; she was on the cover of one of the comics and I was like “Who is this brown person?” I just went into a wormhole, falling in love with the character and the creators Sana Amanat and G. Willow Wilson. I watched their TED Talks and all their interviews and I was like “They have the dream job. I want to be them. They’re brown and they’re working at Marvel.”

    Iman Vellani

    It became a big inspiration for her, as it seemed like it would be possible for her to find a footing within the industry herself. They were an inspiration for Vellani just as much as the character in the comics.

    That was so incredibly eye-opening for me because I didn’t realize there was space for someone like me in the industry — and I know that sounds super cheesy or whatever, but it’s so true. Beyond representation on screen, seeing ethnic names in the credits matters so much. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in high school; I just wanted to try everything behind the camera, because I was really in love with the tech stuff, so seeing these people thriving working at Marvel was so inspiring.

    Iman Vellani

    Of course, there’s more to this story. Vellani shared how she connected with the character and how “very close to home” it was reading her stories, as she stands by her moral code as well as how her family and friends were important to her story.

    On top of that, Kamala was a Pakistani Muslim superhero fanatic; I was a Pakistani Muslim superhero fanatic. And [the story] wasn’t about her being Pakistani, or about being Muslim, it was about her being in love with superheroes and having this innate desire to want to help people and do the right thing because she has powers. She doesn’t know how to fight — she’s a 16-year-old kid — but she knows that she has to use them for good. She had such a strong moral code and I really admired how her family and friends were also part of her story and her friends. It felt very close to home. It felt like my life, like the comics were written about me, literally.

    Iman Vellani

    In a way, Vellani was the perfect choice to bring this character to life, as she connects with her in so many different ways. It’ll be exciting to see what she brings to the experience as the series has now started airing on Disney+ with more episodes on the way.

    Source: Variety

  • GEEKED WEEK: Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ Adds Anthony Hopkins

    GEEKED WEEK: Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon’ Adds Anthony Hopkins

    Zack Snyder has made himself a nice home over at Netflix. Not only was he able to create a new franchise based around zombies with Army of the Dead, but he’s also now taking a step beyond the stars. Geeked Week offered us a small tease of what’s to come, but that wasn’t all. Now, the all-star cast for Snyder‘s upcoming sci-fi epic, Rebel Moon, has once again added a new member to its cast. This time around, it looks like Anthony Hopkins will have a role in the film as revealed by the official Netflix Geeked account. the best part is they even announced who he will be playing.

    According to the official Twitter account, he will be playing a sentient robot named JC1435, who once protected the slain king. So, we sadly won’t see Hopkins on-screen but get to enjoy his voice coming out of the robot. It does look like we’ll have to wait a bit until we get a good look at how JC1435 looks like, but the first teases of Rebel Moon have been quite promising so far.

    Snyder has big plans for the new sci-fi series, as he aims to roll it out not only as a singular film but plans to build a franchise around it. Netflix’s new model has been quite strong in trying to bank on the success of these projects to establish franchises that aren’t dependent on a specific medium either. Even The Witcher got an anime spinoff and has a live-action one on the horizon. So, we’ll see just how big this franchise ends up.

    Source: Twitter

  • Amazon Pickups Season 2 of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Ahead of Season 1 Debut

    Amazon Pickups Season 2 of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Ahead of Season 1 Debut

    Ahead of its Season 1 premiere, Prime Video has given a second season order to The Summer I Turned Pretty. The series, which will debut later this month, is based on the Jenny Han novel of the same name. The book tells a multigenerational story about a love triangle between one girl and two brothers, as well as the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and their children.

    “When I decided to adapt ‘Summer’ for television, I knew we’d need more than one season to honor the story we are telling,” Han said in a statement to Variety. “To receive a second season pickup ahead of the premiere of Season One is beyond my wildest dreams. I am so grateful to Amazon Studios for this amazing vote of confidence in our show, and cannot wait to bring our incredible team back together to tell the next chapter in our story.”

    “As fans anticipate the beach fun and young romance in the upcoming first season, we’re excited to announce more summer to come with a second season of ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty,’” said Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios. “We look forward to our Prime Video customers returning to Cousins Beach with Jenny Han and her characters as they continue their coming-of-age journeys for another season.”

    The decision to renew The Summer I Turned Pretty shouldn’t be entirely surprising. After all, like Han’s hit To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which was adapted by Netflix, the Summer series consists of three books: The Summer I Turned Pretty, It’s Not Summer Without You, and We’ll Always Have Summer.

    Han served as the co-showrunner on the first season alongside Gabrielle Stanton. However, Stanton is expected to move into an executive producer role on Season 2, with Sarah Kucserka coming on board to serve as a co-showrunner with Han.

    The Summer I Turned Pretty will officially debut on June 17th. The series stars Lola Tung, Jackie Chung, Rachel Blanchard, Christopher Briney, Gavin Casalegno, Sean Kaufman, Alfredo Narciso, and Minnie Mills, with Colin Ferguson and Tom Everett Scott.

    Source: Variety

  • Iman Vellani on How Brie Larson Helped Prepare Her For Marvel Stardom

    Iman Vellani on How Brie Larson Helped Prepare Her For Marvel Stardom

    Marvel Studios’ latest superhero is Iman Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. Luckily for fans of her performance, the six-episode show won’t be the last time audiences see the teenage phenom from Jersey City. Vellani is set to reprise her role for the upcoming blockbuster film The Marvels alongside fellow returning heroes Brie Larson and Teyonah Parris. The project will act as a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel and will see Khan team up with Carol Danvers and Monica Rambeau to fend off a currently-unknown new threat.

    In the comics and the show, Danvers’ Captain Marvel acts as somewhat of a mentor and idol to Khan. Speaking to Variety in a recent profile piece, Vellani revealed that she and Larson had very much the same relationship after the former was cast in her current role. She elaborated on the time the two spent together on and off the set:

    She was the sweetest. I was really shy and I felt like everything I wanted to ask would have been stupid, but she didn’t make me feel like that. She has such a warm presence and made our Zoom call intimate, telling me all about her experience. She was like, “Seriously, if your mom needs to talk to my mom, we can make that happen. Anything you need.” Any time I had any issue on set, I would text her and she’d make herself so available to answer my questions, as silly or small as they were.

    Iman Vellani on Brie Larson

    Vellani continued to explain how the Short Term 12 star helped prepare her for a life after Marvel. Larson was famously targeted by review bombs and sexist remarks following her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, and the actress evidently felt it was important to make sure her young protégé had someone on her side should the heat of fame start taking it’s toll:

    She really wanted to be there for me, because even though she was already an established actor, being in Marvel changed her career forever. The sheer amount of attention you get being a Marvel actor is completely unmatched to anything else in this industry, and she wanted to prep me for that mentally and hold my hand throughout it.

    Iman Vellani

    Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney+.

    Source: Variety

  • Producer Hiram Garcia on How ‘Black Adam’ Connects to the Larger DCEU

    Producer Hiram Garcia on How ‘Black Adam’ Connects to the Larger DCEU

    Dwayne Johnson’s decade long investment into getting Black Adam on the big screen will finally pay off this fall when the character’s solo film debuts on October 21st. Initially set to be introduced in Shazam!, Johnson fought hard to make sure both heroes got their time to shine. As a result, the character’s first appearance in the DCEU comes when the idea of powered heroes is already well-established in-universe.

    With such things already established, the creative team behind Black Adam had their work cut out for them when deciding how to introduce someone like Teth-Adam whose powers, as seen in the trailer, are sure to catch the attention of Earth’s other heroes. In an interview with Screen Rant, producer Hiram Garcia discussed how the team approached it and built it into the fabric of the film.

    And for us, you’ll feel the effects in our world. We know that those guys exist. There’s even conversations where he’s told that there’s other heroes out there, but he’s very specific to the kind of hero he is. We like the idea of knowing that he has now been put into this world, and he’s kind of a disruption, because they’re not used to having a person that powerful be that much of a livewire. They can’t figure out how to control him.

    Hiram Garcia

    As the trailer indicates, some of the first heroes Adam will come into contact with are Doctor Fate, Hawkman, Atom Smasher and Cyclone, members of the JSA who are all pretty powerful in their own right. How those interactions with the Man in Black, who isn’t known for playing well with others, remains to be seen, but we know one thing: the hierarchy of power in the DCEU is about to change.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • ‘Black Adam’ Unaffected by DCEU Changes

    ‘Black Adam’ Unaffected by DCEU Changes

    It’s been a long road since Black Adam made its way to the silver screen but with a trailer finally confirming it’s just around the corner, we’re finally nearing the point of getting to see it ourselves. Of course, a lot has changed throughout the DC Extended Universe since the initial announcement yet it seems that has not affected the story that is being told by the film.

    Black Adam producer Hiram Garcia highlights how the upcoming film pretty much plays within its own little pocket of the DCEU. As such, it wasn’t affected by any major changes that were happening behind or in front of the scenes.

    Luckily, we didn’t [have to go back to the drawing board], because we’ve been functionally within our section. Basically, we knew the characters we had: we had Black Adam and JSA, and we were launching things attached to that. Our world has stayed very much intact, so even though there has been some changes, it hasn’t really affected us. That’s been a very fortunate thing. There’s been a lot going on, but we’ve been able to maintain our bubble and our lane. We continue to build it out.

    Hiram Garcia

    They lucked out that they have the opportunity to introduce the Justice Society of America and aren’t dependent on the Justice League, who were affected the most by the changes. We still don’t know if he’ll eventually team up or face other heroes from across the DC Universe, especially with his close ties to Shazam but they may be keeping that in their back pocket until the film releases. Shazam: Fury of the Gods is also set to release this year, which may have some tie-in with Black Adam, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to find out.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • Dwayne Johnson is 100% Committed to Building the DC Universe

    Dwayne Johnson is 100% Committed to Building the DC Universe

    Dwayne Johnson has been hyping up the arrival of Black Adam for years, and now it looks like he’s in it for the long run. After nearly a decade of development on Black Adam, whose live-action presence was first conceived as being the villain of Shazam! before shifting to a solo spin-off instead, Johnson is ready to make the character his own.

    The wrestler-turned-actor-turned-renaissance man revealed in a recent interview with Comic Book that he is “100% committed” to sticking around as the violent anti-hero for years to come. Not only that, but he’s willing to help build the entire DC Universe as well:

    I am 100% committed to not only Black Adam but then expanding the Black Adam universe, the DC universe. I am an optimist from the word, ‘Go.’ So, to me and to all of us up here, all universes exist in our heads. I will, we all will, work very hard to make sure we are honoring the mythology but also giving the fans what they want. I hear the fans, we all do, and I pick up everything they’re putting down. It doesn’t get by me, it doesn’t get by these guys [producer Hiram Garcia, producer Beau Flynn, director Jaume Collet-Serra]. This is the beginning, hopefully, fingers crossed, of a very long storytelling road that Black Adam is the anchoring jet fuel now that will then push and press this universe out.

    Dwayne Johnson

    The DC Extended Universe, or DCEU for short, has experienced some tumultuous growth in the past few years. Starting as a cinematic world crafted by Zack Snyder, several critical flops led to a tonal rebranding that featured more colorful and comedic projects like James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, and the aforementioned Shazam!.

    The past couple of weeks have seen more changes in leadership, so perhaps the company could use someone of Johnson‘s caliber to assist in setting things straight. Black Adam appears to have the makings of a bona fide hit, and time will tell if the film’s vision is worth expanding into other projects.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Eyeing $325M+ Opening Weekend Worldwide

    ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Eyeing $325M+ Opening Weekend Worldwide

    Top Gun Maverick and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness have reinvigorated the box office, as we are slowly nearing the usual developments from before the pandemic shook up the world. Now, a third film is eyeing a massive opening weekend as early projects have Jurassic World Dominion eyeing a domestic $125M+ opening weekend with a release within 4,600+ theaters. On top of that, it will add $120M+ worldwide. So far, it has already earned $55.7M in specific territories.

    Colin Trevorrow is taking over the third entry of the Jurassic World franchise after J.A. Bayona took over for the Fallen Kingdom. While the opening with $125M+ is strong, it’s only the third-best opening for the franchise as the first entry opened to $208.8M back in 2015 before its first sequel took in $148M three years later. The original Jurassic World dominated the box office back in the day and it was overtaken by Star Wars: Force Awakens half a year later.

    The big selling point for the new entry is naturally the return of legacy actors Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. While Goldblum was sold as returning in the last entry, he only had a brief role at the end of the film. This time around, all three will have bigger roles this time around. It was one of the few films that started production during the pandemic and had faced some delays due to positive COVID tests. It took them 100 days to finish production.

    Generally, it seems that Jurassic World: Dominion is facing similar developments as Top Gun Maverick, but it’ll be interesting to see if it can even compete with the legs that the jet-fueled blockbuster. Speaking of, that film might face its biggest decline with a predicted 50% to fall to $45M. Yet, its word-of-mouth has been powerful and with Dominion getting some mixed reviews, it may have a stronger hold once again. Luckily, the older target audience for the Tom Cruise film might not bite too much into each other’s box office but is also one of the core reasons for its longevity, as an inactive movie-going audience is making up for its absence for the last few years.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Black Adam’ Producer Teases “Real Violence” That is “Rough and Gruesome”

    ‘Black Adam’ Producer Teases “Real Violence” That is “Rough and Gruesome”

    There was some uncertainty about just how brutal the upcoming adaptation of Black Adam will be. Yet, the first trailer drop certainly confirmed that he’ll have a darker turn as he’s a hero that isn’t scared of killing off anyone who stands in his way. Dwayne Johnson is usually an actor that has stuck primarily to pushing the PG-13 rating but it looks like the upcoming film will remain for all four quadrants but will offer “real violence” according to its producer Beau Flynn.

    Just from the experience of all the Dwayne Johnson movies we’ve been privileged to be part of, we’re a four quadrant. I mean, we really like to service all demos, all ages, but we had to be authentic to Black Adam and we had to really push,” Flynn said. “The violence is real and it can be rough and gruesome in places, but I think the audience will be okay. I think the kids will be okay. There is a huge heart in this movie. And at the same time, you have to have fun. You have to have joy in these movies. And I think even when you see the trailer, you see, there’s like even the palette, the colors, the world, it’s not as dark as some other movies, but it still has some dark undertones. And I think that’s important. The tone I think is what I’m really most proud of with the film. That’s hard. Tone is hard.

    Beau Flynn

    So, if you were worried that it wouldn’t live up to the standards of Black Adam’s usual violence in the comics, you’ll be in for a treat. The first trailer did tease that some more fun shenanigans will also be at play but the one guy he punched into the ocean might not have survived that enforced travel. We’ll see if future trailers tease more of the action that is heading our way and if it truly can hold a candle to what they promise.

    Source: ComicBook

  • RUMOR: New Leak Hints at Hideo Kojima’s Next Game

    RUMOR: New Leak Hints at Hideo Kojima’s Next Game

    It looks like Hideo Kojima is returning to his horror roots. After his more experimental game, Death Stranding, a new article by Try Hard Guides seemingly hints at what may be the next entry of Kojima Production’s gaming slate. There have been rumors on what might be their next game, such as a potential revival of Silent Hills or even Norman Reedus confirming a sequel is being worked on for their first game. Yet, it seems an original project is on the way.

    Try Hard Guides claims that they have seen footage of a game starring Margaret Qualley, who played Mama in Death Stranding, wearing a blue dress and walking through dark corridors. It seems she is holding a flashlight and it ends with a “GAMEOVER” before the title is revealed, Overdose. Supposedly, they have been in talks with publishing their next game over on Xbox which hasn’t been verified yet and theories are that the next reveal will be during Summer Game Fest.

    The creator of the event, Geoff Keighley, is close friends with Kojima and even appeared in the last game. Many are expecting big announcements and it’s been three years since the release of Death Stranding. So, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they already are ready to announce their next project sometime soon. Without an E3 this year, SGF seems like the perfect time to tease what the future has in store for us.

    Source: Try Hard Guides