Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is Disney+’s Most-Watched Premiere

    ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ is Disney+’s Most-Watched Premiere

    It looks like Obi-Wan Kenobi has taken a new record for Disney+, as the official Star Wars account has announced that the newest series has become the most-watched Disney+ Original series premiere globally. They are going by the number of hours that were streamed throughout its opening weekend. That is no small feat if you consider that the event also included the Star Wars Celebration event, where many fans got the chance to watch the episodes early.

    We not only got one but two episodes for its premiere on a Friday. As the buzz was going great for the celebrations and the renewed love for the Prequel trilogy, it seemed like the perfect series to grab people’s attention. The return of Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen is definitely something many don’t want to miss out on. Sadly, they didn’t release any numbers or offered insight into how it compared to the other premiers.

    https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1531670686900490240

    It’s a great sign for Disney+ that their strategy has been working so far, but it would be great to get some insight into how these series are performing overall. We know very little about what Disney values and tries to achieve with these series, as it seems their baseline viewership calculation is through hours streamed. Yet, we don’t know who was the actual titleholder previously with reports hinting at either Loki or The Mandalorian. We can sadly only speculate and remain dependent on third parties to offer an insight into how these projects are developing.

    Source: Twitter

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Hollywood Stargirl’s Tyrel Jackson Williams Originally Auditioned for 2020’s ‘Stargirl’ Years Ago

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Hollywood Stargirl’s Tyrel Jackson Williams Originally Auditioned for 2020’s ‘Stargirl’ Years Ago

    Hollywood Stargirl is only a few days before it releases on Disney+, as it continues the story of Stargirl Caraway (Grace VanderWaal) after her time in Mica, Arizona. Now, she finds herself in Hollywood, as the title implies, and may find her love for music may open up new avenues moving forward. She’ll meet the ambitious brothers Evan (Elijah Richardson) and Terrell (Tyrel Jackson Wiliams), who’ll play an important part in the latest chapter of her story.

    As both are newcomers to the film franchise, I got a chance to sit down to chat and it turns out that it wasn’t the first time that Tyrel Jackson Williams auditioned to be part of the Stargirl franchise. He revealed that he had “auditioned for the original a bunch of times” five years ago.

    It was really interesting, I had seen the original. I’d have actually auditioned for the original a bunch of times, years ago, maybe like 5 years ago. And when the audition for this came around, I was like, I got déjá-vu a little bit: “I think…didn’t I already?”

    Tyrel Jackson Wiliams

    While it didn’t work out back then, he was happy to join the cast with the sequel, especially as it took a new direction giving Grace VanderWaal‘s Stargirl the actual leading role.

    But it was really great to jump in now and the world had already been built out and to see they wanted to see it take into a newer direction and give Stargirl more agency and more responsibility. I am happy to be able to be a part of this new direction.

    Tyrel Jackson Williams

    It’s definitely always surprising to find out that actors tried to join franchises at an earlier point but would eventually find their way to join after all. So, it seems like Williams went through quite the journey to eventually end up being part of Stargirl after all. Hollywood Stargirl is going to release on June 3rd.

  • ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Ends Memorial Day Weekend With Massive $160.5M

    ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Ends Memorial Day Weekend With Massive $160.5M

    It looks like Top Gun Maverick managed to pull up even more momentum than predictions set and has officially passed the $160M mark over the four-day Memorial Day weekend. The key audience of 35+ moviegoers has returned to push this film and it seems it was exactly what they were waiting for to see with the pandemic keeping them from visiting theaters.

    Originally the film’s lowest openings were at the conservative $95M and it’s the second film after the pandemic to start to truly beat expectations, as did Spider-Man: No Way Home last December. Paramount’s domestic distribution president Chris Aronson had the following to say about its success:

    I think it opens the door to what is possible.

    Chris Aronson

    IMAX president Megan Colligan also highlighted that this may be just the start with other strong contenders hitting theaters soon, which include Jurassic World: Dominion, Elvis, Lightyear, Minions: Rise of Gru, and Thor: Love and Thunder.

    A whole segment of moviegoers have just come out for first time. Top Gun is an exceptional movie, and there is a really excellent lineup of movies coming down the pike. You really need that one-two-punch.

    Top Gun had a 55% purchase by 35 years and older viewers with 18% even being older than 55 years. In comparison, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ ticket buyers were predominantly younger with 66% below the age of 34 years. Yet, 21% of younger audiences also came to check out the new Top Gun film, highlighting the interest of cross-generations, most likely a family bonding event for parents sharing their nostalgia with their children.

    It further highlights the potential of older skewed films drawing in an audience once again, but there’s a chance that it may also be a film that happened to release at the perfect time. As people have reached a boiling point with the pandemic and may be looking for that feeling that this film provides. The potential is that this film leads to a future with a stronger balance and diversity in cinema, which helps further develop all genres and entries.

    Source: THR

  • ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

    ‘West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler Joins ‘The Hunger Games’ Prequel

    It looks like the rumors surrounding Rachel Zegler‘s next major production were real as Variety has just broken the news that she will be joining the upcoming The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The actress recently teased that she may have a role with a tweet last Monday night where the first letters spell out the main character’s name, Lucy Gray Baird.

    https://twitter.com/rachelzegler?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1531244647510683649%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fvariety.com%2F2022%2Ffilm%2Fnews%2Frachel-zegler-hunger-games-prequel-lucy-gray-baird-1235281420%2F

    Now that the news has officially dropped, she confirmed that it was indeed an intentional tweet to catch people’s attention. The film will adapt the book by the same name which was published in 2020 by Suzanne Collins. It explores the early days of Coriolanus Snow, who would eventually become the tyrannical ruler of Panem and the one to make Katniss Everdeen’s life a living hell.

    The movie will explore Snow as he mentors Zegler‘s Lucy Gray Baird, who is a tribute from District 12 during the 10th Hunger Games. Gray sees in her the potential to unleash his own ambitions after she sings during the opening reaping ceremony. Zegler‘s history with musicals makes her the perfect choice for the role, as she just recently wrapped work on Shazam! Fury of the Gods is currently filming the live-action adaptation of Snow White for Disney.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • Karl Urban Plays Coy on Potential Return in ‘Judge Dredd’ TV Series

    Karl Urban Plays Coy on Potential Return in ‘Judge Dredd’ TV Series

    It feels like half an eternity since we last heard about the upcoming Judge Dredd: Mega City One series. Rebellion Developments was working on the third attempt to create a franchise around the iconic character, who first was played by Sylvester Stallone in 1995’s Judge Dredd before Karl Urban played him in 2012. Sadly, the latter didn’t make enough to build a franchise, but his portrayal made him a cult favorite to play the role.

    There were theories that he may return to the role in the new Mega City One series, but they never gave a confirmation. Now, in a new interview with The Guardian, the actor plays a little coy on if he may actually be returning for the project while promoting the next season of The Boys.

    Regardless of whether or not I’m involved with it, I think it’s such a wonderful property. John Wagner and his entire staff of writers and illustrators have created so many wonderful stories that I, personally, as a fan of Dredd, would love to see. I can’t wait to see what they do with it.

    Karl Urban

    Urban certainly left an imprint with his performance as Dredd, and if he does end up returning, they may use this chance to promote the series as a revival and continuation of the 2012 classic. Perhaps they could even have Olivia Thirlby return as Judge Anderson. For now, it’s only speculation but we’ll have to wait for a general update on where the series currently is in development.

    Source: The Guardian

  • EXCLUSIVE: Grace VanderWaal on Tackling the Leading Role in ‘Hollywood Stargirl’

    EXCLUSIVE: Grace VanderWaal on Tackling the Leading Role in ‘Hollywood Stargirl’

    Hollywood Stargirl is a special kind of sequel. While it continues the Disney+ film from 2020, which was only known as Stargirl, it takes a very different direction. In a world where adaptations tend to follow the books closely, director Julia Hart wanted to take the character in a very different direction. Instead of sticking to the small town of Arizona, Stargirl Caraway is heading to Hollywood.

    In an exclusive interview with Stargirl herself, Grace VanderWaal, I got the chance to ask her about taking on the leading role from Graham Verchere, who played Leo Borlock in the first film. She shared about what it was like taking on that responsibility and also prepared herself for taking on the bigger role going in.

    It was a lot of pressure because the first movie has a lot to do with Leo. The movie is called Stargirl but I feel like I wasn’t the main character. So, just personally, like professionally, I was preparing myself for that amount of work and being in every scene and all that. Just taking on that responsibility. But it was so fun, it didn’t feel like hard work.

    Grace VanderWall

    She also shared about what it was like finding out that they wouldn’t be following the books but rather taking a different direction. she also highlighted that to her it was “the right thing to do.”

    All I know is that I wasn’t really surprised when I was told what it was going to be different from the books. I don’t know what I expected but It felt right, it felt like the right move when I heard about it. I don’t know why, but that makes like perfect sense, that was the right thing to do.

    Grace VanderWall

    It definitely takes the story in an interesting new direction and offers something unique to those that followed Stargirl’s story in Jerry Spinelli‘s novel, Love, Stargirl. VanderWaal is joined by a new cast consisting of Elijah Richardson, Judy Greer, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Uma Thurman, Judd Hirsch, and more. The film will release on June 3rd on Disney+.

  • Naked Chris Hemsworth is ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Trailers Most Replayed Moment

    Naked Chris Hemsworth is ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Trailers Most Replayed Moment

    We were all quite excited when we got the second trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, as it offered our first clear look at Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. We even got a good look at Russell Crowe as the Greek god Zeus, who had some fun by flicking off Thor’s disguise. He ended up overdoing it, as it lead to Chris Hemsworth‘s God of Thunder standing without his clothes on. It seems that this joke has become quite the hit with fans, as ComicBook.com noticed that it this part is the trailer’s most replayed moment.

    via ComicBook.com

    It’s definitely no surprise that this moment may have caught everyone’s glimpse, as Hemsworth went all out with his training for his return as the Thunderer. Even earlier set photos including him showed off just how trained he got, as his arms seemed like they doubled in size since the last time we saw him on screen.

    Taika Waititi might also just be a marketing genius, as Hemsworth‘s special training isn’t the only thing that people are talking about. Natalie Portman not only returned to play Jane Foster but also went all out with her training, as many noticed just how ready she was to take on the role of Mighty Thor. Perhaps they are also hiding just how chipped Korg’s rocks have gotten since the last time we saw him growing moss while playing video games on a comfy couch.

    Source: YouTube, ComicBook

  • Vecna’s Actor Talks Turning into ‘Stranger Things’ Latest Villain

    Vecna’s Actor Talks Turning into ‘Stranger Things’ Latest Villain

    If you haven’t yet had a chance to watch the final episode of the first part of Stranger Things Season 4, only continue at your own risk.

    The end of Stranger Things’ latest season, which is only the first part of two, gave us the reveal of the real identity behind the overarching big bad, Vecna. In a creative twin flashback sequence, we meet One, the originator of the experiments that led to the creation of Eleven. Jamie Campbell Bower‘s character explains his history as not only the one that started the program but also as Henry Creel, the son of the man that was convicted for the murder of his children long ago. Two-story arcs came together to give us the reveal of how exactly he became this creature of the Upside-Down.

    In an interview, the actor talked about how he created a “mind map” on how he would bring this mysterious character together. He was given “two sides” when he auditioned after being approached from the show them being from 1996’s Primal Fear and Hellraiser.

    Christopher Lee was on there as Dracula. I had Pinhead, obviously, on there. I had Freddy Krueger on there. I had the more recent version of Dracula. I had some characters from, god, some of the wild ’80s vampire movies. Voldemort was on there as well. And a lot of fire.

    Jamie Campbell Bower

    He goes on to highlight how he knew nothing about the character for about a month before the Duffer Brothers revealed that he was Stranger Things‘ latest villain.

    I knew very, very little, but somehow managed to piece enough together to be able to formulate the reality of who this person was. So call it fate, luck, intelligence, stupidity – god knows how it happened, but it happened.

    Jamie Campbell Bower

    He also talked about how he got into the suit at 3 AM and started work at 10 AM for up to twelve hours. It would take him another hour to get out of the suit, but he did say it forced him to push his performance as after some time it wasn’t easy.

    On a more practical level, rather than an emotional level, I found that I had to give more. The suit moves with the face quite well, but it’s not as pliable. You’ve got a few centimeters or a centimeter or two between your actual skin and what’s able to be seen, so the idea of the eyebrows particularly, you have to make sure that I was really sort of giving it in the facial expression and not what I would maybe give facially if I was just not in a suit. But I think what was great was that underneath it all is the intention of this real hatred and this real resentment, and that was coming through.

    Jamie Campbell Bower

    The suit was definitely worth the time as its Freddy Krueger-esque design added a whole new level to the danger that he represented. The Duffer Brothers took the practical route to have actors react to it and it seems that he even ended up terrifying Grace Van Dien, who played Chrissie. Millie Bobby Brown even cried when she saw it. So, it sounds like they definitely got the effect they wanted.

    Source: IGN

  • SWCA: ‘Solo’ Spinoff ‘Lando’ Still in Development at Lucasfilm

    SWCA: ‘Solo’ Spinoff ‘Lando’ Still in Development at Lucasfilm

    When Lucasfilm announced the future of Star Wars at an Investor’s Day event in late 2020, it included an exciting new Disney+ series that has yet to come to fruition. Lando is a show focused on everyone’s favorite scoundrel and it was revealed to be in the works by the creator of Dear White People, Justin Simien. The series was set to bring back Donald Glover in the titular role, which he took over from the iconic Billy Dee Williams in 2018’s cult-favorite film Solo: A Star Wars Story. However, since that initial reveal, almost nothing has been revealed about the project, causing many fans to fear it’s been put on indefinite hold.

    During Star Wars Celebration over the weekend, CinemaBlend was able to speak with Lucasfilm boss Kathleen Kennedy and get an update on the long-awaited series. After being asked about Lando, she explained that Glover‘s busy schedule is the main culprit in the show’s extended production process:

    You need to ask Donald. He’s the one that holds all the cards here. But there’s no movement. I will say that honestly. But it’s not for lack of trying. It’s just that he’s a very busy guy… He’s got another series, and I think one other thing, and then he’ll come our way. So patiently waiting.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    While it’s great to hear the project hasn’t been outright canceled, it is a little disappointing to know it’s still so far off from being a reality. Glover is currently finishing up the final season of his hit FX series Atlanta, and will then jump into work on Amazon’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith reboot. Over a year ago, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the former Community star gave more or less the same update as Kennedy when asked about his future with Star Wars:

    No, yeah, I have a lot of things. I like to blossom and then go away. Right now is the start of another one of those. I have like a ton of stuff I’ve been working on, but I just want it all to come out at the same time, so I feel like that’s what’s important.

    Donald Glover

    There are currently no plot details on Lando and no release window. It’s also unknown whether or not Billy Dee Williams will reprise his role as an older Lando Calrissian, or when the show takes place in the Star Wars timeline.

    Source: CinemaBlend, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

  • ‘Top Gun Maverick’ Takes ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’s Spot as Memorial Day Weekend’s Highest Opening Ever

    ‘Top Gun Maverick’ Takes ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’s Spot as Memorial Day Weekend’s Highest Opening Ever

    It looks like word-of-mouth is definitely pushing Tom Cruise‘s Top Gun Maverick to new heights. Not only did its Sunday remain surprisingly strong, but the film is now at an impressive $156M. As such, it’ll now beat Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End to take the crown of Memorial Day weekend’s biggest opening. There is a chance that it could still go higher and potentially reach $160M but either way it has definitely taken the crown this weekend.

    The old-school blockbuster has been a revelation for many that were looking for a pause in superhero fare. While one could argue that the way these jet pilots fly isn’t quite human either, Top Gun Maverick definitely connected with audiences over the weekend. For those wondering if this is the end of superhero cinema, it’s more a sign that we’ll see a bigger balance moving forward if studios learn the right lessons from this film’s success.

    Tom Cruise is a very unique kind of actor, who has a strong hand over his projects. The film’s success may also bode well for next year’s Mission Impossible film, which smartly released an early trailer alongside this film. The strong success of Everything Everywhere All At Once has also re-established a new position for small and medium-sized projects within the market. A good balance of both crowd-pleasing blockbusters like genre-specific fairs alongside unique offerings for various age groups joined by smaller productions offering creative alternatives could not only revive a full blockbuster post-pandemic but push its development further.

    Source: Twitter