Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Officially Passes $550M in Box Office Revenue

    ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Officially Passes $550M in Box Office Revenue

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness continues to be the king of the box office in passing $550 million in global revenue in its first nine days. This includes the additional $19.2 million added yesterday globally. The only film this week that has put at least a partial dent in terms of revenue was Universal’s remake of the Stephen King novel Firestarter, which raked in $375,000 in its Thursday previews yesterday.

    Sam Raimi’s return to the superhero genre debuted last weekend to a dominating $185 million globally, and officially became the 11th highest domestic opening of all-time. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has already become the strongest launch of 2022 thus far and is the second biggest opening since the pandemic, only behind the most previous entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

    Some within the industry had questions about the long-term sustainability of this film at the box office, mainly due to the horror elements and how deeply entrenched it is in the lore of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though with it remaining one of the only marquee releases currently, the Benedict Cumberbatch-led sequel has proven any potential doubters wrong with the massive financial success through just over a week. The big questions moving forward will be how long Doctor Strange 2 will hold as the king of the box office.

    There doesn’t appear to be any major blockbusters standing in its way until May 27 with the release of Top Gun: Maverick, followed by Jurassic World Dominion on June 10. With that in mind, one can expect to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse continue to dominate the box office for the time being on its road to potentially $1 billion globally and being the most financially successful film of the year overall.


    Source: Variety

  • Tyler Hoechlin Returns for ‘Teen Wolf’ Movie

    Tyler Hoechlin Returns for ‘Teen Wolf’ Movie

    After initially holding out, Tyler Hoechlin has closed a deal to star in the Teen Wolf movie.

    The revival movie, which is currently in production, will see Hoechlin reprise his role as Derek Hale. The actor, who starred in the MTV series, was one of the few stars not confirmed to return during the initial cast announcement along with Dylan O’Brien and Arden Cho. While it is unclear why Hoechlin held out on signing on, Cho opted not to return due to salary differences. As for O’Brien, the young actor confirmed he decided not to return as he felt his character’s story ended on a good note in the series.

    Other confirmed cast members returning for the revival film are Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, Crystal Reed, Orny Adams, Linden Ashby, JR Bourne, Colton Haynes, Ryan Kelley, Melissa Ponzio, Ian Bohen, Vince Mattis, Nobi Nakanishi, Khylin Rhambo, Amy Workman and Dylan Sprayberry. More names are expected to be announced soon.

    The revival film, titled Teen Wolf the Movie, will air exclusively on Paramount+. Series creator Jeff Davis returns to write and produce the film, which will see the “wolves howl once again due to a terrifying evil in Beacon Hills.” As of now, no premiere date has been set for the movie.

    Hoechlin currently stars in Superman & Lois for the CW, which is confirmed to return for a third season.

    Source: THR.

  • Animated Revival of ‘Married..with Children’ Being Shopped to Networks

    Animated Revival of ‘Married..with Children’ Being Shopped to Networks

    In the era of vintage television programming from the 1990s being revitalized, it appears the next franchise to receive this treatment will be the classic sitcom Married…with Children. However, a notable twist on the format will be that this new series will be animated. All four original leads of the show in Ed O’Neill, Katey Segal, David Faustino, and Christina Applegate are slated to return to lend their voices. The new series is being written by Alex Carter, an executive producer for Family Guy. Industry insiders are reporting there is strong interest from networks and streaming platforms for the rights to this developing project. Three leading contenders for the show are rumored to be Fox, Hulu, and Peacock. Fox would arguably be the most logical option as the network where the original series aired and being home to some of the most prominent adult-oriented animated shows.

    Married…with Children ran from 1987 to 1997 and tells the story of the Bundy family and their common familial blights in Chicago. The classic sitcom has been considered one of the most influential to the genre while airing and is one of the longest running comedy franchises with 11 seasons. As well, it very much helped establish Fox as a mainstay broadcast network while it was still establishing its brand identity. Numerous attempts at reviving the show have been made before, but none have had legs to them due to the busy schedules of the principal leads. Though with the animated format to this new series, it opens the door much more to the likes of O’Neill and Applegate to be available to participate. It will be interesting to follow who picks up this potential series and more on the narrative direction that will be taken for the sequel show.


    Source: Deadline

  • The Star of 1994’s ‘The Fantastic Four’ Comments on John Krasinski as Reed Richards

    The Star of 1994’s ‘The Fantastic Four’ Comments on John Krasinski as Reed Richards

    There’s a new Reed Richards on the scene, and the original Mr. Fantastic has thoughts. Alex Hyde-White was the first person to play the patriarch of Marvel’s First Family in live-action, even if most people don’t remember. He portrayed the character in the unreleased 1994 adaptation The Fantastic Four, famously produced with a very low-budget by Roger Corman. Unfortunately, after the movie failed to hit theaters, his career as a big screen superhero became more of a trivia piece than the foundation for Richards’ cinematic legacy.

    No need to worry though, as Hyde-White is still getting plenty of work, and he’s still just as big a fan of Marvel as he was thirty years ago. Sitting down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss his fantastic past, the upcoming Nope star was asked directly about John Krasinski’s surprise appearance as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s new Reed. He couldn’t be more pleased:

    Well, that’s not a surprise. He’s been rumored for a while. It’s exciting! He’s proved himself to be a heck of a storyteller and as a lead actor and a producer and director. Krasinski is a force to be reckoned with because he has a joy of storytelling, and he’s a good leader. Those are Reed Richards’ characteristics… If you were to send out a casting spec for Reed Richards, you would say “Excellent leader, control freak — but nice about it. Collaborator willing to take the blame.”

    Alex Hyde-White

    While it remains to be seen whether or not Krasinski becomes the 616 Reed, his cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was a nice surprise for those eager to see him in the role. Until Marvel’s first family is cast, fans can take solace in knowing they’ll (finally) be joining the MCU soon.

    Source: THR.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer on Sam Raimi’s Influence on the Script

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Writer on Sam Raimi’s Influence on the Script

    The one thing reviews seem to agree on is that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is that it is definitely a Sam Raimi film. Yet, the director has often spoken of the collaborative effort that is working with Marvel Studios, especially on bringing the script to life together with Loki writer Michael Waldron. In an exclusive interview with Murphys Multiverse, he talked about how that creative process was and just how much input Raimi had on the film’s script.

    We were just sharing a brain, it felt like by the end of it because we worked so closely through such a weird, challenging time. And I was always trying to write through the lens of this being a Sam Raimi film. When I wrote Dead Strange and Strange possessing his own corpse, it looked exactly what I hoped it would look, in a Sam-type way.

    Michael Waldron

    It definitely seems like he had a big part in writing the script while Waldron tried to stay true to how he would generally tackle a project. You can see many dialogue choices felt quite at home in a film he would direct, some even paying homage to his time with Spider-Man, Evil Dead, and so many more. It also turns out that the Deadites-inspired Demonic Souls that are turned into Dead Strange’s cape in the finale were the director’s idea.

    The demonic souls, that was all Sam’s idea […] that was Sam pitching that back to me and saying: ‘Could we do this?’ and we building some logical scaffolding to make this really cool thing he wanted to do. That. was a great example of how we both worked to realize one another’s ideas. Ultimately, because it is Sam Raimi and he’s one of the greatest directors to ever do it, I just felt so confident, I felt like I could write anything because he would make it look amazing.

    Michael Waldron

    That moment definitely felt like a creative decision by him, and it’s great how Waldron highlights their collaborative effort pushed the boundaries of how these ideas came together. He definitely added his unique visual style to the film and added a flair that hopefully, Marvel Studios will revisit, as the director has openly stated he would love to return for more in the future.

  • Alan Ritchson Joins the ‘Fast’ Family

    Alan Ritchson Joins the ‘Fast’ Family

    Jack Reacher star Alan Ritchson has joined the cast of Louis Letterier’s Fast X, the 10th installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise. Ritchson, the one-time Aquaman, has found his groove as a violent action star in the Amazon Prime series and joins a cast that has already added Jason Momoa and Brie Larson.

    The casting of Ritchson comes just as Letterier boarded the film as original director Justin Lin exited the film last month. Lin’s exit was ultimately the result of a clash between leading man Vin Diesel, who not only stars but acts as a producer on the film. Despite his exit, Lin will remain a producer on the film.

    In recent years, Ritchson has added a fair amount of genre roles to this resume having played Raphael in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films and most recently starred as Hank Hall, aka Hawk, on DC’s Titans. Along with Fast X, the actor will next appear in Ordinary Angels alongside Hilary Swank for Lionsgate.

    As of now, Fast X is slated to hit theaters on May 19, 2023.

    Source: Deadline.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Michael Waldron on the “Symbiotic Nature” of Movies and Scoop Culture

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Doctor Strange 2’s Michael Waldron on the “Symbiotic Nature” of Movies and Scoop Culture

    We’ve entered a new era filled to the brim with leaks and spoilers hitting the web ahead of any project’s official release. Marvel Studios’ films and Disney+ shows are seemingly hit extremely often, as entire screenshots find their way online right before a film releases. Many sites also dabble in the world of running scoops on whatever the new hottest commodity is in the latest entry.

    In an interview with Murphy’s Multiverse, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron has shared his thoughts on this new “scoop culture” and what it also means for those surfing the web looking to find out what their most-anticipated project might be working on behind the scenes and how Marvel Studios’ famed secrecy has created a very interesting internet culture.

    I like the idea it can mythologize otherwise. I have so much respect for what you do, for what everybody, all the fan sites do, because that was the shit that I grew up reading. I’m such a child of Coming Attractions by Corona, Ain’t It Cool News. That stuff is probably a big reason why I’m a writer. The scoop culture, to some extent, I’m like great, that’s part of it. I think that it’s our job…we want to preserve these secrets because it just makes a better experience in the theater for the audience. You’re going to get a better POP from the audience if they don’t know what’s coming.

    Michael Waldron

    Though he also highlights one aspect that is commonly forgotten on the web, and that is most cinema-goers have no idea about the many spoilers hitting the web. As he points out, those that actively search for it are the ones to get it spoiled the most, especially when stories are dropped

    But I think it’s also…you can really if you spend a lot of time online, you can come to think that if something is spoiled on a corner of the internet that suddenly the whole world knows. But they don’t. It’s the people who are actively seeking that out and who want to find that stuff. And if they want to find it out, that means it’s probably going to enhance their enjoyment of the movie.

    Michael Waldron

    He also highlights that his biggest concern is if this kind of news hits bigger outlets that would spoil it for the general audience that typically isn’t on the Internet frequently and only finds out through official trailers if they include any references.

    And the people who don’t wanna find out, probably aren’t. It’s like, I would be mad if it headlines news on CNN about who was in the Illuminati, but it’s not. There’s [a] spoiler warning and you know where you’re going if you go to a spoiler website. It’s like it’s what we do. It’s like the symbiotic nature of this stuff and it just builds anticipation and excitement. I think it’s cool.

    Michael Waldron

    It’s definitely great to get some insight into the perspective of the modern scoop culture from the perspective of someone working on these projects. As he highlights, the internet is a very different beast and there is certain anticipation if storylines or elements are teased early on.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Michael Waldron on Making The Illuminati Interesting in ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    EXCLUSIVE: Michael Waldron on Making The Illuminati Interesting in ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivered what’s probably the most talked-about second act in the history of the MCU. As Doctor Strange and America Chavez went on their crazy multiversal journey, they found themselves prisoners of a team of power players from Earth-838 known as the Illuminati.

    Marvel Studios has been rumored to be looking into developing a project around the Illuminati, which were created by Brian Michael Bendis in 2005, and that may still happen, but the Strange sequel introduced fans to them and then proceeded to have them systematically slaughtered by the Scarlet Witch.

    Multiverse of Madness is a very different movie from the one that Marvel Studios set out to make when it was announced that Scott Derrickson, who directed 2016’s Doctor Strange, was returning to helm the sequel. When Derrickson and Marvel Studios amicably parted way, Kevin Feige turned to Loki head writer Michael Waldron to begin work on a new script. Waldron was quickly joined by Sam Raimi and the two embarked on a creative journey that was full of COVID delays and some much-discussed reshoots and additional photography. With so much time for the film to grow and evolve, I was curious if the Illuminati were always a part of the pitch, or if they were added later on. Here’s what Waldron had to say:

    That came in the very first draft when we started over from scratch, what became the movie, they were in the first draft of that. They weren’t even in the outline, I think as I said. It was just me sitting in my living room…me feeling bored by my own second act.

    Michael Waldron

    Waldron went on to explain how his time on Rick and Morty helped shape the second act, which he described as where the movie “gets drunk”:

    In Rick and Morty, Mike McMahon created Star Trek: Lower Decks, Solar Opposites…he was the showrunner on the season I wrote for. He coined a term, the “duck bill”, where it’s like the story circle, Dan Harmon’s story circle, but around like 7 or 8 o’clock on that story circle, we always try to do a duck bill, where it’s like the story doesn’t just proceed linearly or in a regular curvature way, it actually duck bills out and it’s like the movie gets drunk and that’s what it felt like we needed at that point and somehow it stayed in there the whole way. It’s a testament to Kevin, who got behind the idea and thought it would be cool, and Sam and our DP John Matheson and our editors.

    Michael Waldron

    For Waldron and Raimi, the second act couldn’t just be a cameo fest where some of Marvel’s most powerful characters came together to wave at the camera. So the creative team went to work:

    It is ultimately a guy standing opposite several stationary characters. It takes a master of the camera like Sam to make that visually dynamic. Sam was always like, “I know the audience is gonna be excited to see these people but it can’t just be boring exposition. We’ve gotta figure out a way to make it visually dynamic.” And so they pushed me and we all pushed each other to make sure the scene was there for a reason.

    Michael Waldron

    With so much time between the first draft and the last day of additional photography, it was reasonable to assume that the final team, composed of Reed Richards, Black Bolt, Captain Carter, Captain Marvel, Mordo, and Charles Xavier, might not have been the original “dream team” pitched by Waldron. In fact, there were all kinds of wild rumors about who might be on the team with anyone from Balder to Magneto rumored at one time or another. When asked specifically about those two, Waldron gave a careful response, saying “There were lots of names discussed is all I’ll say.” Maybe those characters and more will show up down the road in another universe’s Illuminati.

  • Michael Waldron Teases Potential America Chavez Standalone

    Michael Waldron Teases Potential America Chavez Standalone

    After her debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it appears America Chavez may be returning in a standalone project of her own. The screenwriter for the Doctor Strange sequel, Michael Waldron, explained in an interview with Vanity Fair that when it came to some of the America Chavez material, “that maybe we should hold some of that back.”

    “Getting into the real specificity of her with her parents came a little bit later in the process. It felt, at least to me initially, that maybe we should hold some of that back. It felt like the sort of stuff you’d rather answer when you’re getting into America’s solo outing. But as we continued to build the story, we found that we wanted to know more about her. And, really, Strange would want to know more about her. It was just honest to their relationship and conversations.”

    Michael Waldron

    Waldron went on to point out that they “also set up the next chapter in the America Chavez story.” When you consider the mystery of her missing mothers and her training in Kamar Taj, there seems to be plenty of material for a movie or a TV series.

    Especially fascinating is the fact that Waldron was the lead writer on the first season of Loki. Chavez, played on the big screen by Xochitl Gomez, has a history in the comics with a teenage version of Loki. She also has a unique role in the Secret Wars event that was teased by the Illuminati discussions of “Incursions.” Her solo outing could tie deeply into several other Marvel Cinematic Universe titles, as befits a character whose power is traveling the multiverse. As it stands, though, nothing has been announced regarding an America Chavez solo project.

    For the time being, fans can see America in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, now playing in theaters.

    Source: Vanity Fair.

  • The Morning After Huddle: May 13, 2022

    The Morning After Huddle: May 13, 2022

    Welcome to another edition of The Morning After Huddle where we we bring you the top news from around the NFL each day. We hope you’re strapped in tight. There’s unexpected turbulence in the Mile High City with Jerry Jeudy.

    Here’s what you need to know:

    • According to the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office, Jerry Jeudy has been arrested on charges of 2nd degree criminal tampering with a domestic violence enhancer.The Broncos are aware of the situation and are gathering more evidence.
    • We’ve been waiting all day for Sunday Night! Maria Taylor will officially take over for Mike Tirico as host of Football Night in America. Maria’s promotion comes on the heels of Tirico’s move to full time play-by-play announcer.
    • Our condolences go out to the family of Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti, as he has passed away at 89. Cappelletti was heavily involved with the Patriots as a player, coach and broadcaster. For more details, click here.
    • Finally, we leave you with our Key Signings RoundUp: Jaguars rookie Travon Walker has signed his contract. Contract details stipulate that Walker will make $37.4M, including a $24.4M signing bonus. The Atlanta Falcons also announced a rookie contract signing, late Thursday. Wide Receiver Drake London signed an (estimated) $24.66M deal. Not a signing, but a trade was made yesterday as the New England Patriots sent QB Jarrett Stidham (and a 7th round pick) to the Las Vegas Raiders for a 6th round pick.

    That’s it for today’s huddle. Catch us on this weekend for more top news you definitely need to know!

    ICYMI: Thursday’s Edition – May 12, 2022