Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Eric Martin is ‘Loki’ Season 2’s New Head Writer

    Eric Martin is ‘Loki’ Season 2’s New Head Writer

    It looks like the Loki series has passed the torch to a new generation, as not only will directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead take over what Kate Herron started, but it looks like Michael Waldron is no longer serving as its head writer. In an interview with Digital Spy, the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness writer revealed that Eric Martin has taken over that position.

    Well, I mean, look, everything leads into everything, right? We’ve hired a couple of great directors. [Justin] Benson and [Aaron] Moorhead [Loki season two directors] are brilliant. And Eric Martin has taken over as head writer for season 2. So the creative team is fantastic. As Tom [Hiddleston, who plays Loki] once said, there’s plenty more mischief to come.

    Michael Waldron

    It’s interesting how Marvel studios is moving away from the usual TV structure by not having an ongoing showrunner, but swapping out teams with each new season or series. In a way, it keeps each project fresh and introduces a new vision that can take over, but it does also come at the cost that they might feel a bit disjointed. In the case of Loki, the first season will lead directly into the second, as set up by its final moments.

    The challenge moving forward, especially if they go with multi-seasonal formats, is that they will fall into the issue of some connections being dependent on a film, or another series. If Loki shows up in other multiversal storylines, it becomes a bit confusing when jumping into a third season only to find out that there’s an entire character arc or storyline that was missed out. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle that moving forward, but it’s great to see Waldron‘s trust in the new team that is continuing what they built up.

    Source: Digital Spy

  • Sam Raimi Finally Explains Dancing Tobey in ‘Spider-Man 3’

    Sam Raimi Finally Explains Dancing Tobey in ‘Spider-Man 3’

    It’s been fifteen years since the critically panned release of Spider-Man 3, but that doesn’t mean director Sam Raimi is done answering for it. One of the film’s most iconic moments comes when Tobey Maguire‘s Peter Parker finally succumbs to the dark desires of the Venom symbiote, but finds himself hilariously dancing down the street instead of performing any of the irredeemable actions one might have expected. The sequence has since become an internet phenomenon, with fans using gifs, videos, and images of Maguire‘s terrible dance moves for use in making memes and ultimately making fun of the film itself. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse even recreated the routine as a comedic reference to the character’s onscreen history.

    In a recent interview with Fandom, Raimi was asked outright his thoughts on “Dancing Tobey” becoming so popular in the years since he directed the scene. His response was expectedly lighthearted and upbeat:

    Well, we meant it to be funny, actually. It was Peter Parker’s version — this lame kid — of what it must be like to be his evil self. But he’s so whipped. He’s so out of it that that’s his take on it. And that didn’t go over well with the audience. But that’s what we were trying to do. So I’m not surprised that people… I’m glad people find it funny! We wanted it to be fun.

    Sam Raimi

    Raimi is known for using over-the-top, often somewhat cheesy, techniques in his films. So, it lines up that he would have used such a goofy performance to convey Peter’s emotions in Spider-Man 3. It’s also nice that he isn’t hurt by the initial outcry against the dancing, and instead embraces the fun of laughing with his audience.

    Raimi‘s next superhero project, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, releases on May 6th.

    Source: Fandom

  • Sam Raimi Thinks Scarlet Witch is More Powerful Than Doctor Strange

    Sam Raimi Thinks Scarlet Witch is More Powerful Than Doctor Strange

    One eternal debate among Marvel fans is about just how powerful Wanda Maximoff really is. The Scarlet Witch has always been a dominant force in the comics, and the events of WandaVision have finally helped bring the character up to speed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After fully embracing her abilities, Elizabeth Olsen‘s Avenger was able to best a wildly capable witch and take down the centuries-old Agatha Harkness. However, the character has never faced the MCU’s headlining magic-user, Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Dr. Stephen Strange, and it’s still up in the air whether or not that fight is one she could win.

    Luckily, Wanda’s next big screen appearance will be in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so it’s possible events play out in such a way that fans will finally get an answer to that question. A recent poll conducted by Fandom revealed that 62% of voters thought Scarlet Witch would wipe the floor with the Master of the Mystic Arts, and an ensuing interview with director Sam Raimi let slip the filmmaker was inclined to agree. Citing her use of Chaos Magic as the tipping point, Raimi explained:

    Just from my reading of the Marvel comic books, knowing what happened to her, she seems like she just was born with it. That chaos magic is really a bad, bad mother. You don’t want to mess with it. So I bet that she, when push came to shove in a fair fight, could probably handle Doctor Strange.

    Sam Raimi

    Other members of the Multiverse of Madness cast also chimed in, and every single one of them put their vote towards Wanda. Benedict Wong called the decision a “tough” one, but eventually gave the nod to Maximoff, remarking, “It’s the chaos magic, isn’t it?”. Rachel McAdams explained her stance was due solely to WandaVision:

    I loved WandaVision so much. Not that I haven’t loved Benedict [Cumberbatch] in everything he’s ever done, but I did love what Lizzie did with that character. She was just such a force!

    Rachel McAdams

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022.

    Source: Fandom

  • REPORT: Apple TV+’s ‘Godzilla’ Spinoff Series Eyeing to Cast Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell

    REPORT: Apple TV+’s ‘Godzilla’ Spinoff Series Eyeing to Cast Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell

    The Monsterverse is expanding with a new TV series. While we all expected the Warner Bros. distributed series to remain with the company, Apple TV+ was the lucky one to get their hands on the rights to produce a new Godzilla spinoff series, which is still untitled. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the series, but we were able to share some details earlier in January, as it’s currently titled Hourglass and was originally eyeing a production start sometime this month.

    It’ll follow up after San Francisco was leveled by Godzilla, as a family’s connection to the secret organization Monarch is unraveled. It looks like part of the cast might be a character named Lee Shaw, who is “a military leading man type.” According to Illuminerdi’s latest piece, it seems they are currently eyeing Kurt Russell, which was first reported by Giant Freaking robot, and his son Wyatt Russell to play an older and younger version of that very character.

    While they can’t offer more details, these are two big names to add to the series. It’s uncertain if the project may generally feature more Godzilla, or even lead into one of their upcoming projects. The Monsterverse reached a new high with Godzilla vs. Kong, but we generally haven’t heard much on what the future has in store for viewers as they start their expansion into its first TV venture.

    Source: Illuminerdi, Giant Freaking Robot

  • First Tease of High Evolutionary Spotted in New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Set Photo

    First Tease of High Evolutionary Spotted in New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Set Photo

    We’ve long wondered who might be the villain in the upcoming third entry of the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Recent set photos offered a hint at what may be the MCU’s interpretation of Halfworld, Rocket’s homeworld in the comics. It looked like a replica of Earth with some outdated clothing, but what stood out is that every “human” seemed like they were also a hybrid of a random animal. Now, Cosmic Circus has shared what may be our first tease of the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

    There have been rumors that Chukwudi Iwjui might be playing the character, but we still haven’t gotten an official announcement on who exactly he’s playing in the upcoming threequel. The tease is certainly interesting and the alien language further hints at similarities to Earth but with some unique distinctions. It may be a different take on the Counter-Earth, which was high Evolutionary’s way of creating a “purer” version of the normal Earth.

    Image

    It still seems possible that his history is with Earth and that may have been his inspiration. He’d actually make a perfect counter to Star-Lord, who also has a history with the planet but is still stuck in a very different time. They may bond over that era before realizing that while Star-Lord learned to embrace the future, especially going by the Holiday Special teases, Evolutionary is still stuck to a bygone era. So, they may use this as a way to create a contrast between the two.

    Source: Cosmic Circus

  • Producer Hiram Garcia Reveals Why ‘Black Adam’ Was Delayed

    Producer Hiram Garcia Reveals Why ‘Black Adam’ Was Delayed

    A while back fans were disappointed to learn that the DC Extended Universe film slate was hit with quite a few big delays, sending films previously dated to release this year like The Flash and Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom into 2023. One casualty fans felt was the delay of Black Adam, a film that had been stuck in development hell for quite some time and was finally close to releasing. It was initially dated for July 27th, 2022 but was sent back a few months to October 21st, 2022 and now we finally know why.

    Producer on the film, Hiram Garcia, has revealed just why Black Adam would not be making its previously dated July release date. Garcia stated that due to the pandemic there became such a backlog of work for VFX studios that they would not be able to complete work on the film in time for the set date.

    I think we’re just in a world right now where there was a huge and understandable freeze-up when the pandemic hit and a lot of productions were put on hold, Now that the industry has really roared back, the pipeline for VFX is so jammed. Obviously all these superhero movies just require so much VFX, and we’re just in a situation where the majority of the VFX houses are just completely swamped with work.

    Hiram Garcia

    Garcia went on to talk about how well the film was coming together and just how grateful they are for the VFX talent they have working on the project.

    They’re busting their ass and we’re so grateful for all those VFX houses, It feels like things are starting to calibrate and I think you’ll start to feel less shifts down the line. We’re excited about it and we’re really excited with the way the movie’s been looking and excited to finish it and get it out into the world.

    Hiram Garcia

    Fans will have to wait just a little bit longer to witness the debut of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as Black Adam, but they wanna make sure it’s well worth the wait and the best film it can be. Hopefully, this news will help ease some tension amongst fans who were worried about its delay.

    Source: The Wrap

  • Viola Davis in Talks to Star in a ‘Peacemaker’ Spin-Off

    Viola Davis in Talks to Star in a ‘Peacemaker’ Spin-Off

    The DC Extended Universe saw its first venture into television with James Gunn‘s spin-off of The Suicide Squad with Peacemaker, featuring the return of John Cena as the titular character. Gunn revealed before the series had even wrapped on its first season that he was already developing another DC series although he would not go into details about what that series might be.

    Deadline is reporting that the star of Suicide Squad and its sequel, Viola Davis, will reprise her role as Amanda Waller in an upcoming HBO Max series. She will also serve as an executive producer on the project alongside James Gunn, Peter Safran, and Christal Henry, who will write and serve as an executive producer on the series.

    There are no plot details on the series just yet and all we know is that it will not be in the same vein as Peacemaker was, with Gunn previously stating his next spin-off “won’t be as much a comedy as Peacemaker“.

    The series could follow the aftermath of Peacemaker, where Waller’s own daughter, Leota Adebayo, went on national television to expose ARGUS and bring Task Force X into the light. Effectively Adebayo put a target on her mother’s back and revealed everything from what happened in Midway City to the project Starfish in Corto Maltese.

    There has been no other details plot or casting wise as the project still seems to be in early development but it could be cool to see them explore Checkmate or even the Secret Six with a project like this, with Waller acting as the mockingbird figure.

    Source: Deadline

  • Oscar Isaac Sees ‘Moon Knight’s Steven Grant as “A Bit on the Spectrum”

    Oscar Isaac Sees ‘Moon Knight’s Steven Grant as “A Bit on the Spectrum”

    Marvel Studios has quite the week and weekend planned for fans, with both the premiere of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and the finale of Moon Knight dropping within days of each other. Despite naturally needing to compete for attention from the highly-anticipated Doctor Strange sequel, Moon Knight has made a name for itself and fans are eagerly awaiting what the finale of the series has in store.

    The Disney+ series’ finale remains mysterious, but the show’s focus on the character dynamics between Marc Spector and Steven Grant is likely to continue to be showcased. Oscar Isaac so far has been praised for his performance of the two characters, connected by Marc Spector’s dissociative identity disorder. In a recent interview with Collider, Isaac opened up even more about how he tackled the role. Interestingly, he described his take on Steven as being on the autism spectrum, something not acknowledged with respect to any other character in the MCU:

    You know, I saw him as a bit on the spectrum. I actually loved watching Love on the Spectrum. That was like one of my favorite things to look at, because I just found it so moving and touching because it’s people that… All the same feelings we have in those situations, but they just haven’t developed all the masks to hide it all. So there was cues that I took from that. I imagined him as quite tall but wanting to feel smaller when he walks through rooms and things, and just played with the physicality and then just a very open face, which reminded me of my clown days back at school, where you play with the red nose and the way that it opens up your face, and then doing the opposite of that with Marc, making him, although much more present, like a marble in the middle of a room, but also tighter in the face and closed off. Lots of defenses up.

    Oscar Isaac

    For one, the significance of representing autism–even if not explicitly recognized in the series–is another example of how Marvel Studios is starting to open the door to a wider range of underrepresented groups in the universe. While this may have been more of a creative choice on Isaac’s part, the showrunners undoubtedly gave him that creative freedom. Obviously, in general, this allowed for a stunning performance by Isaac, and it crafted rich and well-developed characters to explore. It seems like a reason to be optimistic about creative freedom given to talent going forward in the MCU, which is a topic in many fans’ minds. In an event, it is another look at fan-favorite Steven Grant’s personality and how detail-oriented Isaac was in his performances.

    The first five episodes of Moon Knight are now streaming on Disney+.

    Source: Collider

  • New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Set Photos May Tease Rocket’s Halfworld

    New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Set Photos May Tease Rocket’s Halfworld

    Not too long ago, we covered a few set photos from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that seemingly gave us our first look at some comic-accurate costumes for the Guardians. At the time, it gave us a good look at Star-Lord and Nebula. Now, a new batch of set photos has found its way online from JustJared. While they don’t include any other Guardian members, it does give us a good look at the planet they are on, which looks a lot like Earth. Yet, the characters running around are seemingly humanoid and animal hybrids. Could this potentially be a new interpretation of Rocket Raccoon’s home planet Halfworld?

    As these images are provided by JustJared, we cannot share them but they can be checked out by clicking here.

    In the images, we get a good look at characters that look like they have attributes of a bat, a boar, a cat, and more. They are all very humanoid with some animal attributes. So, it doesn’t look like they are normal-sized unlike Rocket, who is mostly a raccoon with some improvements. Yet, the clothing seems quite outdated, which makes you wonder if perhaps this is a planet where another evolution echoed that of Earth but got stuck in another timeline.

    Perhaps Halfworld is the playground for the High Evolutionary, who was from Earth. With his time in space, he may have wanted to return to an era when he last saw his home and while creating the various creatures that roam this planet, ended up also replicating something that is similar to Earth. Rocket may have been part of earlier experiments and these are the most advanced results of the Evolutionary research. It would be a fun way of playing with the Guardians and the audience. For now, it’s just speculation but it does look like we’ll get a very unique interpretation if this is indeed Halfworld.

    Source: JustJared

  • Kevin Feige Agress There Were Too Many Spoilers in the ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Trailers

    Kevin Feige Agress There Were Too Many Spoilers in the ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Trailers

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a film that was always going to have a rough time promoting. Most of the film is seemingly building up Strange’s adventure through the multiverse and even a meeting with the Illuminati. While the initial tease of Patrick Stewart in the trailer was something that got many people’s attention, later promos included quite a bit more than what people were bargaining for. One even included some massive reveals that probably weren’t meant to make their way online before the release.

    It seems that Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, also agrees with that sentiment. As when he was asked during the premiere, he stated without hesitation that “there’s been too much in the trailers“. Something many would agree with, especially with those trailers that were made publicly available this short ahead of the film’s release.

    There’s been too much in the trailers, I don’t want to talk about anything else. But I will say, Sam has made this movie to be experienced on as big a screen as possible, and it’s even the first one in a long time that 3D was really taken into account too, because the first Doctor Strange film I think was out best film ever in 3D, and this one now will be right alongside that.

    Kevin Feige

    It’s unclear how much influence Marvel Studios has over its marketing, as the trailers may have been coordinated directly via Disney. Though, one would assume they would require a sign-off from the company and producers, as there were hints directors also actively work with the marketing teams. It does seem safe to say that Feige might take this feedback internally and ensure that it doesn’t repeat again.

    You can watch the red carpet event here:

    Source: YouTube via The Direct