Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Marvel Studios ‘Blade’ Looks to Be Building a Vampire Hunting Team

    Marvel Studios ‘Blade’ Looks to Be Building a Vampire Hunting Team

    After originally being scheduled to begin production in September of 2021 before being delayed, Marvel Studios Blade project is back pre-production ahead of an expected August 2022 start. Recently, some still shots of a Zoom meeting that included star Mahershala Ali, writer Stacy Osei-Kuffour, and the director Bassam Tariq along with Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, made their way online and, over the last couple of days, some character descriptions for roles currently being cast have surfaced. And while Marvel Studios doesn’t give too much away in the character descriptions used for casting, the most recent one included one hint that may point in one very particular direction.

    Yesterday, a description for a character code named “Abid” made its way around the internet. “Abid” is described as a burly, South Asian character who has taken a vow of silence after a turbulent life. While it’s not a perfect translation of the character, “Abid” sounds incredibly similar to Taj Nital, a one-time ally of Blade and a member of one of Marvel Comics’ first group of vampire hunters.

    Taj was indeed a burly, South Asian character who was first introduced in Tomb of Dracula #3, who did not speak; however, in the comics, he didn’t speak because he had his throat ripped out by vampires, so a slight change there. Taj, along with Rachel van Helsing, the granddaughter of great vampire hunter Abraham van Helsing, worked with Quincy Harker to hunt down the world’s oldest vampire threat, Dracula. Harker, the son of Jonathan and Mina Harker from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, eventually worked with Frank Drake, a descendant of Dracula, and Blade to take on the vampire nation.

    If “Abid” is Taj, it’s possible that the other character descriptions that surfaced recently might be for Harker and Rachel van Helsing. Marvel Studios often casts in groups that will be working together, so “Huntley”, described as a man, 40-60, could be Harker, and “Faiza”, a French-speaking North African female between 20 and 40 could be a new take on Rachel. Obviously this is speculation, but it’s sensible speculation that these characters will be working together since they are casting them at the same time.

    Of course, the most exciting thing about these potential casting is that IF these characters are Harker’s vampire hunters, it’s very likely that Blade will be used not only to introduce vampires to the MCU, but also to bring Dracula in right away. Given Harker and van Helsing’s relationship to Dracula, it’s hard to imagine him not showing up if these are, in fact, those characters.

    Marvel Studios Blade will film from August until December of this year and currently has no release date.

  • How Marvel and Sony Pitched ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ to Andrew Garfield

    How Marvel and Sony Pitched ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ to Andrew Garfield

    The open secret of multiple Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home is finally no longer a secret. While many fans believed Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would join Tom Holland as variants of Peter Parker, it had not been fully acknowledged in the media until the film finally released. Variety has managed to speak to Andrew Garfield about his role in the film and how it came about. It’s the first time the actor can openly discuss it since being forced to deny it for months. In the interview, he highlights how Amy Pascal, Kevin Feige, and Jon Watts provided an exciting and empowering pitch for him to join the project: 

    I wasn’t expecting to ever have a conversation again about potentially playing Peter Parker. I felt very excited to just to be a fan again. But I got this call from Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige and Jon Watts with this idea. It was immediately undeniable. It sounded incredibly fun, incredibly spiritual — trippy and thematically interesting. On a base level, as a Spider-Man fan, just the idea of seeing three Spider-Men in the same frame was enough. The pitch was really, really enticing. They said, “You played this character in your way and what would you want to explore if you had an opportunity? If you were dumped into this other universe and faced with this younger you and this older you, how will you respond?

    Andrew Garfield

    It seems like there were multiple levels to Garfield being excited about the project, especially as a fan of the character. The way they let him as an actor explore the future of the character he once played is in keeping with the film’s themes of identity and responsibility. That exploration and the success of his iteration of the character specifically from this film has proved fruitful. How well those successes have landed with audiences suggests Garfield might like another go around if he can create similar thematic and emotional resonances with his role in future projects. 

    Source: Variety 

  • ‘Naomi’: Ava DuVernay Teases the Forthcoming CW Series

    ‘Naomi’: Ava DuVernay Teases the Forthcoming CW Series

    While WarnerMedia looks to sell the CW, the network is operating normally. During the TCAs on Thursday, Ava DuVernay teased her forthcoming DC Comics adaption, Naomi, hitting the CW next week on Jan. 11. Naomi, of course, is the second DC Comics title DuVernay has tackled. Shortly before the director’s New Gods feature was shelved, DC and the CW announced last February she’d be bringing Naomi, a relatively new title, to life on the small screen. For DuVernay, getting to tackle a book like Naomi was important. 

    “It’s not about representation, it’s about normalization,” DuVernay explained. “We’re doing really muscular things that relate to race and gender and class but we’re doing it by playing it normal like it’s just a part of the everyday… The more you can portray images without underlining or highlighting them and putting a star next to them. By showing a different type of hero that centers a girl, a Black girl, that centers different kinds of folks. We start to make that normal and that’s a radical and revolutionary thing.”

    As for what fans can expect from the adaptation? DuVernay notes that they crammed a lot into the first two episodes, however, don’t expect any crossovers to happen just yet. “We got a lot of information in the first two episodes which means: we get to make up cool new things,” she said. “You won’t see any crossovers in season one. We’re focused on Naomi’s journey singularly.”

    Naomi, of course, is based on the comic of the same name from Brian Michael Bendis, David F. Walker and artist Jamal Campbell. The series follows Naomi McDuffie (Kaci Walfall) who is a top student, skateboarder and huge Superman fan. After a stunt in her hometown of Port Oswego turns her world upside down, Naomi finds herself dealing with strange new fainting spells as she tries to uncover who or what is behind the unexpected event. As she looks for answers, and finds some folks in her town know more than they’re letting on, Naomi will find the event has changed her life for good, challenging her to question everything she knows.

    Source: Deadline

  • Andrew Garfield Improvised A Key ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Line

    Andrew Garfield Improvised A Key ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Line

    Now that Spider-Man: No Way Home was released a few weeks ago, more behind-the-scenes stories from the production are beginning to emerge. While it was an open secret that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would appear alongside Tom Holland, there was lots of uncertainty about how they would each play their version of Peter Parker.  In relation to Marvel and Sony’s initial pitch to him Garfield spoke to Variety about how he approached his Peter in relation to the others: 

    We talked a lot about mentorship. We talked a lot about brotherhood and about what it is to be the older brother, younger brother and the middle brother. There’s also a thing of seeing someone you love walking down a path that you’ve already walked down, and you know it doesn’t lead [to] the place where you ultimately meant to go.

    Andrew Garfield

    Having each played the character of Peter Parker, Garfield said that the three actors had “deeper conversations” about their experiences with the character. It might have been these that prompted an unscripted moment in the film:

    There’s a line I improvised in the movie, looking at [Maguire and Holland] and I tell them I love them. That was just me loving them.

    Andrew Garfield

    It’s great to hear that one of the most heartwarming moments in the film was improvised and speaks to a warmth between the actors as well as the characters. It was also probably a feeling that many people in the audience had while watching alongside the characters. It’s exciting for fans to know that the actor’s comradery translated from their characters to the actors themselves. 


    Source: Variety

  • ‘Fallout’ TV Series at Amazon Nabs Director, Showrunners

    ‘Fallout’ TV Series at Amazon Nabs Director, Showrunners

    Amazon’s adaptation of the popular videogame, Fallout, has found a director and a pair of showrunners. Per Deadline, Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Captain Marvel) and Graham Wagner (Silicon Valley) will serve as showrunners on the television series. While Jonathan Nolan, who is producing the project alongside Lisa Joy through their banner Kilter Films, will direct the premiere episode.

    It was first announced that Amazon would adapt the beloved franchise in July 2020. The project comes as part of the overall deal Nolan and Joy have through Amazon Studios. They will produce the series alongside Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. Nolan, Joy, Athena Wickham of Kilter Films, Todd Howard of Bethesda Game Studios and James Altman of Bethesda Softworks will serve as executive producers.

    Nolan, a known fan of the franchise, calls Fallout one of the best video game franchises of all time. “Each chapter of this insanely imaginative story has cost us countless hours we could have spent with family and friends,” he said when the adaptation was first announced. “So we’re incredibly excited to partner with Todd Howard and the rest of the brilliant lunatics at Bethesda to bring this massive, subversive, and darkly funny universe to life with Amazon Studios.”

    While Nolan doesn’t do much directing, he did direct the pilot episodes of both CBS’ Person of Interest, which he helped create, and HBO’s Westworld, in which he serves as an executive producer. Nolan also directed the Season 1 finale of Westworld, as well as the Season 3 premiere. Outside of directing, Nolan has famously worked with his brother, Christopher Nolan on The Dark Knight trilogy, Interstellar, and The Prestige.

    Fallout first launched in Oct. 1997. Since then, the video game franchise has continued to only grow in popularity, launching a mobile game in June 2015. Microsoft purchased Bethesda Game Studios last year, all but ensuring the Fallout franchise will continue to live on for quite some time.

    As it stands, there is no release date set for the television series.

    Source: Deadline

  • Original Wolverine Voice Actor Cal Dodd Started Recording for ‘X-Men ’97’

    Original Wolverine Voice Actor Cal Dodd Started Recording for ‘X-Men ’97’

    Marvel Studios had its first venture into animation last year with What If…? but that was just the beginning. During Disney+ Day, we got the announcement that they will revive the classic X-Men: Animated Series. It’ll continue the 90s nostalgia classic under the new title X-Men ’97. Of course, they went the extra step and will have the original cast return. We already learned that Le Zann started recording her lines for Rogue, but it looks like Cal Dodd, the original Wolverine voice actor, shared a picture of his work on the project.

    Dodd continued to voice the character in the Marvel vs Capcom game series and has been what everyone thought of when it came to the character before Jason Blum and Hugh Jackman reinvented the characters in other animated and live-action projects. It’s great to see him return and there’s a lot of hope for the animated live-action revival. It’ll also be Marvel Studios’ first time tackling the X-Men characters and Wolverine since they purchased 20th Century Fox. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle the revival, as well as his eventual live-action return.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Scream’ to Eyeing a Franchise Record Opening With $40M Weekend

    ‘Scream’ to Eyeing a Franchise Record Opening With $40M Weekend

    It’s an understatement to say that Spider-Man: No Way Home has been dominating the box office worldwide. The film passed a billion in record time even as the pandemic is still an issue that might once again close down cinemas in select countries. Sing 2 was a surprisingly strong contender as a younger audience was once again able to visit cinemas, but it looks like a new contender is facing the Omicron head-on. January’s next major release will be the horror veteran Scream that continues the classic franchise and may highlight horror’s strong grip even during the pandemic.

    The film is currently predicted to make $35M over four days with a more optimistic outlook even seeing git manage $40M. Canada will have some closures, but it’s unsure how much it’ll potentially affect its release. As such, the film could manage to pass the $100M mark. As of now, the film would break the franchise’s record, which is an exciting prospect. Sony’s delay of Morbius may become an advantage as the film won’t face any major new competition outside of the dominating existence that is No Way Home. It’ll be interesting to see what implications it might have going into 2022.

    Source: IndieWire, ScreenRant

  • RUMOR: ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ Sequel Reveal Expected Ahead of E3

    RUMOR: ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’ Sequel Reveal Expected Ahead of E3

    Here’s an interesting bit of news that has found its way online. Star Wars is finally entering its renaissance with new game announcements and the release of The Book of Boba Fett. 2022 is looking like a stacked year for the galactic franchise and it seems that a popular game is finally getting the sequel to reveal that many have been anticipating. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order explored the story of Cal Kestis after the rise of the Empire. The first game – while buggy – offered a perfect blend of Jedi action and Dark Souls-lite combat. There hasn’t been much information out there on the next entry, but luckily that seems like it’ll end soon.

    In a new report by Grubb from Giant Bomb, he has shared that the Fallen Order sequel is likely to get a “significant” reveal ahead of this year’s E3, which is likely going to be around May or June. There are hints that it may potentially even be released at the end of the year, or in 2023 at the latest. It’s the first real information we are getting on the sequel, but it comes just as the game took over Amazon Prime games. As it’s still a rumor, for now, we can only hope that it turns out true once we near the E3 event.

    Source: Giant Bomb via Twitter, EuroGamer

  • RUMOR: ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ May Add Riri Williams as an NPC

    RUMOR: ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ May Add Riri Williams as an NPC

    Marvel’s Avengers is about to enter 2022, as we still await the next roadmap for the game. The first year may have started off bumpy, but we saw the additions of four heroes, Kate Bishop, Clint Barton, Black Panther, and the PS-exclusive Spider-Man. We don’t know quite yet what we can expect from this year’s content outside of rumblings surrounding She-Hulk, but there might be another familiar face joining the game as a non-playable-character.

    @EddyZ115, who has been data mining the game for some time now, has shared that a file in the game includes the name, Riri Williams. Comic fans will instantly recognize Ironheart’s civilian name, who is also set to get her own Disney+ show in the near future. There have been rumblings about a mystery character to join the already rumored characters next year, as pointed out by @mmmmmmmmiller. As such, it was believed she might be the character in question, but was later highlighted that this file includes references to a character model that is possibly for an NPC.

    We still have to take this information with a grain of salt, as the existence of the character in the game doesn’t mean they finalized anything. In August of 2020, there was a listing of 15 possible DLC characters heading to the game due to what was available in the game’s source code. Yet, the development on each character that has released so far varied and plans can always change as they continue working on the game.

    Her inclusion as an NPC character wouldn’t be too surprising, as most of their latest offerings included some familiar faces that are mainly supporting roles in the respective stories. Black Panther’s expansion included Shuri as an NPC in the new hub world, and it’s likely that Riri might have a similar role for another character. Of course, we still have to take this information with a grain of salt until we get the actual roadmap for 2022.

    Source: Twitter

  • WarnerMedia is Looking to Sell The CW

    WarnerMedia is Looking to Sell The CW

    The CW is going up for sale by WarnerMedia, with a potential home for the network already in the cards.

    Late on Wednesday, Jan. 5th, it was revealed that WarnerMedia was looking to sell its television network, the CW. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal, with the outlet reporting Nexstar is one of the potential suitors. Interestingly enough, while WSJ was able to confirm the network is for sale, it was unable to note whether ViacomCBS and WarnerMedia intend on selling the entire network outright or retaining a minority stake following the purchase.

    The CW, of course, has long been a struggling network since its debut in 2006. At the time, the network came about when UPN and The WB Network were merged together. Compared to other networks, the views for the CW have long been less than stellar with much of the revenue earned by the network coming from the international streaming sales of its biggest titles, including The Flash and Dynasty. While the CW once had a strong deal with Netflix that helped to booster some of its titles, that deal expired in 2019 following the launch of HBO Max. This ultimately cut into the network’s profits for the sales of international streaming rights.

    When the CW was created, it was meant to provide a network for viewers between the ages of 18-34. Yet, while the network has found some success with its DC Comics adaptations (nicknamed the Arrowverse), viewership has continued to decline, with most titles lucky to even pull in a 1.0 rating in the all-too-important 18-34 demographic.

    Source: The Wall Street Journal