Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • ‘Hawkeye’s Battle of New York Sequence Was “Done Brand New” for the Disney+ Series

    ‘Hawkeye’s Battle of New York Sequence Was “Done Brand New” for the Disney+ Series

    The latest Marvel Studios Disney+ series has finally arrived and Hawkeye starts off with a unique look at the original Battle for New York during The Avengers. The opening of the film introduces us to a young Kate Bishop when the Chitauri attacked.

    It’s also the moment that she witnesses Hawkeye taking down aliens and becomes a fan of the Avenger, which leads to her interest in archery. In an interview with The Wrap, director Rhys Thomas reveals that the sequence was “completely done brand new” outside of one single scene.

    The whole thing was completely done brand new, it was all new off the showroom floor, except there was one moment of Jeremy leaping off the building that we [used]. But we also had to shoot the other side. So we had our double recreate the leap as well. I had this great chance to look at dailies from the original ‘Avengers,’ which was kind of cool.

    Rhys Thomas

    It’s not the first time we revisited the events of the first Avengers film, as Spider-Man: Homecoming famously opened up with its aftermath. WandaVision also had an episode of the events from the crossover films, such as seeing what the events of the Blip meant for people that vanished after Thanos snapped his fingers.

    The sequences are reminiscent of the Marvels comic storyline, which showed the big events from the perspective of a regular photographer from the Daily Bugle. Here’ shopping they high continue teasing these events and how they establish the franchise’s future.

    Source: The Wrap

  • New Data Hints at Marvel Studios Being Responsible for More than 60% of Disney+ Subscribers

    New Data Hints at Marvel Studios Being Responsible for More than 60% of Disney+ Subscribers

    Disney+ has seen quite extensive growth since it was released last year across the world. Just recently, it celebrated its long history with Disney+ Day that offered some insight into what the future has in store. Now, the company Whip Media has offered a bit more insight into how exactly the growth of the app may have been strongly pushed through the addition of Marvel Studios’ original series. While The Mandalorian laid the groundwork for its success, their data hints that the Marvel Studios additions that started with January’s WandaVision, are a reason why people subscribe to the service.

    Keep in mind, this isn’t official data provided by Marvel Studios or Disney. It is a statistical analysis based on a survey of US TV Time apps, where interviewees were at least 13 years of age. The server showcased that only 10% were not interested in the latest show, Hawkeye while 66% were “definitely” going to check it out. Generally, it looks like 63.5% have subscribed to the service in the first place due to the Marvel Studios offerings.

    Whip Media

    It’s an impressive showcase of just how popular the Marvel Studios series are. Keep in mind, this also doesn’t include the film releases like Black Widow and Shang-Chi, which may also add a boost due to early access to Marvel Studios films. When asked if they see value in other offerings outside of Marvel on the platform, 73.9% believed there is enough on Disney+ to keep them using the platform.

    Whip Media

    So, while Marvel Studios’ offering might be the reason people are subscribing, they do stick around for the other offerings on the service. In November, we saw that the service was facing some troubles in its growth during the last quarter with only 2.1M new subscribers. It was far removed from their initially expected 10M. It was also when releases slow down for Marvel Studios and their other offerings due to the pandemic pushing back quite a few releases. The only offering was What If…? that had the least people complete the viewing according to Whip Media’s survey.

    Whip Media

    Statistically speaking, it’s certainly a showcase that Marvel Studios might continue to be a priority for the service moving forward. To be fair though, we’ve only had two new series releases under the Star Wars umbrella, The Mandalorian‘s first two seasons and The Bad Batch. So, we might see a stronger push once Obi-Wan Kenobi, Andor, and the various spin-offs, which kick off with The Book of Boba Fett next month, start releasing on the service. Plus, Marvel Studios has quite a big year planned for 2022 and we’ll see if their new ventures like She-Hulk or Moon Knight might even draw in a new audience.

    Source: Variety via The Direct, Variety

  • ‘HAWKEYE’ Writer Breaks Down Opening Flashback

    ‘HAWKEYE’ Writer Breaks Down Opening Flashback

    Despite the show’s low-level stakes, Hawkeye boasts one of the most explosive openings of any MCU property yet. The series boldly opens with the iconic Chitauri invasion that took place in the first Avengers movie, this time from the vantage of a young Kate Bishop. The sequence is nothing short of jaw-dropping as it pulls into focus the horror of ground zero from the perspective of a child but also the inspiring moment she witnesses her future hero.

    Head writer Jonathan Igla elaborated on the impetus for such a killer opening in an interview Collider, saying:

    Yeah, that was part of my original pitch when I went into Marvel. I can’t remember exactly where it initially came from, but it was definitely one of the very first things that I came up with. Partly, I was already thinking a little bit in terms of wanting to set up the notion of there being different points of view. That ends up being not as important in the series as I initially thought it might be, but in the comic books that, obviously, heavily influenced the series that everybody at Marvel loves, that I love so much, the Matt Fraction/David Aja run. And in Matt Fraction’s, generally, he plays with point of view in a really fun and fascinating way.

    Igla references Mad Men in his interview, a show he worked on prior to getting the Hawkeye gig, pointing out some emotional similarities between the death of a character in that show and a defining moment for Kate Bishop.

    I’ve always been fascinated by the way that we psychologically… the way that we pair events in our brain that are either only a little bit related, or not really related, or that we think happened at the same time and maybe didn’t. There was a moment in the premiere of the last half of the last season of Mad Men where we did something like this, where Don has not found out that Rachel Menken had died. And he’s talking to that waitress, and she sort of challenges him to think hard about the order that some of these things that he thought were coincidental had happened in.

    The episode wastes no time in showing how the Battle of New York impacts the life of Kate Bishop on every psychological level. It’s the moment that inspires her to start bettering herself in order to protect others and one that begins her thorny relationship with her mother.

    So this is a very roundabout way of saying [that] I wanted to pair the death of Kate’s father with her seeing Hawkeye. Because the trauma of losing a parent, and also an alien invasion right outside your window — which, apart from the death of a parent, is obviously a gigantic, terrifying, traumatizing event. Seeing [Hawkeye] who is not out of control in that moment, but seems completely in control, even though it’s completely terrifying. [For] Kate, somebody who doesn’t have superpowers, that felt like the type of thing that would make a lifelong lasting mark on a child.

  • Warner Bros. Officially Releases an Updated Synopsis for ‘The Batman’

    Warner Bros. Officially Releases an Updated Synopsis for ‘The Batman’

    The Batman has been generating a lot of buzz over the past couple of weeks following a recent test screening. Rumors are running wild about a potential appearance by the Joker and the feedback from those involved in the screening seems positive. Today, Warner Bros. updated the official site of the film with a new synopsis that gives us a MUCH clearer picture of what we can expect to see.

    Two years of stalking the streets as the Batman (Robert Pattinson), striking fear into the hearts of criminals, has led Bruce Wayne deep into the shadows of Gotham City. With only a few trusted allies — Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) — amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high-profile figures, the lone vigilante has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens.


    When a killer targets Gotham’s elite with a series of sadistic machinations, a trail of cryptic clues sends the World’s Greatest Detective on an investigation into the underworld, where he encounters such characters as Selina Kyle/aka Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Oswald Cobblepot/aka the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and Edward Nashton/aka the Riddler (Paul Dano). As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans becomes clear, Batman must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit, and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued Gotham City.

    It’s nice to see Matt Reeves‘ film will stress the detective side of Batman, something that’s really been neglected in the recent films in order to shine a light on the physicality of the character. Christian Bale’s turn in the cowl focused on the character’s training as a ninja while Ben Affleck’s version seemed to really be into lifting heavy things. Reeves, it seems, is choosing to challenge the Dark Knight in a little different way by running him up against the Riddler, though the rumors persist that several other members of Batman’s rogues gallery that might provide a little bit more of a physical threat will be teased or appear.

    We know DC has great faith in Reeves’ vision, having already allowed him to continue to build this world out in TV series, now it’s just a little bit longer of a wait for fans to see how he’s delivered in his new take on the hero. The Batman is scheduled to debut in theaters on March 4th, 2022.

  • ‘Gorillaz’ Co-Creator Damon Albarn Working with Netflix on a Full-Length Film

    ‘Gorillaz’ Co-Creator Damon Albarn Working with Netflix on a Full-Length Film

    The virtual band Gorillaz was created by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn back in 1998. The band has gone through many different genres since its inception. In a way, they never truly committed to any genre while even telling a story of its four fictional band members through music videos. There have been discussions about a potential cinematic adaptation for quite some time. Luckily, it seems that talks have started again as songwriter and co-creator Albarn is already in discussions with Netflix to bring the film to life. In an interview with Apple Music, he revealed the collaboration:

    I’m at Netflix because we’re making a full-length Gorillaz film with Netflix. We’re having a writing session in Malibu this afternoon. It’s really exciting to do that. It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a very long time. It’s been through so many incarnations…this Gorillaz doing a movie. Honestly.

    Damon Albarn

    The last sentence about the many incarnations once again highlights how long this project has been in development. There were hints that back in 2020 a new project was in development. It’s unclear if it’ll act as an origin story for the creation of the fictional band, or simply explore their current life. There’s a chance it might expand where the last album Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez‘s story left us off. Of course, it could tell a completely unique story with references to what has happened in the past.

    There’s also the question of whether the series will act more like an extended music video. Gorillaz might create a new album for the film, similar to what Jack Black did with the Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny film. We’ll see how long the wait will be, but if they’re going down the animated route it’s likely something that’ll take a few years before it sees the light of day.

    Source: Collider

  • Latest ‘No Way Home’ Spot Teases Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man

    Latest ‘No Way Home’ Spot Teases Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man

    Spider-Man: No Way home is probably the film with the least secrets at this point. Most of the villains have been leaked quite sometime before we even got a trailer, but the uncertainty about what is and what isn’t fake kept many speculating. The latest trailer did give us a clearer picture of the sinister threat Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man is about to face, it also gave us our first reference to “another” Spider-Man due to Alfred Molina‘s Doc Ock realizing he’s attacking a different one. There was quite an emphasis on that moment and the latest spot by Sony even kicks-off by once again hinting at there being a different Spider-Man. In a way, it seems that they are trying to offer more hints on the appearance of Tobey Maguire in the upcoming threequel.

    It isn’t a coincidence that Sony is going out of their way for this exchange between Octavius and Doctor Strange. Plus, if this scene remains in the film, it’ll likely act as a set-up. The question still remains how or when they might show up, as there hasn’t been an official tease of the also long-rumored appearance of Andrew Garfield‘s Peter Parker. Some of his villains are included with Lizard and Elektro proudly showcased in the last trailer. So, perhaps we get a line that’ll tease his appearance in another trailer. We don’t know if Lizard has kept some humanoid aspects. It’s likely that Elektro might highlight his despising of spider-themed superheroes.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Dune’ Returning to IMAX for a Limited Time After Leaving HBO Max

    ‘Dune’ Returning to IMAX for a Limited Time After Leaving HBO Max

    It looks like Warner Bros. is excited about the success of Dune, which is currently on its way to becoming their second film to pass the $100M mark at the domestic box office. The film just left HBO Max, as it was still part of the streaming deal that Warner Bros. made last year. As around $50M of its income worldwide is from IMAX showings and domestically an impressive 20% of its total box office, it seems they want to use the chance to re-release it again for a limited time on December 3rd.

    The film was specially shot for the format. So, it makes sense that they’d want to continue to bank on it. Select locations will even have a 1.43 aspect ratio vs. the usual IMAX offering of 1.90:1 that adds up to 40% more of the film’s picture. The film was shot with this format in mind, which Warner Bros. and Legendary banked on while advertising the film.

    Of course, it was a bit of a conflict with the simultaneous streaming release, but Dune still has shown a strong box office holding. It currently still remains in the top 5 and was only pushed out of the top spot with the release of Eternals. It’ll be interesting to see if this additional screening will add a decent boost to its performance.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’s The Daily Bugle Gets an Official TikTok Account

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’s The Daily Bugle Gets an Official TikTok Account

    Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s marketing is in full force, as they’ve created an entire TikTok channel for the in-universe Daily Bugle. Not just that, fellow Midtown High student, Angourie Rice‘s Betty Brant, is the service’s new intern and will host various videos alongside J.K. Simmons‘ J. Jonah Jameson. It’s a clever way to advertise the upcoming film without showing too much footage. It’s similar in style to when they created videos ahead of Ant-Man’s release that is from the in-universe news channel WHIH Newsfront. You can check out the TikTok account by clicking here. @BrandonDavisBD also uploaded the pic featuring Brant’s introduction on Twitter which you can check out here:

    It’s quite a clever idea to advertise the film and its in-universe events. Sadly, the WHIH concept only ran for a limited time and wasn’t recurringly brought back. It would be great to see the Daily Bugle be a recurring element in the MCU’s future. Betty Brant’s addition is also a great touch, as she is famously part of the news organization in the comics. So, it’ll be interesting to see if she has a future with the company moving forward and there is even a reference to it in the upcoming No Way Home film.

    Source: TikTok

  • ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Andrew Guest Worked on ‘Hawkeye’ as a Consulting Producer

    ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Andrew Guest Worked on ‘Hawkeye’ as a Consulting Producer

    Finally, the long wait has come to an end and we finally got our hands on the first two episodes of Hawkeye. The latest Marvel studios show introduces us to a more grounded storyline with Clint Barton trying to make up for past mistakes and his unlikely new protégé, Hailee Steinfeld‘s Kate Bishop. The release also includes some insights into the creative team, even some that we haven’t heard about yet. In the first episode’s credits, the name Andrew Guest pops up as a consulting producer.

    It’s quite an interesting addition that hasn’t been announced so far. Guest has worked on quite a number of classic comedies, such as 30 Rock and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Interestingly enough, it seems his inclusion in the project was teased back in September when the Community writer shared his excitement for the latest Marvel Studios project.

    One of the highlights from the series is the dynamic between Kate and Clint. There’s a good chance that the writer and producer’s experience with comedies. He might’ve joined the writing team to offer his insight into some of the character moments, or even bring the comedy of the Tracksuit Mafia together. It’ll be interesting to see if his style of comedy shows through the rest of the series as we see how the story continues to unravel.

    Source: Disney+, IMDB, Twitter

  • Amazon Prime Nearing Deal to Adapt ‘Mass Effect’ as a Series

    Amazon Prime Nearing Deal to Adapt ‘Mass Effect’ as a Series

    Mass Effect was released to critical acclaim in 2007. The 3rd-person shooter developed by Bioware initially followed the story of an almost fully-customizable character named Commander Shepherd. Their mission was simple: hunt down a rogue Spectre named Saren across the galaxy. Its success led to a sequel that has become heralded as one of the greatest games of all time. Now, the franchise is finally heading into live-action, as Amazon Studios is nearing a deal to develop a series based on the gaming franchise.

    Jennifer Saalke, the head of Amazon Studios, said that we will see the studio “continuing to invest in fantasy genre of all kinds. We have a genre-focused team on the ground in Studios who work tirelessly with our creative partners on those slates, and you can look forward to more.” Mass Effect was highlighted in the article by Deadline about the studio’s upcoming projects to do exactly that.

    The franchise saw a resurgence with the release of the Legendary Edition, which includes the first three entries of the game. While the Andromeda game was controversial during its release, there’s a lot of hope for the recently announced Mass Effect 4. It’ll be interesting to see if the series adapts Commander Shepherd’s story or takes a unique approach within this universe. There are many corners that could get explored in a series with some familiar faces popping up here and there. Sadly, we won’t get to choose our protagonists’ dialogues this time around.

    Source: Deadline