It looks like Disney has found the headliner for their upcoming National Treasure series on Disney+. Deadline shared that Lisette Alexis from Total Eclipse fame landed the leading role. Jerry Bruckheimer returns alongside director Jon Turteltaub as executive producers. The pilot was written by Marianne and Cormac Wibberley and will act as an expansion of the original film franchise. Alexis’ character, Jess, will go on an adventure of a lifetime to find out about her past to save a Pan-American treasure.
Mira Nair will direct the pilot episode that expands the world we learned through NicolasCage‘s Benjamin Gates. Jess is a brilliant and resourceful mind that can’t get enough of a “good mystery.” Of course, she’s talented in solving them and it ends up leading to her uncovering some long-hidden history, which may connect to her mysterious parents. Episodes will also be written by Suits‘ Rick Muirragui.
They are currently eyeing a production start in 2022. It’s a big step for actress Lisette Alexis, as she just recently starred opposite Sierra McCormick in We Need To Do Something. Her big starring role was in a few episodes of the TV series Total Eclipse as Belle in 2019. It’ll be interesting to see if they build up a potential connection to Gates at some point to interconnect the projects.
Netflix’s latest blockbuster series from South Korea, Squid Game, has been dominating the streaming market. It’s been all the rage with TikTok videos paying tribute and the recent reveal of a new Funko Pop selection. The series pulled in 142M viewers in just its first four weeks. Nielsen’s U.S. rankings have added an updated top listing and the series managed to become the sixth title to pass 3 billion minutes watched within just a week. As a result, it’s also the best performing series in the United States.
The chart also includes Ted Lasso, What If…?, Only Murders in the Building, and Goliath, but Squid Game was the clear winner. What is interesting to note is that the former Apple TV+ series had its first appearance in the top listing after its Emmy win. Interestingly enough, HBO Max is the only streaming service to enter Nielsen’s top listing regularly. The only exception was Wonder Woman 1984. to put Squid Game’s 3 billion in comparison, the second place went to another Netflix series, Midnight Mass, with 1.71B minutes watched. Lucifer took the third spot with 535M minutes.
Given Netflix’s long history in the streaming market, they are the only streaming service to pass the 3B minutes in a week milestone. Its other series that managed to do so were You, Tiger King, Ozard, The Umbrella Academy, and The Crown. Of these shows, Tiger King managed it twice while Ozark dominated three weeks. It’ll be interesting to see if there are other series that’ll join this special club.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will end the current trilogy of Tom Holland‘s run as the character. The first trailer teased the grand return of Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, which he openly confirmed some time ago. When we get our first look at the actor, it confirmed that he’ll be closer to what he was in Spider-Man 2 back in 2004. Yet, a new image has found its way online that features a curious difference. His tentacles seem to have red and gold included in their design unlike what we saw in previous images.
Of course, the color caught many fans’ attention, such as @Mar_Tessaract believing it might be a nod to Tony Stark’s iconic Iron Man color palette. Doc Ock was a mentor figure in the original film, which this may be a nod towards but what stands out is that when you look at previous images from Empire’s coverage on the film, there’s a distinct lack of these color additions.
This month's cover feature is a world-exclusive on No Way Home, where we talk to stars Tom Holland, Zendaya, director Jon Watts, Marvel boss Kevin Feige and producer Amy Pascal about Spider-Man’s next adventure.
If you zoom in, you might notice some golden parts in the tentacles’ design but no sign of the red highlighted in the new image. Even the arms seem slicker in the new image if you take a closer look. Not just that, but it seems his tentacles have a very different structure. It is closer to the design from the 2004 film. So, the image from Empire above is probably from their first confrontation and he’ll upgrade it at some point. Perhaps he ends up finding some Stark Technology equipment and gives his arms an overhaul. Learning of Peter’s connection to the hero, he might add the color to toy with his multiversal foe.
Marvel’s Avengers took a bit of a backseat this half-year, as after the release of Black Panther they’ve started focusing on reworking the core system. The goal is quite simple. They have their first raid coming up with Spider-Man’s release, as well as preparing for 2022. We’ve long waited for what they might be cooking up at Crystal Dynamics and while they did state they’re taking a backseat for sister company Eidos’ release of Guardians of the Galaxy, they still had a nice surprise for players. In the latest weekly blog, they’ve shared their first major change to how gear perks worked.
So, the rework will serve a very specific function. The goal is to make each hero’s offerings stand out rather than just having the same perk across everyone’s base set. It’s a great decision, as it allows the players to work on their character’s unique traits and adds replayability to try out others. The first rework focused on Captain America, Hulk, and Thor.
Captain America’s new perks focus primarily on his “heroics, intrinsic actions, or defensive enhancements.” In the case of Thor, all generic perks have been removed and received a perk titled Binding of the Thunderer, which adds an Odinforce Amplifier. Hulk got more gamma-themed perks like Worldbreaker’s Alloy (high chance of regen Heroics). If you want more details, you can check them out here.
These are still small changes ahead of the bigger insight teased by Crystal Dynamics, but it’s a fantastic step in the right direction. Marvel’s Avengers offers some fun characters and a great story, but the gear has been a rather highly discussed part of the game. Long-time players are looking for a reason to get back into the game and these changes might inspire them to grind out to establish their new builds. Here’s hoping we’ll get more details in the coming weeks on the general reworks in the game. There was a tease by the game’s community manager that we can expect a longer entry next week.
In the entertainment industry, timing is everything. Especially comic book movies involve a lot more with merchandising and utilizing the synergy to nab an extra buck. So, when a project has a lot of mysteries surrounding it, all eyes are on various merchandising or tie-ins to figure out what is heading our way. Sony especially has been analyzed on their every action ever since rumors started circling that Spider-Man: No Way Home will include more than just a single Spider-Man. So, the latest announcement is certain to add more to the discussion.
Sony has decided to re-release all films featuring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as 4K Ultra HD deluxe box sets. The original Spider-Man trilogy and TheAmazing Spider-Man 2-film edition will release on November 8th just in time to give everyone a chance to catch up on their films. Of course, the confirmed inclusion of villains from both films adds a nice synergy to bank on, as people might want to catch up with Alfred Molina‘s Doctor Octopus who has been heavily featured in its trailers and official images.
Of course, besides the villains, there’s still the rumor that Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield might have a role in the film. So, their release will likely add to the speculation surrounding No Way Home, which will not only end Tom Holland‘s trilogy but pay tribute to the films that came before. We’re still anxiously awaiting the next trailer, which might offer a clearer picture what other references we can expect in the threequel entry of the MCU.
It’s been quite some time since we published a “What I Heard This Week” article at Murphy’s Multiverse. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the concept, the information in these articles is typically unconfirmed by multiple sources and, as such, should be treated as a rumor. You’ll notice they’re not called scoops or exclusives. It’s information that came our way that we thought fans would like to hear and discuss. In the past the information has been correct (Peyton Reed directing The Mandalorian), shot down publicly (James Gunn developing Krypto) or might even remain unresolved (what type of contact did JGL have with Marvel Studios?). Logically, if it’s an unconfirmed rumor to me, it shouldn’t be a big deal to anyone else.
With all that said, the focus of this week’s WIHTW is the villain of The Marvels, set to be portrayed by Zawe Ashton. In the months since Ashton’s casting was made public, fan speculation about who she might be has run rampant. Is she Rogue?! Is she Moonstone?! As it turns out, she is neither of those characters and, if the information that’s come our way is correct, she’s playing a character most of us will have never heard of, though it is one that is unsurprisingly tied to the Kree empire.
The events of Captain Marvel took place in 1995 and the Kree Empire we see in The Marvels will have undergone some major changes. We know from Guardians of the Galaxy that the Supreme Intelligence was displaced in favor of an emperor. It’s also pretty clear from what’s already been circulated about the movie that the Kree have not forgotten about Carol.
And that’s where Ashton’s character comes into play. I heard that Ashton’s character, described by the trades as the villain ofThe Marvels, is loosely based on an incredibly minor Kree comic character named Ael-Dan, who has appeared and/or is referenced in a total of 3 comics. In those appearances, General Ael-Dan works in tandem with a General Dar-Benn to assassinate the sitting emperor and then take his place. Their great reign ended during Operation Galactic Storm when they were killed by Deathbird of the Shi’ar. Ashton’s character in The Marvels is a gender-swapped take on this character which means that for all intents and purposes, she’s playing an original character. I’ve heard the character described as both the Kree Emperor and a Kree general. In the comics, both are true and I can’t confirm if Ashton’s character will be one or the other or both in the film.
The meat of the story here isn’t the name of the character, but rather the fact that Carol will find herself at odds with the new Kree government 30 or so years after their last known run in and that at least one of the faces of that government is an ambitious and ruthless character played by Ashton. Marvel Studios has wanted to work with Ashton for some time, so while I can’t say if her character will make it out of this film or appear in other projects, her impact will be felt far more than the comic book counterpart on which the character is based. With so many major Kree characters from which to choose, it’s curious to see Marvel Studios chose such a minor one, though that’s not to say this is the only Kree character in the film.
It’ll be a long, long time before we see Ashton’s Kree as The Marvels isn’t set to debut until February 17, 2023.
Marvel Comics will celebrate Johnny Blaze’s 50th anniversary next year and will do so, in part, by giving the OG Ghost Rider a new, ongoing solo series. Writer Benjamin Percy (Wolverine, X-Force) and artist Cory Smith (Conan the Barbarian, Phoenix Song: Echo) will work together on the book and talked to Marvel.com about their plans for the Spirit of Vengeance.
Percy, whose character work on Wolverine is right up there with the legendary Chris Claremont, has always been attracted to the horror aspects of the character:
I’m a horror head. I grew up reading Stephen King, watching John Carpenter, and listening to Black Sabbath, and when it came to comics, I always reached first for the dark and weird which means I read a hell of a lot of Ghost Rider. That flaming skull. That spiked leather jacket. That monstrous bike coughing out clouds of sulfurous exhaust. To this day, the sight of the character blazing along a midnight highway makes my heart rev like a four-stroke engine.
The new series will see Blaze holding down a steady job and living the dream with his wife and two kids in a small town…but life isn’t all white picket fences when you’re hosting a vengeful spirit. Percy seems uniquely positioned to move the character into a new era while still paying homage to his wild, metal roots.
Ghost Rider is arguably the best designed, but inarguably, the most heavy metal character in all of comics. It would be badass to write this series at any point in my life, but launching on the 50th anniversary feels especially (un)holy. Cory Smith is killing it on art, and we’re going to honor the past while burning rubber into a terrifying future packed with mystery, action, and shadow-soaked emotion. Prepare yourself for the ultimate in road horror.
Johnny was recently seen going toe-to-toe with his brother, Danny Ketch (who is also a Rider) and taking over the throne of Hell. It is interesting to see Marvel launch a new solo series next year given the rumors that continue to swirl about the character joining the MCU. Pre-orders for Ghost Rider #1 will open up this week and the book will hit your LCS in February.
Marvel Studios’ fourth Disney+ installment, What If…? was noteworthy for several reasons. On one hand, it was the studio’s first dive into animation which showcased shorter, mostly standalone stories that remixed movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In other cases, the series managed to tell almost entirely new stories as well. But What If…?’s most important aspect may have been the fact that it was also the MCU’s first look at its own multiverse.
In the new Marvel Studios: Assembled episode that showcases how What If…? was created, Producer Brad Winderbaum states:
“What If…? gives us an opportunity to tell stories with a whole new idea of what the physical reality of the universe is. That is something that’s gonna be explored in other ways moving forward in our films.”
Brad Winderbaum
The President of Marvel Studios himself, Kevin Feige also added:
“I really believe the deepening fictional mythologies is a way to appreciate them more, is a way to understand them more, look at them in a different way. They’ve got now two seasons of What If…? ideas underway that’s some of the best storytelling we’ve ever had that you may see spin into other mediums. It’s really the most uniquely beautiful animated series I’ve seen in a long time.”
Kevin Feige
It is safe to say that down the line, some of What If…?‘s characters, or even storylines, from episodes like What If…Zombies!? will almost certainly appear in some form in the live-action MCU Universe. Whether these are brief cameos or total animation-to-live-action transitions remains unknown. Either way, we will continue to see more What If…? content as Season 2 of the series is confirmed and its episodes are already written.
The actress, who’ll play Princess Peach, shared that they’ve already started the recording process on “little bits and pieces” for now. Not just that, she also shared her favorite part about playing the role, she gets to play games as part of her research. Of course, she doesn’t go into much detail but it’s good to know that the film seems currently on track to hit its release next year.
Oh, it is so much fun. We started doing little bits and pieces of it already. The greatest part is that I get to say I am doing homework or work or research just by gaming, which is pretty great.
It’s going to be quite interesting to see how they bring this franchise to the silver screen. Still, it’s great to hear Taylor-Joy is having fun with the role and seems like a perfect fit for the character. Yet, there’s also the mystery on how much dialogue we can expect, as Mario isn’t famous for talking a lot. So, Chris Pratt in the role was quite the surprise.
He’s no stranger to doing voice work as he also brought The LEGO Movie‘s Emmet to life. If he’ll have a large voice role, we might expect a lot more character development from the Italian plumber as he faces off against Bowser once again, who’ll be voiced by Jack Black. The role of Seth Rogens‘ Donkey Kong is still uncertain, as he’s been known as a foe and friend throughout the gaming franchise.
After Dune was finally released in cinemas, we were clamoring for the sequel to finally get an announcement. Luckily, Warner Bros. didn’t waste any time and officially greenlit Dune: Part Two a few days ago. Yet, it seems that director Denis Villeneuve entered production with a sequel in mind, as the story finds an abrupt end on their journey to meet the Fremen of Arrakis. Yet, it seems that he has even more plans for the franchise’s future.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he opened up on how he’s approaching Frank Herbert‘s book series. While the sequel will finish up the story from the original novel, he plans to include Dune: Messiah as it would cap off the story of Timothée Chalamet‘s Paul Atreides.
I always envisioned three movies. It’s not that I want to do a franchise, but this is Dune, and Dune is a huge story. In order to honor it, I think you would need at least three movies. That would be the dream. To follow Paul Atreides and his full arc would be nice.
Denis Villeneuve
Oddly, he’d point out he doesn’t want to create a franchise, as there’s also an HBO Max spinoff in development that added Diane Ademu-John as showrunner this July. Still, his point is more on how Herbert’s books get “psychedelic” as they go on. He seems open to potentially tackling all of them at some point but his main focus would be to end the original novel and adapt Messiah. Of course, Children of Dune and God Emperor of Dune would make for some crazy cinema, such as seeing a person turn into a human-sandworm hybrid as EW points out.
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