Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Derek Cianfrance to Direct Ryan Gosling’s ‘Wolfman’

    Derek Cianfrance to Direct Ryan Gosling’s ‘Wolfman’

    Universal is trying once again to revive their popular horror icon franchises and has managed to get Ryan Gosling to star in a new rendition of Wolfman. It looks like they finally found their director in Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine‘s Derek Cianfrance. As the previous titles suggest, he has quite the history with the actor, and together they’ll bring the werewolf story back to life. Originally, Leigh Whannel was set to tackle the project but had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. Cianfrance will also write the script with Gosling, Ken Kao, and Jason Blum will also act as producers.

    There’s no word exactly how they plan to reinvent the classic character. Last we got a Universal version of the werewolf storyline, it was Benicio del Toro‘s period piece. Hints are pointing to an updated interpretation that would place Gosling’s version into the modern-day. At one point they tried to create a connected universe titled the Dark Universe, but Tom Cruise‘s The Mummy tanked that idea before it even got started.

    It’s uncertain if they might still want to chase this endeavor, but a revival of the classic franchise definitely set them in the right direction. Wolfman would be a very out-there direction for Cianfrance, whose background mainly lies in adult dramas, as Deadline points out. So, it’ll be interesting to see the director tackle this new type of film in his career.

    Source: Deadline

  • Next ‘The Expendables’ Film Adds ‘The Raid’s Iko Uwais as a Villain

    Next ‘The Expendables’ Film Adds ‘The Raid’s Iko Uwais as a Villain

    It looks like the net entry of The Expendables franchise has found its main antagonist, as Deadline reports that The Raid‘s Iko Uwais joined the film. The film’s staff will see the return of Jason Statham, Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture. They’ll also be joined by Andy Garcia, Jacob Scipio, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Megan Fox. So, it’s quite the all-star cast of unlikely action heroes for Uwais to take on. Scott Waugh is directing the film based on a script by Spenser Cohen, Max Adams, and John Joseph Connolly.

    The film will continue where the last entry ended, as a group of veteran mercenaries takes on an unlikely challenge. Uwais‘ role is still kept a secret, but supposedly he’ll play a former military officer, who is now an active arms dealer with the private army. He’s a great addition to the franchise, who became famous for his role in 2011 and 2014’s entries of The Raid films. He recently also joined Paramount’s Snake Eyes and is currently set to appear in Fists Full of Vengeance.

    The Expendables franchise started back in 2010, as David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, who also took the director’s chair, wanted to revive the 90s action. As such, it also started to include many iconic actors from that era such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, and many more. There were also plans for a spinoff titled The ExpendaBelles featuring an all-star female cast.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Dune: Part Two’ Officially in The Works at WB and Legendary

    ‘Dune: Part Two’ Officially in The Works at WB and Legendary

    This past weekend was crazy for films, with Dune finally hitting theaters after multiple delays due to the ongoing pandemic. Dune was immediately met with praise from critics and fans alike and opened to $40 million at the domestic box office this weekend. Fans have become increasingly anxious for the continuation of the franchise as the film begins with the reveal that this is only the first part in what could be a potential franchise for Warner Brothers and Legendary. 

    Luckily, fans appear to have received their wish. Legendary took to Twitter to officially confirm that Dune: Part Two is officially in the works. The sequel is set to hit theaters on October 20th, 2023, and will be exclusive to theaters, unlike Part One‘s day and date release on HBO Max. 

    Director Denis Villeneuve had this to say about the sequel announcement and how happy he is to continue telling Herbert’s story.

    “I just received news from Legendary that we are officially moving forward with Dune: Part Two, It was a dream of mine to adapt Frank Herbert’s Dune and I have the fans, the cast, and crew, Legendary and Warner Bros. to thank for supporting this dream. This is only the beginning.”

    Legendary also commented on the news following its big announcement

    “Legendary is pleased to officially move forward with Dune: Part Two…once again based on the amazing books written by Frank Herbert, We would not have gotten to this point without the extraordinary vision of Denis and the amazing work of his talented crew, the writers, our stellar cast, our partners at Warner Bros., and of course the fans! Here’s to more Dune.”

    No official casting has been announced but Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, and Stellan Skarsgård will most likely be reprising their roles in the sequel.

    SOURCE: THR, Twitter

  • REPORT: Killian Scott Will Play A Skrull From X-Men Comics in ‘SECRET INVASION’

    REPORT: Killian Scott Will Play A Skrull From X-Men Comics in ‘SECRET INVASION’

    With all the hype surrounding Marvel Studios’ massive theatrical projects and immediately inbound Disney+ series, it’s been easy to forget about the upcoming adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis‘ Secret Invasion. Now, however, we have an exciting new update on one of the series’ major players. According to a report from The Direct, actor Killian Scott will be portraying a Skrull who had strong connections to the X-Men in Marvel’s comic book lore. The information lines up with a previous report from Murphy’s Multiverse, which indicated Scott would be playing a Skrull character.

    The word from The Direct is that the Irish actor will be playing a Skrull named Fiz in the limited series. In the comics, this character was a Mutant Skrull who possessed the ability to alter his size on top of his race’s usual shape-shifting trait. Much like the humans of Earth, the other Skrulls banished Fiz out of fear of his mutant power. The Skrullian warrior ended up settling with the X-Men and being trained by Charles Xavier himself, though it is unknown if this connection will come to fruition in the MCU.

    Scott joined the production of Secret Invasion in April. He is in good company, performing alongside the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Kingsley Ben-Adir. Fan-favorite Ben Mendelsohn will also reprise his role as the Skrull general Talos. The Disney+ production will be helmed by writer Kyle Bradstreet, will consist of six episodes, and is expected to premiere sometime next year.

    Source: The Direct

  • James Gunn Confirms the Guardians of the Galaxy Were Originally Set to Debut in Marvel One-Shots

    James Gunn Confirms the Guardians of the Galaxy Were Originally Set to Debut in Marvel One-Shots

    Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a brand new cast of characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with immense success, but it looks like debuting all of the titular characters at once wasn’t the original plan. In an excerpt from the new book, The Story of Marvel Studios, famed Marvel boss Kevin Feige reveals each Guardian was going to debut in individual Marvel One-Shots.

    He explained:

    We toyed with the idea of doing short films on Drax, on Rocket and Groot, and on Gamora, leading up to Guardians. This One-Shot series would have led into the Guardians movie proper – which would have also been directly preceded by a fourth self-contained short film about a mysterious kid who loved fantasy things. Then you’d start Guardians. And half-way through, we would reveal that big space hero is the kid from the short. We thought that would be clever, but it was too much.

    Taking to Twitter, the franchise’s helmer James Gunn confirmed the information and elaborated on it further. The filmmaker revealed he had been set to write and direct the shorts. In fact, he had even gotten as far as storyboarding and filming scenes for a Rocket & Groot One-Shot.

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1452764256311578624?s=20

    The above Twitter thread reveals that Gunn also wrote a part for fan-favorite nerd actor Alan Tudyk in Rocket and Groot’s origin story. Gunn even goes on to say the shelved shorts are still canon in his head.

    Of course, much of what the One-Shots would have entailed ended up being included in Guardians of the Galaxy. In the end, it’s likely the shorts not seeing the light of day may have been for the best. However, that doesn’t seem to have stopped Gunn from feeling hopeful about a potential resurrection of the One-Shots in the future.

    Source: Twitter, Screen Rant

  • ‘The Trench’ Was Going To Be a Black Manta Solo Project

    ‘The Trench’ Was Going To Be a Black Manta Solo Project

    Just a few years ago, as the DC Extended Universe was still blooming, there was an urge to get things done as fast as possible when it came to building its shared universe. WB became quite impulsive with its projects, green lighting spinoff after spinoff, most of which would never come to fruition. 

    Hot off the success of Aquaman, WB announced development had begun on a spinoff focusing on the Trench with undersea monsters featuring in the film aptly titled The Trench. News on the project would go dark, though, and eventually, the film would be shelved alongside Ava Duvernay‘s New Gods. 

    Little was known about the Trench film, aside from that it would feature the frightening fish-men of the deep; the same fish-men that would eventually aid Arthur and Mera in the fight against Orm, earning Arthur the throne. However, today James Wan took to Instagram to clear up a bit of what the trench would’ve featured. He revealed that it was originally intended to be a Black Manta solo project, likely featuring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II reprising his role as David Kane in the film. 

    While the project isn’t in development as of right now, critical and fan reception to the Aquama and The Lost Kingdom, featuring Manta in a much larger role, could determine if that film has legs and could be revived. The film could be something very different for DC, taking the comic book film genre in a new direction with a horror approach, one of director James Wan‘s specialties in film. 

    The project was initially set to be written by Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald, with Wan set to produce the project. No director or casting was ever announced, aside from Mateen likely leading the film.

    SOURCE: Instagram

  • Brendan Fraser Joins ‘Batgirl’ as Firefly

    Brendan Fraser Joins ‘Batgirl’ as Firefly

    The resurgence of Brendan Fraser continues with DC as it is being reported that he has joined the upcoming HBO Max film Batgirl as the main antagonist. Sources at Deadline believe Fraser will be playing popular Batman rogue, Firefly, a retired and disgruntled firefighter turned mad arsonist. Casting for the role listed an actor in the 50-60s age range to play a “disgruntled former firefighter.”

    With Firefly set to be the main villain of the Batgirl solo film, it seems likely that the project will be taking inspiration from Scott Beatty and Chuck Dixon’s Batgirl: Year One mini-series. The story saw Barbara Gordon rejected from both the Gotham City police department and the FBI, deciding to take her love of superheroes, especially Black Canary. The most interesting bit is that the story features Firefly as the big bad, alongside Killer Moth. While there has yet to be any word of Killer Moth in the film, the pieces seem to be fitting together well.

    With the debut of Jurnee Smollet as Black Canary, it seems possible they could include Barbara’s love of Canary in the film and eventually lead her to join the Birds of Prey within the DCEU, and maybe even lead to an appearance of the team in the film.

    Batgirl currently has no set release date but will release sometime in 2022. The current cast includes Leslie Grace, Jacob Scipio, and JK Simmons who will be reprising the role of Commissioner Gordon and Barbra Gordon’s father in the upcoming film.

    SOURCE: Deadline

  • Square Enix’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Reviews Are Positive

    Square Enix’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Reviews Are Positive

    When it was revealed that Square Enix was working on another Marvel game in Guardians of the Galaxy, there was a lot of trepidation given what happened with Avengers. But lo and behold, turns out that game is actually good. Reviews are out for the game and they are glowing with positivity. Critics are describing the game as unexpected surprise with a lot of personality and heart.

    I always expected to jet around blasting aliens in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. But its new place as one of the more emotionally resonant video game stories in recent memory easily makes it 2021’s best surprise. 

    Polgyon

    Just like the titular scrappy band of underdogs, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy defied all of my expectations. What I expected to be an awkward mishandling of one of Marvel’s most unlikely superhero teams turned out to be one of the most faithful and entertaining depictions of the Guardians since their 2014 movie debut, and one of my favorite games of 2021.

    Kotaku

    Despite its mechanical flaws, in depicting a story of flawed characters, it’s hard to pass up on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. This title feels free of franchise-building and shady business practices. While it tries to ape on your familiarity with the property, it somehow all stands on its own. The visuals, lovable characters, and the promise of hijinx in space are inviting, but within this off-beat exterior is a solid emotional core.

    Gamepur

    Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy nicely balances a goofy, action-filled adventure with some genuinely heartfelt story moments, and the choices you’re given can add some surprising personal twists to your particular playthrough. Its combat and level design are relatively simple if still consistently entertaining, but it’s the relationships and banter between its characters that keep everything fresh as they evolve. It isn’t going to set the world on fire, but Guardians of the Galaxy is still another convincing example of how much fun a linear, no-frills, single-player campaign can be.

    IGN
  • More Additional Photogrpahy Planned for ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

    More Additional Photogrpahy Planned for ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first of many dominoes in Marvel Studios recent shift of of their upcoming release slate, moving off of its March 25th, 2022 date to May 6th, 2022. Marvel Entertainment CCO Kevin Feige attributed the shifting slate to production shifts and changes and now we might have a little clearer idea of what he meant thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch.

    In an interview with the Today Show, Cumberbatch indicated that the sequel, which began filming last November, is scheduled to undergo additional photography over the next two months.

    Additional photography is something that Marvel Studios has scheduled into its productions, but in an interview earlier this year, Cumberbatch indicated the planned reshoots were supposed to wrap in September. Whether those reshoots were delayed or these reshoots are in addition to those is unclear; however, in any case, it certainly seems it’s best practice to have the creative team complete the film they want to put in theaters rather than having a new “Release the (insert director here) cut)” movement on social media every 6 months. The Strange sequel has been entirely reinvented since Scott Derrickson left and Michael Waldron and Sam Raimi took over, so letting those two continue to shape the film until they feel its ready to go is in everyone’s best interest.

  • Tom Hiddleston Talks Season 2 of ‘Loki’

    Tom Hiddleston Talks Season 2 of ‘Loki’

    The God of Mischief joined Loki co-stars Sophie DiMartino and Jonathan Majors in London this past weekend at MCM Comic Con and gave just enough information about the second season of the series to make it interesting.

    While summarizing the events of Season 1 of the Disney Plus streaming series, Hiddleston indicated that Season 2 would “start from there”, after referencing the frantic final moments of the first season that saw Loki rush to explain things to Mobius and B-15 only to find they had no memories of any of the recent events that should have taken down the TVA.

    Okay so look, we can’t say anything unfortunately, but at the end of episode six, season one, Loki comes back to TVA. He’s quite traumatised, he’s quite emotional, and he tries to explain what happens to Mobius, and Mobius doesn’t recognise him. And then he turns to look at the statue of the timekeepers, but it’s not a statue of the timekeepers, it’s a statue of someone else… And I guess we’ll start from there. I’m so sorry to disappoint you!

    The cliffhanger left fans with a sense of urgency and frustration and with The-One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, indicating production on the second season isn’t beginning anytime soon as they continue to search for a replacement for director Kate Herron, fans are going to have to wait for quite some time before we find out what’s next for Loki and Mobius.

    Source: Screen Rant