Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen Meets Another Flash in the Latest ‘The Flash’ Set Photos

    Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen Meets Another Flash in the Latest ‘The Flash’ Set Photos

    With plot details for the upcoming Flash solo film still under wraps, fans’ minds are racing to try to piece together just how the film will play out. With so many set photos leaked, we’ll be in for quite the surprise with this next installment in the DCEU. The film will see the return of Ezra Miller as the titular speedster. Following the events of Justice League, he has become Central City’s newest defender. After a brief meeting with Grant Gustin‘s Barry Allen during CW’s Crisis on Infinite Earths event, he found his namesake.

    Set photos from The Flash seem to be a weekly occurrence at this point, with new looks at the film making us even more confused than we were before. Recent photos have seen Ezra alongside a double, who might also be playing a version of the Flash. Via the green pole attached to the back of the yellow coat double, it seems they might change his face through CGI. They’ll likely use Miller’s likeness for the double can be seen wearing the same flash ring. The context of the scene is still unknown, but the long hair and ring hint at one of them being from the future.

     

     

    While The Flash won’t be speeding into theaters for a while. We probably could expect a glimpse this October during DC Fandome. The film is most likely wrapping by then. The film is set to release in theaters on November 4th, 2022, and will be directed by Andy Muschietti. The film will star Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Saoirse-Monica Jackson, and Maribel Verdú.

    Source: Twitter

  • Mahershala Ali’s ‘Blade’ Eyeing ‘Mogul Mowgli’ Director Bassam Tariq

    Mahershala Ali’s ‘Blade’ Eyeing ‘Mogul Mowgli’ Director Bassam Tariq

    It looks like Marvel Studios has finally found its director for the Mahershala Ali-led Blade film. Deadline is reporting that Bassam Tariq is in talks to join the project to bring the famous vampire hunter to life. Stacy Osei-Kuffour joined the project around five months ago to write its script after her work on HBO’s Watchmen. The director is best known for his work on Mogul Mowgli, where he worked together with Riz Ahmed. Negotiations aren’t final as of now. It seems they’ve been meeting with dozen of candidates since last fall.

    Marvel Studios has been hard at work finding a director for this project. They’ve gone through various options, such as a writer-director but then decided to hire Osei-Kuffor. Her joining the project shortened the list of potential candidates. It looks like Tariq’s pitch was the one to beat out the rest but he has yet to sign a deal. The film originally was pitched by Mahershala Ali, who is heavily involved with the film’s development.

    It’ll be the director’s first major deal and is similar to how they chose Taika Waititi after his success with Hunt for the Wilderpeople. His vision of introducing the vampires officially into the MCU will be a must-watch, as it could open up darker avenues for the company. It seemed early on that the film was going to release October 2022, but the search for the right team delayed the production by quite a bit. Still, it’s good they are prioritizing the project and not rushing it out to hit a specific deadline.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Batgirl’ Casting Begins as Shortlist Includes Zoey Deutch, Isabella Merced, And More

    ‘Batgirl’ Casting Begins as Shortlist Includes Zoey Deutch, Isabella Merced, And More

    Many films sat idle on the DC bench. One of them is Batgirl, a film that almost had Joss Whedon at the wheel before his eventual departure. Warner Brothers ended up hiring Christina Hodson, who’d previously worked on The Flash and Birds of Prey to pen the script for the film from scratch. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah joined the project as directors around two months ago. Production seems to be moving along at a steady pace as the casting process for Barbra Gordon takes off with a new shortlist of talent.

    In a new report from Deadline, a shortlist of talent testing for the role of Batgirl has been revealed. The studio is currently in the process of working with actresses like Isabella Merced, Zoey Deutch, and Leslie Grace. Haley Lu Richardson is also included but reportedly may have already dropped out of the casting process. However, it’s being reported by The Wrap that Richardson is in fact one of the two top choices for the role, alongside Grace.

    The film will debut on HBO Max exclusively but currently has no set release date. Plot details remain under wraps. Yet, casting details seems to indicate the film could be an adaption of Batgirl: Year One, with the inclusion of Firefly, a villain who played a big role in that storyline. It is still unknown just where this film will take place in the DC Multiverse, with the film actively casting for the role of Commissioner Gordon.

    Source: The Wrap, Deadline

     

  • ‘Black Widow’ Drops 67% in its Second Weekend as ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Takes Top Spot

    ‘Black Widow’ Drops 67% in its Second Weekend as ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’ Takes Top Spot

    Black Widow was a very frontloaded release, which got boosted by their Disney+ Premier Access release. There was some uncertainty if it’ll have a strong second weekend or face a steep fall. Sadly, it seems the latter has come to pass as its new release Space Jam: A New Legacy took the top spot with $32M. While nowhere near the Marvel Studios’ release, it is still the year’s fourth-best release ahead of Godzilla Vs. Kong‘s 31M. The film is also the biggest family-focused film launch since Pixar’s Onward in March of 2020. Still, early predictions did believe the Scarlett Johnasson-run film would keep the top spot.

    The bigger shock is that the film’s international presence also took quite a hit. It barely scratched the $30M, which is on par with F9‘s current running after a two-month release. However, if you take a closer look at its international presence, Black Widow has yet to release in China. The latest Fast and Furious entry has been very dominant in that market throughout its run. The theatric-only release has been playing well into its hand and gave the film some considerable legs, especially as it rolls out into other markets.

    The second weekend was a 67% drop for the Marvel Studios film, which some expected. The Friday 79% drop was the worst the franchise has ever seen and is on par with Batman v Superman or Man of Steel. To offer a pandemic comparison, F9 dropped 67% and Wonder Woman 1984 around 67.1%. The last two Marvel films to see that kind of drop were quite leggy experiences and managed to hold over quite a bit over their total runtime. So, theories are that the film could still manage a $200M+ domestic launch. If you include their Disney+ numbers, they add another $60M on top, which also doesn’t have to get shared with theaters. Sadly and expectedly, Disney has not released the numbers for their second weekend.

    Without a China release, it’s unclear if Black Widow will manage to pass F9‘s total Box Office, which seems likely at around $700M. China’s Hi, Mom is currently the top grosser with $825M. Many factors have been influencing its growth, such as international markets fearing the rise in COVID’s delta variant and the return of harsher restrictions. The film has shown some commendable Monday to Thursday performances, which could be the film’s saving grace, as it topped $100M in record time domestically.

     

    Black Widow": Superheldin auf Schmerzmitteln und ein heimlicher Star | STERN.de

     

    Disney+’s Premier Access also hurts the film’s legs if you consider that a one-time payment includes multiple viewings at your leisure. Why should one risk going to the theaters again if I can watch it from the comfort of my home? Plus, piracy is a growing issue with this approach to film releases. If Disney simply accepted the risk, they might be looking at a much stronger second weekend. Still, the lack of transparency after boasting the numbers may leave a sour taste and it’ll be interesting to see if Jungle Cruise follows the same drop once it releases later this month to have a direct comparison.

    Source: Forbes (Space Jam), The Numbers (F9), Forbes (BW), Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, The Numbers (BW)

  • ‘Loki’: The Mystery Behind the Unused King Loki Scenes

    ‘Loki’: The Mystery Behind the Unused King Loki Scenes

    There have been many mysteries surrounding Loki. The show built up the big question of who is the man behind the curtain. We all wanted to know who was the puppet master of the Time Variance Authority. Trailer after trailer teased whoever it could be. There were countless teases, and even the trailers put many on the path of the mastermind being a king version of Loki.

    Well, it turns out that brief tease had nothing to do with the actual finale. It was a big question mark for many viewers, and it turns out it originally was part of the first episode all along. Chris Hemsworth even recorded the grunts of that brief cameo. Composer Natalie Holt offered some insight into why the scene didn’t make it into the first season in an interview with The Direct.

    That was a moment in Episode 1. When Mobius is showing [Loki] his life, there were more moments in there. I think they just kind of cut it down to kind of give it a bit more focus. But there were a few extra moments in there, and that Frog of Thunder moment was one of them. I had actually written, I had done something with choir for it like it was this big, grand moment where Loki takes over the crown in Asgard, and then you see Thor as a frog

    Interestingly enough, a week ago, we already heard that the first episode planned a fight sequence between Loki and Throg. It’s our first confirmation that this ties together with the King Loki sequences we’ve seen scattered throughout the trailers. It’s a great move to avoid this sequence, as it would’ve taken away from his cameo in the fifth episode. We also got a lot of comedic moments in the opening and adding more could’ve taken away from the dramatic core of Loki’s acceptance.

    There’s always a chance they might revisit this concept in the future, especially now that Loki will have a second season. Still, it was clever to use this unused footage in the trailers to keep people guessing until the end. Even if it didn’t serve the series directly, it was a clever idea by Marvel Studios’ marketing team.

    Source: The Direct

  • RUMOR: Sung Kang Will Play ‘STAR WARS: REBELS’ Character in ‘OBI-WAN KENOBI’

    RUMOR: Sung Kang Will Play ‘STAR WARS: REBELS’ Character in ‘OBI-WAN KENOBI’

    It’s possible we have our first information on Sung Kang’s mysterious Obi-Wan Kenobi role. A new report from Jordan Maison and the folks at Cinelinx are claiming that Kang will portray one of the Empire’s Inquisitors in the Disney+ series. More specifically, he is said to be the Fifth Brother, an antagonist we saw frequently in the second season of Dave Filoni’s animated Star Wars Rebels.

    In that show, the Fifth Brother was voiced by Philip Anthony-Rodriguez, and worked closely with Sarah Michelle Geller’s Seventh Sister to track down the Force-sensitive Ezra Bridger and his master Kanan Jarrus. The Fifth Brother ultimately met his end at the hands of the former Sith Lord, Maul.

    In the Star Wars universe, the Inquisitors are a group of Dark Side Force users who work for Darth Vader and the Empire. They spend much of the time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope hunting down Force-sensitive individuals in an effort to kill or turn them. Maison claims that they won’t be the only Rebels characters who appear in Kenobi, but the scooper did not clarify who else might make an appearance.

    Sung Kang is best known for his role as the fan favorite character Han Lue in the Fast and the Furious franchise. In recent years, he has also appeared in films like Raya and the Last Dragon and We Can Be Heroes. On television, he had a starring role in three seasons of the popular Starz series Power.

    Source: Cinelinx

  • RUMOR: Vivian Lyra Blair Cast As Princess Leia in ‘OBI-WAN KENOBI’

    RUMOR: Vivian Lyra Blair Cast As Princess Leia in ‘OBI-WAN KENOBI’

    She may only be a child, but to us, she’s royalty. Rumor has it Princess Leia Organa will be making a return to live-action in next year’s Kenobi series. The news comes from Jordan Maison at Cinelinx, who claims actress Vivian Lyra Blair has been cast as a younger version of the iconic character for the upcoming Disney+ project.

    The same report reveals that Leia will be a major part of Kenobi’s story, with Maison describing her role as the “impetus” of the whole show. If the rumor is true, it seems the young Princess will be the reason Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi dives into a new adventure.

    Blair is perhaps best known for her work in 2018’s surprise hit Bird Box, and also had a role in Robert Rodriguez’s Sharkboy & Lavagirl spin-off We Can Be Heroes. Princess Leia is one of the founding characters of the Star Wars franchise. She was originally brought to life by Carrie Fisher, who famously portrayed the character in six films over the course of forty years. The rebellious dignitary also had a cameo appearance in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, with Norwegian actress Ingvild Deila standing in as a body double for Fisher.

    Other than this cameo, not much of the character’s life before A New Hope has been explored. Leia appeared briefly in Dave Filoni’s Star Wars Rebels, working against the Empire on her adoptive father’s orders. She may be a little too young to be participating in missions in Kenobi, so it will be interesting to see what shenanigans could end up getting Obi-Wan out of exile on Tatooine.

    Source: Cinelinx

  • ‘Loki’: Jonathan Majors Voiced The Time-Keepers in the Disney+ Series

    ‘Loki’: Jonathan Majors Voiced The Time-Keepers in the Disney+ Series

    The Loki finale finally revealed the mysterious man behind the Time Variance Authority, Jonathan Majors. While he was only referred to as He Who Remains, we’ve known for a while that he is playing Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. His early casting opened the floodgates to theorize his appearance and, luckily, it panned out. However, it seems we were wrong when he made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We only get to meet him in person in the finale, he did appear in the fourth episode of the season, as director Kate Herron revealed he voiced all three of the Time-Keepers.

    Something that was really fun for me was we hadn’t, for example, cast the voice of the Time Keepers yet, because you know Wizard of Oz was an obvious reference of ours. I was like, ‘Oh, let’s get Jonathan to do it, because he’s an amazing character actor,’” she said. “We sent him the art of all the characters and it was really fun [because] he was sending us all of these different voices he could do for each character, which was great.

    It makes a lot of sense that he would voice them. He was the mastermind behind it all and pulled the strings on the puppets. We’ve wondered why there was no mention of the voices, which was a better-kept secret than the identity of the Loki Variants. The breaking of the multiverse will determine the future of the franchise and we might see a lot of different versions of Majors in the near future.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘John Wick’ Prequel ‘The Continental’ Taking a ‘Sherlock’ Episode Structure Approach

    ‘John Wick’ Prequel ‘The Continental’ Taking a ‘Sherlock’ Episode Structure Approach

    It looks like we finally got some information on the long-awaited John Wick spin-off, The Continental. While story tidbits remain tightly under wraps, Hollywood Reporoters’ Heat Vision revealed that Albert Hughes, one half behind Menace II Society and The Book of Eli, will direct three episodes. The series will only consist of those three episodes, as they will get a movie budget and length. The article also confirms that it will be a limited series. So, we shouldn’t expect any future seasons.

    This reveal is quite interesting, as it is taking the same direction that the famous BBC Sherlock series did. It ran from 2010 until 2017, with each season consisting of three episodes that were individual cases loosely connected. Unlike Continental, it ran for four seasons and even had a special Christmas episode in 2016. The shortened episode count allows for some creative ways to tackle stories, and the spin-off will primarily act as a prequel to the Keanu Reeves’ led franchise.

    So, this could imply that the limited run will include three unique stories that might tie into the overarching world of this franchise. We did get glimpses into how the Continental hotels work through the films but probably only scratched the surface. There is a chance that Winston might be the focal point before he became the man we know from the films. Hopefully, we’ll get more hints at the story direction and how it connects to the John Wick franchise.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter, IMDb

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Hints at Black Panther’s Backstory Ahead of ‘War for Wakanda’ Expansion

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’: First Hints at Black Panther’s Backstory Ahead of ‘War for Wakanda’ Expansion

    The latest Marvel’s Avengers dev stream was quite an event. Not only did we get to chat with Christopher Judge on his approach to bringing Black Panther to life, but also some insight into the story by Evan Narcisse and Hannah MacLeod. They offered some interesting details on how they approached the story and the relevance of clearly defining this worlds’ Wakanda alongside its history. Here are some of the highlights from the dev stream:

    • Narcisse worked as a narrative consultant on the project. His work was to find the combination between the story and its game mechanics. He ensures that they satisfyingly inform each other and everything is told holistically.
    • Their focus was to follow an older version of T’Challa. In comparison to other versions, they wanted to dive deeper into his intellectual and scientific side. He likes to think things through before jumping into danger.
    • There was a lot of pressure following the films’ well-established version of Black Panther and Wakanda.

     

    Marvel's Avengers on Twitter: "One more day until #SquareEnixPresents! Here's a screenshot to whet your appetite.… "

     

    • CD was inspired by the concept of a superpowered state that was the main focus of the Enemy of the State comic storyline. When a nation is highly advanced, diplomacy might never be such a simple answer. Wakanda will face its biggest threat in the upcoming expansion and that will further explore the aftermath in a nation that believed it was untouchable.
    • T’Challa isn’t just a king. He is the living embodiment of Wakanda’s symbol. The Black Panther is a heavy burden to carry and it will inform his character. Plus, he’s been carrying this weight for some time. His worldview also puts him in conflict with Shuri. An event has shaped a crater in their relationship, which will get explored in the story.
    • He’s much more of an isolationist and is carrying some anger. He is still in control of his emotions, but it’s only a question of time before he hits his limit.

     

    Avengers Game: Black Panther Release Date Revealed With Free DLC

     

    • Klaue is also a unique adaptation in the game. He isn’t a mercenary or would-be colonizer. While his obsession with Vibranum remains, this version of the character is a scientist. He built his technology and is using AIM’s gear to his advantage.
    • They’ve explored the Dora Milaje history to inform their relationship with him in the game. In the comics, they were not only warriors but also concubines. So, Okoye has some traits from the films, but they tried to balance her respect towards her king in a curious way.
    • McLeod and Narcisse shared their experience tackling this ever-expanding story and confirmed that many stories get mapped out simultaneously. Their team works together on each operation, and it helps to put together how the story continues to evolve.

    It sounds very promising what Crystal Dynamics cooked up in their writing team. They teased more insight in the following weeks ahead of his release. We’ll get a gameplay showcase and even some hints on what to expect with the War for Wakanda expansion. The unique approach to the character is promising, and it feels like we’re about to enter a new era for Marvel’s Avengers.

    Source: Twitch