Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Latest ‘What If’ Merchandise Teases Party Thor and Zombie Captain America

    Latest ‘What If’ Merchandise Teases Party Thor and Zombie Captain America

    It looks like some more merchandise has found its way online. Yesterday, a poster was uncovered that teased the Guardians of the Multiverse. It included a variety of characters that we have seen in past trailers. Yet, it also gave us a look at some new characters that might get the spotlight with their own episode. Interestingly enough, The Direct discovered some more merchandise on the site Ocio Stock that highlighted a missing member of the multiversal guardians, the zombified version of Captain America. It was odd that he was missing, as he was one of the earliest reveals for the series, but he might not be the main focus of his episode.

     

     

    Now, there is one rather surprising reveal, as it looks like the merchandise revealed the Thor-focused episode. It seems that he is going to throw quite the party, as he is highlighted as “Party Thor” in the merch alongside his iconic hammer. The trailer from Disney’s Investors Day did offer a glimpse at Thor recovering his iconic hammer similar to what we witnessed in the first Thor film. Perhaps this version of the character ends up pulling the hammer out and wants to celebrate his victory.

     

    There are a few other pieces of merchandise, but nothing as revealing as the Party Thor shirt and baseball caps. There is also a unique logo that gives us the duality of Jeffrey Wright‘s Watcher. We get his “human” form with half of his face turning into the galactic version we have seen throughout most of the teasers. It was only the latest poster that gave us a look at the character’s physical form. It’ll be interesting to see if more merchandise hits the web and if we can expect a new trailer alongside a release date soon.

    Source: OcioStock via The Direct

  • Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’ Adds Janina Gavankar as Commander Knoxx

    Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’ Adds Janina Gavankar as Commander Knoxx

    It looks like the cast of the upcoming Borderlands adaptation continues to grow. Deadline has just learned that Janina Gavankar has joined Eli Roth‘s attempt at bringing the gaming franchise to life on the silver screen. The Indian actress will play the character of Commander Knoxx, who is a new key character being introduced to the franchise. It is interesting they are calling this character new, as there exists a Knoxx in the games.

    General Knoxx was introduced in the third DLC for the first Borderlands game. Now, the interesting thing is that she could be playing his daughter and they are setting up the character for a future appearance. Borderlands has franchising potential. So, it wouldn’t be too surprising if they are leaving some hints at other game characters for later down the line. Now, they could also be adapting the character to fit the story. It is just odd that they describe her as playing a character who is being introduced to the franchise.

    The actress has recently finished production on Invasion, where she starred opposite Riz Ahmed and Octavia Spencer. She is joining a stacked cast list that includes Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Edgar Ramirez, Haley Bennett, Olivier Richters, and Jack Black. We’ll see a plethora of familiar characters from the gaming franchise who might get a unique spin. It’ll focus on Blanchett‘s Lilith as she returns to her home planet Pandora and joins a ragtag team of unlikely heroes to face a planet overtaken by aliens.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Kong: Skull Island’s Jordan Vogt-Roberts Adapting ‘Gundam’ for Netflix

    ‘Kong: Skull Island’s Jordan Vogt-Roberts Adapting ‘Gundam’ for Netflix

    It looks like Netflix is continuing its reign over anime adaptations. Legendary Entertainment is tackling a live-action adaptation of Mobile Suit Gundam for the streaming service. Not just that, they’ve also attached Kong: Skull Island’s Jordan Vogt-Roberts to tackle the project. The project is currently under the working title GUNDAM and Brian K. Vaughan is adapting the screenplay. He will also act as an executive producer of the film. Legendary’s Cale Boyter will be overseeing the project and is also working with the original Gundam‘s studio, Sunrise.

    Of course, Netflix isn’t revealing anything about the film’s upcoming plot. The franchise has an extensive library to pull from and may even be a completely original storyline. Gundam‘s conflict as space colonies fight over their independence is what grounds the show’s bombastic space fights. Vogt-Roberts is a perfect choice to bring that balance to life, as he tackled larger-than-life events before. It won’t be a cheap film to produce, as most of the series’ takes place with giant mechs fighting in the vacuum of space.

    Netflix has been quite successful dipping its toe in the Anime industry. They have been working on a variety of other live-action adaptations, such as One Piece and Cowboy Bebop. The latter has already finished up production of its first season, as confirmed by Daniella Pineda on Social Media. The project was in development in 2017 and there is no sign of life for One Piece right now. There is a chance that Gundam might also be on the back burner, as Vogt-Roberts is also scheduled to film Oscar Isaac as Solid Snake in the upcoming live-action adaptation of Metal Gear Solid. It’ll be interesting to see when the space opera film enters production.

    Source: IGN, AWN, Deadline

  • Lucy Liu Joins “SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS” in Villainous Role

    Lucy Liu Joins “SHAZAM: FURY OF THE GODS” in Villainous Role

    The upcoming Shazam sequel has added another iconic actress in a villainous role. Lucy Liu, star of hit films like Kill Bill and Charlie’s Angels, has joined Shazam!: Fury of the Gods as the goddess Kalypso. Her character is the sister of the previously announced antagonist Hespera, who will be portrayed by Helen Mirren. Their characters are both the daughters of Atlas. So far, we haven’t heard anything on his casting and are waiting to find out who plays the younger sibling. Shazam!: Fury of the Gods will see the return of Zachary Levi in the title role and David F. Sandberg in the director’s chair. The rest of the supporting cast is expected to return from the first film, performing a screenplay written by Henry Gayden.

    The character Kalypso does not have a counterpart in the comics, and will instead be based on real Greek mythology. Her father, the aforementioned Atlas, is one of the two “A”‘s in the name Shazam. He’s where Billy Batson gains his superheroic stamina. The other Gods that make up that title are Solomon, Hercules, Achilles, Zeus, and Mercury. There is still no word on whether any of these Gods will appear to exact their fury, or if the film will focus squarely on the family of Atlas. While details surrounding the movie’s plot are still mostly under wraps, it is expected to tie into Dwayne Johnson‘s long-awaited Black Adam spin-off. While Johnson‘s anti-hero may not be a vengeful god himself, he traditionally likes to act as though he were one.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’: Sebastian Stan Doesn’t Know What’s Next for Bucky

    ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’: Sebastian Stan Doesn’t Know What’s Next for Bucky

    The final act of Season 1 of Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier kicks off this Friday with an hour-long 5th episode that will begin to wrap up the season-long arcs of Sam, Bucky, John Walker, the Flag-Smashers and more. The series has been incredibly popular with fans and, since the beginning, has been lauded for the character development of its leads. Sebastian Stan, who’s been a part of the MCU for over a decade, has been given a chance to show a side of his character (and the range of his own abilities) that we haven’t previously seen and already has fans hoping for more. As it turns out, Stan is hoping for more as well, but when asked in an interview with Collider if he had discussed a second season of the series with Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige, Stan had this to say:

    No, we have not, and I’ll tell you that honestly, we have not. As per usual, I don’t quite know what the next step is. We never really do. Maybe some people do, maybe [Robert] Downey [Jr.] used to know, I don’t know. I got on the phone with him just to catch up, and I was saying to him, ‘Dude, you could fucking tell me to go swim under[water], I’ll do anything.’ It doesn’t matter. Or if this is it, my heart is just as big.

    As we head towards the conclusion of Season 1, a few things feel pretty inevitable, but Bucky’s arc doesn’t really seem to feel like one of them. Fans are expecting Sam to take up the mantle of Captain America, for John Walker to become U.S. Agent and for a few other loose ends to be tied up, but it’s still unclear where Bucky’s road will take him once this series wraps. Has he burned bridges with Wakanda or will he be welcomed back as the White Wolf? Will he continue to work through his notebook to make amends for his actions as the Winter Solider? Could he and Sam find common ground as parters? And is Zemo willing to let him do any of those things with his plan to wipe Super Soldiers off the planet? With only 2 episodes left, we’ll get answers sooner than later.

     

    Source: Collider

     

  • First Look at Kaci Walfall as ‘Naomi’

    First Look at Kaci Walfall as ‘Naomi’

    Late last year it was announced that the CW had green-lit a new series centered around the fairly new DC Comics character Naomi. Alongside its announcement was the news that Ava Duvernay was behind the new super series and that it would be produced by her Array Production company. From there, the series moved fairly quickly with its casting process, adding actress Kaci Walfall as the titular character of Naomi.

    Duvernay has been quite active on Instagram lately documenting production on the pilot episode of the series, and took the time to offer a BTS as Walfall as Naomi. For those not familiar with the character, she made her comics debut in 2019’s Naomi by Brian Michael Bendis. She hails from an alternate earth, sent by her parents to save her from a villain known as Zumbado. She discovers she harbors powerful energy abilities and sets out to uncover the truth about where she’s really from and just how powerful she really is.

    Naomi will be written by Ava Duvernay and Jill Blankenship with both also serving as executive producers on the series. For those looking to learn more about Naomi, some proper reading material would include Naomi #1-6, Young Justice #10-20, and the current run on Justice League by Brian Michael Bendis.

    SOURCE: Instagram

  • Leaked ‘What If’ Promo Teases the Guardians of the Multiverse

    Leaked ‘What If’ Promo Teases the Guardians of the Multiverse

    The trend continues that toys and merchandise reveal some first looks at upcoming Marvel Studios projects. Twitter user @AnneComics found a rather curious piece at a trip to the mall that features the Guardians of the Multiverse. In it, we can clearly see characters that were already confirmed for the upcoming What If series heading to Disney+. T’Challa as Star-Lord, a sinister-looking Doctor Strange, and Captain Britain are all present. Interestingly, this is already readily available as the marketing for the series hasn’t started yet. So, they probably weren’t supposed to release that just yet and it found its way online. The reason it is strange is that it also offers a look at other characters that might get the spotlight in various episodes, such as Killmonger, Gamora, Thor, and Black Widow. It also presents us with our first clear look at Uatu the Watcher.

    https://twitter.com/AnneComics/status/1381330404045688832?s=19

    The promotional artwork is already available on the FYE shopping site. So, here is a higher solution look at it:

     

     

    Now, the big question on our minds is if the Guardians of the Multiverse may end up as an actual team. I doubt it, as it could be a simple slogan used for the advertising to pull the show’s anthology set-up together. It could be a fun concept for the various alternative realities to merge at the end of the season and battle a common foe, which would add a new connective tissue between these shows. It’ll be interesting to see if these characters are also highlighted once the official push for the series begins, which will most likely start airing after Loki ends its run. For now, we can only wait in anticipation to see more of that amazing animation once the next trailer is released.

    Source: Twitter, FYE

  • New ‘Andor’ Set Photos Tease Familiar Imperials

    New ‘Andor’ Set Photos Tease Familiar Imperials

    It has already been four months since we got the official reveal that the Rogue One spin-off would be titled Andor. It is one of many Disney+ series that will continue to expand the Star Wars franchise in new and interesting ways. The pandemic has left its scars on the spin-off, as it forced Tony Gilroy to leave the franchise’s reigns to Black Mirror‘s Toby Haynes. Directors Ben Caron and Susanna White would join the production a few months ago before it officially entered production. Now, we finally also get a few glimpses at the set through @OutlawNoah, which already offers a look at some familiar Imperial outfits.

     

     

    As he points out, the set design does have a vibe that is similar to Canto Bight. The location was a coastal city on the desert planet Cantonica, which Finn and Rose visited during the events of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. If you consider the time difference between the events of this series and the sequel trilogy, it might be a different location that was also quite elaborate.

    It’s interesting that the Imperial Guards, who are wearing similar uniforms to Ben Mendelsohn‘s Orson Krennic. As the series is a prequel to Rogue One, there is a chance he might make an appearance in some form or another. We still know very little about the series, which may act as a standalone project or even consist of multiple seasons that build up to the events that would start a new hope in the galaxy far far away.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Ms. Marvel’: Alyy Khan Joining Thailand Production of Disney+ Series

    ‘Ms. Marvel’: Alyy Khan Joining Thailand Production of Disney+ Series

    Ms. Marvel has been adding to its cast as it continues production in Thailand. Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first Muslim-American superhero is expanding the franchise in new and interesting ways. We just covered the rumor that Pakistani veteran actress Samina Ahmed joining the cast, as it was revealed that she was filming a Hollywood production in Thailand by her husband. It looks like one more actor was revealed to be joining the production, as in an interview with Film Inquiry, A Mighty Heart star, Alyy Khan, revealed he is joining a Marvel production.

    A couple of interesting things. I’m hoping to be traveling to do the Marvel gig soon. Other than that The Serpent is still on air, so do try and watch and enjoy that.

    He later goes on to confirm that it is indeed Ms. Marvel and even talks briefly about the quarantine before he can join the production.

    Yes, it should be fun. [chuckles] I was keen to be a part of that, so let’s see what happens. Travelling to Thailand and big quarantine periods, the world is still a bit of a mess right now but fingers crossed we can move around soon

    The Pakistani actor has quite an extensive filmography that includes productions with Hollywood, Bollywood, and Lollywood. He has recently appeared in Bassam Tariq‘s Mogul Mowgli alongside Riz Ahmed. He also has a starring role in BBC’s serial killer biopic The Serpent. It’ll be interesting to see what role he’ll have n the upcoming Marvel Disney+ series.

    Source: Film Inquiry, IMDb

  • Sony PlayStation’s Future at a Crossroads as Japan and the West Struggle for Control

    Sony PlayStation’s Future at a Crossroads as Japan and the West Struggle for Control

    Just recently, we covered a story regarding internal strife over at Sony PlayStation. Bloomberg had revealed how the focus on blockbuster games created a problematic environment within the company. It looks like it has also been splashing over on their relationship with the Eastern market, as a Reddit-verified AMA has led to some rather curious internal developments. The anonymous employee revealed that the relocation of their headquarter was just the beginning of a power struggle from the West that has become rather one-sided at this point. He states the following:

    PlayStation is a historically Japanese brand. In the time since PlayStation debuted, America has grown to be the largest video game market. There’s been a lot of internal competition for the ‘control’ of the PlayStation brand and over the past several years you can clearly see where America has been winning. Relocation of HQ, shutdown of most of Japan Studios, and the DualSense’s X default confirm (as a final ‘f*** you’) are some of the notable examples off the top of my head.

    We’ve seen the first development when they shut down the Japanese developers, who worked on smaller titles like Gravity Rush. Japan Studio has a long history with Sony, and most of its development staff were let go. Asobi Team did become a new home for some developers but is claimed to be a move due to the production studios’ lack of profitability. However, the 1993-founded studio has quite an extensive history with the brand and represented their Eastern market. They even assisted the development of Days Gone and the PlayStation 5 launch title, Demon’s Souls. It might be something to keep a close eye on as the company continues to face PlayStation 5 delivery issues and Xbox’s growing competition through their Gamepass options.

    Source: Reddit via PlayStation Lifestyle, Game Industry