Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Dove Cameron, Chloe Bennet, and Yana Perrault are The CW’s ‘POWERPUFF GIRLS’

    Dove Cameron, Chloe Bennet, and Yana Perrault are The CW’s ‘POWERPUFF GIRLS’

    The lead cast of The CW’s planned Powerpuff Girls series has been revealed. The Hollywood Reporter dropped the news this morning that Chloe Bennet, Dove Cameron, and Yana Perrault will portray the titular team of superheroes, who originated as animated characters on the fan-favorite Cartoon Network show. News came last month that The CW would be moving ahead with a live-action sequel series, which is set to revolve around the trio of women as disillusioned twentysomethings who resent losing their childhood to crime fighting. Written by Heather Regnier and Diablo Cody, and produced by CW veteran Greg Berlanti, the project will explore how the protagonists react when a new threat means the world needs them now more than ever. The pilot will be directed by Maggie Kiley, who has spent a lot of time working on shows of a similar manner, such as Katy Keene and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

    Bennet, well-known to Marvel fans as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s Daisy Johnson (perhaps better known as Quake), will take the role of Blossom. The character was the group’s former spunky leader, who holds numerous degrees from her days as a conscientious perfect child. In the series, she will find herself dealing with repressed trauma that’s turned her into an anxious recluse, and attempt to become a leader once more. Cameron, who quickly rose to fame as the star of Disney projects like Liv & Maddie and Descendants, will play Bubbles. She’s America’s toughest sweetheart who has maintained her sparkling disposition in the days since childhood. Bubbles is initially more interested in recapturing her fame than saving the world, but one could expect that to change as the series progresses. Finally, Perrault has signed on to portray Buttercup. The actress’ resume differs from her co-stars, having spent most of her time in stage productions like Jagged Little Pill. Her version of the character, who was once the rebellious member of the group, will be shown as a secretly sensitive person trying to live life anonymously, separating herself from her days as a Powerpuff Girl.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • BREAKING: Disney Sticking to ‘Black Widow’s Theatrical Release

    BREAKING: Disney Sticking to ‘Black Widow’s Theatrical Release

    The Walt Disney Company’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders was held today. Among the topics approached was, once again, the possibility of Marvel’s Black Widow being made available to its global audiences through Disney+ Premier Access in the coming weeks. Following the Mulan‘s and Raya and the Last Dragon’s simultaneous theatrical and Disney+ release, the idea of the first MCU movie since Spider-Man: Far From Home, which debuted over 20 months ago, being made available through Disney’s streaming service has been gathering fans ever since it’s first release date wasn’t met, back in May 2020. Now, Disney CEO Bob Chapek had the following to say on its upcoming release:

    Next up is Marvel’s highly anticipated spy thriller Black Widow featuring an All-Star cast that includes Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson currently set for release in theaters on May 7 I know Marvel fans have been looking forward to this film for a long time and I promise you it’s well worth the wait it’s absolutely fantastic.

     

     

    As such, Disney has made no changes to what is still expected to be a theatrical-only release, this coming May 7th. With theaters planning on reopening in several cities across the US, even if at a lower capacity rate than before, Disney seems confident that audiences, perhaps driven by the growing number of COVID-19 vaccines being administered, will show up. They hope that it will make the nationwide theatrical release a success. This news doesn’t mean that we will be returning to business as usual, as the movie’s run may probably be shortened, being made available at home earlier than movies of this magnitude usually are.

    We still have a couple of months until Black Widow is set for release, and as with almost everything these days a lot can change in eight weeks. We’ll see if this bold strategy pays off.

    Source: Walt Disney Company

  • ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Talks Doctor Strange’s Absence

    ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Talks Doctor Strange’s Absence

    WandaVision built up a mystery that could crumble the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s reality as we know it. As Wanda transformed a small suburban town in New Jersey into a real-life sitcom, we all wondered if this might attract the attention of another sorcerer. The introduction of the witch Agatha Harkness and the Darkhold would certainly be on the radar for the Sorcerer Supreme.

    Sadly, he did not end up making an appearance to confront Wanda on her actions. Well, in an interview with Deadline, the Disney+ series executive producer Jac Schaeffer was asked that question and her answer seems to imply that he was certainly included at one point:

    I heart Doctor Strange just like anybody. Yeah, it’s one of those things, that’s how the chips fell, that’s how the cookie crumbled, is what I will say, but I look forward to seeing him on screen with Wanda in Doctor Strange 2.

    As we learned from director Matt Shakman, their production was affected by the pandemic. Storylines they filmed didn’t make it into the official release, especially as the finale was only finished shortly before it aired on the streaming channel. Shaeffer tries to avoid the question, but she does hint that he was in the cards at some point. It could also have been affected by how much they could include in the finale while working through the crunch. Still, even if he didn’t make an appearance in WandaVision, we know it sets up her story for when she joins Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’ll be interesting to see how these stories interconnect when the film premieres March 23rd, 2022.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Reveals Why There Was No Secret Villain in the Finale

    ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Reveals Why There Was No Secret Villain in the Finale

    Sadly, WandaVision has come to an end last week. It gave us a story about personal trauma and overcoming the hardships of our past. Of course, when a superhero is involved it gets a bit messier than just a few therapy sessions. She ended up revisiting her past to face the events that shaped her and unconsciously rewrote an entire town’s reality and turned it into a living sitcom world. She also ran into the witch Agatha Harkness, who revealed her destiny.

     

    Who Is Agatha Harkness in WandaVision? Agnes Revealed as Westview Marvel Villain

     

    Throughout the show’s run, many of us believed that there was another mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes. Yet, as we found out, it was Wanda that affected this town. In an interview with Deadline, executive producer Jac Schaeffer revealed that this was always part of the plan when asked why Mephisto didn’t make an appearance:

    We didn’t think this series needed a big bad. I mean, the big bad is grief, you know, and that’s the story that we were telling. and then we got a bonus baddie in the form of Agatha Harkness who ended up facilitating Wanda’s therapy, so yeah, I think we feel preggy good about that.

    It was a great choice to avoid this trope of some evil manipulating the events from the shadows. This way, we got to take a closer look at Wanda and she had to face the consequences of her own actions. They highlighted this aspect in the season finale when she got confronted by the townsfolk. At the same time, Mephisto was heavily involved in the comics with the creation of Wanda’s children, so it is certainly a departure.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘WandaVision’: How Matt Shakman Handled that Big Bohner Twist

    ‘WandaVision’: How Matt Shakman Handled that Big Bohner Twist

    WandaVision masterfully played with audiences’ preconceived notions and expectations specifically around the notion of character teases and reveals. Fans were waiting for Blue Marvel, Talos’ daughter, Reed Richards and Mephisto to show up but nothing messed with fans more than Evan Peters. Brought in as a “recast” Pietro, who Agatha called “Fietro”, fans fought tooth and nail over whether or not Peters was Fox’s Quicksilver brought to the MCU through multiversal hijinx or just another stiff from Westview. That was all settled in the finale as Pietro was exposed as Ralph Bohner, a Westview resident who had been powered up by Agatha as a way to take advantage of Wanda’s grief over the loss of her twin.

    The Bohner reveal has left some fans feeling pretty raw and has really continued to stick out among the popular topics of conversation even a few days after the show streamed. In an interview with Kevin Smith, WandaVision director Matt Shakman talked about his inspiration for the reveal and how “playing with expectations” is always enjoyable. Shakman mentions how he was inspired to use Bohner by another MCU twist that wasn’t necessarily met with wide-ranging applause: Iron Man 3′s Trevor Slattery/Mandarin twist.

    Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t argue that Peter’s Bohner subverted expectations and did so cleverly within the studio’s genre-specific “rules.” Peters “Fietro” got to explore all the “uncle” sitcom tropes and even the character’s name is yet another sitcom reference, this time a nod to a character from the late-80’s/early-90’s sitcom Growing Pains. At the end of the day, he was never going to be more than a side character brought in to drive the story in one very particular direction.

    WandaVision Episode 6 May Reveal Pietro's True Intentions | CBR

    Even though Peters’ appearance in WandaVision was discovered, the studio still handled the Bohner twist delicately, making sure that the surprise wasn’t blown prematurely. It’s understandable that a lot of fans feel like they’ve been jerked around and are still waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Peters to somehow be revealed as Quicksilver; however, it’s pretty clear that this was the reaction that Shakman and the studio were hoping for and they absolutely nailed it. Kevin Feige has often talked about how even though the MCU is based on comics, he doesn’t want to do direct adaptations because fans would know exactly what to expect. As we enter Phase 4, it looks like The-One-Above-All’s philosophy has grown into something bigger and is going to keep us all on our toes moving forward.

  • New ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Character Posters Show Off The Series Big Guns

    New ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Character Posters Show Off The Series Big Guns

     

    With Marvel Studios first Disney Plus streaming series, WandaVision, now in the rearview mirror, the studio has turned its attention to promoting its next big event: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Set to debut March 19th, the series will explore the legacy of Captain America in a post-Blip world. Marvel has kicked off what we can expect to be a busy couple of weeks of promo and press by releasing new character posters for the series leads.

    These characters also happen to be the same ones each getting an episode of Marvel Studios recap series, Legends. While the marketing for the series has understandably revolved around the title characters, we still know little about what exactly Zemo is up to here and even less yet about Sharon Carter’s role. Interesting is the absence of two other characters who will play a major role in the series: John Walker and Karli Morgenthau, aka Flag-Smasher. Perhaps we’ll see more of them over the next couple of weeks leading up to the debut.

    The Falcon and The Winter Soldier debuts on Disney Plus on March 19th!

     

  • ‘WandaVision’ Was Originally 10-Episodes Long

    ‘WandaVision’ Was Originally 10-Episodes Long

    A huge point of contention among fans prior to the release of WandaVision was the show’s episode count. Kevin Feige continually described Marvel Studios’ streaming output to be strictly in the 4-6 hour count so the possibility of having more just enticed the fans into speculation. Conflicting reports surfaced left and right, as behind-the-scenes evidence pointed towards having more than 6 episodes, with some of our insider sources corroborating it. All the speculation was put to rest when the 9-episode count was confirmed by a Disney+ press release two months ago, or so we all thought. Some fans persisted with the idea that there were more episodes, going so far as to think that Disney+ was putting out a secret unannounced episode for the finale. That didn’t happen as evidenced by this week’s finale but in a new interview with series director Matt Shakman, he confirmed that the show was originally supposed to be 10-episodes long.

     

    Well, yeah, things were constantly changing and getting rebroken. The story was changing, especially a lot of the real-world stuff and the finale. There was a lot of experimentation going on and sort of trying different things out. We also at one point had 10 episodes planned and we ended up collapsing a couple, you know just to make the rhythm feel a little bit better. But yeah, they constantly changed and then of course, once we wrapped in Atlanta the pandemic hit and we ended up having months off so then further changes during that we were doing post-production and then ideas would come up and little changes would happen as a result.

    There’s been a lot of debate on whether the show managed to efficiently wrap up all the crazy plot threads of the season. Some felt very satisfied with the ending as it delivered a very emotional send-off for all the characters while some felt it was lacking, as some loose ends weren’t properly tied up and that the season would have benefited with a bit more time. Clearly, the filmmakers had more time at one point but then the pandemic hit and changed it for everyone. Judging from the other stuff Shakman has said about the development process, they had to get rid of a lot of stuff they simply didn’t have time to work on. Maybe somewhere in the multiverse, we get a Shakman cut of WandaVision. 

    Source: Youtube

  • ‘WandaVision’: Matt Shakman Opens Up About How the Pandemic Changed the Finale

    ‘WandaVision’: Matt Shakman Opens Up About How the Pandemic Changed the Finale

    It’s crazy to think that WandaVision has officially come to an end. After its nine-episode run on Disney+, we are anxiously awaiting the next entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Yet, we still are looking back at the ending of the first entry in Marvel Studios’ venture into long-form storytelling. The series nailed its main focus by exploring Wanda’s grief, but there have been some dangling plot threads that still remain in our minds. In an interview on Kevin Smith‘s Fatman Beyond podcast, they had an interview with direct Matt Shakman, who offered a bit of insight into how they were affected by the pandemic.

    The studio was originally planning on releasing the first three episodes simultaneously, which makes sense with the narrative arc they set-up. However, they only finished the finale around two weeks before its official release, which means they had faced a lot of crunch time. If they went with their original plan, they would’ve had to delay the finale.

     

    https://static2.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/wandavision-3.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=370

     

    It also seems that the engineer’s tease was 100% intended, but was getting worried when people suddenly expected Reed Richard to show up. A lot was left on the cutting room floor, so it may have originally had a bigger pay-off. They also confess that a lot of CGI edits were a bit awkward, as pointed out by Smith, as they had to finalize those post-lockdown. Monica was even originally going to have a bigger role in the finale, such as her, the kids, Ralph, and Darcy trying to steal the Darkhold from the basement. There we would find out that the bunny Scratchy was a demon. It was all filmed but they couldn’t finish the VFX for it.

    There might be a lot more that got cut down. It is a shame to see their original vision get affected strongly by the ongoing pandemic. If they had the chance, I would hope they could add the missing sequences later in, as we saw with a correction in an episode of The Mandalorian. It explains why Darcy only had one line in the finale even though she was a major supporting character throughout the show.

     

    If you are interested in listening to the interview, you can check it out below:

    Source: YouTube

  • ‘Eternals’ Merchandise Offers Closer Look at the Celestials and Teases the Uni-Mind

    ‘Eternals’ Merchandise Offers Closer Look at the Celestials and Teases the Uni-Mind

    It seems that while Marvel Studios plays coy with their upcoming releases due to potential delays, our only source of insight into some of their projects comes through merchandise. We just shared some of the shirts that offered a look at Deviant Kro’s design, which confirms a leak from a couple of months ago. There are more shirts in this collection that offer even more teases for the upcoming film, especially a rather familiar face.

    A few of the shirts also include a looming presence of a Celestial, who we previously saw in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. At least, the shape of his eyes and the red color seems to allude to this being the same Celestial, who once wielded the Power Stone in that brief sequence. It is interesting to also see other designs up close that were only teased early on when the film was first showcased.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ev5Ff96XIAkIK7H.jpg

     

    Now, there is also a rather curious inclusion. It teases the existence of the Uni-Mind within the MCU. The Celestials gave the Eternals a gift that comes in the form of a being made of light, mind, and energy. It comes into existence when several Eternals come together. In a way, it also ties the alien race together and can enable them to reactivate their inherent abilities. I also love the way they combine the Marvel Studios’ cast into a cover that seems ripped straight out of the original comic line with Arishem prominently in the cover.

    It seems that of all the Celestials, we might spend a lot more time with Arishem throughout the story. We still don’t know which one of them ends up losing its head, which would eventually turn into Knowhere. The film is set to span decades of MCU history. It will offer a very new look at something we believed to have been very familiar with over the last decade. Here’s hoping we get a trailer soon that gives us a closer look at what we can expect from this space epic.

    Source: Kohls

  • ‘Eternals’ Merchandise Offers Closer Look at Kro’s New Design

    ‘Eternals’ Merchandise Offers Closer Look at Kro’s New Design

    Marvel Studios has been focusing its efforts on its upcoming Disney+ slate, as the pandemic still made its theatrical releases uncertain. Still, it doesn’t mean that a lot of things have been brewing behind the scenes, as we still anxiously wait for a sign of life for Black Widow. It is still supposed to air in May and, so far, we haven’t had any official delay for the film. It isn’t the only 2020 release that was postponed, however. Now slated to release one year later, Eternals, will explore a new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and give us a glimpse at its creation. We sadly never got an official trailer, so we could only pull our first looks from various merchandise that found its way online.

    Well, it looks like that trend continues, as Kohl’s has released a variety of Eternals shirts online. There are quite a few interesting reveals beyond the main cast, who have been the main focus of previous leaks. First off, there are a variety of shirts that give us a closer look at the main antagonist of the upcoming film. the Deviant leader Kro. His new look actually leaked around five months ago through the Marvel Legends figurine series and is quite a departure from the original red comic design.

     

     

    At least this artwork seems to include some red, so we might see his form change throughout the film. It will be interesting to see how his actions also influence the events of the film. The Deviants were known to take on more monstrous forms in the comics, so it seems that director Chloé Zhao took that in an interesting direction. So far, he is the only Deviant that has been showcased. So, we’ll hopefully get a closer look at others once they drop an official trailer.

    Source: Kohls