Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’ Sequel Set to Film in November

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’ Sequel Set to Film in November

    The production engine at Marvel Studios is starting back up and running and it’s about to shift into high gear. Murphy’s Multiverse has learned at production on Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness will begin in the UK in November. Originally scheduled to film in the Spring, production never got off the ground due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously assumed that cameras wouldn’t roll on the sequel until 2021 but we have confirmed that production is now just 2 months away.

    The potential implications of this are as exciting as the news itself. The sequel was twice a part of the COVID slate shuffle, moving first from its original May 7, 2021 release to November 5, 2021 before eventually landing on March 25, 2022 when the untitled Spider-Man sequel was moved into November. With Spidey 3 being pushed into December and production on Doctor Strange 2 about to get going, it is now POSSIBLE that we could see Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sorcerer Supreme slide back into that November 2021 window!

    Scott Derrickson was originally back to helm the sequel before stepping down. At that point, Marvel Studios turned to Raimi as their point man to introduce the true multiverse to the MCU. The COVID-related delay may have been a blessing in disguise for the studio, giving Raimi and writer Michael Waldron, who was brought on in February to rewrite the script, time to find their creative groove.

    Other signs, including some casting videos, have pointed to an imminent start of production for the film which is expected to introduce multiversal hero America Chavez, Jericho Drumm and Clea to the MCU. With the news that production will kick off soon, casting news is sure to follow.

    Stay tuned as this story develops.

  • UPDATE: Ed Boon Denies ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Bruce Campbell Addition

    UPDATE: Ed Boon Denies ‘Mortal Kombat 11’ Bruce Campbell Addition

    Update: Looks like series creator Ed Boon took to Twitter yesterday to deny the confirmation of Bruce Campbell joining Mortal Kombat 11. In a tweet, he stated that many of the leaks are wrong with the video in question attached. There has been much discussion around the addition of Ash Williams to the game. At one point, it was heavily rumored until some pointed to RoboCop being added instead due to rights issues. Hopefully, one day we will see the icon join the franchise.

     

    It has been getting crazy with how easy information gets online about upcoming releases or DLC. Mortal Kombat 11 is the next on the chopping block. This time data miner thethiny got their hands on the games’ files that revealed a total of 19 DLC characters. Unlike the Marvel’s Avengers data leaks, these don’t name the various characters. As such, it is likely possible that this includes the first Kombat Pack and the Aftermath DLC. Still, that means 10 more are currently planned. It was already teased that fan-favorite Mileena would be included but the rest were uncertain.

    That’s not where this story ends. the voice actor behind Raiden, Richard Epcar recently held an Instagram live video to answer questions. During this video, he may have accidentally leaked another fan-favorite addition to the game’s roster. He openly states that Bruce Campbell will appear in the game in the next Kombat pack. The only thing that isn’t confirmed is if he will return as his Evil Dead character, Ash Williams.

    Ash makes a lot of sense as an additional character. We’ve seen some amazing additions of third-party characters in MK11. As Epcar points out, Peter Weller returned to voice his iconic character RoboCop for the game. They even were allowed to recreate Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s Terminator with his face. Sadly, he did not voice the character as well. Either way, Campbell is a fantastic addition to the game. There may be a chance that Epcar was only informed that they plan on adding him but he seemed pretty sure it was already a done deal. We will see if they announce him as part of the next Kombat Pack in the coming weeks.

    Source: GameRant (DLC), GameRant (Bruce Campbell), YouTube

  • AT&T Won’t Sell Warner Bros. Games After All

    AT&T Won’t Sell Warner Bros. Games After All

    There was some uproar in the industry, as the parent company, AT&T was trying to sell their Warner Bros. Video-Game division. They’ve been looking into the possibility since the beginning of the year. Microsoft, Take-Two Interactive, EA, and even Activision were all potential buyers. The unit was valued at $4 billion after major releases like Mortal Kombat 11, the Lego, and the mobile game Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Luckily, after much debate throughout the year, they have decided it wouldn’t be viable to sell.

    There are some contributing factors that Bloomberg attributes to this change in attitude. Naturally, the ongoing pandemic saw a massive spike in video-game sales making the market very lucrative. In addition, the licensing needed to sell the unit may have complicated matters that would turn the short-term profit into a legal nightmare. Also, the rumored Harry Potter game is considered a lucrative investment that could see an exponential growth of the division.

    This is a huge sigh of relief. This news follows the reveal of new DC-based games Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. As mentioned, licensing of these games if WB Games got sold would’ve been quite chaotic. It also could’ve ended up axing various projects no matter how far in development they are, as acquisition procedures come at a high cost. It was a wise decision by AT&T not to sell, as the market is showing continuous growth especially in these trying times. Just maybe, this also sparks a new interest in developing more projects at WB Games.

     

    Source: The Information, Bloomberg

  • ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Headed to Prague in October

    ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Headed to Prague in October

    Many of us Sam and Bucky fans have been eagerly awaiting for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier to finish the series after being shut down back in mid-March. Mounting evidence makes me very confident the show will resume filming next week in Georgia (September 8th), as first suggested by our own Charles Murphy several weeks ago.

    A lot of fans have also been wondering if the show will return to film in the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic. When productions shut down there, they had close to two weeks left of planned filming. As I reported recently, Carnival Row recently finishing its second season there was a good sign for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as well, and it appears I was right.

    Several sources and evidence gathered have confirmed to us that production on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is still planned to return to the Czech Republic beginning in October and extending into November.

    Fingers crossed we still get the much anticipated Marvel series this year!

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Confirms Data Leak With Kate Bishop Reveal

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Confirms Data Leak With Kate Bishop Reveal

    It’s only a few more days until Marvel’s Avengers officially releases. To kickstart their game, Crystal Dynamics has just released a brand new War Table. They promised it would offer us our first look at the post-launch content. There have been plenty of leaks and rumors about what we can expect. So, let’s talk about the major reveals of what the future holds for the Avengers Initiative.

    The video started with a heartfelt tribute to Chadwick Boseman before revealing that they have changed a few aspects due to the recent events. It did end with the tease of Black Panther’s logo in tribute to the fallen King.

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    There were a few additional reveals for the game, which you can check out here:

    • Villain Sectors will feature iconic villain showdowns, they teased additional fights with Taskmaster and Abomination.
    • Secret S.H.I.E.L.D. vaults can be found throughout the game similar to the Beta.
    • A new villain group was finally confirmed besides A.I.M. The game will also include the Watchdogs. They are an anti-Inhuman terrorist group from the comics.
    • Events have been confirmed for the game (weekly or seasonal) that will include exclusive items or skins.
    • They are adding a new outpost for S.H.I.E.L.D. post-launch.
    • Mega Hives and a secret A.I.M. lab have been revealed as additional enemy gauntlets.

    Alongside this came the confirmation that Kate Bishop will be the first playable addition to the roster. This also confirms the leak we saw from the Beta a month ago. Her story will continue where the main storyline ended. Also, they teased that it will also introduce a new villain into the game as well. These types of story expansions will be titled operations and are connected to the new outpost.

    That was quite a lot to unpack there but it all sounds exciting. Also, the next War Table will also reveal something I have been asking for since the Beta, a content road map. They confirmed that Kate Bishop will be the first additional playable character, whose story leads into Hawkeye’s operation. It is surprising that we will get two arrow-based characters back-to-back. This might be linked to the early statement that some plans have been changed out of respect towards recent events. Either way, it also looks like Kate will be a unique character and not just a reskin of Hawkeye, which means that all the leaked characters will be unique additions to the Avengers roster. Cannot wait to see what else Crystal Dynamics has planned for the future and get my hands on the game.

    Source: YouTube (War Table), YouTube (Kate Bishop)

  • PlayStation 5 Not Backward Compatible With PSX, PS2 or PS3

    There has been much debate on how much backward compatibility will be possible for PlayStation 5. Microsoft proudly proclaimed that their next entry Xbox Series X would be able to play games as far back as the original’s 2001 Xbox library. So, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for its biggest competitor to follow suit. The thought of playing my original Final Fantasy VII or PS2’s Persona 4 on the same console sounded like a promising prospect. Sadly, it looks like that won’t be the case after all.

    Someone asked a question over on Ubisoft’s Support page about upgrading from a PlayStation 4 to the next-gen console. In it, they may have accidentally confirmed that it will only support titles from the previous generation. This means any games from the original PlayStation up until PlayStation 3 will not be playable on the latest entry. We still have to keep in mind this isn’t a confirmation by Sony, so they may have some long-term plans potentially that production companies aren’t informed by yet.

    This is a bit disappointing. Of course, the next-gen console is there to play the latest games. Still, it’s just a waste to not embrace the history that came before. After five generations of consoles, it’s the perfect time to pay tribute to the ones that started it all. Also, each new generation makes it difficult to keep older consoles around due to a lack of space or plug-ins on the TV. This would’ve been the perfect opportunity to remedy this issue and celebrate the past. Here’s hoping that at least the next-gen console will include the return of some classic franchises with new entries. I am still not losing hope on the return of Sly Cooper for the next generation.

    Source: Forbes, Ubisoft Support

  • Octavio E. Rodriguez Joins ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2’ as Head of Story

    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 is probably my most anticipated film. 2022 can’t come soon enough so we finally find out how the story continues after Miles grew into becoming his own version of Spider-Man. Will we see the return of Peter B. Parker or Gwen Stacy? Was the ending tease of Spider-Man 2099 going be followed-up? Will it make me cry in cinemas again? So many questions that require an answer. We haven’t had much news ever since it was announced for 2022. Luckily, animation veteran Octavio E. Rodriguez has joined the production as Head of Story.

    https://twitter.com/octavio991/status/1300277405102174208

    Rodriguez has quite a history in animation. He was the director of multiple episodes of The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants. Worked on a variety of Pixar films as story artists, which include The Incredibles 2 and Coco. He also was a story artist on Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This will not be his first time working on a project involving the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. He also was the storyboard artist for The Spectacular Spider-Man episode Interactions. Hopefully, this means we get a chance of that incarnation of the character appearing in the film.

    Into the Spider-Verse 2 has been teased to expand the already crazy references on Spider-Man history. There were rumors of the original Japanese Spider-Man making an appearance and the various logos used in the first teaser have been analyzed with a magnifying glass at this point. Personally, I do hope we get more returning voice actors from the original cartoons and a crossover with the live-action films. It would be great to see Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield in the same room. Maybe we see them meet 1994’s Christopher Daniel Barnes and Spectacular’s Josh Keaton, as they exchange their experiences as heroes. One can only dream.

    Source: Twitter, IMDb

  • Ubisoft’s ‘Gods & Monsters’ May Be Retitled

    Ubisoft’s ‘Gods & Monsters’ May Be Retitled

    Last year, we got the announcement that Ubisoft was working on a game titled Gods & Monsters. At the time, it was said to be a storybook adventure of the hero Fenyx trying to save the Greek gods. It would be from the team that brought us Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, so this is their second time exploring Greek culture and mythology. They did reveal some screenshots and tidbits since but nothing substantial. Well, looks like an upcoming announcement may have gotten leaked ahead of time.

    The Taiwan Digital Game Rating Committee has rated a game titled Immortals: Fenyx Rising. At first, there is no game that would match this description. That is until you realize that the character from Gods & Monsters was confirmed to be named Fenyx. So, there is a good chance the game will be retitled as such. Why would they go with this title change? Well, Immortals makes for a good franchise name. They might plan to expand it with other entries that aren’t tied purely to Greek mythology.

    This confirmation comes from Taiwan, so there is also a chance that the localization team may have set their own naming. Still, the timing also seems to fit regarding Ubisoft’s upcoming event in September. Ubisoft Forward is their new format to reveal future lineups of games, so there is a good chance we get the title change confirmation by then. Hopefully, this will also be accompanied by some more footage of what seems like a The Legend of Zelda inspired game.

    Source: Ubisoft, Ubisoft (Fenyx Name), Gematsu

  • ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ 30th Anniversary Special Heading to HBO Max

    It seems like HBO Max will soon be the center of reunion shows. First they announced a reunion of the FRIENDS cast. They already released the trailer for a brand new Saved by the Bell. Now, they are also throwing in a unscripted reunion special for Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This will also be perfectly timed for the show’s upcoming 30th anniversary. It will star series regulars Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid, DJ Jazzy Jeff and Alfonso Ribeiro. Will Smith is also slated to return, as they start taping on September 10th.

    It is great to see so many familiar faces return. The show originally ran for six years until it ended its run with 150 episodes back in 1996. No details were given if this will just be a single episode, or if they might end up filming multiple ones. Rikki Hughes is slated as showrunner alongside Miguel Melendez, Lukas Kaiser, and Brad Haugen. Marcus Raboy is set as the special’s director.

    This news also comes after a drama reboot of the iconic franchise was announced. It might be a way to celebrate the original while also building up hype for the new incarnation. Morgan Cooper‘s trailer titled Bel-Air went viral and got him the opportunity to develop an actual series. He is attached as co-writer with Chris Collins set as showrunner.

    Source: Variety (Friends), YouTube (Saved by the Bell), Variety (Special), Variety (Drama), YoutTube (Bel-Air)

  • Timothée Chalamet Talks Filming on Location for’Dune’

    Timothée Chalamet Talks Filming on Location for’Dune’

    We are still waiting for the trailer to release to the latest adaptation of Frank Herbert‘s 600-page epic. Dune is already very promising with an incredible cast and Denis Villeneuve taking over directing duties. The story of Paul Atreides will explore the grand deserts of Arrakis. Timothée Chalamet spoke to Empire about shooting in the Wadi Rum desert and what kind of experience it was.

    “That part of the Wadi Rum is so awe-inspiring, you might as well be getting chased by that cliff in the background. It wasn’t a green-screen or anything. That’s one of the most thrilling parts of the book and the movie. We had the sketches. That was a lesson for me. On a Call Me By Your Name or Beautiful Boy it can be counterintuitive to see the storyboards because then maybe you limit yourself based on a camera angle or whatever. It’s the opposite [here] because, for a sequence with the sandworm chasing you, I could never imagine that.”

    I actually cannot wait to see the behind-the-scenes for this film. It must’ve been difficult to film in the desert’s heat. Empire also released the following images that show off the amazing costumes that probably didn’t make acting in the desert heat any less easy.

    Dune looks extremely promising and Villeneuve‘s track record is nothing to scoff at. I cannot wait to see the Arrakis sandworms in action and the drama that unfolds as the prospect of war hangs over everyone’s heads. The way Chalamet teases the desert sequences already makes for a promising visual feast once the film releases. the images that have been released so far already look amazing. I cannot wait to see the novel’s adaptation once it releases this November.

    Source: Empire