Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Frank Grillo Joins the Cast of DC Studios ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2

    Frank Grillo Joins the Cast of DC Studios ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2

    Having been cast as Rick Flag Sr. In the upcoming streaming series Creature Commandos, Frank Grillo is already a part of the all-new DCU. And as audiences wait for the animated Max series to debut, they can also look forward to Grillo’s first live-action appearance, too.

    As revealed on Instagram by DC Studios’ co-chair James Gunn, Grillo has joined the cast of Peacemaker Season 2.

    As is expected to be the case with the entire cast of voice actors on Creature Commandos, Grillo will portray the live-action iteration of Flag Sr. in the John Cena lead streaming series. Production on the second season of Peacemaker kicked off last month.

    Gunn created the series and directed five of the first season’s eight episodes. While he will be unable to carry that load on Season 2 due to his commitment to Superman, Gunn will still direct some episodes. Though no release window has been set, Peacemaker Season 2 is expected to stream on Max in 2025.

  • ‘X-Men ’97’ Showrunner Reveals How Many Seasons He Had Planned, Teases a Major Potential Storyline

    ‘X-Men ’97’ Showrunner Reveals How Many Seasons He Had Planned, Teases a Major Potential Storyline

    Not since WandaVision has a Marvel Studios’ streaming project generated as much positive online hype as X-Men ’97. The animated revival has been overwhelmingly well-received and has fans clamoring for more projects set within a connected animated universe. With Season 1 nearing the end of its run, fans are already looking ahead to Season 2, which is deep in development. A third season of the series was recently given the green light but with a comic book history as deep and storied as that of the X-Men, it’s a series that could certainly make a long run. Just how long is unclear but it seems as though there was a clear plan in place at one point.

    According to Beau DeMayo, who served as the showrunner for Season 1 and the yet-to-be-released Season 2 before being relieved of his duties, there was a 5-season plan in place for X-Men ’97.

    (L-R): Beast (voiced by George Buza), Storm (voiced by Alison Sealy-Smith), Professor X (voiced by Ross Marquand), Jean Grey (voiced by Jennifer Hale), and Cyclops (voiced by Ray Chase) in Marvel Animation’s X-MEN ’97. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL.

    Though he’s no longer officially associated with the series, DeMayo has been incredibly active on social media. Whether addressing fan questions and concerns, explaining creative decisions or supplying fans with weekly “homework assignments” to prepare them for the next episode, DeMayo has been a major part of the weekly water cooler discussion. When asked this week if the impending Season 1 finale would end of a cliffhanger, DeMayo skirted the question while also providing a very interesting bit of information.

    While we’ll have to wait until next week to see how things will be left, it seems as though the studio, at one point in time, had big plans for the series. Whether or not the studio will go through with DeMayo’s original plan remains to be seen but with the amount of positive attention the show has received to date, it’s hard to imagine they won’t milk it for everything they can.

    With Season 1 ending soon, fans are already looking ahead to what future seasons may hold. While the most recent episode has generated a lot of speculation about the Marvel Comics villain Onslaught making an appearance, another major X-Men villain has been the subject of most fan theories for quite some time: Apocalypse. When asked by a fan if adapting the villain’s most famous story, Age of Apocalypse, into a future season of X-Men ’97 was part of the plan, DeMayo made it pretty clear things are headed in that direction.

    Of course, there’s plenty left to wrap up in next week’s season finale and with the fast pace of the animated series, it’s not as though an adaptation of Age of Apocalypse–or any other revered comic book story–would last an entire season. However, given the success of the series, it’s good to know that even though he’s no longer part of the team, DeMayo may have left behind a very complete road map to success for future seasons.

  • Marvel Studios Finds Its Galactus

    Marvel Studios Finds Its Galactus

    With The Fantastic Four set to begin production this summer, Marvel Studios has been busily rounding out what’s become a stellar cast. Now, after months of rumors about the film’s villain and who was in line to play him, Marvel Studios has settled on their Galactus.

    According to trade reports, British actor Ralph Ineson has joined the film as the Devourer of Worlds.

    Ineson has become somewhat of a horror icon over the past several years having appeared in films such as The Witch, The First Omen and The Pope’s Exorcist.

    Without seeing a second of whatever Ineson will bring to the Hunger That Does Not Cease, there’s no doubt Marvel Studios’ version of the character will be better than the ethereal fart cloud that appeared in Fox’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

    Updating…

    Source: THR

  • Peter Jackson Returning to ‘Lord of the Rings’ with a New, Live-Action Movie, ‘The Hunt for Gollum’, in 2026

    Peter Jackson Returning to ‘Lord of the Rings’ with a New, Live-Action Movie, ‘The Hunt for Gollum’, in 2026

    As the original Lord of the Rings trilogy heads back into theaters this summer, Warner Bros. is preparing an all-new adventure in Middle-earth. During an earnings call, CEO David Zaslav shared the news that the studio was developing a new, live-action film with Peter Jackson.

    Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and revered franchises in history and presents a significant opportunity for theatrical business.

    -David Zaslov

    The film, titled The Hunt for Gollum, will be produced by Jackson and directed by Andy Serkis, who brought the character to life in the original trilogy and will reprise the role. WB plans to have the film in theaters in 2026.

    According to Zaslav, the new film will “explore storylines yet to be told.” The CEO shared that the film is “now in the early stages of script development” and that Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who helped craft the original trilogy, “will be involved every step of the way.” 

    Jackson’s original trilogy grossed over $3B globally and remains a beloved translation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Though the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy and Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power series have all delved into Tolkien’s Middle-earth works, there’s still plenty of work from the prolific author to tap into.

    Source: Variety

  • Captain America: Brave New World Still Offers First Look at Xosha Roquemore’s Mystery Character

    Captain America: Brave New World Still Offers First Look at Xosha Roquemore’s Mystery Character

    Originally slated to hit theaters in 2024, Captain America: Brave New World has seen its release date moved a few times over the past year. Though it is currently on track for a February 14, 2025 release, it seems as though some marketing decisions were made with a 2024 release in mind. Over the past month, promo art, McDonald’s Happy Meal toys and other assorted merchandise have provided first looks at some of the characters. Additionally, the latest issue of Empire Magazine included some bits about the film and several new stills the latest of which gives fans their first look at Xosha Roquemore‘s new character.

    Via The Cine Geek, the BTS still from Empire shows Roquemore and Anthony Mackie prepping for a scene with director Julius Onah.

    Roquemore’s character–who is rumored to be Leila Taylor–is sporting some sort of lapel that looks similar to a U.S. Marshall’s badge. If Roquemore is indeed playing Taylor, it would be an all-new, all-different iteration of the character. In the comics, the character was a reporter and one-time romantic interest of Wilson’s who mostly got into a lot of dangerous situations that allowed Sam to do some heroing. From the looks of the still, the MCU’s Taylor might be doing some heroing of her own.

    Captain America: Brave New World flys into theaters on February 14th, 2025.

  • Disney and Warner Bros. to Release Streaming Bundle

    Disney and Warner Bros. to Release Streaming Bundle

    It was inevitable, but the time has officially arrived. Netflix has long dominated the streaming market and to remain competitive, we’re going to see the first cross-company partnership in the streaming market as Disney and Warner Bros. announce a Disney+, Hulu, and Max package. There is no exact release date outside of plans to have it available by the summer, though it’ll support ad-free and ad-supported models.

    There’s a lot of streaming services out there, which is going to continue reshape the way we view the offerings. While many still love comparing it to basic cable bundles, this was an inevitable development to push forward on their hopes to make these cost sinkers profitable. Plus, Netflix remains dominant in the market and the challenge is an open invitation to the major companies to do something to gain a higher churn rate and subscription growth.

    Disney and Warner Bros. is also quite an interesting combination given there are quite a few challenges for whatever they plan growing outside of the United States. Max isn’t available in many countries and it’s shows are available through services like Sky in some European countries. So, it’s uncertain if perhaps there are plans on how they want to grow their worldwide growth or rather this is a pure US-centric move like with Hulu.

    Source: Deadline

  • Marvel Rumored to Have Set Their Sights on a Familiar Face to Direct ‘X-Men’

    Marvel Rumored to Have Set Their Sights on a Familiar Face to Direct ‘X-Men’

    As X-Men ’97 continues to remind fans just how great Marvel’s uncanny mutant heroes and villains can be, rumored details about the studio’s upcoming live-action reboot continue to pop up. With the studio reportedly having narrowed down the list of candidates to write the film, a new rumor about a potential director for the film has emerged and while there’s been no word about Marvel Studios having talks with directors, this particular name coming up does bring some intriguing possibilities to mind.

    According to the internet’s busiest leaker, My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel Studios is looking to MCU veteran director Ryan Coogler to helm their new X-Men movie.

    Despite there having been no previous buzz about Marvel being ready to move forward in their search for a director for the project, the rumor about Coogler does track on multiple levels. If the previous rumor about the studio being close to selecting a writer for the film was accurate, it’s possible that Coogler could serve as both the writer and director for the film. He has filled dual roles on both of his previous MCU entries, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, as well as on five other films including his upcoming vampire film that will star his friend and frequent collaborator, Michael B. Jordan. Additionally, Coogler has a well-developed relationship with Disney which includes a five-year overall deal to create projects for Disney Plus. The first of those projects, the animated series Eyes of Wakanda, is expected to debut on the streaming service later this year.

    Coogler already has some experience with mutants, having brought Namor into live-action in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Additionally, Coogler has shown a gift for creating and building out expansive worlds within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, something that may well be part of Marvel Studios’ plan for their iteration of the X-Men. One oft-rumored direction for the reboot involves it being inspired by Jonathan Hickman’s recent run on X-Men comics which involved a massive retcon of the history of the mutant island known as Krakoa. Should Marvel Studios indeed head in that direction with their X-Men franchise, it would certainly play to one of Coogler’s strengths. For now, it’s nothing but a rumor but it is certainly a solid match.

  • Bob Iger Reveals New Plan to Cut Back on Marvel Studios’ Content, Reshape Slate

    Bob Iger Reveals New Plan to Cut Back on Marvel Studios’ Content, Reshape Slate

    For the first time since returning to Disney, Bob Iger has provided details on his vision to scale back on Marvel Studios’ content. Via Variety, Iger’s plan is to dial back on streaming series (2 per year) and films (2 or 3 per year) in the near future. Iger said the company-wide decision to reduce output and increase the quality of what is produced is “particularly true with Marvel.”

    “We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three,” said Iger during the company’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday. “And we’re working hard on what that path is.”

    Though four films are currently slated to release in 2025, Iger stated that has a “couple of good films in ’25,” before mentioning Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*. However, The Fantastic Four and Blade are all currently listed on Disney’s most updated slate as 2025 releases, but many questions have been raised about the latter two being ready for release next year.

    “Overall, I feel great about the slate,” said Iger, who also added that following the 2025 films the studio would be “heading to more Avengers.” Iger added, “It’s something that I’ve committed to spending more and more time on. The team is one that I have tremendous confidence in and the IP that we’re mining, including all the sequels that we’re doing, is second to none.“

    Of note on the streaming side, Iger referred to the “WandaVision spinoff Agatha” as “a vestige of basically a desire in the past to increase volume.” Though the series has already generated positive buzz, a streaming series being referred to as vestigial doesn’t seem like a vote of confidence for many of the other TV series rumored to be in development.

    Updating…

    Source: Variety

  • First Official Look at David Corenswet’s Superman

    First Official Look at David Corenswet’s Superman

    DC Studios’ Superman has been in production for some time and has, more or less, avoided any major leaks from the set. Short of a pretty pedestrian look at Maria Gabrielle de Faria’s villain known as The Engineer, set photos and videos haven’t provided anything of interest. Incredibly enough, there’s been nearly nothing in terms of a look at The film’s star, David Corenswet, neither as Clark Kent nor Kal-El, until now…

    Via Instagram, director James Gunn unveiled the first look at Corenswet in full costume as Superman.

    Updating…

  • New Stills from ‘The Acolyte’ Reveal Margarita Levieva’s Character

    New Stills from ‘The Acolyte’ Reveal Margarita Levieva’s Character

    As part of their Star Wars Day celebration on May 4th, Lucasfilm released a second trailer for the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series, The Acolyte. While much of the buzz around the new look at the project centered around the reveal of an apparent Sith Lord–likely the series’ big bad–it also gave the audience its first look at Margarita Levieva, though you’d be forgiven if you didn’t catch her right away.

    (L-R): Mother Aniseya (Jodie Turner-Smith) and Koril (Margarita Levieva) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

    According to a pair of stills published after the Star Wars Day trailer for the series, Levieva is playing a female Zabrak named Koril. Her cranial horns would seem to establish her as an Iridonian Zabrak rather than being from the segment of the population that relocated to Dathomir. Koril is seen to be part of the mysterious coven of witches led by Jodie Turner-Smith’s Mother Aniseya who “value their independence and the preservation of their beliefs and powers.”

    Levieva was cast in the project in December 2022 in what was reported by Deadline to be a guest role.

    About Star Wars: The Acolyte

    In Star Wars: The Acolyte, an investigation into a shocking crime spree pits a respected Jedi Master against a dangerous warrior from his past. As more clues emerge, they travel down a dark path where sinister forces reveal all is not what it seems….

    The series stars Amandla Stenberg, Lee Jung-jae, Manny Jacinto, Dafne Keen, Charlie Barnett, Jodie TurnerSmith, Rebecca Henderson, Dean-Charles Chapman, Joonas Suotamo, and Carrie-Anne Moss.

    Leslye Headland created the series, based on Star Wars by George Lucas, and serves as an executive producer along with Kathleen Kennedy, Simon Emanuel, Jeff F. King and Jason Micallef. Charmaine DeGraté and Kor Adana are the co-executive producers. Rayne Roberts, Damian Anderson, Eileen Shim and Rob Bredow are the producers.

    Headland also directed the premiere episodes (Eps. 101 & 102). Directors Kogonada (Eps. 103 & 107), Alex Garcia Lopez (Eps. 104 & 105) and Hanelle Culpepper (Eps. 106 & 108) round out the directing duties on the series.

    Award-winning composer Michael Abels, known for his work on Get Out and Us, scored Star Wars: The Acolyte.

    The thrilling, suspenseful live-action series launches on Tuesday, June 4, with the first two episodes, exclusively on Disney+.