Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Rocksteady’s Next Game Full Title Revealed as ‘Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’

    As we were nearing the release of DC FanDome, we got the surprise announcement of a Suicide Squad-focused game by Rocksteady. It has been five years since their last game Batman: Arkham Knight was released. There have been quite a few rumors what they might be working on. A major one revolved around a Superman game that got rejected by Warner Bros. There were even discussions that they might be creating a game focused on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It wasn’t until a tweet earlier this month that they finally revealed they are working on a Suicide Squad game with a poster featuring Superman, as a cute wink and nod to the rumors.

    Some thought it might be a little confusing, as the Suicide Squad gmae isn’t a tie-in to the upcoming James Gunn film titled The Suicide Squad. With the release of the official DC FanDome schedule, we now finally got the actual title for the game, which is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This pretty much confirms that it won’t just be a hunt for Superman. We will have to take down the various members of the Justice League, which already sounds quite daunting. Supposedly, this also takes place in the same universe as the Arkham games, so we also might see the return of Batman. It is unsure at what point it takes place. There was a post-credit sequence at the end of Batman: Arkham Origins that introduced Amanda Waller recruiting Deathstroke. So, there is a good chance he will be a part of the main roster. Here’s hoping we get a trailer at DC FanDome and a confirmation for the playable roster. Personally, I would love to have different segments for various characters, like underwater sections as King Shark, or sniper missions for Deathstroke.

    Source: GameRant

  • DC FanDome Schedule Revealed

    DC FanDome Schedule Revealed

    We are only a week away from the biggest nerd event of the year, DC FanDome. DC is ready to give the world an insight into their upcoming projects. Many were speculating how big this digital event could end up being. We knew that many major film projects were getting a spotlight. This included Wonder Woman 1984, Black Adam, and The Suicide Squad. Then suddenly, Rocksteady finally revealed their next project Suicide Squad will also be featured in a tweet.

    There were also the rumors of the latest Batman Arkham game getting revealed after constant delays. These rumors don’t even include the comic-side of things that may be included. Well, we now finally got the official schedule and it is filled to the brim. Here is the overview of the main panels titled Hall of Heroes

    • 1.00 pm ET – Wonder Woman 1984,
    • 1.30 pm ET – Warner Bros. Games Montreal Anouncement
    • 1.45 pm ET – The Sandman Universe: Enter the Dreaming
    • 2.15 pm ET – Multiverse 101
    • 2.45 pm ET – Introducing Flash
    • 3.00 pm ET – The Suicide Squad
    • 3.45 pm ET – BAWSE Females of Color Within the DC Universe
    • 4.15 pm ET – Legacy of the Bat
    • 4.45 pm ET – Jim Lee Portfolio Review
    • 4.45 pm ET – Surprise DC Comics Panel
    • 5.45 pm ET – The Snyder Cut of Justice League
    • 6.00 pm ET – Black Adam
    • 6.45 pm ET – To Be Announced
    • 7.00 pm ET – Aquaman
    • 7.30 pm ET – SHAZAM! Panel
    • 8.00 pm ET – Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
    • 9.30 pm ET – The Batman

    These are just some of the largest panels included, as the event is split up in different event types. There are the Halls of Heroes, WatchVerse, KidsVerse, YouVerse, FunVerse, and InsiderVerse. For example, WatchVerse features a lot of panels focusing on TV shows. Each one offers a unique experience and highlights how massive this event really is. Looking at the main panel above, a lot of the major announced films will get some spotlight. There is a high chance we get a trailer for The Suicide Squad and maybe some small snippets from those that are still in production.

    One standout is the finally confirmed reveal of Warner Bros. Montreal’s upcoming game, which is most likely the rumored latest entry in the Batman Arkham franchise. Also, the Rocksteady game is finally given its complete title with Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. That one panel titled “To Be Announced” will probably be the one with the most speculation. We do not know if this is for comics, video games, movies or all of them combined. Cannot wait to see what DC has in store for us with this massive event.

    Source: Rocksteady, DCFandome

     

  • First BTS Images Released for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’

    First BTS Images Released for ‘Jurassic World: Dominion’

    One of the first films to start production again during the quarantine was Jurassic World: Dominion. They even had to deny any rumors that production had to shortly stop due to COVID-19 concerns to ensure that everything was running smoothly. In a NY Times article, they revealed that Hollywood is nervously keeping a close look at the production to ensure that their upcoming productions will remain safe with the appropriate quarantine measures. Luckily, this also means they shared some exclusive images from behind-the-scenes that may hint at what we can expect from the upcoming film.

    To start off, let’s talk about the rather in-depth article about the production measures. They went all out to ensure the safety of their crew. They created tents with infrared temperature scanners to ensure that everyone involved is healthy. They’ve split up their crew into different categories to keep personnel count as low as necessary. No wonder this could become a template for future productions. Bryce Dallas Howard compared it to a closed set, which is commonly used for intimate sequences and is a practice used for some time now. This will become the benchmark for other productions.

    Now, let’s get back to the dinosaurs. The set pieces don’t show too much outside of people entering a forest and a box filled with small dinosaurs. These could be Lost World: Jurassic Park‘s Compsognathus going by their size. The cage they are in is the more interesting tidbit. At the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, the dinosaurs were set free on American soil. This ending echoed that of Jurassic Park 3, where Pterodactyls were flying off into the sunset. Alongside a dramatic title drop by Jeff Goldblum, it meant that they were now roaming the world once again. So, the natural evolution would be for an elite team to hunt down these dinosaurs to minimize casualties. Here’s hoping they lean into the horror elements once again as they did in Fallen Kingdom. I’ll be honest, I am mostly looking forward to the moment they have to get the giant Mosasauras out of the ocean.

    Source: Variety, NY Times

  • The Star Wars Holiday Special is back!

    The Star Wars Holiday Special is back!

    Forty-two years to the day, the Star Wars Holiday Special is back through Disney+! It probably won’t be as star-studded as the one released back in 1978 (which featured almost the entirety of the cast from A New Hope), but it’ll have its own studs nonetheless, since this time it’ll be made out of LEGO.

    It will premiere on November 17 on Disney’s 9-month old the streaming platform, a day when some commemorate National Hiking Day, National Homemade Bread Day, or National Baklava Day, but that in a galaxy far, far away seems to coincide with Life Day (at least every 42 years), a Wookiee holiday celebrated by the inhabitants of their home planet of Kashyyyk. And as in 1978, the Special’s plot will revolve around Chewbacca flying home to celebrate the holiday with his own. With Han Solo out of the picture, this time it’ll be up to Rey, Finn, Poe, and Rose to help Chewie out.

    It’ll be set after The Rise of Skywalker, and in the spirit of A Christmas Carol (another holiday-related story), we’ll get to see our main cast interacting with both past, present, and future characters from the Star Wars universe, villains and heroes alike, certainly leaving room for someone to shout out “The dead speak.. again!” somewhere in there.

    Several Star Wars cast members might end up lending their voice to the characters portraited on the big screen, but no name is, as of yet, officially confirmed.

  • ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Season 7 Almost Featured M.O.D.O.K.

    ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ Season 7 Almost Featured M.O.D.O.K.

    Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has come to an end with its seventh season. Our team of misfits had their final confrontation with an alien race of sentient robots called the Chronicoms. The last season was a wild ride featuring time travel, outer-space ship battles, and super-powered fights. In an interview with the A.V. Club, showrunners Maurissa Tancharoen, Jeffrey Bell and Jed Whedon revealed some plans that had to be scrapped before starting production. The most significant detail was that they were planning on featuring MODOK as the central villain but weren’t allowed to by Marvel Studios. Here a quote by Jeffrey Bell:

    We had a lot of ideas where we were—and I’ll say this, I don’t care—we were given the green light originally to use certain characters from Marvel, and started to break story based on those characters—[Coughs.] MODOK—and then they retracted it. So there were a bunch of things that were going to get a little batshit crazy that were above our pay grade, in terms of the toys we were allowed to play with.

    This opens up the question, why weren’t they allowed to use MODOK? He has seen growing popularity, especially with the reveal as the main villain in the upcoming Avengers game by Square-Enix. The most likely reason may be connected to the rumors surrounding Ant-Man 3. Back in April, a rumor started that suggested that he was part of a previous draft of the film. They may still have some plans for the character, especially with AIM already existing in this universe since Iron Man 3. A villain that is just a giant head also seems like a good fit for a more comedy-driven franchise like Ant-Man. A character like MODOK would make for an interesting addition to the franchise and it would’ve been strange to force him into the final season without AIM lurking around. His role was most likely taken over by the Chonicom Sibyl. She acted as the mastermind behind the race, so he may have taken on that role. Still, MODOK joining the larger MCU is a fun prospect and can’t wait to see what plans they have with him. Hopefully, they will balance his ridiculous design and more vicious nature.

    Source: AV Club, DisInsider

     

  • Not So Fast My Friend: Spider-Man May Not Be Homesick After All

    Not So Fast My Friend: Spider-Man May Not Be Homesick After All

    Yesterday we ran a piece where we pointed out that both Maxim and Esquire were referring to the upcoming and officially untitled Spider-Man sequel as Spider-Man: Homesick. In that piece, we also mentioned that some crew in Atlanta were referring to it as such though we also shared that it wasn’t the ONLY title we heard it was going by. Now, the crew at The Direct have helped shine a little light on the matter.

    The site reports that they reached out to Maxim about their use of the Homesick subtitle and their writer confirmed to them that they were going off of speculation and rumors when writing the article. So it looks like, as was mentioned yesterday, this could potentially be the result of an echo chamber of bad info. The good news here is that if it isn’t Homesick, we can all hope for a better title!

    Source: The Direct

  • ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Creators Exit Netflix’s Live-Action Show

    ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Creators Exit Netflix’s Live-Action Show

    Avatar: The Last Airbender is a childhood classic for many. It’s three-season run left quite the impression on people. We entered a world full of people that could bend the elements to their whim. A diverse cast of characters gave us humor, drama, and plenty of action. The original creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko put a lot of love into this franchise. It was so popular that Nickelodeon continued with the sequel series The Legend of Korra and continued to tell the stories of the original’s through comics. Sadly, the translation to live action didn’t go as hoped. Director M. Night Shyamalan became infamous after he released his version back in 2010. Now, people were looking to Netflix to give fans the live-action adaptation they’ve been dreaming of. Even better, the original creators were given full reigns to create the series but sadly it seems as if some things aren’t meant to be.

    On his personal blog, Michael DiMartino had announced that after two years of development, he and Bryan Konietzko are leaving the production. As such, they have backed down as showrunners for the series. He does not offer any significant details on what may have transpired but it seems to be due to creative differences. This is a heavy blow for the franchise, as many hoped that their vision would help keep this live-action version as close to the original as possible. Sadly, this isn’t uncalled for especially with the current climate. They do remain optimistic about the future of this adaptation, and after two years of investment, Netflix won’t just back away from it so easily. DiMartino also confirmed that he will continue his work in this universe, so the stories of Aang and Korra will continue. Now all eyes will be on Netflix and who they announce as the new showrunner for the show. Whoever it may be, they have some big shoes to fill.

    Source: Michael DiMartino Blog

  • Composer Ludwig Göransson Back for Season 2 of ‘THE MANDALORIAN’

    Composer Ludwig Göransson Back for Season 2 of ‘THE MANDALORIAN’

    In the last few years, there haven’t been many shows that captured the attention of so many as Lucasfilm’s The Mandalorian. The success of Disney’s streaming service, at least in terms of subscriptions, cannot be disassociated from this first live-action Star Wars series that introduced us to The Child, a.k.a. Baby Yoda, having received highly positive reviews from critics and fans alike.

    The score written by Oscar and Grammy winner Ludwig Göransson was certainly one of the highlights. Being the show a self-proclaimed Space-Western, Ludwig certainly nailed the assignment he was invited to tackle, creating an ambiance hat was indeed reminiscent of the classic westerns Star Wars was inspired by more than four decades ago, and even though it strayed quite a bit from the usual musical choices fans have been used to associate with the franchise throughout the years, it was received in a very positive manner, being seen as a breath of fresh air within the Star Wars universe, opening new doors for what to expect from future composers working in upcoming projects.

    Having Ludwig back will probably mean that season 2 of The Mandalorian will continue to push Star Wars boundaries, hopefully in more ways than one.

  • ‘Halo: Infinite’ Delayed Until 2021

    ‘Halo: Infinite’ Delayed Until 2021

    Gaming will soon enter its new generation with the launch of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Some major IPs are being continued as flagship series to sell these consoles. Just recently, we got a major event showcasing the latest entry into the Halo franchise that would help sell the upcoming new Xbox. Halo: Infinite gave us our first good look at Master Chief in action while showcasing the hardware’s potential. At first, it seemed like the perfect showcase of what the console is capable of. That was until some took a closer look, and reactions ended up rather mixed. This was in large part due to the quality issue of the stream but it had some fans worried. Now, in a surprising announcement, the upcoming console seller was delayed until 2021 in a tweet from the official account.

    343 Industries, the team behind the latest entry, decided to delay the release in large part due to the ongoing pandemic. It’s shocking to see, as it was going to be one of the launch titles for the new Xbox and help push its sales in the booming holiday business. Game sales have been up all year, so this was the perfect time to get these new consoles out. We still do not have an official release date or pricing. XBox Series X is still rumored to release in November but who knows if there are more delays to be expected.

    No matter how one feels, this is a great decision by 343 to prioritize their employee’s health. There have been many discussions around the topic of crunch culture in the industry. Naughty Dog was already heavily criticized for its harsh over time with the release of The Last of Us 2. Nintendo, however, delayed Animal Crossing: New Horizons from its initial 2019 release date to avoid any health risks. Even if we have to wait a little longer, it is good to see these production companies setting their priorities and, in the end, it gives them more time to work on the game.

    Source: BBC, Twitter, Reuters, Kotaku, TechCrunch

  • ‘SHAZAM 2’ Eyeing Spring 2021 Production Start

    ‘SHAZAM 2’ Eyeing Spring 2021 Production Start

    Last year’s Shazam offered the world a great coming-of-age story. Young Billy Batson had to come to terms with his past and the fact that he can transform into Zachery Levi. Director David F. Sandberg managed to five us a fun-loving tale of a kid turning into a superhero. He somehow also managed to sneak in some gruesome moments with Dr. Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins. It was certainly a great addition to the DC line-up but this was only the beginning of his story. It was announced that Dwayne Johnson would play his arch-nemesis Black Adam in his own spin-off film. Now, we are anticipating the build-up to the moment these two titans finally clash.

    Last year, we got the official release date for the sequel on November 4th, 2022. In an interview with Sandberg back in April, he did state that initially the plans were to start production sometime this year. As everything is currently delayed, it was uncertain when they could start production again. Luckily, Illuminerdi found out that they are currently eyeing Spring 2021 to start production. This still could change depending on how the current situation develops.

    Unlike most films, Shazam has only a limited amount of time to film its sequels. The film’s young cast could end up outgrowing their roles if they take too much time, so the delays could have impacted this forcing them to write a time skip between films. WE don’t know much about the sequel and there is no confirmation if Black Adam will appear in the sequel, or if they will build it up until the third. It will be interesting to see how this develops. Perhaps we get an update on the sequel in the upcoming DC FanDome event on August 22nd.

    Source: CinemaBlend, Digital Spy, Illuminerdi