Murphy's Multiverse

Category: News

  • Report: Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop

    Report: Hailee Steinfeld is Kate Bishop

    She’s everyone’s first choice and now, despite what seemed like mounting evidence to the contrary, Hailee Steinfeld has reportedly crossed the necessary “I”s and dotted the necessary “T”s and will portray Kate Bishop in the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye.

    The Illuminerdi broke the news of Steinfeld finally agreeing to the role (news that was later given a 100% confirmation seal of approval by MCU Cosmic) just about a week after members of Disney Insider mentioned that the actress was no longer in contention. However, MCU Cosmic, who was privy information about the moments leading up to Steinfeld’s signing of her contract, expects a trade announcement might come shortly.

    The Illuminerdi’s report also indicated that Hawkeye, originally set to start production in late-September, is now looking at an October start date with filming expected to wrap in March. If all things stay on track, we should see Hawkeye hit Disney Plus as early as next August.

  • ‘HAWKEYE’ Series Searching for The Clown

    ‘HAWKEYE’ Series Searching for The Clown

    A new report from The Illuminerdi indicates that an interesting and unexpected villain might play a major role in Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye. According to the report, a new cast listing may point to Kazimierz Kazimierczak, a merc known as the Clown, squaring off with the Hawkeyes.

    First appearing in Matt Fraction and David Aja’s acclaimed Hawkeye run, Kazi is a Polish mercenary who was hired by the ongoing antagonists of the series, the Tracksuit Draculas, a European mafia group that made things tough for Clint and his neighbors in their apartment complex. The casting breakdown calls for an Easter European male in his 20s-early 30s to play a character code named ‘Arek.’ The character is reportedly a series regular, set to appear in 5 of 6 episodes.

    Hawkeye is set to begin filming this Fall.

  • ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ To Start Filming Next Year

    ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ To Start Filming Next Year

    Tennis star Serena Williams spoke to Natalie Portman recently about the new NWSL team they co-own coming to L.A.. Luckily for us Serena asked Natalie about her playing Jane as The Mighty Thor in Thor Love and Thunder.  

    At first joking that filming hasn’t started yet but it gives her “more time to, you know, get jacked.” Natalie added that she’s “got the carbo loading down but not the leg exercises.” Then she dropped a confirmation of when and where she expects filming to begin.

    “Very excited. We’re shooting in Australia at the beginning of next year.”

    “Interested to see if I can actually gain muscle,” Natalie joked again. It seems as if she’s taking her Mighty Thor role very seriously despite the expectations of there being a lot of humor in the script similar to Thor Ragnarok. Natalie is a very committed actress so I expect she will do her best to “get jacked.”

    As for the news that Thor Love and Thunder is expected to start filming in Australia at the beginning of next year, this is not surprising. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings needs to finish filming before Thor can begin. Plus the release date for the fourth Thor film was pushed back to early 2022 for that reason. However it is good to have the star actress confirm that she expects to need to be in “mighty” good shape for filming by early 2021 not later.

    Fingers crossed that doesn’t get pushed back again.

    Source: YouTube

     

  • ‘OBI-WAN’ Sets Production Date

    ‘OBI-WAN’ Sets Production Date

    Yesterday’s news that 3 coming Star Wars films were all delayed by a year was unwelcome but understandable. Today, however, we get some good Star Wars news from our friends at the Illuminerdi who have learned when production is slated to begin on the much anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series! According to their report, cameras are currently set to roll in Los Angeles in March of next year.

    20 Hilarious Memes About Anakin Skywalker We Can't Stop Laughing At

    As the article smartly points out, the Deborah Chow helmed series will almost certainly take advantage of the Volume technology that was used so successfully on The Mandalorian and that technology is located in L.A. Many rumors have swirled around the show, including some recent ones that claim Hayden Christensen would be returning to his role as the Chosen One alongside star Ewan McGregor. With a smaller episode count, a March 2021 start should provide enough time to get the show completed on on the streaming service in late 2021!

  • SCOOP: ‘WANDAVISION’ To Be Loosely Based on John Byrne’s Vision Quest

    SCOOP: ‘WANDAVISION’ To Be Loosely Based on John Byrne’s Vision Quest

    Thanks to the Disney Plus feature Expanding the Universe, we already know that House of M, Tom King’s Vision, James Robinson’s Scarlet Witch and the 1985 limited series The Vision and The Scarlet Witch are among the comics from which the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series WandaVision will draw inspiration. Now it looks like we can add another run to the source material as a series subplot will be very loosely based on John Byrne’s run on West Coast Avengers (currently in a collected edition titled Vision Quest) as I have learned that WandaVision will indeed see Wanda go on her own Vision quest.

    When Byrne took over writing duties on the title with issue 42 in March of 1989, he kicked it off with Vision going missing from the compound and Wanda went looking for him. Over the next 8 issues, Wanda comes to learn he’d been taken by a multinational group called Vigilance, finds him totally deconstructed on a table, and learns that all his memories (data) have been wiped and he has no recollection of their life together. There’s more to it of course but it certainly isn’t all relevant to the upcoming streaming series.

    This information comes from a pair of valuable sources we have worked with in the past but, as is often the case, it’s missing a bit of context that would be incredibly helpful in understanding the big picture. With that being said, here’s what we know:

    We’ve long been aware that WandaVision will be taking place both in what seems to be an altered reality (inside the TV) and in the real world where organizations like S.W.O.R.D. have a presence. It looks like one of the subplots in the real world centers on Wanda going Humpty Dumpty and trying to reassemble Vision after his parts have been scattered around the world. This is the part where a little context would go a long way but, unfortunately, none exists. The last time we saw Vision, he was “dead” but fully intact after Thanos plucked the Mind Stone out of his noggin.

    Why didn't Vision appear in Avengers: Endgame? - Quora

    Missing the hows and whys of Vision being in pieces is a bit frustrating, but knowing he’s in pieces and that Wanda is on the hunt for those pieces still provides a key piece of the story. I think it also might go a long way towards explaining some old set photos that saw Wanda outside a S.W.O.R.D. building. To me there are two choices here: they are either helping Wanda put Viz back together again or they’re responsible for taking him apart. Either way, to nobody’s surprise, Wanda is going to find the pieces and reassemble Vision but, as it happens in West Coast Avengers, he won’t be the same Vision he was before and will be missing some key bits of data including any knowledge of the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

    It’s also worth mentioning that Byrne’s Vision Quest run introduced the white Vision and produced one of the most iconic Marvel Comics covers with issue 45. If you’ll recall, Marvel employee Shawn Sendio, who often uses his Instagram to tease various elements of upcoming productions, posted a picture of that cover last year.

     

    This was, at the time, interpreted as a hint that we would see the white Vision in WandaVision and we just might, though I have no information on that. However, the symbolism behind the white Vision is probably just as important as the look and that’s something that might be missed if you haven’t read Byrne’s run. As the West Coast Avengers start work on getting their Vision back, Hank Pym explains that while he can recreate Vision’s mind, the data is gone, leaving Vision a blank slate, a plain white canvas waiting to be filled in.

     

    And so the pieces of the puzzle are on the table and we can all start moving them into place. You can imagine Wanda’s passion as she searches for the parts to her synthezoid lover and you can imagine her disappointment when the recreated Vision is, symbolically and literally, a blank slate. How would you react? Hopefully we’ll find out later this year when it streams on Disney Plus (fingers crossed!).

    You can pick up a copy of Vision Quest by clicking the Amazon link below!

     

  • ‘SPIDEY 3’ Gets Another New Release Date

    ‘SPIDEY 3’ Gets Another New Release Date

    In a story that actually makes a lot of sense, the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel has been given another new release date. Originally scheduled for July 16, 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the release to November 5, 2021. With star Tom Holland currently filming Uncharted (and filming these days ain’t what it used to be), the film has now been moved to December 21, 2021, a date JUST recently abandoned by the planned Avatar sequel.

    As originally reported here, Spidey 3 had planned to film in late-September or early-October. A recent video interview with Holland revealed that the studio hoped to complete filming in February of 2021. Given that info, this one month delay gives the studio time to test the film, schedule and complete reshoots and finalize the theatrical cut. All in all, this is good news given all the “indefinite delays” we’ve seen. Hopefully Spidey 3 hits theaters for Christmas 2021!

  • Marvel Studios is Interested in the Illuminati

    Marvel Studios is Interested in the Illuminati

    Here’s some cool MCU news to get us through this MCU-less Comic-Con week. Our friends at The Illuminerdi have gotten their hands on a cast listing for a mysterious ILLUMINATI project with Kevin Feige’s name on it. No other details about this project were spared but like a lot of MCU projects in early development, details are generally scarce this early. There’s no telling whether this is a film, TV show, or an animated thing. All this report does is give us the gist: Marvel Studios has this team on their radar.

    What can we expect from the MCU’s Illuminati down the road? For one thing, it’s barely going to resemble what we had in the comics. Cap and Tony are out of the picture. Doctor Strange and T’Challa are the only existing Illuminati members in the MCU currently. We don’t know how Professor X, Reed Richards, Namor, and Black Bolt enter the MCU. You could maybe substitute one of them with Captain Marvel and Bruce Banner.

    I’d be surprised if Marvel Studios shows audiences how screwed up this team is. The comics version of the team was a very compromised one. These dudes delved into some shady shit that would make Tony’s creation of Ultron look like an episode of Rugrats. Heck, they end up trying to murder one another down the road.

    Source: Illuminerdi 

  • ‘MS. MARVEL’ Production Update

    ‘MS. MARVEL’ Production Update

    Now more than ever, production dates seem to be “best guesses” rather than chiseled in concrete but, as we’ve seen recently in the case of Uncharted, things can get back underway and “on time” in this new normal. While we wait for Marvel Studios to resume production on The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, WandaVision and Loki, we now have something new to look forward to as the studio has set a NEW start date (verified by Discussing Film) for Ms. Marvel. As of this week, Marvel Studios plans to roll cameras in Atlanta on the streaming series from November through March of 2021!

    Celebrate 50 issues of Kamala Khan in June's “Ms. Marvel” #31 ...

    This new, November start date replaces what was originally supposed to be an August start. Not only does it track with other information we’ve been hearing (such as the studio beginning to zero in on their Kamala Khan) but it also might give us some insight into some other aspects of production. If Marvel Studios is looking to get Ms. Marvel started in November, that might mean that, as of now, that’s when they expect to have studios space open once production on Loki wraps in Atlanta. Additionally, we might deduce that if production on Ms. Marvel is kicking off about 3 months later than originally expected that we could, potentially, see Hawkeye, originally scheduled for a September start, get in front of cameras before the end of 2020 as well!

    Keep in mind there are still a lot of obstacles to clear before any productions get underway, but we can tentatively start piecing things together here under the assumption that things get running again soon. Before I go, I’ll leave you with this incomplete tidbit as to why Marvel Studios is keen on casting Kamala Khan sooner than later even though her series isn’t set to film until November: Ms. Marvel won’t be the first time we meet Kamala Khan. If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll already know why.

     

     

  • Sorting Through ‘WANDAVISION’ and ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Conflicting Updates

    Sorting Through ‘WANDAVISION’ and ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Conflicting Updates

    Well it’s certainly been a befuddling couple of days for fans of the MCU, and in particular for those looking forward to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision. While its finally been revealed that FaTWS will NOT make an August release date, as expected considering the state of… well, everything; there has been continued confusion basically all day about whether or not WandaVision will be pushed back as well. I will do my best to sort it out for you below. But if you want the quick answer, it is plainly, I dont know. No one really does at this point in time. In all likelihood, not even Disney Plus or Marvel do.

    That being said, if you want to read the long answer where I sort through the several conflicting reports to try to clarify things on this front, and then give my at least somewhat educated OPINION of what might happen, then continue on.

    First and foremost, no, I’m sorry to say, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is not going to make the previously announced August 2020 release window. This was completely expected due to the pandemic shutting down filming and continued troubles with that, paired with the series having several weeks left to film at least (expect it to be longer with the current guidelines). However, if they are able to complete filming even as late as by end of September, maybe even October, that should still allow for a late 2020 release for that series. Chances are the studio is working out how and where to do that already.

    Thursday, The Laughing Place reported, not surprisingly, that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was not on a list of titles sent to the media for the Disney Plus streaming service for August. This was despite Disney Chairman Bob Iger himself announcing a few months ago during an earnings call that FaTWS would stream in August, WandaVision in December, and Loki in 2021.

    Early Friday afternoon, a post by Deadline reporting on the delay news about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, stated at first that WandaVision was “on track for a previously set October premiere date.” This was seemingly confused by the writer with the second season of The Mandalorian. They have since corrected the article to say “WandaVision remains on track for a 2020 premiere date” instead. So still probably streaming in December 2020, right? Well, hold off those party plans for a moment Wanda stans…and read on.

    A bit later, an Entertainment Weekly article came up talking about The Falcon and The Winter Soldier‘s delay, stated: “A source close to the situation confirms to EW that the premiere has indeed been delayed due to the global pandemic. If all goes well, a new premiere will be announced soon.” Note the “if all goes well” part there. Yeah, that’s a pretty big IF right now unfortunately. And I’m not exactly sure how they’re defining the word “soon” because we are certainly months away from seeing if “all goes well” with the series finishing up their filming. In other words, don’t expected a new release date announced too “soon,” and even then, everything is very very “wait and see” for all these series until they finish all the filming. Their only mention of WandaVision, by the way, was about the Bob Iger comment I mentioned earlier here. It was to air in December 2020, straight from the horse’s… um… mouse’s…uh…big time guy at Disney’s mouth. (Hold up. Keep reading Wanda stans…)

    Then late afternoon The Hollywood Reporter posted an article about Hawkeye being the first Disney Plus Marvel series to have multiple directors (Rhys Thomas, Amber Finlayson, and Katie Ellwood), which threw a monkeywrench into all our WandaVision hopes and dreams.

    Hawkeye is part of the first wave of Marvel shows that was due to hit Disney+ starting in fall 2020. The first show was to have been The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but the series has been delayed to the coronavirus pandemic affecting production. Other shows include WandaVision (spring 2021, if things go as planned), Loki (also spring 2021),then Hawkeye. All will see the silver screen thespians toplining the series.

    So now if that’s correct and up to date, we seem to be back to the original plan when the shows were announced last year, WandaVision and Loki in 2021. Or are we? Or is it simply the reporter guessing and/or going by old information about the release dates? The fact that he says Loki in Spring 2021 makes me think the latter. The reason being, Loki has kind of a lot left to film, especially compared with the other two. And again, we’re in the middle of a pandemic which complicates everything, including making filming take longer from what I understand. What I’m saying is, I’m rather skeptical that Loki is going to make a Spring 2021 release. I could be wrong, but I suspect late Summer or Fall is much more likely for the God of Mischief to appear again.

    As for WandaVision, and again this is my OPINION, and I could be totally wrong, and I could see something that makes me change my mind next week or month or whatever… However my opinion is that WandaVision will likely be pushed back to early Spring, (or maybe late Winter okay? Don’t hurt me.)

    The reason I think this is for one thing, while I’m sure Disney Plus is desperate for new content for their subscribers, they also are going to want to be smart and space out their releases a bit. This way subscribers have a continued feed of new stuff, not just one giant but delicious Marvely chunk and then nothing for months and months because they can’t be completely sure when they can get anything else filmed right now.

    Secondly, as we all know, Marvel likes to link their films, and these Disney series are also going to be linked both to the films and to each other. The order of things was in place for a while now: Black Widow, then Falcon and the Winter Soldier, then The Eternals, then WandaVision, etc… Assuming they want to keep that order in tact, due to connectivity, then WandaVision should air some time after The Eternals, and Falcon and The Winter Soldier after Black Widow... Do I know for sure that there are connections between all of these films and series? No. As I stated at the beginning, this part is my at least somewhat educated opinion.

    And lastly with the shifting back of release dates for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to March 2022, and the fact that WandaVision will definitely influence what happens in that film, they may not want to air WandaVision that far ahead of that film. Better to keep the events of WandaVision fresh in the audience’s mind for that.

    I hope I’ve helped clear up some of the confusion of the day for you, I did my best to, even if it’s not something some of you want to hear. Let’s just all of us wear masks for a while longer and then hopefully we can still get our beloved Marvel stuff this year, okay?

    Correction: One day later the Hollywood Reporter writer put out a correction on his Twitter @boris_kit: “I’ve made a correction to the article saying WandaVision is due to come out in 2020. Thanks to the Brandons for keeping me on my toes.”

  • Noah Centineo Cast as Atom Smasher in DC’s ‘BLACK ADAM’

    Noah Centineo Cast as Atom Smasher in DC’s ‘BLACK ADAM’

    Noah Centineo has joined the cast of New Line and Warner Brothers Black Adam, a spinoff of 2018’s Shazam!. The film will tell the origin of Shazam’s greatest foe and will star Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson in the titular role.

    Black Adam will be directed by Jungle Cruise director, Jaume Collet-Serra. The film was scheduled to film next month but due to the world’s current, uncertain circumstances and prior commitments of actors, production has been tentatively rescheduled for February of 2021. The film will be produced by Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia at Seven Bucks productions along with Beau Flynn of Flynnpictures, who also previously worked on Disney’s Jungle Cruise.

    Centineo will play Atom Smasher, also known as Nuklon, a meta human with the ability to control his molecular structure, allowing his to alter size and density of him body. The character made his first debut as a JSA member in 1999 by Geoff Johns. With story details still being kept under wraps, all we know is that the film will introduce audiences to Teth Adam, the champion of the wizard Shazam, who uses his powers to overthrow slavers and would do anything to protect his home nation of Kahndaq. It seems as if the film will be adaption of the 2007 run ‘Black Adam: The Dark Age’ by Christian Alamy, Dough Mahnke, and Peter Tomasi. Back in March of 2019 it was reported by Charles Murphy that the current draft of the script for ‘Black Adam’ Featured Atom Smasher, as well as Hawkman, both of which have now been confirmed to make an appearance in the movie.

    More news and casting about ‘Black Adam’ is expected to be revealed at ‘DC Fandome’, the event will take place on August 22nd and the film is considered to be one of the events headliners.