Another Disney + series about which we have more questions that answers, Moon Knight will introduce fans to the labyrinthine mind of Marc Spector. Showrunner Jeremy Slater is leading a talented writer’s room and now with Oscar Isaac on board as Marc Spector, we can expect the supporting cast to start to fill in.
With the release of the first official trailer came a couple of confirmations regarding the project. Hawke was revealed to be playing Arthur Harrow and the series’ premiere was now scheduled for March 30, 2022.
The Marvel Studios Disney+ series looks set to adapt Matt Fraction’s award-winning comic series and see Clint Barton become a mentor to Kate Bishop, a young and similarly unpowered hero and a member of the Young Avengers. Hawkeye will also reportedly give us a further look into Barton’s time as Ronin, which could possibly play out similarly to this Connecting Imaginary Dots piece I wrote a while back. A report by the Illuminerdi has indicated that the series will see the duo take on the Clown, a European assassin who caused them a lot of problems in the comics.
Originally scheduled for Fall of 2021, production on the series was indefinitely delayed in January of 2020. Just one month later, Disney set September 28th as a tentative start of production but with all the COVID delays it looks like that date may have been pushed into October.
Some weeks later a casting sheet surfaced that stated that production was looking for someone to play an audiologist. That seemed to indicate that, in the show, Clint might have some trouble with his earing, something that further ties the show to the Matt Fraction run.
Hailee Steinfeld was confirmed as being the choice to portray Kate Bishop by Murphy’s Multiverse on our December 2, 2020 report. The following day six more cast members were announced, including Vera Farmiga who will be playing Kate Bishop’s mother, Eleanor. Among the other names are Tony Dalton, who will portray Jack Duquense a.k.a. Swordsman, and Alaqua Cox will play Maya Lopez/Echo, a role we first reported here. Florence Pugh will also make an appearance, reprising her Black Widow character, Yelena Belova
According to an Instagram post featuring Alaqua Cox, the series is set for a Fall release. This was later confirmed when, on July 29, the show’s premiere date was official announced to be November 24, 2021. Alongside the announcement, an exclusive first-look was released. Subsequent promotional material confirmed the return of Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton, a role she last played in Avengers: Endgame.
The following review does not contain any spoilers, so it is safe to read if you have not yet played the game.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020) picks up sometime after the events of its predecessor, Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018). It tells the story of Miles Morales, a young kid who is trying to learn and adapt to his new powers, which he picked up during the events of the first game, under the tutelage of Peter Parker, the original Spider-Man. When Peter Parker has to leave New York, he leaves Miles in charge as “New York’s Only Spider-Man”. This promise gives leeway to the main events in the story where Miles gets caught in the middle of a fierce power struggle that threatens his home, his family, and his friends, and he must rise up and take on the mantle of what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
The first big takeaway that I want to emphasize is that, storywise, this game is VASTLY DIFFERENT from its predecessor. And that’s a great thing.
When we were first introduced to this world back in 2018, we met a much older and mature Spider-Man. His story felt so much larger than life, with iconic villains, and where the stakes could never have been higher for our favorite web-slinger. Now, the new game’s story feels so much more grounded as it focused more on the human aspect of the person behind the mask rather than the responsibilities of the hero. In the first game, you’ll notice that sometimes Peter’s web-swinging was nearly perfect. He calculates his moves precisely. In this game, Miles’s swinging has a lot more “flailing” and isn’t as graceful as Peter’s, but it’s certainly a whole lot more creative. It has an incredible uniqueness to it that emphasizes how Miles is learning to be his version of Spider-Man.
“Where We Come From”.
In Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020), Miles is still trying to learn the ropes of being Spider-Man, while trying to adjust to his new life in Harlem, with his mom and his friend, Ganke at his side. As you play the game, you’ll get to meet a lot of people, especially while roaming the streets of Harlem. Something I absolutely loved in this game was the sense of inclusivity that this game developed around the community of Harlem. As a Puerto Rican, I felt such a deeper connection to this game in particular because it made me feel proud of my heritage and displayed that sense of warmth and community that we are known for. With the blending of cultures and inclusivity of characters with different backgrounds and ethnicities (and even disabilities), the game takes its time to flesh the world around Miles. And as you play the game, you will start to become emotionally invested with these people, and sometimes, with that emotional investment, you can feel the weight of Miles on his shoulders as he has to take up this new mantle.
THE PHOTO MODE!
The photo mode in this game is absolutely fantastic. It’s so fantastic, that every single image that’s in this article is an image I took while in Photo Mode for the game.(DON’T WORRY. I TRIED VERY HARD TO PICK IMAGES THAT DON’T INCLUDE SPOILERS). I mainly used the Classic and Into the Spider-Verse suit, but there are a lot of incredible suits to choose from as well. There are a lot more creative options that people can use in this game to enhance their images; adding light options, changing suits within the photo mode, and a lot more filters and frames. And if you are fortunate enough to play this game in “Performance Mode” on the PS5, well, the images speak for themselves:
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I also created this video to showcase the incredible detail and quality that this game has, which you can observe below:
Later on, I’ll be making a Photo Mode article, displaying its qualities and showing off some more pictures so stay tuned!
THE VILLAINS
While there are certainly a lot fewer antagonists in this game compared to the first one, they certainly do not disappoint. The Tinkerer was the perfect first antagonist for Miles. I cannot get into much detail about ALL of the villains without delving into spoiler territory, but they were certainly one of my favorite parts of this game and did something very few villains do, which is to morally doubt the gamer into believing what’s right and what’s wrong.
CONCLUSION: The Perfect Launch Title for PS5 & THE PERFECT GROUNDED SPIDER-MAN STORY (10/10)
Needless to say, this game and its story truly understood the essence of what it means to be Spider-Man, the meaning behind “With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility”, and truly captured the essence of community and the importance of family. All nicely wrapped with the theme of Christmas on top. The inclusivity that this game presented and the way this game emotionally invests the gamer into the story and its characters is top tier and something that supersedes that of the original game. And while the original game might have made the player feel larger than life with the iconic character, this game lets the player breathe and plays an incredible grounded story within a world with an incredible amount of lore, with more room to expand and grow.
The content drought continues for Marvel’s Avengers. Yes, the game is at a low-point with its Steam player count. Its current peak is at around 700 players, which isn’t a good look but also understandable with a lack of an update or additional content. Gamstat has a direct API connection to the game, which highlights how many people earned trophies within the last month. So, according to their system, at least 320,000 players are still active on the console. The site only provides data for the total amount of players for Xbox. You have to consider that it only showcases players that have played the game, so it doesn’t directly correlate to sales. Still, without any new content, there isn’t much reason to return to the game currently, a challenge I’ve been facing myself. Their latest update did provide quite a lot of performance fixes.
Their latest weekly blog did not include any details on upcoming content again. Yet, we noticed that last week they started sharing screenshots alongside the Priority Missions. We saw the mission count almost triple as they showcased the developer’s build of the game. This week, we had one more tease with the reveal of this week’s Priority Missions.
If you look closely on the left side, it includes a new symbol that we haven’t seen before. It is difficult to make out from this distance, so luckily, @PlayAvenger shared an image zoomed in to highlight that it is Kate Bishop’s symbol that was teased in the initial War Table. Surprisingly, it seems they did end up giving her a unique icon, as the launch video showcased her operation with Clint Barton’s.
At face value, it is a little tease that Kate’s development is further along. These teases are nice, but it would’ve been better earlier on. Many of us are desperate for content, so this tease without any timing reminds players about the long wait. Once they get the ball rolling, however, I do hope they continue with these teases. This reveal is rather interesting. If you look closely, the symbol has the same outer rim as that behind the Avengers Initiative. It just includes a globe as its main symbol, just like the Reassemble campaign uses the Avengers’ A icon. We normally select the story operations through the tab above. Now, it looks like you can even choose them directly in the War Table.
Just based on speculation, this may be a result of them developing the New Game+ mode. This icon would enable players to replay the story directly in the War Table. We know Crystal Dynamics hasn’t started the mission, as the image highlights that a new operation is available. It isn’t much, but it feels deliberate that they are teasing this icon. Plus, this could confirm that you can replay story missions of the various operations in addition to the Reassemble campaign. It would give players an incentive to revisit some of the best parts of the game and not just restrict them to a New Game+ with the Reassemble campaign. Hopefully, we will get more clarity in the coming week(s).
Here’s an interesting surprise. It looks like Disney is not quite done with their cash cow live-action adaptations and has already set their eyes on the next project. They aim to adapt the Hawaiian story of Lilo & Stitch into live-action, which was originally going to be featured on Disney+. It is uncertain if things have changed but they have tapped Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu to tackle the project. Producers Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback are set to return after their success with the Aladdin adaption into live-action. They currently do not have a writer set for the project. Mike Van Waes has drafted the version that was initially titled Stitch for Disney+, which was never officially greenlit.
The original story by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders focused on a young girl named Lilo, who met the alien creature Stitch. He was created in a lab as the perfect creation of destruction. His time in Hawaii, however, teaches him about the importance of Ohana. The little alien was hellbent on protecting his newfound home from those that are trying to recapture him once more. Chu is a fantastic director to tackle this project. It also is his second project with Disney, as he is also involved with the upcoming Lucasfilm Willow project. These live-action adaptations of beloved animated classics haven’t gotten the best reception, so maybe this film can break the curse.
The ending of Avengers: Endgame gave us an unlikely pairing. Thor joined the Guardians of the Galaxy to find his new purpose in life. He left behind New Asgard and made Valkyrie their new Queen. So, we assumed he might be part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 before we get a new Thor sequel. Once they revealed the line-up for the fourth phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we found out that Thor: Love and Thunder would be the first to feature the Norse god. So, we wondered if it will include the Guardians or skip to a different point in time. Well, it looks like the Hollywood Reporter was able to confirm that Chris Pratt will indeed make an appearance in the upcoming film. There is a good chance he won’t be in too many scenes, as it might just pick up where the last one left off. It makes you wonder if they finally were able to solve the debate about who would be captain. The film is currently eyeing a February 2022 release date, so they’ve been slowly getting production started. They seem to be aiming for a January production start, as Pratt is still finishing up production on The Tomorrow War. This reveal comes at a perfect time before theories start floating around why he is traveling to Australia in case he shares something on Social Media. Strangely though, there is no confirmation of the other Guardians appearing, so it’ll be interesting to see if they are confirmed at a later date. Chris Pratt joins Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale.
He is the terror that flaps in the night, the scourge that pecks at your nightmares. Yes, it is indeed Darkwing Duck, who seems to be getting his series on Disney+. The streaming service has added Point Grey Pictures executive producers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Alex McAtee to join the project. McAtee will be overseeing its production as they look for a writer. According to Variety, this is only in the early stages of development, so it might still take some time before it will appear on Disney+. This announcement follows after a few episodes on the Ducktales reboot focused on the titular character. It is uncertain if this will act as a continuation within the series’ canon or if, like the original show, will exist as its universe.
The original Darkwing Duck from 1991 followed the suburban life of Drake Mallard. He fought crime alongside Launchpad McQuack and his adopted daughter Gosalyn. In the DuckTales reboot, they turned the original character into a fictional character of an in-universe superhero show. Jim Cummings returned to voice the iconic character but was an actor named Jim Starling. Mallard was a fan of the character who was going to replace him in a darker reboot. The Duck Knight Returns. He turned to crime-fighting after a falling out with his idol.
Chris Diamantopoulos took over voice acting duties for the new incarnation of Mallard. The series’ third season also finally introduced Gosalyn to round out the cast of the original. It would be a waste to disconnect the show from DuckTales, as it is already set-up these characters perfectly for a new generation. It’ll be interesting how these shows will interact with each other and if we might see other spin-offs, such as one focusing on Gizmoduck. Hopefully, they’ll give us a new rendition of that iconic theme song I am curious what direction they will take.
It’s finally official: WandaVision will make its Disney+ debut on January 15, 2021. Even though Disney recently announced it would come out a bit earlier, this slight delay will ensure things are 100% ready to go on time. As someone who pays close attention to the buzz around MCU projects, a sentiment I’ve noticed from the general public and even hardcore Marvel fans towards WandaVision is one of intrigue, but confusion. This isn’t just the first Disney+ MCU series, it’s also the first to explore the world of classic TV shows, and from the trailers and clips alone, the plot isn’t really clear (heck, if you throw in the tidbits we’ve gotten from the Marvel crew and scoopers, it’s still pretty murky).
Superpowers and sitcoms aren’t elements that sound like they would mesh well on paper, but while we may not have seen a genre bend quite like this before – especially within a major franchise – there are a few shows and movies out there that may be able to give us a taste of what can happen when the two mix together. So while you’re waiting for WandaVision to begin, check out these other projects with similar genre crossover!
1. Pleasantville
This Gary Ross-directed film from 1998 doesn’t feature any superheroes but does star future web-slinger Tobey Maguire along with Reese Witherspoon. The two play a pair of teenage siblings who become trapped in the (fictional) 1950’s sitcom Pleasantville thanks to an oddball TV repairman played by the late Don Knotts. The movie is all about how the influences our two leads bring into the idyllic world of Pleasantville cause things to change from black-and-white to colored…both figuratively and literally, as the sitcom’s characters slowly change in this manner as they are exposed to more complex and even “scandalous” concepts.
As seen in WandaVision‘s trailer, the show will also start off as a black-and-white show which later changes to color. While we don’t yet know what exactly will cause the switch, it’s possible the concept could be based within a similar symbolism of things getting more colorful as the times change and become more complicated. And as we here on Murphy’s Multiverse have discussed aplenty, WandaVision’s sitcom world is more than likely created by Wanda herself as a way of escaping the trauma and grief of her true reality.
The idea of outsiders entering into this sitcom world also looks as though it will be explored in WandaVision, as we briefly see Monica Rambeau be seemingly shot out of it and (back) into the real world in the trailer. And there may very well be even more similarities between the film and Disney+ series, so Pleasantville is definitely worth a watch before WandaVision begins.
2. The Twilight Zone: “A World of His Own”
The Season 1 finale of the original run of the classic anthology series The Twilight Zone premiered in 1960 and is about a man who can make anyone materialize at his will by describing them into a mysterious dictation machine (and disappear by cutting that section of the tape out and burning it in the fireplace). It takes place in what was supposed to be a typical American middle-class household at the time and plays around with domestic life-based dynamics. The screenplay was penned by Richard Matheson, who also wrote many other science fiction and horror-based stories including the novel I Am Legend and the book and screenplay for the film adaptation of The Shrinking Man.
The Twilight Zone is not a sitcom, nor is this episode set up like one, but the idea of the power to create and destroy people out of thin air is something explored in some of the Marvel comic runs WandaVision is taking inspiration from and will probably come up in the series itself. It will likely be the explanation as to how Vision, who died (twice) in Avengers: Infinity War, is somehow alive in this series, and in the comics is how he and Wanda’s twins (seen briefly in the trailer) come to be.
How might they react if (when?) they discover they’re simply the creations of Wanda’s mind? “A World of His Own” may give us an idea as to how things could play out if this is the case in WandaVision, or at the very least may provide insight into how this power may affect Wanda herself.
3. Too Many Cooks
This short film first aired during Cartoon Network’s late night block “Adult Swim” back in 2014 and quickly gained a cult following online. It starts out like the intro for a typical 1990’s-era sitcom, but soon begins to take some strange and dark turns. To say any more would either give everything away or make the project sound even more confusing, but you can watch the full 11-minute video for yourself below. (Thanks, Adult Swim YouTube channel!)
While Too Many Cooks mixes the sitcom with pretty much every other genre except superheroes, the trajectory of things starting out quaint and charming and growing more and more bizarre and unsettling as it goes on looks much like how WandaVision is expected to play out. There are lots of strange little happenings and easter egg-esque things in the background of Too Many Cooks, much like WandaVision looks like it will have with MCU stories of the past as well as old sitcoms.
Of course, WandaVision will have much more time to dive into the concept of “sitcom gone wrong” but Too Many Cooks, perhaps more than any other piece of media out there, will probably provide a good taste of the tone the series will take. And if so, we’re in for quite the ride this winter.
The Mandalorian just expanded their world once more, with the latest episode introducing some familiar faces. You can read more on it by checking out João Pinto‘s latest entry by clicking here. He already covered most of the episode, so I want to take a look at what it may say about the future. Not too long ago, we got the reveal that Disney+ show’s third season was already entering production. What stood out, it was going to have the working title “Buccaneer” during production. The moment we read this news, we probably all had the same thought as Skyler Shuler did when he shared the news.
The working title for The Mandalorian season 3 is BUCCANEER!
As last time, keep in mind there are some mild spoilers in this article, so only continue at your own risk.
Western films were the inspiration for the show’s initial direction. It wouldn’t be too surprising for them to diversify the genre as the show continues to grow. This way, it won’t become stale and can be reinvented to bring in a new audience. The latest episode teased the potential direction as we met Bo-Katan and her small team of Mandalorians. We get more insight into how Din’s creed is different from those that lived on Mandalore. It gave us some insight into how Mandalorian traditions have changed over the years especially after many wondered last season why Din couldn’t take off his helmet. It offered a lot more lore to finally connect The Mandalorian, The CloneWars, and Rebels.
What makes this episode stands out is how it already played around with new concepts. We spend some time in this episode at sea, where Din gets betrayed by his new captain. Just like previous episodes, this creates a visual connection to the main meat of the story after he is rescued by the previously-mentioned fellow Mandalorians, who he has been looking for throughout the season. The episode then takes that context to build the connection to the main focus of the Mandalorians hijacking a ship. If you combine this with the Mandalore history that got teased early on, it creates a potential set-up for where the series heads in its third season.
I believe the third season will continue the arc set-up in this episode. Bo-Katan is aiming to retrieve the Darksaber so she can return to her home planet as their leader. She seems to be aware of Moff Gideon, so she might ask for his support in this mission. It would expand the cast to include a new ragtag team of Mandalorians that help Din and the Child on their quest. He becomes conflicted with the teachings of his creed while also fulfilling his mission. We might get our first live-action visit of Mandalore after they set out on their travels taking down one Empire ship after another. His own story will parallel with that of the Child, who is also on the search for his home.
In 2005 actor Keanu Reeves made his debut as the master of the occult, John Constantine in an R-rated horror/fantasy thriller that saw the demonologist take on the likes of satan himself. The film featured a star-studded lineup with the likes of Tilda Swinton, Shia Labeouf, Rachel Weisz, Peter Stormare, and was directed by Francis Lawrence. Since then talk has been quite on the film, but since the launch of the HBO Max streaming service made the film more available for many, talk of the film has become more prominent with many finding the projected to have aged quite well over the past 13 years.
Now it seems there might be some movement on the project, actor Peter Stormare recently took to Instagram where he shared an image that displayed his depiction of the devil from the film in which he captioned “Sequel In The Works”. Now with stuff like this, you have to remember actors do not greenlight projects and neither do creatives behind them, but with a renewed interest in the original film having captivated many conversations over social media the past few months it wouldn’t be a completely crazy thing to see the studio have a renewed interest in the project.
As of right now, this is the only thing we’ve heard on the matter and it’s unclear if Reeves would be involved at all, as he has become quite the commodity in Hollywood these days. Earlier this year it was reported that JJ Abrams, along with his production company Bad Robot, would be developing projects based on the characters within the Justice League Dark such as Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Deadman, Etrigan, and of course, John Constantine. A few months back it was reported that Abrams was in the development of a new Constantine film and the studio was potentially courting Reeves to return to the project. The type of return wouldn’t be that unprecedented with many veteran DC actors having made returns as their past characters such as Brandon Routh, Kevin Conroy, and most recently Michael Keaton in the solo Flash film.
SOURCE: Instagram
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