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  • Update: Disney Investor Day Now Reportedly Not Happening

    Update: Disney Investor Day Now Reportedly Not Happening

    UPDATE: According to a report from The Direct, a LiveStorm representative has indicated that the date, seen below, was given in error and was deleted from their website. Furthermore, they have indicated that their is no upcoming Investor Day scheduled to their knowledge.

    THE WEBCAST WILL BE HELD ON OCTOBER 7TH, 2020.

    We officially have a date for the next webcast of the Walt Disney Company’s “Disney’s Investor Day”. It has been confirmed to be held on Wednesday, October 7th 2020 – 10:00 AM (AST).

    The information comes from the Livestorm event page, where the last Investor Day’s Webcast was streamed. During last year’s “Investor’s Day” event, Disney announced many developments regarding their Disney+ service, including updates on ESPN+, Hulu, Hotstar and announcements ranging from MCU & Star Wars films becoming available on the Disney+, to teases about Falcon and Winter Soldier, starring Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan; WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany; Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston; the animated What If…? series; The Mandalorian (Season 1), starring Pedro Pascal, etc.

    Now, this event is definitely one to be paying attention to. Mainly because during this event, we could see a number of things be discussed, a couple of questions be answered, and potentially any sort of major announcement to be made. Some of these MAY include:

    disney+ Subscriber Count Growth in the past few months

    How much profit did Mulan make on Disney+ Premier Access?

    updates, developments or casting news regarding the marvel studios d+ shows

    Any possible update regarding the potential release of black widow, either through Disney+ Premier Access, theatrical release, or a hybrid model

    UPDATES ON THE UPCOMING SEASON OF “THE MANDALORIAN”

    This is certainly an event many of us will be paying attention to in the coming days.

  • Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 64

    Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 64

    This week one Charles talks to the other Charles about Tatiana Maslany landing the role of Jennifer Walter, what Batroc was up to in those set photos and more!


     

  • Darcy’s Role in ‘WANDAVISION’ Revealed

    Darcy’s Role in ‘WANDAVISION’ Revealed

    Last night’s WandaVision trailer took the hype for the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series to another level while leaving fans with more questions than answers. The trailer gave us our first look at Kathryn Hahn’s mysterious Agnes, a look at Teyonah Parris’ grown-up Monica Rambeau taking a mysterious trip and ending up with what we assume to be a group of SWORD agents. It also set the table for one of the show’s many interesting premises: Vision’s missing memories (and maybe Wanda’s as well?). We see the manifestation of this issue while Mr. and Mrs. Heart, dinner guests of Wanda and Vision’s, ask questions about the happy couple who have just moved into the town of Westview and neither are able to answer.

     

     

    Now whether or not Wanda can answer and chooses not to is a question for another time (I don’t THINK she can, though); it’s clear from the look on Vision’s face, however, that he does not know how he came to be where he is. Later in the trailer, Hahn’s character bluntly tells Vision that he is dead, much to his surprise. From what we can gather, it seems that, as rumored, Wanda and Vision are living in an alternate reality where the events of Avengers: Infinity War have no hold. They are married, have children, and live in a happy little world where Vision still has the Mind Stone firmly embedded in his forehead. But we know there’s more to the story than just this new reality and it’s what’s happening outside that bubble that brings Darcy into play!

     

     

    As we reported here, while Wanda and Viz are happy in their bubble, life goes on in the real world, where someone is collecting the parts of the synthezoid Avenger and reassembling him. When Vision finally finds himself humpty-dumptied back together again, much like in the Vision Quest arc, he finds his memories are not intact; in fact, he has absolutely no recollection of his demise at the hands of Wanda (nor, apparently much of the time following the work done on him by Shuri) and it falls on the shoulders of Kat Denning’s Darcy to fill in the blanks. We don’t quite know how Darcy and Vision end up crossing paths but we’ve heard from sources that Darcy ends up being a key figure in getting Vision back on his feet. One scene described to us has Darcy informing a very confused Vision of the tragic circumstances of his death. And so whatever series of events that have transpired since the last time we saw her, Darcy somehow ends up working on piecing the Vision back together again. As with many of the scoops we share, we know we’re missing some context here so it’ll be interesting to see this all unfold when the series streams LATER THIS YEAR!!!!!

     

  • UPDATED: Indonesian Trailer Reveals Possible ‘WANDAVISION’ Release Date

    UPDATED: Indonesian Trailer Reveals Possible ‘WANDAVISION’ Release Date

    UPDATE: The trailer has since been removed, possibly indicating the release date was inaccurate.

    The first WandaVision trailer was exciting enough but now it seems that thanks to Disney’sIndonesian YouTube channel, we may have a potential release date for the first of Marvel Studios series for the streaming service.

    While this is totally unconfirmed, the Indonesian trailer ends with a frame that says COMING SOON and gives October 30th as a release date, the same date as the release of the first episode(s) of Season 2 of The Mandalorian. We’ll wait for for confirmation from Marvel Studios or Disney before we get too excited as it seems HIGHLY unlikely that Disney would release both of these shows on the same day. However, the heavy Halloween theme of WandaVision makes sense as well. Fortunately, Disney’s October 7th investor call isn’t too far away so we won’t have to wait too long for clarification.

  • ‘WANDAVISION’ Trailer Finally Released

    ‘WANDAVISION’ Trailer Finally Released

    It has been a rough year for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Everything has been delayed indefinitely with even Black Widow‘s November date in jeopardy. We were also supposed to get our first Disney+ series Falcon and the Winter Soldier back in August. We thought that 2020 might be the first year since 2009 that we didn’t get a Marvel film. Well, luckily it seems Disney+ has planned to release WandaVision in December. As it was the second planned release, it was quite a surprise that it would still make it this year. Now, it seems certain as Marvel has released the first full trailer for their upcoming show.

    Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige promised us a crazy show and this trailer certainly delivers. Seeing Vision again after his untimely demise in Avengers: Infinity War could tease a future for this character. Question is, how will they handle it with this show. Also, it is exciting to know that we will watch something from the MCU this year. WandaVision could be Marvel Studios’ most unique project. Even if Black Widow was originally going to start off Phase 4, this serves just as much to show the creativity we can expect from the future of this franchise.

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Journal: Barebones Endgame, or a True Initative?

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Journal: Barebones Endgame, or a True Initative?

    Anyone who follows me on Twitter might have noticed that I’ve been rather vocal about Square-Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers. In general, the game has some major flaws. There is no way to deny that. Games as a Service tend to have rough starts. There are different levels of issues, but it has been there since even before Destiny. Some of these games needed a year or even longer before they hit their true stride. So, I tried to spend some time after finishing the campaign to see what more is there to this game. You can check out my thoughts on the campaign by clicking here. It’s a heartfelt story that offers a unique perspective on our favorite heroes. I probably played around 14 hours to finish it. It’s the same campaign length I had with Batman: Arkham Origins back in the day. Now, it was time for the endgame content. Here we can see if the game truly holds up for the long-time commitment.

    An Enjoyable Aftermath

    One thing the game handled well is that the story continues. While cutscenes are now more sparse than before, I was surprised to get small moments throughout the hero-specific missions. Thor’s mission with a fake was quite the highlight as A.I.M. soldiers were defecting. Sadly, they didn’t have any unique designs but that could still come once we return to the Woken storyline. I was a bit surprised that Kamala and Iron Man didn’t have any unique mission types. Still, my main focus was to fulfill the various fraction missions to get my hands on the Darkhold. Yes, the evil book that was featured in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a big reward once you finish a major mission chain focused on A.I.M.s cloning technology teased at the end of the campaign.

    I think this part is done well. You have missions that grant you additional gear which lets you level up accordingly. I was having fun as I unlocked a variety of new missions that weren’t available before. After some time you do start to notice a trend. These missions start to reuse assets frequently. Plus, the Hive mission becomes the main focus. The 1.3 patch just added a new mission type that I will get to later. The issue is that with their strong focus on A.I.M. there aren’t any surprises after you finish the story. There’s no bonus villain here. You’ll revisit a lot of the same places as you try to grind for gear.

    A Questionable Grind

    The grind is a selling point of looter games. You receive gear with unique perks. At first, you’ll focus mainly on the power level. It isn’t until you hit 130 that you start caring about stats. This aspect is a lot of fun. It made me think about my character customization. Yes, gears don’t change anything visually but they can have their perks. So, why not grind for gear that lets Thor freeze his enemies as he hits them. You can even add a Jotunheim ability to his heroics, so you can create your custom version of Thor. I am still building up the character but am excited to play around with his abilities and gear. There is a sense of accomplishment that makes the character your version. Some have even started giving their builds unique names.

    The issue is that the best gear is not easy to get. It does make sense. You don’t want players to finish the game too fast. The problem is that most of the perks aren’t that unique. The new Mega Hive adds a single-player experience to grind for them. It’s a “Last Man Standing” mission. Originally, it was just going to be one ongoing level. They split it up so you can spread it out throughout the week. Now, you aren’t forced to finish it in one sitting. The only issue is, it doesn’t change anything. It’s the same assets as before. Crystal Dynamics focused on the challenge of it. That is fine but the reward doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the best gear. Of course, this created more friction with players. There is a lack of reward. It also doesn’t include the multiplayer aspect that many play it for. The game has to walk this tightrope. As such, it should’ve at least offered a multiplayer variation. We are going to receive A.I.M. Secret Base missions that will be multiplayer-focused. I like that they are adding single-player options in the endgame. Just think they should’ve focused on multiplayer first.

    A Barebones Endgame

    Does this break the game? No, not at all. It just hampers the experience as you wait for the next real content drop. I think a general issue is the bugs that the developers are actively working on. Yes, they shouldn’t have been around when it launched. In reality, this is the GaaS standard that sadly perpetuates throughout this industry. No one is defending it but we also can’t change it now. I do believe that Crystal Dynamics has been hard at work. They have moments of more active conversation but they do show that they care. People mocked their reveal of 1,000 bugs being fixed but I appreciate the honesty. Most games have bugs that are hidden and get patched out throughout their life cycle. World of Warcraft, Destiny, Final Fantasy XIV Online, and many more repeat these issues. It wasn’t until the A Realm Reborn update that FF XIV was truly playable and got where it is now. It’s due to their dependence on having an active online connection that creates unique bugs that sadly pop up after launch. I wouldn’t want to be in the shoes of these developers.

    I still firmly believe in the game’s potential. Yes, it’s a rough start but it sadly is kind of the norm with GaaS. The gameplay is a lot of fun. Each character offers something unique. I love that the game is also offering alternatives for single-player. It was the gear aspect that was handled wrong and should be fixed. I’ve probably put in well over 100 hours so I got my money’s worth from the base game. I would still recommend it to anyone interested. If you’re not in a rush to play it just wait until more content is added and bugs are fixed. Right now, it is just very minimal once you reach a certain threshold. It is okay to play it and take breaks between sessions. The reason I started this as a journal is that more is on the way. It keeps evolving and that is an exciting prospect. Now, I just cannot wait to try out the new Secret Base and Kate Bishop once she arrives next month.

  • New Set Photos Show Sebastian Stan Smiling, Cruising on the Set of ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

    New Set Photos Show Sebastian Stan Smiling, Cruising on the Set of ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

    Intra-pandemic production on the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier resumed last week and set photos have come fast and furious. The most recent pics have come to us via Just Jared and they show one of the series leads, Sebastian Stan, filming a motorcycle scene.

    Despite less than stellar weather this week, Stan was able to work this scene in on a clear night earlier this week. The scene sees Stan’s Winter Soldier atop what appears to be a pretty souped up bike in what is sure to be a highly intense chase sequence. You can check the set photos out at Just Jared by clicking the link above!

  • Revisiting a Forgotten Gem: The Original ‘The Batman’

    Revisiting a Forgotten Gem: The Original ‘The Batman’

    Batman is probably one of the most consistent pop culture icons in the industry. Every reboot of the franchise is an exciting prospect. Each incarnation has such a unique take but remains true to what made Batman so iconic. Now, we are all anxiously awaiting the release of Robert Pattinson‘s version with the simple title The Batman. Some animation fans might know that this isn’t the first incarnation we got with that title. Most of us fondly remember the iconic 90s Batman: The Animated Series when we think of an animated Batman. Yet, 2004 gave us another iconic incarnation that is one of my personal favorite animated shows from the early 2000s. The team behind Jackie Chan Adventures got together to give us their spin on the iconic bat and rogues’ gallery. Now that the title will be taken over by a new generation, it might be a perfect time to revisit this forgotten gem on Batman Day.

    Batman Beginnings

    So, the story focuses on a young Bruce Wayne just starting. This might be among my favorite versions of the character, as even with his nightly obsessions, they show him as a kind and caring individual. His relationship with Alfred Pennyworth is fantastic, as he constantly gets berated by his surrogate father. I don’t think it would work as well without Rino Romano and Alastair Duncan‘s chemistry throughout the five-season run. Batman has an interesting arc throughout the show. In the beginning, we get the usual obsession with working alone before he starts letting others into his life. It starts with his hopes of including his close friend before tragedy pushes them apart. He does end up joining forces with detective Ellen Yin, voiced by Ming-Na Wen. It isn’t until the third season that we get his first sidekick in the form of Batgirl.

     

     

    Yes, the show skips Robin who doesn’t show up until the fourth season. The reason was mainly due to the character’s prominent role in the Teen Titans series. It was a great turn of events as it gave us more time with Barbara Gordon as a self-made Batgirl, who had a fun rivalry with Robin throughout the show. Batman letting more people into his life also leads into the final season that expands the entire world. Now, Batman is faced with a new challenge beyond his city with the introduction of the Justice League. It was such a great development seeing this world expand as the show continued. We get the interactions with the other members of the team from Bruce’s perspective. It offers some rather quirky moments where these different personalities clash. My favorite episode focuses on these two characters, as they try to keep this show’s version of Black Mask in prison. Every season builds upon the previous which just adds to the joy of revisiting after all these years.

    Artist Jeff Matsuda‘s art style translated these iconic characters perfectly into this new incarnation. Interestingly enough, while Batman is pretty much a direct adaptation, his rogue’s gallery got some rather unique adaptations. To give an example, let’s look at the most iconic Batman villain out there. The Joker still wears his iconic purple suit but left his shoes at home throughout the series. This version leans more into his manic personality. He even manages to keep up with Batman in a fight while still sticking to his usual schemes. I love this version and Kevin Michael Richardson’s voice really brings the character to life.

     

     

    Each character stays true to the original but adds their own twists. Mr. Freeze is less a tragic figure but a cold-hearted thief voiced by Clancy Brown. They completely revamped Clayface, as he starts off as a friend of Bruce. Yes, the friend I mentioned previously. Ethan Bennett turns into the iconic villain due to Joker’s meddling with hypnosis. The first season tries to introduce a variety of minor villains from the comics to flesh them out like the Firefly, Ventriloquist, and even Cluemaster. Still, a major focus was on the well-known villains like Joker, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and Catwoman. Funny enough, we never got a version of Two-Face in this series, which was rectified in Beware the Batman‘s second season.

    Later seasons added a lot more classic villains. Riddler doesn’t appear until the second season and is voiced by Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund. His design is strangely gothic but works incredibly well. This was probably my favorite version of the character until I read Scott Snyder‘s Batman: Zero Year run. We even get a revamped origin story for Harley Quinn, who is a pop-psychology host rather than an actual psychiatrist. Ron Perlman voices a very southern incarnation of Killer Croc that is quite intimidating. We even get other minor villains like Spellbinder, Rag Doll, Solomon Grundy, Prank, and even Maxie Zeus. Once the Justice League joins this world we also get to meet some of their rogue’s gallery. We see a variety of characters like Metallo, Sinestro, or the Mirror Master. The series has a fantastic list of voice actors that brings these characters to life.

    A Forgotten Cult Classic

    This series is a perfect blend of old and new. One of my favorite aspects was the unique soundtrack that used guitars in a way that created a dark ambiance. I still have the soundtrack in the back of my head. As iconic as the intro is to the ’90s animated show, I wish they used this one got more love with recent adaptations. It is probably one of my favorite cartoon intros that are just edged out by Spectacular Spider-Man‘s iconic theme. Adding to the darker tone of the show’s first few seasons, it just was such a unique take. It knew it couldn’t compete directly with the original so it did something unique while staying true to the comics. Its successor Beware the Batman tried to go even a step further by completely reinventing the mythos. This show not only embraced the Batman mythos but also that of the entire DC Universe once it expanded.

    The Batman had a perfect balance in the way it handled the original mythology. It embraced the wackiness of these characters while not ignoring the psychology of them. For example, the Ventriloquist is such an interesting character in this show. Arnold Wesker is a kind person whose attachment to Scarface is his downfall. Every character arc is continued at a later time letting these characters develop. It also knows what characters simply need to be intimidating. This show introduced me to what became one of my favorite villains, the before-mentioned Black Mask. This version is calculating in a way that made him intimidating. These are just some examples of why I believe this is one of the best adaptations of the iconic Batman. Sadly, it just seems no one talks about it as much. Batman: The Animated Series is so iconic that it dominates the conversation around animated adaptations. Even trying to find a picture for this article, I mostly end up finding something for the upcoming The Batman film or the 90s animated version. To me, it just wouldn’t be Batman Day if we didn’t talk about this forgotten gem. 

  • Kid Loki Actor Possibly Revealed

    Kid Loki Actor Possibly Revealed

    Several days ago, I was made aware by one of my followers Lea, about some interesting social media activity by Sophia Di Martino, among others involved with the Loki series. After further thought and considering the evidence, it seems a strong likelihood that child actor Jack Veal has the part of young Loki in the series.

    Earlier this year, Murphy’s Multiverse reported that there was a casting call for a boy and a girl for the Loki series. The girl’s part has seemingly has been filled by Cailey Fleming (playing “Young Sylvie” per IMDb). The boy’s description draws a striking resemblance to a younger version of the God of Mischief, and is a good match to Jack Veal, who has appeared in The End of the F***ing World, The Favourite, and Call the Midwife.

    Does this mean a version of Kid Loki from the comics is coming to the MCU? Very possibly. It has long been rumored we’d see various versions of Loki in the series. The Lokis could even be interacting with each other when you consider time travel and the TVA is involved. The role of young Sylvie, who seems to be a young version of Di Martino’s character, is curious tho, and makes me wonder if there could be a flashback between them as children. On the other hand, the part of the boy being “recurring” does point to him having a significant role in the series.

    Bear in mind, this casting and role has by no means been stated officially yet. Whoever Jack is playing, I hope he has great fun filming and enjoys every minute of being part of the MCU.

  • ‘Stranger Things’ Fourth Season Eyeing September Production Return

    ‘Stranger Things’ Fourth Season Eyeing September Production Return

    One of Netflix’s biggest series is undoubtedly the nostalgia trip of Stranger Things. The series focuses on a group of youths that are trying to get through their teenage years while facing extra-dimensional monsters. They started production on the third season back in February before getting hit by the pandemic and shutting it down. At the time, they announced that David Harbour‘s character Jim Hopper has returned with a small teaser. There we see him imprisoned in the Russian snowy wasteland after he was seemingly killed during the ending of the last season. His absence led to Winona Ryder‘s Joyce Byers moving away with her sons and Eleven. The show was renewed for a fourth season, so this would be the first time the show would leave the suburbs of Hawkins.

     

    As bad as the delays have been, it gave the show’s writers plenty of time to get the scripts together. The official Twitter account revealed that they finished the scripts for all eight episodes in June. This way they don’t have to catch up as the season films and could focus on ironing out the details. Now, the fourth season’s production can finally return to filming. They are currently eyeing September 28th to resume shooting in Georgia. Deadline did state that Netflix did not comment but it makes sense as other productions have also resumed over the last few weeks.

    This is exciting news and curious how this upcoming season will change what we know about the series. Hopper’s return is a bizarre choice after killing him off but Harbour stated that this resurrection is similar to that of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.

    I’ve had those discussions with [the Duffer brothers] from the very first season. We were always interested in that idea of the Gandalf resurrection – Gandalf the Grey who fights the Balrog and then becomes Gandalf the White. It’s the idea of the resurrection of the character. And mythologically, Hopper, in a sense, had to change. I mean, you couldn’t go on the way he was going on. He has to resurrect in some way.

    Duffer brothers have stated they planned most of the seasons in advance, so it isn’t too surprising that his death and resurrection were on the table for some time. Seems Harbour used the time between seasons to keep the secret, something he probably also had to learn during the filming of Black Widow. There is a good chance that the Hopper we know has changed drastically and that could be a point of conflict if he reunites with Joyce and Eleven. I am quite curious about how these stories will intersect and if Hopper will even return to the U.S. anytime in the upcoming season.

    Source: YouTube, Twitter, Deadline, IndieWire