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‘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

August 11, 2020
SEGA to Port Older Games After ‘Persona 4 Golden’s Success on Steam

It’s always interesting to see how a success story can shape a company’s future business practices. SEGA just recently launched a port of the PSP exclusive Persona 4 Golden on Steam. This was a huge surprise, as it was the first time the franchise has left the realm of PlayStation. Luckily, this paid off for them in record time. It is now Steam’s most-played non-MMO JRPG. As a fan of the franchise, this was fantastic to see, as it could entice SEGA to release ports of older entries. I never had a chance to play the third installment and always was hoping to get a chance to do so. Sadly, the game is not available where I live and some used copies can fetch a price of up to €250.

Luckily, this gamble paid off so well that SEGA has confirmed this notion moving forward. In a recent investor Q&A, they confirmed that they plan on broadening their approach to porting past releases. That means not only through Steam but also through other platforms. This could indicate that dormant franchises could finally make a return. We already have seen the first steps of this strategy. In a recent Nintendo Direct Mini, they announced a remaster of the cult classic Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne for the Switch. This is a perfect opportunity to potentially reignite interest for new entries in these franchises.
A personal hope would be to see the return of Skies of Arcadia Legends. It was one of the best-reviewed games on the Dreamcast but it sadly under-performed on a dying console. While it did get an expanded port to the GameCube, the dwindling interest in JRPGs at the time sadly disheartened any further development. Even the creator has been vocally pushing for the franchise’s return. Persona 4 Golden‘s success proved that there is a noticeable market for this genre once again. If a port of this game could draw in an audience, there is a chance we could see this franchise make a return after almost 20 years. This is just one example of what SEGA could accomplish with this strategy and am looking forward to what the future will bring.

Source: VG24/7, Push Square, Nintendo, IGN, EuroGamer

August 11, 2020
Spidey 3 Allegedly Titled ‘SPIDER-MAN: HOMESICK’

In what’s probably a case of something being too good to be true, it seems that everyone in the entertainment industry other than me already knows the title to the third installment of Marvel Studios and Sony’s Spider-Man franchise. And the kicker is they’re casually flaunting it and nobody’s noticing! If the internet and some rumblings on the ground are to be believed, we’ll all be watching Spider-Man: Homesick in theaters next December.

UPDATE: According to a report from The Direct, Maxim magazine, one of the sites referring to the film as Homesick, based their decision on rumors and speculation, shining doubt on the legitimacy of the title.

This is not a confirmation on my part but simply me sharing evidence that’s out there. Whether or not this is the official title or not remains to be seen. Take a look at what’s out there already:

Both Esquire and Maxim have, for quite some time now, listed Spider-Man: Homesick on their websites’ respective upcoming superhero films pages.

If this isn’t the title, it wouldn’t be the first time a mistake like this has happened (Jude Law was playing Mar-Vell and the Controller was going to be the villain in Guardians of the Galaxy, after all) and it wouldn’t be a big deal. On the other hand, it also wouldn’t be the first time the title to an upcoming Marvel Studios film casually leaked. You might remember that we all found out about the last Avengers film’s Endgame subtitle when the composer leaked it on his resume. So it really could go either way, which is why we asked around a little bit to see what we could find out.

While we certainly can’t get confirmation from the studio, we did some digging around. As we reported the other day, set construction and prep work for the film has already begun in Atlanta where it is also being referred to as Homesick. Is that what it’s being called because, other than me, everyone has read Esquire and Maxim or is that what it’s called because that’s what it’s called? Your call but that’s not the only name we’ve heard and

Spider-Man: Homesick (?) should swing into theaters December 17th, 2021.

August 11, 2020
Lego and Data Leaks Have Revealed ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ DLC Characters
All eyes are on Square-Enix’s ambitious service-based Avengers. We are only one month away from its official release. The Beta this weekend finally gave people a feeling for how it plays. Some of their business practices have also been shrouded in controversies. No matter where one stands on the issue, it still will be a game to keep an eye out for. If the developers can keep their promises, we could see a game with an ever-growing roster of iconic characters. Even before the official launch, they confirmed that Hawkeye would appear as their first DLC character post-launch. No exact info is given but there is an interesting visual tease of what we can expect. In the July War Table, they confirmed the DLC concept to be titled the “Avengers Initiative” that would take continue beyond the “Reassemble” storyline of the game. Keen eyes will notice that they have added four distinctive placeholders for the icons.

The odd thing is, Hawkeye is described as the first DLC release but is placed as the second. So, the obvious reason could be that Spider-Man will be the first official post-launch character. He is exclusive to the PlayStation and the deal wasn’t official at the time. Still hoping that there is a chance it is a timed exclusive, as it would be a waste not to share this experience with everyone. Hopefully, we get a bit more information on those plans shortly before launch. Now, the only question remains who are the other characters? There might be a chance that this was already spoiled back in April through the leak of the Lego sets for the game.

https://twitter.com/Jsig212James/status/1255240570601078787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1255240570601078787%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vg247.com%2F2020%2F04%2F29%2Fmarvels-avengers-new-characters-lego%2F

Lego sets haven’t always been the most reliable source. Many might remember the Iron Man 3 set that had the Mandarin shooting at our titular hero in a scorpion wagon. Naturally, this never took place in the film but the characters were always the common link between the sets and films. What captures our attention is that two months before the M.O.D.O.K. reveal, we see him included in one of the sets alongside our first DLC character. So, the characters that stand out as potential future inclusions would be War Machine, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther. There is also just a good chance they have brief cameos in the story. and there are no definite plans for now. Well, that was until a recent data mining leak from the Avengers Beta was posted on Reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MarvelAvengersProject/comments/i69bpa/kate_bishop_she_hulk_and_war_machine_references/

This leak showcases the data set-up for the characters “hero card”. Those that played the Beta might know that each character has a unique season pass. It lets you unlock costumes or goodies throughout the game. Every one of the main six is present in this list alongside some other additions. If you look closely the list contains Hawkeye titled “Clint Barton” rather than his superhero moniker. Alongside him, there are also the following characters that have not officially been revealed yet:
- Kate Bishop
- She-Hulk
- War Machine
At first, one could just assume these are character-specific cards for the user profiles. Yet, the first line in the programming reveals that there is a War Machine specific Emote. Thinking back at the Lego set, he is also present alongside M.O.D.O.K. as a character. Also, why is Clint included not as Hawkeye but by his actual name? The only reason would be to include a secondary character that shares the same moniker and logo to avoid confusion.

Going by this, there is a good chance we will see these characters in a way that resembles the Super Smash Bros. echo fighters. Iron Man and War Machine are very similar in their basic design and attacks. So, instead of creating him from scratch, they can easily add him as a clone character. His skill tree can be pretty similar with a few new additions that fit the character. War Machine has his shoulder turret, which is included in the Lego set, that is used in a special attack. Personally, this is a great idea to round out the cast and keep a consistent stream of updates. Not every character can be unique so why not just use what is available. The hero card would confirm it’s not just an extra reskin, as these characters deserve some attention.

The additional point is that it could verify the Lego set as a reliable source for the DLC. This would point to Captain Marvel and Black Panther as the last two teased additions to the game. There is only one loose end that feels like it was forgotten. At E3 2019, there was a tease of the inclusion of Ant-Man. It seemed like he would be the first DLC character in how it was built-up. We know he is included in the game’s story but that was it. He also didn’t get a big logo reveal like the Hawkeye trailer. Perhaps he was initially going to be included but was postponed for some unknown reason. He could also be the reason why he is only placed second. Fan-demand for Barton was huge so they postponed Ant-Man’s inclusion. Whatever it may end up being, this is the fun aspect of this game. It includes references to Daisy Johnson and Spider-Man, so who knows how far in advance they mapped it out. Here’s hoping we some kind of confirmation or, as I point out in my Beta deep dive, a roadmap of where this game is heading. The above overview could be used as a template to offer some more details. Well see if this gets confirmed but it is quite exciting to think how much will be added in the future.

Source: IGN, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube
August 11, 2020
Physical vs Digital Media: What’s Really at Stake

This past weekend Disney drove yet another stake through the hearts of physical media proponents. By planning to cease production on live-action 4K Blu-rays the company will now be counting solely on Disney+, its 9-month old streaming platform, to provide audiences access to past, and future, Disney releases in their highest quality.

For the time being, only mega-franchises like the MCU and Star Wars will be safe from this decision. By drawing the line on what are mostly $1 billion-dollar movies (10 of the last 16 movies from these two cinematic universes have reached that box office milestone) Disney, as the bottom line oriented company that it is, is acknowledging that there just isn’t that much demand for physical copies of non-major-event movies anymore. Viewers are now full-on embracing streaming as their primary access point to entertainment content, leading to it becoming the *only* access point, and that should leave us wondering what this paradigm shift could bring to the future of cultural content as a whole.

The usual discussions dwell on the advantages and disadvantages of relying on the internet to purchase and, most times, enjoy the content to it’s fullest. It’s clearly convenient and oftentimes cheaper to buy digital content through iTunes, ComiXology, or several other online stores. It doesn’t take up space around the house, you can easily get remote access to it on vacation, upgrades and troubleshooting are only a click away, and so on.

On the other hand, you don’t need internet access to watch a Blu-ray movie (not to mention that streaming still doesn’t really surpass the physical disk performance quality) and you don’t even need a portable screen to read a book. It’s also far easier to lend someone your favorite comic on paperback or have your kids find the first CD you ever bought around the house and giving it a listen if it’s not just remotely stored in your iTunes library.

These are all valid points and it all comes down to a lifestyle choice. Some people value some stuff more than others, that shouldn’t be up for discussion. The real conversation should be focussing on a much broader scope.

We are all products of our time, of the events we lived through. Of the books we read, the movies we watched and the songs we listened to. The ability to keep those experiences unadulterated and as close as possible, not only as fond memories but as something you can go back to whenever you want to, shouldn’t be taken lightly. By deciding to keep everything online, and not on our shelves, we are giving away our responsibilities to being the guardians of the culture that “made” us and that we constantly look forward to passing along to the people that matter the most to us. By keeping everything online, and not on our shelves, companies will now have the possibility to limit the access or even tamper with said content almost at will, in a way that may lead to them not respecting both the author’s vision and the audience’s experience.

Even the worst movies and books should deserve the same treatment we give to what we might consider being the highest of art forms. They can be either praised or ignored, but never defaced. With a mostly digital future, we are relinquishing the little power we still have when it comes to the preservation of the content that means the most to us.

A society that doesn’t remember is ultimately a society that doesn’t move forward. These are our memories, and I hope they’ll always remain a part of both our present and our future.

August 11, 2020
DC Hit Hard as Warnermedia Swings the Ax

Just twelve days before the highly anticipated Fandome event scheduled to go live on August 22nd and celebrate all things DC, Warnermedia’s restructuring process has begun, affecting many under the brand including those around DC. Employees within the company were informed of the mass layoffs that stretched from comics to the DCU streaming service.

With Jim Lee set to continue his active role as CCO, the biggest losses suffered at DC comics included senior story editor Brian Cunningham, editor-in-chief Bob Harris, VP of marketing and creative services Jonah Weiland, VP of global publishing initiatives and digital strategy Bobbie Chase, senior VP of publishing strategy and support services Hank Kanalz and executive editor Mark Doyle.

It’s being reported that DC Universe had lost a good majority of its staff, coming just a few days after the social media pages for Titans and Harley Quinn removed the ‘DC Universe’ tagline from their names and a few weeks after it was announced that Stargirl would be leaving the service for the CW network. Ever since it was announced that Doom Patrol would be streaming on HBO Max as well, it was blatantly obvious that the waters were being tested to see if it would be a good fit for the service. It’s currently unknown what the future of Titans and Young Justice will be but HBO Max seems like their best bet with both already in development of their next season. It doesn’t seem likely that Bizarro World would find a home at HBO Max, with Strange Adventures, another Anthology series, already in development at max.

The final fatality of today’s news was that after 22 years DC Direct, manufacturer of the DC collectibles brand will be closing its doors. It’s currently unclear if the brand will be picked up by WB’s consumer products division, but it wouldn’t be a surprise as they’d recently begun releasing merchandise for Wonder Woman 1984.

To see many of these great people and parts of DC wiped away by these uncertain times is unfortunate, as many of them had developed such memorable parts of DC history. I truly hope the best for everyone affected by today’s unfortunate news.

August 11, 2020
Report: ‘MS. MARVEL’ Looking to Cast Some Key Roles

A new report from the Illuminerdi indicates that Ms. Marvel, one of several planned streaming series in the works from Marvel Studios over at Disney Plus, is on the lookout for a couple of key characters from Kamala Khan’s inner circle. Unsurprisingly, it looks like the series will feature Kamala’s brother, Amir, and one of her best friends, Nakia.

According to the report, Marvel Studios trusted casting director, Sarah Finn, is looking to cast a Pakistani male, mid-to-late 20s, to play a “wiser older brother” and an actress, 16-20, of Turkish, Moroccan or Arab descent as a “woke, popular and smart” student activist. Fans of the comics will recognize those character as Amir and Nakia, two characters central to Kamala’s journey in the comics.

As it stands, Ms. Marvel is reportedly looking to begin production this November and wrap next March, making it possible we could see it sometime in the Fall of 2021!

August 10, 2020
UPDATE: Director Garth Davis Attached to Direct ‘Tron: Ares’

UPDATE: Now this is an unexpected reveal. As mentioned below, Jared Leto is attached to star and produce the upcoming Tron film. Little was known about the project and there was no title released. Well, it looks like Leto may have accidentally revealed that the upcoming threequel will be titled Tron: Ares in his announcement tweet. He did change it to just TRON shortly after the tweet went online. Ares is an interesting subtitle choice. The obvious connection would be to the God of Greek mythology. So, we may see the war from Legacy between the real and digital worlds. It also works as nod to the Ares Network, a peer-to-peer file-sharing application. Whatever it could be, it is exciting to know that the Tron franchise is back.

https://twitter.com/JaredLeto/status/1292938162495397888

There is hope that the wait between Tron: Legacy and a third installment won’t take another 28 years. It’s already been ten years since Legacy released and fans have been patient for an official update. There was hope that Disney+ would offer the possibility to explore this digital world without the fear of another live-action film underperforming. Rumors started circulating that a new film was back in development back in July. Jared Leto had been involved with the project since 2017 but it never really picked up steam. The only thing that was missing was a director. Well, it seems they finally found someone to continue this legacy franchise.

Deadline reported that Disney has now hired Garth Davis to direct the new Tron film. This would be the director’s first major blockbuster film, as he is mostly known for his indie productions. His film Lion even received six Oscar nominations back in 2017 putting him on everyone’s radar. What stands out is that the director seems to have been pursuing this film quite aggressively. We don’t know if he is a fan of the franchise, or simply wanted to explore the world but the enthusiasm is great to see. It seems this will still be based on an existing script by Jesse Wigutow with Leto producing. Justin Springer and Emma Ludbrook are also attached as producers. Here’s hoping that this film could potentially breathe new life into the franchise, as it has the potential to expand with a series on Disney+. My only hope is that they keep the amazing designs from Legacy and explore the Grid.

Source: DisInsider, Deadline

August 10, 2020
Adria Arjona Joins ‘Rogue One’ Spin-Off

Disney+’s The Mandalorian was a great start to highlight what is possible with this new streaming service. It especially opened up so much potential for exploring the different parts of a galaxy far, far away. While news on the Kenobi show has been rather sparse, Deadline just got its hands on some interesting casting news. It seems that Adria Arjona, who recently appeared in 6 Underground, will join series star Diego Luna in the upcoming Rogue One spin-off. She rounds out the cast alongside Denise Gough, Genevieve O’Reilly, Alan Tudyk, Stellan Skarsgard, and Kyle Soller.

No details are given by Deadline but she will have a lead role in the series which will follow Cassian Andor’s early days as a Rebel agent. So far, the only returning cast members of Rogue One are Diego Luna as the titular character and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO. While the announcement caught many off-guard at the time, it offers a unique perspective into this galaxy. As a spy, he can pretty much end up in many different scenarios. This could give us a closer look at how the Empire operated during this time. Maybe also introduce other factions besides the Rebels that were fighting for their freedom. We only got glimpses so far, so this show may offer a closer look at the daily life under the Empire’s thumb.

Source: Deadline

August 10, 2020
What I Heard This Week: Marvel Studios is Kraving Joel Kinnaman

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that, while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons (sometimes they just don’t want to tell me yes!). For example, a couple of months ago I got word about updated start dates for Sony’s Uncharted and Spider-Man 3 and how Tom Holland might have to juggle those schedules. As you know, Uncharted got going just as I reported and Comicbook.com later verified the planned start date for Spidey 3.

Before you go on, understand that despite everything I said above, this story should not be considered a scoop or an exclusive or anything more than just a rumor at this point because I cannot, at the moment, find a second source to confirm what I’m sharing here. That said, this checks a lot of boxes and is exactly the kind of thing I would want someone to share with me should they have heard something like it. So…here we go.

It appears that Marvel Studios is looking for a Joel Kinnaman-type for an unspecified role in the upcoming Untitled Spider-Man Sequel. Given all the rumors and speculation around what Spidey 3 will likely be about and what villains we are likely to see in it, it’s incredibly easy to make yourself believe that the studio wants this Kinnaman-type for a major role and one that fans are dying to see introduced in the film: Kraven…and I’ll be damned if Kinnaman isn’t perfect for it.

Keep in mind that when studios say they want a “Kinnaman-type” or “Allison Brie-type” that is NOT an indication that that’s the actor they’ve settled on. Those phrases are there to give the various casting agencies an idea of which of their people they should be putting up for the role or checking with to see if they’re available, interested, etc.

So what is a Joel Kinnaman-type and what does it tell us? It gives us a lot of info, to be honest. It means they’re looking for a Caucasian, probably 30-45, who is big (think physically imposing) but who can act as well. They don’t just want muscle here; they want someone who has some experience as a lead because this is likely a character they’re going to develop over the course of the film like they did with Michael Keaton’s Vulture and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio. So while they may not get Kinnaman for the role, you can see why he’s the “type” they want. He’s 6’2″, has a lean physique and has packed on muscle for several roles (see Altered Carbon), has a ton of experience (including work on CBMs) and, much like Kraven, has traveled the world.

Kinnaman is the guy I never knew I wanted as Kraven until I made this connection, but I want to urge caution one more time before signing off. As exciting as this is, there are too many questions around it to take it as fact. Is the role actually Kraven? It’s unknown but when you start piecing things together it sure seems like it. Would they actually be able to land Kinnaman? I don’t follow him too closely, but it seems like he may have an opening in his schedule this Fall/Winter. Marvel Studios scored big with both Spidey villain castings; Kinnaman would make it a hat trick.

As always, we’ll be working here at Murphy’s Multiverse to find actual EVIDENCE of this, so until then take this as nothing more than a wild rumor that will get you way more excited than you have any reason to be…and cross your fingers that you get to see Kinnaman as Kraven when Spider-Man 3 comes to theaters in December of 2021.

August 10, 2020