Murphy's Multiverse

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  • ‘Loki’, ‘WandaVision’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ Getting Physical Releases

    ‘Loki’, ‘WandaVision’ and ‘The Mandalorian’ Getting Physical Releases

    Yes, you read the title right. Finally, a streaming service is listening to fans and is giving some of its projects the physical releases they deserve. As many shows and projects are seemingly getting cut for tax reasons, this is great news for those hoping to at least ensure they still have access to these shows no matter what happens to Disney+, Netflix, or whatever streaming service that is out there.

    Disney already hinted at this move with the recent reveal they are releasing Prey, the Predator prequel film, for physical. Shortly after, they have now unveiled that the same is planned for some of their first big releases on the platform. The Mandalorian is finally getting a physical release for its first two seasons with some beautiful-looking artwork that’ll surely make collectors happy.

    And we also have the physical release of the Disney+ Marvel shows. Loki and WandaVision are the first batch to make their way online and into shelves later this year. It seems that it’ll only be available as a Steelbook packaging with 4K and Blu-ray being available. DVD sale seems very unlikely and it’s unclear if they might also offer some regular Blu-ray boxes later down the line. Though these steelbooks are definitely something one wouldn’t want to miss out on in their collection.

    Source: Collider, Twitter

  • Charles Martinet No Longer Voicing Mario and Friends

    Charles Martinet No Longer Voicing Mario and Friends

    In a way, we all knew this day would come eventually. Charles Martinet has been voicing most of the cast of the Super Mario Bros. franchise for over 30 years. Yet, it’s still something none of us really wanted to say is definite. We already had to adjust to the fact that Chris Pratt took over as the character in the major motion picture release earlier this year and now the official statement has been made by Nintendo that Martinet will no longer voice the character moving forward.

    It’s a shame that the announcement arrives in a simple red-tinted image rather than through a Nintendo Direct that highlights his career. Perhaps one is on the horizon that’ll unveil the new voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and many more moving forward. It does seem unlikely that Pratt is going to continue in this story. Most did notice that perhaps the voice teased in Super Mario Bros. Wonder wasn’t the one we are most used to.

    Now, we can only count the days until Martinet passes the torch to the next generation of voice actors to take on these iconic characters. He also isn’t leaving the character behind, as he is set to remain a “Mario Ambassador” moving forward to ensure that whoever takes over is always well prepared. A video message has been teased for the future, so we’ll have to wait just a bit longer for the official statement.

    Source: Twitter

  • Why Marvel Studios Should Steer Clear of a Time Runs Out Adaptation for ‘Doctor Strange 3’

    Why Marvel Studios Should Steer Clear of a Time Runs Out Adaptation for ‘Doctor Strange 3’

    Even as it becomes increasingly unlikely that Marvel Studios meets its previously slated 2024 release dates as the ongoing WGA and SAG strikes begin to knock down some dominoes, rumors about the future of the MCU continue to swirl. One such rumor indicated that Marvel Studios is contemplating an adaptation of Time Runs Out, a 20-issue comic book event published in 2014 and 2015, for the plot of the third Doctor Strange film. Written by Jonathan Hickman, Time Runs Out served as a prelude to his 2015 Secret Wars and capped his long run on Avengers and New Avengers titles. With Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga set to end with Avengers: Secret Wars, it seems sensible that the studio would turn to the comic book prelude to Secret Wars for inspiration; however, for a studio that’s already losing connectivity with its fanbase, it might be best for them to stay clear of borrowing anything but the title for Doctor Strange 3.

    What is Time Runs Out?

    In 2012 and 2013, Jonathan Hickman took on one of his most ambitious Marvel Comics projects. Working across both the Avengers and New Avengers titles, Hickman laid the groundwork for a new iteration of Secret Wars. Hickman, through Reed Richards “Everything Dies” speech, introduced the idea of the contraction of the Marvel Multiverse through incursions, an eight-hour timeframe in which parallel Earths collide with one another. Those collisions cause the destruction of both universes and, over time, only two universes remained: Earth-616’s, the original Marvel universe, and Earth-1610’s, the Ultimate Universe.

    Time Runs Out tells the story of the final eight months before the incursion between Earth-616 and Earth-1610. It is a vast that includes high-profile members from across the Marvel universe such as the Avengers, the Illuminati, the Cabal, the Fantastic Four, members of the Future Foundation, the Shi’ar Empire, Doctor Doom and more. As a member of the Illuminati, Doctor Strange played a pivotal role in the event. Though a prelude to Secret Wars, Time Runs Out was also the culmination of nearly 60 issues of storytelling by Hickman and required every inch of runway to make it work. As is often the case with Hickman’s work, Time Runs Out included high-concept science fiction and complicated real-world science and, as is often the case with Hickman’s work, it wasn’t for everyone.

    Why Should the MCU Steer Clear of Adapting Time Runs Out for Doctor Strange 3?

    Before answering the question, it’s worth pointing out that if Marvel Studios does choose to move ahead with Doctor Strange: Time Runs Out, the film adaptation will likely only borrow the title and a few plot points and/or characters from Hickman’s work…and that’s for the best.

    An Incursion occurs when the boundary between two universes erodes and they collide, destroying one or both entirely.

    Reed Richards explains incursions to Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

    As of now, incursions are the only thing the MCU has in common with Hickman’s run on Avengers and New Avengers and that’s in name only. Whereas in the comics incursions are just part of the natural order of things, though sped up a bit by the untimely end of one alternate Earth, as once again explained by Reed Richards, the MCU’s incursions are–maybe–the result of too much traveling between alternate Earths in the multiverse and, so far, pretty much all caused by different Doctors Strange. Want to destroy an alternate Earth? Just travel to it and hang out there and you’ve got it done.

    The decision to make incursions the results of choices made by characters rather than part of the contraction of the multiverse makes TRULY adapting Time Runs Out impossible. The whole point of Time Runs Out is to put the heroes up against the clock as they try to find a way to stop the incursion that will wipe out their Earth. As more incursions happen, they learn more and more, including how to prevent one. According to the present rules of the MCU’s multiverse, that entire scenario isn’t viable. Incursions are super easy to avoid: just stop traveling the multiverse. And what happens when there are only two Earths left, like in the comics? Why are the heroes and villains of each Earth fighting each other at that point? To keep each other from traveling to each other’s Earth? It seems like moving forward in the MCU, an incursion will probably be an intentional tool of destruction.

    In the Time Runs Out comic book event, Stephen Strange actually joins up with a group of powerful beings, The Black Priests, who were actually all in on intentionally destroying other universes. By deleting a few intrusive Earths, The Black Priests hoped they would stabilize the contracting multiverse. These same Black Priests are rumored to be part of Marvel Studios’ Time Runs Out adaptation and apparently one of them, Clea, has already appeared on screen. Clea’s goal: to fix the latest incursion caused by Strange’s trip to Earth-838. Black Priests fixing incursions rather than causing them (how can they be fixed, anyway?) would make them Black Priests in name only.

    So what’s the problem with adapting Time Runs Out? Nothing has been earned. Nowhere near enough has been set up. And as has already begun to happen, general audiences are going to have a very hard time following the multiversal logic that causes incursions and how they can be fixed. Any true adaptation of Time Runs Out would need to include a significant amount of exposition about the origins of the multiverse and should include a much bigger team of heroes working on the problem. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the comic event was, as a reader, working through the problems in lockstep with the greatest minds of the Marvel Universe. Having Doctor Strange be the sole POV character for an event of this magnitude would not only be underwhelming it would underserve the enormity of the event itself.

    While there’s plenty of reasons for Marvel Studios to turn to Hickman’s works as they approach Avengers: Secret Wars, trying to make an event that included dozens and dozens of Marvel Comics’ brightest and best into another Doctor Strange multiverse adventure (especially considering the lukewarm reaction to the last one) would be a mistake…and Marvel Studios can’t really afford another theatrical mistake in their Multiverse Saga. If they’re not careful, they are going to end up with a film, that like Hickman’s work, is not for everyone.

  • ‘Blue Beetle’ Faces Box Office Blues Heading to $25M Opening Weekend

    ‘Blue Beetle’ Faces Box Office Blues Heading to $25M Opening Weekend

    DC Comics is just having a harsh time at the box office this year. While Marvel Studios’ worst remains a dream for most releases this year (Quantumania still remains in the Top 10 of this year’s box office; that’s how bad it’s been this summer), their biggest competitor in the superhero genre is facing some box office blues. After The Flash ran out of steam, Blue Beetle is set to open to around $25M by the end of this weekend.

    Early numbers are pointing to it opening around $9.8M on Frida including previews. The film has a big push from Latino audiences and remains a big theater release but with previews at $3.3M, it’s lower than Shazam! Fury of the Gods earlier this year. With some strong word-of-mouth, the film could still move towards $32M and will finally dethrone Barbie, who is looking at a strong $24M in its fifth weekend.

    Word-of-mouth could still give the film a boost, but it not hitting Shazam’s $11.7M isn’t a good sign that it’ll start beating expectations. The film cost $104M which is lower than others in the market given the habits of $200M+ price tags, but still won’t really make its money back. Review scores are higher than that film and its CinemaScore could give us an indication of where the film is heading.

    Its only real new competition this weekend is Strays. Though the raunchy comedy wasn’t loved by critics and is seemingly heading to a $8.5M opening weekend. At the cost of $46M, it’s not a great sign either for the film. As much as people want Barbenheimer to be the sign of cinema healing, it’s definitely the exception once again rather than the rule. People aren’t tired of sequels, they are just far more selective and it’s hurting overall.

    Source: Deadline

  • First Single from Netflix’s Live-Actone ‘One Piece’ Teases Pirates and Adventure

    First Single from Netflix’s Live-Actone ‘One Piece’ Teases Pirates and Adventure

    One Piece is almost upon us with a few more days to go until it finally releases on Netflix. To keep us going until its release, Netflix and Collider have provided the first single of the pirate adventure we’re about to embark upon. Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli have released the piece “Wealth Fame Power,” inspired by the iconic lines from Gol D. Roger in the series’ opening, and tease their approach with the music.

    The main theme interestingly enough will also push the themes that connect Roger and Monkey D. Luffy. As such, the main theme for the series is that of Luffy, but Roger’s is that same theme in reverse. It adds an interesting layer and also matches Eiichiro Oda’s love for having elements echo each other.

    There’re many shared similarities between Gol D Roger and the Straw Hat’s captain, Monkey D Luffy, their personalities and character traits absolutely match up, so are their music themes. Monkey D Luffy’s theme is the main theme of our show. Gol D Roger’s theme is Luffy’s theme reversed.

    Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli

    They go on to showcase the structure of “Wealth Fame Power” starting off with Roger’s theme before turning into that of Luffy, as the pirate age is unleashed upon the world. In a way, it also matches how Loguetown, where we first meet Roger, reflects the beginning and end with the pun in its name.

    ‘Wealth Fame Power’ opens up with Roger’s theme. It’s powerful, just like Roger himself, driving, and dynamic. It’s a dark, mighty anthem featuring the iconic “musical Jolly Roger” – hurdy-gurdy. As soon as the swords are drawn and the crowd rushes out in search of One Piece, we reverse Roger’s theme and introduce Luffy’s theme, the main theme of our show. Roger’s theme is all about the descending motion since this is the end of the journey for Roger. Luffy’s theme, however, is all about the ascending motion since it’s the beginning of his exciting adventure toward becoming the King of the Pirates.

    Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli

    It’s definitely an exciting prospect to hear how much work has gone into the soundtrack, as it is something that seemingly gets sidelined in modern blockbusters. Having a main theme connect the one who starts the pirate age and our main protagonist as an inversion adds a lot of thematic relevance. Hopefully, we’ll also see more elements like these throughout that connects the Straw Hats thematically.

    Listen to the theme here:

    Source: Collider

  • Disney Sets Release Date for ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Streaming Series

    Disney Sets Release Date for ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Streaming Series

    After stalling out as a theatrical franchise following a pair of less-than-well-received films, Rick Rirodan’s YA novel series, Percy Jackson & the Olympians, is being resurrected as a streaming series on Disney Plus and now fans can mark their calenders for the new show’s debut.

    According to EW, the James Bobin-helmed series, which was originally expected to hit Disney Plus in 2024, will roll out a two-episode debut on December 20th. That date was previously set to be the release date of Lucasfilm’s Skeleton Crew and while there’s been no announcement, it seems unlikely that Disney would push both series out on the same date.

    Percy Jackson & The Olympians tells the fantastical story of a 12-year-old modern demigod, Percy Jackson, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.

    Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadr headline the new series which is expected to return for a second season with Jonathan E. Steinberg, who co-ran Season 1 with Dan Shotz, on board as showrunner.

    https://youtu.be/nK0HytQwrw8

    Source: EW

  • Den Den Murphy 32 – Gear 5 Has Arrived

    Den Den Murphy 32 – Gear 5 Has Arrived

    The time has finally arrived! One Piece’s anime has finally unveiled the first look at Gear 5 and to celebrate, Fezzy has finally returned to join Suki and Joe to talk all things One Piece in the latest episode of Den Den Murphy.

  • Disney Plus Moves ‘Ahsoka’ to Prime Time

    Disney Plus Moves ‘Ahsoka’ to Prime Time

    While fans have been largely engaged in the big brand TV series produced by Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios for Disney Plus, they have long bemoaned the awkward release schedule that has seen them debut at 3:00 AM ET/12:00 AM PT. Now fans can cross another thing off of Bob Iger‘s to-do list after returning to Disney.

    Disney’s next big streaming series, Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Ahsoka, will become the streaming service’s first major offering to debut during the traditional TV time period known as “prime time.” Originally set to debut on Wednesday, August 23rd at 3:00 AM ET/12:00 AM PT, the Rosario Dawson-led series will now roll out its two-episode debut on Tuesday, August 22nd at 9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM ET.

    To be clear, it’s not just the premiere that will inhabit the prime time time slot as Disney is committing–at least with Ahsoka–to the 9:00 PM ET release. Fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise can attest to the power of the late evening release which allowed for far more viewers to watch the newest episodes and be part of the “water cooler” conversation the next day. The awkward middle-of-the-night releases have often left everyone other than the hardest of hardcore fans on the outside looking in and avoiding social media as not to be spoiled until they could get home from work and catch up. On the surface, this looks like a no-lose scenario for Disney as they look to get their streaming poop in a group.

    Source: What’s On Disney Plus

  • ‘Blue Beetle’ Opens Strong with Rotten Tomatoes Critics

    ‘Blue Beetle’ Opens Strong with Rotten Tomatoes Critics

    While Warner Bros. spent much more time and effort marketing The Flash, it seems as though its latest release, Blue Beetle, resonated much more strongly with critics who saw the film ahead of its August 18th premiere. The Angel Manuel Soto-directed superhero film was screened last week and again last night in São Paulo and, so far, has been a hit with critics.

    While its score will certainly fluctuate over the next week or two, Blue Beetle opened to a strong 85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes through its first 67 reviews.

    USA Today’s Brian Truitt says Blue Beetle is “The DC movie universe has been holding out for a hero, and it might just be a 22-year-old Mexican college grad with a really cool family.” And the Reyes family seems to be a hit across the board with critics as Mashable’s Kristy Puchko and YouTuber Jimmy Cage point out.

    Blue Beetle is set to premiere this weekend!

  • First Reactions Hail ‘Blue Beetle’ as a Much-Needed Hit for DC

    First Reactions Hail ‘Blue Beetle’ as a Much-Needed Hit for DC

    Once upon a time, Blue Beetle was destined for release on HBO Max; now, the film is being hailed as a huge win for Warner Bros. just when audiences had all but given up on its line of DC films. The film, which stars Xolo Maridueña as hero Jaime Reyes, screened last night ahead of its theatrical debut this weekend and positive reactions have been coming in droves.

    A Surprise Hit

    Many of the film’s most positive reactions have marked it as one of the best surprises of the summer, which in itself is unsurprising given its less-than-awesome marketing scheme.

    Xolo Maridueña is a Star!

    Fans of Cobra Kai already know how charismatic and loveable Blue Beetle star Xolo Maridueña can be and it sounds like the new film is his breakout performance.

    Family

    Jaime Reyes’ family is at the center of the film and according to many of the first reactions…that’s a very good thing!

    Though it’s very common for most films to have positive first reactions from the media members invited to the screening, it seems as though Blue Beetle might be the boost Warner Bros. needed to keep interest in their DC films afloat until the all-new, all-different DCU–which Blue Beetle will be apart of–gets rolling.