Star Trek 4 won’t be boldly going anywhere anytime soon. The sequel has officially been removed from Paramount’s upcoming film slate. The film, which was being produced through J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot banner, was originally set to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023.
Unfortunately, the news shouldn’t be too surprising. Star Trek 4 faced yet another setback when director Matt Shakman exited the project after signing on to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. Prior to Shakman’s hiring, Paramount had brought on Jessica Jones director S.J. Clarkson to helm the film, but she ended up leaving the project and eventually signed on to direct Madame Web for Sony. While Noah Hawley (Fargo) and Quentin Tarantino were being eyed to direct other Star Trek films that ultimately never came to fruition.
The fourth film was set to see the return of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Filming was set to begin by the end of this year. With no director attached, however, there was no chance of the project meeting its planned 2023 release date.
No, you read that correctly but it looks like Hugh Jackman isn’t quite done yet with his role as Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds shared a new video on his official Twitter account and suddenly dropped the news that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in the upcoming third Deadpool movie. Not only that but he also revealed that the film will premiere on September 6th, 2025.
There’s a fun reference in regard to the film not being featured during D23 but this random drop is right up Reynold‘s usual marketing scheme for the character. Instead of being a part of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are still going to explore Deadpool as part of the original 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men. Perhaps this is meant to not only send off the character into the multiverse but also as a way to wrap up the trilogy, which has repeatedly mocked their relationship.
We also got a new logo fitting for Wolverine’s return and includes the Marvel Studios logo.
This is technically the first non-mainline MCU project to release throughout the Multiverse Saga and it seems fitting that they’d make use of some familiar elements. If they are still waiting for an opportunity to fully use some elements from the original before they start building their own. Who knows if this also opens up the possibility of Hugh Jackman reeturning in Avengers: Secret Wars. After him seemingly leaving the role behind, it’s crazy to think Wolverine is back in style and perhaps he hopefully gets to finally wear the iconic suit this time around.
There’s been quite a few controversies surrounding Ryan Murphy‘s adaptaiton of the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Yet, it seemingly didn’t stop the series Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story from reaching a rather impressive top spot with 196.2M hours of viewing after its September 21st premiere on Netflix. The series even managed to push Cobrai Kai‘s latest season off of the top spot and dominated the week.
It actually ended up in the third spot as the September 16th premiere series Fate: The Winx Club took the second spot with 61M hours viewed in its first week. Still, the Karate Kid spinoff series managed to pull in 38.1MM hours viewed, which is still a substantial drop. The Crown still remained in the Top 10 listing and has been gaining quite a momentum since Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. It seems that the next season’s promotion was perfectly timed.
Dahmer‘s growth in popularity has been a curious one even if crime dramas are always big pulls for any broadcaster or streamer. Still, some that had this lived experience actually shared their voices on the Netflix show recreating these moments. Also highlighting the fact that they weren’t involved and are living through some hardships with these dramatic depictions of lived experiences from the 1992 sentencing of Jeffrey Dahmer.
As Netflix continues its search for its next breakout hit to follow up the successes of Stranger Things and Squid Game, one project anticipated to do the trick is the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. With principal photography having wrapped for the series in early June, the waiting game for new information is well underway. Now, fans of the hit Nickelodeon series have been treated to a large swath of new castings for the Netflix adaptation. Below are the 20 casting additions officially announced.
Amber Midthunder as Princess Yue
A Martinez as Pakku
Irene Bedard as Yagoda
Joel Oulette as Hahn
Nathaniel Arcand as Chief Arnook
Meegwun Fairbrother as Avatar Kuruk
Arden Cho as June
Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi
Daniel Pudi as The Mechanist
Lucian-River Chauhan as Teo
James Sie as The Cabbage Merchant
Momona Tamada as Ty Lee
Thalia Tran as Mai
Ruy Iskandar as Lieutenant Jee
Hiro Kanagawa as Fire Lord Sozin
C.S. Lee as Avatar Roku
François Chau as the Great Sage
Ryan Mah as Lieutenant Dang
George Takei as Koh
Randall Duk Kim as Wan Shi Tong
For fans of The Last Airbender, these are certainly some exciting revelations as many of these are quite memorable characters to the lore of the franchise. Some specific castings of note include James Sie reprising his role as the unfortunate Cabbage Merchant, a character deeply ensconced in the online zeitgeist of the cartoon. Also of note, the casting of Ghosts’ Utkarsh Ambudkar as King Bumi may surprise some due to him being significantly younger than the character’s previous depiction, though it makes sense with the high physicality of the role. What might be most interesting, though, is the apparent inclusion of Mai and Ty Lee in the first season despite originating in season two of the animated series. With that in mind, it seems likely that Princess Azula and her team will have more of a built-up presence early on in this incarnation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
It’s not currently announced as to when the series will release on Netflix. Though with production having wrapped earlier this year, a 2023 release feels quite logical.
A little over a year ago, it was announced that Netflix had given a series order to Grendel with Katy Keene‘s Abubakr Ali set to take on the titular role. The show’s first season would have consisted of 8-episodes and hailed from Resident Evil and Supernatural‘s Andrew Dabb, who was to serve as the showrunner. Unfortunately, Deadline has confirmed that Grendel is no longer happening.
Per Deadline, despite being given a series order, Netflix is not moving forward with the project, although a specific reason for the cancellation has not been revealed. The outlet only notes that the decision was made in the midst of production, so there’s only a “partial eight-episode season filmed.” With Netflix passing on the project, the series is set to be shopped to other networks and streaming services.
Along with Ali, Grendel was set to star Jaime Ray Newman, Julian Black Antelope, Madeline Zima, Kevin Corrigan, Emma Ho, Erik Palladino, Brittany Allen and Andy Mientus. The series would have centered on Hunter Rose (Ali) as he seeks vengeance in New York’s criminal underworld. Ali would have been the first Arab Muslim male actor to portray a series lead in a comic book adaptation with Grendel.
Finally! The time jump I’ve been promising you all has come. It’s been 10 years since we last saw Rhaenyra, Viserys, Alicent, and company, and they’ve been busy in the meantime. Let’s get into it.
Rhaenyra and Alicent’s Children
Another promise delivered! The opening scene is Rhaenyra giving birth to her third son, Joffrey, named after Laenor’s old boyfriend who got rendered to a pink mist last episode by Criston Cole. Her other two sons, Jacaerys and Lucerys, are also shown in this episode. They look vastly different from Alicent’s children, in part that they lack the Targaryen silver-platinum hair. Instead, they have darker hair, and look quite similar to someone who has only been in the background of the first 5 episodes-Harwin Strong, who is their real father. It seems like this is a pretty open secret, as Criston Cole goads Harwin into attacking him after setting the older Aegon on Jacaerys in the practice yard, and very obviously not training Rhaenyra’s boys with nearly the same enthusiasm as he is Alicent’s. If people did not have suspicions about the Crown Prince’s lineage, there are certainly questions now. This forces Rhaenyra to send Harwin away, back to his family seat of Harrenhal with his father, who resigns as Hand. Sadly we only got one episode of Harwin being a major character, as the castle was torched and both he and his father perished in the flames, all orchestrated by the other son, Larys the Clubfoot. The Curse of Harrenhal and all of that.
Another interesting dynamic in this episode is that Aegon is relatively friendly with Jace and Luke, and even pulls a prank on Aemond (who everyone hates) with the two boys, promising Aemond that they have a dragon for him and bringing out a pig. Aemond is desperate to have a dragon, whining to Alicent that the boys are picking on him. That’s when we see Alicent’s third child, a daughter by the name of Helaena. Helaena appears to have what Targaryens call “Dragon Dreams,” which are prophetic visions. Pay attention to her words during Aemond and Alicent’s conversation. Later, Aegon was confronted by Alicent about the prank, and he’s pretty quick to throw Jace and Luke under the bus, knowing that Alicent will believe him without hesitation. Alicent warns Aegon that if Rhaenyra comes into power, Aegon would not live. He must be ready to take the crown, by force if necessary, which leads us to the surrounding drama in the King’s Court.
Drama in King’s Landing
From the opening sequence, we can see that the rivalry between Rhaenyra and Alicent has grown exponentially. Alicent demanding that Joffrey immediately be taken to her after the birth is a pure power move, and Rhaenyra deciding to take Joffrey herself is an answer back that she won’t be bullied. Alicent can’t help but make a remark to Laenor to keep trying, maybe one of these children will look like him. She’s both alerting Rhaenyra that she knows her secret, as well as she is hoping to get a reaction for the King to see. Speaking of which…
King Viserys Targaryen I, also known as the Westerosi Rickety Cricket, is in rough shape these days. His left arm is gone, hair is falling out, teeth look grotesque, and he’s getting wheeled around everywhere. Iron Throne wounds are not to be taken lightly it seems, and this decade has been hard on him. This does not stop him from being elated for a new grandchild, as well as watching his sons and grandsons practicing in the courtyard. He’s hoping that if they all grow up and play together, this will make them closer. I wish you were right, Viserys.
The most important scene in this episode was the small council meeting. There are various concerns, notably a Bracken and Blackwood conflict (remember the boy proposing to Rhaenyra and got laughed out? The boy was a Blackwood, the man he killed was a Bracken. LORE), and the Stepstones are being taken over again. Alicent brushes these off, and in turn the king does as well, but Rhaenyra raises objections, again highlighting their rift and different leadership styles. After this, Rhaenyra proposes to Alicent that Jace and Helaena be betrothed, combining the two houses. While it does seem like a very good match, it would all but eliminate Aegon’s claim. It seems like everyone but Viserys sees this, who is blissfully ignorant in his grandsons’ parentage. Even if he knows, he does not care. They are his daughter’s children, and she is a Targaryen. What’s the problem?
After the refusal, Rhaenyra decides to wash herself of King’s Landing and go back to Dragonstone, leaving her father in Alicent’s clutches.
Daemon and Laena
Everyone in this episode seems to have aged up except Daemon, who will live at this age forever it seems. Daemon and Laena Velaryon have wed, had two daughters, and another is on the way! They’re chilling in Pentos across the Narrow Sea, and Daemon is happy to play bodyguard for the host they’re staying with. It seems like Daemon has turned a page, going from a warrior to a dutiful husband and father. Sure does spend a lot of time in the library, though. Wonder what he’s trying to find about the old dragon riders of Valyria.
Unfortunately, this all came to a full stop. Laena talked about her wanting to go back to Westeros, to not die old and fat but as a dragon rider. She received her wish maybe a little earlier than expected. While in labor with her child, she was unable to push the baby out, and as both the maester and Daemon start speaking of a c-section, the same operation that killed Viserys’s first wife in the opening episode of the season, Laena escapes out and to her dragon, Vhagar, demanding that it burn her alive to end her suffering. Metal as hell.
Thoughts Moving Forward – Spoilers
I wouldn’t expect any more time jumps this season, though I would expect that Viserys will die in the next couple of episodes, acting as the catalyst for the Dance of Dragons. Helaena having dragon dreams is an awesome addition, specifically muttering that “He’ll have to close an eye”, and “The last ring has no legs at all. He has eyes, but cannot see.” The first quote can apply to multiple characters in the full Westeros timeline, but the second is a little more specific. Who is the last king in Westeros? He wouldn’t happen to not be able to use his legs, right?
Alicent presentation as an outright villain is problematic. She has very real concerns about Rhaenyra, and about her ability to be a monarch, and she’s been fed lies from her father to fear for her children’s safety. One of the best parts of this story is that there are no good sides, and each will do horrific things to the other. I really, really hope that they don’t try to influence the audience to choose Rhaenyra OR Alicent’s side.
One last fun fact. Every single Targaryen that has been named king or queen and sat the Iron Throne (Until Robert Baratheon. LORE) had silver-platinum hair. Something to ponder.
Marvel Studios’ first Special Presentation, Werewolf By Night, has been widely discussed as a love letter to monsters that was inspired and pays homage to the Classic Universal Monster movies of the early 20th Century. Among the first rumors about the project were that star Gael García Bernal’s lycanthrope appearance would be entirely practical in order to cement that “classic” aesthetic. In a recent interview with Phase Zero, director Michael Giacchino confirmed the rumors and detailed the work-intensive process.
The trailer for Werewolf By Night gave fans ample opportunity to check out the look, including a portion of it where Bernal’s Jack Russell changes into the werewolf, a shot that Giacchino said took months to plan and execute.
Now the other thing about that shot is it was all done in-camera. That’s not a visual effect, that shot. That was all done in-camera and that took months to design and figure out how we were going to do it, but Joe Farrell, our visual effects supervisor, was incredible in helping put that together. But that is almost exactly as I storyboarded that moment, exactly that… so wherever we could do practical, in-camera effects, we did it, and I would say there [are] a ton of them in there, you just would never even know.
Michael Giacchino
The use of practical effects absolutely paid off in setting Werewolf By Night apart from other Marvel Studios projects which rely heavily, if not entirely, on VFX. Those effects, in addition to the project being screened in black and white and the campy nature of the writing, have been among aspects of the project listed in what amounts to effusive praise for the project ahead of its October 7th release on Disney Plus. With Giacchino teasing more monsters in the future, perhaps what is old is new again and fans should prepare for a second age of practical effects!
While it’s already been screened by select members of the media, fans around the world are just more than a week away from being able to stream Marvel Studios’ first Halloween Special, Werewolf By Night. Starring Gael García Bernal as lycanthrope Jack Russell and Laura Donnelly as monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone, the nearly hour-long live-action special has been described as a love letter to monsters by director Michael Giacchino. Filmed in black and white and intended as an homage to the Universal monster movies of the 1930s and 40s, Werewolf By Night has been racking up monster reviews from those who have seen it. According to Giacchino, this special is just “peeling back the corner of monsters in the MCU” and fans can expect them to “pop up again.” And though Giacchino stopped short of revealing when and where they might pop up again, there’s one interesting potentiality with connections to several of the project’s characters: The Legion of Monsters.
One of Giacchino’s goals with the project was to establish that “for centuries there have been monsters within the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they’ve been being tracked or hunted or kept at bay by these hunters.” Those monster hunters, including Bloodstone, are heavily featured in the trailer for the project and, from what can be gleaned from the footage, end up hunting and capturing Russell, who seems to be attempting to hide in plain sight amongst them. Giacchino also noted that there are “different species and types” of monsters, some of whom are also featured in the project either as trophies or in the artwork found on walls within the monster hunter mansion. As pointed out by Maximillian Marvel, one such creature may have made the briefest appearance in the trailer, though the identity of the monster may not be the one many have come to believe.
Seen in the briefest of glimpses, the creature in the screenshot above has yet to be properly identified but a popular theory making its way around is that the unidentified creature is Marvel’s Nosferatu, a powerful and ancient vampire who would potentially link Werewolf ByNight to Blade, Marvel Studios next “monster” project. And while that may indeed by Nosferatu, it’s worth adding another name into the mix of possibilities: Manphibian.
Co-created in 1975 by Marvel horror master Marv Wolfman, X-Men legend Dave Cockrum and Tony Isabella and first introduced in Legion of Monsters #1, Manphibian is essentially Marvel Comics take on the classic Universal monster the Creature from the Black Lagoon. In that sense, Manphibian would make a nice trophy in a tank in a project inspired by Universal Classic Monsters (Creature from the Black Lagoon was produced and released by Universal in 1954), whereas Nosferatu is not associated with Universal. Given it’s just the briefest of glimpses, it’s hard to discern exactly who the character might be, but the creature does seem to have Manphibian’s trademark big, round eyes and a mouthful of teeth other than the two sharp teeth of Nosferatu. This is far less about “who is right and who is wrong”, however, and much more about what is possible.
Interestingly enough, if it is Manphibian rather than Nosferatu, the character would join Werewolf By Night, Elsa Bloodstone and Man-Thing, who is said to play a key role in the project, as members of comic book Legion of Monsters who appear in the project. In a recent interview with One Take News, Giacchino name dropped another member of the team: Frankenstein’s monster. With Giacchino also insisting that Werewolf By Night is just the tip of the iceberg for Marvel monsters joining the MCU, perhaps it’s possible that rather than building up to a Midnight Sons project, as so many assume, Giacchino and Kevin Feige are planting the seed for a Legion of Monsters adaptation.
As is the case with most of Marvel Comics “teams”, the roster of the Legion of Monsters rotated over the years as did their purpose. One potential pathway from the comics to a Legion of Monsters MCU project, however, could be the team’s pact to protect monsters from hunters out to kill them. Obviously this would have direct ties to Werewolf By Night and could even go so far as to explain why Jack Russell is posing as a hunter in the first place. WIld speculation, to be sure, but with Giacchino keen on brining more monsters into the fold and Marvel Studios loving its team ups, this one can’t necessarily be counted out. If, as Giacchino stated, monsters have inhabited the MCU for centuries there’s no reason that other Marvel monsters such as Frankenstein’s monster, N’Kantu the Living Mummy and even Simon Garth/Zombie couldn’t “pop up” and everyone is already expecting Dracula. Let’s just hope it’s not too late for poor Manphibian!
Elizabeth Olsen has become a driving force behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her character’s journey from orphan to one of the most powerful characters in the Multiverse has been one of the MCU’s most impressive, long-term character arcs and Olsen’s work in WandaVision stands among the best performances given in the 14-year history of the franchise. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw Wanda turn heel, fully embrace the Scarlet Witch and eviscerate some of the Multiverse’s mightiest heroes before realizing the enormity of what she’d done and bringing Mt. Wundagore down around her.
Since Multiverse of Madness premiered early in 2022, rumors have begin to swirl that despite her apparent demise, Marvel Studios had future plans for Wanda in not one, but two projects. A solo Scarlet Witch project and an adaptation of Avengers: The Children’sCrusade have both been the source of fairly legitimate rumblings, though Marvel Studios has had nothing to say on the subject…until now. In a recent interview with Variety, both Kevin Fiege and Olsen gave some insight into what the future might hold for the character.
As fans of the MCU might come to expect, Olsen is hesitant to reveal even the slightest bit of information about whether or not there even is a future for the character, saying “I really don’t know my future. There’s nothing that has been agreed on.” Fortunately, and perhaps a bit uncharacteristically, Feige was a touch more loquacious.
There really is so much more to explore. We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash. I don’t know what that means.
Kevin Feige
Essentially, Feige is subscribing to the narrative that many fans have been quick to point out: though the circumstances seemed dire for Wanda as Wundagore came crumbling down, there’s no reason to surmise that one as powerful as the Scarlet Witch couldn’t have survived. More than that, Feige’s praise of Olsen is effusive, calling her “incredibly humble and incredibly down-to-earth” behind the scenes while also stating that she is “a force of nature” when “those cameras roll.” To cap it off, Feige enthused that he’d “work with Lizzie for another 100 years” before teasing “anything’s possible in the multiverse!” Certainly not the type of “I-said-a-lot-without-saying-anything” answers Feige tends to give nor a nail in the coffin of the character.
Even after being told of Feige’s comments, Olsen remained mum on the topic of her return. But with her sons rumored to appear in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, two rumored projects that would feature her and Avengers: Secret Wars ahead, it’s hard to imagine that Marvel Studios would leave the Scarlet Witch buried in the rubble.
When we here at Murphy’s Multiverse exclusively revealed that Rob Zombie was working on a reboot of The Munsters, it’s safe to say hopes were high. After all, the reboot has long been a passion project for the musician and filmmaker. Unfortunately, there’s nothing redeeming regarding this reboot.
The Munsters, of course, focuses on the Munster family. Lily, a 150-year-old vampire, is eagerly looking for the man of her nightmares. While her father, The Count, has her idea of the type of man she should go for, Lily soon finds herself drawn to Herman, a seven-foot-tall, green experiment much to her father’s dismay. As the duo get to know one another, they quickly fall in love and seek to get married, they’ll soon encounter plenty of hijinks along the way. It’s a simple enough story, but one that doesn’t warrant a reboot.
It’s frustrating because Zombie has been trying to make The Munsters for some time now. His love of the original and his drive to make the film should’ve produced something of quality. Instead, fans are treated to a film that looks like it was crafted for television — it’s shot cheaply and there are moments when the cinematography is downright terrible. To put it in better terms: It looks like an episode of Doctor Who from ten years ago.
There are two areas in which The Munsters kind of succeeds. The set design is pretty great. There’s no denying the set is constructed to capture the campiness of the original television series. The film also does a great job of not forgoing the absurdity of the original series. Sadly, though, that’s about as interesting as this reboot manages to get during its 110-minute runtime. It often drags, lacking any sort of charm or true purpose. It doesn’t help, either, that Zombie insists on using the same core cast for most of his films. It’s unfortunate enough that the screenplay is weak, but to make matters worse, the cast is subpar. Sheri Moon Zombie and Jeff Daniel Phillips are both severely miscast.
Moon Zombie and Phillips admittedly both try to deliver good performances. The problem is they’re both simply out of their leagues on this one. They seemed to have been cast out of convenience rather than skill. And while it does work for some of Zombie’s other films, in this case, though, the filmmaker played it too close to the chest. This take on a classic like the Munsters could’ve benefited from someone else tackling the screenplay and an A-List cast.
The Munsters is meant to be light-hearted and campy. It’s meant to be exciting, keeping audiences on the edge of their seats. Sadly, Zombie’s The Munsters is simply a snooze fest that is best to avoid. You’ll be counting down the minutes, questioning what the purpose of this reboot truly was, all while growing frustrated you wasted the time to check it out.
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