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  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Moon Knight’ Almost Had All the Avatars Turn Into Superheroes

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Moon Knight’ Almost Had All the Avatars Turn Into Superheroes

    One of the most exciting possibilities Moon Knight posited early in its season was the idea of gods having their own avatars or superheroes to represent them with Moon Knight being the most predominant one. Episode 3 unveiled the Ennead, the pantheon of Egyptian gods, and their mortal avatars. This came somewhat into fruition during the show’s finale when Layla became the avatar of Taweret and turned into the superhero Scarlet Scarab.

    Murphy’s Multiverse got to speak with executive producer Grant Curtis, who revealed their early ideas of possibly turning the avatars into costumed heroes just like Moon Knight and the Scarlet Scarab.

    When we were in the writer’s room looking at the whiteboard and trying to figure out who would suit up and who wouldn’t, that was brought up. It was definitely a possibility at a point. But as we looked at the overall journey and narrative, it became something that we didn’t need to best tell Marc and Steven’s story.

    Grant Curtis

    As solid as the Marc-Steven narrative was, it would’ve been exciting to see any of the other avatars get costumes. Ethan Hawke wearing Ammit-inspired armor sounds too good to ignore. What would Osiris’ avatar even look like, to begin with? The mere idea of having that many mystical superheroes in that part of the world is already so exciting. Maybe future stories set in this corner can follow through on this scrapped plan.

  • Disney+’s ‘Percy Jackson’ Series Adds Aryan Simhadr and Leah Sava Jeffries in Major Roles

    Disney+’s ‘Percy Jackson’ Series Adds Aryan Simhadr and Leah Sava Jeffries in Major Roles

    The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is continuing to ramp up its development with the casting of two new additional leads. Aryan Simhadri and Leah Sava Jeffries have officially been cast as Grover Underwood and Annabeth Chase respectively.

    Grover (portrayed by Brandon T. Jackson in the 2010 film adaptation) is a young satyr, half-human, and half-goat, who is tasked with protecting Percy Jackson on his journey to Camp Half-Blood and develops into the best and most loyal friend of the book’s main character. Annabeth (previously portrayed by Alexandra Daddario) meanwhile has been a resident of Camp Half-Blood for five years as the daughter of Athena. Chase in that time has developed as a skilled fighter and is prepared to test her skills in tangible situations. She and the titular character develop as strong friends and romantic partners throughout the events of Rick Riordan’s novel franchise.

    Simhadri and Sava Jeffries, along with Walker Scobell (who was officially cast as the series titular character last month), will serve as the main trinity of protagonists for the franchise as the Disney+ series begins with its first season adapting Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief. Production for the series is scheduled to begin in Vancouver later this summer. RickRiordan and Jon Steinberg will be writing the pilot episode, which will be subsequently helmed by director James Bobin.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Moon Knight’: First Look at Scarlet Scarab’s Funko Pop

    ‘Moon Knight’: First Look at Scarlet Scarab’s Funko Pop

    The Moon Knight finale surprised many with the first look at Layla LaFaouly becoming the Avatar of the Egyptian god Tawaret. As a result, she received her own unique costume and would later be revealed to be the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Scarlet Scarab. a minor character introduced in the comics, it was a surprise to see her become the hero in the series, especially given its importance for representation. May Calamawy was a highlight throughout and it was great that she got her moment to shine, and luckily we’re also getting a Funko Pop highlighting her new superhero alter-ego.

    While just recently sharing a first look at Ammit, it seems that Scarlet Scarab was going to follow shortly after. Sadly, she didn’t get joined by her new Egyptian god, which would’ve made for a nice double-pack given their connections. Yet, Khonshu also released on his own, as they mainly focus on the introduction of the various characters as a jumping-off point for when they also release correlating Funkos.

    It’ll be interesting to see if she also gets her own spinoff series, which definitely sounds like a project that Mohamed Diab would want to push forward. Of course, he has said he’s interested in tackling a Moon Knight team-up movie next, but there are a lot of opportunities on how they can explore the character. Perhaps she also gets her own Disney+ spinoff or a special that focuses on her. We’ll see what the potential has in store for us.

    Source: Twitter

  • Mohamed Diab Reveals that Egypt Sees ‘Moon Knight’ as their ‘Black Panther’

    Mohamed Diab Reveals that Egypt Sees ‘Moon Knight’ as their ‘Black Panther’

    Moon Knight is an interesting project, as while there has some have pointed out the lack of Jewish representation in the project considering the character’s background, there was a stronger focus on the Egyptian roots within the project. Mohamed Diab, a critically-acclaimed director from Egypt, had a big part in bringing the project to life and left his imprint, especially on how the country was represented. In an interview with The Wrap, he reveals that the series is a huge hit in Egypt. He goes on to highlight that:

    You don’t know how big this is in Egypt. Egyptians are dealing with the show as if this is their ‘Black Panther.’ People in the third-world countries, a lot of them are culturally defeated. They see the West as very superior. So they couldn’t even imagine that people are going to like our music when you put some Egyptian music in, they couldn’t believe that Egyptians could direct something as good or be behind camera or in front of the camera, and eventually having an Egyptian superhero. Oh my God. It’s so big in Egypt that it becomes like a national pride, and I hope everyone gets their own representation. It’s very important.

    Mohamed Diab

    In a way, it once again highlights the big draw that Marvel Studios has introducing a variety of backgrounds into its universe, which has a big international draw. Not only did the series introduce the first Egyptian superhero, but it also gave Egypt a representation that goes beyond the yellow filter many Hollywood productions forced upon the country. So, having a director like Mohamed Diab that also has that background adds a little something special to the project, which we might see more of moving forward.

    Source: The Wrap

  • ‘Moon Knight’: First look at New Khonshu and Ammit Funko Pops

    ‘Moon Knight’: First look at New Khonshu and Ammit Funko Pops

    As is tradition, we just got the final episode of Moon Knight and a new character. After teasing her arrival for quite some time, Ammit has finally made her imprint on the series and arrived as the final big bad to face. Of course, a new character also means that we have a new Funko Pop heading our way, which has finally been revealed. Not only do we get an Ammit Funko, but even one from Khonshu’s Temple in the form of a statue. It’s a cute idea as it gives them an additional way to showcase the character.

    Sadly, we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with the character, but Ammit definitely left an impact on viewers. Not only did it give us a crazy Kaiju-inspired battle between the Egyptian gods, but it was interesting to see the revelation that Harrow has actually been a bit of a hypocrite. While he pretends to be perfectly balanced, he is very well aware of the fact that he is one and still hopes to work for him.

    It is surprising that we didn’t get a new Funko Pop for the Scarlet Scarab. Layla’s transformation was a big move for the series and introduced the first Egyptian superhero in live-action. We’ll see if they have an additional release planned as they give it some time and were mainly focused on the big bad reveal, especially as we also haven’t gotten a Tawaret Funko. So her getting one alongside her new Avatar seems like the perfect way to add them.

    Source: Twitter

  • Mohamed Diab Wants to Tackle a ‘Moon Knight’ Team-Up Movie Next

    Mohamed Diab Wants to Tackle a ‘Moon Knight’ Team-Up Movie Next

    Mohamed Diab had brought his flair to create one of Marvel Studios’ most unique series, which explores the complicated divided personalities within Moon Knight. While the Disney+ series explored his story across six episodes, it seems that Diab is down to further explore the character in a movie rather than a second season. Not just any kind of movie, but in the form of a team-up with another member of the MCU.

    If you ask me, I would love to have the chance to make Moon Knight into a film,. Maybe join someone from the Marvel Universe so it’s like partnering up with someone else or being a part of another journey.

    Mohamed Diab

    It does sound like an interesting approach but does open up the question of who he might interact with. As he does have a strong standing in New York City in the past, it would be fun to explore his interactions with Spider-Man, which were some of the funniest in the comics. Of course, he wants to use the opportunity to further explore the personality of Jake that was introduced at the end of the season finale’s post-credit sequence.

    I would love to see more of Jake, see life through Jake’s point of view at some point. The best thing about starting a new story is the Marc and Steven dynamic is going to change because they’re now living in one body. So it’s such an interesting world. I want to see Layla, who doesn’t like being an avatar and how is she going to live with that or is she going to reject that or is she going to come to terms with her being a superhero? I love all that. So I hope we can put all that in a blender and just play with it.

    Mohamed Diab

    Now, the question will be if they’ll truly just skip a second season overall and just jump directly into a film. They technically set up everything they needed to focus on a more violent storyline with the character which builds upon Lockley’s violent tendencies. There’s a chance they might go the Midnight Sons route as a way to keep the character in a separate project before returning for a second season. Diab also mentions spending more time with Layla, which might become its own Disney+ spinoff series to further explore Egyptian culture and the fallout from the Avatar’s deaths. So, there’s a lot of potentials.

    Source: The Wrap

  • Hall of Murphy: Episode 18 – ‘The Batman’ Sequel and CinemaCon

    Hall of Murphy: Episode 18 – ‘The Batman’ Sequel and CinemaCon

    At this year’s CinemaCon, Warner Bros. went all out teasing some of its upcoming feature films. Surprising many, we got a few footage descriptions and teases on what’s to come. Not just that but also the confirmation of The Batman sequel, which John and Joe dive right into with their speculation.

  • ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Pulls in an Impressive $27.2M in First Day Internationally

    ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Pulls in an Impressive $27.2M in First Day Internationally

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is already making quite an impressive footprint in the industry, as its first day in international markets has pulled in $27.2M. As such, the film is currently trailing behind Spider-Man: No Way Home but only by 4%. That is an impressive number considering just how large that film was without a release in key markets and the fact that Multiverse of Madness isn’t releasing in a few countries due to controversies of their LGBTQ references. The film is currently 153% ahead of the original 2016 film and 210% of The Batman on a like-to-like basis.

    The Benedict Cumberbatch-led film managed to keep the top spot in the Asia Pacific, as well as European markets such as France, Italy, and Germany. It has also pulled in $3.5M in Mexico and $2.7M in Brazil, which puts it at $10.3M in all Latin American markets. It has already topped those territories while still being in its previews. Even Korea, which has been pulling back due to concerns with the pandemic, has managed to return to cinemas. It may have made an additional $14.7M which isn’t included in the $27.2M.

    We’ll see more releases in other international markets, and it looks like the film is going to be quite the crowd-pleaser. The rumors may give it some additional legs and while it probably won’t come near to what No Way Home managed, it seems like it’ll definitely be carrying the next month as more films start to release. It also is a good sign that Marvel Studios’ expansion into Disney+ may have not scared off people to still come in and see their latest entry. Word-of-mouth and its horror elements may be a key factor moving forward, especially as it may not quite pull in the usual four-quadrant market due to these elements.

    Source: Deadline

  • Hangar 13 Developing a ‘Mafia’ Prequel Game

    Hangar 13 Developing a ‘Mafia’ Prequel Game

    After 2K announced the departure of Hangar 13 studio head Haden Blackman, rumors began spreading over the project he walked out on. Hangar 13 is best known for the Mafia franchise, an open-world prohibition-era game franchise similar in a lot of ways to games like Grand Theft Auto. While Mafia may have never gotten the acclaim and popularity of its competitors, it does have a pretty dedicated fanbase and has seen some moderate success.

    It’s rumored that Blackman departed very early in the development Mafia project, which is expected to be a prequel to the franchise and will be running on Unreal Engine 5, unlike the recent remasters collections that ran on Mafia III’s proprietary engine. No more details are known about the game at this time as it is still not technically confirmed by Hangar 13 or 2k who publishes the franchise.

    After suffering two rounds of layoffs following Mafia III’s release and now losing not one, but two higher-ups, Hangar 13 has definitely been in a bit of a problem area for years now. While the studio head departing may not mean the project is in trouble, a lot of things are stacking up to have me guessing that something isn’t quite right. Hopefully, they are able to deliver on the new title and stabilize, a rocky development studio is almost never a good sign for a new game. Hangar 13 has been recently assisting other developers on their projects, including Gearbox’s Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. This has led many people to speculate that they may be moving into more of a support role, but we will see what the fate of the company is over the next few years.

    Source: Kotaku

  • New ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Merch Teases Thor’s Story Arc with the Guardians of the Galaxy

    New ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Merch Teases Thor’s Story Arc with the Guardians of the Galaxy

    The first trailer of Thor: Love and Thunder gave us a glimpse at the God of Thunder trying to find some inner peace. He set out with the Guardians of the Galaxy after the events of Avengers: Endgame, where they finally took down Thanos and could bring back half the universe. While we do see him try to get back into shape and into saving the galaxy, something seems off for Thor.

    A new piece of merchandise from Love and Thunder may have answered that very question. While we still see a somewhat younger Groot, the big reveal is the fact that Thor is seemingly still not over the defeat at the hands of Thanos. It reads as follows:

    Long after the Avengers defeat Thanos. The Guardians of the Galaxy must convince Thor to return to the battlefield.

    It’s not too surprising that he might be still hung up on it, as while they did take him down, it was Tony’s self-sacrifice that truly defeated the Titan. So, he technically never truly got an actual victory and while he may have gotten back in shape, it may still linger in his mind. Of course, he may just generally have reached his limit with all the losses he faced, and getting into shape didn’t quite give him that spark he was hoping for. Perhaps meeting an old friend and an imminent threat that gives him exactly what he was looking for.