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  • ‘Moon Knight’s Episode 1 Set-Up [SPOILERS] Arrival in Episode 4

    ‘Moon Knight’s Episode 1 Set-Up [SPOILERS] Arrival in Episode 4

    This article will contain spoilers on the latest episode of Moon Knight. Only continue at your own risk if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

    Moon Knight surprised viewers with its fourth episode, as we got the sudden reveal of Marc Spector in a mental asylum. To top it off, every character we met along the way was also there and his arch-nemesis Harrow turned into his psychiatrist. It left us with many questions, especially when Marc met a physical version of Steven in this world. So, it’s been quite the experience for him that gets even crazier when they meet a humanoid hippo, who lovers of Egyptian mythology will recognize as Taweret.

    What Is That SPOILER At the End of Moon Knight Episode 4?

    It turns out that the team already set the seeds for the Goddess’ arrival in this episode in the first episode. Actress Lucy Thackeray, who many will remember as Steven’s snarky co-worker at the museum, on how the team behind the Disney+ series set up her arrival with a small mention in the initial episode when they were stocking up. She goes on to highlight:

    I’ve heard about the hippo, but I have no idea. Somebody else asked about the hippo, and I was like, ‘I’m sorry?’ One of our little scenes in the stockroom, actually, the very beginning of the scene, I say something like, ‘Bring the hippos over here,’ and [Steven] says, ‘Oh no, they’re actually called Taweret.’ You’ve gotta really be listening. But other than that, I literally have no idea what to expect. I’ve heard little things from other cast members [about the last episode], and it all sounds crazy.

    Lucy Thackeray

    It certainly sounds like the cast has gotten different perspectives on the major twist, but all are missing the greater picture. Marvel Studios has always been famous for its habit of keeping secrets. So, once the final episode drops, it’ll definitely be a surprise for everyone involved what exactly was going on in this six-episode Disney+ series.

    Source: The Direct

  • RUMOR: Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù In Talks To Play John Constantine

    RUMOR: Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù In Talks To Play John Constantine

    The DC Extended Universe looks to be branching out into the supernatural side of the mythos with J.J. Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot leading the charge. A few years ago, it was announced that Abrams and company would be developing several of DC’s Justice League Dark characters through several projects such as Zatanna, Madame X and Constantine.

    Over the past week, news on the Constantine project has begun filtering out and it seems it will be the first to get rolling, which means they need a John Constantine. The Illuminerdi is reporting that british-Nigerian actor Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù, best known for his work on Gangs of New York and His House, is in talks to star as the and occult detective. Should he land the role,Dìrísù will be the third actor to wear the trench coat, following in the footsteps of Keanu Reeves and Matt Ryan.

    The first story details on the project emerged just a few days ago, revealing that the series will see the streets of London filled with the supernatural, body horror, and urban action. It will see Constantine’s whole word changed when he meets a young girl that pulls him into the dark world of the occult. The series is currently casting for this girl, only known as “Akara” who could be Astra Logue, a young girl Constantine tried to save but failed, causing her to be damned to hell by the demon Nergal.

    We will continue to track this developing project.

    SOURCE: Illuminerdi

  • Natalie Portman Shares a New Mighty Thor Variant of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Poster

    Natalie Portman Shares a New Mighty Thor Variant of ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’s Poster

    The first trailer gave us a tease of what Thor: Love and Thunder has in store for us with a great poster highlighting the 80s inspiration of the film. Yet, the ending gave us our first look at Natalie Portman‘s return to the franchise as Mighty Thor. Surprisingly, the first poster mainly focused on Chris Hemsworth and it seems that Portman wanted to quickly correct that, as she shared a variant of the poster with her version of the character taking the central stage.

    The best part is that it also switches up the tagline to “The One is Not the Only One” as a callout to the tagline of the original poster being “The One and Only.” It’s a fun way to tease her character, who only briefly appeared in the trailer at the end. We’re likely going to get a better look at her character and tease if Thor knows who’s behind the mask as more trailers arrive over time.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CclMIqWJAP-/

    It’s a great marketing move to wait a bit before releasing this poster, as it builds upon the reveal of her return. Surprisingly, they kept her helmet out of this poster which makes you wonder just how much she’ll wear it throughout the film. Even Thor very rarely wears a helmet, as it mostly hides his face, but perhaps he got grabbed too often by the wings and was annoyed by it holding him back. Here’s hoping that the next trailer won’t take too long to release, especially as it’s already set to premiere in July.

    Source: Instagram

  • Dwayne Johnson to Produce ‘It Takes Two’ Adaptation for Amazon

    Dwayne Johnson to Produce ‘It Takes Two’ Adaptation for Amazon

    Here’s a surprising development but it looks like Dwayne Johnson is taking on a producing role for the upcoming adaptation of It Takes Two. The movie was looking for a home, which it has now found on Amazon Prime. dj2 Entertainment, the team behind the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, is still staying on to produce but is joined by Johnson‘s Seven Bucks Productions and Amazon Studios. Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia also join the project as producers.

    That’s not all, as Johnson is also rumored to potentially star in the film but it wasn’t officially confirmed. The story follows parents May and Cody as a wish by their daughter transforms them into dolls that set out on an adventure to get their original bodies back and potentially save their marriage, as they were going through a divorce at the time.

    It Takes Two will be written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, who also worked on both Sonic the Hedgehog films. They alongside dj2 have a first-look deal with Amazon which is included with this project. Hazelight Studios’ Josef Fares and Oskar Wolontis are also on board as executive producers, as they were the creators of the original game. Kimberly Bialek is also overseeing the production for Seven Bucks Productions.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 4 Nearly Confirms Jake Lockley Exists in the Disney+ Series

    ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 4 Nearly Confirms Jake Lockley Exists in the Disney+ Series

    The search for Marc Spector’s third classic comics personality Jake Lockley continues through Moon Knight‘s wild fourth episode. Clues and evidence in Episode 1Episode 2, and Episode 3 honestly feel like enough of a confirmation that a third personality is coming. But we still have yet to be formally introduced. There may be fewer clues in Episode 4, but one in particular almost cannot be interpreted in any other way than… that’s Jake. While everyone knows that nothing is confirmed until it is confirmed, let’s take a look at perhaps the most unambiguous and in-your-face clue of the entire series.

    The Extra Sarcophagus

    When Marc wakes up in some sort of mental institution or psych ward-looking place, he eventually escapes the room where the now Dr. Arthur Harrow appeared to be his psychologist. On his run through the halls of the institution, he comes upon a room with a lone sarcophagus. Someone inside was screaming for help and shaking it, trying to get out. Turns out Steven was trapped in there, and he and Marc hug when they reunite–it’s very sweet.

    Flash forward about one minute, and they pass a room that has a very similar sarcophagus. They do not seem to notice it, but it is also moving as if someone was trapped inside. Considering Marc and Steven now both have bodies, it is easy to say that whatever place this institution is, it is not “real.” So, if Marc’s other personality Steven sort of manifested as being trapped in a sarcophagus in a room here, what other conclusion is there to draw from the fact that there was another? It is the least ambiguous hint Moon Knight has provided and the most psychologically symbolic as well that a third personality does in fact exist in this series.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’
    Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’

    While Moon Knight arguably “confirms” here that Marc and Steven are not the only personalities, it still is yet to be seen whether a third will actually make an appearance in the series. Hopefully Jake has some grand entrance, but it could be the series’ way of acknowledging the comics’ history and being coy with it, while maybe waiting to introduce Jake in another project considering Moon Knight already has many demanding moving parts to balance. Still, there have been so many hints over these four episodes, that it would definitely feel like a letdown if they did not lead to an actual appearance by the end of the series.

    Only time will tell. But the first four episodes of Moon Knight are not streaming on Disney+.

  • ‘Moon Knight’: Marc and Steven are Traveling to the Afterlife.

    ‘Moon Knight’: Marc and Steven are Traveling to the Afterlife.

    The final few minutes of Moon Knight’s episode four gave audiences something to think about and figure out ahead of the final two episodes of the series. At first glance, it seems like the old “it was all a dream” sort of twist, where the character, in this case, Marc Spector, kept bringing real-life characters and details into a self-fabricated world. This would obviously deprive the events experienced until now of most of their meaning due to a lack of actual real-world impact, something that feels extremely dated. But in fact, Marvel should instead be using that classic trope to lead fans astray as what Marc wakes up to should actually be the dream itself.

    Following Harrow shooting Marc at Alexander the Great’s tomb, he wakes up in an institution, very similar to the one we see in the Lemire-Smallwood comic run. There, while trying to escape Harrow’s office, he comes to a long corridor that seems to tilt like it was on a moving vehicle, with the lamps and the medical carts moving accordingly. This should be enough to make us doubt the veracity of the reality presented to us. But it’s not until going back to some promotional footage that, not only does it become clear why the halls seem unstable but we also understand where Marc really is. 

    Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight

    This shot in one of the promotional videos seemingly shows us a large funerary boat traveling through the desert. And this is where we will likely find Marc, even if all he sees around him, maybe as a coping mechanism, is a mental institution filled with details from his life. This fits the Egyptian mythology the show has been exploring as boats played a big role in ancient Egyptian funerary practices. Funerary boats were often used to deliver the deceased to the afterlife, with Anubis, the god of death, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, having his own ship that traveled between the world of the living and that of the dead. It was while doing so that it would weigh the hearts of the deceased on Maat’s scales of truth and justice, hence judging the individual’s actions in life. If the heart was found to be heavy it was fed to Ammit, with the soul cast into darkness. On the other hand, if the scales were balanced, the deceased would be taken before Osiris who would welcome them into the afterlife.

    Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight

    All of this, besides feeling terribly consistent with what the show has shown us so far, might clearly hint at all past events being what is real, with the dreamlike state being what we see as the mental institution at the end of episode four. Marc and Steven (and Jake?) will eventually be judged in order for their spirit to move on, either to damnation or the afterlife. With Khonshu out of the picture, it seems unlikely that they will manage to come back from the dead, again. Or does it?

    The first four episodes of Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight are now streaming only on Disney+.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Disneynature’s ‘Polar Bear’ Director Explains It Was Impossible Not to Highlight Climate Change

    EXCLUSIVE: Disneynature’s ‘Polar Bear’ Director Explains It Was Impossible Not to Highlight Climate Change

    Film studio Disneynature is gearing up for the release of its newest documentary, Polar Bear. Narrated by two-time Academy Award nominee Catherine Keener, the film tells the story of a new mother bear whose memories of her own youth prepare her to navigate motherhood in the increasingly challenging world that polar bears face today.

    Murphy’s Multiverse recently sat down with directors Alastair Fothergill and Jeff Wilson, who previously directed Disneynature’s 2019 Penguins. While following the same bear over the course of 15 years, Polar Bear undoubtedly brings the effects of climate change on the Arctic into the spotlight. Interestingly, Fothergill noted that the goal of the documentary was not to make it “an environmental movie”, but it was impossible to tell the story of a polar bear without climate change playing a major role. He stated:

    [T]he movie isn’t an environmental movie, we hope it’s an entertaining and engaging family movie. It’s impossible today, honestly, to make a movie about polar bears without telling the story of the challenges they face. And that’s why we very deliberately chose to tell the story of a female bear looking back at the last 15 years…there’s been an enormous amount of change over that time period.

    Alastair Fothergill

    Both directors described moments in the film where they were able to catch footage of polar bear behavior that had never been documented before. But the environmental challenges the bears face created scenarios that even the veteran wildlife filmmakers were surprised by. Fothergill elaborated on that factor:

    There was a very moving moment where a mother and her cub are literally going into too thick, melted mud, you know and struggling to get to make it. Now that that is reality of climate change, but we didn’t expect to film it…And a lot of moments like that were fresh. We knew the climate change was going to be the basis of the whole story. Because polar bears are [] at the cutting edge, so we expected to see it. But we were surprised by some of the detail of what we filmed.

    Alastair Fothergill

    Disneynature’s Polar Bear launches exclusively on Disney+ on Earth Day—April 22, 2022.

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Directors on Episode 4’s Twist Ending and Comic Inspiration

    ‘Moon Knight’ Directors on Episode 4’s Twist Ending and Comic Inspiration

    Episode 4 of Moon Knight has been amped up for quite some time and as it finally found its way online, the Internet is currently wrapping its head around what exactly just happened. Of course, it didn’t take long for questions to arise and luckily Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, the directing duo behind that very episode, talked about how they approached the twist ending and how Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood‘s run with the character influenced their direction.

    There will be spoilers ahead, so only continue at your own risk if you haven’t seen the episode yet.

    As the episode was slowly coming to an end, we suddenly see Marc Spector get shot by Arthur Harrow. As he is falling down what seems like a bottomless water spot inside the grave of Alexander the Great. Yet, it suddenly turns into an old-fashioned, Indiana Jones-inspired TV show before revealing that Marc was in a facility all along. We see many familiar faces and objects that hint that maybe not everything we saw was real. this sequence is strongly inspired by a famous run from Lemire and Smallwood, which the directors highlight in their interview with EW.

    The end of episode 4 is actually a gift of the script. It came from wanting to do the least expected thing and completely disorient the audience, while also being completely true to the character that we’ve built over four episodes. Also the comic book character: There’s a run of ‘Moon Knight’ written by Jeff Lemire, and [Greg] Smallwood did the art, and it has a lot of similar feelings and visuals to what happens at the end of episode 4. So we’re really glad to be able to honor the original comics, the ones that we were the most drawn to when we were trying to crack Moon Knight. That’s where the inspiration came from, especially visually and tonally

    Aaron Moorhead

    Benson highlights that they also took inspiration from some of the iconic panels from that run as they explore his escape from this mental health institute.

    Also, connecting it back to the Lemire run, there are so many iconic single panels within that run. But there’s one sequence in particular where our hero has been trying to escape from a mental health facility. He finally gets out. He jumps out, but it turns out he was on an airplane, and he’s free-falling. Obviously that doesn’t happen in this show, but we really feel like what we did captures the spirit of that distilled image into something that is not literally that but has the same feeling.

    Justin Benson

    In the same interview, they highlight that the next two episodes will be even more promising and we’ll get a lot more moving forward. It’s an exciting twist and takes the series into a really interesting direction that may not mesh well with many at first that got used to the adventure vibe it was building up so far. For now, we’ll have to wait just two more weeks to see the series fully come together.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Fast and Furious 10’ Gets New Title and Logo as Production Starts

    ‘Fast and Furious 10’ Gets New Title and Logo as Production Starts

    It looks like Vin Diesel has started production on the tenth entry of the Fast and Furious franchise. Not only that, but to celebrate the occasion, the actor took to his personal Instagram account to share that it’ll be titled Fast X and even included a clever logo for the upcoming film. Sadly, there are no further details included, but it’s great to get a tease of what’s to come as they start production.



    There are some great details about the logo. It is the second title to include the name Fast” with the number of its entry, as the last time they did this was Fast Five in 2011. The seventh entry just focused on the Furious part before the eighth entry turned it into a pun and we got F9 in 2021. So, it is surprising they are reusing an idea but the X makes sense for the tenth entry. My favorite part, however, is that the X is a car’s headlight which makes for a great reveal.

    We’ll see what the future has in store, as they are rumored to film the tenth and eleventh entries back to back. Diesel has tended to announce quite a few aspects of his franchise through his Instagram title, such as sharing that Brie Larson joined the production not too long ago. So, we’ll see if he might share some set photos as they end the Fast Saga with the upcoming releases.

    Source: Instagram

  • Breaking Down the Twist Ending of ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 4

    Breaking Down the Twist Ending of ‘Moon Knight’ Episode 4

    If you happened to see reactions from critics and members of the press who were able to see the first four episodes of Moon Knight, you undoubtedly saw a lot of people praising and hyping up the fourth episode. Now that you’ve watched it, you now know why. Here, we break down what happened and look into clues from the source material as to what this might all mean for the series.

    We will spoiler details from the fourth episode. So, if you haven’t watched it yet only continue at your own risk.

    Recap

    After Moon Knight spends the vast majority of four episodes building up a now-relatively grounded story involving adventuring through Ancient Egyptian lore, artifacts, pyramids, tombs, and whatever else the franchise can get its hands on. Of course, Arthur Harrow appeared the be the main villain in his quest to serve/free Ammit to judge souls based on future wrongdoing. At the same time, our protagnosists are attempting to save the world from Harrow as the avatar of Ancient Egyptian lunar god Khonshu, which allowed them to summon divinely-granted suits—they still have not actually been named yet, but we know them as Moon Knight and Mr. Knight.

    Most importantly, perhaps, is that our original protagonist, Steven Grant, learned he had another identity/personality named Marc Spector. The Marc reveal brought Steven into this fast-paced and dangerous plot as Marc was the one in contact with Khonshu and served as his Fist of Vengeance. The psychological implications of Steven and Marc’s dissociative identity disorder have been a loud-and-clear focus of Moon Knight so far. And it looks like it may very well increase the focus after Episode 4.

    In this episode, Steven and Layla find the tomb of Alexander the Great. With it, they also have finally uncovered Ammit’s stone statue, which is similar to that we saw Khonshu get imprisoned in. Harrow swiftly catches up, and ultimately shoots Marc (who took control at this point) and seemingly kills him. We watch Marc float down through dark waters almost endlessly.

    Suddenly, we cut to what looks like a direct-to-VHS movie where a young boy and an impressive adventurer and archaeologst by the name of Dr. Steven Grant are looking for atrifacts related to an Aztec lunar god. Marc then wakes up in what looks like a psych ward or mental institution with many callbacks and familiar faces. For example, random objects from early episodes (like cupcakes and a goldfish) appear in this place. Characters like Layla, Crawley, and Donna are also patients in the institution. And, of course, Dr. Arthur Harrow is Marc’s psychologist. There are numerous other Easter eggs involved, but the point is clear: did Marc simply imagine the “reality” we previously saw?

    What Just Happened?

    If you’re fresh off of Moon Knight Episode 4, the title question might be stuck in your mind. You are supposed to be confused, excited, and anxious to find out what comes next. If you enjoy the surprise and the mystery, this is good news for you, and you might want to avoid reading this whole article if you want to stay as unspoiled as possible. If you hate feeling confused, there is also good news for you if you keep reading this article.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’

    So, let’s get into it. This is the point of Moon Knight where the viewer is now supposed to question absolutely everything. Obviously, the fact that Marc wakes up in a psych ward does much of that work, but how the last ten minutes or so of Episode 4 progress makes it even more complicated. It is clear from the later scenes after Marc wakes up that he is not simply in a typical psych ward having completely made everything up. Plenty of things are not quite right, but of course, he encounters Steven trapped in a sarcophagus, and the two personalities exist in separate bodies in the same place. If that isn’t enough to debunk much of the psych ward “reality”, the two come across goddess Taweret, a hippo-appearing being, who we saw as a stuffed animal in Episode 1’s gift shop.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Moon Knight’

    Just in case it was not clear before—yes, you should be confused. Moon Knight has now gone out of its way to essentially discredit every “reality” it has presented audiences with. The “main reality” where we first met Steven—was everything one giant delusion of a mentally ill man based on some of his surroundings in the psych ward? If it was not entirely in Marc’s imagination, was some of it, such as Khonshu, real? We are now suddenly introduced to this “psych ward reality”—is it real? Probably not, but are the images of Steven and Taweret, for example, more delusions?

    If you are dying for answers or at least some guidance, the solution may lie in the Moon Knight comics run you may have already heard a lot about. While looking at the source material for Moon Knight is certainly not “spoilers”, if the series adopts more of the comics’ plot lines, that could potentially ruin some surprises for the last two Moon Knight episodes. With that word of caution of the way, let’s look at what possibilities the Jeff Lemire and Greg Smallwood run coult hint at for the home stretch of the live-action series.

    Lemire-Smallwood’s Inspirational Run

    Moon Knight (2016) is one of the most popular comic runs of the Fist of Khonshu, but it also clearly inspired the creators of the Disney+ series plenty. After more than three decades of Moon Knight stories, Marc Spector wakes up in an insane asylum and gives evidence that he had been there since he was twelve. As such, all aspects of his Moon Knight life had been in his head. The comic run by Lemire and Smallwood jumps from perceived reality to perceived reality. We see versions of Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and Jake Lockley living their own lives, but the story jumps around in a way where each one questions their memories and realities. Like where Moon Knight seems to be going, the comics are entirely founded on the concept that Marc Spector’s mind (inlcuding his other identities) is complex, confusing, and potentially a rabbit hole of reality-beding.

    This article is not the place to try and summarize the entire run or give every possible detail that connects the live-action series to that run, but it’s worth noting what Moon Knight has already clearly borrowed from. In both, Marc Spector wakes up and realizes he is in an all-white psych ward with some of his friends as other patients. His psychologist in the comics is Dr. Emmet, whereas in live-action it is Dr. Arthur Harrow. Still, Dr. Emmet is “revealed” to be a manifestation of Ammit, who we know Arthur Harrow is a follower of. Even the pair of orderlies, Bobby and Billy, made their way into Moon Knight. The appearance of Taweret at the end of Episode 4 also looks a lot like some of the Ancient Egyptian imagery that the Moon Knight comics highlight. Even more, Marc and his personalities were able to co-exist in different bodies in the comics.

    Speaking of Ancient Egyptian lore connecting to the mental institution, much of the run presents Marc with a situation where the psych ward reality morphs into a version of New York City that appeared to be taken over by the Egyptian god Seth. So, Dr. Emmet would often take the form of Ammit, the orderlies as jackals, Marc makes deals with Anubis, he travels to the Overvoid, and more. At the same time, he would find himself back in the psych ward “reality” and being given electroconvulsive therapy or chastized by Dr. Emmet.

    Moon Knight (2016)

    The ultimate adversary in the comcis run is actually Khonshu, not Seth. Turns out, much of the mental dismay and reality confusion is Khonshu’s doing, and the moon god is trying to completely break Marc’s mind so that Khonshu can essentially just use his body as his own. So, the run beautifully explores the dimensions of Marc/Steven/Jake’s minds and memories as they try to persevere through Khonshu’s cruel games and defeat the god they have been attached to for so long. The run ends with Marc taking control of his personality and defeating Khonshu, telling the deity that they do not need him to be Moon Knight. While Marc ends in a place where he stil cannot be sure if he is in true reality, he notes it is good enough for him, Steven, and Jake.

    Moon Knight (2016)

    Where is Moon Knight Going?

    Since Moon Knight is clearly taking a lot of inspiration from at least the very beginning of the Lemire-Smallwood run, there is always a chance the series will adapt even more from it. At the same time, Moon Knight has not otherwise been following a story that is clearly inspired by any particular run. That could mean that while the previously mentioned one may have some influence, the live-action series will ultimately remain a hybrid of decades of comics and new material. Considering that both the series and the comics want you to question virtually every aspect of reality, it would be naive to assume that Episodes 5 and 6 of Moon Knight will be predictable.

    The first four episodes of Moon Knight are now streaming on Disney+.