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  • ‘Morbius Takes Top Spot at the Domestic Box Office With $39M

    ‘Morbius Takes Top Spot at the Domestic Box Office With $39M

    Morbius has been welcomed by audiences with harsh critique, but even its negative reception by critics didn’t stop the film from still nabbing $39.1M at the domestic box office. The film opened across 4,268 theaters in the North America. It’s still a strong pull even for the film landing at 17% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it won’t break any records.

    To put that in comparison though, Venom managed to pull in $80M back in 2018 before its sequel even went on to pull $90M during the pandemic. While it still remains an issue to this day, we’ve been seeing stronger openings for the usual crowd-pleasing films. Internationally, it hasn’t managed to break the $100M, as it was just shy with $84M.

    To be fair, Sony hasn’t invested that much like other big blockbuster films this time around, as the production budget for Morbius was around $75M. The big test always remains how strong the holding is going into the second weekend, but with word-of-mouth being as it is, we might likely expect a considerable drop going in. For now, we can only theorize.

    Source: Variety

  • Marvel Backtracks on ‘Daredevil’s MCU Connection with Latest Update

    Marvel Backtracks on ‘Daredevil’s MCU Connection with Latest Update

    Just earlier today, we’ve reported that Marvel’s official website has added a new section called “On Screen Full Report” which details a character’s story from any adaptation. In the case of Matt Murdock’s Daredevil, everyone noticed that not only did it explore the Netflix series’ storyline for Charlie Cox‘s take on the character, but even referenced that his return in Spider-Man: No Way Home took place “sometime later” after the events of Daredevil‘s Season 3. Now, the site has been updated and the MCU connection has been completely removed.

    Orginally, the section had a reference to his time after Mysterio had Peter Parker’s identity outed and setting up his future return. It was swiftly followed by the mention of him, Karen and Foggy reforming their original law firm. Now, while that later bit is still included they’ve completely removed the Spider-Man: No Way Home section altogether. On the left you’ll see the original version while on the right the one missing the entire section on his time in the MCU.

    It’s unclear what exactly has lead to them choosing to delete it once again, but the update and removing the MCU reference is definitely suspicious. It’s unclear why they’d change it right after publishing it, but the fact that the topic is making the rounds and the team behind it would like to avoid anyone making the connection. We’ll likely have to wait until Murdock’s return in a future project to get a better grasp on what story elements remain from the Netflix series, especially now that it has been added to Disney+.

    Source: Marvel

  • Exploring the Inspiration of Luffy’s Gear 5 in ‘One Piece’ Chapter 1045

    Exploring the Inspiration of Luffy’s Gear 5 in ‘One Piece’ Chapter 1045

    Chapter 1045 of One Piece has been quite the wild ride for readers. The previous entry has already pushed our understanding of just how Monkey D. Luffy’s powers work. Up to the revelation that his Gomu Gomu no Mi was actually the Hito Hito no Mi: Model Nika, he simply had a rubber body. While he could stretch his limbs in creative ways, it never reached the level it has now. Kaido’s Thunder Bagua left an imprint on his face as if he shaped permanently like the spike club that hit him. Hell, he even runs back like a Looney Tune after being pushed off the floating island. So, what exactly is going on?

    While it seems quite bizarre, mangaka Eiichiro Oda is still sticking to his rule that Luffy’s powers are based on rubber. The only difference is what kind he is currently referencing. Up to this point, most of our theories were connected to the concept of synthetic or even natural rubber. That was why most of theories pointed to it potentiality being the Resin fruit, as natural rubber is commonly created through latex from the so-called rubber tree. Yet, Oda threw us a curve ball like no other with Luffy acting on some more cartoon-inspired moves.

    Luffy’s power are technically still based on rubber, but one that is non-tangible. Most of the way Luffy is moving is clearly inspired by cartoons. It’s common knowledge he was inspired by watching the German-Austrian-Japanese animated series Vicky the Viking. So, the franchise has its roots in cartoons, especially looking back at the creative ways Luffy tackled each encounter throughout his travels in the East Blue and the Grand Line. Yet, now he’s truly embraced that aspect with his new powers that are based on rubber hose animation.

    The name of this animation style is based on how limbs of characters are simple, without any specific articulation. It’s the grandfather of all modern animation before running out of style in 1930s, yet has seen a bit of a revival as of late. Steven Universe introduced the character of Spinel that moved in a similar fashion. The recently released The Cuphead Show! bases its entire animation style from that very era. So, it technically could be seen as the origin of the entire Western animation industry.

    It even connects with the origin of his power. Nika was teased as the Sun God, a being that has quite the history. He was known to bring smiles to the faces of many’s for centuries. Perhaps that is why Oda took inspiration from the grandfather of all animation as the basis for the Devil Fruit’s abilities. Kaido has no idea what is happening, as his abilities seemingly force everything to apply to his rules. We literally see him grab the Beast Pirates’ nostril through his eyeballs before yanking himself out of the dragon’s stomach.

    It’ll take some time to adjust to the ability, as it is quite a bit different from the Haki-focused combat from the New World. Yet, the power does also call back to some of his earliest and quite “inventive” ways of taking on his enemies. We’ve discussed it frequently on our Den Den Murphy podcast, but Water Luffy from Alabasta was one of the funniest and most out-of-nowhere ways of taking on his most fearsome foe yet. So, as we near the end for the franchise, we might see him get even more creative beyond what we already saw here.

    Oda‘s creativity seemingly has no limits and the idea to stick true to Luffy’s powers being based on rubber. It always had some “cartoon”-inspired elements. So, rubber hose animation as part of his newly awakened power set is such a perfect way of staying true to what he set up while still catching people off-guard. This series never was about someone becoming the most powerful like Dragonball Z. It’s always been about freedom. If you’re powers are so ridiculous, you seemingly can do anything, why not embrace it?

  • Sydney Sweeney on Joining Sony’s ‘Madame Web’ Movie 

    Sydney Sweeney on Joining Sony’s ‘Madame Web’ Movie 

    Sydney Sweeney has emerged as one of the 2020s biggest up-and-coming young stars. She’s fresh off hit roles in HBO’s series Euphoria and The White Lotus, and has dabbled in film with appearances in movies like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and The Voyeurs. Next, she’ll be joining the modern superhero frenzy starring opposite Dakota Johnson in Sony’s Madame Web adaptation. The project will be the fourth installment in the studios’ Universe of Marvel Characters, following the Venom movies and this month’s Morbius.

    Speaking to Variety, Sweeney finally opened up about preparing for her role in the film and her excitement over boarding the project:

    I’ve been ordering a bunch of comic books. There’s a lot to learn. I’ve always been a really big fan of all of the Marvel and Sony Universe movies. I’ve grown up watching them all and I’ve been engulfed in the entire world my entire life, so being able to be a part of that is such an incredible, incredible thing.

    Sydney Sweeney

    While the actress did not divulge which character she may be playing, she did reveal it’s not one fans might be expecting. Sweeney spoke about trying to take challenging roles as she furthers her career:

    I like to try and find characters that are challenging for me in multiple different ways, and are completely different from one another. I want to continue to shock people with the characters that I play when they don’t expect that I would choose that next.

    Sydney Sweeney

    While Morbius hasn’t exactly landed well with critics, or viewers, hopefully Madame Web will find the audience Sweeney is looking for. The film is set to be directed by S.J. Clarkson, and has no current release date.

    Source: Variety

  • Marvel’s Latest Site Update May Further Hint at ‘Daredevil’s MCU Canonicity

    Marvel’s Latest Site Update May Further Hint at ‘Daredevil’s MCU Canonicity

    The quest to discover whether or not Marvel Television’s Daredevil series is canon to the MCU has been a long and winding road. The show went from presumably canon during it’s run to losing it once it was canceled by Netflix, and the subsequent folding of the studio that created it. With little to no confirmation from Marvel Studios or the creatives behind the MCU, the question remained up in the air for years. Evidence was conjured up on both sides of the argument to prove their own theories. Then, late last year, Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox reprised their respective roles as Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock in two major MCU projects, opening the doors for speculation wider than ever before.

    After the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Marvel website added Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s alternate universe wall-crawlers to their official character index. They were specified as non-MCU characters, and where the only non-MCU characters on the site to have their own “on screen” pages. All major characters officially under the MCU canon have separate tabs profiling their live-action appearances separately from their comic book history. However, there are no such pages for characters in films or television shows produced by a studio that is not Marvel Studios. Even the cast of Agents of SHIELD are reduced to quick video breakdowns. Yet, a recent addition to the site includes Daredevil, along with the rest of his Defenders co-stars, receiving their own “on screen full reports”.

    Even more curious, Daredevil’s character page includes a full description of the character’s Netflix history, including all three seasons and his time with the Defenders. Yet, what stands out is that it ends with a sequential paragraph describing his role in No Way Home as happening “sometime later”. As for Fisk’s page, it includes a similar history but does not reference the events of his appearance in Hawkeye, despite using an image from the show as the web page’s header. The information is weirdly non-specific and doesn’t technically confirm anything, as it’s not clear who is updating the Marvel website or if it was some sort of mistake. Disney+ doesn’t help matters by simply grouping the former Netflix shows as The Defenders Saga in the streaming service. For now, it’s just an interesting detail that may give fans a hint at where Daredevil lies in the Sacred Timeline’s history.

    Source: Marvel

  • Baratie Has Been Sighted on Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Set

    Baratie Has Been Sighted on Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Set

    The team behind Netflix’s One Piece series has been quite busy, as they have been not only filming but also recreating some of the iconic ships from the series. While the Going Merry has gone through the biggest change, most seem quite accurate to their manga counterpart. Luckily, some eagle-eyed passerby have noticed another iconic ship from the series in the distance, the Baratie.

    While we don’t get a close look, that’s definitely the famous fish mouth of the Baratie. The shape of the ship is a bit different from Eiichiro Oda‘s design, as it does have more ship-like qualities in its base structure. Yet, they could still add on to build the rest of the ship. The mouth being open as it is may even tease the little battleship making its way out.

    Baratie shipl live action, location: Cape Town (sorry for the poor camera quality:(
    by inOnePiece

    Zeff’s famous ocean-going restaurant is the main location for the Baratie Arc. While most of the stories take place on islands throughout the manga, Luffy’s fight against Don Krieg took place on the boat and the shipwreck surrounding it. Given his weakness of easily drowning once he’s in sea water, it made for an intense backdrop against one of the strongest foes he’s ever taken on.

    Plus, this ship is also famously where Sanji joined, as he was Zeff’s adoptive son and learned his iconic kicking techniques from him. Taz Skylar, who will take on the role of the character, has already started production not too long ago as they seemingly were skipping to Loguetown in their production. If they are still working on the ship, it may be one of the last sequences they film. Especially if you consider that most of it takes place on the water, it may be the most difficult project to tackle.

    Source: Reddit via Twitter

  • ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Official Runtime Shorter Than ‘Black Widow’

    ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Official Runtime Shorter Than ‘Black Widow’

    MCU runtimes are always a point of contention among fans and this latest confirmation should be no exception. As Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness begins its ticket pre-selling, ticketing site Fandango has received word on the film’s official runtime: 2 hours and 6 minutes. This puts the Doctor Strange sequel behind Black Widow‘s 2 hours and 14 minutes runtime and ahead of Captain Marvel‘s 2 hours and 3 minutes.

    A previous report from a Brazilian ticketing site claimed that the film was one of the longest MCU films to date, clocking in at 2 hours and 28 minutes. Between that site and Fandango, the primary ticketing site movie studios collaborate with, we’re inclined to believe the latter. Regardless, runtimes should never be an indicator of quality. Even with a story as expansive as the Multiverse, in Sam Raimi we trust. Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 is roughly as long as this movie and we all know how great that sequel turned out.

  • ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ is a Saturday Morning Cartoon For Better and Worse

    ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ is a Saturday Morning Cartoon For Better and Worse

    Sonic the Hedgehog was a big surprise when it released back in 2019. It was one of the few films that managed to get a decent box office run before everything shut down. It’s success led to a quick renewal and director Jeff Fowler returned. It’s not bad if your directorial debut leads to the birth of a new franchise, especially avoiding the usual video game adaptations falling. Now, the big question lies in if the sequel can keep up the momentum or fall back into some bad habits.

    I’ll say straight-away that the film knows exactly who its audience is. A lot of the runtime is filled with references, jokes, and fast-paced action to keep a younger viewer entertained. In a way, it’s like a live-action take on a Saturday Morning Cartoon. The only thing is, this series is more like 1993’s Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog rather than its darker Sonic SatAM counterpart. There’s a lot happening with some great jokes sprinkled throughout, but it does suffer at times from not focusing on its strongoint. Plus, to appeal to a younger crowd, it includes some references that quickly get dated, and overshadow the more sincere moments due to its frantic pace. Even the more grounded characters suddenly have their humor dialed up to eleven.

    As with most live-action and CG hybrid projects, the film tries to not fully rely on its blue hedgehog to carry scenes. So, to balance it out we also spend time with the returning cast of James Marsden‘s Tom Wachowski and Tika Sumpter‘s Maddie Wachowski. They were the heart of the first entry’s story, but take a backseat for most of the main action. Yet, the film moves away from its main plot to focus on their “shenanigans.” The plot doesn’t really lead into the story, as most of their purpose was already solidified early on. They do get redeemed in the finale, and we did get the introduction of a classic gaming element, but it just felt a bit detached from the rest of the film.

    They alongside the always great Natasha Rothwell as Maddie’s sister Rachel still bring a lot of heart to the series, but they’ve also been dialed up in the comedic part. Ben Schwartz is still a great choice for a younger Sonic, who has quite a lot of fun throwing out quip after quip. Though, they could’ve dialed it back just a bit. The same goes for Jim Carrey‘s return as Robotnik. While I do wish he was built up more, he still is one of the best parts of the films. He brings a lot of energy to the role, and just seems to be having a blast. The only issue is, he also seemingly is using the “was alone for too long” as a way to make the character even cookier. To be fair, almost everyone is in “cartoon” mode and some of the grounded elements have gotten lost in the shuffle from the first entry. The live-action bits are just as “cartoony” as the ones featuring Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. It’s not a bad thing, there’s just sometimes a stronger focus on spectacle.

    Still, while I can’t really do anything with a flossing reference, there’s still a lot to love here. Long-time voice of Miles “Tails” Prowler, Colleen O’Schaughnessey jumps from the games to the live-action series and still offers a heart-warming performance for the character. We once again go through their first meeting after Tails’ tease in the first entries’ post-credit sequence. My only gripe would be with how they try to build up their friendship in this film. The bond is believable, even if I wished it was given more focus instead of Hawaii shenanigans, but the big scene is intertwined with a out-of-left field confrontation in Syberia. It tries to pull a Guardians of the Galaxy but without any of the self-awareness and is more like something out of Fortnite.

    The biggest addition is Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna. He gets quite an intimidating introduction and is given quite a bit of screen time, which was great to see. Though, I will say that the direction given to Elba is a rather bizarre at times. He has some amazing lines, such as one including a text which actually had me laughing out loud. He was a more straight-faced character that worked well as a contrast with Robotnik, even if I still wished that he held back his performance a bit more. Some lines, however, did stick out and seemed a bit too over-the-top that continue the Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe the film is going for.

    The best moments of the film are when it plays into the mythology set up by the games. It pulls a lot in this film, especially with the introduction of the Master Emerald. Plus, it also builds upon storylines set up in the introduction of the previous entry while also staying vague enough that something can still be paid off in the already confirmed threequel. I do wish that they spent more time with these elements and built up the Indiana Jones-inspired story more. Introducing game environments and elements into this world is what makes these franchises so interesting while building up lovable character. Sadly, the comedy this time around was at the forefront, which may get dated fast with its references or build up a franchise that simply is more focused on kids.

    I did not expect Sonic SatAM going in, but I was hoping for the story to find its focus a bit more and move away from the weaker aspects of the previous entry. Sadly, it’s more of the same but with some great additions. The dynamic we’re left with at the end of the film was ironically a highlight and I would love to see more of it, even if the tease for the sequel was probably one of the most hand-holding post-credit sequences I’ve ever seen. They could’ve dialed back some of the cheesiness that comes with the territory they’re exploring, and definitely focus the story more around Sonic rather than forcing in B-plots that have no direct connection.

    To be fair, most of my complaints don’t really overshadow the fact that I had a fun time with the film. There were families with kids having a blast and it does accomplish just that. While I would wish that they leaned more into the mythology and world-building, its a film that doesn’t take itself too serious and is very self-aware. Carrey is a standout once again and Idris Elba is a perfect choice for Knuckles. I am still excited to see more of these characters and worlds, but I do hope that Fowler and his team dial back a few elements.

  • Bill Skarsgard to Lead ‘The Crow’ Reimagining by Director Rupert Sanders

    Bill Skarsgard to Lead ‘The Crow’ Reimagining by Director Rupert Sanders

    Not, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke, but it looks like The Crow reimagining has once again entered some form of development. This time around, It‘s former Pennywise, Bill Skarsgård, will take on the role with Rupert Sanders set to direct the project. It’ll once again explore the revenge mission of Eric Draven with King Richard‘s Zach Baylin writing the script of the modern take of the classic. The 1994 version is infamous for the accidental on-set death of Brandon Lee. The Nun‘s Corin Hardy has been trying to get a new version off back in 2018 with Jason Momoa originally attached.

    Some have said that any attempt to revive the franchise has been cursed for quite some time. The Momoa revival has been in development hell long before he was attached to the project in some kind of form. Of course, there’s some hesitancy to tackle a project like this given Brandon Lee‘s death after the gun prop used wasn’t cleared ahead of time. It’s been a tragedy that set new security regulations for the entire industry.

    It’s uncertain if the story wills tick to the story of the original adaptation, or give it a unique twist. They might certainly try to modernize the storyline, or they could stick to the original’s more Victorian-inspired design. There a re a few angles they could take while still paying tribute to the original film and its legacy. As it’s still in early development, we’ll see where they take the story once production picks up.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Den Den Murphy Episode 15 – Chapter 1044 & ‘One Piece’ Livestream Reveals (w/ Fezz’s Nerdy Life)

    Den Den Murphy Episode 15 – Chapter 1044 & ‘One Piece’ Livestream Reveals (w/ Fezz’s Nerdy Life)

    After that massive reveal in Chapter 1043, the events have just started as Luffy unleashes his true power of the Hito Hito no Mi. With a farewell to the Gomu Gomu no Mi, Suki, Joe and a returning Fezzy talk all things Nika, as well as discuss the reveals from the big One Piece livestream.