Murphy's Multiverse

Blog

  • Haley Lu Richardson on Losing Out on ‘Batgirl’

    Haley Lu Richardson on Losing Out on ‘Batgirl’

    Prior to Leslie Grace securing the role as Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, multiple young actresses were up for the role. One of them was Haley Lu Richardson, who has starred in titles such as Five Feet Apart and Split. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the young actress was the runner-up behind Grace for the role of Batgirl, but Richardson seems content with how things ultimately went down.

    While promoting her latest film, After Yang, Richardson revealed that she received a note from J.K. Simmons after it was revealed she hadn’t gotten the role – something she feels made the whole thing worth it.

    “It was exciting regardless, and I did get a nice little personal email from J.K. Simmons out of it, which was really nice. Getting the role would’ve been pretty cool, but I told myself that his email meant more to me than getting the role. So I tried, but I’m not Batgirl at the end of the day. I’m trying to think of what freaking superhero I can play now because aren’t they all done already? My dance skills, my flexibility and my athleticism need to be utilized.”

    Although she didn’t get the role of Batgirl, Richardson is more than ready for Hollywood to cast her as a superhero. As she explains, she has dance skills, is flexible and is athletic. With her being a final contender, it seems likely she’ll eventually land her superhero role. After all, as we’ve seen in the past, Hollywood tends to revisit talent when it comes to casting new roles.

    Batgirl, starring Leslie Grace, is now in production and is set to be an HBO Max exclusive film. No release date has been announced.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Creepshow’s Grant Freely Cast as a Young Luke Skywalker

    ‘Creepshow’s Grant Freely Cast as a Young Luke Skywalker

    In a recent article by The Hollywood Reporter, we learned about how much the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series has changed since its earlier stages with Darth Maul being completely written out of the show at some point. Sneakily hidden away in the article is the reveal of the actor playing a young Luke Skywalker. The first trailer did give us a first look at the character, who was pretending to be flying or pod racing yet we never learned the name of the young actor taking on the role. Well, it turns out it is Grant Freely, whose only other credit was an episode of Creepshow.

    It’s great to see such young talent get a shot at playing some iconic roles. WandaVision also gave two young up-and-coming actors a chance at tackling some iconic roles. We still don’t know that much about the story of the sequel, but the article by The Hollywood Reporter did hint that he was initially going to protect Skywalker from Darth Maul, who returned to take his vengeance on Obi-Wan. They’ve seemingly moved away from that initial storyline due to too many similarities with The Mandalorian, who also took inspiration from Lone Wolf and Cub. We’ll see if Luke has any roll at all in the story, or simply was teased to remind people why Kenobi is on Tatooine once it releases late May.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Darth Maul May Have Been Written Out of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’

    Darth Maul May Have Been Written Out of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’

    Here’s a rather surprising drop, but it looks like Darth Maul was originally going to appear in the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Ray Park was actively preparing to play the role. Yet, it seems that as part of an overhaul of the project, he was written out only for Darth Vader and other antagonists, very likely the many Inquisitors we’ve seen in the first trailer, to get added. It seems that he had a role in Hossein Amini’s original scripts before Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau supervised the scripts and feared some overlap with The Mandalorian.

    The role given to Maul was him chasing down Kenobi trying to hide a very young Luke Skywalker. It seems they wanted showrunner Deborah Chow to “go bigger” with the project before Kathleen Kennedy got involved to ensure they’d rework it. They even found a young Skywalker actor who didn’t end up getting to film any scenes. Supposedly, some footage has been filmed with Park as test footage, but he was definitely set to return before getting written out. It seems that it was Filoni‘s idea to focus strongly on the Rebels’ Grand Inquisitor and Vader as part of the series.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Ms. Marvel’ Adds Anjali Bhimani in a Recurring Role

    ‘Ms. Marvel’ Adds Anjali Bhimani in a Recurring Role

    With Ms. Marvel originally eyeing a release last year, we didn’t quite expect any casting announcements for the series, but it looks like there were still some surprises. Deadline has shared that Anjali Bhimani has a recurring role in the upcoming Disney+ series. As is par of the course, any details regarding her character remain under wraps. is taking on the role of the Pakistani-American teenager from New Jersey, who first made her debut back in 2014.

    This isn’t the actress’s first Marvel series, as she also previously worked on Marvel TV’s Runaway series. She played an employee at Wizard named Mita Nansari, and it’ll be interesting to see what role she’ll tackle in the Disney+ series. She also had roles in series like Special Station 19, Modern Family, as well as Grace and Frankie. She joins a cast consisting of Laurel Marsden, Rish Shah, Saagar Shaikh, Matt Lintz, and Aramis Knight.

    Bisha K. Ali is the project’s head writer with a directing team consisting of Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and Meera Menon. As mentioned previously, the Disney+ series was originally going to premiere in 2021 but ended up getting pushed back all the way to the summer of this year. We still don’t have an exact release date, but we do know that it’ll be the next release after Moon Knight and a premiere seem to be planned for early June. So, it’ll likely release around then.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Harley Quinn’s Kite Man Getting a ‘Cheers’-Inspired Own Spinoff

    ‘Harley Quinn’s Kite Man Getting a ‘Cheers’-Inspired Own Spinoff

    Hell Yeah! It looks like the scene-stealing Kite Man is getting his own HBO Max spinoff from the popular R-rated Harley Quinn series. During SXSW’s Not Kidding Around: Warner Bros. Animation and the “Reimagining of Iconic Characters for an Adult audience” panel, series creator Patrick Schumacker has revealed that they are working on a spinoff titled Noonan’s.

    The project is in early development, but Kite Man will take center stage in the project as he buys the infamous villain hangout spot Noonan’s Bar in Gotham. Schumacker had the following to say on the spinoff teasing it’ll be strongly inspired by Cheers.

    He tries to run the bar by himself but it doesn’t turn out so easy. We have Harley and Ivy appear in the first episode, but after that, we have with different goons and villains appearing every episode like Lex Luthor and Bane. It will be kind of like ‘Cheers’ for supervillains.

    Patrick Schumacker

    UPDATING

    Source: Slash Film

  • History and Time Aren’t On Tom Brady’s Side as He Returns to the NFL

    History and Time Aren’t On Tom Brady’s Side as He Returns to the NFL

    Tom Brady is the greatest football player of all time. There’s no debating this, especially not now, after his 22nd season. Career highs in attempts (719), passing yards (5,316), and this season’s touchdowns (43) and completion percentage (67.5%) were only eclipsed by his 2007 MVP season.

    As great as he has been, his recently announced return doesn’t come with the promise of future greatness. In fact, Brady may be about to fall off a cliff due to a couple of key factors.

    Offensive Line


    While the Buccaneers just resigned Ryan Jensen, arguably the league’s top center, there are some questions regarding the offensive line. Ali Marpet just retired, and Alex Cappa is a free agent, so there are two holes on each hole alongside Jensen, and so far the solution has been to re-sign a backup guard. The Bucs have stars at Center and Right Tackle. Can they fit pieces in to plug at the other 3 positions to mesh well? We’ll find out.

    History doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme


    Think back to 2009. Brett Favre is finally on a team that wasn’t green (nobody remembers his early Falcons days). It was a pretty striking image, seeing him in bright purple on the Vikings. Let’s use these years to compare to Brady’s Buc’s career, skipping the Jets because I, and the rest of history, would like to forget Favre’s Jets career. I listed out Brady’s accomplishments for his 2022 year, let’s list out some of Favre’s 2009 year. Career high in completion percentage (68.4%), QB rating (107.2), and top five in yardage (4,204) and touchdowns (33). Vikings were rolling with a young Adrian Peterson and a dominating Sydney Rice, with a Super Bowl well within their reach. Until that infamous cross body interception in the NFC Championship to the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints. If that throw doesn’t happen, maybe Favre beats Peyton two weeks later and he rides off into the sunset. The same could be said for Stafford’s late game heroics to Cooper Kupp. If Stafford doesn’t nail that throw to get them into field position and win, does Brady even think about unretiring with an 8th super bowl ring on his finger? I don’t think so. But he should look at every QB who has decided to put on the pads one last year, and the results don’t tend to be pretty.

    Tom Brady may have outsmarted Father Time all of these years, but Father Time is a hurricane. And Tom, at this point in his career and life, seems to be trying to hold back the tide with a broomstick.

  • RUMOR: Din Djarin May Visit Mandalore in ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3

    RUMOR: Din Djarin May Visit Mandalore in ‘The Mandalorian’ Season 3

    There have been quite a few rumors making the rounds on what we might expect from the third season of The Mandalorian. After the reunion of Din Djarin and Grogu in The Book of Boba Fett, it seems like the future is bright for the two. Well, it seems that one hint from the first spinoff may become a reality in the upcoming next season, as Bespin Bulletin has shared some details on a new set that might tease Djarin’s arrival at a location teased throughout the franchise so far, his homeworld Mandalore.

    Bespin Bulletin describes a cave set where Paz Vizla, Din Djarin, and the Armorer were on set for the sequence. It’s a cave that has black sand at its entrance. It seems that the first rumblings of this location were already earlier in the year, but the cast reports alongside some updates, i.e. the before-mentioned sand, has made the connection to this potentially being the Mines of Mandalore. What helps is the reference to this location as a way for Djarin to make up for taking off his mask and rejoining the Mandalorian creed. The rumor also hints at the cave including a lake, which is referenced as the living waters.

    There have been strong hints that the group that raised him is quite radical. So, the potential return of Bo Katan may also open up a potential conflict for the Mandalorian, who now wields the Darksaber. A visit to Mandalore always seemed like the endgame for the storyline, but with Grogu’s return, anything can happen. One thing is for sure, he won’t let anything happen to his ward.

    Source: Bespin Bulletin

  • Christopher Priest Set to Write a New ‘Black Adam’ Comic Series

    Christopher Priest Set to Write a New ‘Black Adam’ Comic Series

    Black Adam is set to make his live-action debut in 2022 with his very own solo film starring the one and only Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. The film was just recently hit with a three-month delay, setting the July release all the way back to October 21st. Luckily, fans won’t have to wait too long to get some Black Adam action, as the character is set to receive his own solo run with some amazing creative talent behind it.

    DC Comics announced this morning that Christopher Priest, best known for his work on Black Panther, Deathstroke, and Justice League will tackle the new series. He is joined by artist Rafa Sandoval, known for his work on Flash, Green Lantern, and most recently Teen Titans Academy. The series will follow Black Adam facing a near-death experience that makes the 5000-year-old fallen champion begin his search for a successor for his power. Priest shares his excitement for the new project:

    Forgive the cliché, but I’ve rarely been this excited about a new project, DC has provided an amazing opportunity for me to explore and, to some degree, reimagine this character in a very new light while bringing new challenges and consequences to a man who has lived far too long and is desperate for redemption. Rafa Sandoval brings palpable voltage to every panel, bringing out my Kirby-Simonson Big Noise instinct as Rafa’s gifts take me to places I never knew I wanted to go. My only regret is we only have 22 pages a month for this.

    Christopher Priest

    Black Adam #1 will hit shelves on June 21st, and it does sound like we’re getting a promising return for the character, which might even dissect the usual anti-hero in a way we might have at least expected. It makes you wonder if some elements on that are also inspired by the general direction the upcoming film is taking.

    Source: DC Comics, IGN

  • ‘Puss in Boots’ Sequel Adds Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh, Harvey Guillén And More

    ‘Puss in Boots’ Sequel Adds Salma Hayek, Florence Pugh, Harvey Guillén And More

    It looks like the Shrek spinoff Puss in Boots is making a return, as Deadline has just reported that the upcoming sequel subtitled The Last Wish has rounded out its cast. Joining Antonio Banderas is the return of Eternals‘ Salma Hayek Pinault as Kitty Softpaws. Newcomers to the franchise will be Harvey Guillén from What We Do in the Shadows, who will play a new canine associate and will form an unlikely trio with them.

    Puss In Boots

    That’s not all, as the project has added quite the A-list ensemble consisting of Florence Pugh, Olivia Colman, Ray Winstone, John Mulaney, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Wagner Moura, Samson Kayo, and Anthony Mendez to its cast. The sequel will explore the storyline of what happens if you ignore safety while following your passion.

    It’ll continue the film that was released back in 2011 after the character made his debut in the Shrek sequel. There have been discussions on a sequel since 2014 before the film, once titled Puss in Boots 2: Nine Lives & 40 Thieves was shelved due to restructuring at DreamWorks. The sequel now titled The Last Wish will release on September 23rd with the first trailer expected to drop tomorrow.

    Source: Deadline

  • Latest ‘Moon Knight’ TV Spot Includes a ‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’ Connection and Confirms Timeline Placement

    Latest ‘Moon Knight’ TV Spot Includes a ‘Falcon and Winter Soldier’ Connection and Confirms Timeline Placement

    A new TV spot has dropped for Moon Knight and it includes quite a few interesting things. First off, we finally hear Oscar Isaac’s voice for the personality of Marc Spector, which is quite a bit different from Steven Grant. Not only that, but we’ll also get scenes of him discussing with himself if this trailer is anything to go by. What stands out as well, is that the spot also includes a connection to the wider MCU with a reference to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

    It’s easy to miss but if you look behind Moon Knight after his transformation, you can see the logo for GRC on the bus. This is significant as it’s the logo for the Global Repatriation Council, which formed after half the universe was snapped out of existence by Thanos in an attempt to reunite the world. We are first introduced to it in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier Disney+ series, where it played a major role in showing us the aftermath of the Blip.

    It’s a great small detail to hide in the background, as it also is a great way to get a feeling for when the series takes place. We don’t know if the project will also explore Marc Spector’s time before the events that Thanos unleashed, but the main series is definitely part of the post-Blip timeline within the Marvel Cinematic Universe if this TV spot is anything to go by.

    You can check out the TV spot right here:

    Source: YouTube