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  • Andy Serkis Shares His Excitement to See More of Wakanda in ‘Black Panther’ Sequel

    Andy Serkis Shares His Excitement to See More of Wakanda in ‘Black Panther’ Sequel

    As a veteran of some of the biggest film franchises in the world, Andy Serkis knows a few things about what to anticipate in upcoming projects. From performance capture in Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes, and Star Wars, and now directing his third feature film with Venom: Let There Be Carnage. He’s also had a rather important role in the MCU.

    His character, the arms dealer Ulysses Klaue, appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Panther, and even in the animated What If…? series. Given his fate in the original, it’s unlikely he’ll return for the sequel. Still, while talking about Venom: Let There Be Carnage to Gizmodo, Serkis was asked about an element of the MCU he is most excited about. He used the opportunity to share his love for Wakanda and his thoughts on the Black Panther sequel.

    Wakanda as a world, as a place, as a philosophy is such an extraordinary thing. So I’m really excited to see how it evolves, how it unfolds. Obviously, it’s very, very sad in the wake of [Chadwick Boseman’s] departure, but I’m sure that the story will go some way to memorialize such an extraordinary performance and such an incredible actor and person in that movie.

    Andy Serkis

    It’s not surprising to find that someone with Serkis‘ interest in bringing digital to life has quite an interest in this digital world. Ryan Coogler‘s worldbuilding might be one of the most memorable due to interweaving real-world African history and culture into a fictional city. Coogler famously spent ten months on a 500-page worldbuilding document envisioning a futuristic urban space for Wakanda alongside Black Panther’s production designer Hannah Beachler. It seems, with reports of Namor that a version of Atlantis may appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, that they might be repeating that worldbuilding process. It will be fascinating to see the contrast and similarities between Atlantis and Wakanda, as well as how Wakanda evolves in itself.

    Source: Gizmodo

  • Chloé Zhao Talks ‘Eternals’ Inspiration from Greek and Roman Mythology

    Chloé Zhao Talks ‘Eternals’ Inspiration from Greek and Roman Mythology

    Marvel Studios is back in action with the recent releases of Black Widow and Shang-Chi. Yet, the year is far from over, as we still have two more films heading our way, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Eternals. The latter is an especially important entry, as it’ll expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a very unique way. We’ll explore the long history of the earth long before the Avengers joined in their fight against Loki.

    In an interview with Empire, director Chloé Zhao discusses the inspirations behind the upcoming film and how she loves “the idea of continuing to challenge the straight-forward morality we’re used to in the superhero genre.” It’s a great approach as we’ve seen it in the past as Shang-Chi made us take a different perspective on Wenwu’s motivations. She also highlighted that the story she’s woven is

    […] akin to stories of Greek and Roman gods, who live very human lives with human traits, rivalries, jealousies and frailties.

    Chloé Zhao

    The first trailers offered a glimpse into that very story and we can see these god-like beings trying to pretend they are “normal.” Kumail Nanjiani‘s Kingo is living amongst humans as a Bollywood star. His obsession with attention pushed him to live on Earth as a human but enjoying the riches and fame that come with the job. Speaking of, Empire also provided a brand new image of the Eternal member, which you can check out here:

    Image

    Source: Empire

  • James McAvoy Preps Fans for a “Complete Reimagining” of the X-Men by Marvel Studios

    James McAvoy Preps Fans for a “Complete Reimagining” of the X-Men by Marvel Studios

    Since Disney acquired the rights to mutants and related characters in early 2019, fans have been abuzz about when and how they’d make their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fox made 13 characters with the films over 20 years with New Mutants wrapping up their efforts in 2020. Now it’s Kevin Feige’s turn to bring the characters to the big screen. Despite initially teasing them at SDCC ’19, very little has come to light about their plans and while rumors continue to swirl that we’ll see some holdovers from the Fox films make an appearance at some point, James McAvoy, who played Charles Xavier during the 2010 era film, isn’t quite so sure that’s what Marvel Studios has in mind, as he explained in an interview with ComicBook.com.

    They’re clever people. They’re so good at putting their stuff together. They’ll figure out where to do it, but that might not involve people who’ve done it before. It might be a complete reimagining. And as a fan, I’m down for that as well and I’d be excited to see what happens next. If what happens next involves us, then that could be cool, but I’m not sure what way they’re going to go with it, basically. But as a fan, I’m excited to see whatever way they go.

    As the Comic Book points out, Hugh Jackman seems to have made peace with his time as Wolverine and put it behind him. A recent round of rumors have Professor X making an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. If true, could it be McAvoy reprising the role, would he be interested in doing so or, like Jackman, is he ready to move on?

    I’m all about doing good stuff, and when I got asked to play Charles the first time, it was good stuff. It was good writing, and I was excited. If people offer me good writing, I’m always going to be excited, but I do feel like I’ve had a good ending with Charles and I got to explore some really good stuff, particularly in the first two movies that I did for him as a character. So if my time is done, I’m happy with the time that I spent and the time that I was given and if good writing comes in and people want to do stuff with me, I’ll always be open to that, but it’s got to be good.

    That certainly sounds like someone who is in no hurry to return to the role of Professor X. If McAvoy is out and Patrick Stewart, who in early 2020 implied he had met with Feige and turned down the opportunity to play Charles again, can be taken at his word, it seems an all-new, all-different actor would have to portray Charles in the Strange sequel, inline with McAvoy’s comments about the MCU’s mutants being a complete reimagining. Of course, it’s possible that one or both of McAvoy and Stewart aren’t being entirely truthful and we could see one of their domes in a hover chair next March.

    Sources: Comicbook.com, Digital Spy

  • Netflix’s ‘One Piece’s Production Gearing Up in South Africa

    Netflix’s ‘One Piece’s Production Gearing Up in South Africa

    After a long wait, it looks like the upcoming One Piece live-action adaptation is slowly nearing a production start. We’re still waiting for any news regarding its take on the iconic manga from 1997. There are some concerns that the cartoony world created by Eiichiro Oda might not work in live-action. Netflix has recently promoted its Cowboy Bebop series by recreating the iconic opening, which does look quite fateful. So, there’s some hope for this project, especially with the original creator supervising it.

    Still, we know very little about the series. We were recently able to confirm that Marc Jobst would direct the pilot episode. It is now working under the production name “Project Panda.” It was a surprising change, as it initially was known as “Project Roger.” A recent Instagram story by showrunner Steven Madea‘s assistant Steven Cho revealed that he received some items in South Africa for the production. What sticks out is that the mailing includes the name “Afrika Project Panda Pty Ltd.” that we reported recently. It also includes the filming location at Cape Town Film Studios, where Raised by Wolves, Mad Max: Fury Road, and many more come from.

    It looks like whatever was delivered is required for the Studio 1. As the team is slowly moving its production to South Africa, it’s safe to assume that they are gearing up for production. It, hopefully, is also a sign we might get some casting news shortly. So far, we’ve only heard rumors that Ludi Lin is potentially up for the role of Zoro. Yet, we haven’t heard anything about the other Straw Hat pirates outside of Steven Maeda and his team staying true to their descriptions by Oda. The adaptation of East Blue will offer some iconic and easily recognizable characters from the franchise’s earliest outing. Here’s hoping we get a look at our favorite pirate crew and the Merry.

    Source: Instagram, IMDb

  • ‘007’ Producers Won’t Look for a New James Bond Before 2022

    ‘007’ Producers Won’t Look for a New James Bond Before 2022

    No Time To Die has been faced with quite a delay due to the pandemic. The next entry of Daniel Craig‘s tenure as the secret agent James Bond will end his time with the franchise. Of course, speculation has already started that they may already be seeking the next person to take up the mantle and face the world’s biggest threats. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, producer Barbara Broccoli confirmed that they haven’t actively looked yet and won’t until 2022. She stated that:

    We want Daniel to have his time of celebration. Next year we’ll start thinking about the future.

    As fellow producer Michael G. Wilson pointed out, the next actor to take on the mantle will have to fill some pretty “big shoes.” They also reminisced about tackling Bond’s more emotional life through Craig‘s performance and adding some more complexity to the character through this new iteration. It seems that whoever takes on the mantle will continue to build upon that aspect of the franchise and character.

    007 or James Bond franchise started back in 1953 through the writing of Ian Fleming. It wasn’t until 1962 that the first film by Eon Productions would release titled Dr. No. Wilson and Broccoli‘s era with the franchise started back in 1995 with Pierce Brosnan‘s GoldenEye. The franchise has quite the history and No Time to Die will also mix up the formula by having Lashana Lynch taking over the 007 code number in Bond’s absence. It opens up the possibility of the franchise expanding its search for the next person to hold the title.

    Source: BBC Radio 4 via Deadline

  • First Official Look at HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Joel and Ellie

    First Official Look at HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Joel and Ellie

    It only took 18 long months, but we finally have an official look at HBO’s live-action adaptation of The Last of Us. While September 26th may have been a normal Sunday for many, it marked the eighth annual celebration of “The Last of Us Day” for fans around the globe. Formerly known as “Outbreak Day,” the date of the observance is placed in late September as a reference to the moment the antagonistic infection reached critical mass in the game’s narrative. They used the day to also tease their biggest project yet.

    The anniversary is typically accompanied by announcements and merchandising reveals from the game’s developers, Naughty Dog, and this year did not disappoint. Showrunner Neil Druckmann and a variety of others involved in the upcoming live-action series surprised the fandom with the following image:

    https://twitter.com/neil_druckmann/status/1442292909798166528?s=21

    The picture shows Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, the two iconic protagonists of The Last of Us. While it doesn’t give away much in the form of information on the series, the image does show just how closely HBO’s show will match the video game’s aesthetic. At first glance, it almost appears to be an actual digital screenshot. Although interestingly enough, the imagery of a wrecked plane doesn’t seem to be taken from something that occurred in the 2013 PlayStation Exclusive. It’s possible we’ve just received our first look at one of the new story moments hinted at by Druckmann after the show’s announcement. It looks like they might mix up the story once it releases some time in 2022.

    Source: Twitter, IGN

  • Hall of Murphy: Episode 4 – ‘Titans’ Episode 305 – 308

    Hall of Murphy: Episode 4 – ‘Titans’ Episode 305 – 308

    After a short diversion with Batman: The Long Halloween, the duo takes on the next set of episodes of HBO Max’s Titans. Was the show able to turn it around, or are John and Joe still struggling with the current season?

  • RUMOR: PlayStation 5 Exclusive Multiplayer Game Based Off of Marvel in Development

    RUMOR: PlayStation 5 Exclusive Multiplayer Game Based Off of Marvel in Development

    Marvel Games has been busy expanding with recent announcements for Insomniac’s Spider-Man sequel and even a brand new Wolverine game. 2K has been busy working on a tactical RPG titled Midnight Suns and Square-Enix continues development on Marvel’s Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy‘s upcoming release. It looks like they might have even more in store, as a new rumor is hinting at a Marvel-based multiplayer game being in some form of development.

    The news comes from the latest episode of XboxEra Podcast, where co-host Nick Baker teased a potential multiplayer game based on Marvel. The only thing he was able to tease was that it’s going to be a console exclusive release for the PlayStation 5. Of course, due to Insomniac’s history, theories are pointing to them developing the project but Sony has a long list of subsidiaries that could tackle such a project. The statement of a “multiplayer” game is also quite broad as it includes a variety of genres.

    Still, it’s great to see Marvel Games expanding their ventures to utilize the different corners of the diverse brand. They’ve had quite a lot of experience with fighting games throughout the ages, and Marvel’s Avengers also offers players the chance to play their favorite heroes with friends. The X-Men brand does seem like the perfect fit for a multiplayer experience given its gaming history. If the rumor pans out, it’ll be interesting to see what else Marvel Games has in store for players in the coming years.

    Source: YouTube via ComicBook

  • ‘What If…?’ Funko Leak May Hint at Ultron’s New Name

    ‘What If…?’ Funko Leak May Hint at Ultron’s New Name

    At the end of the latest What If…? episode, the multiverse’s next challenge has finally shown its fangs. Ultron, in the body of Vision, appeared before Thor and the Watcher. Even the almighty being has no idea where and why this version of the sentient AI arrived. His design also raised some questions, such as if he is still Ultron or does he go by the name he gave his Vibranium-based body. A potential Funko Pop leak may have given us a clearer picture of what the Infinity Stone-wearing robot will be going by the Supreme Leader.

    The leak comes from the Instagram account mariobros612, which has given reliable information in the past, such as the Doctor Strange sequel Funko leak back in July. It seems that the Ultron-inspired Funko will only be available at New York Comic-Con. Sadly, we don’t get an official look at it yet, as he may have his visor up or down, but Funko hasn’t been disappointed with their latest additions.

    We got our first glimpse at the character back in April and he’s been featured on the What If…? poster for some time, but we were only given glimpses. The name Supreme Leader would match his Tony Stark-inspired ego, especially after gaining all the Infinity Stones. The “Supreme” part of the name was first noticed back in June, but most believed that it was a hint at a version of Captain America that joined HYDRA. It’s fun to see how some early leaks come to fruition later down the line.

    Source: Instagram, Full Circle

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Takes Domestic Box Office’s Top Spot for a 4th Weekend in a Row

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Takes Domestic Box Office’s Top Spot for a 4th Weekend in a Row

    Shang-Chi has been surprising many throughout its box office run. Not only did it surpass its earliest expectations by a mile, but it also continued to perform far beyond what people expected. It’s a great statement for the return of cinema movie-going and a showcase for Asian-American-led projects. Only a few days ago, the film became the highest-grossing domestic earner passing Black Widow‘s $196M. Predictions already had it at passing the other Marvel Studios giant and adding an additional $10M over the weekend. They were on the money, as it has now added another $13.2M over the weekend taking the top spot.

    As such, Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings is only one of three Marvel Studios films to take the top spot four weeks in a row. It’s now joining the exclusive club alongside Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy. The film currently stands at $196.5M domestically in 24 days. Internationally, it has garnered §360M without opening in China. In a way, Venom: Let There Be Carnage’s delay helped the film get an additional weekend. Newcomer Dear Evan Hansen opened to only around $7.5M.

    October is going to be tough competition with the Venom sequel, No Time to Die, Halloween Kills, and Dune. Predictions would put it at around $225 until 235M, which is ahead of other Marvel films like Ant-Man and the Wasp, Thor: The Dark World, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Its higher point could compete with Doctor Strange or Logan. Eternals might benefit from all the upcoming releases and the hype for Spider-Man: No Way Home could become the final turning point for the box office.

    Source: Twitter, Twitter (BO), Forbes, Variety