Murphy's Multiverse

Blog

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘MOON KNIGHT’ Finds Its Bushman

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘MOON KNIGHT’ Finds Its Bushman

    CONNECTING IMAGINARY DOTS ARE PIECES WE WRITE HERE THAT ALLOW US TO BE WHAT WE ALL TRULY ARE: FANS. THESE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SCOOPS, EXCLUSIVES OR FACTS; JUST SPECULATION ABOUT THE THINGS FOR WHICH WE ALL SHARE A GREAT PASSION.

    Marvel Studios Moon Knight has filmed in near complete secrecy in Budapest, Hungary. Other than a few fans snagging pictures with stars Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, vert little has made its way to fans. We know May Calamawy will play a key role in the series, but like Hawke, her role is unknown at the moment, and it seems French actor Gaspar Ulliel has snagged a supporting role as Moon Knight foe Midnight Man. Somehow, after months of filming, that’s all we know; however, if we connect some dots found on Instagram, we might be able to add one more to the cast of the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series.

    A look at French actor Loic Mabanza’s IG page might just reveal that the actor has joined the cast of Moon Knight. A couple of recent posts indicate that Mabanza spent several weeks in Budapest, where the series has been filming. Additionally, Mabanza and Calamawy mutually follow one another on the social media app, which could indicate the two have spent some time together on set.

    There are certainly plenty of other reasons the 31-year old Mabanza could be in Budapest and its possible that he and Calamawy met somewhere else (a quick check of IMDB does not list them as having worked together in the past); however, connecting the dots as done above leads to an interesting bit of speculation: Mabanza may have joined the cast of Moon Knight as Marc Spector’s archenemy, Raul Bushman.

    Bushman was a mercenary who was working with Spector to protect an archaeological dig in Sudan. The job went sideways when Bushman killed the archaeologist and then shot Spector. As Spector lay dying, he was saved by the Egyptian god Khonshu and became Moon Knight. While Hawke is playing the series’ lead villain, Bushman plays a key role not only in Spector’s origin as the Fist of Khonshu but also throughout his career. Mabanza has the size and physique to pull off the physically intimidating Bushman and as a young, international performer, also fits the profile of actors that Disney has been casting for the show. Of course it’s entirely possible that Mabanza isn’t playing Bushman or even that he’s not part of the series, but if we connect the imaginary dots, we might have stumbled onto a key casting for the upcoming series.

    Marvel Studios Moon Knight is expected to stream on Disney Plus early in 2022.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘MOON KNIGHT’ Foe Midnight Man to Appear in the Disney Plus Streaming Series

    ‘MOON KNIGHT’ Foe Midnight Man to Appear in the Disney Plus Streaming Series

    With so little being known about Marvel Studios upcoming Disney Plus streaming series Moon Knight, any tidbit, no matter how small, seems exciting. This one certainly falls into the small tidbit category: French actor Gaspard Ulliel’s agency page, Hamilton Hodel, has updated a listing showing that Ulliel will be bringing the little known character Midnight Man to the MCU.

    Anton Mogart, aka Midnight Man, first appeared in 1981’s Moon Knight #3 and made just a handful of appearances over the years. An art and jewel thief who liked to do his dirty work right at midnight (hence the clever moniker), Mogart had a run in with Moon Knight that resulted in his face being partially melted by some nasty NYC sewage. Mogart swore vengeance against Moon Knight but never accomplished much other than getting himself killed. His son, Jeff Wilde, partnered with Moon Knight for a time under the name Midnight. He eventually flipped out and got himself killed by Moon Knight.

    Moon Knight is currently filming overseas and is expected to stream on Disney Plus in early 2022.

  • Latest ‘The Flash’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Ben Affleck’s Batman

    Latest ‘The Flash’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Ben Affleck’s Batman

    The Flash has had quite a few set photos leak online, and it seems that isn’t stopping anytime soon. We got our first look at Sasha Calle‘s Supergirl through a set photo and even a test of Michael Keaton. Well, the latest offers our first look at Ben Affleck returning as the iconic Gotham Knight.

    His return got announced eleven months ago, and the latest photos from the film’s set offer a look at his new suit and bat-themed motorcycle. It’s the first time we see one of the teased Caped Crusaders in his iconic cowl. The images got shared by Twitter user @FlashFilmNews.

     

     

    The modern design of the suit and similarities to previous appearances gives away that it is Affleck‘s version of the character. As we don’t see him directly on set, it could potentially end up being another Batman we haven’t heard about yet. We also get a video of him on the new motorcycle driving through the streets. It got a shared tweet by Twitter user @BingeWatchThis_.

     

     

    We still don’t quite know how Affleck‘s version of the character will fit into the film’s story. It would be exciting to see him and Michael Keaton interact. The shooting location seems to be the same, which could imply they’ll eventually meet. Barry’s journey through the multiverse might give us an entire Batman army to face whatever evil he unleashed by his actions. We’ll see if we get a picture of Affleck without his mask on set as more set photos find their way online.

    Source: Twitter (Photos), Twitter (Action)

  • Peyton Reed Shares First BTS Photo as ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Starts Production

    Peyton Reed Shares First BTS Photo as ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Starts Production

    It looks like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has officially entered production. Director Peyton Reed shared the first image from the principal photography on Twitter, which features Cassie Lang’s iconic ugly rabbit from the first film. The director teased their use of The Mandalorian‘s Volume around two months ago, as they prepared for production. Its official start isn’t too far off from the June 2021 start predicted around a year ago. Even Evangeline Lilly hinted at the summer production start in her Instagram post from a few months ago.

    The brief look of Cassie’s rabbit is a curious detail, as it may hint at the story revolving around her becoming Stature. The Biohazard sign in the background doesn’t tease an easy journey ahead. It’s still uncertain why they recast Lang’s daughter, as Kathryn Newton will take over the role of Avengers. Endgame‘s Emma Fuhrmann.

     

    There’s a good chance that Cassie may start her journey to becoming the Young Avengers’ member Stature. We’ve seen countless members appear throughout the last few projects. Plus, the inclusion of Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror also hints at their connection. We still don’t know how exactly the stories will connect. Perhaps the change in casting is a catalyst for the story, as Lang tries to find out what happened to his daughter that he reunited with during the events of Endgame.

    It leads them on an adventure through the Quantum Realm and comes face-to-face with Kang. There are still some open questions surrounding Michelle Pfeiffer‘s Janet van Dyne and her time in this realm. So, it might connect to the overarching multiverse plotline that got kicked off by Loki‘s final episode.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Black Widow’ Passes $150M Domestically as M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Old’ Takes Top Spot

    ‘Black Widow’ Passes $150M Domestically as M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Old’ Takes Top Spot

    We’ve entered the third Box Office weekend for Black Widow and it’s not looking good for the domestic Box Office overall’s development. M. Night Shyamalan‘s Old took the top spot with a painful $16.5M. It beat out Snake Eyes, which aimed to revive the G.I. Joe franchise. The Henry Golding-led project garnered $13.3M at the Box Office. Even with a smaller budget of $88M, the overall Box Office of the weekend has been rather subpar. Even last week’s top spot holder, Space Jam: A New Legacy, dropped to the fourth spot by 69%. It proves that pandemic releases are extremely frontloaded.

    Black Widow held unto the third spot of the domestic Box Office. It even managed to break the pandemic record for passing $150M ahead of F9‘s record. The film did hold surprisingly stated in comparison to its second weekend with a 55% drop. It seems very likely it might pass the latter’s overall domestic Box Office, but worldwide suffering from a limited release. Especially F9‘s dominance in the Chinese movie market is making it this summer’s tentpole release. $215M of its total $621M Box Office was purely in China.

     

    F9 Review: Justin Lin Gets Fast & Furious Back on the Right Track | IndieWire

     

    Marvel Studios’ latest entry release in the market remains uncertain. Its Disney+ release has been hurting the film’s potential longevity. But, there have been some similar developments with and without digital releases. The second-week drops have been around 65 to 70% for each film. Space Jam continues the tradition and showcases that repeat viewing is reserved for home. Disney has never released the follow-up numbers for their digital release, but there were hints through third-party analysis that it almost even doubled in its second week.

    The lack of transparency is the issue and in comparison to other MCU films, Black Widow is on par with Phase 1 releases. The true test will end up being Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Its September release without a Disney+ Premier Access option may offer a better look at how strong the hold is for an MCU project without the digital influences. Yet, current developments with the Delta Variant may hint at Plus, the current issue with its Chinese release also opens up many questions regarding Marvel’s dependency on foreign Box Office.

    Source: Variety, Forbes (BW), Forbes (SE), The Numbers, The Numbers (F9)

  • New ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Funko Leak Teases Multiple Strange Variants

    New ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Funko Leak Teases Multiple Strange Variants

    It looks like a new Funko Pop list has found its way online that leaks some rather interesting new additions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It includes a list of characters for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Hawkeye, and Ms. Marvel. There aren’t many surprised in the Disney+ list, but the Strange sequel has the most interesting teases. The list includes the known characters of Doctor Strange, Scarlet Witch, Christine Palmer, Mordo, America Chavez, and Rintrah.

    That is not all, as it also teases different Variants of our titular hero and Wong. The list includes Supreme Strange, Defender Strange, and Defender Wong. The Defender naming could be a new costume, but the inclusion of Supreme Strange, who is to make his debut in the upcoming What If series hints at him facing different Variants across the multiverse. Instagram user mariobros612 shared the leak.

     

     

    The inclusion of the dark version of Doctor Strange is a curious one. In a way, it makes sense he would join the live-action adaptation, as we did see a regular version of the character in the first What If trailer. So, the series and his upcoming film might intersect at some point, which also adds some credence to the live-action inclusion of Haley Atwell’s Captain Carter. It’s only been a few days since she was rumored to appear in the Doctor Strange sequel. So, the inclusion of his What If counterpart adds more credence to this rumor. The film is set to release in March and we might get a trailer before the end of the year that may finally hint at how much of the multiverse Strange will face in the upcoming film.

    Source: Instagram

  • Marvel Studios’ Multiverse is Both a Blessing and a Curse

    Marvel Studios’ Multiverse is Both a Blessing and a Curse

    Loki has unleashed the multiverse. It’s probably what you’ve been reading for the last two weeks since the episode was released. Everyone is excited to finally explore the possibilities of multiple Variants of our favorite heroes existing. It offers some credence to the rumors of Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man getting joined by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. It even opens up all kinds of possibilities for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yet, there is one big problem with this new development. It creates an easy-to-exploit way to solve future issues. Its existence establishes brand new trappings that could hurt future Marvel storytelling through an overreliance. The multiverse could end up as the franchise’s biggest Deus Ex Machina.

     

    Here's What Loki's Multiverse Should Bring Us In The MCU

     

    What do I mean by that? The phrase once referenced ancient plot devices’ in Greek and Roman theatre performances. Yet, it has become the go-to term for unexplainable or random plot points that solve storylines. To give an example, 1954’s The Lord of Flies by William Golding famously had a naval officer appear at the perfect time to shift an ongoing plot point. In the world of comics, Batman’s utility belt serves that function by offering the exact tool he needs to solve his problem. In a way, the multiverse is Marvel Studios’ new storytelling utility belt. They can tell new types of stories yet also fall into the trapping of relying on it to solve any potential problem.

    The newly introduced multiverse opens up many new avenues for the franchise. Yet, it also creates a plethora of potential plot holes and exploits. With hints pointing at iconic characters from other franchises returning, it seems like an easy pass to introduce characters from alternative dimensions to solve problems. Our main hero can’t take on the enemies on his own? Fine, here are others from the multiverse to aid him. It could end up being more convenient than purposeful, which is a challenge for Marvel studios’ future directors to juggle.

     

    What is the TVA from Loki in Marvel comic books? | GamesRadar+

     

    Kevin Feige and his crew have proven some foresight by setting specific rules for how the multiverse works in their franchise. They even tied it into how time traveling, which could prove helpful to avoid one element complicating the other. There’s also the question of how long the multiverse will remain, as it could be a temporary element for the Kang-focused overarching storyline. We know that the end goal lies in the Multiversal War, but the path to that point will be a complicated one.

    There’s a chance that only specific films will deal with this storyline, which includes Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange sequel as well as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Here’s hoping we get a bit more insight into how these storylines will intersect in the franchise’s future. So, only a specific group will have to directly tackle the outcome of Loki while others are more independent. The path ahead won’t be an easy one for Marvel Studios, but it’ll be exciting how they reinvent the franchise through this new direction.

  • New ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Set Video Shows Harrison Ford in Action

    New ‘Indiana Jones 5’ Set Video Shows Harrison Ford in Action

    We’ve been anxiously following the fifth installment in the Indiana Jones franchise. It is the grand return of Harrison Ford in the iconic role. The cast has also been shaping up, as a week ago Antonio Banderas officially joined the production. Set photos even confirmed the appearance of Toby Jones in the film. Still, we’ve only gotten a few glimpses from the set and what we can expect from the upcoming sequel. Now, we got our first look at some action sequences from the upcoming film that features Ford trying to take down some henchmen, which got shared by TikTok user coreomega2.0. Video was privat3ed and reuploaded by @3CFilm.

    The sequence sees him get the upper hand before one of the henchmen isn’t too impressed by the sign. It’s great to see an action sequence that shows the vulnerability of our main protagonist. Jones isn’t the youngest. So, he can’t just punch his way through every scenario as he used to. We see him think on his feet, as he just runs off.

    Funny enough, this does feel very fitting for the Indiana Jones franchise. While he has taken out quite a few bad guys with his fists, he does end up using his head to get out of various situations. We might even get a tribute to the classic scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, where he takes the logical route of just pulling out his gun instead of going through a long sword fight. Ford‘s age might restrict their approach to action sequences, which might inspire some creative approaches throughout the film’s run.

    Source: TikTok via Twitter

  • ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Adds ‘Jurassic Park’s Cinematographer Dean Cundey

    ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ Adds ‘Jurassic Park’s Cinematographer Dean Cundey

    Academy Award nominee Dean Cundey has been revealed to be The Book of Boba Fett‘s cinematographer. He has collaborated in several projects directed by iconic filmmakers. The list includes Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and John Carpenter. Cundey might be best known for 1988’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit, a Hollywood milestone in terms of combining live-action and animated sequences. This project earned him his only Academy Award nomination, eventually losing out to Peter Biziou‘s work in Mississippi Burning.

    It’s certainly interesting that he is the choice to lead the camera and light crews in a Star Wars project, especially since The Mandalorian (from which The Book of Boba Fett spins-off off) has made a case of using a high number of practical effects that often, later on, have to be combined with CGI elements, something Cundey’s career has been all about.

     

     

    The aforementioned Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Halloween, The Thing, the Back to the Future trilogy, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, Hook, and Jurassic Park are just a few of the iconic projects the cinematographer has worked on. All of them are heavily instilled with the mix of practical and computer-generated effects we’ll likely find in the upcoming Disney+ series. 

    The Book of Boba Fett is due to premiere later this year on Disney+. Temuera Morrison returns as Boba Fett and Ming-Na Wen will reprise her Fennec Shand role, which got introduced in The Mandalorian and later featured in the animated show The Bad Batch. Plot details remain under wraps and here’s hoping we get a trailer soon to give us a glimpse into what direction this series is heading.

    Source: American Cinematographer, IMDb

  • New ‘What If’ Funko Pop for Party Thor Revealed

    New ‘What If’ Funko Pop for Party Thor Revealed

    We’ve covered quite a few of Marvel Studios’ Funko Pop lines. They’ve offered some insight into character designs or even confirmed leaked storylines for the upcoming What If series. We normally get a small line-up of characters ahead of the series premiere with new reveals following shortly after. Yet, the animated series might have the largest line-up ahead of its August premiere.

    It makes sense with each episode focusing on a new Variant from the recently established multiverse. Just the other day we got our first look at an exclusive Black Widow and Collector Funko Pop for Marvel’s Collector Box. It seems they aren’t the only one, as Party Thor’s Funko Pop is heading to Walmart.

     

    The episode will explore a party so large, it threatens the future of the galaxy. We got a glimpse of this version of Thor facing Ultron bots in an earlier trailer, which may hint at them intersecting at some point. We still don’t know exactly if each episode will be unique and then crossover at some point. We did get a full look t his golden armor with some early artwork leaks. It seems like this version of the God of Thunder never learned humility as he became the next ruler of Asgard. Here’s hoping we get another glimpse n the coming weeks of what this party is all about and who the guests might be. If he involves the entire galaxy, we might see quite a few familiar faces join the festivities.

    Source: Twitter