Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Connecting Imaginary Dots

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Glow’ Actress Shakira Barrera and ‘Ironheart’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Glow’ Actress Shakira Barrera and ‘Ironheart’

    As the calendar rolls over into Summer, production on another round of Marvel Studios projects will shortly be underway. Among those projects is the Disney Plus streaming series Ironheart, which was first announced by Marvel Studios One-Above-All, Kevin Feige, during 2020’s Disney Investor Day presentation. Dominique Thorne will lead the project as Riri Williams, a genius inventor who will make her MCU debut this November in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

    Aside from Thorne, however, little news about the cast of Ironheart has made its way outside of Marvel Studios despite production set to kick off in June. In the Heights star Anthony Ramos has joined the series in an unannounced role, as have Harper Anthony and Lyric Ross. Rumors have circulated that Ramos might by portraying the villain of the project, Parker Robbins, better known in the comics as the Hood, and it’s known that Marvel Studios was looking to cast the son or daughter of Jeff Bridges‘ Obidiah Stane, the villain of 2008’s Iron Man. But as is almost always the case, Marvel Studios has stayed mum on any official announcements about the cast.

    And while fans debate if Ramos is the Hood and wonder who will be cast as “Ezekiel Stane” (while Obidiah had a son in the comics, the studio is open to casting a woman in the comedic role), there is certainty around the creatives behind the project. Marvel Studios brought in Sam Bailey and Angela Barnes to helm the project as co-directors, with Chinaka Hodge, Sev Ohanian, Zoie Nagelhout and Zinzi Coogler working as the team of executive producers. As it turns out, one actress who recently revealed she is prepping for a secret role happens to follow nearly the entire creative team on Instagram.

    GLOW and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress Shakira Barrera has recently connected with Bailey, Barnes, Hodge, Nagelhout and Ohanian (we were unable to find Zinzi Coogler on IG) and, just 6 days ago, posted the video seen below to her IG story.

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd67M2NpVX5/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

    In the video, she thanks her fitness coach for helping her prepare for an “amazing role” that the actress can’t share, but promises will be “worth it.” Given the mounting evidence, it’s reasonable to suggest that Barrera could have joined Ironheart in yet another unannounced role. And while it might not be announced, the comics might provide a reasonable suggestion as to whom she might be playing, should we begin by entertaining that Ramos is playing Parker Robbins.

    Part of what makes Robbins such a fascinating and despicable villain in the comics is that his descent into villainy and dark magic cost him his family: his wife, Sara, and their daughter, Breanne. Robbins was always a poor husband, cheating on Sara whenever he could, but when he began trifling with magic, Robbins began to see Dormammu in everyone, including his daughter. After finding Parker shaking their daughter, Sara left Parker behind.

    Should Ramos be playing Robbins, casting Sara alongside him would go a long way for making fans of the MCU develop the same dislike for this version as they have for the character from the comics. The logistics work out, with Barrera currently prepping for a secret role (and no roles are more secretive than Marvel’s) and she and Ramos are very close in age (he’s 30 and she’s 32).

    Should you take this one to the bank? Absolutely not. While it seems pretty safe to conclude that Barrera has been cast in Ironheart, who she’s playing can only be taken as purely speculative, given that it’s based on a connections to a character who is only rumored to appear in the series in the first place. So while her casting might be confirmed sooner rather than later, it might be a year or so before we find out who she’s portraying in the series. As always, we’ll check back in then.

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Reservation Dogs’ Devery Jacobs May Have Joined Disney+ Series ‘Echo’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Reservation Dogs’ Devery Jacobs May Have Joined Disney+ Series ‘Echo’

    We just ran the news that Alaqua Cox has shared that Echo’s production is seemingly going to start tomorrow. She announced it via an Instagram story featuring flowers. What stands out though is that she got the flowers from fellow actress Devery Jacobs, who many might remember for her role in FX’s Reservation Dogs. Well, if we take a closer look at the letter that she sent, it would hint that the actress may also have joined Echo in an unknown role. So, let’s connect the dots here.

    In her letter, she states that “I wish I could be there to kick it off.” That alone wouldn’t really give it away, as she simply could be sharing that she wished she could join her on the series to support her, but also hints that she would join just not that early in production. But, what does definitely hint at her potentially having a role in the series is the addition of “see you soon” which highlights that she may join production at a later date.

    Jacobs would also match a casting of a character known as Julie. Echo was looking to cast a Native American actress between the age of 27 to 33 in the role, who is the responsible type with a strong will of her own. A casting that would match the actress perfectly, as it’s not too dissimilar to her character Elora Danan Postoak from Reservation Dogs.

    What also helps is that director Sydney Freeland is involved with the series, something she confirmed back in March. It’s not uncommon that directors would bring along talent that they are interested in working with again. There’s no official confirmation so far, but Devery Jacobs‘ letter would certainly hint at her potentially having some kind of role in the series. Perhaps we’ll get an official casting announcement soon, as production starts tomorrow or before she joins the project at a later date.

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Daredevil vs. Stilt-Man in the MCU

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Daredevil vs. Stilt-Man in the MCU

    It’s been a little over a year since we first reported that Charlie Cox was making his big MCU debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home, an appearance that has garnered praise and excitement. The future of Daredevil in the MCU is bright with many rumored appearances in the pipeline. In addition to the long-rumored She-Hulk appearance of Matt Murdock, the subreddit /r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers now alleges that the Man Without Fear is slated to appear in Armor Wars as well.

    Daredevil’s inclusion in such a sci-fi industrial spectacle may seem unusual at first but one look at the show’s source material, the titular Armor Wars by David Michelinie and Bob Layton, gives an idea of how he could possibly tie in.

    For the uninitiated, Armor Wars is basically about a bunch of supervillains getting their hands on coveted Stark technology. Characters like Titanium Man and the Crimson Dynamo are some of the many tech-based baddies to get a Stark upgrade in the story. One particular tech-based that appears early in the story is Stilt-Man, infamous for being… a man with stilts. And it so happens to be that Stilt-Man is a classic Daredevil villain.

    Interestingly enough, MODOK showrunner Jordan Blum said a while back that they originally had plans to bring Stilt-Man into the show but were prohibited for reasons uncertain. Blum’s quote coincided with Kevin Smith‘s own comments about how they weren’t allowed to use Werewolf by Night in the Howard the Duck show they were working on. As evidenced by the MCU’s history, when things like this happen, it’s usually because Marvel Studios has dibs on those characters. Months later, We now know that Marvel Studios is, in fact, already working on a Werewolf by Night D+ Halloween special, adding credence to Blum’s comments. ‘

    Could a fun Stilt-Man appearance in the MCU be on the books? Is Kevin Feige revving up to give us a Daredevil vs. Stilt-Man showdown, a match-up harkening back to the 8th issue of Daredevil from 1965? Should the rumor be true, it certainly would be a nice way to bring Daredevil into the fold while staying true to the tech-based premise of Armor Wars.

    It does seem like Marvel Studios is keen on bringing more of the Silver Age elements of the character into the fold, such as the rumored classic yellow costume for She-Hulk. Bringing in Stilt-Man would be another great Silver Age aspect that would deepen the tapestry of the live-action Daredevil.

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Reservation Dogs’ Sydney Freeland Might be a Director on ‘Echo’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Reservation Dogs’ Sydney Freeland Might be a Director on ‘Echo’

    Hollywood newcomer Alaqua Cox has made a big impression with her work on the latest Disney+ streaming series, Hawkeye. Cox, a Deaf, Native American amputee, impressed Marvel Studios execs so much during filming that they quickly moved to create a spinoff series centered on the character. Her character, Maya Lopez, has ties to both Wilson Fisk and Matt Murdock, two characters that are expected to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Sacred Timeline next week. She also has ties to Moon Knight, and the Avengers and could easily become a mainstay in the next 5-10 years of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe.

    The spinoff series, Echo, is expected to film this coming Spring and already has an impressive writers’ room, led by Better Call Saul scribe Marion Dayre. That room is replete with both Deaf and Native American writers. The incredible talent includes Rebecca Roanhorse, Bobby Wilson, Shoshannah Stern, and Josh Feldman. While Dayre was kind enough to share with us the talents who would be helping her craft Echo’s journey in the MCU, what she didn’t share was who might be behind the camera. As all of you reading this certainly know, when we connect the imaginary dots, we are simply speculating, but at this point in time, it seems safe to speculate that we may have identified one of the directors of the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Echo.

    At this point, there is enough evidence to make a reasonable claim that Sydney Freeland will direct one or even all of the episodes of Echo. As you can see, Freeland is following Cox, Dayre, Roanhorse, and Bobby Wilson, who like the others above was named by Dayre as a writer. An abundance of data points like this cannot be considered confirmation, but it can absolutely fuel the speculation that she could be working on the project.

    And she is EXACTLY the type of talent Marvel Studios should be trying to land for a project of this magnitude. Freeland, a transgender Navajo/Scotch, won two awards at the 2014 American Indian Film Festival for Drunktown’s Finest, recently directed two episodes of Taika Waititi’s FX series, Reservation Dogs, which follows a group of indigenous teens for which Wilson also worked. She has also directed episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, P-Valley, Fear the Walking Dead, and Rutherford Falls. Coincidentally, Zahn McClarnon, who memorably plays Maya’s dad, Willie Lopez, in Hawkeye also starred in Reservation Dogs.

    Freeland is uniquely poised to helm one or all episodes of Echo. She is a director whose career trajectory is ascending and fulfills Marvel Studios’ continued efforts to ensure diverse perspectives are behind their projects. Only in the very recent past has Echo had her own comic series, so it’s likely that her Marvel Studios’ series would be fairly original, giving Freeland free reign to create both a unique backstory for the character and the new, original characters that will surround her. We’ll have to wait to see how her character’s arc on Hawkeye concludes, but Cox’s Echo is likely being set up to play a big part in the future of the MCU.

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Nathan Hurd May Appear in ‘She-Hulk’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Nathan Hurd May Appear in ‘She-Hulk’

    We’ve been anxiously keeping an eye on Disney+ Day, as it’ll offer our first look into the future of Marvel Studios’ venture into streaming beyond Hawkeye. Ms. Marvel faced quite a few delays and we’re still waiting for an announcement regarding the other announced series. Among them is She-Hulk, a series that might have a much larger role moving forward in the MCU. Casting-wise, the last we heard was Arrow‘s Josh Segarra joining the series back in July. Luckily, a new Instagram post and IMDb might help us connect one additional character.

    We’ve heard for some time that She-Hulk would mainly act as a legal comedy. It makes sense given her perchance of breaking the fourth wall in the comics, which was also confirmed for the series. So, the addition of comedians to add their flair seems like the logical next step. So, when comedian Nathan Hurd posted an Instagram with the caption “You wouldn’t like me if I’m angry” with green lighting it seems like a fun reference to the Hulk.

    At first glance, it seems like the comedian/actor was having fun. Yet, there’s a curious listing on IMDb that might add more to this post. If you look at the stunt casting for She-Hulk, you’ll notice that the stunt actor A.J. Gagliardi is listed as Nathan Hurd‘s stunt double.

    As such, we can assume that Hurd has a role in the upcoming series and he’s teasing it on his Instagram. He’s also not unfamiliar with acting in a Marvel series, as he also had a role as the Monk in Legion. The interesting aspect is that he has a stunt double to begin with, which might be a hint he’ll appear in an action sequence of some kind. Perhaps he is part of the rumored Wrecking Crew. We’ll see if we might get a glimpse at him in the Disney+ series first trailer.

    Source: Twitter, IMDb, IMDb (Hurd)

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Oakhaven, Agatha, Nicholas Scratch and New Salem

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Oakhaven, Agatha, Nicholas Scratch and New Salem

    Last month, paperwork was filed by Disney to create a new limited liability production entity titled “Oakhaven Productions LLC.” At the time of discovery, we at Murphy’s Multiverse were prettyy stumped about what potential production this might be but today’s announcement that Marvel Studios is developing an Agatha Harnkess-centric series around star Kathryn Hahn may not only have solved that problem, but also give some clues as to what the series might end up being about.

    At the time of discovery, our Google searches for Oakhaven produced little with any relevance to Marvel Studios, but did turn up what we thought was a funny coincidence: a Scooby-Doo reference. In 1998’s Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost, Scooby and the gang end up in the fictional town of Oakhaven, Massachusetts where all sorts of witch-related madness ensues. Oakhaven essentially serves as an analogue for Salem as Puritan-founded city where witches are persecuted. The dots aren’t too hard to connect here as Agatha Harnkness is not only a witch but one who, in the comics, was persecuted by Puritans in Salem before moving West and settling in the hidden Colorado town of New Salem.

    While the plot of the new Disney Plus series hasn’t been revealed at this point, we know that Agatha was persecuted by her own coven of witches in Salem in 1693. We don’t catch up with her again until 2023 (or so), meaning we have about 330 years of potential stories to be told about where Agatha has been since stripping the power from her coven in 1693 and showing up in Westview in 2023. We can glean from WandaVision that she’s been set up in New Jersey for a while, but it’s possible her own series could shed some light on other places she’s been, potentially opening up the door for New Salem, and its interesting residents, to make their way into the MCU.

    Foremost among those interesting residents is Agatha’s comic book son, Nicholas Scratch. Scratch was referenced as somewhat of an Easter egg in WandaVision, with Harnkness’ pet bunny sharing the name, but in the comics he was a powerful warlock in his own right who had less than a loving relationship with his mother. Marvel Studios has proven to love their family dramas and a mother-son drama might just be next on the list! With 330 years of time to fill, writer Jac Schaeffer could have a ton of fun introducing New Salem, Nicholas Scratch and some of its other colorful inhabitants while expanding on Agatha’s story and the mystical side of the MCU.

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Filming in Iceland

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Filming in Iceland

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently busy filming since late July as it’ll close out the trilogy that started back in 2015. Director Peyton Reed has teased some of its production, such as its use of The Mandalorian’s famous Volume, where he also worked on the Disney+ series the second season. Back in February, we even heard that they are filming something in Turkey, as revealed by its Tourism minister at the time. After some digging, some crumbs also seem to be hinting that production is heading to Iceland.

    The company TrueNorth has a list of films and TV series they work with on their website. It offers production services to help overseas studios film in the Nordics, which includes Norway, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Finland, and Iceland. TrueNorth has quite the filmography, as they’ve worked with The Mandalorian, Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow, Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga, and many more in the past. In one of their latest updates, it seems that Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s third entry is also working with the company. They are listed after Mission: Impossible 7, which recently wrapped up production. Of course, it doesn’t pinpoint where exactly they were filming, but IMDb might have just the answer we need if we take a closer look at their Location Management.

    The listing does include a supervising location manager for Iceland by the name of Thor Kjartansson. Taking a look at his page, he’s no stranger to working with Marvel Studios, as he also had the same role in Iceland for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Avengers: Endgame, and Captain America: Civil War. So, the updates may hint they are or already have filmed in Iceland. There’s a chance that production was done by the film’s second unit but either way the Icelandic landscape offers some beautiful backdrops for the upcoming threequel.

    Source: TrueNorth, Collider, IMDb, IMDb (Location Manager)

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Marvel Studios Brings in Native American Writers for ‘ECHO’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Marvel Studios Brings in Native American Writers for ‘ECHO’

    Some social media clues suggest that Marvel Studios has hired several Native American screenwriters for its Echo writers room. Since it was reported back in March that “a writers’ room [had] recently [been] assembled” for the Hawkeye spin-off on Disney Plus, I’ve been curious about who Head Writers Etan and Emily Cohen might have recruited. Now it seems there might be some clues that the writers’ room could include Native American representation matching Emily Cohen, lead actress Alaqua Cox and her character Echo’s backgrounds. 

    In April, I noticed that Bobby Wilson, a writer on two series with significant Native American cast and crew representation in Rutherford Falls and Reservation Dogs, was followed by Alaqua Cox and Emily Cohen on Instagram. Now it appears Bobby has Marvel Studios written in his Instagram profile among his credits, suggesting he may well be writing on Echo. 

    Another slightly more tenuous connection might be to Rebecca Roanhorse, speculative fiction author and comic writer of Echo in Marvel Comics’ Voices: Indigenous Voices #1 and Phoenix Song: Echo. She currently has “TV writer (FX, Disney+)” written in her Twitter bio and follows Bobby Wilson and Marion Dayre, who is seemingly another member of the Echo writers’ room. This could indicate Rebecca is also working on Echo.  

    It’s exciting to see that the Echo writers’ room could possibly include Native American representation matching characters, cast and crew. With 10 still-unannounced projects not reported on, in development, it will be intriguing to see what, if any details, are announced for Echo and other projects at Disney+ Day on November 12th. 

    Alaqua Cox will make her debut as Echo in Hawkeye, which is set to premiere in November on Disney+.

    Sources: Variety, Instagram, Twitter

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: The Contessa is Making More Moves in ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: The Contessa is Making More Moves in ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’

    Atlanta has served as one of the industry’s central filming hubs for some time. The area has several studios and a tax friendly approach to filming, making it a great place for Hollywood studios to get work done. For the past several years, Marvel Studio has used it as much as anyone, filming maybe a dozen or so projects in the area, including a major project now: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The sequel is set to introduce Namor, Riri Williams and a handful of other characters to the MCU but it also seems like it’ll mark another appearance for Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

    Piecing together a couple of recent Instagram photos might give enough evidence to prove that JLD is now in Atlanta on the set of the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster.

    The first photo comes from JLD who tags her friend and (maybe) personal make-up artist, Karen Kawahara, who, as it turns out is in Atlanta. As it turns out, the set Kawahara included in her photograph is one that matches the description recently given to me of one being used for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Connecting imaginary dots here, it seems VERY likely that we will see JLD reprise her role as Val in this film.

    Val is already known to be working with John Walker and Yelena Belova, Captain America and Black Widow replacements respectively. Could she be trying to line up an Iron Man replacement here in Riri? Could she be recruiting or working with someone in Wakanda? Certainly Namor wouldn’t be interested in anything the human world has to offer. Kevin Feige recently indicated we’d see Val again soon and learn more about her past. Maybe Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is that place!