Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: DC Movies

  • ‘Clayface’ Trailer Rumored for Today; “Regenerative Medicine” Teased

    DC Studios has been quietly dropping breadcrumbs for their Clayface movie and now they’re about to introduce the DCU’s first true monster movie. Following a week of viral teasers focused on actor Matt Hagen’s “fading looks,” the first trailer for Clayface is expected to drop later today.

    After launching anInstagram account for the film which serves as a viral marketing tool, a new teaser for Gotham Medical magazine features a headline about “The New Face of Regenerative Medicine.” Reports suggest the first trailer is dropping today.

    The viral campaign has focused on a fictional publication called Gotham Medical, highlighting Dr. Caitlin Bates’ (Naomi Ackie) breakthrough in regenerative medicine. The “tragedy” of the film reportedly stems from Hagen using this untested tech to restore his face after a disfiguring accident, only to have his cellular structure become permanently unstable.

    Clyafacs is shaping up as a movie monster tragedy. The marketing is framing Hagen’s transformation as a failed experimental treatment to save his acting career, rather than a simple accident. Descriptions of footage from the film shown at CinemaCon suggest a film that is part The Fly and part Phantom of the Opera. It’s a grounded, heartbreaking look at a man who can become anyone but can no longer remain himself.

  • First ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Set Photo Reveals Logo, Teases Classic Luthor/Superman Battle

    First ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Set Photo Reveals Logo, Teases Classic Luthor/Superman Battle

    Production has begun on DC Studios Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow, and director James Gunn has wasted no time in teasing the film’s core dynamic and revealing a sneaky look at the film’s logo.

    In a photo shared by Gunn on social media, a chess board sits front and center near a badge that confirms Nicholas Hoult‘s Lex Luthor will still be in Van Kull prison when the film begins. Fans of the comics will likely recall that Luthor is a bit of a chess master and has played the game against both Clark and Jonathan Kent while they visited him in prison.

    While it’s intentionally a little tougher to see, a logo that combines the crest of the House of El with the iconic three-dot Brainiac can be seen on the clapboard at the top of the photo.

    In Man of Tomorrow, Brainiac, played by Lars Eldinger, will pose a threat so great that Superman and Luthor will team up to stop him.

  • A King for the Court? — Charles Dance Joins ‘The Batman-Part II’ in Key Role

    A King for the Court? — Charles Dance Joins ‘The Batman-Part II’ in Key Role

    Matt Reeves is adding some serious gravitas to the Epic Crime Saga. According to a breaking report from Deadline, legendary screen icon Charles Dance (Game of Thrones, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) has officially joined the cast of The Batman – Part II.

    While his specific character is being kept under a shroud of secrecy typical of a Reeves production, the casting of a man known for playing calculating, high-society power players has sent the rumor mill into overdrive.

    Deadline mentioms that Dance is believed to be playing Charles Dent, father of Harvey; however, if the sequel is indeed introducing the Court of Owls, Dance is the quintessential choice to play a member of the High Court.

    The report confirms that Dance will join Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, and Jeffrey Wright when filming kicks off in London this August.

    Source: Deadline

  • Ever Watchful— ‘The Batman-Part II’ Working Title Points to the Court of Owls!

    Ever Watchful— ‘The Batman-Part II’ Working Title Points to the Court of Owls!

    Matt Reeves is back in the director’s chair, and the production secrets for the most anticipated sequel in DC history are finally starting to leak. The working title for The Batman – Part II has been revealed and it may well point to the sequel being exactly what we all thought it might be.

    While a working title is often a decoy, in the world of Reeves’ Epic Crime Saga, it’s usually a roadmap. And if you know your Gotham lore, “Semper Vigilans” points directly to the one villain fans have been begging to see: The Court of Owls.

    In the comics, the Court of Owls is a centuries-old secret society of Gotham’s wealthiest families who pull the strings of the city from the shadows. Fans have heavily theorized their inclusion in the franchise since 2022.With the city still recovering from the Riddler’s flood, the power vacuum is the perfect time for an ancient elite to re-emerge.

  • James Gunn Confirms the “Superman Saga” Timeline; How ‘Supergirl’ Bridges the Gap to 2027

    James Gunn Confirms the “Superman Saga” Timeline; How ‘Supergirl’ Bridges the Gap to 2027

    James Gunn is once again using his Threads account to do the heavy lifting for the DCU’s marketing department. With three major projects featuring Kryptonians now on the board, fans have been scrambling to figure out the chronological order of the “Gods and Monsters” era.

    Over the weekend, Gunn officially settled the debate. When asked where Milly Alcock’s Supergirl sits in relation to the two Superman films, Gunn kept it simple:

    In between Superman and Man of Tomorrow.

    -James Gunn on Supergirl’s place in the DCU Timeline

    This confirmation gives us a clear look at the structure Gunn is building and the key role that the Kryptonian cousins have in it.

    Though Gunn didn’t write or direct Supergirl, it seems reasonable to believe that Brainiac could be referenced or even show up in a minor role, perhaps a flashback, especially since the trailer confirmed scenes set in Kandor, the capital city of Krypton that was shrunken and kept in a bottle by Brainiac. If that does indeed happen, it makes Supergirl a key contributor to the lore of Gunn’s planned four-film Superman Saga.

  • ‘The Brave and the Bold’ Reportedly Set to Reunite Creatives Behind Divisive 2023 Box Office Bomb

    Despite being one of the first DCU projects revealed to be in development in January 2023, The Brave and the Bold has faced it’s share of struggles in getting off the ground.

    Though director Andy Muschetti has been attached to the project since mid-2023, DC Studios co-chair James Gunn seemed to make it clear in late 2024 that a script for the project hadn’t been developed and that there was “no set timeline for anything.” Just a few weeks later, Muschetti stated that the project wouldn’t “be happening for a while” and now it looks like there’s an easy explanation for why it has taken so long to get a script together.

    The one thing that I’ve tried to make clear to people from the beginning, and the way that I hope we’re different, is that everything in DC is gonna be based on the writers. Until we have a screenplay that I’m totally happy with, that movie is not going to get made, no matter what it is.

    -James Gunn
    According to industry insider Jeff “The In” Sneider, Christina Hodson, who teamed with Andy Muschetti on The Flash, will pen the screenplay for DC Studios The Brave and the Bold.

    Following Sneider’s report, scooper Apocalyptic Horseman took to Twitter to report he had heard the same news and explain that the delays in getting the production off the ground helped Hodson land the role after she had initially passed on it. According to ApocHorseman, Hodson “was the original choice to write it but scheduling must’ve gotten in the way and all the delays and past writers not working out worked in her favor.”

    Despite being extraordinarily divisive among fans and bombing at the box office, Gunn called 2023’s The Flash “one of the best superhero movies I’ve ever seen,” calling Hodson’s script “magnificent” and crediting her “wonderful writing” with allowing the film to work “so well.” Hodson also wrote scripts for Birds of Prey and Batgirl, the latter of which was deemed by Warner Bros. to be “unwatchable” and was never released. She also wrote the script for Bumblebee, one of the most well-regarded installments in the Transformers franchise.

    Based on Grant Morrison’s Batman and Son arc from his epic run on Batman that began in 2006 which Gunn called one of his “favorite Batman runs,” The Brave and the Bold was described by Gunn as “a very strange sort of father-son story,” that will introduce the DCU’s new Batman alongside his son, Damian. Gunn revealed it will also “feature other members of the extended Bat-Family just because we feel like they’ve been left out of the Batman stories in the theater for far too long.”

    At its core, The Brave and the Bold will be “a story of Damian Wayne, who’s Batman’s actual son that he didn’t know existed for the first eight to ten years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin,” explained Gunn, who also called Damian his “favorite Robin.” The film will mark the first time a Robin has appeared in a live-action film since 1997’s Batman and Robin.

    Source: Jeff Sneider

  • ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Reportedly Set to Feature Second Formidable Villain

    ‘Man of Tomorrow’ Reportedly Set to Feature Second Formidable Villain

    In November, insider Daniel Richtman reported that DC Studios had begun searching for an actress in her 20s for a major role in Man of Tomorrow. Following the initial report, Nexus Point News followed up with additional information that had fans theorizing that the character was Wonder Woman.

    As is often the case, DC Studios co-chair and Man of Tomorrow writer/director James Gunn took to social media to shoot down the growing buzz about Wonder Woman making her DCU debut in the Superman sequel. And now, a new report claims to reveal the true identity of the character.

    According to Nexus Point News, the mysterious character will be the alien warrior-queen Maxima.

    A member of the Royal Family of the planet Almerac, Maxima’s primary motivation is the survival and evolution of her bloodline. Considered the ultimate genetic prize of her species because of the unique structure of her DNA, she spent years traveling the cosmos in search of a “suitable” mate—someone whose power could match her own and produce an heir capable of ruling Almerac. And that quest led her to Earth where Kal-El’s Kryptonian heritage caught her attention.

    A composite powerhouse with a wide array of super powers, Maxima first appeared in an antagonistic role before transitioning into an ally of Superman and, eventually, a member of the Justice League. Her appearance in the film might indicate Gunn has adapted the 1992 Superman crossover event, “Panic in the Sky,” that featured Maxima teaming up with Brainiac.

    In an effort to destroy Earth, Brainiac used his telepathic abilities to enslave several cosmic heavy hitters into his army, including Maxima. Once she eventually broke free of his control, Maxima turned on Brainiac, lobotomizing him, and turned the tide of the battle in favor of Earth’s heroes.

    While it’s unlikely Gunn would directly adapt the event, it certainly does sound like the type of story he could draw from in an effort to bring Lex Luthor and Superman together in Man of Tomorrow.

  • ‘The Batman-Part II’ Circling Another MCU Star for Its All-Star Cast

    ‘The Batman-Part II’ Circling Another MCU Star for Its All-Star Cast

    It may have taken a little longer than anticipated to get The Batman-Part II ready to roll but it’s beginning to look like it may have been worth the wait.

    According to Deadline, MCU vet Sebastian Stan has entered into talks to join the cast of The Batman-Part II. While the trade report didn’t reveal the nature of the role, it’s believed that Stan will portray Gotham’s White Knight, Harvey Dent.

    Harvey Dent is a prominent character in DC Comics, best known as the tragic hero who transforms into the villainous Two-Face. He first appeared in Detective Comics #66 in 1942, created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Before his descent into crime, Harvey Dent was Gotham City’s youngest and most dedicated District Attorney. Known as the “White Knight” of Gotham, he was a close ally of both Batman and Commissioner James Gordon. Together, the three formed a secret pact to dismantle Gotham’s organized crime families from within the legal system.

    The turning point in Dent’s life occurred during the trial of mob boss Sal Maroni. In an act of desperation, Maroni threw sulfuric acid at Dent, hideously scarring the left side of his face. This physical trauma, combined with repressed mental health struggles (often portrayed as dissociative identity disorder stemming from childhood abuse), caused a total psychological break and turned Dent into Two-Face, a criminal mastermind obsessed with duality.

    News of Stan’s potential casting comes less than a month after fellow longtime MCU star Scarlett Johansson joined Matt Reeves-helmed sequel. Following her casting, industry insider Jeff “The In” Sneider reported that Johansson was set to play Gilda Gold, most famous for her role in Jeph Loeb’s seminal graphic novel The Long Halloween (which heavily influenced Matt Reeves’ first film). In a shocking twist at the end of that story, it is implied (and confessed by her) that she was the original “Holiday” killer.  She is a tragic figure, deeply in love with Harvey but constantly terrified of his dangerous work fighting the mob. In The Long Halloween, she secretly murdered gangsters on holidays to thin out the mob’s ranks. Her goal was not power, but to lighten Harvey’s caseload so he could finally retire, and they could start a family.

    Dent has been a central figure in nearly every Batman film or television series, including Batman: The Animated Series in which he was given a deeply sympathetic backstory that established his “Big Bad Harv” alternate personality before the accident that turned him into Two-Face.

    Following the news of Stan’s casting, social media was abuzz with the possibility that it may portend the demise of Bucky Barnes in either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars. Currently a member of the Thunderbolts/New Avengers, Barnes’ death would serve as a potential catalyst for multiple plot points, including convincing Steve Rogers to get back in action.

    Source: Deadline

  • CCXP: DC Studios’ ‘Supergirl’ Exhibit Confirms Title Change, Shows Off New Suit and Reveals Lobo’s Comic-Accurate Weapon

    CCXP: DC Studios’ ‘Supergirl’ Exhibit Confirms Title Change, Shows Off New Suit and Reveals Lobo’s Comic-Accurate Weapon

    Additionally, photos from the exhibit have provided wonderful shots of Milly Alcock‘s Kara Zor-El’s costume and teases the chained hook that will be used by Jason Momoa‘s Lobo.

    Ahead of CCXP ’25 in San Paulo, Brazil, DC Studios’ Supergirl exhibit has become a hot spring of news.

    Thanks to Omelete, it’s been confirmed that the film–originally titled Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow–has indeed been simplified to Supergirl, as has long been believed.

    Updating…

    Source: Omelete

  • New Report Confirms Sadistic ‘Superman’ Sequel Supervillain; Rumored Front-runner Emerges

    New Report Confirms Sadistic ‘Superman’ Sequel Supervillain; Rumored Front-runner Emerges

    Following the successful launch of Superman, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav teased “an ambitious, 10-year plan of interconnected sequels and spinoffs,” which included the “next movie in the Super-Family,” set to be directed by James Gunn. Gunn then spent the next few weeks teasing the next installment in his Superman Saga which was ultimately revealed to be a Superman and Lex Luthor team-up film titled Man of Tomorrow.

    In between Zaslav’s tease and the announcement of Man of Tomorrow, fans discovered an unused storyboard from Superman in the behind-the-scenes featurette, Adventures in the  Making of Superman,which they believed revealed the villain of the 2027 Superman sequel. The storyboard features Superman, Supergirl and Krypto flying but a closer look at the bottom corner reveals the head of one of the House of El’s greatest enemies: Brainiac. Gunn further teased the classic Superman villain by releasing a photo of the script for Man of Tomorrow with a brain front and center on the cover page, but stopped short of confirming his inclusion. Now, a trade report seems to have taken care of that.

    According to The Wrap, Brainiac will indeed be the catalyst that causes Superman and Lex Luthor, complete in his Warsuit, to join forces in Man of Tomorrow.

    Gunn previously revealed that the villain “was considered” for Superman and with Supergirl hitting theaters in 2026, it wouldn’t take much to give some background to Brainiac’s fascination with Kryptonions and reveal that he visited Krypton before it was destroyed and shrunk and stole the capital city of Kandor.

    In the comics, Brainiac’s primary motivation is generally a cold, unquenchable thirst for absolute knowledge and self-improvement—which involves collecting and destroying civilizations; however, modern writers have created a more sadistic version of the character, will to torture and experiment on his enemies–or even his own clones in the Absolute Universe–and employ psychological tactics that are more calculated cruelty than logic.

    Following the news, social media scoopers collaborated to indicate that Claes Bang, who played the title role in Netflix’s Dracula, has already rested for the role. However, tests are ongoing and given Gunn’s previous work with DC Studios, will involve multiple rounds of testing, including reading with leads David Corenswet and Nicholas Hoult.

    Source: The Wrap