Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: DC

  • REPORT: ‘The Batman’ HBO Max Spin-Off’s New Working Title Hints at Arkham Asylum Storyline

    REPORT: ‘The Batman’ HBO Max Spin-Off’s New Working Title Hints at Arkham Asylum Storyline

    The Batman hasn’t even hit theaters yet, and it’s already expanding with a spin-off series in the works. The series is set to air exclusively on HBO Max and follow the Gotham City police department during the Caped Crusaders’ first year on the job. Little is known about the project, as it’s still looking to cast its leads to explore the corruption within Gotham City and its supposed protectors, the GCPD. Yet, it seems it may take a unique direction going by its new working title.

    The Illuminerdi is reporting that the series has the working title “Arkham.” The famous Asylum from DC is sure to get many fan’s attention, and could hint at a large chunk of the story taking place within the walls of the hospital. It seems entirely possible that the series could take place from the perspective of an officer stationed within the Asylum, turning a blind eye to what is really going on. Arkham is notorious for its corruption and houses the absolute worst of the worst that Gotham City can offer.

    The series was previously working under “Gotham Central,” which is a nod to the popular comic by Greg Rucka, but this change could indicate the series will go down a different path. The upcoming spin-off has yet to be officially titled and hasn’t made any movement on casting just yet. Following Terrence Winter’s exit, Joe Barton stepped in to fill the shoes with Showrunner on the series, with Matt Reeves and Dylan Clark serving as producers on the project.

    Source: Illuminerdi

  • First ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 3 Trailer Confirms Live-Action Debut of Monsieur Mallah and The Brain

    First ‘Doom Patrol’ Season 3 Trailer Confirms Live-Action Debut of Monsieur Mallah and The Brain

    The Doom Patrol will be back once again, this time streaming exclusively on HBO Max following DC Universe’s shift into a solely digital library of comics. The series has never been one to shy away from the weird and wild nature of the comics. It embraces absurd characters and concepts. What other show is going to give you a Kaiju fight between a Rat and a cockroach?

    A new trailer for the upcoming season has confirmed that Monsieur Mallah and The Brain will indeed be making their live-action debut. The Brain’s containment vehicle was previously seen in season 1 during the episode “Doom Patrol Patrol.” It was plainly visible in Mento’s trophy room. However, the villain was not present during that sequence. The two are a classic duo in the comics. It was, once again, Niles Caulder that turned the Brain into what he is today. Here’s the trailer with the first look at the season and the iconic villains:

    Doom Patrol season 3 is set to debut on September 23rd only on HBO Max and will feature the return of Brendan Fraser, April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero, Jovian Wade, Matt Bomer who will see themselves up against the Brotherhood of Dada for what will surely be yet another wild season.

    [Updating]

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘The Suicide Squad’ is HBO Max’s Second Most Viewed Film During Theatrical Opening Weekend

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ is HBO Max’s Second Most Viewed Film During Theatrical Opening Weekend

    The Suicide Squad had to face an uphill battle with the Delta variant roaming the world and adding some doubt in people willing to visit a cinema. So, our only point of orientation on its potential success would be how popular it was on the HBO Max streaming service. It could give us an inkling how well the same-day release strategy is working for Warner Bros. and it seems it might’ve been far more popular than expected. HBO Max chief Andy Forssell shared that the film was their second most-viewed film during its release weekend.

    As the country faces new challenges due to the COVID variant, we’re happy to continue to offer fans the option of viewing movies in their homes. Many chose to do just that as Suicide Squad emerged as the second most viewed film over an opening weekend on HBO Max since we began day-and-date releases with theaters.

    Of course, they didn’t share any exact numbers and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Mortal Kombat is currently holding the top spot. Samba TV shared an analysis yesterday that on Thursday, 363K US households watched the film, but it doesn’t offer a direct point of comparison for the entire weekend. Still, it’s good to see the film is prospering through streaming and might be a hint that R-rated projects have a good home in streaming media.

    The Delta variant is still adding a lot of uncertainty for cinemas. So, the upcoming weeks will give us a better idea, especially with early September still locked in. It’ll be curious if major Marvel Studios like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings might push beyond the current threshold and offer some more trust in movie-going audiences, as some delays are still happening for major releases.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘The Suicide Squad’ Falls Short With $26.5M Domestic Weekend Amid Growing Pandemic Concerns

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ Falls Short With $26.5M Domestic Weekend Amid Growing Pandemic Concerns

    It looks like The Suicide Squad ended up falling short of its early $30M+ predictions, as the film ended up debuting with $26,5M domestically. It also garnered an additional $45.7M internationally, putting it at a $72.2M worldwide Box Office. These results are slightly higher than yesterday’s prediction, which saw it making $1M less. Even with it hitting a lower than expected BO, it still took the top spot. It was closely followed by Jungle Cruise with $15.6M and Old with $4.14M. Black Widow has been keeping steady at the fourth spot with another $4M.

    Overall, the Box Office results prove that Delta concerns are still dominating. Ever since Marvel Studios’ release, the overall numbers have steadied out for bigger releases at $30M. Yet, each film faced harsh drops in its second weekend. Trends would reflect non-pandemic numbers, but digital releases are showing their fangs. James Gunn’s DC film is available on HBO Max for no additional costs. So, even after a strong Thursday showing, people were hesitant over the weekend as pandemic numbers continue to rise again.

     

    The Suicide Squad - Kritik: Hektisch, aber höllisch unterhaltsam

     

    Forbes’ Scott Mendelsohn also argues that the confusion regarding Suicide Squad’s position as a soft reboot and sequel may also add some confusion to audiences’ willingness to risk viewing it. Of course, the first film’s negative reception also adds to that factor. Will Smith was the big selling point of the original, and he is absent in the sequel. Combine that with an R-rating and there are a lot of wild factors this film had to face.

    Still, the film received a very positive reaction from critics and fans alike. Yet, it did face a B+ in its CinemaScore rating. Of course, we can’t compare it to Ayer’s Suicide Squad, which opened to $133M without facing any of these issues. We’ve already seen Sony delay Venom: Let There Be Carnage in New Zealand. So, there’s a lot of uncertainty moving forward into what the future holds for cinema as we face the current development.

    Source:  The Numbers, Variety, Variety (Updated), Forbes, Twitter

  • ‘The Suicide Squad’: Who is Starro the Conqueror?

    ‘The Suicide Squad’: Who is Starro the Conqueror?

    With the roster for James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad stacked with wildly disparate and relatively unknown DC Comics villains, we thought it would be great to get to know each of them in 400 words or fewer. Now that the film was released in theaters, we finally can talk about the big bad starfish, Starro the Conqueror. He first appeared in the 1960s Brave and The Bold #28 by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. Starro is a giant intergalactic starfish that has the ability to spit out smaller versions that seek out hosts. They attach to their faces and take over their body. An ability that could quickly topple nations, and even worlds. Starro’s abilities consist of size alteration, bio-fission, mind control, regeneration, flight, telepathy, and mass consciousness.

     

     

    Starro was the first enemy the Justice League fought in their original inception. So, you can imagine how fearsome this space starfish truly is. Starro came to Happy Harbor and quickly took over the town. This brought together one of the most popular and iconic teams in comics. At the time, the team consisted of Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter, who would face off against the cosmic conqueror and defeat him by covering him in quicklime. The intergalactic starfish has become a recurring villain ever since, appearing in various comic storylines including Crisis on Infinite Earths #9, Justice League Europe #24, and many more. He made his live-action debut when he got unleashed onto Corto Maltese. He was kept quite close to his comic counterpart, and we also get to explore what happens to its hosts once it takes control of their bodies.  Let’s just hope Starro gets a bit of open-ending, as the comics introduced an offspring of his known as Jarro that got adopted by Batman.

  • REVIEW: ‘The Suicide Squad’ is an A-List Film With C-List Villains

    REVIEW: ‘The Suicide Squad’ is an A-List Film With C-List Villains

    The line “Sad souls in silly costume” summarizes the motley crew that serves as the world’s last line of defense against a towering galactic starfish that conquers worlds perfectly. James Gunn makes his grandiose return to the genre with The Suicide Squad. It is a fast-paced firefight that features some stellar characters with individual, fulfilling arcs. While the film tends to drag a bit at certain points and some characters feel underutilized, those at the heart of the film’s eccentric story keep the ball moving and allows for an action-packed third act that ties the film together almost perfectly. So, without further ado, let’s jump into the highs and lows of the latest DC film.

     

    There will be spoilers in this review. So only continue at your own risk if you haven’t seen it yet. 

     

     

    The Suicide Squad · Film 2021 · Trailer · Kritik · KINO.de

     

    Let’s start with some minor shortcomings of the film. The part that I felt could’ve benefitted from more time is the opening sequence. When we land on the beach with our initial team, we really meet the duds of the bunch. They are obvious cannon fodder. Characters like Javelin, Mongal, Captain Boomerang, Savant, Weasel, and Blackguard don’t get the slightest chance to show off before they meet gruesome ends. The only exception is Nathan Fillion‘s TDK for a joke on the absurdity of his abilities. While this sequence felt rushed, Harley’s time with the new president of Corto Maltese was on the other side of the spectrum. It just dragged on a little too long, and I felt she could’ve got her ‘red flags’ speech out earlier when he mentioned hanging an entire family.

    But we’ve really got to talk about the parts that sing louder than the rest, which is 90% of the film. From the get-go, you can tell who the main characters are, and it’s difficult to choose a standout among them. I loved the dynamic between Bloodsport and Ratcatcher 2. Idris Elba’s mercenary acts as a  surrogate father, while she helps find the good within him. What truly stands out is the group dynamic perfectly complemented by Peacemaker, King Shark, Polka-Dot Man, and Harley Quinn. Margot delivers yet another fantastic turn at Quinn. All of this comes together in the third act, where the film truly shines.  Polka-Dot Man overcomes his fears and manages to become the superhero his mother had always tried to force him to be but on his own terms.

     

    The Suicide Squad“ im Kino: Die Knalltüten aus der Superhelden-Liga - Kultur - Tagesspiegel

     

    The Suicide Squad truly feels like a comic book brought to life in all the right ways. The film excels at what it sets out to do and told a fantastic story with an excellent roster of actors. Everyone brings their A-game, no matter how small the role. While the film may not be for the weakest of stomachs, it’s got a ton of heart, quite literally.

  • ‘The Suicide Squad’ Earns $4.1M on Thursday and On Track to a $30M+ Domestic Opening

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ Earns $4.1M on Thursday and On Track to a $30M+ Domestic Opening

    It looks like The Suicide Squad will become the highest-earning R-rated film during the pandemic. James Gunn‘s film made $4.1M on Thursday preview showings. To be fair, it’s mainly going off against Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, and The Forever Purge. The overall reception has also been very strong, which can push it further over the weekend. Yet, the Delta Variant is still influencing insecurities about visiting the cinema, and the latest entry could add a bit more energy back into the Box Office.

    The big question mark over its head lies in the simultaneous release on HBO Max. Just like we saw with other films that utilized this type of digital availability, it pulls the opening weekend down. There’s also the big risk on the second weekend, which has generally shown that general audiences aren’t willing to risk seeing the same film repeatedly, but prefer whatever was the latest release.

    Predictions set it at a strong $30M+ opening weekend in domestic markets. It’s Thursday earnings push that prediction, but it’s uncertain if it’ll manage to pass $40M. The film seems to be on par with the release of Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. It earned $33.2M in its opening weekend before the pandemic close shop on theaters.

    The only difference is that James Gunn’s project has a much higher budget, and Warner Bros. might be banking on a strong showing on their streaming service. Plus, given the current situation, the film could still be considered a success even with its hefty $185M budget. The next few days will give us a clearer look at where it’ll land once its weekend ends.

    Source: Deadline, Variety, Deadline (Birds of Prey)

  • RUMOR: ‘Black Adam’ Will Feature the Original Atom

    RUMOR: ‘Black Adam’ Will Feature the Original Atom

    The Justice Society of America has always been a team that’s focused on the legacy of its heroes. Over time, the mantles would be passed down to new heroes such as family or even proteges. The team has seen many iterations since its inception all the way back in the 1940s. It wasn’t until we saw Geoff Johns run on the team that the team began to shift the members of its roster, adding legacy heroes like Cyclone, Starman, Stargirl, Jakeem Thunder, Wildcat, Hourman, and Albert Rothstein, the godson of the original Atom, Al Pratt.

    With Black Adam set to introduce the Justice Society on the big screen, fans may take notice of its updated roster. The Direct is reporting that Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, is set to make an appearance in the upcoming film in a limited role. The hero will serve as a sort of uncle figure to Albert in the film, with the new Atom Smasher donning his original costume when he eventually suits up with the JSA. No casting for Al Pratt has been revealed at this time.

    A key detail here is Albert donning Al’s original suit, which would mean at one point Pratt did indeed operate as Atom. With Ma Hunkle and the original Red Tornado, another golden age JSA member reportedly in the film, it definitely feels like the seeds are being planted to feature the original JSA at some point in a prequel of sorts and potentially show us the golden age of heroes we theorized may have once operated in the DCEU.

    SOURCE: The Direct

  • James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ Eyeing a $30M+ Domestic Opening Weekend

    James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ Eyeing a $30M+ Domestic Opening Weekend

    We’ve been discussing the Box Office frequently, as the pandemic has changed our perception of what makes a film successful. Even with Black Widow’s great opening weekend with around $80M, it still saw a stark drop in its second weekend and lost to Space Jam: A New Legacy. Yet, it passed the film, which saw just as harsh a drop. These films were made available through digital alternatives, and it’s a general theme that audiences aren’t willing to risk a second viewing of the same film during the quarantine. Now, all eyes are on James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad opening weekend.

    It looks like it’ll take on the Box Office with a $30M opening. Unlike past weekends, it won’t have too much competition when it releases worldwide, and there is still hope it might even pass the $40M mark. With a $185M production budget, it’ll be a smaller release, but given current situations, it’s still impressive. Larger releases in the past few months were around that very mark, with Black Widow and F9 being the only exceptions.

     

    The Suicide Squad'; Watch An Exclusive DC FanDome Sneak Peek & Roll Call Video For The James Gunn Film - Screen-Connections

     

    Of course, it’s also available on HBO Max, which is WarnerMedia’s big hope for its release. It currently already gained $7M in some international markets and could be heading towards an overall $70M worldwide. It’ll get compared to the previous franchise entry by David Ayer, which managed around $746M, but it wasn’t facing any of the current troubles. Deadline has highlighted that the Delta variant is one of the causes for the overall Box Office drop we’ve seen over the last few months, even after May saw a bit of an uptick. It’ll be curious what it might mean for the future of the Box Office and if September releases will get shifted back.

    Source: Variety, Deadline

  • DC President Hints at More DCEU Projects in James Gunn’s Future

    DC President Hints at More DCEU Projects in James Gunn’s Future

    James Gunn’s Suicide Squad sequel will soon release and continue the DC franchise. He’s been busy working on a spin-off focused on the character of John Cena’s Peacemaker before returning to Marvel with the final installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. So, it looks like the director will be quite busy for the years to come, and DC Films president Walter Hamada may have hinted at a lot more projects in the iconic comic world heading his way. After a vague mentioning that they would always welcome him back, he also ended the interview with the following statement:

    He’ll be back. We have more stuff planned.

    So, it seems pretty clear that Gunn is in no way finished working with DC. It’s unclear if he’ll return to work with Marvel Studios in the near future, but the more disconnected strategy for the DCEU franchise may offer him a wilder playing field with how he approaches characters. There are hints that Peacemaker might get a potential second season, and he may even explore other spin-offs of the various members.

    Of course, he may even return for a sequel for The Suicide Squad, or tackle a brand-new character. Almost five months ago, Charles Murphy heard that Krypto was on the table at some point, and he could potentially return to the idea. It’s great to see Gunn‘s return to the world of comic book movies. We’ll all keep a close eye on what his future holds. Who knows what other wacky adventures or stories he has in store for us.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter