Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: DC

  • ‘The Flash’ Season 7 Adds Jon Cor as Villain Chillblaine

    ‘The Flash’ Season 7 Adds Jon Cor as Villain Chillblaine

    The Flash was another show that suffered multiple delays due to the ongoing pandemic. The show even missed its usual Fall premiere. As such, the last time we saw Barry Allen, he was facing off against Eva McCulloch, also known as the Mirror Mistress. Sadly, another casualty of the pandemic, the season came to an abrupt end. Along with many other shows, The Flash was unable to finish production in time to wrap up its season finale. Still, it won’t stop us from speculating what we can expect in the upcoming seventh season.

    The upcoming season was rumored to feature multiple villains, such as the returning Bloodwork and Godspeed. It looks like one more is joining the fray. It seems that Jon Cor has officially joined the cast as the villain Chillblaine. The Flash has yet another icy foe to face. It also offered a breakdown of his character profile:

    Mark Stevens is a charismatic bad boy obsessed with cryogenic technology. But when he’s not breaking into corporate safes, he’s busy breaking hearts with his irresistible charm and roguish style. Armed with his own cold weapons, he’ll become a new thorn in the side of Team Flash as the DC Comics villain Chillblaine.

    He made his debut back in 1992. Lisa Snart recruited him as a replacement for Captain Cold. The character was armed with Snart’s Cryo Gun and began running with the Rouges. Cor seems to be playing a new version. According to the description, he may have various cryo-based weapons at his disposal to stand out from his cold predecessor. Lisa Snart is currently not listed for the upcoming season, so his origins might be detached from her and reinvented for the new season. We’ll find out more once the show finally airs in February.

    Source: EW

  • ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’: Harry Lenix Confirms Martian Manhunter Appearance

    ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’: Harry Lenix Confirms Martian Manhunter Appearance

    Zack Snyder’s Justice League is by far one of the most anticipated films of 2021. The film has risen to legendary status at this point. Many thought the rumored cut of the film would never see the light of day. Throughout the past few years, Snyder would take to Vero to tease aspects of the film that never made it into the version we saw from Joss Whedon. One scene, in particular, was the reveal of General Swanwick’s true identity. It seems he always intended for the character to be the Martian Manhunter in disguise. Now that the Snyder Cut is a reality, it opened up the floodgate on theories if we’d get to see Manhunter on the silver screen after all.

    In a recent interview with Collider, Harry Lennix got asked about his thoughts on the upcoming mini-series and his character. He then revealed that he’d never actually filmed these scenes due to scheduling issues on The Blacklist. At the time, he knew nothing of his secret identity. He didn’t get a chance to read the script before Snyder left the production. However, Lennix stated that he met with Zack and his team back in October. As such, he was able to finish his scenes for the film via green screen.

    With Lennix on set for Snyder‘s additional photography, it could be possible that Snyder may have included the Martian in the newest Knightmare scene. The timing would match when rumors hit that other actors shot some scenes for this sequence, such as Jared Leto and Joe Manganiello. It would be a great addition to Batman’s resistance and would give fans much more Manhunter than they initially expected. Zack Snyder’s Justice League will reportedly release in March as a four-part mini-series on the HBO Max streaming service. We are only a few months away before Snyder’s original vision of the Justice League is revealed, so who knows what else may be heading our way until then.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Batwoman’ Showrunner Carline Dries Confirms Black Mask for the Second Season

    ‘Batwoman’ Showrunner Carline Dries Confirms Black Mask for the Second Season

    Batwoman is about to shake things up with its upcoming season. Javicia Leslie is taking over the mantle with her original character Ryan Wilder after Kate Kane has gone missing. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Caroline Dries discussed what we can expect from the second season, most notably, the villains that will make Wilder’s life quite complicated. In it, she reveals that a fan-favorite of Batman’s rogue gallery will make his CW premiere.

    We have a couple big bads this season. One, [who] we teed up midway through last season, is this woman Safiyah, and she’s sort of Alice’s Achilles’ Heel. And ultimately yes with the False Face Society, we will see the leader of this gang as Black Mask later on in the season

    It seems that the False Face Society will have a larger role throughout the series, as they will be responsible for their drug dealing. According to Dries, a big aspect of Wilder’s character is tied to it. At one point, she was in a relationship with someone who did drugs, which got her in jail. As such, she has a very personal vendetta against anyone pushing drugs in Gotham.

    So far, they have not named who exactly is playing Black Mask. Shivaani Ghai is playing one of the big bad, Safiyah. Alice (Rachel Skarsten) is set to return as well, who might be on the hunt to find out what happened to her sister. So far, there is no exact casting announced for Black Mask, but we could get some info as we near the show’s premiere. Ewan McGregor just recently played the character of Black Mask in Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, so some viewers might be familiar with the mask-wearing mafia boss once Batwoman returns on January 17th.

    Source: EW

  • Joe Barton Joins ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off ‘Gotham Central’ as Showrunner

    Joe Barton Joins ‘The Batman’ Spin-Off ‘Gotham Central’ as Showrunner

    Fans are eagerly anticipating their next look at Matt Reeve’s upcoming film The Batman. It’s currently in production and should wrap-up within the coming months. Yet, even before this film hits theaters, Reeves is going all-in on his new version of Gotham. Last year, we got the confirmation that Matt Reeves had teamed up with Boardwalk Empire’s Terrence Winter. They were working together on a prequel series titled Gotham Central. It will release exclusively on HBO Max. The project would focus on the corruption within the GCPD during Batman’s first year of crusading in Gotham.

     

     

    A few months after this news broke, we got word that showrunner and writer, Terrence Winter, had departed the project over creative differences with Matt Reeves. It gave many fans an awry feeling towards the project, as it may have delayed it by quite a bit. It seems the project is back on as Joe Barton, creator of Giri/Haji, has officially joined the project as showrunner and executive producer.

    The project comes from Reeve‘s With 6th and Idaho Production company and is the first spin-off set within this new Gotham City. It won’t connect to previous projects, as it will explore an independent storyline from the rest of the DCEU. Although no casting was announced, the project has assembled some familiar faces, such as The Batman producer Dylan Clark, who will also be serving as Executive producer alongside Daniel Pipski and Adam Kassan.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Arrow’ Spin-Off ‘Green Arrow and The Canaries’ Cancelled

    ‘Arrow’ Spin-Off ‘Green Arrow and The Canaries’ Cancelled

    One of the first DC superheroes to take the world by storm ended his eight-season with a backdoor pilot. It teased the franchise’s future, which would become the series Green Arrow and The Black Canaries. The show was going to feature the return of Mia Smoak as she takes up the mantle following her father’s death. Oliver Queen in the battle with the Anti-Monitor. She was joined by Laurel and Dinah, the titular Canaries. They would set out to honor the legacy of the original Team Arrow.

    Sadly, it got revealed that the planned spin-off would not be moving forward at the CW. It’s been a year of silence on the series development. It’s unknown if it will get shopped to a different platform, such as HBO Max. At this point, however, it seems unlikely considering Marc Guggenheim‘s past comments on the possibility of continuing their story in the form of a comic.

    The show was going to answer many unanswered questions from the original show, such as Dinah ending up in the future. There was also the question of who kidnapped Mia’s brother William at the end of the pilot. It looks like these answers will only be revisited in the form of a comic, if at all. It also joins the now canceled CW shows Supergirl and Black Lightning. These will end with their upcoming seasons. It doesn’t look too bright for the DC show’s future on the CW, but it may be a sign that they are more interested in producing HBO Max Originals. Comic characters aren’t easy to adapt, so a bigger budget certainly helps. It isn’t the end of the line for this franchise, but they might be trying to refocus as they move forward.

    Source: TV Line  

  • How Michael Keaton’s Return as Batman May Reshape the DCEU

    How Michael Keaton’s Return as Batman May Reshape the DCEU

    For a while, fans were wondering who would be the DCEU’s primary Batman after Ben Affleck exited the franchise. We’d received confirmation that Robert Pattinson would be taking his crimefighting to another Earth within the ever-expanding multiverse. For a while, many fans clung to the chances that Ben Affleck would miraculously change his mind and hop straight back into the cape and cowl, harboring a newfound passion for the role. However, What fans received is a small role reprisal in the upcoming Flash film starring Ezra Miller.

    The Flash will mark the return of Michael Keaton’s Bruce Wayne. This is the first time he is returning to the role since Batman Returns. It got confirmed that Keaton will take over as the Bruce Wayne of the main timeline. They’ve called it the DCEU Earth-1, as the primary universe of the Arrowverse shows is serving as Earth-Prime. It got confirmed during the surprise cameo by Miller in the Crisis on Infinite Earth‘s crossover. He shared a short scene with Grant Gustin‘s Barry Allen, which was a welcome surprise to see the TV and film universes crossover. Nevertheless, The Flash will shake up the DCEU in massive ways, so who knows how long the current multiverse will last.

     

     

    Barry Allen is set to find some familiar faces in the multiverse and ends up working alongside the Bruce Wayne of Earth-89 at some point in the film. It stumped me a bit trying to put the puzzle together. How could a multiverse film affect the status of the DCEU’s Batman? Luckily, DC is pretty famous for its fascination with resetting their multiverse through Crisis events. A previous report mentioned that Keaton was in talks to stick around the DC universe for a while and take on a Nick Fury-type role. So, he will not have an active role but pull the strings from behind-the-scenes. However, Ben Affleck‘s departure as the caped crusader left a bat-shaped hole that needs filling.

    Luckily, the Batman lineage doesn’t end with Bruce, as he has long moved on from his singular crusade. The Bat-Family becoming one of the most prominent groups in comics. So, let’s take a look at who would be the perfect choice to fill that hole. Of course, the most obvious option would be Barbara Gordon, who’s long had a project in the works. Just recently, the project gained steam again. Christina Hodson, the writer behind Birds of Prey, has been actively working on two DC projects. Those are The Flash and, most notably, Batgirl. Naturally, this led to theories that this is no coincidence. It would surely keep things consistent behind the scenes when you’ve got one person hive-minding this shift of power between some of the most iconic characters in comics.

     

     

    Recently, DC Films’ President, Walter Hamada, mentioned Batgirl alongside Static Shock as two of the riskier films that will be made available via HBO Max. The film seems to still be in development. Also, in the past few years, female-Led superhero projects have changed the game. Batgirl shouldn’t be any different, as she is by far one of the most iconic female superheroes. Hell, why stop at one? As mentioned above, the Bat-Family has become an iconic and integral part of DC. Now that Bruce is seemingly out of the game, he’d make sure Gotham was in the right hands.

    As many DC fans know, the introduction of an older Bruce Wayne opens up the potential to a very iconic storyline. It might be the right time to introduce Terry McGinnis to cinema-goers. Many fans have been wishing for a live-action adaptation of Batman Beyond. Many fans are crossing their fingers that Keaton‘s return is a sign that it is finally happening. Love him or hate him, Batman is the heart of DC. He’s an integral part of a universe that spanned decades. The potential and future of this character is bright and will not be ending any time soon.

  • How Cheetah Can Return in ‘WONDER WOMAN 3’

    How Cheetah Can Return in ‘WONDER WOMAN 3’

    One of the best parts of Wonder Woman 1984 was the inclusion of Kristen Wiig’s Dr. Barbara Minerva. Throughout the film, she slowly evolved into the villainous Cheetah. We didn’t get much of her Cheetah-form in the movie. Yet, they left the door open to her returning in the future, so the character has the potential to appear further down the line. It would be befitting to her status as one of Wonder Woman’s most iconic villains.

    The origin of the Cheetah we saw in the film was quite a bit different than any we’ve seen before. The first two iterations of the character were Priscilla Rich and Deborah Domain. They were simply socialites who donned outfits with a cheetah print and went about as your run-of-the-mill cat burglars. It wasn’t until we met Barabra Ann Minerva that we met our first version of the iconic character that possessed superhuman abilities.

     

     

    The simplest way to bring Cheetah back into the fold would be via Circe. The witch is known for her Projective Animal Metamorphosis, which would transform Minerva back into her animal form. However, if they were looking to make things a bit more complicated, we might see the introduction of a fan-favorite villain: Veronica Cale. In Greg Rucka‘s recent Rebirth run on Wonder Woman, Cale financed Minervas expedition to Africa to investigate the plant god, Urzkartaga. Of course, she found him and ended up marrying the deity. As a wedding gift, he bestowed her with the curse of the Cheetah.

    Barbara isn’t the only route they could take, as there are plenty of other options in the Cheetah selection. Sebastian Ballesteros was the only man to take on the Cheetah title that we’ve seen so far in comics. He obtained the curse after convincing Urzkartaga that a male Cheetah would be much more effective. Sebastian was also instrumental in creating Vanessa Kapatelis or better known as Silver Swan, another popular villain of our favorite Amazonian. It would be simple to replace Barbara with any of the previously-mentioned Cheetah’s if they plan on going down the Rebirth route. Yet, it feels as if we haven’t seen the last of Barbra Ann Minerva.

     

     

    No matter which comic you open in Wonder Woman history, there is always a Cheetah to be found. The character is, by far, one of Diana’s most iconic foes and makes an appearance in every solo title she had. All good superheroes have their mirror opposite. Ever since her debut, Barbara Ann Minerva has been the most consistent Cheetah and has become an essential part of the character’s history. It just wouldn’t feel right to replace her right after she got introduced. It’s unclear if Barbara will return in Wonder Woman 3. The film was only recently fast-tracked by WB, but Jenkins has been teasing that we haven’t seen the last of Wiig‘s incarnation of the iconic character.

  • DC’s ‘PEACEMAKER’ May Be Adapting the Janus Directive

    DC’s ‘PEACEMAKER’ May Be Adapting the Janus Directive

    With plot details still being held tightly under wraps by Gunn and company, all we know is that the HBO Max streaming series, Peacemaker, will be a prequel to Gunn’s upcoming film, The Suicide Squad. Recent casting breakdowns tease what we could see unfold in the series which will most likely show us the origin of John Cena’s character, Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker. Some recent character breakdowns have teased the appearance of a few classic characters and the shady organizations they work for.

    In this fresh take from DC, Smith would be reinvented into a Vietnam war criminal and would be sentenced to life in prison for his actions. Smith would be offered early parole for his participation in the Peacemaker Project, a top-secret anti-terrorist task force for the US government that would ultimately be shut down, but wouldn’t stop Christopher from taking up the mantle of Peacemaker and combatting terrorism himself as a one-man army.  This is where the story begins to pick up and where I believe Gunn would be adapting for his upcoming series focusing solely on this character

    Since it was announced that he would be picking up this project, Gunn has praised the work of John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad and mentioned multiple times that he’s based a lot of what we see in those books as the inspiration behind his adaption. Well, Ostrander had another story and that story was The Janus Directive. This story saw multiple top-secret intelligence agencies from the DC Universe pitted against each other including The CBI, lead by one Sarge Steele, who we previously reported may have a role to play in the show. But that isn’t the only group I believe to be present in this and fueling the Janus Directive theory. The Agency, and that is its full name, was another top-secret group that was able to figure out the identity of Peacemaker and coaxed him into their service, but not alone, Peacemaker was also joined by Adrian Chase, aka the Vigilante, another character who’s been confirmed to appear in the upcoming series, to be played by Chris Conrad. Originally I believed that the CBI would be the only agency included but it wasn’t until the breakdown for a new character named “Keeya” was released. The production is looking for a black female, Late 20’s/ Early 30’s, gay supportive but tired wife, reluctantly dealing with her wife’s new government job and the secrecy it requires. We know at least one agency will be present and looking like this could be THE Agency considering the inclusion of Vigilante.

    Here’s where it gets even more interesting though, when the leader of the Agency, Valentina Vostok, left the organization, someone was right there to pick up the pieces. The person was none other than Amanda Waller, who would take the remnants of the agency and turn it into Checkmate, an all-new covert agency. The inclusion of Amanda Waller in this series could lead her to a possible appearance in the show in which we see how Peacemaker came to be on the Suicide Squad after the downfall of the agency, possibly even seeing her fold the Agency into Argus.

     

    Source: The Illuminerdi

     

  • ‘WW84’ Suffers a 67% Box Office Drop In Its Second Week

    ‘WW84’ Suffers a 67% Box Office Drop In Its Second Week

    In our last look at the Box Office, it seemed that Wonder Woman 1984 was doing fairly well alongside its HBO Max release. It looked like nothing was standing in the way for Warner Bros. 2021 strategy to premiere its films simultaneously in theatres and on its new streaming service. Now, the only question was if the film would have legs to compete with Tenet‘s numbers when it launched back in September. Well, it looks like the true test revealed the negative influence of the streaming service, as WW84 domestic gross dropped by 67% in its second week. It is in stark contrast to the original Wonder Woman‘s 43% drop. It is closer to that of Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad. As such, the film has earned $28.5 million in ten days.

    With these numbers, it seems unlikely the film will pass Tenet‘s domestic cume of $58M, but it could still grab the second spot, which is held by The Croods: A New Age‘s $34M. This stark drop may be connected to the availability via HBO Max, as even with a strong opening there is no reason to return to theaters once you’ve seen it. So, those few that are willing to visit a cinema within the current pandemic might not be as willing to do so. Of course, WB may be more interested in the long-term gain with how many additional subscribers they gain, which could counter the stark drop.

    The film still has time to make a comeback, but at this point, it seems unlikely until Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon by March. That film will be made available in theaters and Disney+’s Premium Access. We will see if the $30 additional costs will have a lessened effect on the film’s performance. It is difficult to really pinpoint any development given the current situation, so as Forbes points out, the usual Christmas legs may not apply after such a drop. The film’s discourse is also rather mixed, so that may have left an imprint. For now, WB may be questioning their 2021 film release plan.

    Source: Forbes

  • ‘WW84’ Passes $100M Worldwide; ‘Soul’ Dominates Streaming

    ‘WW84’ Passes $100M Worldwide; ‘Soul’ Dominates Streaming

    Wonder Woman 1984‘s release was a huge test to see if Warner Bros. HBO Max’s strategy would work while also trying to ensure the cinema’s future. Of course, it also faced some major competition with Pixar’s Soul getting released on Disney+. Now that both films had some time in the public eye, let’s take a look at what the future of cinema and television might hold.

    WW84 has now passed the $102 million mark worldwide since its launch. The international markets proved the most stable, as it garnered around $80M, even if China was behind expectations with $25M. Its Box Office global split seems to be similar to that of Tenet, which managed to garner $363M in its run since September. According to Forbes, the film may only garner what its predecessor did in its domestic gross. So, the numbers aren’t too different from Christopher Nolan‘s latest release. The only thing hurting WW84‘s legs is the negative discourse and its availability through HBO Max, as there is no reasoning for a repeat viewing in cinema directly.

     

     

    Soul has been doing quite well in China, as the Pete Docter and Kemp Powers‘ film tripled its $5.5M opening weekend. It now stands strong at $16.9M. Western releases are facing some challenges, as China has been dominating its local market through locally-produced films, such as Red Flower breaking records with a $76M opening. Mendelson highlights in his article that this confirms that not every tentpole blockbuster will see a similar success in China like it did in local markets. They seem to embrace our crazier and out-there stories, which may also be why Mulan did not sit well with Chinese audiences.

    Overall, the true victories were in the streaming market. WW84 increased HBO Max’s app downloads by 554K. Disney+, however, managed to increase the download count by 2.3M, which was a massive win for the streaming service. These minds do not include downloads on the smart TV App, Amazon or Roku. We don’t have a total subscriber count either, but these numbers are still quite impressive. Plus, the subscription costs for the different services also play a role in the download difference. Still, it looks like the Box Office will need time to get to where it once was. It is uncertain if 2021 will offer that or if it may take until 2022 to reach that point once again.

    Source: Forbes, Bloomberg