Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Disney Plus

  • RUMOR: ‘Hawkeye’s Finale to be Marvel Studios’ Longest Disney+ Episode

    RUMOR: ‘Hawkeye’s Finale to be Marvel Studios’ Longest Disney+ Episode

    So far, Hawkeye has been quite an enjoyable entry in the MCU’s ever-expanding library. It offers a more grounded storyline as Clint Barton faces the underbelly of New York City while having to take care of a young protégé. Kate Bishop joins him in his fight, as we explore his time as Ronin and the regret that is included with it, as well as the loss of his closest friend. Of course, can’t forget the addition of Yelena Belova to follow up her story from Black Widow and the confirmation of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s return as Wilson Fisk.

    There’s a lot to unpack going into the finale and it seems the team behind the series is very aware of this. As it seems the upcoming sixth episode may be the longest of any Marvel Studios series. According to Amit Chaudhari, who has reported the length of episodes in the past, the final episode will not only be the longest of the series but also every Disney+ entry so far at 59 minutes.

    It now dethrones Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘s fifth episode “Truth” which clocked in at around 58 minutes. Keep in mind that depending on where you live, the credits are longer or shorter due to the international voice cast also getting included. Still, it’s an impressive length and hopefully a sign that we’re in for quite a lot. We still haven’t met Fisk in this series, as he was only showcased through an image on a phone. So, not only do we have to resolve the storylines set-up through both Hawkeyes, Maya Lopez, and the mysterious watch, but also get introduced to the series’ actual villain. It’ll be interesting to see how they wrap it all up with a nice bow.

    Source: Twitter

  • How Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Could Be the Netflix ‘Daredevil’ Character

    How Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin Could Be the Netflix ‘Daredevil’ Character

    Finally, after a long wait, Vincent D’Onofrio has made his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While some still believe that the upcoming adaptation will be a soft reboot for the character, there are some curious hints at his character potentially being the same we last saw during Daredevil‘s third season. With Charlie Cox‘s Matt Murdock set to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the upcoming reintroduction of the Netflix characters might finally confirm that the final season of the series is canon.

    Let’s start with the most obvious connection. While not in person, we got our first look at D’Onofrio’s Fisk through a video taken by Yelena Belova. The video quality seems a bit off, but what we can make out is that he’s wearing a similar suit that he wore during the final season of the original series. He has a white suit with a black shirt underneath, which offered a modern take on his comic book version. He seems to be rocking the same style.

    Speaking of, Hawkeye also calls him by the same name that he got during that season. In the first season, Fisk tried very hard to keep his name out of everyone’s mouth. Hell, a man killed himself because he accidentally let that slip and put him on Matt Murdock’s radar. It wasn’t until the final season that he was given a codename Kingpin. Of course, there is the question of how the name that was given to him by Agent Poindexter, the future Bullseye, managed to find its way into the public, but he might’ve loved the weight it could carry.

    So, there are quite a few hints that this is, indeed, a continuation of the original series and hopefully also means we won’t have to wait long for Wilson Bethel to also make a return given the set-up that was left open during the final scene of the series. Of course, Fisk and Murdock’s return does open up the question of when we can expect their arrival and eventual clash. He was arrested during the finale and lost everything, but if Daredevil vanished for five years due to the snap, he had enough time to rebuild his empire without his arch-nemesis being the wiser. Here’s hoping we get some hints in the finale.

  • How ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 Sets the Stage for ‘Echo’

    How ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 Sets the Stage for ‘Echo’

    Long before fans were introduced to her in Hawkeye, plans were already in place for Maya Lopez to have her own series. That series, Echo, was officially announced on 2021’s Disney Plus Day, but had been revealed by the trades months earlier. Hollywood newcomer Alaqua Cox impressed the Marvel Studios brass early on and will star in the series, tentatively set to go into production next April ahead of a likely 2023 release. While Echo still has a role to play in the conclusion of the events of Hawkeye, Episode 5, “Ronin”, seemed to put some things in place that should dovetail nicely into Echo.

    Thought it’s been obvious since he was first teased in Episode 3, Episode 5 finally put a name and a face to Maya’s “Uncle”: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin, played by Vincent D’Onofrio. Kingpin in the biggest and most important piece on the board. In Episode 5, Clint reveals to Maya that her father’s death at his hands was the result of a setup by Kingpin, who used an informant to tip off Clint to the location of the Tracksuits. While it takes a little more convincing to make Maya believe that Kingpin could have set up her father to be murdered, it’s clear by the end of the episode that Maya’s life is about to head in a totally different direction.

    That extra convincing she needs comes, unfortunately, from an unwitting acknowledgement of the set up by the person closest to her: Kazi. It’s not explicitly stated in the episode, but it’s heavily implied that Kazi may have in fact been the informant that Fisk used to tip off Clint. When pressed by Maya about why someone is his position within the Tracksuits wasn’t at the meeting where her father and others were killed, Kazi gives a half-baked excuse that Maya clearly doesn’t buy. In a short span of time, Maya is faced with the realization that she’s been betrayed by the two people closest to her.

    As the conversation between Clint and Maya points out, the two characters are similar: deadly weapons pointed at other people. Throughout the series, Maya has been pointed at Clint and Kate; the revelations of Episode 5 will clearly give her new targets, but it seems unlikely given everything a show about Hawkeye(s) has left to accomplish, that fans will have a satisfying conclusion to Maya’s new arc. Rather it seems that Episode 5 serves to set the table for Maya’s continued story in Echo.

    The most pressing unresolved issues for the Hawkeyes all now revolve around Kate’s mom, Eleanor Bishop, who was (in the least surprising twist in modern history) revealed to be the series’ “big bad.” Episode 5 revealed who was on the other end of that phone call Eleanor made last week (Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Val) and that she is in business with Kingpin. If that’s not bad enough, she was willing to throw her fiance, loveable doofus Jacques Duquesne, under the bus to save herself! Eleanor is no small fish and while the end of her story in Hawkeye will involve Kingpin and the Tracksuits, it’s her story and the impact it’ll have on Kate that should be the focus of Episode 6. Maya’s new path will certain and obviously intersect with Kate’s (a since-deleted set pic of Maya with Clint proves this), but it now seems much more likely that her involvement in the big “end battle” will more than likely set up her spinoff series and the villains in it.

    When Maya and Kazi part ways in Episode 5, it’s not on good terms. Maya knows he betrayed her and Kazi, who’s much more perspicacious than the rest of the Tracksuits, knows that she knows. With the final battle set to involve Kate, Clint, Maya and the Tracksuits, Maya and Kazi seem destined to face off and Maya is going to have a whole lot of anger to take out on Kazi. This could well become the origin story for Kazi as the Clown. As for Fisk, it’s entirely unlikely that his hands get dirty here. Yes, we’ll see more of him in Episode 6, but it would be very unlike him to get tangled up in a very public fight that ties him to a criminal organization: he wouldn’t be much of a Kingpin if he was involved every time his goons get beat up. That points to him getting to walk away from this and, along with Kazi, being on Maya’s shit list heading into Echo. Unfortunately for Maya, that means she’ll be on his shit list, too, and that’s pretty exciting because Fisk has all sorts of criminals on his payroll that he could send after Maya. I won’t tell anyone if you won’t, but at one point in time, Echo was casting for two white, female roles, one of whom was described as a criminal and one of whom who sure sounded like another criminal. Leaving Fisk to be developed further in Echo is a good, albeit frustrating choice for the studio, that allows for him to continue to be a looming menace until he’s ready for a big-time showdown, perhaps in a future Spider-Man film.

    Ultimately, Hawkeye will do exactly what is was intended to do for Maya Lopez. The character will have a redemption arc and get set on her new path ahead of her own series. While fans might feel slighted at her story not being resolved within the confines of Hawkeye’s 6 episodes, they also have to remember that Marvel Studios is in the business of pumping out content and resolving every story, every time doesn’t lend itself well to that.

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  • ‘Hawkeye’s Latest Episode Confirms [SPOILER] as Maya’s Uncle

    ‘Hawkeye’s Latest Episode Confirms [SPOILER] as Maya’s Uncle

    The fifth episode of Hawkeye has finally arrived and includes quite a few great moments. Florence Pugh‘s return as Yelena Belova is quite the highlight as we get to spend some time with her, but she isn’t the only major return of the episode. While a bit underwhelming, as it was through a surprisingly bad quality video – Val should get Yelena a better burner phone – we finally got the confirmation that all the teases so far were indeed for the reveal of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Wilson Fisk. He even seems to be wearing an outfit similar to the one he had in Daredevil‘s third season. He also seems to be holding a cane in his hand, which he frequently had in the comics.

    When we first heard his chuckle in the third episode, it seemed that his return was a definite at some point in Hawkeye. The actor sharing the series and his excitement for it also helped add more to his potential return. While we still have to wait a week until he has a speaking role (hopefully), it’s great to finally get a confirmation and it’s quite the tease. Interestingly enough, Hawkeye doesn’t mention Fisk by his name but by the name many comic fans know, the Kingpin. While it was strange we didn’t get a post-credit sequence, I did quite enjoy the visual of him hanging over our two heroes to highlight the danger he represents.

    It’s going to be a lot in the finale and here’s hoping the series can tie it all together, especially with D’Onofrio getting quite a bit more attention after all that build-up. As what Kate got from Yelena was a video, it seems very likely that we’ll start off the next episode watching the video alongside them. We did get quite a few flashbacks in this series. So, perhaps we’ll also get one teasing Fisk’s involvement in the past and it’ll be interesting to see how the watch storyline might connect to the bigger picture.

  • REVIEW: ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 – Ronin

    REVIEW: ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 – Ronin

    Hawkeye Episode 5 expanded upon the last episode’s theme of rich character development and in-series world-building, but it fell short of providing a strong platform into the finale. While the penultimate episode certainly took its time to gather a lot of pieces of the big-picture puzzle, the final episode of the short series is left to try and resolve virtually every plotline already in existence as well as provide all of the Kingpin content it has teased. 

    What Ronin set out to achieve it did beautifully. There were several standout conversations and one-on-one moments that invoked emotion arguably better than the series has done previously. Florence Pugh’s witty Yelena was easily one of the biggest highlights and received much of the episode’s focus. While her “girl’s night” with Kate highlighted the chemistry between the two characters, the look at Yelena’s own blip was an intense opening to Ronin that set the tone for a grief-filled episode. Eleanor and Kate had a moving moment where Vera Farmiga puts in quite a compelling performance as a concerned mother which is impeccably timed with the late but unsurprising reveal that she likely is on the wrong side of the criminal line.

    Clint also has moments dripping with desperation and loss. Learning that the Black Widow was Natasha’s sister Yelena sent him into another spiral of guilt over Natasha’s sacrifice. There’s a simple but moving moment where he talks to an Avengers commemoration plaque as if it were her in silence. But mourning quickly turns to action as Clint wastes little time in going on the offensive to defend his family. Through another Linda Cardellini phone call, Clint explains that he has to end it or else the “big guy” might get involved. Laura Barton is again strangely supportive, lending a lot of credit to the theory that she is an ex-agent of some kind herself. This episode marks Clint moving away from much of his self-deprecating attitude and into a much more confidently self-aware place.

    The result is Clint revealing to Maya that not only is he Ronin, but that Maya’s “Uncle” is who wanted her father dead. This weaves itself into strong moments between Kazi and Maya, where his comforting protective instinct towards her starts to look twisted after it’s implied that he had a part in Maya’s father’s death. Still, the two have strong chemistry, and it’s a bit of a shame the series didn’t show more of it. The Clint-Maya confrontation represented the only action of the episode, leaving Episode 3 as the leader of the series in that respect, by far. 

    While Hawkeye can pull off quieter, investigative storylines, it has been teasing more over the course of its run. Episode 5 was in a prime position to kick off an intense action-packed ending to the series, but it curiously kept the slower pace of the last episode throughout. The much-awaited “reveal” was a bit of a letdown. While the name “Kingpin” has finally been dropped, it came via a less-than-dramatic line from Clint that the man in a very low-quality cellphone photo with Kate’s mom was “the guy [he’s] been worried about: Kingpin.”  Yes, it was Vincent D’Onofrio, but it may have well been Bradley Cooper’s Rocket or Alec Mapa’s Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man—the photo would’ve looked about the same. While there’s every reason to believe D’Onofrio will be a star in the finale, his reveal was not particularly exhilarating. 

    Ronin set up virtually all of the series’ plotlines on a silver platter to be resolved or concluded. The tracksuit mafia’s vendetta against Clint/Ronin, Yelena’s quest to kill Clint, Jack’s criminal ties, Eleanor’s criminal ties, Kingpin’s overarching role in all of it, Clint and Kate’s relationship, Grills’ safety, and Clint getting home for Christmas. The problem is that the finale is forced to take on all of it in, presumably, the same general run time that the rest of the episodes have been allotted. While Hawkeye has been very successful in developing strong, compelling characters, delivering interesting and emotional arcs for them, it has yet to truly prove its ability to handle its own overarching storyline. Hopefully, the finale manages to streamline its moving pieces while capitalizing on the character work the series has worked hard to execute.

  • ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 Primer

    ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 5 Primer

    As Episode 4 of Hawkeye, “Partners, Am I Right?” got started, the situation between Jacques and Clint was solved very quickly and they end up having a nice little tea party. During this episode, we learn that Jacques is basically a huge moron and that Kate’s mom might actually be the one pulling all of the strings behind the scenes, not him. Clint’s attempts to wrap up the Ronin business leads him to Kazi to try and make him convince Maya that she is chasing a ghost. Clint also goes in search of a mysterious watch that might hint at something about Laura being something, or someone, we never expected.

    Kate’s mom made a phone call almost directly after Clint left her house; after this phone call Yelena shows up and attacks Clint. We know that Yelena was sent after Clint by Val, but I’m thinking this might mean that the phone call Kate’s mom made may have been to Val. Kate’s mom doesn’t really seem to be who we thought she was. Kate and Clint also get a chance to do a lot more bonding when Kate saves Christmas. As they talked, Kate asked Clint what the best shot he ever took was and Clint replied “the one I didn’t take”, referring to when he saved Nat. Closer to the end of the episode, when Kate had the perfect shot to kill Yelena, she chose not to which was a pretty cool parallel. The question is will Kate’s decision turn out well, like Clint’s, or will Yelena go cuckoo and make Kate regret it? After bonding during the “Christmas party”, sadly Clint and Kate seem to be splitting up following the big rooftop battle. Clint wants Kate to stay out of this fight but we all know Kate WON’T allow that.

    Arlyn’s Assumptions

    Watch Hawkeye season 1, episode 4 promo trailer

    As we are coming close to the end of the season and something HUGE is about happen. We know from the trailers that the black-tie party is coming up (maybe the Bishop holiday party Kate’s mom was planning) and we also know that at some point Kingpin is going to pop in. I’m assuming that party is a great place for him to make his BIG entrance. We also know there is going to be a huge fight on an ice rink. Alaqua Cox shared a BTS picture from that scene that showed Maya wearing a purple costume and working with the Hawkeyes. What made her switch sides and turn on her “Uncle”? I’m guessing we’ll find out really soon.

    The Episode 5 of Hawkeye streams tomorrow!

  • ‘Encanto’ Heading to Disney+ for the Holidays

    ‘Encanto’ Heading to Disney+ for the Holidays

    Well, this is quite a surprise. Encanto has just recently been released in theaters and it looks like Disney is not going to waste any time to bring it to Disney+. In a new Twitter post, they announced that the latest animated musical will release on the platform on December 24th. So, we’re getting a nice Christmas present and they also shared a new clip of the song “What Else Can I Do?” alongside the announcement.

    It’s curious that they are going to release it early instead of letting it still run longer in theaters, especially with Eternals not releasing until January. It seems that they are trying o bank on the animated project’s target audience, which is quite in line with Disney+’s family-friendly focus. Sadly, some markets had a lockdown during its original release date and very likely will end up waiting for the release on the streaming service, which may hurt its international box office. Here’s hoping the film will still hold strong and everyone will enjoy it over the holidays.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany Nabs Golden Globe Nominations

    ‘WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany Nabs Golden Globe Nominations

    It looks like the Golden Globe nominations are in. It’s been a busy year for Marvel Studios, which has been garnering more critical acclaim with the release of its Disney+ series, WandaVision. It started off with the series garnering quite a few nominations at the Emmys before winning the first for the production company. The song “Agatha All Along” even got a nomination at the Grammys and the series got nominations for the Critic Choice Awards shortly after. Well, it seems that the series can now add the Golden Globes to the list.

    The official nominations have dropped and Paul Bettany has been nominated for the category of Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. He is joined by his co-star Elizabeth Olsen, who is nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress category. They are the only nominations for Marvel Studios at the upcoming event, but an additional nomination arrived for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings for Best Visual Effects.

    Succession, Ted Lasso, and The Morning Show garnered the most nominations for the TV category. Squid Game has also garnered quite a bit of acclaim at this year’s Golden Globes and it’s great to see such a diverse type of show getting some critical acclaim for their work. We’ll see if WandaVision manages to also bring a Golden Globe home.

    Source: CNN, Twitter

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Hasn’t Heard Back Yet for ‘Loki’ Season 2

    EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Hasn’t Heard Back Yet for ‘Loki’ Season 2

    There are many voice actors out there that have made quite the name for themselves within the industry. Among them is Tara Strong, who may be one of the most popular voice actresses working today, with roles in series like Teen Titans, Ben 10, and Powerpuff Girls, she’s become an iconic and instantly recognizable voice. She recently made her MCU debut in Loki, one of Marvel Studios’ first ventures into Disney+. The voice actress took on the role of Miss Minutes, the official mascot of the Time Variance Authority. We recently had the chance to talk with Strong, and just had to ask about a possible return as Minutes in the upcoming second season of Loki.

    Oh, I hope so. You know, Kate Herron, who directed it, said she would like to do like a feature based on her [Miss Minutes] on Twitter, and im like: “Oh, I’m in for that!”. I haven’t been notified yet but I certainly hope so and the fans seem to have embraced her and fallen in love with her. So, I feel pretty good about that and I would definitely come back and reprise that role if asked.

    Tara Strong

    It would certainly be a welcome surprise to see Strong return in the second season of Loki, and with what seems to be an entirely new TVA, it seems likely Miss Minutes is a definite return. For those looking to see a bit more of Tara Strong’s work, the first and second seasons of Crossing Swords are currently streaming on Hulu.

  • ‘Hawkeye’ From Page to Screen: Episode 4

    ‘Hawkeye’ From Page to Screen: Episode 4

    With Episode 4 ‘Partners, Am I Right?’ Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye is now moving into its third act. Unlike previous episodes where we could find entire sequences taken straight out of the Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye comic run (introducing Lucky in episode 1, Clint and the Tracksuit Mafia in episode 2, the car chase and trick arrows in episode 3), these references were now a bit more subdued.

    Flipping the script
    Going back to the trick arrows theme that we focused on last week, we got a reference showing us how, at times, the series has managed to flip the script on the comic run. There’s a small gag in issue #3 that starts off with Clint praising the qualities of his Boomerang Arrows. Kate, on the other hand, doesn’t really see the point or how they could ever come in handy on the field. Later on while facing the Tracksuit Mafia, who have a machine gun to Clint’s head, Kate is asked not to engage and to ditch the arrow she has pointed at the Bro who has Clint. She complies, shooting it way above the Mafia Bro’s head, only for the arrow to come back and hit him in the back of the head, thus saving Clint. ‘Boomerang Arrow. It comes back to you in the end.”

    ‘Hawkeye’ #3 (2012)
    ‘Hawkeye’ #3 (2012)

    In the show that initial discussion goes the other way around. Boomerang Arrows aren’t a real thing but Kate kinda wishes they were. Clint, as Kate did in the comic run, doesn’t really see the appeal of having an arrow you shot coming back to bite you in the ass. Kate then mentions there might have a little bit of dodging involved. This might still be setting up a payoff down the line when a Boomerang Arrow is actually used in action but, for now, it serves as an example of how the series is approaching the Clint / Kate dynamic differently than the comic run. In the books, Kate was always the more level-headed of the two. Clint, a single guy living alone in NYC struggled to get his shit together and was often given crap about not doing the right thing. As we’ve been watching in the tv show, things are very differently portrayed.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4
    ‘Hawkeye’ #9 (2013)

    This might be due to a number of factors with one being that, with the show being used to introduce Kate Bishop to the world, you still need to allow the character to have enough room to grow in upcoming projects. There would be no point in presenting Kate in the place you want her to be in five years from now. Just think of the amount of development you’d have to skip over. At the same time, the series, unlike the comic run, had to deal with preestablished Clint Barton’s background, both in terms of his family life and his past avenging. Even if the comic approach of making the young protégé being the sane one was a welcomed one, both the past and future of the MCU strongly benefit from approaching the Barton / Bishop relationship the way the show does.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4

    LARPers helping out
    In a pretty good self-aware and self-deprecating bit of storytelling, we got introduced to the LARPers in episode 2, ‘Hide and Seek’. Episode four brought them back in a more active role, making them a part of Clint and Kate’s.. guild? If there’s one thing that the Tracksuit Mafia has over our heroes is strength in numbers and the LARPers could just be the missing pieces in order to level the playing field in the upcoming episodes.

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Hawkeye’ Episode 4

    The comic run didn’t feature these characters but still managed to deliver Clint and Kate the help they needed by having Barton’s neighbors step up and help out. Throughout the series, we get to see Clint, hesitantly at first, connect with his neighbors to the point where their well-being becomes as important to him as his own. He helps one of them (Grills, sound familiar?) reconnect with his dad and even babysits Simone’s kids. At the end of the series, as the Tracksuits prepare one final attack on their building, everybody plays a part in defeating them, some with more success than others.

    ‘Hawkeye’ #1 (2012)
    ‘Hawkeye’ #7 (2012)

    In a show that has been so much about family, be it through Clint’s point of view (where you value what you have) or through Kate’s (where she learns that there’s family to be found outside the typical idyllic entity) the development of a family-type unit with the help of LARPers found along the way seems like a welcomed prospect for both characters.