Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Disney Plus

  • REVIEW: ‘Loki’ Breathes New Life Into The God of Mischief In The Best Ways

    REVIEW: ‘Loki’ Breathes New Life Into The God of Mischief In The Best Ways

    A year ago, I would’ve told you that Loki was in the bottom rung of all the stuff Marvel was slated to do. At the time of the show’s announcement in 2018, we already saw the character die thrice (!!!), only for him to show up in subsequent films beyond those deaths. “Just how many more times do we have to see Loki run the same game all over again?” said 2020 me who didn’t know better. But then the first trailer of the show came out during Disney’s Investors Day conference last December, which gave a convincing argument that this show was going to be weird and bonkers. Having now seen the first two episodes, I’ve never been happier to eat those words I uttered last year because the show absolutely destroys. 

    That’s because Kevin Feige, Michael Waldron, and Kate Herron have found new engaging ways to give more mileage to this decade-old MCU character. Mileage that will likely last the character more than many lifetimes in the MCU. This kind of longevity feels organic and untrodden for the God of Mischief himself. Not only that, the show introduces a concept that is so outrageous within the current confines of the MCU, that it almost breaks it in the best way possible. Everything you understand about the MCU will radically change after you watch these episodes. 

    The way the show treats the titular character is unlike that of what we’ve seen. While previous Loki appearances had the God of Mischief stopping at nothing in his pursuit of glory, the show exposes him for the jobber he truly is. In the world of wrestling, he’s the guy that has to lose to crown the new WWE champion. As the fates would have it, Loki isn’t destined to win; he’s born to lose. He’s only around to make people around look better and the show brilliantly forces him to come to terms with this harsh truth. For a character that’s been nothing but a sore loser and winner, there’s nothing more compelling than seeing him get humbled.

    This character turn, unsurprisingly, gives Tom Hiddleston more range for him to be the best version of Loki we’ve ever seen.  He gets to tap into that maliciousness we saw from the first Avengers film and the bumbling brattiness he gave the character in Thor: Ragnarok while bringing a new layer of weariness for the character. Hiddleston is absolutely on fire as this version of Loki. There are big emotional moments for the character in the first episode where he gets to really flex those acting chops. More than Chris Hemsworth and any other MCU star, Hiddleston might be the MCU’s greatest casting discovery to date. 

    What makes Hiddleston better this time around is that he has Owen Wilson to bounce off from. Wilson plays Mobius, an obscure character from the comics that works for the Time Variance Authority. Wilson is very much playing an Owen Wilson character here and I don’t mean that as a dig: Wilson’s quirks as an actor work so well against Hiddleston’s highbrow Shakespearean energy. You have Loki, whose thing is being grandiose and boisterous and then you have Mobius, who is just some dude trying to finish his 9-to-5 job. What’s also great about Mobius is that he’s one of the few in Loki’s orbit that is actually several steps ahead. This dynamic leads to some very fun interactions between the two; Loki is second fiddle next to Mobius and he can’t stand it. The two almost have a Jim-Dwight chemistry that almost seems unthinkable when you think about a character like Loki. Again, it goes back to the creators of this show finding engaging ways to keep you on board. People will adore the tandem these two have. 

    And then you have TVA, the most bizarre organization to make the MCU to date. Essentially, they are the timeline police. You stray from your predetermined path in the timeline and then they arrest you. The show does a fantastic job in explaining how they operate via an animated educational video akin to Jurassic Park. What intrigues me about the TVA is the larger implications the organization has for the MCU. There are some absolutely bonkers allusions to Secret Wars and Infinity Stones in the show. The TVA as the most powerful ruling order in the MCU’s plane of existence is going to lead to some crazy stuff moving forward. 

    Apart from being immensely powerful, what really makes the TVA such a bizarre organization is the way the whole thing is packaged. The set design is so striking; a mix between retro 70’s analog and old school sci-fi. Every nook and cranny of the TVA feels very lived-in. Every single thing about the set feels like the polar opposite from what we got in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, where they literally had to use the same set over and over again. The people that inhabit the TVA rival those that live in Sakaar; just a bunch of totally lovable weirdos that steal each scene they’re in. 

    Visually, it’s the first Marvel Disney+ show to actually look truly cinematic. That’s not to say the two Marvel shows that came before this were visually bad. The VFX shots of those shows were astounding and even surpass some of the biggest movies. But beyond those expensive sequences, there are a chunk of scenes in Wandavision and, especially, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier that fall short from looking like a movie. As great as Sam’s big monologue was in the finale, that whole moment looked like an episode of Jessica Jones. Loki is the first one of the bunch to feel like a movie. 

    If WandaVision was Marvel’s attempt at doing an experimental sitcom and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier a return to their blockbuster form, Loki is them taking a stab at a Fincher-esque investigative crime thriller. You’ve probably heard of the premise by now: someone is causing all these problems in the sacred timeline and the TVA needs Loki’s help to hunt them down. The show gets the spirit of investigative thrillers correct.  It’s eerie and atmospheric at times. The investigative aspect feels very engaging. It’s not quite a whodunnit as the show is quick to give away who they’re after but the hows and whats within the confines of the TVA’s crazy world is what makes it interesting.

    The only thing I’m mixed on is how some of the mechanics of time travel are presented. Like Endgame, it’s simplified enough for you to buy it at face value until you actually start thinking of the nuances. Some of it will eat at audiences if they don’t ever clarify it. But the fact that the show is taking big swings in doing their own twist with time travel is pretty cool. The introduction of the Time Keepers results in the prevalent theme of predestination and fate; whether or not we’re actually in control of our decisions or if some cabal of time gods have it all planned out. It’s nothing we haven’t seen but when applied to a character like Loki, it becomes way more interesting to explore. The stuff they seed for his arc is gonna have some crazy payoffs by the time the finale hits. 

    Having seen only two episodes, it’s too early to definitively say where Loki stands among the Marvel shows. But if the rest of the season keeps up with what Episode 1 and 2 does, we might have the best one yet. Loki may not ever rule Midgard or Asgard but he may be poised to rule the Disney+ platform if all goes well. 

     

  • 5 Non-Time Travel Films to Watch Ahead of Disney+’s ‘Loki’ Premiere

    5 Non-Time Travel Films to Watch Ahead of Disney+’s ‘Loki’ Premiere

    Loki will premiere this week on Disney+. A large part of the conversation surrounding it has been about all the various (and sometimes out-of-left-field) other shows and movies that influenced it, which includes the likes of Blade Runner, Mad Men, Teletubbies, and many more. There are also all the beloved time travel TV series that people have been attempting to marathon before the series starts. Of course, that doesn’t include all the Marvel movies the God of Mischief has appeared in. As such, this list is for those looking to watch something that wouldn’t be the first thing they would consider being an inspiration, but are fun to take a look at and compare in different ways. So, I’m ruling out all movies based on comic book properties or anything that involves time travel. Without further ado, let’s jump into the potential inspirations behind Marvel Studios’ next Disney+ entry.

     

    Brazil (1985)

    13 Fascinating Facts About 'Brazil' | Mental Floss

     

    The science-fiction black comedy film, which was directed by Terry Gilliam of the comedy troupe Monty Python, is about a man who has dreams at night of being a warrior. He also imagines being with a certain woman who he soon spots in real life. Unfortunately, they both live in a totalitarian, bureaucratic society, which soon becomes an obstacle for them to escape. The society in question is not unlike the Time Variance Authority central to Loki, and the film has actually already been confirmed to have been an influence on the series. It’s easy to tell just from the trailers alone, as it appears to be a labyrinth of whimsical order, much like the dystopian future depicted in Brazil.

     

    Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

    How 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off' Became One of the Best High School Films Ever - ABC News

     

    This is the only movie on the list not to have any elements of magic or science fiction, but it may be the one with the spirit closest to that of Loki. Ferris Bueller is a high school senior who tricks his parents into believing he is sick. All this so he can ditch school for a day, bringing his best friend and girlfriend along for the ride. This John Hughes coming-of-age movie is all about the excitement and motivation behind getting up to mischief simply for the thrill of it, and that’s certainly a major side of Loki’s character.

     

    Defending Your Life (1991)

    Defending Your Life (1991) - YouTube

     

    Defending Your Life is another movie that has been confirmed as an inspiration for Loki. Director and actor Albert Brooks, who is co-starring alongside Meryl Streep, explores the story about another organization similar to the TVA, Judgement City. It is where people go after they die and are put on trial to receive a judgment on whether they were brave enough during their life on Earth to be deemed fit to move on to the next phase of existence or if they will be sent back to Earth to begin a whole new one.

    Much like Judgement City, the TVA is inaccessible from the “regular” world as it can only be found on its own plane of existence. However, the element of this film’s world that Loki’s creative team seemed to take direct inspiration from is the courtroom in which the main character’s trial is held. The room contains a large screen on which scenes from the defendant’s life are played, and the time theater seen in Loki’s trailers is essentially the same thing. 

     

    Jurassic Park (1993)

    Jurassic Park Filme in der Reihenfolge: Die vollständige Zeitle

     

    Jurassic Park is sort of like a reverse time travel film. Instead of the characters visiting a different era, the different era is brought to them. It’s a cautionary tale about science as just because something can be done, doesn’t necessarily mean it should be done. Yet, this isn’t the reason why the movie is on this list, though. That honor goes to a scene early in the film in which the characters watch how soon-to-be-opened dinosaur park came to be. The intro features an animated anthropomorphic DNA sequence, which is appropriately named Mr. DNA.

    The TVA has its own Mr. DNA in the form of Miss Minutes, an animated and anthropomorphic clock. She prepares time criminals for their trials at the organization. Both are upbeat as they deliver messages (technically exposition for the audience) with sinister undertones. They even have some level of an American southern accent. Universal Studios may be trying to give Mr. DNA a comeback in the queue of their new Jurassic Park ride, but Miss Minutes may very well end up giving him a run for his money in terms of modern-day popularity.

     

    Midnight in Paris (2011)

    Midnight in Paris | Film-Rezensionen.de

     

    Okay, so this one is a rule breaker because time travel is at play here. But if you’ve seen this movie you know exactly why it’s on the list. And no, it’s not because of the changing of different eras. Midnight in Paris is about a screenwriter who gets wrapped up in nostalgia while in conflict with his fiancée and her family. He ends up in various time periods of the past reliving the days of the great writers. The screenwriter is played by Owen Wilson, and he runs into various historical figures like F. Scott Fitzgerald, played by Tom Hiddleston. Again, I’m breaking my own rule here by including this film, but this is the only other project the two leads of Loki worked on together. So, I couldn’t help myself. And besides, would this truly be a Loki watchlist if it completely stuck by the books?

  • Tom Hiddleston Teases That ‘Loki’ Will Explore the Meaning of His Iconic Horns

    Tom Hiddleston Teases That ‘Loki’ Will Explore the Meaning of His Iconic Horns

    Having portrayed Loki Laufeyson since 2011’s Thor, there are few individuals with better knowledge of the cinematic version of the character than Tom Hiddleston. Whereas production teams, writers, and directors have often come and gone throughout the history of the Thor franchise, Hiddleston has been there since the start. Because of this, it’s only natural that when developing a Loki-centered series, he would be a great source of information for the current production team. It was even the focus of the latest featurette where they revealed that they were called the Loki Lectures.

     

     

    Besides the obvious issues like his character’s dramatic arc, Hiddleston told us that even Loki’s fight choreography and costumes have been the subject of a few conversations while developing the show. The production wanted to understand how Loki has evolved thus far to take the proper steps forward with the character. An interesting subject of discussion, one that by being mentioned in such specifics might hint at it being focused on in the show, was Loki’s headpiece. Hiddleston had this to say:

    People wanted to know about the horns. I do remember that. There was a question of when does Loki wear the horns? Why does he wear them? Is it a ceremonial thing or are they somehow an extension of some emotional intention? Is he particularly malevolent at those times? It was kind of interesting to be asked these questions from outside, I guess, from outside this experience. All will become clear in time.

     

     

    Throughout Loki’s history, the mentioned headpiece is an Asgardian symbol for the sorcery he wields. So, it would be fair to think that it does indeed serve a sort of ceremonial element, conferring to his figure some extra authority and power. With images released by Marvel Studios of Loki wearing a smaller headpiece on the show, we might probably see him work to regain the status he once held, making his way into a bigger headpiece as he reacquires his title of God of Mischief by the end of the series.

  • Marvel Studios’ ‘Loki’ Was Almost a Marvel One-Shot Short Film at One Point

    Marvel Studios’ ‘Loki’ Was Almost a Marvel One-Shot Short Film at One Point

    Marvel Studios has entered a brand new territory with their Disney+ shows. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was already constantly changing but this service opened up new doors and allowed them to explore beloved characters in new ways. So far, we’ve seen Wandavison and Falcon and The Winter Soldier show us a new side to heroes we watched on screen for years. Now, with the premiere of Loki approaching, fans might be interested to know that the trickster had a spin-off planned early on in his time in the MCU. With the recent strides in storytelling, it seems Marvel Studios always played around with the idea of exploring the trickster in a different timeline.

    In a press junket for Loki, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed that the studio danced around the idea of developing a short film for the character. He even references the former disco nightclub Studio 54 that went on to become a Broadway theatre.

    There were ideas, as Tom will remember, for a short film going back almost a decade for Loki in the 70s. Like running a Studio 54 in the 70s. I think we had some concept art of him on a horse.

    The project didn’t get much further than that. It wasn’t until director Kate Heron and head writer Michael Waldron joined the project that it had become “Infinitely more interesting” according to Feige through their ideas on how to spin the project. Marvel did explore the concept of short films with their Marvel One-Shots. These were included in their blu-ray releases that offered smaller stories in the MCU. It included the Agent Coulson-focused stories The Consultant and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer. Of course, the big standout was Ben Kingsley‘s return as Trevor Slattery in All Hail the King. It’s crazy to think how far the franchise has come now that we have high-budget series doing what these One-Shots originally were meant to do.

  • Gugu Mbatha-Raw Reveals That ‘Loki’ Will Explore Ravonna Renslayer’s Origin

    Gugu Mbatha-Raw Reveals That ‘Loki’ Will Explore Ravonna Renslayer’s Origin

    It was revealed two months ago that Gugu Mbatha-Raw‘s character is actually Ravonna Renslayer. Now, the significance of this role is huge for comic fans, as she is the love interest of the one and only Kang the Conqueror. Now, we know that Jonathan Majors will play the character in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, but his casting was already nine months ago. This led to a lot of speculation on him potentially appearing in an earlier storyline. The introduction of the Time Keepers and the Time Variance Authority in the upcoming Disney+ Loki made it seem like the perfect place for him to appear. In the show’s press junket, Mbatha-Raw revealed that the upcoming season will act as an origin story for the comic character.

    Well, luckily or unluckily for me, Kate explained to me that this was sort of more of an origin story for Ravonna Renslayer. You know, sort of predating some of the stuff in the comics. All that stuff is there, but theres also the opportunity to feel like starting with something fresh with the TVA that hadn’t been seen before by fans on screen.

    Interestingly enough, she also teases that there might be a bright future ahead for the character beyond Loki.

    There’s so much there, that I’m, you know, I feel like there’s plenty of potential for her in the future as well.

    Now, the implications are huge if you consider that this also means we might see her first meeting with Kang. In an earlier interview with Vanity Fair, he did hint that the series will also play around with romance in an interesting way. Perhaps we’ll get a star-crossed romance between Kang and Ravonna throughout the Disney+ series that builds up his character before he takes a darker turn once Quantumania releases 2023. Who knows if Loki might also be the reason why Kang becomes the Conqueror we all know him as from the comics.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Season 1 Will Be a Standalone Season

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Season 1 Will Be a Standalone Season

    There has been one major rumor circling the Disney+ series Loki. Okay, there are quite a few but one of the standouts was the potential of it receiving a second season. Almost a year ago, there seemed to be rumblings of it happening, but we never got any confirmation. There was the report that head writer Michael Waldron signed up a deal with Disney that included his work on Kevin Feige‘s untitled Star Wars film. It also confirmed a reference to a potential second season. Charles Murphy got a chance to ask Waldron if he could say anything on the rumors, but he swiftly played coy on the fact but did tease that the upcoming season will tell a complete story.

    It was really always my hope and intention with this to tell a complete story with this season. Season 1 would stand on its own and, you know, is there more story to tell in the future? I don’t know, time will tell.

    There are a lot of hints that there is something happening and we hope to see a lot more TVA in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Waldron also teased the potential of a Secret Wars connection. So, even if they don’t move forward with Loki, there is always a chance that they explore another Variant of a popular Marvel character. There are a lot of creative ways to utilize this simple premise and continue building upon the TVA mythology we can expect from the upcoming series. Now that they are opening up the rest of the multiverse, it feels like there is no more limit to what stories they may tell.

  • EXCLUSIVE: There May Be A ‘Secret Wars’ Connection in ‘Loki’, Says Head Writer Michael Waldron

    EXCLUSIVE: There May Be A ‘Secret Wars’ Connection in ‘Loki’, Says Head Writer Michael Waldron

    It’s been a long break since the finale of Falcon and the Winter Soldier aired on Disney+. Now, we are just a few days away from the first episode of Marvel Studios’ next venture airs on the streaming platform with the return of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. The series will take place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Our favorite team of heroes accidentally let a version of Loki escape his fate when he got his hands on the Tessaract. To keep the timeline safe, he gets captured by the Time Variance Authority and will journey off into a brand new adventure.

    Our very own Charles Murphy got a chance to sit down with head writer Michael Waldron to discuss the Disney+ show. Murphy asked if an animated sequence that details the TVA’s history, a previous “multiversal war” and the potential for altered timelines to create more multiversal conflicts might tease a connection to the famous Marvel storyline Secret Wars possibly being adapted for the MCU. Waldron had the following to say:

    We’ll see. You’ll probably know, as well as I do, not everything is just in there. If the purpose of that whole thing was to just indoctrinate the audience and everything. Yeah, we’ll see how this plays out in the MCU moving forward.

    Of course, he doesn’t outright confirm anything but the inclusion certainly seems intentional. Ever since Endgame was released, Secret Wars seemed like the perfect follow-up event. We’ve already witnessed Thanos snapping half the world out of existence and our heroes travel through time. So, the next major event would need to top even that and it seemed like a natural fit with all these multiversal stories that they would collide at one point. We cannot wait to see where the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is heading.

  • ‘Loki’: First Funko Pops Revealed for Marvel Studios’ Next Disney+ Series

    ‘Loki’: First Funko Pops Revealed for Marvel Studios’ Next Disney+ Series

    We are only two days away from Loki finally premiering and it seems that everyone is gearing up for it. Marvel Studios has been dropping quite a few featurettes and even the first few clips on their Twitter channel and now Entertainment Weekly unveiled the first Funko pops for the Disney+ series. They are only featuring our main two cast members Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki and Owen Wilson‘s Morbus. There aren’t any major reveals or hints in these images, but we do get a good look at Mobius’ weapon of choice that was briefly hinted at in the trailers.

     

    loki funko pops

     

    Entertainment Weekly also unveiled a variety of other new merchandise that includes some of the Miss Minutes merchandise that leaked some months ago. She is the TVA mascot and will have a prominent role throughout Loki’s journey with the inter-dimensional bureaucracy. The new show will also continue the tradition that a variety of Funko Pops will get released as the show goes through its six-episode run. We still know very little of what to expect from the series. So, it’ll be interesting to see what other Funkos are heading our way in the upcoming weeks.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • Kevin Feige Teases the Importance of Disney+’s ‘Loki’ for the MCU’s Future

    Kevin Feige Teases the Importance of Disney+’s ‘Loki’ for the MCU’s Future

    Finally, the long wait is about to end as Marvel Studios’ next Disney+ series is about to premiere this Wednesday. Loki will introduce the world to the Time Variance Authority and the return of the beloved God of Mischief. We’ve all been wondering how the exploration of time travel may affect the Marvel Cinematic Universe moving forward and it looks like their next series will do exactly that. In an interview with Empire. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that Loki might be the most important of the series so far.

    It’s tremendously important. It perhaps will have more impact on the MCU than any of the shows thus far. What everybody thought about WandaVision, and was sort of true, and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, which was sort of true, is even more sort of true for Loki.

    The introduction of the TVA is a considerable indicator that the multiverse is only truly opening up. There have been concerns about how these shows would affect the bigger picture and it seems that the upcoming series will do exactly that. Feige also hints at how Tom Hiddleston’s character will change throughout the six-episode run, as they want to use these series to let their characters grow in new and unexpected ways. So, here’s hoping we might see more of the trickster god in the future, especially with the uncertainty if he might return in a film as well. Of course, the introduction of Variants and the upcoming What If series could also be a good indicator that the MCU might tackle a lot of new perspectives from across the multiverse.

    Source: Empire

  • Disney Developing a ‘Cruella’ Sequel

    Disney Developing a ‘Cruella’ Sequel

    It looks like Cruella was a success, as Disney is fast-tracking a sequel to the Emma Stone-led project. Craig Gillespie will return to direct with Tony McNamara once again working on the screenplay for the film. The One Hundred and One Dalmations prequel explored the early days of villainess Cruella de Vil and how she made her name in the fashion world. The film was released theatrically and on Disney+ Premier Access. While we don’t know how it performed on the streaming service, the film did earn around $48.5M worldwide. A Disney spokesperson shared their enthusiasm for the film’s success:

    The film has been incredibly well received by audiences around the world, with a 97% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes in addition to A’s in every demographic from CinemaScore on opening weekend, ranking it among the most popular of our live-action reimaginings. We look forward to a long run as audiences continue to enjoy this fantastic film.

    Unlike some of their live-action reimaginings of the classic fairytale adaptations, Cruella took a very unique visual approach by integrating a 1970s punk rock aesthetic. It made the film stand out even among the many adaptations that Disney has been working on. What started with 2010’s Alice in Wonderland became a staple of Disney’s cinematic landscape as they saw success with Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Now, Cruella’s approach to an origin story for the original’s main villain is similar to what they did with the Angelina Jolie-spearheaded Maleficent. Their success could open up the door to exploring other classic villains. Could we see a prequel to The Great Mouse Detective focusing on Professor Ratigan? Probably not, but one thing is for sure, Disney won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

    Source: THR