Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Disney Plus

  • Web-Slinging, Weirdness and Doom — What to Expect From Marvel’s Remaining Blockbuster 2026 Slate

    Web-Slinging, Weirdness and Doom — What to Expect From Marvel’s Remaining Blockbuster 2026 Slate

    The first half of 2026 has already been an absolute gauntlet for Marvel Studios. We kicked off the year with the Hollywood-satire experiment of Wonder Man, witnessed the landscape-shifting fallout of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, and just recently watched Frank Castle paint D+ red in The Punisher: One Last Kill.

    But Kevin Feige and the newly promoted Brad Winderbaum aren’t letting up on the gas. The remaining live-action slate for 2026 is arguably the most consequential six-month stretch in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bridging the gap between grounded street-level grit and a multiversal apocalypse.

    Spider-Man: Brand New Day — July 31, 2026 (Theatrical)

    The highly anticipated fourth solo outing for Tom Holland’s Peter Parker isn’t just a sequel; it’s a total system reset. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi), Brand New Day is pulling directly from the classic comic book status quo while throwing Peter into a dark, isolating new era.

    • The Four-Year Gap: Following an opening act that picks up nine months post-No Way Home, the film utilizes a massive four-year time jump, dropping audiences directly into the year 2028. Peter is now 21/22 years old, completely erased from the memories of his loved ones, and scraping by as an isolated, DIY hero.
    • The Tonal Whiplash: Fresh off his brutal solo special, Jon Bernthal’s Punisher serves as a primary supporting player. Bernthal has teased that Frank Castle acts as a grim reaper on Peter’s shoulder, offering a violent, uncompromising contrast to Spider-Man’s traditional idealism.
    • The Monster Within: With Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner returning to the fold, rumor has it that Peter’s mysterious headaches are reportedly tied to a terrifying physical mutation arc, forcing a veteran, resource-less Spider-Man to protect a city that has entirely moved on without him.

    ViSiONQUΞST — October 14, 2026 (Disney+)

    Serving as the definitive conclusion to the trilogy that began with WandaVision and Agatha All Along, this 8-episode event series is taking a hard sci-fi, psychological approach to the synthetic soul of the MCU. Showrunner Terry Matalas (Star Trek: Picard) is leaning heavily into philosophical horror for the spooky season.

    • The Return of the Maker: The Disney Upfronts blew the doors off this project by confirming James Spader’s return as Ultron in both human and murder bot form. Paul Bettany has teased that Ultron acts as the “architect of Vision’s trauma,” appearing in a chilling “human form” to taunt White Vision as the android searches for a soul and pieces together his inherited memories.
    • The Children’s Crusade: The series will officially introduce a grown-up Tommy Maximoff (played by Ruaridh Mollica), reuniting the twins on the physical plane after Billy’s journey in Agatha.
    • The Multiversal Anchor: Bettany has teased that VisionQuest is the direct launchpad for his role in the next two Avengers films, with Vision’s analytical mind perhaps becoming crucial to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes staying in the fight.

    Avengers: Doomsday — December 18, 2026 (Theatrical)

    The main event. The crown jewel. The return of the Kings. Joe and Anthony Russo step back behind the camera for a film that has fundamentally rewritten the rules of the Multiverse Saga.

    • The Rule of Doom: Robert Downey Jr. returns to the MCU, not as Iron Man, but as Victor von Doom. The narrative focuses on the responses of the  heroes of different Earth as Doom unleashes “a cascading crisis across the entire multiverse.”
    • The Universal Collision: This film is a massive collision of eras. We already know the Fantastic Four are central to the plot, but Alan Cumming recently let it slip that his OG Fox-verse Nightcrawler is back—and actively throwing hands with Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards. And, of course, Steve Rogers, Thor and other heroes from Earth-616 will factor heavily into the plot as well.
    • The Fluid Script: Production in London has been characterized by absolute secrecy. Joseph Quinn recently revealed that early scripts didn’t even have an ending, as the Russos and writer Stephen McFeely treat the film as a living document, utilizing “secret names” to hide massive legacy cameos until the cameras roll.

    Marvel’s remaining 2026 lineup is all about consequence. The Marvel Spotlight experimentation of the year’s first half is giving way to projects that will drive the narrative of the main cinematic line. Peter Parker is being forced to grow up, White Vision is facing his literal demon creator, and the entire Multiverse is marching toward a date with Doctor Doom on December 18.

    Buckle up. The summer belongs to the web-slinger, the autumn belongs to the synths, and this winter, there is only Doom.

  • Marvel Sets ‘ViSiONQUΞST’ Premiere Date

    Marvel Sets ‘ViSiONQUΞST’ Premiere Date

    Fans can now mark their calendars for the release of the final chapter of the WandaVision trilogy At the Disney Upfront presentation, Marvel Studios officially confirmed that VisionQuest will premiere on October 14, 2026.

    You’re meeting a Vision who has died and come back to life, who is sort of reconnecting with his memories, and his feelings, and is going through a bit of an identity quest.

    -Showrunner Terry Matalas

    VisionQuest has been described as a sort of techno-philosophica journey and certainly one of the studio’s weirdest projects to date which will include the return of James Spader‘s villainous murder bot, Ultron. The Wrap was present at the Upfront presentation and gave a description of the footage revealed from the show.

    For most of the footage, we see Paul Bettany in his human form, essentially watching Vision’s memories like a film. When last we saw him, he was the White Vision that we saw fly off at the end of WandaVision. He’s been given his memories back without having lived them, so now he’s trying to figure out his humanity once more, noting he has none of the emotions the first Vision did. There to help him — and taunt him — is Ultron, once again voiced by James Spader. But Spader also appears in human form too.

    Ruaridh Mollica has been confirmed to be playing Vision’s son, Tommy, with Todd Stashwick portraying Paladin, a mercenary out to acquire Vision’s technology for an unknown boss.

    VisionQuest will wrap Marvel Television’s live-action slate for 2026 and conclude in time for any of its characters or plot points to carry over to Avengers: Doomsday if necessary.

    Source: The Wrap

  • Lucasfilm’s Next Star Wars Streaming Show Hit with Significant Delay

    Lucasfilm’s Next Star Wars Streaming Show Hit with Significant Delay

    The path to the galaxy outside the galaxy far, far away has a roadmap. Lucasfilm has officially locked in the premiere window for Ahsoka Season 2…and it’s coming quite a bit later than hoped.

    Dave Filoni’s flagship series is set to return to Disney+ early in 2027.

    The Season 1 finale, “The Jedi, The Witch and The Warlord”, was a dense and expansive installment in the overall lore of the franchise and teed up an incredibly interesting Season 2 which was expected to stream in 2026. However, for reasons Lucasfilm did not reveal at the Disney Upfront presentation, fans will have to wait at least 8 more months before finding out what awaits Ahsoka, Sabine, Baylon and Shin on Peridea and how the returns of Thrawn and Ezra Bridger from that same planet will shape the New Republic.

    The new branding is heavy on the celestial runes we saw at the end of Season 1, suggesting that the World Between Worlds and the statues of the Mortis Gods on Peridea will be the primary focus. Rosario Dawson was on hand at the Upfronts to tease that the “stakes are higher” and the “battles are bigger,” which potentially justifies the extra year of post-production.

    A four-year gap between seasons is a lot, but if it means we get a prestige-level exploration of Anakin’s Force Ghost and the origins of the Mortis Gods, it’s a price worth paying. The logo alone suggests this isn’t just a sequel—it’s a continued spiritual expansion of Star Wars lore that Filoni has been crafting for quite some time.

  • Jon Bernthal on the Tonal Clash Between ‘One Last Kill’ and ‘Brand New Day’

    Jon Bernthal on the Tonal Clash Between ‘One Last Kill’ and ‘Brand New Day’

    The year is 20206…and Frank Castle is officially the connective tissue of the MCU’s street-level slate…but don’t expect him to play nice in both sandboxes. While talking with Kelly Clarkson, Jon Bernthal broke down the stark tonal differences between his standalone Special Presentation, The Punisher: One Last Kill, and his highly anticipated role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

    Bernthal called the Special Presentation, which debuts on March 12th, “the most psychologically complex, darkest version of the Punisher that you’re going to see. I believe it’s what the fans want.”

    “I wrote it alongside the help of Nick Koumalatsos, who’s a Marine Raider and an unbelievable guy who wrote a book his own pain and his own bout with hopelessness and his story back,” Bernthal revealed. “It was such an honor. He’s a producer on [it]. Cody Alford, a Marine Raider, and Colton Hill, Green Beret, were on set. They’re badass.”

    Bernthal continued, “They’re more than badass. They’re just beautiful human beings, and they’re great, and they really wanted to do something, you know, for the veterans community and especially for these guys, the tip of the spear guys who are really suffering with entering back into the world. And I think that’s very much at the core of a Frank story.”

    Even though Castle first appeared in the pages of a Spider-Man comic, the character that most fans are familiar with–and the one they’ll see in One Last Kill–doesn’t fit the far more family-friendly tone of Sony and Marvel’s Spidey franchise. And so having a large role in the new installment meant that Bernthal would have to bring a kinder, gentler tone to Castle.

    “With Spider-Man, I think what was most important, because, obviously, tonally it’s different and such an honour to be a part of it, especially with my dear friend Tom Holland,” Bernthal said. “It was important to us that one Punisher could walk off one set and walk onto the other. Tonally, they couldn’t be more different, but I hope we were able to achieve that. It’s very important.”

    With The Punisher and Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane having confirmed that Marvel Television is going full Netflix, it seems likely fans will get more of the gritty, bloody, badass Punisher sooner rather than later.

    Source: The Kelly Clarkson Show

  • Marvel TV Boss Reveals ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Time Skip, Intriguing Location on MCU Timeline

    Marvel TV Boss Reveals ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Time Skip, Intriguing Location on MCU Timeline

    The Season 2 finale of Daredevil: Born Again truly served as a definitive resolution to the conversation held between Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk over coffee in a diner in the series opening episode, “Heaven’s Half Hour.” Though both men believed they were destined to become the savior of New York City, they both realized they had nearly destroyed it and they both accepted the consequences of their actions.

    The series key players all have agency to make choices without the constraints of external forces, though it’s the choices made by Murdock and Fisk that will reverberate the loudest.

    -Murphy’s Multiverse Review of Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

    Both Fisk and Murdock willingly accepted their punishments, with Fisk exiled to (apparently) Puerto Rico and Murdock–now revealed as Daredevil–imprisoned in Cell Block D. Though the next season will clearly take the co-leads in a different direction, there’s no doubt they’ll meet again. However, according to Brad Winderbaum, Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios, the characters will have had some time to sit with their decisions when they reappear in Season 3.

    “There will be a small time jump, but it’s not too significant. It’s not like we’re jumping ahead five years or anything,” said Marvel’s streaming skipper. “We’re probably jumping ahead a year or so, kind of like the real-life distance between seasons. And yeah, Fisk’s exile is its own story. So it’s fun watching these two characters be in their own places in season three.“

    Should that all hold, Daredevil: Born Again Season 3 will be set sometime in mid-to-late 2028. That should provide the opportunity for the new season to wrap up before the post-credit scene to Thunderbolts* which, of course, takes place during Avengers: Doomsday. Intriguingly, the placement on the time line should allow for an expected fourth season to take place in a post-Secret Wars universe and whatever world of possibilities come with that.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Showrunner Confirms the Complete Netflixification of Marvel Television

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Showrunner Confirms the Complete Netflixification of Marvel Television

    Toward the end of Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, it seemed clear that Marvel Television was looking to revive more than just Netflix iteration of the Man Without Fear. Further assumptions about the direction of the studio’s streaming slate could be made with the returns of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage in Season 2 and Danny Rand now on board for Season 3. And now, there’s no need to assume anything at all.

    In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Daredevil: Born Again showrunner Dario Scardapane has confirmed plans for a renaissance of the entire Netflix Defenders-verse.

    “Along the way, particularly in [Daredevil: Born Again] season 2, we’re touching on the larger New York — the New York that is not quite near Avengers Tower but in the same city. And there are characters, storylines; we have the Punisher special coming out, which is part of that same world,” Scardapane explained. “So as it’s progressed, it just feels like you’re opening doors or going down streets to a neighborhood that existed 10 years ago.“

    “The establishment of the street-level characters in Netflix’s Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Defenders, Punisher, that’s the world that this is all heading towards, in my opinion. That’s just the way I’m looking at it creatively,” revealed Scardapane.

    It’s certainly not surprising, as even Matt Murdock could see the direction in which things we’re headed and it will likely continue to please the same bloodthirsty fans who hold the Defenders-verse in such high regards. Let’s just hope there’s some better characterization for some of the characters this time around.

    Source: EW

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Showrunner Confirms Muse Will Return as “Supernatural” Season 3 Threat

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Showrunner Confirms Muse Will Return as “Supernatural” Season 3 Threat

    If you felt like Muse was taken off the board too quickly in Daredevil: Born Again Season 1, you aren’t alone—the showrunner agrees with you. In an interview with EW following the Daredevil: Born Again finale, showrunner Dario Scardapane admitted that while Muse served his purpose for the Mayor Fisk arc, the character’s true potential hasn’t been tapped yet.

    As such, Muse is officially returning for Season 3, and this time, the “art” is going to get a lot more personal with Heather Glenn behind the mask. The move was foreshadowed in the Season 2 finale and recent photos from the Season 3 set–and a photo shared online by Margarita Levieva–have already confirmed the villainous turn but Scardapane had quite a bit to say about how it came to be.

    Scardapane was surprisingly open about the fan backlash regarding Muse’s apparent “exit” mid-way through Season 1.

    This was a weird one because it had to do with a plot line that we inherited, that I felt we didn’t do justice to: the original Muse storyline in season 1. Because of what was filmed and what wasn’t filmed and what we could use and not use, it didn’t have the heft that I thought Muse deserved. But, again, we were limited by what we could shoot and what we had time and money for.

    -Dario Scardapane

    The showrunner also addressed the bombshell finale reveal involving Heather Glenn. Scardapane teased that the version we see in Season 3 will be evolved, potentially leaning into the supernatural or hyper-resilient elements of the comics.

    Then I was really, really interested in the psychologist who’s dealing with trauma and is in this realm of Matt and Fisk. She has all these kinds of characters that are wearing masks. She’s been brutalized by a vigilante. In her mind, she started to confuse serial killers with vigilantes and became a press mouthpiece for Fisk. What happens if she literally puts on that trauma, and that trauma solves a lot of her conflict? We talked to Margarita about that. It seems supernatural if you watch the way it’s progressing, and now we have a Muse that isn’t just dropped in. Now you have the [character] development of, why would she become this thing? Why would she go to such a dark place? And I think you understand it. I don’t think anybody’s prepared exactly for where this is going, and that’s still fun.

    -Dario Scardapane

    Muse is arguably the most terrifying villain in Daredevil’s modern comic history. By admitting they “missed the mark” with the original character, the creative team is showing a rare level of accountability to the source material. Bringing Muse back as an antagonist for Season 3—especially with Matt Murdock’s identity now public—creates a terrifying dynamic where the hero is vulnerable and the villain is invisible.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • “I Am Daredevil” — Matt Murdock’s Secret Identity is History

    “I Am Daredevil” — Matt Murdock’s Secret Identity is History

    In a move that mirrors Tony Stark’s iconic 2008 reveal, Matt Murdock has officially outed himself as Daredevil in the Season 2 finale of Daredevil: Born Again. During a climactic courtroom battle to take down Wilson Fisk once and for all, Matt realized that his secret was Fisk’s only remaining leverage. By admitting his vigilante activities on the record, he stripped the Kingpin of his power—but at a heavy cost. The season ends with Matt being led away in handcuffs.

    According to Marvel’s streaming skipper, Brad Winderbaum, the decision to have Murdock out himself didn’t come from the Daredevil: Born Again writers room.

    “Kevin [Feige] and Louis [D’Esposito] are amazing storytellers. You don’t build the MCU if you’re not some of the greatest of all time,” Winderbaum said.

    “Very quickly, they saw that it was where the story needed to go. And of course, like, we could point to the comics,” explained. “So, as soon as you can point to the source material and show how it plays out and all the stories that we’re able to tell after the reveal of the identity, it becomes an easier argument to make.”

    Unlike the comics’ Purple Children wipe, showrunner Dario Scardapane has confirmed this genie isn’t going back in the bottleanytime soon.

    We’re probably not going to do Purple Man doing mass brainwashing of an entire city to buy it back. We’re not doing buybacks. Like, if you’re taking that step, it’s like, “All right, now everybody knows Matt’s Daredevil.”

    -Dario Scardapane

    Matt is now a convicted vigilante, ending the season in handcuffs as he’s led away to prison. This sets up a “Devil in Cell Block D” arc for Season 3, where Matt will be locked up with the very criminals he put away, including Cole North and Connor Powell.

    Cameras are already rolling on Season 3 in New York and while Fisk is out, the showrunner has teased the arrival of multiple new villains, including Lady Muse.

  • Divisive Star Wars Streaming Series Returns to D+ Top 10, Reigniting New Hope for Season 2

    Divisive Star Wars Streaming Series Returns to D+ Top 10, Reigniting New Hope for Season 2

    In a move that absolutely no one saw coming on the 2026 bingo card, The Acolyte is officially trending again.  Two years after its controversial debut, the High Republic Era series has unexpectedly re-entered the Disney+ Top 10 most-viewed shows, currently sitting at #9.

    This isn’t a random spike. The massive success of Maul-Shadow Lord has created a High Republic/Sith Origin hunger. Fans are reportedly bingeing the series to find connections to Maul’s lineage and the live-action debut of Darth Plagueis.

    Re-entering the Top 10 two years later is a rare feat. If the numbers hold through Star Wars Day, Lucasfilm might finally be incentivized to wrap up the Plagueis/Tenebrous threads that were left hanging. While a Season 2 renewal remains a long shot, the data might force Lucasfilm to finally address those unresolved cliffhangers in a Marvel-style Special Presentation or comic.

    Steeped and connected in the mythology of Star Wars yet independent of anything that’s come before it, The Acolyte was Disney’s boldest storytelling effort to date within the franchise as it looks to redefine itself. Series creator Leslye Headland revealed plans for a second season, including an arc that would make Yoda complicit in Vernestra Rwoh’s cover-up of the massacre at Brendok.

  • ‘Maul-Shadow Lord’ Reopens A Savage Wound

    ‘Maul-Shadow Lord’ Reopens A Savage Wound

    Since first appearing in The Phantom Menace, Maul has evolved from a silent, stalking slasher baddie into a truly archetypal tragic monster. The development of the former Sith in Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels have made him not only a fan favorite baddie but also, perhaps, a Star Wars most interesting antagonist. Now headlining his own series, Maul is doing what he does best–and always–seeking revenge and showing that his past will never truly be behind him.

    The latest pair of episodes, 7 and 8, went deep into the fractured mind of Maul, revisiting the death of his brother, Savage Opress, revealing that the madness that once plagued him still has a strong hold.

    The episode features a devastating flashback to Maul’s childhood on Dathomir and a verbal confirmation that the deepest wound Palpatine ever inflicted was the murder of Savage Opress.

    In a poignant moment, Maul clarifies that his war with Palpatine isn’t just political—it’s personal. He specifically cites the events of The Clone Wars episode “The Lawless” as the moment he truly lost everything.

    By acknowledging his brother’s death, the show is grounding Maul’s hatred of the Empire in grief rather than just power-lust. This adds a layer of protective vengeance to his character; Maul isn’t just trying to kill Sidious; he’s trying to stop him from doing to others what was done to him. Unfortunately, part of the tragedy of Maul is ultimately that he used the very tools of his tormentor to try to find freedom from who he had become.

    The episodes also concludes with a cliffhanger tease for the live-action return of Paul Bettany’s Dryden Vos, setting up the final transition into the Solo era. It looks like the final two episodes of the season, set to stream on Star Wars Day, will depict Maul’s takeover of Crimson Dawn and, just maybe, give fans a lightsaber duel that they’ve been waiting for…