Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Disney Plus

  • ‘Wonder Man’ Trailer Canonizes Another Shared Universe into the MCU

    ‘Wonder Man’ Trailer Canonizes Another Shared Universe into the MCU

    As part of the Marvel Animation and Marvel Television panel at New York Comic Con, the first teaser for the upcoming eight-episode streaming series Wonder Man was released. The series, starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams and Sir Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slatter, follows Williams as the actor “seeks to make his mark in the world of blockbuster Super Hero movies.”

    From the minds of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton and Brooklyn Nine-Nine writer Andrew Guest, Wonder Man will dive into the entertainment industry and looks to be fairly self-aware. While the main premise revolves around Williams hoping to land the role of Wonder Man in a modern-day remake of a superhero film from his youth, it looks as though it won’t be the only role Williams plays.

    As seen in the trailer, Williams will play the role of Professor Harpin in an episode of an in-universe season of American Horror Story.

    At the :46 mark of the teaser, a trailer door reveals that Professor Harpin is a character in American Horror Story, as the logo for the popular horror anthology can be seen.

    While it’s nothing more than a fun Easter egg, it does indeed canonize the beloved Ryan Murphy series into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, giving it a little touch of reality. Though AHS is an FX Original, Disney acquired the network in its 2019 deal with 21st Century Fox, allowing the show to be included.

    Source: Marvel

  • Marvel Studios Delays the Release of Its Next Streaming Series

    Marvel Studios Delays the Release of Its Next Streaming Series

    In an effort to ensure it gets a fair shot with audiences, Marvel Studios is shuffling its next streaming series into 2026.

    Originally set to debut in December 2025, the Marvel Spotlight series Wonder Man will now stream in January 2026. According to Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios, Brad Winderbaum, the studio took inspiration for the move from the release schedule of WandaVision, which debuted on January 15, 2021.

    “We don’t want it to get swallowed up by people watching Home Alone and Die Hard and Elf,” said Winderbaum of the move, which comes ahead of Marvel Animation and Marvel Television’s appearance at New York Comic Con.

    Created by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, Wonder Man stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen as Simon Williams and his journey trying to make his way as an actor in Hollywood. 

    Source: EW

  • In-Universe Promo Reveals First Details about Marvel Television’s ‘Wonder Man’

    In-Universe Promo Reveals First Details about Marvel Television’s ‘Wonder Man’

    Wonder Man continues to be one of Marvel’s most enigmatic projects. Announced via trade report in June 2022, the series was created by Spider-Man: Brand New Day director Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest but was never acknowledged by the studio until Marvel Parliament member Stephen Broussard confirmed it was happening in a 2023 interview. Incredibly enough, despite being filmed on location in and around Los Angeles, production began and ended with very few set photos or plot leaks, leaving only rumors and speculation about the show’s true nature and some to believe it only to be a product of the Mandela Effect.

    With a stellar cast including Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Josh Gad, Ed Harris and Ben Kingsley, Wonder Man is not only real, according to Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum, one of his favorite projects he’s been attached to in his time at the studio. With time running out before its December debut, it has been expected that marketing for Wonder Man might get underway during this weekend’s New York Comic Con and that is indeed the case.

    Via Discussing Film, a new in-universe promo for Wonder Man has been released that provides some intriguing new details about the series.

    Based on the character of Wonder Man, one of Marvel’s oldest characters, first introduced in 1964 in the pages of Avengers No 9. Known as Simon Williams, a celebrity actor and stuntman. In a nutshell, it is a story of two actors struggling to make it in the Hollywood of the MCU, [asking] the big question what does Hollywood look like in a world where super heroes are real?

    -First synopsis for Marvel Television’s Wonder Man

    The eight-episode Marvel Spotlight series was heavily influenced by the comics and was described by Winderbaum as a “love letter to Hollywood.” It’s also been rumored to satirize the filmmaking industry and the new promo seems to confirm that.

    In it, actor Zlatko Burić is in character as Von Kovak, an MCU in-universe “award-winning director” who is remaking Wonder Man, a classic superhero film.

    This all tracks with what little we’ve seen of the project, which included Abdul-Mateen‘s Simon Williams auditioning for Wonder Man. At this point, it seems safe to assume a full first teaser trailer for the project will debut this weekend.

  • Major ‘Daredevil’ Character Confirmed for Surprising Return in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Major ‘Daredevil’ Character Confirmed for Surprising Return in ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    As Daredevil: Born Again entered the back half of its first season, the goal of the series’ creative retooling under the purview of Dario Scardapane became clear: make it Netflix-ier. Sure, with Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Jon Bernthal and Ayelet Zurer all taking on major roles AFTER the overhaul, the new direction should not have come as a surprise but beginning with Episode 6, “Excessive Force”, the series pivoted aggressively, starting down a far darker path. The series continued to creep along in that darkness through the Season 1 finale setting up whatcm already feels more like Daredevil Season 4 than Daredevil: Born Again Season 2.

    With production on the series taking place largely in view of the New York City public, plenty of photos and videos from the set of the sophomore season of Daredevil: Born Again made their way online. While you can’t safely infer too much from set photos, it does seem as though the new season will indeed dwell in the darkness fans of the Netflix series loved and, perhaps, room for more of the Defenders-verse characters to join the MCU.

    Krysten Ritter joined the cast of Season 2 and Luke Cage star Mike Colter all but confirmed he was set to return as Harlem’s Hero but a new report from a trusted insider claims they won’t be alone. According to Daniel Richtman, Elodie Yung, who played Elektra in Daredevil and The Defenders, will return to the role in Daredevil: Born Again.

    I  have confirmed Elektra is coming back. Not sure if it’s for season 2 or 3.

    -Daniel Richtman

    Richtman was unable to confirm whether Yung was among the many Defenders-verse era actors rumored to appear in Season 2 or set to appear in Defenders Season 2 Daredevil: Born Again Season 3, which films next Spring, though it’s worth pointing out both options are a possibility.

  • Paul Bettany Confirms Major Spoiler for ‘Vision Quest’

    Paul Bettany Confirms Major Spoiler for ‘Vision Quest’

    Marvel Television’s Paul Bettany-led streaming series, potentially titled Vision Quest, has remained remarkably under the radar. For its part, the studio has rarely mentioned the series officially, though it’s likely to be included in its NYCC presentation on October 11th. Despite the studio’s silence, some details about the series emerged over time, including a very interesting cast full of AI beings and one very mysterious young man played by Ruaridh Mollica.

    Though the identity of Mollica’s character has been kept under wraps by the studio, all signs point toward him portraying a young man named “Tucker” who is serving as the vessel for the soul of Tommy Maximoff. That’s not something the studio would come right out and say (it spent over half of Agatha All Along attempting to conceal the true identity of Joe Locke’s character) plenty of insiders have chimed in on the subject. None of them, however, carry the same weight as series star Bettany, who has seemingly confirmed Tommy’s appearance.

    While speaking at Los Angeles Comic Con, Bettany revealed that Vision Quest tells a story of “intergenerational trauma” shared by “fathers and sons.”

    It’s about intergenerational trauma…fathers and sons and denial of pain and denial of your own truth and coming to terms with who and what you are.

    –Paul Bettany on Marvel Television’s streaming series, Vision Quest

    With James Spader set to return as Tony Stark and Bruce Banner’s AI murder bot, Ultron, and much of the series set in a reality other than our own, Vision Quest will see Vision faced with some disturbing realizations while he rediscovers who he is. However, Bettany is clearly speaking about multiple generations and more than one father and more than one son, which all but confirms that his son, Tommy, will indeed appear.

    As seen in Agatha All Along, Billy Maximoff transferred to soul of his brother into a boy who died in a pool as a result of bullies holding his head under water. As Billy did so, he stated that the boy had no family or no one to love him, leaving the door wide open for “Tucker” to have quite a bit in common with his trouble-making comic book counterpart.

  • ‘Luke Cage’s Star Mike Colter All But Confirms Return to the Role for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    ‘Luke Cage’s Star Mike Colter All But Confirms Return to the Role for ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum recently confirmed that the studio has given the green light to a third season of Daredevil: Born Again and it’s looking increasingly likely that another of hero from Netflix’s Defenders-verse will be making the jump to D+.

    But now that some time has passed, now that we actually see how well-integrated the stories are, I personally, Brad Winderbaum, will confidently say that they are part of the Sacred Timeline.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    Though it was originally developed without ties to the Netflix series, Daredevil: Born Again underwent a major creative overhaul that ultimately canonized 13 seasons and 161 nearly hour-long episodes and added them to the MCU’s Sacred Timeline. The first season of the revival brought Jon Bernthal, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, Ayelet Zurer and Wilson Bethel across the bridge and into the MCU and in May it was revealed that Krysten Ritter had joined the cast of the second season, reprising her role as hard-drinking PI Jessica Jones. And it continue to look like she won’t be the last Netflix star to join Marvel Television’s flagship streaming series.

    After once stating that the role was in his “rear view mirror,” Luke Cage star Mike Colter has recently begun to tease a potential return as Harlem’s Hero. Colter is set to join Ritter, Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio at New York Comic Con, sparking speculation that an official announcement of his return to the role is imminent. Now, Colter has upped his tease game, all but confirming his return during an appearance at Edmonton Expo.

    “I don’t know why people keep asking me this. There’s no signs. It’s not like they’ve just recently revived one of the Marvel Netflix shows,” teased Colter when asked if he was set to return for as Cage in Daredevil: Born Again.

    Colter‘s comments certainly come across as confirmation of his return as Cage, though nothing is certain until the star shows up in an episode. If Colter is indeed “back”, the timing of the revelation would align with the star joining the cast for the third season, which will go into production in early 2026, though an appearance in Season 2 can’t be ruled out.

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Officially Renewed for Season 3

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Officially Renewed for Season 3

    During an August appearance at Galaxy Con, Charlie Cox struck a nerve among the rabid Daredevil fan base when he called the upcoming second season of the series the “final” season. Though co-star Vincent D’Onofrio quickly chimed in to say there was a “good chance” of a third season, fans still worried that the beloved show might be coming to an end, though Cox’s statement was incongruent with Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum‘s earlier statements about long-term plans for the series. Now, Winderbaum has left nothing open to debate.

    …there’s something that we do in this final season that doesn’t exist in the comics. So it is unique to our show and so I’m pretty excited about that.

    -Charlie Cox

    “In terms of Daredevil, yeah, we are greenlit for Season 3 and we start shooting next year,” said Winderbaum in ain interview with IGN.

    Interestingly enough, Winderbaum‘s confirmation comes just weeks before a planned Marvel Television panel at New York Comic Con where the studio will “provide a look” at its upcoming slate. With Daredevil: Born Again stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll and Krysten Ritter all scheduled to be in attendance in New York City, as well as Luke Cage star Mike Colter, it’s possible the studio is planning a larger reveal about the third season.

    Source: IGN

  • Marvel to Unveil Upcoming Streaming Slate at NYCC

    Marvel to Unveil Upcoming Streaming Slate at NYCC

    Since Bob Iger‘s mandate to reduce the number of projects in production became public, Marvel Studios has laid fairly low when it comes to slate updates at conventions. On the studio side, updates have come in small, sporadic tidbits rather than splashy and spectacular Hall H-style presentations, with Marvel even sitting out  of the Disney panel at this year’s Destination D23.

    Streaming updates have been even harder to come by, somehow. Indeed, the news that a trio of streaming projects were being shelved was the first time fans learned that two of those projects were in development. Strangely, even projects such as Wonder Man and Vision haven’t been given a big push by the studio, though it seems likely that will change soon.

    According to Marcel.com, Marvel Television and Marvel Animation will provide a look at their respective upcoming slates during an hour-long panel on October 11th as part of New York Comic Con.

    Join special guests for a look behind the scenes at some of Marvel’s most anticipated upcoming Disney+ shows from both Marvel Television and Marvel Animation.

    With only Wonder Man left to stream in 2025, it’s possible that the first trailer for the project, set to debut in December, might be rolled out during the panel. Beyond that, Marvel Television only has two other known projects on the schedule: Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 and Vision, both of which are slated for 2026 releases.

    In August, the official New York Comic Con account confirmed that Daredevil: Born Again stars Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll and Krysten Ritter are all scheduled to be in attendance on both October 11th and 12th and will be joined by Luke Cage star Mike Colter, sparking renewed hope that Harlem’s Hero is joining the series for its sophomore season.

    Vision star Paul Bettany is not currently scheduled to be in New York (though he will be joining other Marvel Studios stars in Los Angeles for LA Comic Con September 26-28) but with the series recently having completed principal photography, it’s likely the studio would show off some footage or even just clear up the uncertainty around what the name of the series will be given none of Marvel or Disney’s official sites even list it.

    With only 30 minutes or so to work, assuming an even split of the 60-minute slot, that might be about all for Marvel Television, though perhaps a recent rumor about Vision showrunner Terry Matalas potentially taking the reigns of the long-gestating Nova project could provide an opportunity to peer further into the future.

    We will have a Spider-Man season every year if I have anything to say about it. What usually happens, as you know, in animation, is that there’s a bigger gap between Season 1 and Season 2 than in subsequent seasons, and that’ll be similar in Friendly. We will have to wait a little bit more than a year for Season 2, but then after that, it should come out on an annual cadence, hopefully.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    With Marvel Zombies hitting D+ on September 24th, Marvel Animation’s portion of the panel will be fully-focused on 2026. Marvel TV chief Brad Winderbaum already confirmed that second seasons of both X-Men ’97 and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are planned to hit D+ at some point in 2026 and it’s possible third seasons for both series could be discussed as well. Winderbaum has made it clear that “creating a seasonal cadence that people can rely on,” is a priority for the TV studios and both series were incredibly well-received, making longer runs all but guaranteed.

    Given that animated projects are easier to keep under wraps–the announcement of Eyes of Wakanda, for example, caught nearly everyone by surprise–it’s possible additional seasons of current series could be announced or even a new project or two. Of course, in all instances, the best bet is to expect very little and with Marvel having trended in that direction for some time now, that’s probably what we’ll get.

    Source: Marvel.com

  • The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘Marvel Zombies’

    The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘Marvel Zombies’

    First announced in November 2021 as part of Disney Plus Day, Marvel Zombies has been slow in making its way to the screen. Originally planned for a 2024 release, the series, created by Zeb Wells and Bryan Andrews fell off the radar a bit after being absent from several consecutive convention presentations by Marvel Studios but now the time has come for the undead to take the stage and showrunner Andrews promises that the upcoming four-episode TV-MA mini-event will unleash “a lot of insanity” when it hits D+ on September 24th.

    Oh, no. It’s like a through line. It’s like, originally, we were thinking it’d be a movie, if like, “Ooh, we should release it as a movie.” We should just do a movie. But there were some things that came up, certain issues that we just had to kind of, “Oh let’s break it. We’ll have to break it up into four episodes.” So basically it’s like a four-episode mini-event, like a film broke up into four parts, basically. So yeah, it’s definitely… It’s one story. It’s one throughline. A lot of insanity happens.

    –Marvel Zombies showrunner, Bryan Andrews

    Like most of Marvel Animation’s projects, Marvel Zombies isn’t deeply integrated into the ongoing shared narrative of the MCU; however, it’s not entirely standalone either. And so to help ensure the absolute best viewing experience possible we present…The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before…Marvel Zombies!

    Tier 1

    If you’ve never seen a single second of any of Marvel Studios’ films or streaming series, Tier One projects should be considered the bare minimum to get yourself ready for Marvel Zombies. In this case, there can be only one…

    What If…?, Season 1, Episode 5: “What If…Zombies?!”

    Zombie Scarlet Witch in Marvel Studios’ WHAT IF…? exclusively on Disney+. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.

    It ties right in. It is the same universe. If you’ve never seen that episode of What If…? you do come at the universe from a different angle. So you could just watch the four episodes of Marvel Zombies coming in completely blind because it does tell its own story. But if you do know that episode of What If…? and what happens in it, it does connect entirely to that episode.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    Episode 5 of Marvel Studios’ first canonical animated streaming series What If…? featured one of the most widely marketed twists of the show: zombies! Dating back to the earliest teasers for the series, the image of zombie Cap haunted fans and was used to build hype for the series. While the episode wasn’t the strongest of the series, it did include arguably the most intense and disgusting “deaths” to date in the MCU and its unresolved plot set the table for Marvel Zombies. It’s an easy 30-minute watch that will create a more complete viewing experience; also, Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum said it connects directly to the new series.

    When an outbreak of a mysterious quantum virus turns heroes and villains into zombies, the Earth’s mightiest aren’t prepared. A ragtag group of survivors, including Spider-Man, Winter Soldier, and Okoye, must join forces to find a cure and stop the spread of the zombie plague before it consumes the entire universe. As they travel to find a cure, they discover the insidious truth behind the plague and who is controlling it. With the fate of reality hanging in the balance, they must fight their way through hordes of undead heroes and stop the source of the outbreak.

    ‘WHAT IF… ZOMBIES?’ Is the Closest To ‘MORTAL KOMBAT’ The MCU May Get

    Tier 2

    Tier Two projects occupy an interesting place on The Ultimate Lists. While they’re never required viewing, they always offer something that can add to the viewing experience of the upcoming project. In this case, given that everything that occurs in Marvel Zombies takes place on an alternate timeline emerging from the events of Ant-Man and The Wasp, most Multiverse Saga projects are unnecessary to understand that story so far, though a host of Multiverse Saga characters play critical roles in the TV-MA event series.

    Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

    🍅 92%

    Despite taking place on Earth, Marvel Zombies has a couple of surprising connections to James Gunn's first CBM...and neither of them are pleasant.

    Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

    🍅 75%

    While it's certain to rile up a segment of the MCU fandom, Wanda Maximoff is, once again, a villain in Marvel Zombies. Given the role she plays, checking out her first appearance isn't a bad choice.

    Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

    🍅 93%

    Tessa Thompson confirmed by the studio to be back as the voice of Valkyrie but she's not the only reason to check out the highest-rated Thor movie as there's a very cool surprise in store related to New Asgard.

    Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

    🍅 85%

    Given that Episode 5 of What If...? ended with the zombie Thanos tease and that character has been prominently featured in the marketing for Marvel Zombies, there's plenty of reason to check out Infinity War. Add in that the entire premise of Marvel Zombies spins out of this film, albeit on an alternate timeline, and you have no reason to leave this one off the list.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018)

    🍅 87%

    Hope van Dyne and Scott Lang played important roles in "What If...Zombies?!" and we know from that episode that San Francisco is the epicenter of the zombie apocalypse. Set more or less simultaneously with most of Infinity War, this one definitely adds some context.

    The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (2021)

    🍅 85%

    What if...this show never happened? Because in the timeline established by "What If...Zombies?!", it would not have. That didn't stop the studio from inserting John Walker into Marvel Zombies...and he's not the only primary character from this stream series to make an appearance.

    Black Widow (2021)

    🍅 79%

    It's no secret that Yelena and Red Guardian are central characters in Marvel Zombies and while they both recently appeared in Thunderbolts*, the zombie apocalypse prevented that team from ever assembling...so watch this.

    Ms. Marvel (2022)

    🍅 98%

    Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan is the lead in Marvel Zombies, which allows her to showcase her powers in some interesying ways. Check out her introduction to the MCU in Ms. Marvel, one of Marvel Studios' finest streaming projects!

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

    🍅 84%

    Riri Williams has a key role in Marvel Zombies and there's really more to it than meets the eye.

    Hawkeye (2022)

    🍅 92%

    Both Hawkeyes make appearances in Marvel Zombies but with Clint already a zombie, don't expect a happy reunion...

    Tier 3

    For completists only, Tier 3 projects ensure everything in the project is given some context.

    Eternals (2021)

    🍅 47%

    Yep! And it's not even Kingo this time...

    About Marvel Zombies

    After the Avengers are overtaken by a zombie plague, a desperate group of survivors discover the key to bringing an end to the super-powered undead, racing across a dystopian landscape and risking life and limb to save their world.

    -Official synosis for What If...Zombies?! via Disney Plus

    Created by Bryan Andrews and Zeb Wells, Marvel Zombies features the voices of Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Tessa Thompson, Simu Liu, Awkwafina, Hailee Steinfeld, Wyatt Russell, Randall Park, Iman Vellani, and Dominique Thorne, among others. The series is executive produced by Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Brad Winderbaum, Dana Vasquez-Eberhardt, Bryan Andrews, and Zeb Wells, and is produced by Danielle Costa and Carrie Wassenaar.

  • Trade Report Confirms Ed Harris’ ‘Wonder Man’ Role

    Trade Report Confirms Ed Harris’ ‘Wonder Man’ Role

    In late 2022, rumors swirled that Nobody franchise star Bob Odenkirk was offered the role of Simon’s agent, a role that was rumored to be the primary antagonist of the project. Unfortunately, Odenkirk and Marvel Studios didn’t strike a deal but they did find a very capable replacement in veteran actor Ed Harris.

    The 74-year-old Harris is one of Hollywood’s most well-respected method actors and capable of turning any role into a memorable one. Harris has played memorable villains in The Rock, Enemy at the Gates, The Truman Show and National Treasure: Book of Secrets as well as a chilling performance in A History of Violence. And now, a trade report confirms the years-old rumors about his Wonder Man role.

    According to Deadline, Harris will indeed portray “Hollywood agent Neal Saroyan” in Wonder Man, which will premiere this December on D+.

    Created by Gerard Jones and Jeff Johnson in 1991, Neal Saroyan was Simon Williams agent used mostly as a Hollywood caricature, designed to satirize the kind of awful behavior industry veterans have long been known for, making him a perfect fit for Marvel Television’s take on Wonder Man. Later, Peter David ramped up Saroyen’s baddie status, revealing him to be a supervillain in charge of a cadre of assassins known as The Nobility.

    With Demetrius Grosse also on board as classic Marvel villain Eric Williams, aka the Grim Reaper, it looks as though Yahya Abdul-Mateen II’s Simon Williams will have his hands full.

    Source: Deadline