Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Doctor Strange

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Plot Was Rewritten Due to ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Delay

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Plot Was Rewritten Due to ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Delay

    When it was officially announced that Benedict Cumberbatch would return as Doctor Strange in the third Spider-Man film, it made many wonders how it would tie into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The sequel was originally going to release May 7th, 2021 until it got pushed back by an entire year while the third Spider-Man film kept its original release. Well, in a new piece by GQ they’ve highlighted that the film’s plot was rewritten once they realized they had to postpone the Doctor Strange sequels due to the pandemic.

    So, Multiverse of Madness was originally going to set up the multiversal madness that Peter’s about to face. So, there’s a chance that his wish to make sure no one remembers him that leads to the spell not working might’ve been added in once the delay arrived. Of course, that may have been part of the story but the way they end up unleashing it could’ve been changed. Holland highlights that the script was rewritten on a daily basis, especially for the third act.

    You could ask the director, ‘What happens in act three?’ And his response would be, ‘I’m still trying to figure it out.

    Tom Holland

    It’s not uncommon for the script to get rewritten as production goes on. Many lines are improvised and sometimes what was put down on paper doesn’t quite work out as one envisioned it originally. The writers, director, and actors working together brings the final vision to life and it’ll be interesting to see what they’ve brought together once it releases next month.

    Source: GQ

  • RUMOR: ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Reshoots to Add Cameos From an MCU Show

    RUMOR: ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Reshoots to Add Cameos From an MCU Show

    Just recently, we learned that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is entering an extended reshoot schedule. The main reasons were accredited to the pandemic having influenced initial production and they’re trying to make up for it. Reshoots aren’t uncommon anymore for films nowadays, especially from Marvel Studios. Yet, it seems like there might be one more reason behind the move and they are trying to add some additional cameos that weren’t possible due to production overlaps.

    GWW’s KC Walsh has shared on Twitter that one of the reasoning the production entered reshoots is to work on a pivotal scene. He highlights that they also are trying to add people that were busy filming a show at the time only later to clarify that it was a production from Marvel Studios in response to another tweet. It opens up quite a few questions, as the implication is that the series was being filmed during the time the Doctor Strange sequel was in production. It’s especially noteworthy that it is specifically for a “pivotal scene” in the film.

    https://twitter.com/TheComixKid/status/1460008555415625728

    It’s not the first time a rumor is pointing to a major cameo in the film. There were theories about an Ultron Sentry finding their way in from What If…? alongside Captain Carter. There’s also the connection with Spider-Man opening the film up to potentially directly tying into the events of that film that might spiral the madness mentioned in the film’s title. At this point, it almost seems like anything is possible with whatever the multiverse has to offer.

    Source: Twitter, Twitter (MCU Show)

  • Scott Derrickson Open to Eventual Return to Direct Another Marvel Film

    Scott Derrickson Open to Eventual Return to Direct Another Marvel Film

    Doctor Strange is among Marvel Studios’ best films, not only introducing mainstream audiences to Stephen Strange but also for unlocking the magical side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film would eventually score a sequel with director Scott Derrickson and star Benedict Cumberbatch set to return in their respective roles. Sadly, just a few months after announcing Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness at SDCC, he left the project over “creative differences.”

    Just a few weeks later it was announced that Sam Raimi would be returning to the Marvel Universe to direct the sequel who is, of course, best known for his Spider-Man films as well as the Evil Dead franchise. Scott Derrickson is one of those directors who are very hands-on when it comes to fan interactions, especially on Twitter, and recently entertained a request from a fan to return to the MCU for another film. Of course, he played coy responding with a simple response:

    https://twitter.com/scottderrickson/status/1459586169998512129?s=21

    No one would be opposed to a return for the director, especially after his work on Doctor Strange but for now, it’s all just hypotheticals. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be undergoing “extensive reshoots” soon due to the pandemic affecting its production, but it currently is eyeing a release in May. It’ll be interesting to see if the director might return for an eventual third entry or even to tackle a brand new franchise.

    Source: Twitter

  • Breaking: ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Undergoing Reconstructive Surgery

    Breaking: ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Undergoing Reconstructive Surgery

    When Marvel Studios shuffled their release slate for 2022 and beyond, it seemed significant that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first film to be postponed. Now, a new trade report gives some clarity as to why the film won’t be making its intended March 2022 release.

    According to Aaron Couch, the film is undergoing a “significant” makeover between now and the end of the year. The film is said to be filming six days a week over the next six weeks in Los Angeles to complete what is being described as both “additional photography” (new stuff) and “reshoots” (new stuff to replace old stuff). Writer Michael Waldron is reportedly writing new material, presumably for the additional photography.

    According to the trade, part of the reshoots are simply a function of working around the availability of actors. The production, which took place in London, was also impacted by COVID-related issues that slowed it down. The film is also on its second creative team with Waldron and director Sam Raimi taking over for Scott Derrickson. Despite all the challenges it has faced, the trade says there is still “pervasive enthusiasm” for the project.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now slated to hit theaters on May 6th, 2022.

  • Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar, V3

    Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2022 Release Calendar, V3

    Marvel Studios rendered our previous 2022 hypothetical release calendar meaningless when they shuffled their entire release slate a couple of weeks ago, so we took another shot at it. Of note to this new effort is that we have considered that it looks like Disney does not want to stream live-action Star Wars series and live-action Marvel Studios series concurrently. And so while this isn’t a hypothetical Star Wars calendar, we will mention some of those series along the way.

    It looks like Marvel Studios will have to wait a bit to start streaming in 2022 as a Lucasfilm series is going to start in late-2021 and carry over into early-2022. The Book of Boba Fett could end up completing its run on February 16th, allowing Marvel Studios to kick off its 2022 Disney Plus release calendar with a couple of episodes of Marvel Legends. We could catch up not only on Bruce Banner but also on The Abomination. It’ll be interesting to see what other characters, if any, they cover and to see how much of the events of The Incredible Hulk are part of the story that leads us to She-Hulk.

    She-Hulk is set to be Marvel Studios’ longest streaming series to date, with 10 episodes scheduled. Placing it here allows Marvel to stream one episode per week, should they choose to, and helps it avoid overlapping any other live-action projects.

    We should have several episodes of Marvel Legends leading up to the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In addition to catching up on Stephen, we’ll almost certainly see a Wanda-centric one. Given the role Wong is set to play in the film, he may get one of his own, too. And then there’s Mordo…and yeah, we’ll see how these turn out, but it seems like they’ll stream the Wednesday of release week.

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first domino in the wave of release date shifts for Marvel Studios. It’s a wildly ambitious film from a director who is noted for both his pursuit of perfection and his understanding that perfection is never achieved in the first draft, so waiting a little longer to have someone like Sam Raimi put together the best version of his vision isn’t he worse thing for fans. Hopefully, come May 6th, 2022, we all walk out in awe and forget that the film was delayed for an entire year.

    Following the Strange sequel, we might not see another Marvel Studios series until mid-June. Recent rumors suggest that the Lucasfilm Obi-Wan series is slated for May (I mean May 4th IS a Wednesday); what’s curious is that if we allow for it to run for 6 weeks, we run into June and that’s when Mohan Kapur, one of the stars of Ms. Marvel, recently said he expects that streaming series to begin! Even though Ms. Marvel is introducing Kamala Khan and a WHOLE bunch of new characters, it will also feature an appearance from Carol Danvers, so we might get an episode of Marvel Legends on June 8th; either way, Ms. Marvel could kick off its run on June 15th and conclude on July 13th, coinciding nicely with Kapur’s comments.
    *Note we are predicting a two-episode premiere for Ms. Marvel to avoid overlap with Moon Knight.

    While we might not get an episode of Marvel Legends for Ms. Marvel, we’re sure to get a few for Thor: Love and Thunder. In addition to keeping up with Odinson’s adventures, fans could also use a refresher on Jane Foster, Korg, and Miek, Valkyrie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy before they hit the screen together.

    Thor: Love and Thunder, like Doctor Strange 2, was bumped down the road a few months giving director Taika Waititi time to really fine-tune this film which, coincidentally, was supposed to come out just about one year ago on November 5th!

    In this hypothetical situation, Moon Knight does some big moving. I originally thought Moon Knight might run in May, but it’s getting bumped 2 months (seems like a pattern, right?). It’s reportedly a 6-episode series which means if it follows up Thor 4 and doesn’t have any ties to any existing characters that we know of, so it can go just about anywhere. For what it’s worth, this could easily switch places with Ms. Marvel, moving Ms. Marvel a little bit closer to The Marvels which was bumped into 2023.
    *Note we are predicting a two-episode premiere of Moon Knight to avoid overlap with Season 2 of What If…?.

    We got a few episodes of Marvel Legends ahead of Season 1 of What If…?, so there’s no reason to think we won’t see some ahead of Season 2.

    What If…? is, according to Disney, set to be an annual event and it would seem totally possible that they could even keep it in the same general slot every year, too. Season 1 kicked off on August 11th, and this hypothetical would see Season 2 debut on August 24th. This timing would work out well for Marvel Studios because this same time could also see Lucasfilm’s 12-episode Andor hit Disney Plus as well. As stated in the opening, keeping Star Wars live-action away from Marvel Studios’ live-action was a priority here and the whole calendar works out very nicely if we have What If…? and Andor going around the same time.

    What If…? could wrap up just in time for Marvel Studios to stream one of its two 2022 holiday specials: Werewolf By Night. Now to be clear, we aren’t 100% sure exactly what is going on with this project, but if it is just a one-shot holiday special, its February start of production would give the team plenty of time to have it ready for October 26th, just ahead of Halloween.

    Marvel Legends episodes for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever should hit D+ on November 9th, a couple of days ahead of the film’s release. We’ll certainly need to catch up on T’Challa’s journey along with Shuri, Ramonda, M’Baku, Okoye and the Doras and even Killmonger, you know just in case he shows up.

    Of all the films getting shuffled around, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever might have needed it the most. Production was delayed when Letitia Wright sustained an injury and it was in mid-production when the new IATSE/AMPTP agreement went into place, meaning some adjustments were made on the fly. You can absolutely guarantee that Ryan Coogler will use these extra 4 months to put together an absolutely amazing sequel in memory of Chadwick Boseman.

    It looks like Marvel Studios’ offerings for 2022 will end with the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on November 23rd. James Gunn has said he’ll be introducing an important new character in it and while a lot of folks believe that’s going to be Santa, I’ve heard rumblings (nothing concrete, so I’m not too excited myself just yet) that the new character might be one of the shinier ones in Marvel’s toybox.

    After the GotG special, Disney Plus could stream something from Lucasfilm (a second season of The Bad Batch is reportedly coming for 2022) and it’s also important to note that the now Disney owned Avatar 2 is still slated for release on December 16th, 2022, meaning the parent company will still have a lot going on even if there’s no other Marvel Studios’ series ready to stream. Of course, we’ll have a much clearer picture of things in just two weeks following the first annual Disney Plus Day, so bookmark this and come back and throw tomatoes at us then!


  • New Leaked ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Merch Offers Closer Look at Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez

    New Leaked ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Merch Offers Closer Look at Xochitl Gomez’s America Chavez

    Earlier today, we’ve shared a new piece of merchandise for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that featured Shuma-Gorath and even teased his allies. Luckily, it seems that wasn’t the only piece we got, as a new piece of merch has found its way online featuring Strange alongside Wong, Wanda, and a closer look at America Chavez. While it’s not in high-resolution, the pose is inspired by Chavez’s debut comic cover for America #1. So, it’s technically our first look at actress Xochitl Gomez in the titular role.

    It’s certainly interesting that the visual tease all four as part of the same team. There have been countless rumors that Shuma-Gorath is the main threat, but the same has been the case with Wanda. Her role is quite unclear but she might have her own goals after the events of WandaVision. There’s also the question of how Chavez will play into the multiversal storyline. Given her abilities, there’s a good chance she’s the key to whatever inspires Gorath to unleash the madness upon an unassuming multiverse.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Merch Offers First Look at Villains, Key Allies

    ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Merch Offers First Look at Villains, Key Allies

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw its release date pushed back from March to May of 2022 recently in order to allow for another round of additional photography to be completed. As is always the case with the big world of Marvel Studios, however, even when a project is delayed, the big merch machine usually doesn’t slow down. To that end, a couple of items have made their way into online storefronts for pre-order, including a puzzle that gives fans a look at one of the film’s main villains and a coloring book that shows off America Chavez’s star-shaped, multiversal portal! For those of you looking to avoid some first act spoilers, turn back now.

    America (America Chavez) In Comics Powers, Enemies, History | Marvel

    Twitter user @starwarsmcu tipped us off this morning to a couple of products that showed up on several online storefronts. The 1,000-piece puzzle, available for pre-order through Booktopia, shows Doctor Strange in battle with the multiversal monster Shuma-Gorath. Shuma-Gorath is an ancient demon with enormous power; it has been rumored since the earliest days of production on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that Shuma-Gorath would be in pursuit of America Chavez and that pursuit would lead him into the Sacred Timeline where he’d do battle with Doctor Strange. The puzzle also shows an updated look to Strange’s costume, which now sports the classic blue symbol. It’ll be interesting to see how accurate this is to Stephen’s look in the film.

    In addition to the puzzle, there’s also a coloring book in the set. While the image on Booktopia is extremely low-quality, Strange, America, Wong (?) and the Scarlet Witch can be seen. The coloring book cover looks the same as an image that was seen earlier this year and showcased America’s star-shaped portal. America’s abilities to hop through the multiverse are a key plot point to the sequel.

    The puzzle and coloring book combo go on sale in April and can also be found for pre-order at Wheeler’s and Scholastic. With additional photography underway the next two months, time will tell how accurately this puzzle depicts the events of the film.

  • More Additional Photogrpahy Planned for ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

    More Additional Photogrpahy Planned for ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was the first of many dominoes in Marvel Studios recent shift of of their upcoming release slate, moving off of its March 25th, 2022 date to May 6th, 2022. Marvel Entertainment CCO Kevin Feige attributed the shifting slate to production shifts and changes and now we might have a little clearer idea of what he meant thanks to Benedict Cumberbatch.

    In an interview with the Today Show, Cumberbatch indicated that the sequel, which began filming last November, is scheduled to undergo additional photography over the next two months.

    Additional photography is something that Marvel Studios has scheduled into its productions, but in an interview earlier this year, Cumberbatch indicated the planned reshoots were supposed to wrap in September. Whether those reshoots were delayed or these reshoots are in addition to those is unclear; however, in any case, it certainly seems it’s best practice to have the creative team complete the film they want to put in theaters rather than having a new “Release the (insert director here) cut)” movement on social media every 6 months. The Strange sequel has been entirely reinvented since Scott Derrickson left and Michael Waldron and Sam Raimi took over, so letting those two continue to shape the film until they feel its ready to go is in everyone’s best interest.

  • Breaking: Marvel Studios Makes Major Changes to Upcoming Slate

    Breaking: Marvel Studios Makes Major Changes to Upcoming Slate

    In a press release, Disney announced a slew of changed to their upcoming slate, including moving all of their upcoming Marvel Studios release dates and removing 2 Marvel Studios dates from the schedule.

    DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS which was previously dated on 3/25/22 moves to 5/6/22

    THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER  which was previously dated on 5/6/22 moves to 7/8/22

    BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER which was previously dated on 7/8/22 moves to 11/11/22

    UNTITLED INDIANA JONES/Indiana Jones 5 which was previously dated on 7/29/22 moves to 6/30/23

    UNTITLED DISNEY LIVE ACTION which was previously dated on 7/14/23 is removed from schedule

    THE MARVELS which was previously dated on 11/11/22 moves to 2/17/23

    ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA which was previously dated on 2/17/23 moves to 7/28/23

    UNTITLED MARVEL which was previously dated on 7/28/23 is removed from schedule

    UNTITLED MARVEL which was previously dated on 10/6/23 is removed from schedule

    UNTITLED 20TH CENTURY which was previously dated on 10/20/23 is removed from schedule

    UNTITLED MARVEL which was previously dated on 11/10/23 moves to 11/3/23

    No further information was given by Disney as to why the films were moved. While production of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was briefly delayed, productions on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder have wrapped and The Marvels and Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania have, as far as we know proceeded without problems.

    The updates mean Marvel Studios will only have 3 films in theaters in 2022. And while they still look to put 4 in theaters in 2023, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania has now been moved to July, meaning it’s release will now be AFTER Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

    Four films remain on Marvel Studios 2024 slate with flags planted on February 16th, May 3rd, July 26th and November 8th.

    In total, one film was removed from the upcoming Marvel Studios slate.

    With the changes, the updated release slate looks like this:

    November 5, 2021: Eternals
    December 15, 2021: Spider-Man: No Way Home, in collaboration with Sony
    May 6, 2022: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
    July 8, 2022: Thor: Love and Thunder
    November 11, 2022: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
    February 17, 2023: The Marvels
    May 5, 2023: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
    July 28, 2023: Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania
    November 3, 2023: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    February 16, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    May 3, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    July 26, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film
    November 8, 2024: Untitled Marvel Studios film

    Captain America 4 and Blade were expected to be the next two films to enter into production, and Fantastic Four and Deadpool 3 are believed to be high up on the list as well.

    We’ll continue to update this story as it develops.

  • RUMOR: Doctor Strange May Face-Off Against Ultron Sentries in Multiversal Sequel

    RUMOR: Doctor Strange May Face-Off Against Ultron Sentries in Multiversal Sequel

    Here’s a curious piece of news, as The Direct has exclusively shared the news that the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film may feature the return of Ultron’s sentry bots in live-action. They do not go into detail if we’ll also see the return of the one controlling them, but it seems to potentially hint at a connection between the film and Disney+’s current What If…? series. They only state it’ll be from one of the universe’s Strange visits, but the natural connection would be with the recent reveal of an Infinity Stone-wielding Ultron who is taking on the Watcher.

    The inclusion of Ultron Sentries could be a general short diversion. There’s a chance that the upcoming What If…? finale might tie into the upcoming film. So, it could further develop the franchise’s concept o the multiverse and also opens up the possibility that others appear. There was a rumor that Captain Carter and the corrupted version of Strange may appear in the sequel. So, more elements may manage to find a way into the upcoming film.

    Of course, these are still rumors. The concept of the multiverse leaves almost any possible approach. We’ll see what the future has in store, especially if they continue building upon it. There’s a good possibility that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania may join in the multiversal fun. The arrival of Kang the Conqueror could lead to another multiversal war. As such, we might see a lot more of Ultron in the future.

    Source: The Direct