Tag: Exclusive Reports

What I Heard This Week: ‘THE MANDALORIAN’ Season 2 Gets a New MCU Director

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road. For instance, on February 19th, I wrote this piece relaying some rumors I’d heard about Marvel Studios updating its Disney Plus slate; the next day, the news broke that a special Disney Plus event would be held in London on March 5th where it is expected that Marvel Studios and Star Wars slates will be updated.

It’s not very often something Star Wars related comes my way. There are several incredible Star Wars sites out there that do a great job covering the news and breaking it themselves, so I’m very excited to share this information with you. Before I share the information, I have to stress that as of now, this information is unconfirmed which, in my case, means I was unable to corroborate the information with a second source. However, this information came from a source who provided accurate information in the past (about a Marvel Studios project), so while I am wholly inclined to believe the source, I want to be up front with readers about the scenario. That having been said, here you go: Peyton Reed is set to direct 2 episodes of the second season of the Disney Plus streaming series, The Mandalorian and Taikia Waititi is once again contributing to the series!

Fans of the series will recall that in addition to voicing the rewired bounty hunting droid, IG-11, in season 1 of The Mandalorian, Waititi also directed the finale, bringing his signature wit to the series. While it is unclear whether or not Waititi will be directing an episode, helping to produce or coming back to voice another character, the message was clear: he’s been working with show runner Jon Favreau on the second season.

For Reed’s part, the seeds for his potential involvement may go as far back as November of 2018 when he, along with Waititi and Joe and Anthony Russo visited Favreau on the set during production of the shows’ first season, pictured below.

Favreau and Reed have a working relationship dating as far back as 2006 when the former co-starred in Reed’s comedy, The Break-Up, and have certainly had a chance to exchange notes given their ongoing relationships with Marvel Studios. Last season, 3 directors (Deborah Chow, Rick Famuywia and Dave Filoni) helmed two shows each, so it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibilities that Reed could fit into that same mold.

This news comes at a time when James Mangold publicly denied that he’d be involved with the show after a recent rumor surfaced, so it’s a scary time to put this out there. However, with Disney Plus holding an launch event this Thursday in the UK (as I first reported here) where they are expected to make some announcements and update the slates for their major properties, it was time to share this info.

March 2, 2020
What I Heard This Week: ‘THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER’ To Film in Canada

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road. For instance, on February 19th, I wrote this piece relaying some rumors I’d heard about Marvel Studios updating its Disney Plus slate; the next day, the news broke that a special Disney Plus event would be held in London on March 5th where it is expected that Marvel Studios and Star Wars slates will be updated.

A thing I heard this week: Thor: Love and Thunder may shoot some scenes in Vancouver, British Columbia, aka Hollywood North.

Since the 1970s, Vancouver has been one of the world’s top production locations. While it hasn’t been a hot spot for Marvel Studios, Helstrom is filming there now and it looks like the plan is for Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder to do some work there as well. As far as I can tell, the plan is still for the bulk of the filming to take place in Australia and for additional filming to take place in Vancouver, among other locations. While I continue to search to find out if the film will be using studio space, my assumption is that they’re going to Vancouver to shoot locations and, to that end, there is no shortage of beautiful places from which to choose.

Thor: Love and Thunder is expected to kick off production in Australia this August and shoot through the end of the year.

February 28, 2020
What I Heard This Week: ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Doing Rewrites Due to Pandemic

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road. For instance, on February 19th, I wrote this piece relaying some rumors I’d heard about Marvel Studios updating its Disney Plus slate; the next day, the news broke that a special Disney Plus event would be held in London on March 5th where it is expected that Marvel Studios and Star Wars slates will be updated.

A thing I heard this week: The extended shooting schedule of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Atlanta might be due to some rewrites of the plot and it all might just have happened because of the coronavirus.

In a potentially disturbing case or art imitating life, the plot of the upcoming Disney Plus series may have been altered as the coronavirus has continued to spread through the world and approaches being considered a pandemic. As many of you know, the production company for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is Pandemic Productions LLC. The earliest of plot “leaks”, speculation and made up stuff all shared a common thread: some sort of of device unleashing a pandemic on the populace. In some cases, it was the Madbomb; in others, it was a terrorist group unleashing a bioweapon. Whichever one you liked best, the rumors were certainly out there that the show was set to feature something of the sort.

Over the past two weeks, I’ve head a growing number of whispers that this is no longer the case. The coronavirus has already taken the lives of nearly 3,000 people worldwide, is causing long-term shut downs of schools and businesses and is wreaking havoc on the global economy. By the time The Falcon and The Winter Soldier streams in August, it is likely that the disease will have met the criterion to be considered a true pandemic (the last global pandemic was the H1N1 virus which killed as few as 151,000 and as many as 575,000 people worldwide, according to the CDC). From what I’ve been hearing, Disney may be proactively trying to get ahead of what could be a potential disaster for the studio by rewriting and, as a result, reshooting parts of the series, with a heavy emphasis on the seasons first couple of episodes.

If any of these whispers are true or not is going to be really hard to prove. I don’t find it terribly likely that Disney is going to give an official press release that says something like, “We were going to do this, but did this instead because of this real world tragedy.” However, if it is true, it gives some insight into the types of behind the scenes decisions that have to be made at studios and how, as I am so fond of saying…things change all the time! If this is accurate, it’s obviously a show of empathy from the world’s largest media marketer. Given Disney’s strong relationship and presence in China, ground zero for the virus and the place where its terrible toll has had the largest impact, and with Disney set to launch its service to the rest of Europe where the virus is currently spreading rapidly, its not hard to believe these rumors. Taking into consideration the widespread panic that exists now and will continue to grow throughout the next several months and choosing not to add to it by changing the plot of its upcoming series, the one that will launch Marvel Studios streaming presence, is a bold, yet humanitarian move.

February 27, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Marvel Studios ‘HAWKEYE’ Takes Aim at a New Start Date

In early January, I broke the news that start of production on the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye had been delayed indefinitely from it’s original July start. You can read the original, unaltered report in the link above, but I’ve cut and pasted the relevant parts below:

Production on Marvel Studios planned Disney Plus series, Hawkeye, has been postponed indefinitely. Originally scheduled to begin production this July, the series has now been removed from the studio’s 2020 production schedule.
While the news is sure to disappoint fans, the signs have been pointing towards a possible delay over the past several weeks. The studio has moved Ms. Marvel into an April start of production and is already casting for Moon Knight and She-Hulk, both of which will film ahead of Hawkeye, meaning that while we might not see the Avenging Archer when we thought we would, the big production wheel keeps on turning.

We’ve seen plenty of evidence to suggest that the still young Disney Plus service is a little more fluid in it’s scheduling than we first thought. We’ve seen WandaVision moved into a 2020 release window, Ms. Marvel production shifted to August, a lot of back and forth on the Obi-Wan Kenobi series and now, the reintegration of production on Hawkeye into 2020. I have learned that Marvel Studios hopes to begin production on Hawkeye in September of 2020, after production begins on Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Moon Knight. Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Hawkeye are all expected to film primarily in Atlanta

I will caution that, at this time, there is no specific date in September on which production is slated to begin and that the studio is open to sliding Hawkeye even a bit further down to road, but still hoping to begin production before the end of this calendar year. The studio has not yet agreed to terms with an actress for the role of Kate Bishop, though they are still hopeful they can find a way to work it out with Hailee Steinfeld.

In this case, I want to make it very clear that the evidence for everything production related is something that is 100% verifiable by other sources and I expect that to happen very, very soon.

So, there it is…Hawkeye’s indefinite delay looks to have become a little more definite and it has been pushed down the list a bit in terms of when it starts production. I’d also like to point out that a September start of production, if they do in fact make that timeline, could allow Hawkeye to air in the Fall of 2021, as first revealed at SDCC and that at no point did the original article about the indefinite delay on start of production make any claims about an altered release date.

Stay tuned to Murphy’s Multiverse for the most accurate and up to date information on this situation.

February 13, 2020
What I Heard This Week: ‘STRANGER THINGS’ Season 4

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road.

As I reported in early January, production on the fourth season of Stranger Things kicked off last week in Lithuania. Filming was set to take place in and around the Lukiskes prison before moving back to its more familiar home in Atlanta. The Lithuanian prison setting has generated no shortage of fan theories as to just what to expect in Season 4 and the bit of info I heard this week will no doubt add to them…

A thing I heard this week: Winona Ryder joined David Harbour on location in Lithuania last week.

As is often the case (and to be expected with filming taking place overseas) I don’t have any context to add to what I heard. However, given that we know we will meet two new Russian characters, both of whom are fluent in English and at least one of whom is a smuggler, it’s possible that either Hopper has found some way to contact Joyce or Joyce has found some evidence of Hopper’s location and a “rescue mission” is underway!

From here on out, I prefer to leave the speculation to the more hardcore Stranger Things fans out there, but I know that this little piece of information will definitely drive some discussion out there. Please feel free to have it in the comments so I can get an idea of what you guys are thinking!

February 11, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Netflix Developing Hamish Steele’s ‘DeadEndia’ as Animated Series

Streaming giant Netflix is developing DeadEndia, a series of graphic novels by Hamish Steele, as an animated series. The studio is currently casting for voice actors to portray leads, Barney and Norma, and is eyeing a June start of production.

Blink Industries is taking the lead on producing the series (as seen above in a screenshot from their website), but until now it was not know where the series would stream.

DeadEndia tells the story of two friends, Barney and Norma, who are employees at a haunted house at Dead End theme park which also appears to be a portal to Hell. The series has been lauded for its representation of diversity as Barney is a transgender male and Norma Khan is of Southeast Asian descent.

I’ve also heard that creator Hamish Steele is working with Netflix to develop the series but I was unable to get confirmation from him before publishing this piece.

February 10, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: New ‘STRANGER THINGS’ Characters Shed Some Light on Season 4 Mysteries

Over the past week I’ve been fortunate to come across plenty of interesting information about the Netflix streaming sensation, Stranger Things. In addition to learning that the series will continue in a 5th season, I also uncovered some details about the fresh batch of high schoolers set to meet the gang over the course of Season 4. Today, I have one last bit of info for the rabid fans and it includes some information that not only ties into the biggest mystery of Season 4 (what is going on with Hopper?) but also indicates that one of the cast may be in some trouble of their own…

In addition to the large group of teens joining the Season 4 cast, I’ve learned of 4 additional recurring roles, described below:

Dimitri

One of two new Russian characters, Dimitri will be seen often in Season 4. The casting directors were searching for someone fluent in Russian and English, so we can probably expect to see Dimitri interact frequently with Hopper

Yuri

A “seedy” Russian smuggler, Yuri’s erratic behavior is belied by his belief that he’s two-steps ahead of everyone else around him. Like Dimitri, the studio was adamant the actor be fluent in both Russian and English.

Lieutenant Colonel Sullivan

Intimidating and intelligent, Sullivan is military lifer a “no-nonsene” type who believes that he can brute force his way to victory in any given scenario.

Warden Hatch

Hatch, described as “smug” and “pretentious”, is the head of a psychiatric hospital.

While there’s not much to go on, it certainly seems that Dimitri and Yuri are going to play a key role in helping to reunite Hopper with Eleven and the gang. Whether that means smuggling Hopper out or smuggling the kids in remains to be seen, but these two Russians are going to make the most of their screen time.

As for Sullivan and Hatch, we’ll have to wait and see what new doomsday scenario requires a U.S. Military presence and which of the characters finds him/herself institutionalized; however, they do provide interesting food for thought as production on Season 4 kicks off!

February 7, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Details on Some New Faces Set to Appear Around Hawkins High in ‘STRANGER THINGS’ Season 4

Last October, TV Line reported on a handful of new characters set to appear in the upcoming 4th season of Stranger Things. I’ve been able to not only dig up some more details on those characters, but also discover a few more key new faces we should expect to see around Hawkins High School when Season 4 streams in 2021.

The vast majority of Season 3 took place in the gang’s last summer before entering high school and Season 4 seems primed to pick up right where that story ended and to introduce the kids to the whole range of high school archetypes from “the Jock” to the “Queen Bee” to the “Stoner” and more! Have a look below to meet the high school students set to interact with the heroes in Season 4.

“Angela” and “Jake”:

The power couple of the school, “Angela” and “Jake” seemed destined to cause problems for our friends at Hawkins High. Angela is the stereotypical queen bee, out to bully and demean anyone not on her level. That likely includes her boyfriend, Jake, who is certainly not going to stand on equal intellectual ground with too many people, but isn’t afraid to show those same people just how tough he is.

“Argyle”:

“Argyle” is the Spicoli-esque character described in the TV Line report. Described as having a “deeply chill” and “philosophical” vibe, “Argyle” is expected to play a fairly major role in the events of Season 4.

“Vickie”:

The stereotypical alt-girl whose unapproachable appearance belies her light-heartedness. It seems like Vickie might prove as an ally to the gang as the season develops.

“Chrissy”:

At first glance, “Chrissy” is your typical super popular cheerleader type; upon closer inspection, we’ll learn that she’s holding onto a deep-rooted darkness as she suffers under her mother’s emotional abuse

“Jason”:

The guy we thought Steve was going to be before we all fell in love with him, “Jason” is the rich, preppy jock whose mouth never quite shuts.

“Eddie”:

Another potential ally to our heroes, “Eddie” is an 80’s metalhead who is into Metallica, but also loves D&D.

“Fred”:

“Fred” checks all the boxes of the stereotypical 80’s nerd. The bespectacled “Fred”, despite being nerdy, is clever and is pursuing his passion: journalism. Given all the strange events that have taken place in Hawkins and the proximity of the series leads to all of them, we’ll see if “Fred” does more harm than good once he starts digging around.

“Mrs. Kelley”:

What high school would be complete without the guidance counselor? “Mrs. Kelley” is new to Hawkins High, meaning she might not be aware of all the crazy events. She is, however, a kind and caring soul who wears her heart on her sleeve and is out for the best interest of her students.

Given the size of the roles described above, it seems that Season 4 will spend quite a bit of time in and around Hawkins High. If there’s anything we can expect, it’s that not all of these new characters will be exactly who we think they are, but they all seem like they have their parts to play as we move towards the Season 5 denouement.

Stay tuned to Murphy’s Multiverse for more on Stranger Things!

February 4, 2020
What I Heard This Week: ‘LOKI’

Every now and then I come across some information the veracity of which can be confirmed by a second source. What happens FAR more often is that I come across some information that while believable and from trustworthy sources, cannot be confirmed by other sources for various reasons. Typically, when the second scenario occurs, I move on and forget about the information unless, in rare instances, it turns out to be proven true somewhere down the road.

A thing I heard this week: actress Angelica Ross was up for a role in the Disney Plus Marvel Studios series Loki.

The nature of the role is interesting as it is said to be a strong supporting role (aka the actor/actress who landed it will be in every episode) and because the studio was open to having either a male or female in the role, which is described as a “strong leader.”

The thing that I can’t be clear on is exactly what role it is. Earlier this week, a report indicated that Loki would feature Sera, a transgender angel associated primarily with Thor’s sister Angela. Given that Angelica Ross is a transgender actress, it’s easy to make the jump that this is the role she was up for, but there is no evidence to support such a conclusion at this time. Earlier this week, I reached out to representation for Ross to inquire about her association with this project, but at the time of publication, no response had been received.

As for Ross, her Instagram stories indicate that she has landed a physically demanding role as she has been working overtime with a personal trainer. However, while filming on Loki has been ongoing for a couple of weeks, Ross has not been in Atlanta, casting a shadow on any suspicions that she did land the role given the fact that she should appear in every episode. That said, it takes several weeks to film one episode, so there’s still a chance Ross can show up on time.

February 2, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: Stranger Things Season 5 Plans Revealed

As the start of production on the fourth season of the wildly popular Netflix original, Stranger Things, draws near, fans are nervously speculating that it might also be the final season. Fear not, fans; I can confirm that there are solid plans in place for a fifth, and likely final, season.

The confirmation comes by way of a description of a key new character set to join the series in Season 4. Season 4 will introduce a new series regular, “Ashe.” The studio is searching for a mid-20s American male of any ethnicity to play the role which comes with a 2 season deal, meaning the character’s arc, described as integral to the new season, will not be resolved until Season 5!

The Duffers have always been evasive when discussing just how long the show will run, but this information cements their plans for an additional season beyond this one. As for when we might expect Season 4 of Stranger Things to stream, it looks like we’ll have to wait until 2021. Though production is kicking off soon, the series is scheduled to film through November, making it highly unlikely we’ll see it in 2020.

February 1, 2020