Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Hawkeye

  • Disney’s For Your Consideration Page Updates ‘Hawkeye’ from Limited to Comedy Series

    Disney’s For Your Consideration Page Updates ‘Hawkeye’ from Limited to Comedy Series

    Here’s a curious surprise, it looks like the For Your Consideration page has updated Hawkeye‘s nominations from a “limited series or anthology series” similar to Moon Knight to a “comedy series.” Commonly these award nominations are a good sign of what direction they are taking these projects such as WandaVision being nominated as a limited series back in the day as well.

    So far, the only one that has gotten a second season renewal was Loki, but it surprised many that it was the only one to do so with its post-credit sequence. The change for Hawkeye could add some weight to it potentially getting a second season later down the line.

    Now, keep in mind this isn’t a definite confirmation that multiple seasons are being worked on, as it could simply be that they are keeping the option open. Though the timing with Disney+ Day now announced for September ahead of D23 could add to the speculation of this potentially being set up for that announcement. If they decided to continue a series after the next award season, it could still nab that limited series award before being renewed.

    Of course, we don’t know what exactly Marvel Studios’ strategy has been with these Disney+ series and we have no insight into how well they perform to warrant future entries. As of now, it’s just speculation but it looks like we’ll find out more by the time September rolls around. But we’ll be keeping an eye out for what else might change.

    Source: Disney Studio Awards

  • Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie to Direct ‘Echo’

    Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie to Direct ‘Echo’

    As production has finally started on the Hawkeye spinoff Echo, we’ve finally gotten a first look and hint at what’s to expect from the upcoming Disney+ series. That is not all, as it also gave us a confirmation that Reservation Dogs‘ Sydney Freeland is indeed directing, which she technically indirectly confirmed back in March, and she’ll be joined by Catriona McKenzie.

    Now, a big part of the upcoming Disney+ series is about Alaqua Cox‘s Echo retracing her Native American roots. As such, a big part of the series is also dedicated to exploring the meaning of cultural heritage and one’s Indigenous roots. McKenzie is an Indigenous Australian director, who is Gunaikurnai. She’s worked on a variety of series such as How to Get Away With Murder, Supernatural, and The Walking Dead.

    Sydney Freeland is of Navajo descent and has worked on a variety of projects, which includes Rutherford Falls, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Fear the Walking Dead. She’s also one of the creative minds behind FX’s Reservation Dogs, which included all Indigenous writers and directors.

    It’s great to see the talent they are pulling in for this project, especially with the series making it an important push for the representation given its main character’s background. It’ll be interesting to see how it might tie to her upbringing under Wilson Fisk and how visiting her hometown might change her way of looking at her past and future.

  • First Look and Synopsis for ‘Hawkeye’ Spinoff ‘Echo’, Eyeing a 2023 Release

    First Look and Synopsis for ‘Hawkeye’ Spinoff ‘Echo’, Eyeing a 2023 Release

    Marvel Studios has been busy working on its various spinoff series to further explore the different corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’ve just recently started work on some of their next productions, such as the Hawkeye spinoff series focused on Alaqua Cox’s Echo. The deaf former gang leader has made peace with what happened to her father and the events that transpired at the hands of Clint Barton as Ronin, as she now visits her hometown. There, she must face her past and reconnect with her Native American roots, as she learns what it means to be part of a family and community once again.

    The Disney+ series is confirmed to release in 2023, but no exact time window has been given. With Secret Invasion already wrapping up work, it’s very likely it might take the summer spot going by what is currently in production. Yet, that also depends on when we might expect the next season of the animated What If…? series, which we’ve heard very little about in the past few months. We also got a first look from the series, giving us a look at Echo back at home, seemingly helping out.

    Image

    It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how they tackle this series, as it may be similar to Moon Knight, as it may exist in its own little pocket. The small town location is also a nice change of pace with most Marvel stories taking place in cities or across the world. So, getting to not only spend time with a smaller and more intimate cast of characters but also sticking to one location could benefit the story pacing, which has been some criticism put against the Marvel Studios productions.

  • Marvel Studios’ Disney+ Venture Needs to Embrace the Diversity of TV Storytelling

    Marvel Studios’ Disney+ Venture Needs to Embrace the Diversity of TV Storytelling

    Moon Knight‘s fifth episode has been quite loved due to the way it continues a trend of Marvel Studios’ series having a penultimate episode that takes its time to explore our protagonist’s psyche or the underlying theme of the series. Still, there is a current trend that the Disney+ series are facing that could backfire with each new release. While not a fan of the overused buzzword “Marvel formula,” there is a certain danger with their reliance on the three-act structure to construct their series. There are still distinctions in their approach, but a six-episode benchmark muddles that vision. In a way, they are suffering from something that was started in Netflix’s early days and have yet to fully embrace the diversity of TV’s storytelling possibilities.

    Marvel Studios has always been flagged for having a “formula” behind each film. Even as they broke away from their more streamlined films due to the infamous Ike Perlmutter era, the genre has an inherent expectation that creates that very issue. One could argue that certain expectations and perceptions play a key influence due to the brand and its heroic genre; something we’ve seen in comics over and over again. It’s not a Marvel Studios-specific issue, they just so happened to be the one to stick out the most. While saying that, their TV offerings are suffering from a different yet similar issue that is more inherent to the long-form storytelling format.

    Yet, with a strict six- or ten-episode structure, you are setting a certain tempo for your series. If you adhere to the three-act structure, it becomes even more restrictive, as most of the “action” or meat of the story happens within the final two episodes. We’ve seen it a few times, such as with Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Hawkeye, and even potentially Moon Knight. They end up exploring important themes in Episode 5 but have to quickly wrap up the story in its finale, sometimes not as effective as it hopes to. Knowing that there are “only” six episodes available, also creates the before-mentioned perception issue that not everything will be wrapped up.

    Ironically, Netflix’s issue was that thirteen episodes were at times too many. It’s a funny contrast to Marvel Studios’ six facing the opposite criticism. For the sake of comparison, Peacemaker‘s used an eight-episode structure and was less a “film” but more traditional TV in its storytelling. While it did have some minor pacing issues like any other show nowadays does, it built its story per episode with an overarching narrative. Plus, a character like Peacemaker has fewer expectations because the story can explore whatever it wants due to the character being a blank slate. This is in stark contrast to Netflix’s Daredevil series back in the day or even now with Moon Knight, they both have very set expectations that restrict just how much a story can tell.

    Speaking of Netflix, the issues Marvel Studios is currently facing have their roots in that era. The promise of “a 13-episode film” created this illusion of having a film being told with more time. Yet, even the much-loved Daredevil had pacing issues with many at the time pointing out that elements dragged a bit. Similar to what we’re seeing now, as more shows were released they faced the same issue but became more apparent. By the time The Punisher rolled around, they fell victim to having the episode count set the pacing and certain story beats were expected.

    Was it formulaic? To a certain degree, yes and it was and Marvel Studios is going to fall victim to the same issue if they strictly remain on this course. Throw on top of the issue of a rather short episode count, they potentially will keep facing the issue of their final episode ending up rushed as the internet will repeat. “How will they wrap it all up after that?” That issue becomes even more apparent if you realize they are moving away from one monumental aspect that defines TV storytelling, multiple seasonal arcs for their characters.

    So far, only Loki got a second season and it’s hard to say if any of these series will actually continue moving forward. Marvel Studios’ reluctance to even communicate multi-seasonal plans creates a new issue with expectation. It creates the illusion that this specified six-episode season needs to wrap up everything. Technically speaking, their “second season” commonly are film appearances such as The Falcon and Winter Soldier setting up Captain America 4. Yes, it’s great to see this expansion from TV to film and potentially back, but it creates a whole new issue that they seemingly are struggling with.

    We have no idea where and when Moon Knight might show up next. Lots of coverage is hinting at his series is a limited run, which adds to the issue that the titular hero is not very present in his project. Yet, they are setting up a lot of elements that affect its pacing within the six episodes. While I don’t agree with everything, a discussion on the show’s quality from ScreenCrush made a good point that the penultimate episode feels a bit late and may hit harder if it was earlier in the series. We won’t have much time to actually spend with Marc now that he had his revelation and the loss of the alter that helped him through his trauma.

    To give an example, Loki had his mental revelation at the beginning of the series, and it worked because we already knew his character. So, we got to explore that storyline which we won’t really get to with Moon Knight, as we have to wrap up the plot, character development, and set up for whatever is next. It’s great they aren’t restricting themselves to old-fashioned origin tales, but their current model restricts exploring it fully. While it’s great that we might get Oscar Isaac‘s Moon Knight in a future movie, the fact we never know when or how–a Marvel staple–may see the company’s usual secrecy backfire on them. WandaVision with 10 episodes waited until the end for the big emotional story arc but at least a mystery to keep us wondering.

    Speaking of mystery, Wanda’s town-altering storyline and Hawkeye‘s big bad added an additional issue to what was mentioned previously. They keep the “big reveal” until the very last episode. While it makes sense to build up suspense on whatever the mystery is, especially the excitement of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s return as Kingpin and its implications, it creates the issue of having to bring everything together at the last moment. Even Moon Knight‘s Episode 4 revelation has now been limited due to the time available afterward. Loki‘s second season is following a year after its premiere and we don’t know when we’ll get it or how it fits in the overarching story.

    So, the ever-expanding universe is showing its fangs a bit. Even if comedy series are teased to have ten episodes, the fact they are restricting the episode count to specific formats is surprising given the freedom they should have. TV storytelling is diverse, may it be planning multiple seasons in mind, structuring the episode count to abide by the story, or even having each episode work as a standalone storyline. Even with that potential, modern streaming offerings tend to share similar issues due to the formatting. Even Peacemaker and The Boys rely on shock value at times to keep you watching from week to week.

    Moon Knight‘s been said to “fit better as a film” because that’s what it is. It’s a six-hour film just like how Netflix promised its series and many other streamers are copying. While it does have cliffhangers to keep you watching, they are more character-driven than story-driven. It’s something that makes this storyline a personal favorite among the Disney+ shows, but it does face the issue that also expectations play a massive role when exploring a potentially one-time project based on 70 years of comic history. Expectations on what makes a “Moon Knight” show become a crux for viewers and those creating the series. We have no idea if there’s going to be a second season, ironically unlike how most films get sequels.

    So, the weekly wait for episode 6 with a slower start ends up creating a pacing issue that is very perceptive due to the uncertainty moving forward. WandaVision probably worked the best as a weekly release due to the formatting of the actual show as different eras of sitcoms. The later episodes that broke away from it are much closer to what we see with its six-episode offerings. Each Marvel Studios show has its strengths, and, like everything else out there, weaknesses, but one can see the roots of the issue from the Netflix era. It has affected many series within the market, especially now that we’re moving away from the binge model. In a way, the distribution model is changing but not the expected storytelling element.

    Marvel Studios has a lot of opportunities with their Disney+ series. Yet, their venture into cross-media storytelling has been showing its fangs, as it restricts them from truly embracing the TV model. That is on top of long-term trends within the industry, and we can’t forget this is a completely new venture for this film-focused production studio even if they took in employees from the former Marvel TV subsidiary. Moving forward, if they want this concept to stick out more it might be time to embrace the TV model.

    Give us a series that was built with multiple seasons in mind, something we’re seeing already with Lucasfilm’s Andor. Allow a character to grow over a few years before integrating into the bigger picture, or have their appearances be independent of what’s happening. Ms. Marvel is the perfect opportunity. Yes, she will appear in The Marvels but her “usual” world is the one we’ll see in the June release. Let her character grow over multiple seasons with that experience adding to her character but not redefining her story. It’s what happened in Spider-Man: Far From Home, as it was a sequel to Avengers: Endgame rather than Homecoming.

    A lot of inspiration for the Marvel Cinematic Universe lies in comics, and the Disney+ series is becoming an opportunity for ongoing storylines with the films acting as “detours” for some of the characters. Their stories still should remain ongoing rather than one-time moving forward. Plus, let the show breathe and move away from a strict episode count. Not every story needs to follow a third act structure or something related to it. You can see they are still trying to find their footing with these new ventures on Disney+, and they have an opportunity to truly embrace the diversity of TV storytelling.

  • Marvel Emmy Submission Casts Doubt on ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Season 2 

    Marvel Emmy Submission Casts Doubt on ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Season 2 

    Marvel fans have been eager to learn what the future might hold for Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, and a recent development has revealed it may not include a second season of Hawkeye. The studio is hard at work campaigning for its slate of Disney+ shows for the next awards season, with series like Loki, Moon Knight, and the aforementioned Hawkeye all up for nominations. What’s interesting is that while Loki, which has a confirmed second season on the way, was submitted in the “Drama” category, both Hawkeye and Moon Knight were only entered into the “Limited Series” field. This has added fuel to the fire of speculation that neither show will receive a second season, an honor that has thus far only been bestowed upon Loki and Marvel’s animated What If…?.

    Actor Oscar Isaac recently caused a stir when he revealed he was not signed up for any further appearances as Marc Spector after the completion of Moon Knight. Similarly, the lack of any sort of progress on another installment of Hawkeye has caused concern that the show might have been a one-and-done. Obviously, even if standard second seasons never occur, the Marvel formula would likely still allow for the protagonists’ stories to continue in other projects and spin-offs, like the upcoming Hawkeye by-product Echo.

    Of course, this doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of continuations for the programs. Marvel apparently attempted to submit Loki as a “Limited Series” before the second season announcement forced the studio to place it elsewhere. The remaining choices for Marvel Studios were to categorize the Tom Hiddleston series as either “Drama” or “Comedy,” with the former being a less competitive field. It’s still entirely feasible that Hawkeye and Moon Knight eventually get their episodic sequels, this news just seems to imply that Marvel Studios has no plans for second seasons in the near future. 

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Eternals’ Officially Recognized For Authentic Representation of Disability

    ‘Hawkeye’ and ‘Eternals’ Officially Recognized For Authentic Representation of Disability

    Marvel Studios continues to earn accolades for its work, and the latest honor bestowed on the company is pretty unique. Hawkeye, the hit Disney+ series which aired over the holiday season, and Eternals, the blockbuster film from Chloé Zhao, have been given the Seal of Authentic Representation from the Ruderman Family Foundation. The award is intended to advocate for the full inclusion of people with disabilities in society. It is only given out to movies and television shows that feature actors with disabilities in roles with at least five lines of dialogue. Other projects included in this year’s recipients are Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building and HBO Max’s And Just Like That, which also had deaf characters in major roles.

    Eternals star Lauren Ridloff, who portrayed the lovable speedster Makkari, became the MCU’s first deaf superhero last November. She quickly became a fan favorite from the film, and it’s likely she’s yet to make her last appearance in the franchise. Casting director Sarah Finn released a statement on the matter:

    Not only was [Ridloff] overly qualified to join an already high-level cast, she elevated the ensemble with her unique spirit, talents and charisma. It’s been a privilege getting to know her through the process and seeing what a real-life hero she has become to so many.

    Sarah Finn

    Hawkeye introduced the world to Alaqua Cox, who brought the deaf assassin Echo to life to critical praise. The actress, who is also an amputee, is set to reprise her role in her own solo series on Disney+. Finn continued:

    Alaqua Cox’s character, Maya Lopez/Echo, is based off an existing Marvel character who is deaf and Native American. In casting the role, we wanted to celebrate and honor both Deaf and Native American cultures. We couldn’t be more delighted by Alaqua Cox’s performance. She is phenomenal and part of a new culture in film and television, where authentic representation not only matters but is paramount to the kind of stories we want to tell and how we shape them.

    Sarah Finn

    Ruderman Foundation president Jay Ruderman also spoke highly of this year’s recipients, finishing things off by saying:

    …These practices are increasingly becoming the norm in Hollywood, with the authentic casting of Lauren Ridloff in Eternals and Alaqua Cox in Hawkeye marking a particularly high-profile and momentous milestone for Marvel and the entire entertainment industry. Each time a casting director or other executive makes such a decision, it facilitates the industry’s broader journey towards fulfilling its full potential as a beacon of all forms of diversity and social justice.

    Jay Ruderman

    Marvel Studios has been dedicated to ensuring that everyone can see themselves reflected on the silver screen and even on their television. As such, they’ve started to push for more diversity in their offerings and have used their unique position as one of the biggest blockbuster studios to consistently draw in audiences with each film.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Echo’s Location Manager Teases ‘Hawkeye’ Spinoff’s Story and Scale

    ‘Echo’s Location Manager Teases ‘Hawkeye’ Spinoff’s Story and Scale

    While most of our attention is on the upcoming releases, Marvel Studios is already preparing to start production on their next projects. It wasn’t until Disney+ Day that we got the official confirmation for the Echo series, which was rumored long before Hawkeye even released. We still know very little about the story and how it may build-out of the finale from that series, especially in her confrontation with Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin. A small piece in the Newnan Times-Herald may offer our first tease t the scope for this story.

    A production titled “Grasshopper” has been confirmed to start production there which so happens to be one of the production titles used for Echo. It was initially known as “Whole Branzino” but the company tends to use a multitude throughout productions nowadays. It seems that the film has gotten their hands on permits to film in Grantville Supposedly the production will prep in May with the backdrop being used for establishing shots.

    The interesting part here is that Ryan Schaetzle, the location manager for this production, has offered a few minor details on the production. First off, the previously mentioned dates are seemingly only intended for two episodes. So, they may return for more permits as the rest are still being written. According to Schaetzle, the story will focus on a small town that Grantville will be a part of.

    Hawkeye' Directors Bert & Bertie on Bringing Echo to Life Onscreen With Alaqua Cox

    In a way, it hints that Alaqua Cox‘s take on Maya Lopez might flee the city after the events of Hawkeye. After taking a shot at the Kingpin, she tries to follow her roots and could be returning to her family that lives outside of New York City. It seems rather implied that Kingpin will survive the confrontation, and he might try to take her back by sending people after her threatening the local town. As the series is still being written, there’s a chance that this may also only take up a few episodes before she returns to the city for a final confrontation.

    It’s only speculation based on the little information that has been provided, but it focusing on a small town does seem fitting for the character. Lopez is a more grounded character, especially in how we were introduced to her in Hawkeye. So, it makes sense that they’d take that approach. perhaps it even plays into classic stories featuring small towns rising up against corporate people trying to buy it out. Given her Native-American heritage, there’s an important story to be told here through her eyes.

    Source: One Take News, Newnan Times-Herald

  • Latest ‘Secret Invasion’ Set Photo Includes ‘Hawkeye’ Connection

    Latest ‘Secret Invasion’ Set Photo Includes ‘Hawkeye’ Connection

    We’ve known for some time that Secret Invasion has been busy filming in the United Kingdom. Just recently, set photos have found their way from Halifax, where a secretive shooting location was leaked online through some behind-the-scenes photos. We’ve had a few set photos find their way online for some time now, but a brand new one includes a curious Hawkeye connection.

    Twitter user @Roxmanoff shared a new photo from the production that includes a reference to the Rogers musical that highlights “Coming to the West End.” That is a reference to the famous London theater location, which is a new hint at another location that is part of the series globetrotting Skrull hunt. You can check it here:

    At this point, the Rogers musical has appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home and two Disney+ series. It’s a fun connection across the universe and hopefully, they might also add more elements like these that create more visual connections, especially as the franchise starts expanding into multiple storylines that may or may not interconnect moving forward.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Daredevil’s Charlie Cox Knows “A Little Bit” About His And Vincent D’Onofrio’s MCU Future

    ‘Daredevil’s Charlie Cox Knows “A Little Bit” About His And Vincent D’Onofrio’s MCU Future

    It’s a renaissance for fans of the Netflix Daredevil series, as Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio finally made their return. Even better, they started interacting with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe as they appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home and Hawkeye. Of course, the first thing everyone had on their mind is when they might finally interact again, as you can’t just reintroduce both without their ongoing conflict making a grand return. Luckily, Charlie Cox has teased that he may know a “little bit” about what the future has in store for them:

    Look, I don’t have any idea what anyone’s plans are at this stage, but I presume there’s more for us to do. I know a little bit — not a huge amount — but a little bit. I am imagining, I am hoping, that our worlds will collide again because the stuff we’ve done in the past was tremendous fun to do, and he’s such an incredible actor. We have to start every conversation with, ‘What do you know?’ because you have to be careful. It’s really exciting

    Charlie Cox

    He’s quite a tease, but there do seem to be big plans for the character in the MCU’s future. It’s not a surprise given just how popular Cox‘s run made the character, especially with the Daredevil series being one of the streaming service’s biggest jumping-off points to establish itself with strong storytelling. We still don’t know how they might tackle the continuation of their story, especially with how iconic the last confrontation is during the finale of the third season. So, we’ll see if their eventual reunion might clear up what exactly happened since.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Kevin Feige Initially Pitched Kingpin Joining ‘Hawkeye’

    Kevin Feige Initially Pitched Kingpin Joining ‘Hawkeye’

    Hawkeye brought back one of the biggest characters from the Netflix era in the form of Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin. He came back in full force and gave us another memorable performance. The actor has shared what brought him back throughout the. Producer Trinh Tran revealed in the latest episode of Marvel Studios Assembled on the Disney+ series that it was Kevin Feige who threw in the idea of the character joining the production.

    Kevin threw out the idea that ‘What if this could be Kingpin?’ And I think all of our jaws just kind of dropping our Zoom meetings, and we’re kinda like, ‘Wait, you’re joking, right? This can’t be serious. Are you serious? This is… You really think that there’s a chance that we can actually get Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays Kingpin in Daredevil in the series, as a cameo for a couple of scenes? Like, he is our big boss?’ And Kevin made a call to Vincent.

    Trinh Tran

    It seems that they purposely wanted to go in a different direction with the character, as well as letting D’Onofrio influence his approach to the character. He was able to keep the intensity from the original series, as they still tried to make him stand out from what came before. He added that Feige pitched his return as his “introduction to the MCU” which highlights that it’s a different character. While his role was minor, it’s great that he was able to return, and hopefully, we’ll see more of him soon.

    Source: Disney+ via The Direct