Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: HBO Max

  • HBO Max Working on ‘Looney Tunes’ Musical

    HBO Max Working on ‘Looney Tunes’ Musical

    The whole gang is about to put the tune back in Tunes, as HBO Max and Cartoon Network are actively developing a musical titled Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical. It‘s the second musical reveal from Warner Bros. Discovery after the Joker sequel was teased to take that direction with Lady Gaga in talks to join as Harley Quinn. According to Deadline, the film will feature an original song and dance numbers, as well as orchestrations of some classic WB musicals. The story is as follows:

    After starring in a long-running Looney Tunes Broadway smash production, an exhausted Bugs Bunny decides it’s time to trade in sold-out shows for life as a regular rabbit. Ever the spotlight opportunist, Daffy Duck attempts to step into the lead role, but his star ambitions are quickly sidetracked when he is kidnapped by an obsessive fan who has more sinister plans for her favorite stage duck. With his ticket to Broadway retirement in danger, Bugs sets off on a rescue mission to find Daffy and, with the help of his Looney Tunes co-stars, hopefully, his joy of performing again.

    Amy Friedman, Warner Bros. Head of Kids & Family Programming, has pointed out that it’ll offer “old Hollywood and Broadway vibes” as it offers the usual mayhem we’re used to from the Looney Tunes. The announcement follows shortly after a preschool series was also announced titled Bugs Bunny Builders. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert‘s Ariel Dumas and Next to Normal‘s Tom Kitt is set to write the screenplay and lyrics. It’ll be interesting to see what this take on the iconic cartoon characters might have to offer for young and old. Here’s hoping Elmer Fudd gets to scream “Kill the wabbit” at least once.

    Source: Deadline

  • HBO Max Latin America Orders New ‘Batman Azteca’ Animated Film

    HBO Max Latin America Orders New ‘Batman Azteca’ Animated Film

    Here’s an interesting but exciting surprise, it looks like Batman is heading to Mexico in a new animated feature titled Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios, which translates to Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires. It was a surprising reveal during the Guadalajara International Film Festival, as DC and Warner Bros. animation partner up with Anma and Chatrone. That’s not all, as we also got a first look at the new take on Batman featured in this HBO Max Original film.

    The animated film will explore a young boy named Yohualli Coatl. When his father, Toltecatzin, is killed by Spanish Conquistadors, his life is thrown into turmoil as he escapes to warn King Moctezuma of the incoming threat. Within the bat god’s temple, he trains alongside his mentor Acatzin and develops weaponry to take on the Spanish invasion to protect the Moctezuma temple and take vengeance for his father’s death.

    Harley Quinn‘s Juan Meza-León will direct the feature that’ll see José C. García de Letona Carina Schulze, Aaron D. Berger, and Fernando De Fuentes joining the project as producers. It’ll be produced in Mexico with a local team working on the project to also reflect the local art. They have also added Alejandro Díaz Barriga, who specializes in Mesoamerican studies and the ethnic history of Mexico and the Andean region. It’s a great idea and it would be fun to potentially see multiple different takes of Batman that are inspired by cultures from across the world.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    HBO Max’s Dead Boy Detectives is adding a new co-showrunner to the mix.

    On Thursday, Variety announced that Beth Schwartz has joined the HBO Max series as co-showrunner. She will co-showrun alongside Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant). She will also executive produce the title for the streaming service. This marks a return to DC for Schwartz as she previously served as the showrunner for the final two seasons of The CW’s Arrow. Along with working on Arrow, Schwartz helped to develop Sweet Tooth for Netflix. She served as the co-showrunner for that show’s first season. Jim Mickle will serve as the sole showrunner for Season 2 of Sweet Tooth.

    Dead Boy Detectives was ordered to series back in April. The series is based on DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The Dead Boy Detectives, Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, first made their live-action debut in the critically acclaimed Doom Patrol series. George Rexstrew has been cast as Edwin Payne, while Jayden Revri has been cast as Charles Rowland. Other members of the cast include Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace, Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse, Yuyu Kitamura as Niko and Jenn Lyon as Esther.

    The pilot episode was penned by Yockey and directed by Lee Toland Krieger (Shadow and Bone). Schwartz will executive produce the series alongside Yockey, Jeremy Carver, and Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions.

    Source: Variety.

  • HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Adds Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson 

    HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Adds Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson 

    HBO’s The Last of Us is doubling up on familiar faces. It was revealed during a panel at Summer Game Fest that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson will both have major roles in the upcoming television adaptation of Naughty Dog’s iconic franchise. The pair originated the protagonist roles of Joel and Ellie in 2013’s hit PlayStation exclusive, and both returned in 2020 for the acclaimed sequel The Last of Us Part II. It’s been known for some time that The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal and Game of Thrones breakout Bella Ramsey will take over as the leads for the live-action show, and it was confirmed during the panel that Baker and Johnson will indeed be playing different characters than they do in the game series. They join Merle Dandridge in the exclusive club of performers both in the original project and it’s adaptation.

    Also revealed at the panel is the increased role of franchise creator Neil Druckmann in HBO’s creative process. After directing both video game installments, Druckmann will helm an episode of the series on top of writing and executive producing. It was promised that with Druckmann’s help, the show would ensure a faithful retelling of the story and it’s intricately detailed world. This information is in direct contrast to earlier claims from Druckmann that the HBO series would differ from the original game in significant ways. However, it’s always possible both statements are true in their own right, with changes being made while the overall story stays true to it’s initial design. Either way, the fact Baker and Johnson want to be involved is probably a good sign.

    Source: Naughty Dog

  • HBO Max’s ‘Raised by Wolves’ Canceled After 2 Seasons

    HBO Max’s ‘Raised by Wolves’ Canceled After 2 Seasons

    After airing for two seasons on the HBO Max streaming platform, Raised by Wolves has been canceled. The Ridley Scott-produced series was originally ordered to series on TNT back in 2018 before being transferred to the WarnerMedia streaming service before its premiere in 2020. In a statement made to Variety by HBO Max, they officially announced they weren’t moving forward with a third season, but remained complementary to the entire team behind the show.

    While we are not proceeding with a third season of Raised by Wolves, we are beyond grateful to the stellar cast and crew, our creators Aaron Guzikowski, Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and the entire team at Scott Free Productions, for their beautiful artistry and unique ability to immerse fans into the world of Kepler-22b.

    HBO Max

    The series starred the likes of Amanda Collin, Abubakar Salim, Travis Fimmel, Niamh Algar, and Kim Engelbrecht. This series served as the directorial debut for Ridley Scott on an American television program.

    The news of this cancellation comes at a time of large amounts of turnover across the entire WarnerMedia company under the new leadership of David Zaslav. The new CEO has spearheaded a mentality of conserving financial assets which has caused a massive shakeup thus far in consolidating a large number of projects (as seen with the large amounts of cancellations seen across the board and shutting down production for any new scripted programs on the TNT and TBS networks).

    It remains to be seen what further changes will occur under the WarnerMedia umbrella. As well, the question can certainly be asked if the critically successful Raised by Wolves series may be able to find new life on another network or platform.


    Source: Variety

  • HBO Max Renews ‘Our Flag Means Death’ for Season 2

    HBO Max Renews ‘Our Flag Means Death’ for Season 2

    The streaming service renewed the critically acclaimed comedy hailing from creator/showrunner David Jenkins, executive producer, and star Taika Waititi and executive producer Garrett Basch. Our Flag Means Death, which premiered in March, is loosely based on the adventures of the 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet who is played by Rhys Darby in the series.

    Our Flag Means Death follows Bonnet as he tries to serve as the captain of the pirate ship Revenger, where he struggles to earn the respect of his crew. After a fateful run-in with Captain Blackbeard, as played by Waititi, Bonnet and Blackbeard end up falling in love and finding themselves trying to survive.

    In a statement released to the press, HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey expressed excitement over renewing the comedy. “We are so happy to bring this truly one-of-a-kind series back! We congratulate David, Taika, Rhys and the entire talented cast and crew, and thank the show’s fans for embracing it wholeheartedly.”

    Jenkins added on to Aubrey’s comments, explaining that they felt they had something special while they were making the first season. “We felt the show was special while we were making it, but fans’ open-armed embrace of the inhabitants of the Revenge makes heading into a second season all the more sweet.”

    As of this writing, Season 2 of Our Flag Means Death does not yet have a release date.

    Source: Deadline

  • HBO Max Brazil to Add ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ in July

    HBO Max Brazil to Add ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ in July

    As Spider-Man: No Way Home is not owned by Marvel Studios, its release is quite scattered across the world. If you live in Brazil, you’re in luck if you have an HBO Max subscription, as the film is heading to the Warner Bros.-owned subscription service on July 22nd. Not every release is currently known on the Spider-Man threequel worldwide, but there is the deal that Sony made with Netflix and Disney+. We still haven’t heard any update on how exactly that deal works and when we might expect the MCU films to make their appearance on the Disney-owned service. It’ll likely head to Netflix in those markets that don’t yet have HBO Max access.

    Sony’s release strategy on streaming has been smart, as they don’t carry any of the costs without setting up one, but still enjoy the licensing fees from offering them to others. While Warner Bros., Disney, Peacock, and Netflix fight over the dominance in the market, Sony is making its cash mostly through offering its library to them. It’s a great strategy in an already crowded market that is reaching its limits.

    The only drawback is that it becomes quite the question mark where and when we can expect specific releases. If there’s no overall deal, like Netflix and Disney+, it strongly depends on local market contracts. For now, it feels like a free-for-all though we’ll likely see a shift within the market as time goes on and some overall deals are finalized with the main subscription services cementing themselves within the market.

    Source: Twitter

  • DC’s HBO Max Future Uncertain, ‘Batgirl’ Likely Heading to Theatrical Release

    DC’s HBO Max Future Uncertain, ‘Batgirl’ Likely Heading to Theatrical Release

    The Wonder Twins have met an early demise as the new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to shake things up and set the DC Extended Universe on a clearer path. It seems the twins may have just been the first of many causalities going by a recent statement.

    The new leadership, led by David Zaslav, is reportedly placing a mandate that states all DC films should be set as theatrical releases as their first goal. This decision stems from the budgets many of these films have with Zaslav using Wonder Twins‘ $75 million as an example. They don’t see that kind of investment viable with a good return with a release on HBO Max. This would mean that a film like Batgirl, which is still set to release on HBO Max could instead see a shift from the streamer to a wide theatrical release.

    The Hollywood Reporter also states that sources have told them that a lot of things that are being developed by Warner Bros. are likely going to be scrapped and never see the light of day. It seems the Green Lantern series may be in danger as it’s hit multiple delays in production and could exceed the budget granted to projects on the streamer. The bright side could see the film finally get some steam behind it and the long-awaited return of a character like Hal Jordan could become a possibility.

    It may be a while before we know exactly what is happening with the DC Extended Universe and many of the other projects in development. While things may seem uncertain it could lead to a much smoother March forward for the franchise.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • First Look at Mindy Kaling’s ‘Scooby-Doo’ Spinoff ‘Velma’

    First Look at Mindy Kaling’s ‘Scooby-Doo’ Spinoff ‘Velma’

    Many were surprised when Mindy Kaling was working on a Scooby-Doo spinoff that would mainly focus on the character of Velma Dinkley. It would act as a prequel series, but still include the usual mystery format that made the franchise so popular. During Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV Upfront event, creator Mindy Kaling came on stage and offered the first look at the series, which you can see here:

    https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1526950560716533762

    It certainly is going to offer something more mind-blowing than we may have anticipated, as the series has been known to focus on a more adult audience even if animated. Still, no one probably would’ve guessed to see someone with their head chopped open and their brain missing. So, we might expect quite a lot of violence and murder in this spinoff series.

    It’s unclear but the redhead could be Daphne Blake, as its uncertain if the rest of the Mystery Inc. gang will appear in the series in some capacity. Plus, they may also be reimagined such as Velma being South Asian in this series, which is a nice change of pace similar to how the Scoob! movie also being Hispanic, where she was voiced by Gina Rodriguez. The first look is promising and it’ll be interesting to see just what the series has to offer.

    Source: Twitter

  • What Could The ‘Peacemaker’ Spin-Off Focus on

    What Could The ‘Peacemaker’ Spin-Off Focus on

    Peacemaker was quite the ride for fans, featuring the return of John Cena in the titular role of the DC Universe’s biggest douchebag, yet again working for Amanda Waller on Project Butterfly. The ending of the first season had some serious ramifications for the future of Amanda Waller and Task Force X, with Leota airing all the dirty laundry of ARGUS to the presses.

    We can assume that this is what the recently announced Waller-centric Peacemaker spin-off series will tackle. The series could see Waller go on the defensive and mobilize whatever she’s got to save her skin, but what else might we be able to expect from the series? Allow us to breakdown some possibilities.

    The Secret Six

    The Secret Six are one of DC Comics’ hidden gems, a team of mercanaries lead by the mysterious Mockingbird. In the Villains United comic book event, where Gail Simone reinvented the team, the six came together for the first time as the few villains that would not join up with Lex Luthor and his coalition of DCs Supervillains known as the Secret Society of Supervillains. Mockingbird brought the team together against their will, but still makinf it a point to compensate them for their work.

    There have been many people to take on the moniker of Mockingbird to hire the Six yet again for whatever dirty deed needs doing and it seems we could see them come together in the DC Extened Universe. The idea here is that we could see Viola Davis reprise her role as Amanda Waller and become a sort of Mockingbird figure, hiding in the shadows as she dispenses mercenaries to take out the witnesses and surviving members of Task Force X.

    Ideally, the roster would be quite similar to the comic book roster aside from a few changes. Essential members of the team would be Catman, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll, Jeanette, and Bane. Deadshot is tricky due to his involvment in the Suicide Squad and the situation with the team in the current DCEU. Floyd Lawton is often seen as Waller’s personal errand boy and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him working alongside the Six, but in the end, it’s another loose end for Waller. It could be cool to see members like Strix, Black Alice, Cheshire, Parademon, and even Mad Hatter work for Waller, but it’s important that the core members of the team are front and center.

    Checkmate

    Another option for Waller could be forming Checkmate. Originally known as the Agency, the group was run by Valentina Vostok, aka the Negative Woman, who after leaving the organization to join the Doom Patrol handed the reigns over to Harry Stein. At that time, the group was ordered by Waller to be reorganized into Checkmate.

    The organization, named after the winning move in a chess match, became an independent branch of Task Force X. The levels of the group were modeled after the playable pieces in chess, with kings and queens being the highest ranking level one could reach. Roles like bishops had oversight on the missions that planned by the rooks, with knights being the ones on said missions. Pawns worked as support.

    A subtle hint to the organization appeared in the first season of Peacemaker. In the decrepit video store base of operations, can be seen a poster for a film titled “Privateer.” Privateer was the heroic alter-ego of Mark Shaw, who’d worked with Checkmate at one point and even went onto run Checkmate for a time.

    Plot details on the upcoming spin-off series remain scarce as it has yet to officially be announced by James Gunn or HBO Max. Fans are eager to hear more as Gunn’s few entries into the DC Extended Universe have been quite the crowd pleasers. This will be the first though that Gunn will not write, and there’s currently no word on if he will direct any of the series episodes.