Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: HBO Max

  • ‘Peacemaker’s Justice League Cameo Included Henry Cavill’s Superman Suit

    ‘Peacemaker’s Justice League Cameo Included Henry Cavill’s Superman Suit

    Just a few days ago, we got the season finale of Peacemaker which gave us a heartfelt and action-packed ride. Yet, many are still talking about the surprise cameos by the Justice League. We saw Aquaman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman arrive to save the day, but they were too late at that time. Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller were the only members to make an actual return with the others kept in the shadows. A stand-in actor shared a first look at what would’ve been a Batman costume and confirmed that he alongside a Cyborg stand-in were cut from the scene.

    Now, actor Brad Abramenko has shared a look at the Superman costume that was used for the scene and confirms that it was indeed Henry Cavill‘s Superman. There’s been a lot of debate on if the actor would eventually return to the role, but his inclusion may further give some hope that DC will see the return of the Man of Steel that started the current rendition of the DCEU. You can check out his costume here:

    It was hard to make out in the darkness, but it seems they went with the more colorful version of Cavill‘s Superman suit for the shot. That was the version used in Joss Whedon‘s take of Justice League that may still be deemed canon. The Flash will rewrite our understanding of this franchise after a quick trip through the multiverse. That’s the theory on why Batman and Cyborg were absent given who knows where this series takes place. For now, we’ll have to wait but it’s great to get a confirmation.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 May Be Eyeing a 2023 Release

    ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 May Be Eyeing a 2023 Release

    HBO Max’s breakout series Peacemaker won over critics and audiences alike over the course of its eight-episode season. The finale was the biggest single-day performance for an HBO Max original production. So, it made sense that ahead of the finale episode, it was announced that The Suicide Squad spin-off would indeed be returning for a second season.

    While many series end up taking years to release a new season, it looks like Peacemaker fans might not have to wait quite so long. Luis Duran, General Manager at HBO Max Latin America, appears to have announced that Peacemaker Season 2 will arrive in 2023 in a recent tweet, which The Direct translated as follows:

    With this finale so strong we already know that S2 will be one of the great releases of next year!

    Luis Duran

    Fans can also rejoice in the fact that James Gunn will be returning to write and direct every single episode of Season 2. It was speculated that Peacemaker’s second season might take quite a bit of time since is still in production of The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3. He is also still developing another spin-off to The Suicide Squad, but just who it will follow and plot details on that remain under wraps for now. The writer and director are certainly racking up quite the resume in comic book film and television.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • Batman and Cyborg Were Cut From ‘Peacemaker’s Justice League Cameo

    Batman and Cyborg Were Cut From ‘Peacemaker’s Justice League Cameo

    The Peacemaker finale was filled to the brim with surprises for fans. The one that stood out to many was the surprise appearance of a few Justice League members. Towards the end of the episode, we saw Superman, Aquaman, Flash, and Wonder Woman arrive just as the battle with the butterflies had come to an end. It looks like Jason Momoa was the only one actually on set, while Ezra Miller filmed his scenes on the set of Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3. It turned out Wonder Woman and Superman were played by doubles, explaining they were hidden in the shadows. Turns out, there were a couple of other surprises that sadly got cut.

    A double, who worked on the Peacemaker finale, confirmed via a behind-the-scenes photo from his trailer that Batman and Cyborg were indeed set to make a brief appearance in the finale. He even shared an image on his Instagram of him wearing a Batman costume very similar to that worn by Ben Affleck throughout his tenure as the iconic DC character.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CaKpbLvJskM/?utm_medium=copy_link

    The curious aspect of their exclusion further hints at the characters confirmed with a future in the franchise were present in the short scene. Affleck’s iteration of Batman will make his final appearance in The Flash, while Cyborg’s future is unknown and doesn’t look to be returning anytime soon. There have been many theories on what the future holds for Superman though, as Henry Cavill also seemingly moved on from the role. perhaps his appearance hints at his return in the near future, but it’ll just leave us with a few questions for now.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Peacemaker’s Finale is HBO Max’s Best Performing Single-Day Release

    ‘Peacemaker’s Finale is HBO Max’s Best Performing Single-Day Release

    Peacemaker just wrapped its season finale, and it looks like the show is quite the success for HBO Max. James Gunn took to Twitter to not only thank the fans for their love towards the project but also to highlight that it was the biggest single-day performance for an original production. It was able to even pull in 44% more viewers than the premiere episode, which isn’t a common occurrence with these streaming series.

    https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/1494772448503508995

    It’s crazy to think how such an unknown character has managed to rise up the ranks, especially as the first DCEU-connected original show. John Cena and the entire cast offered a very down-to-earth experience that redefined our look at heroism in a series that tricks you by making you think it’s just a comedy. Seeing that the finale was able to push even stronger numbers than its initial premiere is quite impressive, as most shows see a drop in viewership over their runtime.

    Still, it continues to prove that weekly releases are an asset for most shows, as each week Peacewalker was the buzz of the town. Netflix still remains firm with its binge approach but also forces its hands into offering a lot of content within smaller time windows. Who knows, perhaps the development will push all streaming services to embrace the weekly schedule.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin Talks ‘House of the Dragon’ as Production Wraps

    ‘Game of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin Talks ‘House of the Dragon’ as Production Wraps

    It feels like yesterday when we first ran the story on the upcoming Game of Thrones spinoff focusing on the Targaryens. Fittingly titled House of the Dragon, the upcoming series will see a new all-star cast further explore a dragon-filled Westeros. Creator of the original novels, George R. R. Martin took to his personal blog to share that pöroduction has wrapped on the series and also that he’s seen the rough cuts. His blog states that:

    I have seen rough cuts of a few of them, and I’m loving them.Of course, a lot more work needs to be done. Special effects, color timing, score, all the post-production work. But the writing, the directing, the acting all look terrific. I hope you will like them as much as I do. My hat is off to Ryan and Miguel and their team, and to our amazing cast.

    It’s always great to hear the creator of a franchise praise an upcoming adaptation. As this is the first spinoff for the franchise, there’s some concern if it can recatch the magic that made it a tentpole HBO series that it is, especially avoiding the mistakes from later seasons. The casting has already been quite promising and who knows just how deep the lore in House of the Dragon will get explored once it releases eventually.

    Source: George R. Martin’s Blog

  • REVIEW: ‘Peacemaker’ Episode 8 – “It’s Cow or Never”

    REVIEW: ‘Peacemaker’ Episode 8 – “It’s Cow or Never”

    After a six-week run, the first season of Peacemaker has come to an end with “It’s Cow or Never.” The series has seen some highs as James Gunn has yet again taken the comic book genre and flipped it on its head. This time he tackled one of DC’s most unknown characters, Peacemaker. The highly anticipated finale has finally arrived and proves why Gunn told people to avoid Social Media at all costs. The only question remains: did the finale live up to the rest of the show?

    Keep in mind, this review contains massive spoilers of the finale. So, only continue at your own risk.

    The Peacemaker finale does not waste a second, as we jump straight into the action. Our unlikely team is on their way to take down the “cow” teased during the previous episode’s final moments. John Cena‘s Peacemaker has gone through quite a bit in the past twenty-four hours, such as being betrayed by a friend and killing his father. That would obviously affect anyone’s mood with the betrayal of Adebayo hitting him especially hard. He proceeds to make fart noises over her attempted apology highlighting his childish way of handling these kinds of situations.

    One of the running jokes this season is that Peacemaker constantly rags on Economos, such as mocking his beard. It all built up to a surprising somber moment after he briefly tried to infiltrate the Butterfly’s hideout. While it felt a bit silly given the stakes of the story, it did give us some great character growth for everyone left on the team. It was a heartfelt moment that was important to build up the final confrontation.

    Peacemaker’s journey this season, strengthened by John Cena‘s performance is what truly carried the series. His work on the series is stunning, as he offers a strong emotional range from a character that once killed an entire village of people without batting an eye – no, we won’t talk about Rick Flag. The finale uses his character development to push his old belief in direct contrast to the lessons he learned throughout and what it means to have friends.

    The series doesn’t want to fully turn him into a boy scout just yet, as the final moments reveal his father is still haunting him. This is an element torn right from the comics but given a psychological twist. This time around isn’t the soul of his father living in his helmet, but a personification of his regrets. He also isn’t joining any superhero group, as the amazing surprise cameo by the Justice League gave him a moment to curse them out on being late and focusing on what is truly important.

    One of the series’ biggest strengths lies in how it uses parallels to further develop its characters, especially with Smith and Adebayo. They have similar parental situations and had to realize that they might not be as good as they once believed. After he was forced to face his father head-on, she decided to do the same by revealing Amanda Waller’s ties to Task Force X. Not only is it a way for her to make up for planting the diary but also to confront her demon. Plus, it got us a cameo by the always-amazing Viola Davis.

    The finale may have featured one of the series’ best action sequences. It highlights just how much effort has been put into the choreography of the series, as the all-out assault being played alongside the series’ theme song “Do Ya Wanna Taste It” gave us some memorable moments. We even get Peacemaker wielding a shield to play on the ongoing joke of him being a “douchy” version of Captain America.

    Ther is one oddity in this series that remains even in the final episode, Judomaster. While he provided some incredible beatdowns – Nhut Lee offering a fun performance throughout – he didn’t really provide that much to the series. He just showed up and kicked ass. There wasn’t much of a character arc outside of his love for snack food. The only reason he wasn’t a butterfly was revealed due to him buying into their vow, but it may be something that the now-confirmed second season might further explore.

    The first season of Peacemaker was truly something special and the finale offered a tense, fast-paced, and incredibly well-put-together 45-minute episode. James Gunn continues to be a powerhouse in the genre of comic book adaptations, and it’s no wonder DC wants to develop more projects. If this episode is anything to go by, the DCEU will be shaken up quite a bit moving forward, and I can’t wait to see more of John Cena in this role.

  • ‘Peacemaker’ Episode 8 Primer

    ‘Peacemaker’ Episode 8 Primer

    The very first series set within DC’s extended universe is about to reach the end of its first season. Peacemaker gave us a chance to get even closer to the character we once only considered “douchey Captain America” (John Cena’s words, not mine) and over the past seven episodes, we’ve seen some fantastic development with the titular character, winning over the hearts of many skeptics who’d held a grudge since the murder of Rick Flag. Now the finale is almost here and soon enough we’ll be pining for more.

    The penultimate episode, ‘Stop Dragon My Heart Around’, finally answered the question we’ve been wondering since early in the season: what happened to Christopher Smith’s brother? The answer: Chris happened. In a pit match between the two brothers, set up by Auggie and his friends, in an attempt to look tough and not let his father down, Chris wailed on his brother a little too hard, injuring his brain and killing him.

    The present day saw Christopher Smith on the run with Vigilante and Economos, split off from the rest of the group to face the “cow” on their own. This plan was blown to pieces as the White Dragon and his group followed them, striking first and throwing the mission off course. Vigilante bravely provided a distraction for Chris and Economos, by unpinning a grenade and being caught in the blast, nearly killing himself.

    Elsewhere, the rest of the team fell into shambles as Harcourt clashed with Adebayo after her betrayal (she planted the fake diary in Peacemaker’s trailer) was revealed. Things were cut short when the Butterflies arrived, presumably after Murn. Goff quickly dispatched of Murn and the Murn butterfly in sight of Harcout and Adebayo. And just when it seemed things could not possibly get worse, they do indeed as Judomaster returned! giving Harcourt and Adebayo a good fight before eventually escaping again.

    The White Dragon and his followers find Peacemaker and one of the show’s biggest conflicts finally came to a head. This fight is a big moment for the character, as he faced the source of his abuse, ending in Peacemaker shooting his father in the head, and ending the torment he’s faced since he was a child.

    The team regrouped at a local vet where Eagly is given medical care after being backhanded by the White Dragon and they decide to put aside their differences and finish the mission. The final scenes revealed the “cow”, which wasn’t actually a cow at all, but rather a giant slug-larva that’s the source of the amber fluid.

    However this ends, it’ll surely be quite outlandish. Lets just hope we don’t have to wait too long to see Peacemaker officially renewed for season 2 at HBO Max.

  • HBO Max CCO Offers Update on ‘Game of Thrones’ Many Spin-offs

    HBO Max CCO Offers Update on ‘Game of Thrones’ Many Spin-offs

    Games of Thrones may be one of those few shows that redefined TV. HBO obviously has no plans of letting its legacy fizzle out as it continues to develop and explore its options on spin-offs and prequels. The first of what could be many new spinoffs looks to be setting its eyes on a 2022 premiere while others remain in limbo.

    House of The Dragon is currently set to premiere sometime this year, but no date has been found as the studio was concerned about how the ongoing pandemic would affect production. Talks continue behind the scenes to find the perfect release date for the series, as confirmed in a new piece by Deadline.

    There are multiple other series in some form of pre-production which includes Sea Snake, Flea Bottom, 10,000 Ships, and Dunk & Egg. As of now, they have talent attached to them, but none of them have been picked up or passed on just yet. Among these is also an animated spin-off, yet there is still no news on what that’ll be about. HBO and HBO Max’s Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys had the following to share on Game of Thrones‘ future:

    It’s just like any development process. Some are looking really good. Some we’ll see. We’re not going to make everything. I don’t have any mandate that I must make a certain amount of spin offs or prequels or anything like that. We’re really doing it just based on what we’re excited about creatively. I wouldn’t even give you a tease that we might see something this year because I really don’t know, it depends on how the development comes in.

    Casey Bloys

    With a series like Game of Thrones, it’s gonna take a lot to live up to what that series was to a lot of people, and it seems here that they’re being quite meticulous with what they pick up and send to the series.

    Source: Deadline

  • James Gunn to Direct and Write Every ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode

    James Gunn to Direct and Write Every ‘Peacemaker’ Season 2 Episode

    Peacemaker is the very first TV spin-off series set within the DC Extended Universe and has been quite popular with fans. The series featured the return of John Cena in the titular role, following the post-credit scene in which his character was revealed to be alive. With the series being praised by critics and fans, it seemed like a definite to get a second season. James Gunn has taken to Twitter to confirm that Peacemaker will indeed be returning for a second season on HBO Max. Not just that, it turns out that he’ll also be writing and directing every single episode.

    https://twitter.com/jamesgunn/status/1494020020980097024?s=21
    itr

    This news comes just hours before the finale of the first season, which will see the conclusion on the butterfly’s invasion. It’s also unknown just who will be returning for the second season, but the upcoming episode may offer up some hints for that. Gunn tackling directing every episode is a first, as he worked on five of the eight episodes in the first eipsode. He did write every script, however.

    It may be a while before we see the second season as the director is still in production of both the The Guardians of The Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn is also still developing another spin-off to The Suicide Squad, but just who it will follow and plot details on that remain under wraps for now. The first seven episodes of Peacemaker season one are streaming right now on HBO Max, giving you just enough time to catch up before tomorrow’s big finale.

    Source: Twitter, Twitter

  • Latest ‘Batgirl’ Set Photos Offer Best Look Yet at Michael Keaton’s New Batman Suit

    Latest ‘Batgirl’ Set Photos Offer Best Look Yet at Michael Keaton’s New Batman Suit

    A few days ago, we got the first look at Michael Keaton arriving on the set of Batgirl in his Batman costume. Sadly, it was a bit difficult to make out due to it being quite dark and far away. Luckily, it seems that some more photos have found their way online that offer a better look at his updated suit for the HBO Max film. You can check out the images provided by @JTsLeague right here:

    The costume looks great and surprisingly similar to what he wore back in 1998. Even the headpiece seems to follow the same structure, but we won’t know for sure if he can finally tilt his neck until the film releases. There’s always the chance that the fabric being used can replicate the look but also offer some more functionality for Keaton while acting. It’s certainly no longer a rubber suit that needs to be ripped off of him so he can escape it. The biggest addition seems to be the shoulder pads that connect to the cape and the cowl. He did have some in the original but it’s way more pronounced this time around.

    If you look closely, his logo has also been changed slightly. It seems closer to the one he had in the original film and not its sequel, which altered it slightly to be closer to the logo used on most of the promotional material. As we haven’t gotten a good look at his costume in The Flash, it’ll be interesting to see how much they may have changed or adapted between these films to keep his look fresh. No matter what, it looks great and hopefully we get an official look soon.

    Source: Twitter