Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: HBO Max

  • Diane Ademu-John Boards HBO Max’s ‘DUNE’ Spin-Off Series As Showrunner

    Diane Ademu-John Boards HBO Max’s ‘DUNE’ Spin-Off Series As Showrunner

    Denis Villeneuve’s Dune just got its second trailer, and the franchise is already expanding. Diane Ademu-John has officially boarded the film’s spin-off series, Dune: The Sisterhood, as its new showrunner. The HBO Max series will explore the universe established in Dune through the eyes of the mysterious Bene Gesserit. The Jedi-like organization of women has achieved a mastery over mind and body, which allows them to meddle in the political landscape of their universe.

    The series will serve as a prequel to Villeneuve’s project, with its story ultimately leading to the famous events on the desert planet Arrakis. Dune: The Sisterhood originally got announced in 2019, but not much has been said about the show since original showrunner Jon Spaihts stepped down in November of that year. The announcement of Ademu-John’s involvement is good news for those who were worried about the series’ future. The project’s newest helmer has a long history working in television, having written for shows like The Haunting of Bly Manor, Empire, The Originals, and The Vampire Diaries.

    The show’s pilot will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, and will most likely be made sometime between Dune and its intended sequel. The sprawling franchise has a lot of content to work with, as series creator Frank Herbert wrote a total of six Dune novels in his lifetime. The Star-studded initial film was going to drop last year. Due to COVID-related delays, it will now release on October 22 in theaters and on HBO Max.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Batgirl’: DC Casts Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon in HBO Max Film

    ‘Batgirl’: DC Casts Leslie Grace as Barbara Gordon in HBO Max Film

    It looks like DC and Warner Bros. have finally found their Batgirl. Leslie Grace has topped the role of Barbara Gordon in the upcoming film, which will premier on HBO Max. A few days, we found out that DC had quite the shortlist which also included Zoey Deutch, Isabella Merced, and Haley Lu Richardson. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah took over directing duties after Joss Whedon left the project. Plot details remain under wraps on how they’ll explore this version of the iconic character.

    Gordon has gone through a lot in the comics. After her time as the Batgirl, she gets shot by the Joker and ends up paralyzed. She took on the mantle of Oracle to support the rest of the Batfamily. Years later, she regained the ability to walk and even returned to Gotham as the iconic hero. It’s an iconic role with almost 50 years of history.

    Grace’s casing is a great move after her breakout role in Jon M. Chu‘s In the Heights. The film put her on the market and helped up her chances on getting the role. The Dominican also won three Latin Grammy Award nomminations. It’s unsure which direction she will take the character, but The Flash writer Christina Hodson will write the script. It’ll be the frist of many DC films to premier on HBO Max. It’s uncertin if she will connect to any specific version of Batman, which will soon expand with the return of Michael Keaton in The Flash and Robert Pattinson‘s The Batman.

    Source: Deadline, The Wrap

  • ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’s Malcolm D. Lee Reveals the Michael Jordan Cameo That Never Happened

    ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’s Malcolm D. Lee Reveals the Michael Jordan Cameo That Never Happened

    There will be spoilers for Space Jam: A New Legacy in this article. Only continue at your own risk.

     

    After a long wait, Space Jam finally got a sequel. Yet, there was a noticeable absence of 1996’s leading man. The first film’s leading man, Michael Jordan, did not return, but the Looney Tunes sure did. LeBron James took over as the central character, whose relationship with his son gets tested when a rogue algorithm tries to take over his status as king. Trapped in the Warner Bros. ServerVerse, he joins together with the classic Looney Tunes to take on Don Cheadle‘s Al-G Rythm and the Goon Squad in a basketball game of the century.

    There are various references throughout the film to the original film, but no sign of the former NBA star. According to director Malcolm. D. Lee, there were plans for him to appear in a post-credit sequence, even if the chances were slim to none. It would’ve even referred to the 202 mini-series The Last Dance by ESPN Films and Netflix by echoing one of his iconic lines from the documentary.

    We were holding out hope, but also knew that the likelihood was going to be very remote. Especially after The Last Dance came out, I was like, we’ve got to be able to do something, even like a tag at the very end after the credits with Bugs showing him the movie and saying, ‘What do you think, Doc?’ And just Jordan going, ‘I took that very personal.’ I wanted to do it! It would have been fantastic, but our movie is our movie and Space Jam is Space Jam

    Luckily, the team did get visits by another Jordan, Michael B. Jordan. It seems he was shooting a project and dropped by the project to hang out with LeBron James. This coincidence led to one of the film’s best jokes when Sylvester gets him mixed up with the first film’s protagonist.

    But it’s one of the greatest jokes that I’ve ever put in one of my movies — and it’s super unique to Space Jam. There’s no other movie where you could play this joke. Warner Bros. wanted really badly to use it in marketing, and I was like, you cannot do that, because this joke is too good to sacrifice.

    It’s sad they couldn’t get Jordan to return, but it did make way for a very unique joke that, as the director points out, only Space Jam could make. Luckily, they talked the marketing team out of wasting it in the trailers. The film managed to beat out Blck Widow at the Box Office, but it’s uncertain if we might see this franchise return with more entries moving forward. Still, it was great seeing Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of the Looney Tunes back on the silver screen. Even if this franchise doesn’t continue, it’s about time they get more films.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Batgirl’ Casting Begins as Shortlist Includes Zoey Deutch, Isabella Merced, And More

    ‘Batgirl’ Casting Begins as Shortlist Includes Zoey Deutch, Isabella Merced, And More

    Many films sat idle on the DC bench. One of them is Batgirl, a film that almost had Joss Whedon at the wheel before his eventual departure. Warner Brothers ended up hiring Christina Hodson, who’d previously worked on The Flash and Birds of Prey to pen the script for the film from scratch. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah joined the project as directors around two months ago. Production seems to be moving along at a steady pace as the casting process for Barbra Gordon takes off with a new shortlist of talent.

    In a new report from Deadline, a shortlist of talent testing for the role of Batgirl has been revealed. The studio is currently in the process of working with actresses like Isabella Merced, Zoey Deutch, and Leslie Grace. Haley Lu Richardson is also included but reportedly may have already dropped out of the casting process. However, it’s being reported by The Wrap that Richardson is in fact one of the two top choices for the role, alongside Grace.

    The film will debut on HBO Max exclusively but currently has no set release date. Plot details remain under wraps. Yet, casting details seems to indicate the film could be an adaption of Batgirl: Year One, with the inclusion of Firefly, a villain who played a big role in that storyline. It is still unknown just where this film will take place in the DC Multiverse, with the film actively casting for the role of Commissioner Gordon.

    Source: The Wrap, Deadline

     

  • Two More Animated ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-Offs In Development

    Two More Animated ‘Game of Thrones’ Spin-Offs In Development

    It looks like Game of Thrones will continue to grow. It’s been three months since we got our first look at the first spin-off, House of the Dragon featuring Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy as Targaryen Royalty. It’ll be the first of many series that’ll further explore Westeros beyond the original HBO show. Currently, three other live-action shows are in development which includes one focused on warrior Princess Nymeria. They are also venturing into animation. Variety revealed that an animated series was in development for HBO Max. It looks like that isn’t all. The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively unveiled that two more animated shows are on HBO’s roadmap.

    One series stands out that will focus on the fictional Golden Empire of Yi Ti. It’s a location that the original series never visited that’s a region of Essos. It’s one of the oldest and most advanced societies in the fictional country. House of the Dragon features the character of Lord Velaryon, who famously sailed to Yi Ti and may offer our first live-action visit to the location.

    It seems that one live-action series will not continue development. The prequel Flea Bottom was nothing more than an idea, as it never got officially confirmed by HBO. THR reports that it was going to explore the King’s Landing slum. It’s uncertain how many of the variously hinted at series will see the light of day. There have been no updates on various of the shows that are in development until now. So, we’ll see which one will officially get a green light moving forward.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • New ‘The Suicide Squad’ Featurette Reveals Sean Gunn as Calendar Man

    New ‘The Suicide Squad’ Featurette Reveals Sean Gunn as Calendar Man

    Before the film made its big debut at last year’s DC Fandome, fan’s imaginations were running wild who’ll end up joining Task Force X in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. He hand-picked some of the wackiest and obscure characters from within the DC Universe. The current line-up includes Polka-Dot Man, Peacemaker, Javelin, Savant, Black Guard, and even a walking Weasel played by Sean Gunn. Gunn‘s brother is no stranger to playing around in his brother’s films. He was the on-set model for Rocket Raccoon and played Kraglin in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. While we knew he’d be playing Weasel in the film, it seems he picked up another role within the film.

    In a new behind-the-scenes featurette for the upcoming film, in a brief blink and you’ll miss it scene, you can catch Sean Gunn as one of Batman’s most obscure rogues, Calendar Man. The character was not previously known to be in the film and looks to be a brief cameo. The actor has a shaved head, and the abbreviated months tattoed around his cranium which many might remember from the comics.

     

     

    For those unfamiliar with Julian Gregory Day, who is better known as Calendar Man. He’s a supervillain whose fascinated by holidays and calendars. That love turned into his theme where he only commits crimes on those specific days. The character gained more notable popularity in The Long Halloween. In it, he was reimagined as a more Hannibal Lecter-type villain that Batman would speak to within an effort to locate the holiday killer, and would toy with Batman with his cryptic hints and clues.

    You can check out the featurette here:

    Source: Twitter

     

  • First Look at Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante Costume in ‘Peacemaker’ BTS Image

    First Look at Freddie Stroma’s Vigilante Costume in ‘Peacemaker’ BTS Image

    Before The Suicide Squad is even out, the upcoming spin-off show Peacemaker has already wrapped filming. The show will debut in January on HBO Max. It’ll see the return of John Cena as the titular character of Christopher Smith, the man who will do anything in the pursuit of peace. Plot details for the series remain unknown as the show could be adapting the Janus Directive storyline. In it, we follow Peacemaker’s origins as he faces off against Adrian Chase, also known as the Vigilante. The small story ends up involving multiple shady organizations that all lead back to Amanda Waller.

    Originally the series would’ve seen Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase, but he would ultimately get recast due to creative differences. Freddie Stroma took over the role after Conard’s exit. As the season finishes up production, a new photo featuring the entire cast has given us our first look at the actor’s suit. He is sporting the character’s classic blue and white color pallet with a V-shape design on the chest.

     

     

    For those unfamiliar with the character, Adrian Chase is the second person to don the mantle of Vigilante. His first appearance was in The New Teen Titans #23 all the way back in 1982. Chase was an Attorney in New York City who went down a more violent path of justice following the murder of his wife and kids at the hands of mobsters. He would come face to face with Peacemaker after Smith murdered one of his closest friends in his absence. Chase, so terribly out of shape, would be beaten by Peacemaker and unmasked live on television, ending his career as the vigilante. It’ll be interesting to see if the HBO MMax series follows the same structure.

    Source: Instagram

  • James Gunn Talks the Inspiration for ‘The Suicide Squad’ Spin-Off ‘Peacemaker’

    James Gunn Talks the Inspiration for ‘The Suicide Squad’ Spin-Off ‘Peacemaker’

    Everyone has their eyes set on James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad. The DC film will reintroduce the world to the iconic team of ex-villains that are all gathered for one reason: they would get killed if they didn’t. Luckily, the director isn’t stopping there as we are also getting a spin-off series that focuses on John Cena‘s über-patriotic character, Peacemaker. So far, the story has been kept tightly under wraps outside of some classic Charlton Comics characters, such as Judomaster. As the release for his Suicide Squad sequel is drawing near, we also got a first official look at a blood-drenched Peacemaker and some insight into the series.

     

     

    In the interview with Empire, Cena and Gunn mock the show’s titular character but also tease that there might be more to him than meets the eye. The director stated that:

    Peacemaker has a clear set of ideals that I find really interesting. You know: ‘I want peace no matter how many men, women and children I need to kill to get it.’ Sounds like nonsense, but it also makes a lot of sense. And you see in John’s performance how he does not feel good about it – something I thought was the seed of an entire eight-episode show.

    He also teased that the upcoming story will be a sci-fi story that focuses on real-world issues when you have people like Peacewalker killing for his specific beliefs. Cena teases that the series will explore what made him who he is in the upcoming DC film. Gunn has also been open about a potential second season. So, we might see a lot more of Peacemaker in the future and get a closer look at the unique corner of the DCEU he inhabits.

    Source: Empire

  • RUMOR: Tobias Menzies to Play Sinestro in HBO Max’s ‘Green Lantern’ Series

    RUMOR: Tobias Menzies to Play Sinestro in HBO Max’s ‘Green Lantern’ Series

    All the way back in 2011, Green Lantern released in theaters to less than stellar reviews and amounted to a dismal box office haul. What’s most memorable about that movie is its ending, in which we see Thaal Sinestro, one of their strongest warriors, succumb to the newly forged yellow lantern ring. The ring was forged to face Parallax but was deemed too dangerous. Sinestro’s origins have always followed down this dark path, going from one of the galaxies’ strongest warriors to one of its darkest foes. With the upcoming HBO Max series developing this sprawling story over time, it’ll be interesting to see the rise and fall of this once great hero in the DC Universe in live-action once again. It looks like we might get to revisit this storyline sooner than expected

    A few months back we reported on Sinestro’s inclusion in the series, with him being described as a “strategic commander” a “warrior monk” and one of the “greatest lanterns of all time”. In a new rumor from the Illuminerdi, they’re reporting that actor Tobias Menzies will now bring the DC villain to life in the series. He is well-known for his roles in Game of Thrones, Rome, and The Crown. It’s unclear how big of a role Sinestro could be playing in the series or what time period he would be showing up in, as the show is set to sprawl the 40s, 80s, and modern-day.

    Menzies would be joining Jeremy Irvine and Finn Wittrock, both previously cast in the series as Alan Scott and Guy Gardner. The series is set to be written by Marc Guggenheim and Seth Grahame-Smith while being produced by Greg Berlanti, adding yet another major DC Series under his belt. Green Lantern currently has no set release date but will release exclusively on the HBO Max streaming service.

    Source: Illuminerdi 

  • HBO Max Developing ‘Madame Xanadu’ Series

    HBO Max Developing ‘Madame Xanadu’ Series

    A while back, it got announced that J.J. Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot, had entered an exclusive deal to develop various projects based on characters on the magic corner of the DC Universe. A year later, we got word that Bad Robot was developing television series for the famed occult detective, John Constantine, with Guy Bolton. Not just that, it got confirmed that the director and writer of Promising Young Woman, Emerald Fennel, would be writing a feature film following Zatanna. That’s not all, as another founding member of the team is jumping into action. Madame Xanadu set to make her HBO Max debut in a brand new series.

    Announced by Variety, Bad Robot will work on a series focused on the sorceress. Angela Robinson will write the project. There’s currently no series order, but Robinson will serve no as executive producer on the project alongside J.J. Abrams, Ben Stephenson, and Rachel Rusch Rich serving as co-executive producer.

    The character’s roots travel back to the fall of Atlantis. Some branched off and evolved into a race of magically abled humans called the Homo Magi. The sisters, Xanadu, Morgaine le Fey, and Vivienne are descendants of these individuals. They were relevant characters during the days of Camelot, which is home to yet another essential member of the Justice League Dark, Etrigan the Demon. He would end up traveling alongside Xanadu but fears that the foretold would come true before he finds a cure, as he is destined to kill her. 

    She’s the perfect character to introduce the world of DC’s sorcery. It’ll be interesting to see if the series and the overall Justice League Dark universe on HBO Max ties into the greater DCEU and maybe even see it tie into the fall of Atlantis shown in Aquaman.

    Source: Variety