Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Interviews

  • EXCLUSIVE: Yssa Mei Panganiban on Being A Filipina Black Widow

    EXCLUSIVE: Yssa Mei Panganiban on Being A Filipina Black Widow

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe may be 13 years, 27 films, and 5 TV shows deep but even Kevin Feige‘s billion-dollar franchise has its fair share of ‘firsts’ this late in the game. Case in point, this week’s episode of Hawkeye that gave Filipino audiences a Black Widow of their own. Yssa Mei Panganiban, appears as Sonya, a Black Widow working alongside Florence Pugh‘s Yelena Belova in a mission to save the remaining brainwashed Black Widow assailants in the world.

    We got to speak to Panganiban about her experiences working on the set with directors Bert and Bertie, Florence Pugh, and what it’s like to be a Filipina in the MCU.

    The works of directing duo Bert and Bertie have been unanimously praised by fans these past 3 episodes of Hawkeye, prompting some fans to rally behind the call to have the duo direct the next Spider-Man films. Panganiban had nothing but nice words to say about the duo, who made sure her first time on a Marvel set was a warm experience.

    Everyone on set was so kind. They mentioned to me, “This is your first time? It’s not gonna be your last time for sure.” They were so sweet because at the time, I had no credits on IMDB but they just said, “That doesn’t matter to us.” The fact that Marvel took so many green artists onboard for Hawkeye was unbelievable. They were super kind enough to bring me on.

    Florence Pugh makes up most of Episode 5’s memorable moments, sharing the screen with not only lead Hailee Steinfeld but also Panganiban herself. The two share a very intense fight scene with another Black Widow named Anna yet filming that sequence with Pugh was anything but, according to Panganiban.

    She’s so kind. Yelena and Florence are kind of the same person in terms of their humor. It was really lovely working with her. She hyped me up the whole time. I let her know it was my first time on set. She was so supportive the entire time. When I wrapped, she had everyone clap for me. She was just the kindest soul.

    Sonya is one of a handful of Filipino characters to appear in a speaking role in the MCU, with the most notable ones being Dave Batista‘s Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and Jacob Batalon‘s Need Leeds in the Spider-Man series. For Panganiban, she hopes for the role to resonate among her Filipinx peers who want to see more of themselves in the industry.

    To give Sonya a voice has been so amazing. To be a Pinay Black Widow is so amazing. I hope Filipinos can go, “She has the same skin tone as me. I don’t have to whiten my skin.” I really just want people to feel seen. To feel like they can love themselves as they are. I think that’s the whole thing of being an actor and an artist.

    Our interview can be watched below:

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Wants Coral to Kill Everyone and Take Over in ‘Crossing Swords’

    EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Wants Coral to Kill Everyone and Take Over in ‘Crossing Swords’

    Voice actress Tara Strong has played plenty of powerful and dangerous characters in the past, but never one as violent and vulgar as Coral on Crossing Swords. As one of the protagonist siblings, Coral often takes the backseat but is always given some sort of plot-line throughout the seasons, being a pirate and all. Sadly, the character has never truly been given her time in the limelight, as it isn’t her story. Strong, however, has a few ideas on where she would love to see her character move on in the future.

    We recently had the chance to talk with the voice actress about her character and the upcoming second season of Crossing Swords. We were curious just where Strong would like to see her character go and how she would love to see her character progress, and didn’t hold back with her answer.

    I think she should just kill everyone and be queen. Hello! She should be running the show, she’s the smartest.

    Tara Strong

    Following up on this question, as we highlighted how incompetent the current royalty is in the fictional peg world of Crossing Swords, she gave the following response:

    Yeah, they’re ridiculous, Right! she needs to take over. She just needs some dragons and needs to go all Khaleesi on everyone, you know?

    Tara Strong

    Her direction for Coral is definitely a creative one, but wouldn’t seem too out of character for her. Of course, it seems unlikely that the creative team would kill off all their characters, but they might take a creative root with her character taking over in a future season. It would certainly add an interesting new dynamic to the show and mix things up for our colorful cast of characters.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Yvette Nichole Brown on Bringing Her Character to Life in ‘Crossing Swords’ Season 2

    EXCLUSIVE: Yvette Nichole Brown on Bringing Her Character to Life in ‘Crossing Swords’ Season 2

    Crossing Swords has a ton of characters, who are all so different and unique in their very own ways. As such, the kingdom is full of oddballs, and we’re not just talking about the Royal family. one of these citizens is played by Yvette-Nichole Brown, who many are familiar with for her work on series like Community, Drake & Josh, or even her cameo in Avengers: Endgame. She also isn’t a stranger to voice roles either, and Crossing Swords might have the actress in her most vulgar performance yet. We had a chance to talk with Yvette Nichole Brown on the upcoming second season and got to ask her in what kind of headspace she is to bring such an outlandish character to life.

    I mentally decided that she speaks like a Baptist preacher. So, she’s always, you know, just about to take you to the mountain top every time she speaks. The problem is: there’s no substance to what she’s saying. So, she’s giving it to ya, and she’s giving you the fire, but she’s talking about monkeys and craziness and pubic hairs, all kinds of stuff that you would never hear in a church or anywhere. So, I like the dichotomy of that, that she’s speaking with purpose about things that don’t matter. So, that’s how I found her.

    Yvette Nichole Brown

    As a follow-up, we asked how Brown would like to see her character progress in the series, and gave the perfect answer for someone like Sgt. Meghan.

    You know, I kinda love that she pops in when you least expect. […] I kinda feel like shes coming off of vacation. She just pops in, right? She’s always either about to go on vacation or coming back from vacation. So, she misses most of the shenanigans and she comes in right before crap is about to hit the fan and she tries “a little bit” to make it better. So, I think she’s in it about enough.

    Yvette Nichole Brown

    Brown‘s presence in the show, while it may not be a huge role, is definitely a memorable one. She does perfectly summarizes how her character plays into the story and she’s always a blast once she enters the screen. Here’s hoping that in a possible third season we’ll get a lot more from Sgt. Meghan.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Hasn’t Heard Back Yet for ‘Loki’ Season 2

    EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Hasn’t Heard Back Yet for ‘Loki’ Season 2

    There are many voice actors out there that have made quite the name for themselves within the industry. Among them is Tara Strong, who may be one of the most popular voice actresses working today, with roles in series like Teen Titans, Ben 10, and Powerpuff Girls, she’s become an iconic and instantly recognizable voice. She recently made her MCU debut in Loki, one of Marvel Studios’ first ventures into Disney+. The voice actress took on the role of Miss Minutes, the official mascot of the Time Variance Authority. We recently had the chance to talk with Strong, and just had to ask about a possible return as Minutes in the upcoming second season of Loki.

    Oh, I hope so. You know, Kate Herron, who directed it, said she would like to do like a feature based on her [Miss Minutes] on Twitter, and im like: “Oh, I’m in for that!”. I haven’t been notified yet but I certainly hope so and the fans seem to have embraced her and fallen in love with her. So, I feel pretty good about that and I would definitely come back and reprise that role if asked.

    Tara Strong

    It would certainly be a welcome surprise to see Strong return in the second season of Loki, and with what seems to be an entirely new TVA, it seems likely Miss Minutes is a definite return. For those looking to see a bit more of Tara Strong’s work, the first and second seasons of Crossing Swords are currently streaming on Hulu.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Rhys Ifans Comments on ‘No Way Home’ Return

    EXCLUSIVE: Rhys Ifans Comments on ‘No Way Home’ Return

    Spider-Man: No Way Home finally swings into theaters this week and fans are eagerly anticipating not only the ending of the first MCU Spidey trilogy, but putting to rest all the crazy rumors that have swirled around this film for over a year. Promotional material for the film put a rest to any doubts that the film would feature villains from Sam Raimi and Marc Webb’s Spider-franchises as they heavily featured Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro, Sandman and Lizard. One doubt that has remained front and center for fans, however, is if Thomas Haden Church and Rhys Ifans returned to play Flint Marko and Curtis Conners, respectively.

    Ifans’ Conners proved a key character in The Amazing Spider-Man, not only as the villain but as link between Peter and his father. While the Lizard was an outright villain, Conners was a bit of tortured genius and Ifans played the role well. Ifans is playing another tortured genius, Rasputin, in the upcoming film The King’s Man. Our own Hunter Radesi interviewed Ifans today and asked the actor if he was in fact the man behind the Lizard again for Spider-Man: No Way Home. With a big grin on his face, Ifans responded:

    Well you know, like most Christmas presents, the good thing is not knowing what’s in them until it’s time to open them.

    While Jaime Foxx and Alfred Molina seemed all too happy to talk about their time in the film, Ifans was definitely a little less forthcoming. With the aforementioned actors returning for their roles, it’s hard to imagine that Sony and Marvel Studios didn’t do everything in their power to bring Ifans and Church back as well. With just 4 days until the film’s debut in theaters, we won’t have to be left wondering much longer.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tom Root on Patrick’s Journey as A Squire in ‘Crossing Swords’

    EXCLUSIVE: Tom Root on Patrick’s Journey as A Squire in ‘Crossing Swords’

    It’s rare for adult animated comedies to put in the work to develop their characters, but it’s not all that uncommon. Crossing Swords is one of those shows that tries to fully develop all of its characters. However, it’s the protagonist, Patrick, that really gets the most development in both seasons of the show. 

    In an exclusive interview with Tom Root, one of the creators of Crossing Swords, we talked about developing Patrick’s story for the series. As far as Root sees it, Patrick has a couple of paths as far as his story goes, either he’s going to become the hero or he’s going to become the greatest villain. As it stands, Patrick’s journey is still being written.

    “Well, he’s going down the path he needs to go down because he’s still learning. He found out in Season 1 that being a Knight and chasing this dream would mean that he’s gonna have to make a lot of compromise, and in Season 2, he’s gonna find out just how far those compromises are gonna push him. Like, we think that he is going to find a breaking point down the road, and he’s either going to have to figure out a way to become a hero without compromise, or he’s going to snap and become the greatest villain in the entire land. We haven’t written that part yet.

    Tom Root

    Root’s tease of Patrick possibly traveling down a much darker path in the future would be an interesting development in the series. Since Season 1, Patrick has been the stereotypical boy scout, who tries to be the best he can be in his own occupation. Even Seth Green agrees that Patrick traveling down a darker path wouldn’t be an unwelcome surprise.

    I mean evil Patrick, or Patrick breaking bad, thats not necessarily the worst pitch

    Seth Green

    Season 2 of Crossing Swords is streaming now on Hulu. The series was created by Tom Root and John Harvatine IV, with Seth Green serving as an executive producer.

  • EXCLUSIVE: John Harvatine IV and Seth Green On Developing the Unique Animation Style in ‘Crossing Swords’ Season 2

    EXCLUSIVE: John Harvatine IV and Seth Green On Developing the Unique Animation Style in ‘Crossing Swords’ Season 2

    In a world that’s become almost infested with adult animated comedies, it’s becoming harder and harder to stand out amongst them all. The first show to really present a unique style was Robot Chickens’ stop-motion animation style. Robot Chicken writers Tom Root and John Harvatine IV definitely took a page out of that book when developing Crossing Swords, with the show’s unique style revolving completely around peg people, and pushing the limits with what they could do with this limited style. 

    We recently had the chance to chat with Root and Harvatine about the upcoming second season, and one thing we were curious about was the show’s animation style, and how they went about improving it and trying out new things.

    I think this season what was fun and what we were looking to do was more practical effects, like more in camera stuff. We really liked last season how we used fiber-fill and hot glue, and things like that. This season we pushed it, we did even more of it, so I think visually going into the season we really wanted to do as much in camera and as little in the computer as possible, so that was something we wanted to do and I think we achieved.

    John Harvatine IV

    Executive producer and voice of Blinkerquatz, Seth Green, added a bit more on how they evolved the animation style of the series.

    Also we were able to use a lot of the motion control rigs to get some far more dynamic cinematography then we’ve had before.

    Seth Green

    Using peg people to make a series is not an easy task. However, Crossing Swords continues to push the envelope on its animation style. Fans will be able to see more of what Harvatine IV and Green mean when Season 2 of Crossing Swords drops on Dec. 10, exclusively on Hulu.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Fra Fee on a Potential Romance Between Kazi and Maya

    EXCLUSIVE: Fra Fee on a Potential Romance Between Kazi and Maya

    Last week’s episode of Hawkeye gave us two new characters in the MCU; Maya Lopez and Kazi Kazimierczak. Both key players in this Christmas crime tale, the episode explores the two lieutenants’ relationship, dating back to their childhood days up until the present, where Kazi serves as Maya’s interpreter in the Tracksuit Mafia. The episode has left fans wondering about a potential romance between the two characters.

    We sat down with Kazi himself, Fra Fee, for a couple of minutes and asked about the character’s relationship with Maya Lopez.

    It’s interesting what we’ve actually seen so far: Kazi is acting as Maya’s interpreter but then there’s quite a bit of friction. But yes, you’re right. They are loyal to each other and have known each other for a long time. Whether that is something romantic or more in line with a brotherly and sisterly companionship is something I will allow you guys to watch yourselves. I know what I was thinking with what I wanted Kazi to feel but it would be unfair to reveal that [laughs].

    Should there be a romance between them, this week’s episode certainly puts that in jeopardy as Clint makes clear the pitfalls of Maya’s quest for vengeance. Now, with an actual Black Widow in the mix of things, things will only get harder for Maya and ergo, Kazi. The final two episodes will be an amazing watch as the show reaches its climax. Let’s hope Kazi finds a way to survive whatever ordeal awaits the characters at the end.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong on Bringing Coral to Life on ‘Crossing Swords’

    EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong on Bringing Coral to Life on ‘Crossing Swords’

    Perhaps one of the most notable voice actresses working in the industry today is Tara Strong, who is best known for her work as Raven, Harley Quinn, Batgirl, Ben 10, and even Bubbles from the Power Puff Girls. But with all of her roles, she’s rarely taken on one as raunchy as Coral, the ruthless pirate sister of our protagonist, Patrick the squire.

    Ahead of the release of Season 2, we recently spoke to Strong about her character’s return in the upcoming second season of Crossing Swords. One question we couldn’t help but ask Strong was how she brings the swashbuckling maiden, Coral, to life.

    Well, whenever you’re doing a different character its a completely different headspace, because you are coming at these characters from an actors perspective, so you have to put yourself in their bodies, in their universe. So, the process is pretty similar but the spaces are all unique to their world and certainly Coral is part of a world that is much more irreverent and adult then most of the other shows that I do. So, to get to be in a studio and swear and talk about highly sexualized experiences is unique to anything else that I’m doing right now, but its a lot of fun.

    Tara Strong

    Following up on that previous question, we asked if there were any previous roles from her ever-expanding roster of voicework that she pulled from to bring Coral to life. Unsurprisingly, Strong noted that each character is its own creation, so she tries to approach them as their own entities, rather than drawing on her previous work.

    That’s a good question, I don’t think so. I don’t know that its a past character. You know, whenever there’s a new audition or new character they’ll give the actor a drawing of the character, a small character description, sides from the show, and maybe a show bible to let you know who they’re talking to in the world that they exist in. Then I create that character based on the information I’m given and what I think production would most like that character to sound like, so she’s really her own entity that only exists in this world.

    Tara Strong

    Fans of both Strong and Crossing Swords can catch more of Coral when Season 2 hits Hulu this Friday.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Crossing Swords’ Creators on How Luke Evans Landed King Merriman

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Crossing Swords’ Creators on How Luke Evans Landed King Merriman

    Possibly one of the strongest aspects of Crossing Swords is its ensemble cast and its distinctly different and colorful roster of characters. Each character seems so well cast with certain actors in the series unrecognizable in their roles, specifically Luke Evans in the role of King Merriman. Merriman is the greedy, sleazy, and corrupt leader of the kingdom who is so grotesquely full of himself.

    Perfect casting like this is no easy feat and Evans as Merriman is stellar, one of the best parts of the series. In our interview with the creators, John Harvatine IV and Tom Root, they shared just how they knew the actor was perfect for the role.

    “Seth will remember this, but the reason I knew I wanted Luke on this show in any capacity, we wrote a sketch for ‘Robot Chicken’ where the Creature from the Black Lagoon performs a Van Halen number ‘Hot for Teacher.’ I can barely remember why it makes any sense at all, but if you remember that video, the video is so iconic from our generation and it was so funny to us, the idea of The Creature from The Black Lagoon in the David Lee Roth role, but essentially Luke gave life to that creature and put his entire soul into that singing and made it a great sketch and we were like “Luke Evans did that?!, this ridiculous, stupid sketch?” we gotta work with this guy more”

    Tom Root

    Those who’ve seen Crossing Swords will know just how into the role Evans gets. Merriman, and his wife, are crude characters with no care about anyone other than themselves. Evans seems to enjoy the role, getting lost in this ridiculous character so much so that fans hardly know it’s him. And Season 2 of Crossing Swords takes things even further for both Merriman and the rest of these absurd characters.

    The second season of Crossing Swords, hits Hulu on Dec. 10.