Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Loki

  • Kang Easter Egg Confirmed in Latest ‘Moon Knight’ Episode

    Kang Easter Egg Confirmed in Latest ‘Moon Knight’ Episode

    Kang the Conqueror is ever-present, and Moon Knight is apparently no exception. So far, the show has been notable for its lack of Easter eggs and references to the greater MCU. Where many Marvel projects have been stuffed with verbal and visual nods to other Marvel projects, Moon Knight has gotten away with a simple Madripoor namedrop and nothing more. At least, that’s what fans thought until a new video from YouTuber Erik Voss seemingly confirmed another major Marvel tease was carefully hidden within the runtime of the series’ latest episode.

    During the opening sequence of “The Friendly Type”, mercenary Marc Spector is chasing down a group of thugs with allegiance to the villainous Arthur Harrow. He eventually catches up to them, engages in combat, and attempts to question the young survivor of the scuffle. It doesn’t go as planned, but just before his target meets his end, fans can catch a brief glimpse of an image painted on the back of his jean jacket. The art displays a faceless pharaoh with a familiar headdress, highlighted by an equally familiar teal and purple color scheme.

    As explained by Voss, this is a reference to Kang the Conquerer’s time as the pharaoh Rama-Tut. While it may appear to be a coincidence, the Easter egg has supposedly been confirmed as intentional by Moon Knight crew members. This is incredibly interesting, and raises the question as to whether or not Rama-Tut actually existed as a pharaoh in MCU canon. Was the now-deceased young man just having a little fun with his fashion, or was he a fan of Marvel’s most powerful Egyptian ruler? We’ll have to wait to find out.

    Source: New Rockstars

  • 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

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Directors Tease their Approach to ‘Loki’ Season 2

    ‘Moon Knight’ Directors Tease their Approach to ‘Loki’ Season 2

    It was in February when we learned that the directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead would be taking over the upcoming second season of Loki from Kate Herron. The team just recently published their work on Archive 81 and has also been the second team to tackle Moon Knight alongside Egyptian director Mohamed Diab. We still know very little about the upcoming second season and what we can expect from the series, but luckily the duo has sat down with Collider to offer a glimpse into their approach.

    After tackling the character of Moon Knight, the duo had the challenge of introducing a comic character that made his live-action debut. So, now they are happy to tackle another series revealing they were “handed that job” and highlighting what they also want to carry over from their first Disney+ series.

    I mean, we’re still kind of even processing being handed that job. But I suppose what we can say about it is that we’re really, really proud of what we’ve done on Moon Knight. I think that Marvel really likes what we’re able to do on Moon Knight. And so we’re hoping to kind of take all the lessons that we learned, which are infinite, the unbelievable amount of life experience, and craft, and art that we made in Moon Knight. And we want to take all of that and kind of bundle it back together as we lead Loki.

    Aaron Moorhead

    Benson went on to also highlight that they have one thing together that they are both “outcasts” and that complexity adds something special to exploring these characters.

    They all have complexity, but these two have complexity in being outcasts, and there’s something about that that feels very special and an honor to tackle.

    Justin Benson

    It certainly looks like the duo are ready to tackle their next MCU project, and are quite excited to bring the second season of Loki to life. We know that it’ll likely pick up directly where the first season ended, as Kang has taken over the TVA and no one can seemingly remember who the God of Mischief is. Sadly, it looks like we still have to wait a little bit longer before we find out.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Loki’ Lead Disney+ Viewership

    ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Loki’ Lead Disney+ Viewership

    There’s been a lot of debate on just how well the various series perform on Disney+. While some might want to use it to argue on their personal favorite series leading the pack, but it’s also an indicator of what was the most popular production on the streaming app. While none of Disney+s original productions could compete with Star Wars or Marvel, The Hollywood Reporter and Nielsen offers a little insight into how they generally performed through an analysis based on viewing data for the streamer. As of now, it seems that The Mandalorian and Loki remain the best performing series on the site.

    Lazy loaded image

    Throughout their runtime, every entry of the six live-action shows across both major brands were in the top 10 each week they released a new episode. Yet, it is highlighted that they continuously made billion more minutes of view time spent afterwards. Even What if..? and Star Wars: The Bad Batch made appearances throughout with around two billion minutes of viewing time within seven weeks. The Mandalorian is yet the clear leader with 14.5 billion minutes watched throughout the year. However, 8.4 billion were alone from the time the second season made its debut.

    While the Marvel shows have yet to top the series that started Disney+, Loki managed to draw in 5.23 billion minutes of watch time. It even passed one billion in a single week, and is the only Marvel series to do so. On top of that, it had the highest average watch time for any series, even including Star Wars with 872M minutes per episode in its six week runtime. Falcon and the Winter Soldier actually ranked right behind it with 692M minutes per episode, but reaching 4.15B average. Hawkeye had a weaker run with 3.46B minutes watched during its viewing time.

    The biggest challenge will come for Marvel Studios introducing new characters to the franchise through Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel. All previous entries were built on existing characters but they are believed to have the potential to become next quarter’s biggest series alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi. We also have to keep in mind these aren’t direct numbers from Disney+, where they might have a very different picture. It strongly depends on what they base their success on that could reshuffle this order.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Tom Hiddleston’s German Voice Actor Working on an Upcoming Marvel Movie

    Tom Hiddleston’s German Voice Actor Working on an Upcoming Marvel Movie

    Marvel Studios is a worldwide phenomenon and has been translated into many different languages. Sometimes, the dub actors also end up teasing some upcoming projects, such as the current case with Peter Lontzek, who is known for voicing Tom Hiddleston throughout his Marvel journey. While referencing he recently worked on the Loki series, he also ends the short interview with another German voice actor by confirming that he is currently working on a secret Marvel film. He doesn’t give away any details, but the translation is as follows:

    There is a new Marvel film that I am currently working on that I am not allowed to talk about.

    Peter Lontzek
    https://www.tiktok.com/@svenplatesynchron/video/7074233957042162949?_t=8QrbEYTtS33&_r=1

    He confirms that whatever project it is, he is currently working on it, which does help pin down what film he is talking about. July will see the release of Thor: Love and Thunder but given the storyline of the Disney+ series, it seems more likely that the secret project he is working on is the film that’s eyeing a release in a little over a month. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness seems like the most logical option, especially with rumors making the rounds early on that he might make an appearance in the project.

    It would be fun to see the TVA confront Strange, as he keeps getting captured by different multiverse-based organizations as a running gag throughout. It would also open the possibility of Kang the Conqueror making his appearance in the project. Perhaps, the events of this film will lead into the second season of the TVA-focused Disney+ series. The confirmation of him working on a project does add some excitement on what the future might have in store for the God of Mischief.

    Source: TikTok

  • Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2024 Release Calendar, V1

    Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2024 Release Calendar, V1

    With so much uncertainty remaining about exactly when which projects will stream in 2022, and only some known quantities for 2023, it would be crazy to start thinking about 2024. Without further delay, here’s a look at what Marvel Studios’ 2024 release slate COULD be.

    Marvel Studios has not acknowledged the existence of this Hulk project; however, KC Walsh broke the news publicly in October of 2021, supporting information shared with Murphy’s Multiverse 3 months prior. While it seems like a safe bet to be the first 2024 film, given Walsh’s info that it will film in late-2022, all that can be done now is to make a wild prediction that it’ll land here.

    As discussed at length here, Charlie Cox is going to be included in a lot of Marvel Studios projects over the next several years. It’s been great for Cox to take off the gloves lately and start discussing his future more and more and, as recent reports have indicated, a Daredevil solo project is among those. At the moment, it looks like that one could go into production as soon as late 2022 or early 2023, but with an already packed 2023, it’s reasonable to expect Daredevil hits Disney Plus in 2024.

    The news that Shawn Levy had signed on to take the wheel for Deadpool 3 and the lack of news about other theatrical projects put this one firmly on the board for 2024. Fans are rightly curious about exactly what to expect from this film, but with the writers from the first two films getting a pass at the script, a steady flow of dick jokes is probably on the menu.

    While the title of this series is up in the air, from a simple Okoye to a more indicative Midnight Angels, it’s expected that it will spin directly out of the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and possibly focus on not only Okoye but also a group of elite Dora Milaje warriors on a VERY special mission. Ryan Coogler has created expansive mythology connected to Wakanda and this series should explore more of that while setting up the future of the franchise.

    At one point, this film was on the docket to film in 2021. Recently, Murphy’s Multiverse was informed that production was officially postponed until 2023, putting it among the top contenders for a 2024 release. Thematically, Cap 4 could tie into a number of Marvel Studios projects, including Armor Wars and the Okoye-centric series. Could this be the beginning of a New Avengers team in the MCU?

    2024 is the 60th anniversary of Wanda’s first appearance, so what better time for her first solo project to debut? Recent rumors of a solo project The Scarlet Witch seem to be supported by multiple sources and word of a 2023 start of production has reached our ears. A Fall release would align the series with the Autumnal Equinox, one of several major celebrations for Wiccans. Let’s put it here for now.

    A late-2023 start of production for this one falls in line with more than a decade’s worth of data that indicates Marvel Studios likes to give creatives a 2-year window from green light to film. Destin Daniel Cretton, who helmed Marvel Studios’ best origin story since Black Panther, is back for the sequel and should benefit from Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi dropping in here and there in between films.

    Discussed a couple of times in the most recent 2023 hypothetical calendar, the ability for Marvel to synergistically link theatrical releases to streaming series is a powerful marketing tool. With that tool in the toolbox, a beautiful bridge could be built from Shang-Chi 2 to a Xialing-centric The Ten Rings series. Could the two projects blow open the door for some other hidden cities to enter the MCU?

    Note: The latest version of our hypothetical 2023 calendar can be found right here.

  • Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2023 Release Calendar, V3

    Deep Thoughts: Hypothetical Marvel Studios 2023 Release Calendar, V3

    The future slate of Marvel Studios is more fluid now than it’s ever been. With the industry STILL being impacted by COVID to some degree, a backlog of projects that could be shuffled in and out of any date at any time, and the interesting lack of a 2022 press preview kit from Disney, fans are left frivolously hypothesize, predict and speculate when to expect their most anticipated MCU projects. And we’re here to help you with your favorite addiction. This isn’t our first attempt to pin down 2023’s projects; you can check out V1 here and V2 here to compare notes.

    As much as everybody wants to see the Samuel L. Jackson/Nicky Fury-led Secret Invasion, the 2022 schedule seems to be complete without it. While we still don’t know very much about the plot of either Secret Invasion or The Marvels, it does seem like the two could share some sort of narrative bridge that would be well-served by them debuting relatively close to one another.

    By the time The Marvels hits theaters, it will have been in the can for nearly a year and a half. That’s part of the backlog of projects created by the pandemic, which really changed the well-established production paradigm that Marvel Studios had followed for well over a decade. That means a lot of time to breathe for the characters in between appearances which creates a lot of anticipation…and you know Marvel Studios likes that.

    After a little bit of a delay to the start of its production, Echo looks like it’ll be up and running in Georgia in April of 2022 and permits have been filed around Atlanta for the month of May. Given the “grounded” nature of Maya and the types of characters being cast in supporting roles, it doesn’t sound like this one is going to be a VFX showcase, so it should be ready to stream on Disney Plus in March of 2023. Of course, the question on fans’ minds is how much will Daredevil and Kingpin be involved and how might this series dovetail into the Daredevil solo project in development at Marvel Studios. Here’s to hoping Maya remains the focus of this series as there’s plenty of room for Daredevil to explore on his own.

    At some point in the first half of 2023, Ahsoka, a highly-anticipated, live-action Star Wars streaming series, will hit Disney Plus. We now know that Disney Plus is not opposed to streaming live-action Star Wars and Marvel Studios’ projects simultaneously, but if Ahsoka rolls out sometime in early May, X-Men ’97, which is on track for a 2023 release, could stream concurrently with that and fill the Marvel Studios streaming void until June, leaving some live-action stuff for later in the year.

    James Gunn’s third Guardians’ film might well be his last Marvel Studios’ project. By the time this comes out, it’ll have been over a decade since Gunn started work on Guardians of the Galaxy and as we’ve seen through his recent work on The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, he’s really on top of his game. This one sounds like it’ll be something really special and emotional, with Gunn saying goodbye not only to Marvel but to some characters he’s really grown to love.

    With the production of Season 2 of Loki on track to begin in June of 2022, it should be ready to roll out in June of 2023. While it isn’t clear whether or not Secret Invasion provides a direct runway to the events of The Marvels, it seems VERY clear that Loki Season 2 and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania share a narrative canvas and that the former can easily hand off a storyline to the latter.

    2023 could end up being the Summer of Kang. Jonathan Majors thrilled audiences with a tease of what to expect when the character returns, and it looks like when he does it’ll be a much heavier dose. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will feature some version(s) of the character fresh off of what’s expected to be a major role in Season 2 of Loki. Of course, Kang’s not the only villain fans can look forward to, as M.O.D.O.K. is also reportedly making his live-action debut, played by Corey Stoll. Should the schedule fall this way, it would represent a great example of the type of synergy Marvel Studios can pull off thanks to a parent company that has its own streaming service and total control over the release schedule.

    While a lot of fans are expecting this to be tied into Armor Wars, all the early evidence suggests it is essentially a follow-up to Riri Williams adventures in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. That’s not to say that Riri might not show up in Armor Wars or that the events of Ironheart might not lead into the Don Cheadle-led streamer, in fact it would make a lot of sense if she did, but Riri will be busy enough on her own following her huge role in Wakanda Forever.

    When V2 of the 2023 Hypothetical Calendar was published, Agatha: House of Harkness had only just been revealed by the trades a few days before and the official Disney Plus Day announcement was about a week away. Now, it really does look like it could make the 2023 release slate given the tentative October 2022 start of production. It seems like the perfect Spooky Season release for Marvel Studios, so slotting it here seems a no-brainer.

    After a couple of production delays, Blade is looking at a Fall 2022 start of principal photography, which makes it the best candidate for the currently unfilled November 3, 2023 release date, especially with production on Captain America 4 officially delayed until 2023. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that it’ll come out right around Halloween and feature a vampire hunter, and it wouldn’t be entirely surprising to see this date slide back a week earlier where nothing major is currently scheduled for any studio.

    Armor Wars, like Agatha: House of Harkness, is on track for a late-2022 start of production. While a 2023 debut is by no means set in stone for Armor Wars, there is a nice end-of-the-year window for it, should it be completed and ready to stream. We know very little about the project, but Kevin Feige seems to enjoy playing with the idea of having some streaming series thematically tied to the seasons in which they are released, so maybe, like Hawkeye, Armor Wars could be set during the holidays. After all, is there any better present than Stilt-Man?

  • ‘Swiss Army Man’ Directors Passed On ‘Loki’ Season One Because of Another Multiverse Project

    ‘Swiss Army Man’ Directors Passed On ‘Loki’ Season One Because of Another Multiverse Project

    The multiverse is quite popular these days, for Marvel Studios and beyond. The Marvel Cinematic Universe kickstarted its own multiversal adventure in the finale of Loki’s first season, and it has already been followed up with What If… ?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and soon Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The chaotic branching of timelines seen in Episode 6 of Loki may very well go down as one of the most iconic moments of the MCU, and the series as a whole was generally critically succesful as well.

    Director Kate Herron ultimately brought Loki to the small screen. However, apparently Marvel was in early talks with a directing duo who ultimately said no to the Disney+ series because of another multiverse project. Swiss Army Man directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert revealed the ironic twist of fate in an interview with IndieWire, as their multiversal project Everything Everywhere All At Once was in production about the same time:

    [Scheinhert] “There were meetings with Marvel about ‘Loki’ that we didn’t even take. We were trying to make our own multiverse movie,”

    [Kwan] “No, the meeting was set, and we went, but by the time we went we said we probably weren’t going to do it,” he said. “We were trying to shoot our own movie at the same time.”

    Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert

    While the duo passed on Season One of Loki, the fact that they were in the mix at some point could mean that Marvel still has its eye on the directors for future projects. Still, the two expressed their doubts on working on an interconnected project, like those found in the MCU:

    “Then we can just throw out anything that’s not working. I respect people who are able to play in someone else’s sandbox but that’s kind of intimidating because if there’s a preexisting fanbase for a character, and a lore, a mythology and I’m not allowed to throw out something that’s not working, that seems hard.”

    Daniel Kwan

    Marvel Studios has clearly found great success with directors that were not already well-established blockbuster filmmakers. Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi and Captain America and Avengers franchise tentpoles Joe and Anthony Russo are a few of the biggest examples.

    Loki is confirmed for Season Two, and directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are attached to the project. While it will be some time before it is ready for release, Mobius actor Owen Wilson said in February that production on the second season would begin soon.

    Source: IndieWire via The Direct

  • ‘Loki’s Head Writer on Creating a Dialogue-Heavy Marvel Series

    ‘Loki’s Head Writer on Creating a Dialogue-Heavy Marvel Series

    Loki is quite a different kind of series from previous entries in the franchise. While there is some action to enjoy, it is mostly a dialogue-heavy storyline. We spend a lot of time with Loki, Sylvia, Morbius, and everyone else talking as the story unravels. Aided by the unique atmosphere, it offered a very different take on what you’d expect from a Marvel series and that was something head writer Michael Waldron intended to do.

    During a panel discussion with the rest of the Loki cast and team, he talked about how their dialogue-heavy focus was intentional to focus on what the trickster god is known for. As such, they wanted to show him trying to haggle his way out of conversations, which did lead to some delightful moments throughout the series run. As he points out:

    One of Loki’s superpowers is his ability to talk his way out of any situation, talk his way into any situation. You want to watch Superman fly, so I wanted to watch Loki talk. And so because this was a show — because we had six hours — that was the most exciting thing to me. We get to take a villain from an action movie franchise and have these dialogue-heavy scenes that feel like prestige television.

    Michael Waldron

    That is also a reason why they had quite a few long takes on the project. Tom Hiddleston pointed out that Owen Wilson approached him comparing the project to a play. Director Kate Herron added that the scale of this project felt like three Marvel films being tackled due to how much content they could put together in its six-hour runtime. They certainly delivered and offered a very unique take on what it means to be a Marvel series.

    Source: Variety

  • Tom Hiddleston Talks About the Opportunity With ‘Loki’ Season 2’s New Direction

    Tom Hiddleston Talks About the Opportunity With ‘Loki’ Season 2’s New Direction

    We’re still anticipating any news on what the second season of Loki has in store for us. Tom Hiddleston will return as the trickster god after landing in what may be a new version of the Time Variance Authority, as no one seems to remember him. He was forced to leave his multiversal Variant Sylvie, played amazingly by Sophia Di Martino, behind who ended up unleashing the multiverse. During a panel hosted by the Royal Television Society, he and the rest of the Disney+ series cast got a chance to look back at the series, where Hiddleston briefly talked about being “a temporary torchbearer” for the role, as he went on to say:

    I’ve always thought that. It’s a great role. It’s an archetype, the trickster god, the agent of chaos. I’m just here interpreting that for the time being. Loki has been here for centuries and will be here for centuries more and I’m just stepping into that silhouette for now.

    Tom Hiddleston

    Even if he talked about the temporary time with the character, he did offer a little tease of why they decided to leave viewers with that cliffhanger and what the direction may be going into the second season.

    This idea of somehow the [Time Variance Authority] confronting Loki with the shape-shifting nature of his identity and asking him ‘Who are you?’ I found it a new avenue to explore with this character I’ve been playing for a while. It felt original. It didn’t feel like we were repeating.

    Tom Hiddleston

    The ending certainly kept people on their toes and probably left quite the impression with viewers. Everyone he had built a connection with over time has now forgotten who he is. Sylvie is also left in a dark spot after stabbing He Who Remains, and we don’t know if she’ll find a way back to the TVA or remain there. It certainly is going to be a new direction for the series and here’s hoping the wait isn’t too much longer.

    Source: Variety