Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Cinematic Universe

  • How ‘WandaVision’ and the Mind Stone Could Set Up the MCU’s Future

    How ‘WandaVision’ and the Mind Stone Could Set Up the MCU’s Future

    Like a lot of MCU fans, for some time I’ve been trying to figure out what is going on in WandaVision. Where’s this series heading? What’s Wanda’s state of mind? Who is the villain of the show? How will this lead into Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness? How exactly is Vision alive? Is he alive? How will Monica get her powers? What will happen in the last big final battle? How might mutants figure into this show, if at all? And how can everything fit together to make a coherent story? 

    Possible major spoilers for WandaVision below!

    To be clear, the following is based on my own speculation, based on trailers and such that is already out there, not insider information. That being said, after a lot of thought about a lot of things WandaVision, I believe I’ve figured out one key piece to the puzzle. I believe Wanda will attempt to recreate the Mind Stone in the hopes of making her fantasy life with Vision and her children a reality. This will very, unfortunately, backfire on her, in spectacular fashion, as is seen in some WandaVision trailers. The destruction of this Mind Stone will likely create the mess that awaits Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, may open a door for Billy and Tommy and maybe even Papa Vision to survive the series, could tie into Monica gaining powers, and quite conceivably could inadvertently lead to the creation of more mutants. The latter making Wanda Maximoff, in a way, the mother of all mutants. Kevin Feige really does love Wanda, doesn’t he? 

    You may have some questions about how I came to these conclusions, so if you’re curious, please read on…

     

     

    As I mentioned, I’ve been mulling over many aspects of WandaVision for a while now. Utmost in my mind was: How is Vision alive? Is he really alive or her imagination? Is he of his own free will or not? In regards to the last question, there are lots of hints and clues within the show so far, pointing both to Vision having some free will within the sitcom fantasy, and to him being under Wanda’s control. His restraint was shown during their dinner with the Harts, his looking to Wanda for her okay to help, when Mr. Hart was clearly in danger of choking to death, being chief among them. As I mentioned in an article about this last week, we all know if Vision was fully in control he would have helped Mr. Hart right away. Another moment comes up during the third episode, where Vision begins to think something is wrong during his conversation with Agnes and Herb. He is exhibiting free will there, in his curiosity and questioning. This appears to be happening again in other trailer footage of future episodes where he seems to be going on his own and investigating things. Considering Wanda would probably not want him to investigate here, this is a clear indicator of free will. It is possible that in the beginning, he had less free will but as time goes by, and he “reboots” so to speak, he begins to exhibit more of his old self, and his own free will to do things that are not necessarily going to make his beloved Wanda pleased.

    I say “reboots” as in, yes I think this is Vision’s body, repaired either by Wanda’s own reality-altering powers or through attempts to bring him back without the Mind Stone. The Mind Stone was not, after all, a requirement of him living, it’s just the fact that it was so viciously ripped from his head that he appeared dead. I believe there is no reason to not think that some of Vision’s programming, the essence of who he was, could still be in that body just awaiting a spark of life to bring him back for real. Certainly, there is no reason to think that Wanda would not believe that as well. This is perhaps why we see her at the SWORD facility. She may have been working with them to try to bring him back to life, only to find they could not, and perhaps taking his remains with her for safekeeping until a solution could be found. So if that theory of mine is correct, this might explain why she’s imagining him alive again, and perhaps using her powers to try to bring him back “online.”

    Vision and Wanda were always deeply connected not only through the power of the Mind Stone stuck in Vision’s head but through love. So with all of that in consideration, what if because of her love and grief, Wanda attempts to use her powers to bring Vision back to life, and to some extent succeeds in “rebooting” him? And does so to the extent that his body comes to life again, with his personality, and free will, and love for Wanda very much intact? Wanda and Vision are connected through the Mind Stone’s power, even tho it is no longer lodged in his head, there may be residual energy from it infused his is vibranium imbued body. Wanda’s connection to the Mind Stone may be the one thing she has that can actually save him, through repowering and rebooting. But what if that’s still not enough?

     

     

    What would Wanda do then? And what about her children with Vision that were born in episode three? What if the outside world threatens them? Because it definitely will. What would Wanda do then? I think everyone knows not to mess with a mother protecting her children, and Wanda is certainly no one to mess with, as Thanos himself learned. So what can she do to protect Vision, her children, and their alternate reality with the likes of Monica and SWORD figuratively and literally knocking at her door? What can she do, how can she protect them, and how does this all lead into Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness?

    Some deep thoughts and a rewatch of WandaVision trailers on Youtube later and the solution starred me and Wanda right in the face. Look at that moment in the “Daydream Believer” trailer where Wanda is staring at what appears to be a levitating Mind Stone. One might think it’s a flashback but for the fact that she wouldn’t have seen the yellow stone inside of Loki’s scepter when Hydra was experimenting on her. She appears ragged and distraught, she stares at the seemingly forming stone. It may be a trailer maker’s trick but it seems as if the yellow light and particles and dust are gathering to form the stone in front of her. Then it explodes with a flash, sending Wanda back for a split second in the trailer. It really looks to me as if she’s actually using her powers to form the stone, but she fails and it cracks and explodes in front of her. This is no flashback. It’s her present. If I’m correct about this, there is only one reason why she would attempt to recreate an Infinity Stone, and that’s in a desperate attempt to save Vision and her children. 

     

    The Mind Stone appears to form right before Wanda’s and our eyes in the second WandaVision trailer.

     

    Could she even do this? Can she actually form an Infinity Stone? Her stans often refer to her as the “most powerful Avenger” and even Wanda Maximoff superfan Kevin Feige has conceded he thinks she is the strongest Avenger after she nearly took out Thanos in Endgame. That was just because Thanos killed her Vision, she has his kids now. I don’t doubt Wanda will find the strength to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. However, if you can’t quite buy that she could form one with her powers alone, think about this possible route they could take, as set up in Avengers: Endgame. As Thanos pointed out in that film:

    Gone. Reduced to atom…. I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me, but the work is done.

    Technically the Infinity Stones still do exist in the prime MCU timeline, they are merely reduced to dust. Could Wanda, with her very specific and strong connection to the Mind Stone and her incredible powers combined, somehow reach out and pull together the remnants of the Mind Stone from across the universe and form the stone again? Is that an explanation that viewers would accept? I think I would.

    It would also prevent the whole issue of having more than one Infinity Stone of the same type in a timeline at once, which I’d think would cause a certain amount of chaos as well. Either way, the Mind Stone exploding, could bring on a catastrophe that creates or opens up various realities, and multiverses among other important, consequential, events for the MCU. Now, I’m aware the stone exploded before, when Wanda destroyed it in Avengers: Infinity War, and nothing seemed to happen as consequence. However, Thanos pushed rewind fairly soon after, so we didn’t really get to see the consequences. Also, some of this might depend on what Wanda’s trying to do with the stone at the time. For instance, if she’s trying to use it to bend reality to the extent that she’s expanding her Westview bubble to encompass the whole world, and the stone explodes due to instability, then that could believably fracture reality, and set up the multiverse for Doctor Strange 2. It may also set up a scenario where Vision, Billy, and Tommy, live beyond the last episode of this series.

     

    In the second WandaVision trailer, the Mind Stone appears to explode in front of Wanda.

     

    Lastly, a note on Mutants and possibly Monica as well. Depending on what exactly Monica and S.W.O.R.D. are up to during the course of the series, it’s possible that Monica gains her powers as a result of the explosion of the Mind Stone, or equally likely as a way to try to combat a certain “scarlet witch” who is angry, protective, and not willing to just talk things out.  

    As for Mutants, and how they could come into the MCU here, I believe that the effects of the Mind Stone exploding could provide a suitable explanation. Wanda and Pietro are mutants in the comics, even if they are not yet referred to as that in the MCU. Ultron commented in Avengers: Age of Ultron, that they were the only ones who survived Strucker’s experiments with the Mind Stone. There’s been some debate for a while why that was, and whether or not the Maximoff twins were in fact Mutants (even if they weren’t calling them that). It’s long been speculated that the Mind Stone triggered latent abilities in the twins which may be connected to their mutation. This would explain why the twins don’t have the same powers. More recently, I’ve seen many speculate that the HYDRA soak, commercial in the third episode might be a hint at this as well. The “Release the Goddess within” catchphrase is a pretty strong wink to the idea that the Hydra experiments on the twins with the Mind Stone are what unlocked the twin’s latent abilities.

    This line of thinking about the twins and the effects of the Mind Stone on them certainly makes the how and why Wanda might “create mutants” much clearer. This notion that Wanda might somehow create Mutants has been around for a while now. How and why has been more difficult to answer. It occurred to me that if exposure to the Mind Stone brought out Pietro and Wanda’s mutant powers, then it would do the same for other Mutants that have not had their powers activated yet.

     

     

    My first thought was that perhaps Wanda tries to expand her fantasy world’s bubble to encompass the world, and exposure to her powers triggers other mutants. It’s certainly one possible scenario. But then I realized that Wanda may actually be attempting to form a Mind Stone and use it to protect her family. With the Mind Stone exploding in front of her, it appears she was unsuccessful. Now, what if the Mind Stone explosion lets loose a shock wave of the Infinity Stone’s energy throughout the world, and this energy triggers mutant genes in certain humans? What if that’s the last thing we see evidence of during WandaVision? That would be a pretty mind-blowing result and an incredibly exciting note the end WandaVision on, right? And something I think I could and would like to see happening. We shall see. 

    Source: Youtube

  • A Shift in Perspective in the Next ‘WandaVision’ Episode

    A Shift in Perspective in the Next ‘WandaVision’ Episode

    Episode 4 of Disney+’s streaming hit WandaVision is set to become a pivotal point for the show. After only the first three episodes being shown ahead of time to select reviewers (our own Charles Villanueva being one of them), one would expect that there might be a reason why Marvel Studios drew the line where it did in terms of getting even more information surrounding the show out there. And now, as we reach the half-way point of what is the sitcom-themed portion of the season, even the biggest stars of the show aren’t holding back in terms of hyping what, to them, might be the biggest episode yet.

    Paul Bettany says Episode 4 will “blow our [the audience’s] minds”, but it’s the words chosen by Elizabeth Olsen that might help us better understand what might be in store this Friday. While being interviewed by DigitalSpy, Olsen said:

    I think the reason why they show the press the first episodes is because Episode 4 is quite a shift. It’s a really fun perspective swap and I think a lot gets understood at that moment.

     

     

    The keyword here seems to be “perspective swap” and how that might help answer a few questions the first three episodes set up. I remembered how on Lost, after witnessing the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 in season one, the first episode of the third season showed us the exact same event from the perspective of The Others, which was when we learned how Ethan and Goodwin first infiltrated the survivors of the crash. WandaVision might end up doing something similar, if not with an entire episode, at least with a few flashback sequences where we get to experience events we’ve already seen, but from the perspective of those coming from outside Westview. And the best thing is that there is previously released footage that seems to indicate just that.

    On the story featurette released by Marvel Studios on January 15th, we get multiple shots of sequences that happened in the first three episodes that we haven’t seen yet. The fact that they are through the eyes of both Geraldine and the beekeeper instead of Wanda or Vision, who have been the audience’s vehicles so far, helps to understand how that “perspective swap” might transpire.

     

     

    First, we get the encounter between Wanda, Vision, and the beekeeper, from his point of view. When he first appeared in Episode 2 he was the focus of attention, but what we get from this other footage is that Wanda and Vision have now taken up that role. He is watching them, and it will be interesting to see if, a few seconds later, after Wanda says “No!”, he gets to see them rewind into their home or if he himself is rewound back into the sewers. Speaking of sewers, we also get a show of him entering the Westview Bubble through there. He seems to be wearing a suit that turns into the beekeeper outfit, something that the reality inside the bubble sees as a better fit to its timeline.

     

     

    We will probably also get Geraldine’s side of the story, as there are a couple of shots of Geraldine first coming into contact with the bubble in the presence of Jimmy Woo, at a time the military presence outside of Westview was still nowhere to be seen. There is also new footage of Geraldine being thrown out of the bubble by Wanda, something that might help in recapping that event. We see her flying out towards the outskirts of town while also getting a shot that explains how she left the Vision residence. Through the wall, one that Wanda is seen reconstructing. This goes hand-in-hand with what Olsen said in an interview with TvLine, that what happened between her character and Geraldine is..

    answered in the following episode

    There might be a few more sequences that we haven’t seen yet that’ll help provide that perspective shift Olsen speaks of, with several lingering questions maybe being answered, but with a few more being raised. In three days, we will all know for sure.

    Source: Twitter, Digital Spy, YouTube, TVLine

  • ‘WandaVision’s Is Committed to Authenticity and Sitcom Cinematography

    ‘WandaVision’s Is Committed to Authenticity and Sitcom Cinematography

    Stories get told through many mediums, such as movies, television, video games, and so on. There is, however, a large misconception that stories are merely just words one character says to another or the overall plot. In reality, that is far from the truth. Many different things go into making a story happen, especially when it comes to mediums like film or television. There’s the cinematography, sound design, set design, character interactions, and so much more. WandaVision‘s first two episodes provided something rare in terms of cinematography. Their attention to detail is outstanding, so why don’t we take a closer look at how far Marvel Studios went with this series.

     

    Here is a spoiler warning for WandaVision’s first two episodes. If you haven’t watched the show yet, then only continue at your own risk.

     

     

    The Aspect Ratio

     

    Aspect Ratio is defined as the ratio of an image’s width to its height. Simply put, it’s the way we see films when we’re either watching them on the television or an IMAX screen in cinemas. Most movies tend to have an aspect ratio of 2.35 nowadays, which many might recognize from their cinema visit. This ratio wasn’t always the case, as back in the day, aspect ratios actually would vary quite a lot. Back in the day, the standard was 4.3, which is that square image many might remember from their childhood. Marvel’s attention to detail already shows itself at the very beginning of WandaVision, when the Marvel Studios fanfare changes from a 2.35 ratio into black and white 4.3.

    I find the use of the aspect ratio to have both a literal and symbolic meaning. The literal meaning is Marvel Studios’ commitment to recreating the various sitcom eras, so they opted to follow the aspect ratio dependent on the tribute. I do believe there’s also a symbolic meaning behind it. At the end of WandaVision‘s first episode, credits start to roll and reveal that someone is watching this sitcom reality. As such, the aspect ratio converts back from 4.3 to the standard 2.35 as it zooms out into a SWORD lab. It turns the 4.3 ratios into a figurative prison. That is why the real world is in familiar 2.35, which is a curious notion to ponder.

     

    The Camera Work

     

    Stories are only as good as the lens that conveys them. WandaVision does exemplary work at pulling it off. In their way to pay homage and recreate the different eras of television sitcoms, Matt Shakman went off to make something that felt authentic and natural to the times, and you can see that in several ways in these past two episodes. For example, in the first episodes, you’ll notice that the camera work followed the I Love Lucy and The Dick van Dyke Show 3-camera approach. Each camera has a deep focus, which means that everything from the background to the foreground remains in focus at all times. You won’t find any flashy or dramatic camera movements, as they only pan to the left or the right with some cuts in between.

    The second episode’s Bewitched approach introduced a shallow focus with more close-ups of the actors. As the episode progresses, you’ll notice that the camera work modernizes the instant that the outside world seeps in. There is a glance in the first episode when Mr. Hart starts choking on his food. When he asks Wanda and Vision why they came to WestView, the camera is still in that immobile position, with all four people at the dinner table in frame. It’s not until Mrs. Hart tells Arthur to stop it for a second time that we see the camera angles come in with the slow zoom and the shallow focus. Even the lighting on set turns dark. Once Vision helps Mr. Hart, everything returns to the sitcom format as if nothing happened.

     

    The Effects Work

     

    It even shows in their approach to utilizing technology from the sitcom era they are exploring. In an age where CGI is so commonly used nowadays for even the simplest of things, Matt Shakman went out of his way to use strings and wires to prop all these set pieces up. It sold the authenticity of the first episode and could easily be mistaken for an episode of Bewitched. It makes the episode feel authentic, as they aren’t taking the easy way out. They are committed to recreating these sitcoms in a way that anyone would instantly recognize the inspiration. Everyone involved in this production did their homework and it shows. We’ve only got a glimpse with these first two episodes, so we can expect a lot more authenticity with each era we visit.

  • Feige teases Nova for the MCU

    Feige teases Nova for the MCU

    This week marks the official return for Marvel Studios and the beginning of Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That means that the Marvel press machine has been nonstop pushing out articles, interviews and questions for what’s ahead.

    This time, the good people over at Comicbook.com had the president of Marvel Studios; Kevin Feige, over for an interview in the premiere episode of their new podcast, Phase Zero. They talked about a number of things, but of course, being the Nova fan that he is (who wouldn’t be really?), Brandon Davis asked Mr. Feige about Nova’s future involvement in the MCU, since he has been teased for quite a while now.

    In regards to whether Nova would be a film or a Disney+ series, and which one would take the mantle (Sam Alexander or Richard Rider), Feige only responded with a “yes and yes” answer.

    Nova (Sam Alexander) | Heróis de quadrinhos, Vingadores personagens, Heróis marvel

    In a 2018 interview with Davis, Feige mentioned that the character had “immediate potential”, something he clarified a bit more during their recent chat:

    Timing is relative, right? I think I’d been talking about Doctor Strange eight years before that movie came out. So, ‘immediate potential’ is relative. But clearly, we are not shying away from the cosmic end of storytelling right in the sweet spot of the Nova Corps and Nova himself.

    Of course, what does this all mean for Nova? Does this mean Nova is getting both a film and a series? And does it mean that we’re getting both iterations of Nova, with Richard Rider’s Nova already existing within the MCU and Sam Alexander rising up to also take up the mantle and serve under his tutelage? Only time will tell when Marvel Studios takes a deep dive into the cosmic side of the MCU.

  • How Preparation and Opportunity Built the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    How Preparation and Opportunity Built the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    It’s hard to find the superlatives to qualify the level of success that Marvel Studios has achieved over the past decade as it became one of the biggest media franchises of all time. But even though its success is essentially a product of several good decisions concerning cast and director choices, having both a well thought out plan and the shrewdness to understand what storylines to adapt from the comics, that wasn’t always the case.

    There were a few instances when the situation presented itself as a blessing in disguise, and others where choices were so limited, to begin with, that there wasn’t much room for anything else other than what ended up happening. This can all be traced back to 2005/2006 when Marvel Studios announced they were working on the Iron Man.

    A limited number of characters available.

    Following a period of financial instability, the rights for the biggest names in the Marvel catalog weren’t available to develop features around. Therefore, when trying to launch a Cinematic Universe, there was no choice but to go with b-list and c-list characters, like Iron Man, and slowly develop their stories so general audiences would begin to care for these, in their eyes, unexplored origin stories. This allowed for each character to have the time they needed to be properly introduced and gain the relevance that, a decade later, has made us care about where they ended up. In a parallel universe where the rights for the entire Marvel roster were available from the start, it’s very likely that we wouldn’t have gotten so many character trilogies that truly became the backbone of the MCU, as the urge to go through the largest number of characters would make it impossible to find the time to spend three movies with each of them. All the team-ups and the ensemble movies are great, but they really stood on the shoulders of the growth each character when through on their solo outings. 

    A crowd-pleasing structure

    The limited characters available probably also led to the structure the MCU followed for the first few years, which proved to be a resounding success with audiences. By choosing to explore characters general audiences weren’t familiar with, origin stories were the way to go and this meant that team-up movies would have to wait until each member was properly introduced. Had the rights to characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men or the Fantastic Four stayed with the company, it would perhaps be expected for them to have a similar treatment that the MCU’s Spider-Man ended up having, where its origin story was skipped (since it was already fairly known) in order to dive head-first into a huge ensemble movie, and only later going into its solo feature. The structure the MCU ended up following through to The Avengers (and later replicated up until Endgame) ended up being a winning formula, as it gave audiences the time to become increasingly interested in the franchise, growing exponentially. That way, when the climactic story event did occur, its cultural impact was deepened, making the post-Avengers MCU a reasoned reality.

    An off-year

    The COVID-19 Pandemic disrupted the entire movie industry. But at a time when many were questioning what the MCU had to offer in a post-Endgame reality, the off-year 2020 became might have ended up helping to reinvigorate the hype surrounding the franchise as a whole. There is no way that this sort of hiatus would have happened unless the circumstances made it so as after Endgame there was still money to be made, and Disney wouldn’t obviously support the idea that coming to a halt for an entire year would be good for the brand. But the reality was that both production of the streaming shows and the release of the theatrical productions were impacted in a way that left fans clamoring for content throughout the year. When WandaVision premieres on January 15th it won’t be another MCU project, it will be seen as the “highly anticipated return of the biggest franchise of the 21st century”. And the way 2021 is lining up to be, Marvel won’t let their foot off the gas, for the time being, capitalizing on the drought they were forced to endure in the past few months.

    Disney+

    This return to form wouldn’t be possible without a streaming service that began to develop before Marvel Studios even knew it would be as crucial to their future as it has ended up becoming. With movie theaters mostly closed, and with audiences still turning their backs on the theatrical experience, having Disney+ at their disposal is invaluable, to say the least.

    It’s a project that obviously took a lot of investment on Disney’s part, it didn’t just manifest itself from thin air, but the timing of it all couldn’t be more perfect. By knowing that the service would be available to them by late 2019, Marvel began developing a number of streaming shows that, in the current circumstances, will prove essential for it to regain its momentum, reestablishing itself as the benchmark for cinematic franchises. And now, as they prepare their comeback after more than a year away from the public eye, having a number of properties ready to present will make said project much easier to accomplish. Streaming will also present itself as a valid alternative to theaters should it come to that in the near future. But that’s a story for another day.

  • LockeDown #1: Captain America Now a Government Pawn

    LockeDown #1: Captain America Now a Government Pawn

    Welcome to the brand new podcast series Lockedown. As we haven’t gotten any Marvel Cinematic Universe content for 2020, it felt like the perfect time to make up for that by introducing an in-universe podcast series. Your host John Locke tackles the many changes and developments in a world where the Avengers have officially disbanded. In today’s first episode, he kicks off the series by discussing the government’s meddling with Captain America, the allegations against Spider-Man, and the strange occurrences of the small town of Westview.

     

     

    If you enjoyed the episode, don’t miss out on getting early access by subscribing to our Patreon to be one of the first to listen to the next entry:

  • ‘Daredevil’ Should Kick-Off Disney+’s Expansion

    ‘Daredevil’ Should Kick-Off Disney+’s Expansion

    Spider-Man 3 is going to be quite the film. It is bringing together so many corners of Marvel franchises that it feels like it might reinvent our expectations of a Spider-Verse film. João has offered an overview of how this concept could work for the untitled threequel. There was one piece of news that may have caught everyone off-guard. Charles V. has revealed that Charlie Cox will return to play Matt Murdock once again. This reveal is massive, as not too long ago, the rights moved back to Marvel, as the last season of the Netflix series released two years. Now, we are also left with the question: will Daredevil finally get a continuation or new series?

    Even after its cancellation, the series was the third most popular series on the streaming service with an average of 25M viewers. It brought the character to the forefront of the popular consciousness and defined Charlie Cox in the role. It also introduced us to a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that broke beyond the PG-13 barrier. Sadly, it got canceled after its third season pushed the franchise to new highs. Erik Oleson, who took over the role as showrunner duties for the final season, even pitched a fourth one before Netflix axed it. It was also no coincidence that Disney was looking into developing its streaming service at the time.

     

     

    Disney+ introduced us to a familiar-friendly streamer, so it seemed unlikely it would get added to its library. From that perspective, it seemed like there was no chance that Daredevil would make it to the service. Well, that was until the recent developments may have changed the playing field. Rumors are going around that Disney+ will combine with Hulu in the US while Europe gets the Star branding. It allows them to include R-rated content that will help grow their subscription numbers exponentially. It seems probable that they could announce this at the upcoming Investor’s Day, which Edward points out in his latest article.

    Such a massive announcement could use a headliner series. So, why not explore the return of Daredevil as a big selling point. They could even include Moon Knight in this expansion to explore the character’s darker side in a future season. If they also buy the rights to stream the original Netflix shows via this service, we could get a confirmation that this is a continuation of the character we already know. There have been hints that Spider-Man 3 is bringing back the iconic actors to play new versions of existing characters. Plus, the whole multiverse aspect could also add to the confusion whatever direction they go with the character. I am sure Daredevil returning with a brand new show on Disney+ Star will certainly get everyone’s attention at the streaming service expansion.

    Source: Forbes, Business Insider, Digital Spy

  • First Look at ‘Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s Flag-Smasher(s) Revealed

    First Look at ‘Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s Flag-Smasher(s) Revealed

    Falcon and the Winter Soldier still has no release date. It was originally going to air in August, but now WandaVision has the honor of kickstarting the new Disney+ era for Marvel Studios. Even after the constant delay, we barely have any idea about what we can expect from the story. We know that Baron Zemo will play a major part, and we get introduced to a brand new Captain America. Charles revealed one more big bad about two months ago would also make his appearance in the series, ULTIMATUM’s Flag-Smasher. We didn’t get a great look at the character, but some of his goons wore outfits quite similar to their comic counterpart. @tfatwsbr was so nice to share some promotional material that offered our first official look at the character and ULTIMATUM’s logo.

    It looks like they took a very different approach from the character’s original design. It states Flag-Smashers, so we might see a variety of members wear that moniker throughout the show. It could even be a new name for the group instead of ULTIMATUM. We still have no official word, who could be playing the character, but it was theorized that it is Noah Mills. So, who knows if the one showcased here might turn out to be the real one.

    For those wondering, as per usual in the Marvel Universe, ULTIMATUM is an acronym. It stands for Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind. They might be avoiding having to spell that out in the show, so they just went with a new name. The group’s logo is a nice spin on the original. Hopefully, the fact that this promotional material making the rounds also means we could get some news on the show’s future soon. Until then, we can theorize what their inclusion might indicate for the Disney+ show.

    Source: Twitter

  • Here Come The New Dogs of the MCU!

    Here Come The New Dogs of the MCU!

    We got some great shots and video out of New York this week at the Hawkeye series began filming. It was great to have Hailee Steinfeld finally confirmed as Kate Bishop, however the real spotlight stealer is none other than the very handsome, very smart, very, very, very good boy: Pizza Dog!! As soon as pictures emerged of this gorgeous golden retriever, people went gaga over him. And how could they not?

    We at Murphy’s Multiverse were very pleased to be able to bring you an exclusive first look at Lucky the Pizza dog. Yesterday, it appears Twitter user @BRMarvelNews discovered the identity of Pizza Dog and found his Instagram page (jolt.of.genius) which showcases his various adventures with his owner Jacqui Johnson and Annie, a beautiful Golden girl who shares in some of the acting duties as well. 

    Check out some Instagram posts of Jolt (AKC registered name and titles: Dahling Electrify My Soul CGCA DN DJ RATI RATN BCAT) here:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWILibBZ2Y/?igshid=1bharaoh4rn8z

     

    BUT WAIT!! There’s MORE Marvel doggy casting news on the way! Twitter user @WandaMaximoofff spotted an interesting entry on the Animal Casting Atlanta page:

    https://twitter.com/wandamaximoofff/status/1334766988409892870?s=20

    The website mentions this handsome guy is in an upcoming Marvel feature, and with his looks and a name like “Sparky” it seems a bit too perfect that he probably is playing WandaVision’s very own doggy wonder!

    Incidentally, I wonder what will happen when they meet up with Captain Marvel’s Goose. Hmm… Flerkens and dogs get along okay, right? I’m sure they all love Pizza.

    Source: Animal Casting Atlanta, Dahling Goldens.com

    For more pictures and a little video of Jolt as Pizza Dog, Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner filming Hawkeye in New York this week, check out this link DailyMail.com

  • Additional ‘MS. MARVEL’ Casting Revealed!

    Additional ‘MS. MARVEL’ Casting Revealed!

    This week gave us a big drop of casting news for the Disney Plus Hawkeye series, which began filming in New York, but there hasn’t been much casting leaked for Ms. Marvel as of yet. Well, this is where the fans come in big time. A recent conversation with a certain Ms. Marvel fan shed some light on casting that she confirmed with a source of her own, along with her own research. 

    The fan asked to remain anonymous but kindly shared the casting information with me, and after a bit of research of my own, I believe it is very likely legit. To be clear, I cannot 100% confirm all of this casting or the characters played at this time, but yeah. I believe it. 

    First off, according to the source, Sheikh Abdullah is being played by Laith Nakli (Ramy, The Blacklist, 24: Legacy, The Long Road Home). Some of his social media follows and a few posts appear to support this too.

    In addition, we’re told Kamala’s mother Muneeba is being played by Zenobia Shroff (The Big Sick, The Affair) and Yasmeen Fletcher (Upside-Down Magic, Let Us In, Andi Mack) was cast as Kamala Khan’s friend Nakia Bahadir.

    Ms. Marvel stars Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan. The streaming date is currently unknown but expect to see her pop up in the MCU some time before the show airs!