Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Movies

  • Another Infinity Saga Star Reportedly Set to Return to the MCU in ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

    Another Infinity Saga Star Reportedly Set to Return to the MCU in ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

    As rumors, speculation and reports about the Russo brothers’ plans for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars begin to give MCU fans an idea of what to expect from the two-part (or will it be three-part) Multiverse Saga finale, it’s becoming fairly apparent that the directing duo has no intention of holding back. Though fans are bemoaning “fan service” moments 11 months before the debut of Doomsday, the four teaser trailers for the film generated some serious excitement. As the Russos prepare for additional photography on Doomsday ahead of principal photography on Secret Wars, an interesting bit of casting information has emerged.

    According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Josh Brolin will return as Thanos in Avengers: Secret Wars.

    This isn’t the first time that Brolin‘s return as the Mad Titan has been in the news. In late 2024, ComicBookMovie.com claimed that Marvel Studios had plans for Thanos to return in the Multiverse Saga finale. While there’s never been any confirmation of it by Marvel, Brolin has never denied it and has remained open to reprising the role.

    Fans of the comics will remain hopeful that the presence of Thanos in the film will lead to the recreation of the moment shown above from Jonathan Hickman‘s 2015 Secret Wars. In it, God Emperor Doom quickly and easily dispatched of Thanos, establishing himself as THE ultimate power in the universe.

  • Marvel Reportedly Exploring Extending the Multiverse Saga Timeline

    Marvel Reportedly Exploring Extending the Multiverse Saga Timeline

    Once upon a time, Marvel Studios ambitiously planned to release two Avengers films in one year. As part of its big Hall H presentation at SDCC ’22, Marvel revealed that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars were set to hit theaters on May 6, 2025 and November 7, 2025, respectively. It’s 2026 and neither of those films have hit theaters yet and their release dates are now a full year apart, however, a new report claims that the studio may once again be considering double dipping on Avengers films, this time in 2027.

    According to the Hot Mic’s John Rocha, the Russo brothers have put together a Multiverse Saga finale so grandiose that it may require the studio to split it into two parts.

    On the January 23rd edition on the show, Rocha reported that he had been told Marvel was “considering splitting Secret Wars into two parts.” He also shared that his source had “heard that Doomsday could run for three hours and that it’s huge.“

    Of course, this isn’t the first time the possibility of a second Avengers film hitting theaters in 2027 has come up, though the studio abandoned its prime July 23, 2027 date late last year. That doesn’t mean a third Avengers film couldn’t slide into one of the studio’s four 2028 slots, only that the next saga couldn’t kick off until it did.

    Source: The Hot Mic

  • New Details Indicate ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Will Be the Most Action-Intensive Project in Marvel History

    New Details Indicate ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Will Be the Most Action-Intensive Project in Marvel History

    After accumulating over one billions views, it seems as though the four short teasers for Avengers: Doomsday have generated some true excitement for the film, which will hit theaters this December.   Despite some hand-wringing over Steve Rogers’ “central role” in the film and outrage over concerns that the film will just be a “fan service” mash-up, it’s clear that the project already has the attention of the masses. And some new details might begin to move the needle even more.

    With the Russo brothers back in the fold.to direct Avengers: Doomsday, big action seemed a certainty. After all, the pair directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which may remain the MCU’s exemplar for action excellence, as well as Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, each of which feature memorable large-scale battles. It sounds as though the Russos set about the task of outdoing all of those projects when they decided to direct Avengers: Doomsday.

    According to YouTuber John Campea, who has often been a reliable source in the past, the brothers Russo were able to “eclipse everything else Marvel’s ever done” in terms of the “sheer volume of action” in Avengers: Doomsday.

    I have something I haven’t told you yet. What this person indicated to me was the sheer volume of action is going to eclipse everything else Marvel’s ever done.

    -John Campea
    According to Campea, the film “shoots you like a cannon out of the gate” and the “massive action…doesn’t let up.”

    People are going to lose their minds. This movie starts with its foot through the floor and shoots you like a cannon out of the gate. There’s no slow start—it’s massive action right from the beginning, the scale is insane, and it doesn’t let up

    -John Campea

    Given that the film is expected to deal with universe-ending incursions, a potential Avengers vs. X-Men battle and introduce and establish Victor Von Doom as a Multiversal threat, there seems to be more than enough opportunity for the film to be wall-to-wall action. Of course, with extensive additional photography set to take place early this year, it might be a bit too premature to develop any opinion at all about the film given Marvel’s propensity to overhaul projects in post-production.

  • ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Directors Confirm One of the Film’s Central Characters

    ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Directors Confirm One of the Film’s Central Characters

    Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday…and despite being absent for the entirety of the Multiverse Saga, he will indeed be a key player.

    In January 2021, Deadline reported that Captain America and Avengers franchise star Chris Evans had made a deal to return as Rogers in an unnamed project with an option to return for a second theatrical project. While it seems as though the failed Nomad project was the former, it is now clear that Avengers: Doomsday is the latter, despite Evans‘ denials that he’d be stepping back into the role anytime soon.

    I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon.

    -Chris Evans on returning as Steve Rogers, January 2023

    Though Evans was kept out of the studio’s 5-hour cast reveal, insiders were onto Marvel’s ploy, with Daniel Richtman reporting that he would be returning not as Captain America but rather as Nomad, toting Mjolnir and sporting a new outfit. However, it was unclear just how large of a role he might play.

    Now, following the official confirmation of his return via one of four teasers for the 2026 film, Anthony and Joe Russo have revealed Evans‘ Rogers will have a “central role” in Avengers: Doomsday.

    “His central role to the Avengers and the larger narrative of what the MCU has been something that’s very personal to us. We can’t see this narrative without his central role in it,” the directing duo told Empire.

    While fans are already generating pre-emptive hate over Evans‘ return to the MCU, it’s probably worth noting and at least considering that “central” and “large” are different words. Rogers could easily have central role in Avengers: Doomsday without detracting from the screentime of the heroes who have been central to the Multiverse Saga (not that there really are many). Clearly, Rogers’ actions in Avengers: Endgame will be retconned into having some part to play in the Incursions threatening the Multiverse and despite notions to the contrary, there’s no logical reason why they would not.

    Source: Empire

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Set to Move Forward with Second X-Men Project

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Set to Move Forward with Second X-Men Project

    With additional photography on Avengers: Doomsday and principal photography on Avengers: Secret Wars all the remain on the docket for the Multiverse Saga, Marvel Studios looks to be fully invested in making sure the next saga gets off to a solid start.

    Though nothing has been made official yet, the new saga–which will get underway in 2028–looks be kicking off with Jake Schreier‘s X-Men reboot and Ryan Coogler‘s Black Panther 3 with a sequel to The Fantastic: Four First Steps and a potential team-up film, Midnight Sons, among the projects reported and rumored to be on the way. While MCU fans wait for Marvel Studios to give some insight into what to expect, another project may find itself in contention for a spot in the first phase of the new saga.

    According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has decided to move ahead with an X-Force project in the new saga.

    In May 2025, THR reported that Ryan Reynolds was “working on various treatments for an ensemble film featuring three or four X-Men characters.” Shortly afterwards, rumors emerged that Reynolds’ project was indeed an X-Force film that would feature Deadpool, Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine, Josh Brolin‘s Cable and a new actress as Storm. Though Richtman’s new report does not make the claim, it seems possible the two projects are indeed one and the same.

  • ‘Midnight Sons’: Rumor May Reveal Marvel Studios Monster Roster for the Supernatural Squad

    ‘Midnight Sons’: Rumor May Reveal Marvel Studios Monster Roster for the Supernatural Squad

    For a project which has never been formally addressed by anyone at Marvel Studios, the rumored Midnight Sons film certainly has quite an archive of potential information. From rumored writers to directors and cast members, the big screen team-up flick has allegedly been in development since 2022 and its potential to be a hit is undeniable.

    Werewolf By Night helmer Michael Giacchino‘s was originally floated as a potential before Fede Álvarez‘s name popped up on the radar in 2024. Alvarez’s name seemed to be attached to a screenplay being drafted by Logan scribe Michael Green and it seemed as though the studio was hoping to fast track the project. While it’s possible the studio had originally planned to get the supernatural squad together before the end of the Multiverse Saga, the deployment of the Time Ripper to accelerate the end of uneven Saga through the removal of scheduled films could have delayed its announcement and arrival.

    The potential project found itself in the headlines again this week following a report that Marvel had finally moved on from its long-delayed Blade reboot in favor of introducing Mahershala Ali‘s Daywalker in Midnight Sons. Now, an interesting rumor has followed that news down the pipeline.

    According to social media’s busiest bee, My Time To Shine Hello, the MCU’s Midnight Sons team will be made up of Dane Whitman, Blade, Elsa Bloodstone, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Moon Knight, Werewolf By Night and Wong.

    An Ali and Oscar Isaac-led project would carry some cache and the supporting cast, should the rumor be accurate, would be among the studio’s most impressive–and that’s without knowing who they’d cast as whichever Ghost Rider is supposed to be on the squad.

    For what it’s worth, in the comics, the Children of Midnight have typically had 9 members, meaning there’s room for one more surprise on the supernatural squad’s lineup as they potentially take on Mia Goth’s Lilith while also dealing with the machinations of Mephisto!

  • Longtime Marvel Creator Claims Another Original ‘X-Men’ Star Will Appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Longtime Marvel Creator Claims Another Original ‘X-Men’ Star Will Appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    With nearly a year to go before it hits theaters, Marvel Studios has already begun marketing Avengers: Doomsday and building a good deal of buzz around the film. A series of short teasers have revealed the return of Chris Evans, a more serious Thor, James Marsden sporting a comic accurate look and a meeting between Earth 616’s Wakandans and Earth-828’s Ben Grimm.

    Reactions to the teasers have been largely positive and though they haven’t really provided any real indication of what the film’s story might be, the promise of more character interactions like M’Baku and Thing have fans excited. With additional photography for the project set to get underway this spring, rumors of multiple stars who were not available to film during principal photography, which wrapped in September, have begun to spring up. And according to one of Marvel Comics legendary creators, another of the stars of Fox’s original X-Men trilogy will be one of them.

    In an interview shared by Power of X-Men, Chris Claremont claimed that Famke Janssen will have a role in Avengers: Doomsday.

    This isn’t the first time that Claremont has claimed to know that Janssen would return as Jean Grey in Avengers: Doomsday nor the first time she’s been rumored to be joining the cast, though the actress has repeatedly denied it and stated she’s not interested in revisiting the role. Of course, Janssen would hardly be the first star to deny being in a Marvel Studios project despite being in it and there are plenty of other actors and actresses who are believed to be in the film whose roles have yet to be confirmed. With the X-Men expected to play a large role in Avengers: Doomsday, it does seem as though there would be room for several more characters from the Fox films to appear.

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Makes a Final Decision Its Mahershala Ali ‘Blade’ Reboot

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Makes a Final Decision Its Mahershala Ali ‘Blade’ Reboot

    After nearly six and a half of ice skating up hill, Marvel Studios has made a decision on what to do with Mahershala Ali‘s Blade.

    Announced to a stunned SDCC crowd in July 2019, Marvel Studios Blade has been its own special kind of horror project. In February 2023, Feige stated that cameras were set to roll “in, like, the next 10 weeks or so.” Now, a new report claims that camera won’t roll at all on Blade.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Marvel has put a stake through the heart of Blade, opting to include the Daywalker into its rumored Midnight Sons team-up film.

    Production on the project was delayed multiple times beginning with the decision of original director Bassam Tariq to leave the film in 2022. At least five different writers have taken a turn on the script after original scribe Stacey Osei-Koffour parted ways with the project, with Marvel Studios’ vet Eric Pearson (Black Widow, Thunderbolts*) having most recently penned a draft. Without a director since Tariq’s replacement, Yann Demange, bailed in June 2024, there was simply no way Blade was making it in front of cameras and was ultimately removed from the studio’s 2025 theatrical slate.

    Last July, Feige explained that the lack of a great script kept them from beginning production on the film, though he seemed committed to making it work as a “modern day” project rather than the period piece versions the studio originally drafted.

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Has Venomous Designs for the New Spidey Trilogy

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Has Venomous Designs for the New Spidey Trilogy

    After less than a decade of (at best) half-assed efforts to create a Spider-Man Universe without a Spider-Man, Sony finally threw in the towel afterKraven the Hunter hit the screen as a lame duck in 2024. When it was all said and done, the so-called SSU gave fans some of the worst superhero films in the history of the genre; however, an argument can be made that Tom Hardy‘s Venom trilogy provided at least a few highlights.

    In the wake of the death of the SSU, rumors that Hardy might jump fully into the MCU as part of a wild King in Black crossover took flight and captured the interest of the chronically online. Whether  that cosmic crossover was ever truly in the cards–Venom franchise creative veteran Kelly Marcel seemed to tease it at one point–those plans took a back seat to whatever director Destin Daniel Cretton cooked up for the fourth installment in Sony and Disney’s collaborative Spidey franchise…which may still include a symbiote.

    According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has designs on its “own take on the Symbiote for this new trilogy.“

    Perhaps not coincidentally, in a pair of Instagram stories shared earlier this year, Michael Mando–who is stepping back into the role of Mac Gargan for the first time since Spider-Man: Homecoming—teased the potential for Gargan to not only suit up as Scorpion but also become a host for the Venom symbiote.

    Shortly afterwards, Mando doubled down on teasing the potential monstrous turn for his character, sharing a photo of Scorpion merging with the alien symbiote.

    In the comics, Mac Gargan’s tenure as Venom is distinguished primarily by its sheer brutality and a complete lack of the moral “Lethal Protector” code that defined Eddie Brock. Unlike other hosts who viewed the symbiote as a partner or a tool for justice, Gargan experienced a parasitic relationship fueled by the career criminal’s base instincts. This led to a version of the character defined by cannibalism and animalistic savagery; Gargan famously gave in to the suit’s hunger for human flesh, consuming enemies and even Skrulls during his time on the Dark Avengers. This loss of control was often reflected in his physical appearance, as he was frequently depicted as a massive, hulking monster with human eyes visible through the symbiote’s mask, highlighting the terrifying reality of a man being swallowed by an addiction-like bond.

    Beyond his personality, Gargan’s Venom was unique because of the biological synergy between the alien and his original Scorpion powers. He maintained his “Scorpion-sense” and enhanced durability, often manifesting a massive, prehensile symbiote tail that allowed him to strike with the lethal precision of his former namesake. This made him one of the most physically formidable iterations of the character, possessing a raw power level that surpassed Brock’s. His unique role reached its peak when he masqueraded as a sinister version of Spider-Man under Norman Osborn’s leadership. By using chemical suppressants to shrink the symbiote’s mass, he was able to hide his monstrous nature in plain sight, serving as a government-sanctioned “hero” while secretly remaining a feral killer.

    Of course, there’s always the very good possibility that Marvel will simply wait until Avengers: Secret Wars to introduce its own version of the symbiote, paying homage 1984’s Secret Wars when Peter Parker found himself wearing a new black suit that was revealed to be Venom.

  • Wow! ‘Loki’ Co-Star Reportedly Set for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Return

    Wow! ‘Loki’ Co-Star Reportedly Set for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Return

    Following the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, it was hard to imagine how much more Marvel Studios was going to squeeze out of Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki. Fortunately, Michael Waldron, Eric Martin, Kate Herron, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead found a way to breathe new life into the God of Mischief, putting together two seasons of an incredible journey into mystery that allowed Hiddleston to fulfill Loki’s glorious purpose.

    As brilliant as Hiddleston was in Loki, the chemistry between him and his co-stars, specifically Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino, helped make both seasons work so well. With the L1130 Variant of Loki now set up as the MCU’s keeper of the timeline–the God of Stories, it was no surprise that Hiddleston was among those announced as part of the main cast of Avengers: Doomsday last year. It’s not yet entirely clear exactly what role Loki will play in attempting to stop Doctor Doom from unleashing a “cascading crisis across the entire multiverse,” but according to a new report, he’ll have his best buddy at his side.

    My contribution has been contributed. It is monumental. The centre of the story is absolutely brilliant, and was so surprising when I read it. It just has never been done before.

    -Tom Hiddleston
    According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, Owen Wilson will return in Avengers: Doomsday as TVA timecop Mobius.

    We have different styles. You’re a man of action, which is fine. I take a more slow, deliberate, cerebral approach because I see everything. I notice everything.

    -Mobius

    When last seen in the Loki series finale, Mobius had left the TVA to enjoy the freedom to live his own life free from the machinations of He Who Remains. However, it was made pretty clear that there was room more Mobius and, with the Multiverse at stake, it sounds like it’s time for him to get off the couch.