Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Movies

  • Andy Serkis Won’t Return to Direct ‘Venom 3’ Writer Kelly Marcel to Take Over

    Andy Serkis Won’t Return to Direct ‘Venom 3’ Writer Kelly Marcel to Take Over

    Here’s a rather shocking surprise, it looks like Andy Serkis won’t be returning for the third installment of Sony’s Venom franchise. Instead, writer and producer of the first two entries, Kelly Marcel, is taking a jump into the director’s chair on Tom Hardy‘s third entry. She’ll also be producing the third entry while also having written the screenplay once again with some help from the series main star. Plot details remain under wraps and it’s unknown if anyone from the previous entries will also return.

    There’s no word on why Serkis isn’t returning to helm the project, as he was quite gung-ho to take on the next entry, especially with many believing that the character would face off against Spider-Man finally. The only update on why Marcel is likely chosen to continue the franchise is due to how she and Hardy have been “on the same page” when it came to the franchise’s story, especially with this third entry potentially acting like its final entry.

    It seems that perhaps throughout the writing process, they saw the potential of her taking over, especially with how much she knows about the franchise has been the only constant besides Hardy since its inception. Still, it’ll be interesting to see where Venom‘s third entry might go, especially with how a post-credit sequence set up the character’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, even if Sony’s storyline wraps up with a third entry, the character will likely make a return in a new form as well.

    Source: Deadline

  • RUMOR: ‘Blade’ May Have Found its New Director

    RUMOR: ‘Blade’ May Have Found its New Director

    It’s safe to say that Blade has had quite a turbulent pre-production. Shortly before production was set to start it lost its director Bassam Tariq, who is still attached as a producer, and rewrites had started on its script, which was initially written by Staci Osei-Kuffour. Moon Knight and X-Men ’97 head writer Beau DeMayo seemingly took over writing duties to get the script just right as the search for a new director started.

    While there’s still no official announcement, a new rumor is making the rounds that they may have already found their new director. If the report is true, Elegance Bratton may have taken on the task to bring the iconic vampire hunter to life. He only recently made his directorial debut with The Inspection, which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

    It’s not new for Marvel Studios to pull from a talented pool of indie directors, even some that just started getting their name out there. Blade isn’t a small project with its main star, Mahershala Ali, having been attached for quite some time and as the driving force for the project. So, they may want to get their hands on some new talent that can lend a unique voice to the project.

    Some believed the recent release of Werewolf by Night may have reopened up the possibility of newcomer director, and long-time composer Michael Giacchino taking over, but he took himself out of the race before rumors could spread. We’ll see if we get a director announcement soon, as Marvel Studios hopes not to lose too much time after already having to put the production on pause.

    Source: My Cosmic Circus

  • Tenoch Huerta on Whether or Not Namor is the Villain of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

    Tenoch Huerta on Whether or Not Namor is the Villain of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’

    With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever having its World Premiere last night, the world now waits in anticipation for its turn to see the Marvel Studios sequel. One of the major standouts from the early reactions has been Tenoch Huerta, who portrays film’s main antagonist: Namor the Sub-Mariner. While talking with Variety during the premiere’s red carpet, this is what Huerta, disagreed with the notion that he’s the villain of the film.

    This is a guy who protects his people, his culture, every meaningful thing in his kingdom. From my perspective, everyone around the world can identify with this. So I don’t know if he’s a “villain” or is just a guy trying whatever the cost is to protect.

    Tenoch Huerta

    The concept of relatability has been a generally consistent factor with some of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe villains, and it certainly is an exciting notion to hear about this trait with Namor. One of the most compelling elements of Namor and the whole of Talokan in Wakanda Forever is the heavy influence of Mayan culture on their civilization. It provides Ryan Coogler with the opportunity to world-build another historically-based culture into the Marvel Cinematic Universe made up of generally underrepresented peoples in the film industry. This is a concept that Huerta has definitely appreciated when it comes to this film.

    It’s important for the people to see themselves in the movies in this way. It was made with a lot of respect for the Mesoamerican culture, especially Mayan culture. It’s the root of almost everybody Latin American. We have indigineous roots, we have black roots, and a few white roots. But it’s fantastic to be here and represent this kind of movie.

    Tenoch Huerta

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever opens exclusively in theaters on November 11. You can take a look at a collection of first impressions of the film here. 

  • First Reactions to ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Hit Social Media

    First Reactions to ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Hit Social Media

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is set to premiere worldwide earlier next month but select members of the press have now been able to experience the highly anticipated Black Panther sequel and are making their thoughts known. With the social media embargo lifted, here are some of the early reactions to, what seems to be, another Ryan Coogler masterpiece:

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever debuts in theaters November 11th.

  • Kevin Feige Teases Marvel Studios ‘Young Avengers’

    Kevin Feige Teases Marvel Studios ‘Young Avengers’

    Marvel Studios Phase 4 has seen the introduction of Billy and Tommy Maximoff, Elijah Bradley, Kate Bishop and America Chavez. Those characters join Cassie Lang as members of the comic book team knowns as the Young Avengers who are currently making their respective ways through the MCU. With fans now familiar with the members of the core team, it seems just a matter of time before they find themselves assembling and avenging. At last night’s premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige was asked what he could say about the potential future for the Young Avengers.

    I think people pick up what we’re putting down, sometimes, and we take our cues from the comics. And yes, introducing as many characters as we can from the comics is what I’ve spent the last 22 years doing and those are among the many that we’ve introduced.

    Kevin Feige

    It’s no secret that Marvel Studios was looking to develop a Young Avengers project not too long ago. As the Multiverse Saga goes on, it’s not clear if that project will be part of Phase 6, which now looks to begin in 2025 with Fantastic Four, or if their first team-up might take place in another live-action project. But given Feige’s response, it feels like fans should feel good about the chances of seeing them together sooner rather than later.

  • Kevin Feige Responds to Questions About the X-Men’s MCU Debut

    Kevin Feige Responds to Questions About the X-Men’s MCU Debut

    The mutants are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe…in fact, some are already here. Ms. Marvel made a major change to Kamala Khan’s origins and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which premiered last night in Hollywood, introduced Namor, often known in the comics as The First Mutant, even though that’s a wildly misleading misnomer. But the question that everyone wants answered, including She-Hulk, is when are the X-Men going to join the fray.

    Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige was asked that very question at the Purple Carpet Premiere of Wakanda Forever and gave an answer all too familiar to this reporter: “No answer.“

    Feige did go on to give a little more information about the potential future of mutants in the MCU saying, “Deadpool and Wolverine…we’re getting close” in reference to the news that Hugh Jackman joined the cast of Deadpool 3, if that’s what it ends up being titled, after years of being pursued by co-star Ryan Reynolds.

    Even with that little bit of information, Marvel Studios’ plans for the X-Men remain a tightly-guarded secret. Three years after the merger between Disney and Fox that allowed for the characters to be used in the MCU, no live-action X-Men projects have been announced and it’s unclear whether or not the X-Men are expected to play any role at all in Marvel Studios’ ongoing Multiverse Saga. The studio is, however, working on a revival of the classic X-Men: The Animated Series titled X-Men ’97, which is expected to stream on Disney Plus in 2023.

  • Charlize Theron Teases Clea’s Return to the MCU

    Charlize Theron Teases Clea’s Return to the MCU

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow with many new iconic characters from the comics making their debut throughout the Phase 4 entries. While there are still quite a few questions on what the future has in store for them, there are a few that seemingly may have a bigger connection to the overarching plot of the Multiverse Saga. One of those characters is the recently introduced Clea, who appeared as a surprise cameo in the post-credit sequence of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

    Charlize Theron is taking on the role, but there hasn’t been any announcement or hint on when we might expect her in a future project. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she didn’t give away any details but did play around teasing that she is definitely going to return to the MCU at some point in the future.

    Let’s just say I have some work to do… I don’t quite know who she is yet, but I will.

    Charlize Theron

    Her introduction in the MCU was certainly a random addition that many might not have quite understood, especially with how fast the post-credit followed up the events that finished the film. It’ll be interesting to see how they explore her ties to Dormammu or even if we get a sequel to Doctor Strange that leads into the new Avengers films. The Multiverse Saga has only just begun and there are many possible routes where she could return.

    Source: Jimmy Kimmel via The Direct

  • Hugh Jackman Talks Returning as Wolverine, Teases Title Change for ‘Deadpool 3’

    Hugh Jackman Talks Returning as Wolverine, Teases Title Change for ‘Deadpool 3’

    Ryan Reynolds shocked fans around the world when he revealed that he had coaxed Hugh Jackman into reprising the role of Wolverine for Marvel Studios Deadpool 3. Jackman was adamant that his work with the character, who he played in nine films over seventeen years, and gave the character a proper send-off in 2017’s Logan. However, according to Jackman, discussions about a potential return as the character have been ongoing for longer than anyone might have thought.

    In an interview with Variety, Jackman admits that the topic has been on his mind since seeing Deadpool in 2016, before he had begun filming Logan, but after he had publicly stated it would be his last hurrah as the character.

    I went to a screening of ‘Deadpool.’ I was 20 minutes in, and I was like, ‘Ah, damn it!’” Jackman said. “All I kept seeing in my head was ‘48 Hrs.’ with Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. So it’s been brewing for a long time. It just took me longer to get here.

    Hugh Jackman

    According to Jackman, Reynolds was eager to get him involved with Deadpool 3, especially once Marvel Studios gained the live-action rights to the characters in Disney’s 2019 merger with Fox, asking him “on the daily” to consider a Wolverine and Deadpool team-up. It wasn’t until this August (after Jackman believed that Reynolds had given up), however, that Jackman agreed to the deal.

    Currently scheduled for a release date of November 8th, 2024, filming is expected to begin on the film next year. And while it’s been referred to as Deadpool 3, Jackman says that title might have to change. “I’m pretty sure Wolverine wouldn’t like that title,” teased Jackman in his interview with Variety. Surely Reynolds won’t begrudge a title change that includes Wolverine, given how long he’s pursued Jackman for the project.

    Source: Variety

  • The Golden Age of Superhero Movies Is Over

    The Golden Age of Superhero Movies Is Over

    With the continued expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC properties, more and more superhero movie and television content is being pumped into screens almost non-stop. New genres and formats are being explored and countless characters are being brought into live-action. So, we should be at the peak of the age of superhero movies, right? Unfortunately, it seems we have sailed right on through the Golden Age of Superhero Movies that took place in the 2010s. 

    This feature could not function without describing the massive and crucial impact that Marvel Studios and the MCU had on the superhero genre. However, other films began paving a path before 2008’s Iron Man. DC had been producing films, particularly based on Batman and Superman properties, for decades that had a clear cultural impact. Marvel, through Sony or Fox, had major hits like the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises. While the superhero movie genre had been present for some time, the MCU was the undeniable spark that caused the concept of the superhero movie to explode.

    While Iron Man was the first of now many films in what became the MCU, the whole franchise did not pick up an insane amount of steam for several years. The early Phase One movies were—overall—OK. They existed as origin stories, but the superhero origin story had already been done nearly 3,333 times before. Everything changed when Avengers was released in 2012.

    The crossover aspect is undeniably one of the key (if not the key) components that changed the way audiences engaged with the genre. While other superhero movies still trickled out around this time, no other franchise was combining four other franchises into one mega-franchise. The MCU was surely not the first to invoke the crossover strategy, but it certainly was the first to employ it on such a large scale. And luckily, Avengers was a smash hit and will remain one of the most culturally significant films of the early 21st century. Movies stopped becoming just movies—they were entire events and spectacles that transcended just a single film. At this point, “franchise” became the business term while “universe” because the one fans experienced.

    The Infinity Saga experience, frankly, cannot be surpassed. The post-Avengers excitement leading the Avengers: Endgame was the definitive Golden Age of Superhero Movies. During this time, millions and millions of fans waited feverishly for the one or two movies the MCU dropped each year. Easter eggs and cameos felt like invaluable treasures as people started to stitch together this rich, magical fictional universe that entertained them like no other. The promise of some ultimate “finale” to the saga being lived through buoyed even some of the weaker installments. And, boy, was that finale spectacular. 

    At this point, there is no reason to overanalyze Avengers: Infinity War or Endgame anymore. Regardless of contemporary or retrospective reviews or criticisms, virtually everyone who was a fan during that time can tell you those films were the hype of all hype. The iconic moments from those films we still conjure up frequently were the fruition of 11 years of storytelling, and every bit of the event was stylized as the definitive and ultimate moment of the unprecedented sensation that was the MCU. 

    Of course, the MCU did not stop. In fact, it is producing content at a rate that would even a 2018 fan would never believe. More characters that comic book fans never thought would ever make it to live-action are now here, living amongst the universe we feel we grew up or grew old in. There is something to be said, though, about the onslaught of content. The ever-warned-of “superhero fatigue” that some spoke of a decade ago may actually be creeping in. With often little to no chance to take a breath between MCU projects, each one has the potential to feel less and less special. The anticipation for the next project has weaned. Now, it is difficult to take in the entire MCU given how many hours of content exist. A casual fan may very well be overwhelmed, and new fans may have no idea how to actually get involved. Old fans may have had to abandon their annual MCU rewatch. 

    But Phase Four—and beyond—content has also produced some phenomenal projects. Many would agree that Spider-Man: No Way Home, Werewolf By Night, and She-Hulk are all gifts in their respective formats. But even with quality new projects, the expectations are clearly higher than they once were. Part of it is the high of Infinity Saga that so many keep chasing. However, the toxic online culture surrounding film discourse—particularly in the comic book genre—has felt out of hand since Phase Four began. Surely the Golden Age would not include thousands of people trash-talking every frame of a film, leading robust campaigns centered around hating women, and whining, complaining, and arguing about rumored post-credits scenes for much more important films that have not been released yet.

    And while the MCU can now tell bigger and more fantastic stories with an increasing range of characters, it is almost inevitable that the overarching plot will be Marvel Studios’ answer to: “How do we go bigger and better than Endgame?” The infinite possibilities, cameos, and combinations of Avengers: Secret Wars will almost certainly be a proper answer to that question and the payoff will almost certainly be astronomical. But it will not be able to live up to the Infinity Saga finale. While the story is presumably unique and the cheer-worthy moments will be plenty, at the end of the day the MCU has already taken us through that journey. The build-up and surprises are expected, and the energy will never match that of 2018 and 2019.

    This article focuses on the MCU for obvious reasons, but DC and the DCEU shot their own shots, though it was generally fumbled. So far in the post-Endgame time period, we have seen a DC that is fractured, confused, disorganized, chaotic, repetitive, and often mediocre. There are no doubt some standouts, including The Suicide Squad, Joker, and The Batman. But the fact that they remain as separate isolated incidents keep the DC Universe from thriving in the way that it could. Black Adam’s insistence that this is all set to change is empty until it happens. To be fair, the recent news that James Gunn and Peter Safran will lead a new “DC Studios” is something to keep an eye on. But either way, DC really missed the Golden Age boat at this point, unless they can turn it around and do something extraordinarily special.

  • 3 In-House Directors Who Could Land ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

    3 In-House Directors Who Could Land ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’

    Following SDCC ’22, Secret Wars is no longer a secret. Kevin Feige unveiled Marvel Studios incredibly ambitious Multiverse Saga in July and even though some dates have shifted around a bit since then, it still all ends with Avengers: Secret Wars on May 1st, 2026. Michael Waldron, who introduced the rules of the Multiverse in Loki and then took Doctor Strange on a brief tour of it in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, has been tasked with writing the film, but as of now, the project is without a director. Marvel Studios doesn’t need to be in a rush given the film doesn’t release for over three and a half years, but with a project this big, it’s likely they’ve narrowed down their list and will be choosing someone soon. With that in mind, here’s a look at some in-house candidates that aren’t Joe and Anthony Russo who might be up for the big job…

    Ryan Coogler

    Among the in-house candidates to take on Avengers: Secret Wars, Ryan Coogler is inarguably the most talented and arguably the safest choice. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is about to blow up the box office, likely giving Coogler two of the highest-grossing non-Avengers films. All logic would dictate that Feige and Coogler had to have at least talked about the possibility of him directing Avengers: Secret Wars. The only real question might be: does he want to do it? Coogler is a deeply passionate creator and I’ve often heard his approach to the worlds of Wakanda and now Talocan compared with the depth of George Lucas’ creation of the Star Wars universe. It’s possible, maybe even likely, that Coogler would prefer to continue to develop more projects (Ironheart, for example, is led by Coogler’s production team) within and connected to these worlds. Whether he chooses to stick to what he’s doing or tackle Avengers: Secret Wars, fans of the MCU still win.

    Nia DaCosta

    Marvel Studios has had some troubled productions since 2020. Whether due to COVID, changing directors, clashing visions, starting productions with 2/3 of a script or reshooting third acts, some of the roads on the way to what have all been fine finsihed products have been bumpy. One production that by all accounts seems to have been fairly smooth sailing, however, was The Marvels. The films three leads, Brie Larson, Iman Vellani and Teyonah Parris have all gone on record gushing about working with diretor Nia DaCosta, who took on a heavy project in her first MCU gig. DaCosta also reportedly established a great rapport with Feige, who was very pleased with The Marvels, a film which I’ve heard nothing but great things about. Having handled a team-up film in her first go around gives DaCosta some sense of what Avengers: Secret Wars will be like, even if it’s not quite the same scale. DaCosta checks a lot of the boxes the studio is likely using to choose the director for that project.

    Peyton Reed

    Reed may not be a popular choice amongst fans, but his first two Ant-Man films were solid, if not underrated, entries that were done the disservice of being released near major event films. By all accounts (and the trailer allows fans their first look at it), Reed absolutely slayed it with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania which had what I’ve heard called one of Marvel’s best-ever scripts by Jeff Loveness. The teaser should make it clear that Quantumania will be a major step up in terms of the impact the film will have on the ongoing saga when compared to the previous two Ant-Man films and it should also be clear that this Variant of Jonathan Majors’ Kang is one of the ones to be worried about. Reed had a huge job to do and he nailed it. He’s proven he can run a clean production, he’s worked extensively with the Volume (which will be needed on something like Secret Wars) and has a great relationship with Marvel Studios and Feige. Don’t sleep on Reed connecting with Waldron on Avengers: Secret Wars.