Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel News

  • First Trailer for ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Shows Off the Team’s Astonishing Powers

    First Trailer for ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Shows Off the Team’s Astonishing Powers

    Six years after it was announced to be in development at SDCC ’19, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps will debut this summer. After months of rumors surrounding the cast, Marvel revealed that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach were locked in to fill the roles of Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, respectively. After an hour-long social media countdown that was designed in the mold of NASA’s televised launches, the first public trailer for the film put the All-Star cast on center stage with each member of Marvel’s First Family showing off their astonishing powers…with th very notable except of Mister Fantastic.

    The trailer also provides a first look at the film’s villain, Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson. It’s safe to say this take is far more comic accurate than the cosmic fart cloud seen in 2005’s Fantastic Four.

    Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald,Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.

    -Official Synopsis for The Fantastic: Four First Steps

    The film also stars John Malkovich as the Red Ghost, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser and Sarah Niles.

    The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to debut in theaters on July 25, 2025.

  • Third Time’s a Charm: Marvel Studios Reportedly Considering ‘Babygirl’ Star for Major X-Men Role

    Third Time’s a Charm: Marvel Studios Reportedly Considering ‘Babygirl’ Star for Major X-Men Role

    With a script by Michael Lesslie in the works, an all-new take on Marvel’s mutant heroes, the X-Men, is just around the corner. With confirmation from the Marvel Studios Head Honcho, Kevin Feige, the “the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men,” the clock is truly ticking on the arrival of the popular heroes, who could lead their own MCU film as soon as 2027.

    While there’s been no date set aside for an X-Men film just yet, Feige’s comments combined with rumblings from various insiders about potential castings have fueled hope that key members of the team may make their MCU debuts ahead of the ensemble film. Over the past two months, rumors and reports have indicated that the studio is looking to cast the roles of Kitty Pryde and Gambit and that Stranger Things star Sadie Sink has emerged as a front runner for the role of Jean Grey/Marvel Girl. Now, a new rumor from a familiar source reveals another young star who is on Marvel’s radar to play one of the X-Men’s most well-known characters.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Babygirl star Harris Dickinson is among those being a considered for the role of Scott Summers, aka Cyclops.

    Even as he shared the rumors, Sneider was careful to point out that his information should be taken with a grain of salt and that Dickinson was in no way locked into the role. In that sense, perhaps the most important take away then isn’t Dickinson’s name but rather his age and relative notoriety. While the actor is a talented up and comer, he’s hardly a household name just yet, suggesting the studio will be searching for such actors to fill out its roster of X-Men.

    Whether it’s Dickinson or another young star in the role, X-Men fans will cling to hope that the next iteration of Cyclops is not done as dirty as James Marsden and Tye Sheridan‘s versions were by Fox. Since the earliest days of the team’s comic book adventures, Cyclops has been a central and often controversial character. Here’s hoping that Lesslie‘s script draws influence from the comics and not Fox’s poor choices with the character.

    Source: The Hot Mic Podcast

  • ‘It Ends With Us’, ‘1923’ Star In the Mix for Major Marvel Studios Role

    ‘It Ends With Us’, ‘1923’ Star In the Mix for Major Marvel Studios Role

    Though cameras haven’t begun rolling quite yet, Marvel Studios has a busy year ahead. While the biggest news will almost certainly center around the two films headed into production this year (Avengers: Doomsday and Spider-Man 4), a trio of streaming series are also slated for filming. The Paul Bettany-led Vision and Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again are both reportedly getting underway in February, keeping Marvel Television busy for the first half of the new year. Next up on the list is a series that has come together quickly after being put on the back burner for a couple of years.

    First revealed to be in development as a film in 2022 with Moon Knight scribe Sabir Pirzada on board to write the script, Nova reentered development as a streaming series in early 2024. Described by Marvel Television boss Brad Winderbaum as “an amazing ensemble piece” that will explore “how heated that Richard Rider kind of world can get,” Nova picked up veteran TV crime writer Ed Bernero as its showrunner in December. And while Bernero puts together a writers room and prepares the series’ scripts, a new report suggests that casting for the project is already underway.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Marvel has begun to narrow down it’s list of potential candidates to bring the Human Rocket to life in the MCU. At or near the top of that list, according to the longtime Hollywood insider, is It Ends with Us and 1923 star Brandon Sklenar.

    Recent reports indicated that Nova will introduce the classic Marvel Comics’ villain Annihilus and pit the Bug-Lord against a young team of Nova Corpsmen. Given Bernero‘s background, which  includes Criminal Minds, the NBC crime drama Third Watch and Crossing Lines, a crime drama that focuses on an elite team of special investigators, it seems reasonable to assume that while Rider will be the series’ central figure, the other Corps members will feature prominently in the action.

    With the studio looking to lock down an actor for the role of Richard Rider now, it’s possible that production could get underway in the next six months or so. That said, it’s been believed for some time that Nova will not be included in the Multiverse Saga and won’t stream on D+ until 2027.

    Source: Hot Mic

  • New Report Reveals Denzel Washington’s Villainous Marvel Studios Role

    New Report Reveals Denzel Washington’s Villainous Marvel Studios Role

    Fresh off his performance as the Machiavellian Macrinus in Gladiator II, Denzel Washington may be preparing to play another agent of chaos. In November, Washington casually revealed that writer/director Ryan Coogler had created a role for him in the as-yet-undated third film in the Black Panther franchise. Following Washington’s reveal, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, officially announced the film was in development; however, little information about the threequel has been available…until now.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Washington will be portraying the disruptive and devious Achebe in Black Panther 3.

    Achebe’s arrival in Wakanda has been anticipated for some time and while he would have made a fine antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the events of the sequel may have perfectly primed a path for the villain to wreak havoc.

    Between 1998 and 2003, Christopher Priest wrote 60 issues of Black Panther for Marvel Comics. Priest’s run began with T’Challa in an interesting pinch: a girl who was a part of T’Challa’s Tomorrow Fund, an organization he founded in the United States, has been found murdered. Meanwhile, refugees flock to Wakanda’s border, led by the enigmatic Reverend Doctor Michael Ibn al-hajj Achebe. In T’Challa’s absence, Achebe makes his move to overtake Wakanda.

    By introducing the Wakandan outreach center in 2018’s Black Panther, Coogler created the MCU’s equivalent of the Tomorrow Fund. Black Panther 3 could open with a scenario similar to Priest’s run that would require Shuri to leave Wakanda to investigate, leaving an opening for Achebe. Her absence, paired with the devastation from Namor’s attack, would provide the perfect scenario to allow Achebe to further destabilize Wakanda and then attempt to assume control.

  • Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Moved One Oft-delayed Project to the Scrap Heap

    Marvel Studios Has Reportedly Moved One Oft-delayed Project to the Scrap Heap

    Boom! You lookin’ for this? Apparently, in the case of Armor Wars, Marvel Studios was not. Originally developed as a D+ streaming series before being reworked as feature film, it now seems as though the Don Cheadle vehicle has been scrapped.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Marvel Studios has moved on from the project. Additionally, Comic Book Movie claims to have heard that the project is “as good as dead.”

    Should Armor Wars indeed be scrapped, it would be perhaps the least shocking development around the project (the most shocking being that it was ever announced in the first place). The studio struggled to put it together as a series and its connection to the abysmal Secret Invasion likely did it in as a film.

    Last Fall, Cheadle cast doubt on how much life was in the project when he was asked where it stood on Marvel Studios slate, which was changing rapidly at the time. “You can find out and let me know,” said Cheadle, adding “I don’t know, I’m not sure where anything is right now. I think things are going through a lot of changes, and we’ll see what happens, we’ll see what it is.“

    Sources: MTTSH, CBM

  • New Rumor Suggests Casting Is Underway for Two Key Members of Marvel Studios’ All-New X-Men

    New Rumor Suggests Casting Is Underway for Two Key Members of Marvel Studios’ All-New X-Men

    As the sixth anniversary of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox approaches, Marvel Studios has done very little with the treasure trove of live-action rights that fell to them in the merger. While Deadpool & Wolverine was a box office success for the company and Hugh Jackman‘s return as the best their is at what he does was a wonderful treat, it’s safe to say that Wade Wilson was well down the list of characters MCU fans were anticipating to appear.

    That’s all about to change, of course, as Marvel’s First Family, The Fantastic Four, will make their MCU debut this summer. And then, there’ the X-Men. Though mutants have been sparsely sprinkled into several projects over the past few years, fans are craving an all-new take on Marvel’s Children of the Atom and things are indeed gathering some Juggernaut-ish momentum on that front.

    Last spring, Michael Lesslie was tasked with scripting Marvel Studios’ first X-Men film. While Kevin Feige has yet to publicly reveal too much about the film, he has made it clear that even though “some X-Men players that you might recognize” will appear before the end of the Multiverse Saga, the mutant heroes won’t take center stage until after 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

    Right after that, the whole story of Secret Wars really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men.

    Kevin Feige

    However, an infinite multiverse allows for infinite storytelling possibilities, including the introduction of a few major muties before they move into the spotlight. Rumors have made the rounds that Lesslie’s script focuses on an X-team that closely resembles the roster of heroes from Marvel Animation’s very popular and successful X-Men ’97. As expected, original X-Man Jean Grey would be among those characters and recent reports indicated that Marvel is already looking at actresses to fill that role. Now, a new rumor from a trusted Marvel insider claims that Marvel is also looking to fill the role of another X-Men ’97 star in addition to one of Feige’s favorite characters.

    According to Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios has begun the process of casting for the roles of Remy LeBeau and Kitty Pryde.

    The news is consistent with an earlier report from Richtman in which he claimed Gambit and Shadowcat were the leads in an early draft of Lesslie’s script. The news that the studio is looking for a new actor to portray Gambit will certainly be disappointing to fans of Channing Tatum‘s version of the character seen in Deadpool & Wolverine; however, there’s always hope that Tatum will be one of those recognizeable X-Men players teased by Feige.

    Since it’s still in the scripting stages, Marvel Studios’ X-Men reboot hasn’t been placed on Disney’s release calendar; however, with a trio of films set for 2028, it’s beginning to look increasingly likely that the X-Men will indeed make it into the MCU within a decade of the Fox merger.

  • Upcoming Marvel Studios Series Already Greenlit for Record Run

    Upcoming Marvel Studios Series Already Greenlit for Record Run

    After 17 years with the company, it would be right to say that Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, has seen it all. After working as an assistant to Louis D’Esposito on 2008’s Iron Man, Winderbaum climbed company ladder and is now one of the most influential voices working behind the scenes at Marvel. Given the scope of that influence, when Winderbaum feels strongly about the direction of a project, it’s good news for that project.

    In the case of Marvel Animation’s upcoming streaming series, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which debuts on January 29th, Winderbaum‘s positivity about the project seems to have it poised to make a record-breaking run on Disney Plus.

    Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    What Jeff is building brick by brick in this show is starting to pay off. You feel it in season 1. You grow connected to these characters so when everything starts to lock into place and starts to pay off by the end of the season, I feel it in my soul. It just gets deeper and deeper in subsequent seasons.

    -Brad Winderbaum
    In an interview with The Movie Podcast, Winderbaum not only confirmed that the previously announced second season of the series is already deep into development but also that a third season has already been given the go-ahead.

    “We’re greenlit for season three so in a couple of weeks, I’m going to hear [Jeff Trammell ‘s] pitch for the third season of this show,” said Winderbaum.

    Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Hudson Thames) in Marvel Animation’s YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, exclusively on Disney+. Photo courtesy of Marvel Animation. © 2024 MARVEL. All Rights Reserved.

    With that, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man joins Marvel Animation’s What If…? and X-Men ’97 as the only Marvel Studios’ streaming series to find life beyond a second season. Like X-Men ’97, the first season Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man consists of 10 episodes which means, should subsequent seasons also receive 10-episode orders, it looks to be on track to be the first streaming series to run for at least 30 episodes, especially with development on X-Men ’97 slowing down.

    Early reactions to the new animated series have been overwhelmingly positive and Winderbaum seems to share that enthusiasm. “I’ve fallen so head over heels in love with these characters,” he said before updating the progress being made on Season 2. “By the way, I’ve now read all the scripts for season 2. We’re halfway through the animatics.” Though the animation process is a long one, Winderbaum‘s comments could point to a second season streaming on Disney Plus at some point in 2026.

    Source: The Movie Podcast

  • Marvel Studios Star Confirms Extensive Changes to ‘Avengers 5’

    Marvel Studios Star Confirms Extensive Changes to ‘Avengers 5’

    As part of Marvel Studios’ Hall H panel at SDCC ’22, head honcho Kevin Feige revealed plans to wrap up the Multiverse Saga with a pair of Avengers films set to hit theaters just one year apart. The first of those films, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, scheduled for May 2, 2025, written by Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania scribe Jeff Loveness and meant to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, would have featured Jonathan Majors‘ Kang as the lead much in the same way Avengers: Infinity War did with Thanos.

    In the original plan for Avengers 5, then called Kang Dynasty, Shang-Chi would’ve been one of the film’s main leads. A lot’s changed since then; Avengers 5 was meant to focus on Kang the Conqueror, but Marvel has since completely retooled the film to introduce Victor Von Doom.

    -Inverse

    Fast forward to January 2025: Majors and Marvel Studios have parted ways, Loveness was replaced by Michael Waldron who was replaced by Stephen McFeely, Cretton left to work on Spider-Man 4, Anthony and Joe Russo and just over four months before it’s original release date, the film, now called Avengers: Doomsday, hasn’t even begun production. It’s been widely assumed that the studio all but started from scratch once McFeely and the Russos came aboard but despite rumors and reports that Waldron‘s draft has been scrapped, Marvel has, of course, stayed quiet…until now.

    In an interview with Variety, one of the studio’s biggest stars, Benedict Cumberbatch, not only confirmed that the studio has completely overhauled the film but also the cast. Once intended to play a major role in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, Cumberbatch revealed that Doctor Strange will not appear in Avengers: Doomsday.

    Is that a spoiler? Fuck it!

    -Benedict Cumberbatch


    Cumberbatch provided a simple explanation as to why Strange won’t appear in the film, saying “the character not aligning with this part of the story.” Concerned fans shouldn’t worry themselves too much, however. The star also told Variety that Strange remains “quite central to where things might go” and that the character is “in a lot” of Avengers: Secret Wars, also written by McFeely and directed by the brothers Russo.

    With Cumberbatch’s Master of the Mystic Arts no longer part of Avengers: Doomsday, the task of taking on Robert Downey Jr.‘s Doom looks to fall to the Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man and a group of Avengers that may just include some New* ones.

    Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to begin principal photography this Spring ahead of a May 1, 2026 release.

    Source: Variety

  • Giancarlo Esposito Makes Genuinely Bonkers Claim about His ‘Captain America Brave: New World’ Character

    Giancarlo Esposito Makes Genuinely Bonkers Claim about His ‘Captain America Brave: New World’ Character

    In late 2022, following a swell of online support for him to play Charles Xavier in Marvel Studios’ X-Men franchise, Giancarlo Esposito took matters into his own hands in an attempt to land an MCU role. During a fan panel at Rose City Comic Con 2022, Esposito explained how the fan casting led to having his people reach out to Marvel Studios. “I finally had to have my people call Marvel and explain that, you know, that this is a fan want and we would love to work with you,” Esposito told the crowd.

    But I feel as if there may be some mileage with me and Marvel. I know I love what they do. I know I love creativity. So who knows what could happen? Keep putting it out there.

    Giancarlo Esposito

    The star spent the next year making sure nobody has forgotten his willingness to join the world’s largest action franchise and then, in May 2024, thanks to the magic of Marvel Studios’ reshoots, Esposito‘s dream came true. By Summer, Esposito had taken it up on himself to unburden Marvel of any secrecy around his character, revealing that he had signed on to Captain America: Brave New World as Seth Voelkers, the founder of the Serpent Society (called Serpent in Brave New World) who went by the alter ego of Sidewinder.

    Marketing for Captain America: Brave New World has contained plenty of Esposito’s Sidewinder, attempting to establish the character as some sort of menacing threat to Sam Wilson. And while nobody believes that Captain America is in any true danger from Sidewinder, it hasn’t stopped Esposito from over hyping the character.

    Last Summer, Esposito teased Sidewinder as “a badass” and a departure from his usual roles. In a new interview with ABC, he repeated those claims, saying, “You’ve never seen me play a character like this. This guy knows how to use a rifle, a pistol, knives, (he’s) very very physical, active with his physicality, punches, kicks, all that.” And while that all checks out against the evidence available in the footage that’s been shared ahead of the film, Esposito also made a claim that caps into question his ability to be taken seriously when talking about Sidewinder.

    “Part of the incorporation of Sidewinder’s colors I brought into the costume that I’m wearing,” he said. “I’m hoping that it gives them inspiration in movies to come that will allow me to take on more of that serpent persona.“

    While it’s clear that Esposito will be playing a far more grounded and less flamboyant version of Sidewinder in Captain America: Brave New World, don’t tell him that. Perhaps Esposito’s comments about the similarities between the film and comic book characters costumes refer to the collar on his trench coat being similar in color to the comic book counterpart’s cape; perhaps his character has some fabulous footwear we haven’t seen just yet; perhaps, like with the character itself, Esposito is making a mountain out of a mole hill.

    As for the evolution of the “serpent persona”, Esposito did tease that his character would have a role in an unreveales series following Captain America: Brave New World, so maybe Marvel will indeed bring a fully realized Serpent Society–and its leader–into the MCU down the road.

    Source: ABC

  • Newly Greenlit Marvel Television Series May Feature a Surprising Star

    Newly Greenlit Marvel Television Series May Feature a Surprising Star

    Marvel Studios may not continue releasing live-action streaming projects at the same rate they will in 2025, but that doesn’t mean they’ve slowed down the development process. Outside of Nova— which was confirmed by Marvel Television’s head honcho, Brad  Winderbaum, to be in development–the studio has been tight-lipped about which projects are in the works. Rumors and reports persist that Champions, which will bring together a new generation of heroes led by Kamala Khan and Kate Bishop, and Strange Academy, a Harry Potter-esque series featuring young magic users, are priorities for the studio despite lack of official word from anyone at Marvel.

    We have a new system behind-the-scenes at Marvel Studios. We’re more like a traditional studio now. We’re developing more than we actually will produce.

    -Brad Winderbaum

    In the case of Strange Academy, Marvel Studios insider Daniel Richtman recently reported that Winderbaum and his team had given the project the green light which could mean work on the series could get underway this year. Now, another insider has come forward with some information that calls to mind a two-year old rumor about the series.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Wong, the MCU’s current Sorcerer Supreme, will serve as the star of Strange Academy. Additionally, Benedict Cumberbatch will reportedly have a “small role” in the series, if he appears at all.

    Though the Sorcerer Supreme has proven himself, having Benedict Wong as the lead would certainly seem to indicate that the studio sees Strange Academy as somewhat of a light-hearted adventure. Despite facing off with the Scarlet Witch and her demonic minions in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Wong has far more often served as comedic relief. And while the series would feature a fairly large cast of kids and offer the potential for cameos from all types of MCU magic users, it could also allow for the return of the vacuous Madisynn King, Wong’s bestie last seen in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

    Created by Skottie Young and Humberto Ramos, Strange Academy was first published by Marvel Comics in 2020 and focused on a new generation of magic users being trained in the mystic arts at a Hogwarts-esque school opened by Stephen Strange. Classes at Strange Academy were led by an array of Marvel mages including Doctor Voodoo, Wanda Maximoff, Wong, Magik and, yes, Agatha Harkness and covered a range of topics from astral projections to interdimensional geography to xenoanatomy.