Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Studios

  • Doctor Strange May Enter the Wasteland In the ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    Doctor Strange May Enter the Wasteland In the ‘Multiverse of Madness’

    WandaVision is only a week away from premiering. It will kick-off a new era of multiversal stories. The first teasers already are teasing that not everything is as it seems. Yet, it will only be the beginning, as Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness will be the franchise’s first horror film. It will affect many other films and projects, such as Spider-Man 3 and the upcoming What If series, whose recent trailer teased the existence of Marvel’s zombies. It gave me an idea about what other comic elements we could see get adapted in the film. They can explore so many aspects of the diverse multiverse. I had so many ideas that I will primarily focus on one short story featured in the film. I also had to consider what was already on the horizon, as we know that Blade will introduce us to the likes of vampires. Without

    Welcome to the Wasteland

    I confess that part of this idea came from the recent Marvel’s Avengers reveal that Hawkeye’s storyline will be Future Imperfect. It inspired me to revisit the Old Man Logan storyline, which introduced us to a screwed-up post-apocalyptic world known called the Wasteland. With some wondering, if they might bring back characters from the Fox universe, the Wasteland would be a perfect remnant. Perhaps the part of the multiverse that they explore is the consequences of when they failed X-Men: Days of Future Past. Everyone is gone, and the Sentinels won. From the ashes of the world, a fractured civilization was trying to cling to whatever was left. In its remnants, a new leader emerged who would rule it under his own rule of violence.

     

     

    Doctor Strange finds himself lost in the middle of what seemed to be a desert. There he meets a man named Logan. Unable to continue his travel for the time, he is welcomed by the kind stranger, who has an eerie resemblance to Hugh Jackman. He tells him the story of how the Sentinels destroyed mutants and humanity all the same. After some time, they were no longer a threat after being deactivated by a random EMP blast. Finally, mankind had some hope. Well, at least that was until a sudden invasion of monsters from beyond the stars. Creatures that everyone calls the Brood, who would infest one city after another. They replace the symbiotes that were present during the Old Man Logan storyline. In their wake, a hero emerged, who saved them from this new threat. In a way, he started becoming the leader of the Wasteland.

     

     

    Facing a Familiar Face

    Strange realizes that there is one object he needs to continue his multiversal travel, and it so happens to be in the hands of that very ruler. The only issue was that they were looking for lives beyond an area infested with the Brood. Luckily, Logan offered his help as a guide through the Wasteland to find the mysterious leader. As every good film needs an action sequence, they soon realize that the Brood has still been expanding. It seems that the mysterious leader wasn’t able to keep them at bay after at all. In the middle of the plague, there stood the one that was supposed to destroy them. In reality, he was controlling them through a strange device. Strange instantly recognized who the ruler is, but at the same time, it seemed like someone else. It was the Hulk. It was a version of the character we haven’t seen since 2008’s The Incredible Hulk.

     

     

    Once he noticed his visitors, he sends the Brood after them. Suddenly, Logan pulls out three claws on each hand to protect Strange from the onslaught, whose magic was facing its limits. He realizes that the item he needs is the thing that lets Hulk control these beasts. As they get closer, Logan confronts the Green Goliath. The good doctor tries to cry out to Banner and uncover why he would do this. The now-bearded titan reveals that the post-credit sequence from the original film meant that Hulk was slowly taking over Banner’s mind. The Sentinel and Brood invasions were merely stepping stones for him to finally taking over so he could take his vengeance on the world. He would stand above everyone else so that they would learn fear.

    In their conflict, Strange can get the missing piece but doesn’t want to leave Logan behind. He tells him he has nothing to worry about as the confrontation rages between two immortal beings surrounded by what seems to be an endless horde of alien bugs. Strange leaves the Wasteland behind, scared of the realization of what horrors could unfold once Banner loses control someday. He swears to make it up to his new-found friend. Perhaps the man known as Logan exists in his world as well. These thoughts remained in his mind as his travel through the multiverse of madness continues.

  • Production Pauses on ‘DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’

    Production Pauses on ‘DOCTOR STRANGE: IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’

    Elizabeth Olsen has begun doing the press rounds ahead of next week’s premiere of the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming WandaVision. Last night, while talking with Jimmy Kimmel about that project, she updated the status of the production of her next MCU project, Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. Olsen informed Kimmel that production on the sequel has been paused as a precaution amid the recent surge in COVID cases in and around London, where the sequel is filming.

    For the time being, Olsen is quarantined in London awaiting a restart of production. The Strange sequel began production in November and isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until March 25, 2022, so unless the delay goes on for months, it’s still incredibly likely that it makes that date.

     

  • ‘Knightfall’s Natalie Holt to Score ‘Loki’

    ‘Knightfall’s Natalie Holt to Score ‘Loki’

    It is crazy to think we are so close to finally getting some Marvel Cinematic Universe content after a long hiatus. WandaVision finally premieres next week. It is going to be the first of potentially six shows for 2021. It’ll be followed-up by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier before Loki joins the service in May. We still know very little bout the shows, as it wasn’t until the recent Disney Investor’s Day that we got an official first look at most of the series alongside a release date. All eyes were on WandaVision, as it is releasing soon, but it looks like Loki has also been quite busy.

    According to Film Music Reporter, Natalie Holt has joined Loki. She joins director Kate Herron and head writer Michael Waldron’s production team. Holt is known for her work on the TV series Knightfall and Amazon Prime’s upcoming Herself. She was also a part of 2014’s Paddington music department. It’ll be interesting to see what she brings to the series. The brief melody played during the initial Loki trailer is already a fantastic tease of what is to come.

    It is crazy to think what a huge surprise the series focused on the God of Mischief turned out to be. When they first announced he was getting his series, I did not expect him to meddle in humanity’s history alongside the TVA. I also didn’t expect he would turn out to be the MCU’s version of D.B. Cooper, so we’ll see how else he ends up leaving his mark throughout time.

    Source: Film Music Reporter, IMDb

  • Two-Episode ‘WandaVision’ Premiere Teased by French CANAL+ Magazine

    Two-Episode ‘WandaVision’ Premiere Teased by French CANAL+ Magazine

    Just yesterday, Charles shared the news that WandaVision will consist of nine episodes. So, it opened up the theory that we will most likely see two episodes during next week’s premiere. Well, it looks like that has finally been confirmed, as @V727Mr just shared an excerpt of the official French Le Mag CANAL+, which confirms that we will be welcomed to Marvel Studios’ first adventure into long-term storytelling with two initial episodes.

    The fact that CANAL+’s official monthly magazine reveals this is a good sign for its validity. To those that don’t know, it is a French premium television channel that embraces a hybrid model. Disney+ was made available through the service during its launch back in April. I already couldn’t wait for January 15th, so this isn’t making the wait any easier. It does open up the question if the show will follow a strict comedy format of 22-minutes per episode early on. The Mandalorian was quite flexible with its episode length, so we will see if Marvel is a bit more restrictive with their approach.

    As CANAL+ has shared the news, it is strange that Disney hasn’t advertised this fact. Yet, there is a chance they are building up to it shortly before release. It’s not uncommon for marketing to wait until the last minute to give away something that would give people a bit more hype before the release. We might get an official teaser in the next few days that finally reveals it, but it is still exciting to think not just one but two episodes. With the confirmation that we can expect nine episodes, it makes you wonder if we’ll get another two in the show’s second week as well.

    Source: Twitter, Vivendi

  • ‘WANDAVISION’ Confirmed as a 9 Episode Series

    ‘WANDAVISION’ Confirmed as a 9 Episode Series

    Disney Plus Media Relations has confirmed what the Murphy’s Multiverse team was first to share with you some time back: Marvel Studios first Disney Plus streaming series, WandaVision, will indeed consist of 9 episodes. The following email from D+ relations has been confirmed to be legitimate by a Disney rep.

    Image

    This news, along with the news from Disney Latino that the series will conclude Season One on March 5th, would seem to indicate that we will get two episodes of the series when it streams next Friday, January 15th. Even though we haven’t seen it yet, I think we all know more WandaVision is a good thing!

  • Murphy’s Law: Episode 76

    Murphy’s Law: Episode 76

    Happy New Year! Charles M. and Charles V. ring in 2021 on their new mics and discuss JGL, what we expect from WandaVision and give our thoughts on the two big streaming movies of the holiday season: Soul and Wonder Woman 1984! Have a listen…

  • RUMOR: Elijah Richardson Joins ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ as Eli Bradley

    RUMOR: Elijah Richardson Joins ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ as Eli Bradley

    It looks like we might be able to check another member of the Young Avengers off the already growing list as actor Elijah Richardson has joined the cast of Marvel Studios upcoming Disney Plus streaming series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. According to his IMBD filmography, the 18-year old Richardson will play Eli Bradley, aka The Patriot, in 2 episodes when the show begins streaming this March. We will note here that we are well aware that IMDB can be edited anonymously, but there have been rumblings about the Bradleys being in the series before and, contrary to popular opinion IMDB is not ALWAYS wrong. We attempted to confirm the casting with two sources but were unable to do so.

    Elijah Bradley was first introduced as the leader of the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #1. A couple of issues later, he revealed to Captain America that he was the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, the Black Captain America. After originally leading his teammates to believe his powers came from a blood transfusion from his grandfather, Eli was caught injecting mutant growth hormone. Ashamed, Bradley quit the team but showed his true heroism when he was seriously injured taking a bullet to protect Captain America. That injury led to the need for a blood transfusion from Isaiah which lead to Eli becoming a true super soldier himself.

    Richardson’s Bradley would join Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop as members of the original Young Avengers team. It seems a safe bet to assume that Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd will be a part of the team as well after being introduced in some capacity in WandaVision. That leaves only Teddy Altman, aka Hulking, and Iron Lad to go to round out the OG squad in the MCU. Xochitl Gomez will debut as America Chavez who joined a later iteration of the team, in Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. A Young Avengers project is in the works and believed to be headed to Disney Plus, perhaps as early as 2023.

  • Grey DeLisle-Griffin Lends Her Voice to ‘WandaVision’

    Grey DeLisle-Griffin Lends Her Voice to ‘WandaVision’

    Just when you think WandaVision couldn’t possibly get any bigger, now the cast makes space for one of the most revered voice-actress in all of the mainstream media. Yesterday, Grey DeLisle-Griffin confirmed via her Twitter that her voice, in some shape or form, will be heard during the upcoming Marvel Studios series WandaVision. Check out the tweet below:

    https://twitter.com/greydelisle/status/1345135779396288512?s=21

    She is no stranger to working with Marvel, as she played the role of Captain Marvel, Betty Brant, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Enchantress, Elektra, Emma Frost, and many more in several Marvel TV shows and video games. You also might know Grey DeLisle-Griffin for many iconic roles she’s played over the years, which includes Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo, Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Vicky from The Fairly OddParents, Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Catwoman from the Batman: Arkham franchise, and Injustice games, Frankie Foster from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and the list goes on. Now, this begs the question of what her role could be in the upcoming series. There are a number of possibilities. DeLisle-Griffin could be portraying a CGI character during the series or an eerie voice in Wanda’s head. Anything is possible, but there’s a particular theory that comes to mind that might fit Grey DeLisle’s involvement in WandaVision. She could be playing a character in an animated episode of WandaVision.

     

     

    Fellow writer Julia Delbel theorized in her Theory Thursday article that WandaVision could include an animated section in the show, whether it be an animated intro in the stylings of Bewitched or even paying homage to classic animated sitcoms, such as The Flintstones and The Jetsons. Just imagine it’s Saturday morning at the Wanda and Vision household. Wanda’s kids decide to watch cartoons, and there’s an entire episode based on that. If the show does include some animation sequence, it would be the perfect opportunity to incorporate Grey DeLisle-Griffin‘s vocal talents into the mix when WandaVision rolls around in 2 weeks.

  • ‘WandaVision’ Character Posters Released

    ‘WandaVision’ Character Posters Released

    Marvel Studios and Disney+ are starting their marketing campaign for the upcoming release of WandaVision. Finally, after a long wait and many delays, we are entering the new year with brand new Marvel Cinematic Content. It almost seems surreal that we are actually getting the first Disney+ series from Marvel Studios after everything that had happened. Originally, Falcon and the Winter Soldier was going to kick-off the studio’s venture into long-form storytelling but 2020 proved nothing is truly set in stone. Luckily, Marvel Studios cemented the show’s upcoming release with a new set of character posters.

    We know that various other characters are included in the show but they are focusing on those that were heavily featured in the trailers. So, we get some character posters on our two leads Wanda and Vision, alongside Agnes, and Monica Rambeau. There is no sign of Jimmy Woo or Darcy Lewis for now, but they may be taking the same route that The Mandalorian‘s second season did. After every major character introduction, the episode would then get a character poster to tie us over until the next one released. So, there is a good chance they are going a similar route here. Yet, the show won’t release until January 15th, so who knows if we see them shortly before the premiere.

    Now, the concept of various TVs is a great idea to build up the mystery and tie into the Vision aspect of WandaVision. There are some interesting small hints here, such as Agnes having a string in one of her televisions, which could be hinting at her true nature. It also looks like Monica will premiere in an earlier episode of the show, as it seemed she would only show up in the 70s era sitcom. It could also hint at the show not following a linear format, as we jump from one sitcom era to another. The biggest hint once again is that Wanda seems to have a new costume. We’ve seen bits and pieces of it in previous posters, but it made its return here. As the show features Halloween costumes that are tributes to the original comic designs, it would be interesting if they manage to pull off a modern adaptation of her iconic outfit.

    Source: Twitter

  • 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.