Tag: Marvel Studios

RUMOR: ‘Bad Boys For Life’ Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to Direct ‘Ms. Marvel’ Episodes

We’ve all been waiting for some news regarding Marvel Studios’ upcoming Ms. Marvel show. The character has been seeing a surge in popularity lately. She was among the core cast of Marvel Rising and is the main focus of Marvel’s Avengers’ Reassemble storyline. All that is missing is her live-action debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Kevin Feige announced the show last year, we couldn’t wait to see how she will fit into Marvel Studios’ ever-expanding world.

Hollywood Reporter did confirm that Brisha K. Ali would act as showrunner for the show last year. Now, The Direct is reporting that Bad Boys For Life directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah will direct at least one episode for the upcoming show. Both directors have confirmed that they’ve met with both Marvel and DC for some potential projects not too long ago. So, there is a good chance this may be officially confirmed once casting has been finalized. Until then, we can only see this as a potential rumor for now.

Marvel news has been rather scarce. As most projects have been delayed indefinitely, it is uncertain when we could expect some official word from Marvel Studios. We are still waiting for the first foray into Disney+, as WandaVision or Falcon and the Winter Soldier are still on hold for now. Hopefully, we will get some signs of life soon. If productions are to start soon again, we hopefully will also find out who will play the iconic teenage Muslim superhero. Marvel Studios’ foray into streaming might be their most ambitious project yet and cannot wait to see what they have planned for us.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, The Direct, ComicBook.com

September 4, 2020
New ‘Black Widow’ Image Teases Showdown with Taskmaster

There has been a drought when it comes to Marvel Studios news. Ever since Black Widow got delayed, we’ve been just waiting for any sign of life. It has finally arrived as Empire released an exclusive image that teases a stand-off between Natasha and Taskmaster. This is our first look at the movie since the last trailer was released five months ago. It was still set to release in May at the time.

Is it much? No, not really but it is something. One of the highlights is the tease of Taskmaster throughout the trailers. Even after the delay, we have no idea who is playing Tony Masters. We did get a look at him using various abilities from iconic Avengers. So far, we know that he copied Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Panther but who knows what else they are hiding from us.

There is still something we can take from this image. We get our first real look at Taskmaster’s back which seems to include some strange metal backpack. This could be a jet pack like we saw in the Marvel’s Avengers game, or just where he keeps his weapons. Also, going by Natasha’s outfit, this is during their first fight on the bridge. Cannot wait to see this in action, as Natasha slowly realizes that her adversary is copying her every movie. I hope this is just the beginning for the character and we get much more of Taskmaster moving forward.

Source: Empire

September 3, 2020
Ant-Man, Wasp & Young Avengers: All-Out Kaiju Attack

It has been a bit quiet on Marvel Studios’ front. There were some tidbits here and there but nothing major. Well, looks like we got our biggest news just a few days ago. It was finally quasi confirmed that the next installment in the Ant-Man and the Wasp will be released in 2022. We still don’t know much about the project as of now but there are so many possibilities. Ant-Man showed what is possible when a man can shrink. We got a story inspired by classic heist films. The sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp played around with a stronger comedy-vibe. Director Peyton Reed got a chance to play around with Pym tech to highlight what is possible. Now, the question is where does he go from here? Well, I believe the next installment should take its inspirations from Kaiju films.

Young Recruits

There have been a lot of rumors floating around about what the next film will be about. One rumor pointed to the film being the introduction of the Young Avengers. Most of the team members are being introduced in their own series. Avengers: Endgame also gave us an aged-up Cassie Lang. It is a great way to introduce her to the team and give her a chance to become her own heroine. We are about to enter the next generation of heroes. They will need some guidance and the Pym family are a perfect choice. Who knows how many young heroes are out there in the world without someone to help them control their abilities. What if one of them might be much more dangerous than they know?

The upcoming Ms. Marvel show will reintroduce the Inhumans to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While nothing is confirmed, there is a good chance we might see the Terrigen bomb go off. This won’t just affect Kamala Khan but many other unsuspecting people. Among them is a young man named Kei Kawade a.ka. Kaiju Kid. He played a major role in Marvel’s Monsters Unleashed storyline. The reason for his name is due to his ability to summon monsters through his drawings. He later even learns that he can fuse or create new monsters at will. Not only would he make for a great addition to the Young Avengers but also create a unique challenge for the young heroes to face under the tutelage of Scott and Hope.

Size-Able Match

We know that M.O.D.O.K. was featured in an earlier draft of the third installment. The leader of A.I.M. could still fit into a story with Kaiju Kid. I am getting inspired by the upcoming Marvel’s Avengers game here. That games’ story sees George Tarleton trying to save Inhumans before turning into the iconic giant head in a floating chair. They can still use this base concept and flip it on its head, A.I.M could still be in the script. With a sudden spike in monster appearances since the Terrigen incident, A.I.M is hunting down its source of origin. The organization filled the void that Tony Stark left behind after his death in Avengers: Endgame. After purchasing Hammer Industries, they became the #1 weapon manufactures and even added their own private army. It is unclear who took over the company after their original founder Aldrich Killian passed away. Still, someone is pulling the ropes behind the scenes.

It becomes a race for Ant-Man and Wasp to locate who they believe might be behind it. Scott is forced to turn into Giant-Man multiple times to take down a variety of different monsters. They also get interrupted by A.I.M that are overly vigilant towards the young team. As time goes by, the mysterious mastermind starts to get more involved as he realizes that Pym is also a part of the hunt. It all comes to the moment that an unsuspecting Kawade gets confronted by the private army. Scott tries to come to his rescue but also ends up captured. Both are brought in front of the man behind the scenes, M.O.D.O.K. He reveals that he once worked alongside Pym for S.H.I.E.L.D. His own ventures into the Quantum Realm opened his eyes to a new world and took a toll on his body, but his mind now knows everything he needs to know.

Kaiju Showdown

In his elongated speech, M.O.D.O.K. reveals that he has no interest in the Inhuman gene. The reality is that he was focused on the Quantum remnant that was found on each of the monsters. A part of his Inhumanity is connected to the realm, which allows him to imagine the kaiju he summons. He doesn’t have full control over them but it is something Michelle Pfeiffer‘s Janet van Dyne can help him control. Sadly, Kawade is worried he will hurt someone. He doesn’t want to lose his parents and feels threatened by both groups. He starts frantically finishing a drawing he’s been working on throughout the film so that they would leave him alone. The final monster he summons will be the biggest yet. Maybe he will even be someone we’ve met before.

Earlier this year, we heard a rumor that an iconic dragon of the Marvel universe will make his debut in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It is none other than the giant dragon that was introduced in Strange Tales #89, Fin Fang Foom. Yes, in the middle of the final battle between A.I.M.. and the Young Avengers, Kid Kaiju accidentally summons the MCU’s version of Godzilla. The young team fights a group of robots and Beekeepers, as Scott is forced to fight the colossal dragon. They could pay a great tribute by having them fight through miniature buildings that get destroyed throughout their fight. Part of me wished they’d even have a few shots of Fin Fang Foom being a guy in a rubber suit because Scott gets electrocuted and can’t see clearly. It all ends with Cassie joining the fray and calming down Kei, as A.I.M. retreats to fight another day. Foom gets transported back to where he came from, as Scott managed to keep him at bay. Janet promises to help him hone his abilities and he becomes a member of the now officially formed Young Avengers. Scott looks on in pride as his own daughter joins them.

Quantum All The Way

This concept continues where we left off. Hank and Janet are still researching the Quantum Realm, especially after the Avengers managed to travel through time during Endgame. M.O.D.O.K. being connected to it also adds to why the character is quite unhinged throughout the story. Pym has a similar track record like Tony for former colleagues turning evil. This way, the resurgence of A.I.M. also fits into the story and gives them a reason to be an active participant. Kid Kaiju’s ability of inter-dimensional vision in the comics. We know that this has been connected to the Quantum Realm, so it makes sense to connect these abilities. It also opens up a whole new world to explore as Hank might try to decipher what connection the Inhuman gene might have with the realm. MCU isn’t a stranger to tweaking some origins, so the film could also be introduced to explore how exactly the Kree has created this new race of humans long ago. Still, this is just an idea by connecting various dots that have been preventing themselves during the pandemic. Whatever Peyton Reed may have planned, I cannot wait to see it.

Source: DisInsider, Digital Spy

August 31, 2020
‘CAPTAIN MARVEL 2’ to Film in the UK

The sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel could well be shooting in the UK next year. After being tipped off that the studio had registered a production company in the UK, Murphy’s Multiverse was able to independently confirm that Marvel Studios had indeed done so, indicating that the studio has plans to at least shoot part of the film in the UK and/or Europe.

The film, which will be directed by Nia DaCosta and based off a script from Megan McDonnell, is expected to tie into the Marvel Comics Secret Invasion event that saw the Skrull Empire attempt a hostile take over of Earth and revealed that Skrull sleeper cells had been on Earth in positions of power and in place of Earth’s mightiest heroes for some time. Marvel Studios is also developing a Secret Invasion project would could serve as a companion piece as a streaming series on Disney Plus or, perhaps, be its own event film.

Captain Marvel filmed in California, under the California Film Commission’s Tax Credit Program, and in New Orleans with a post-credit scene being filmed in Atlanta. Captain Marvel 2 is set to debut in theaters on July 8, 2022 and should go into production late next Spring or early next Summer.

August 21, 2020
‘Captain Marvel’ Script Originally Included Talos’ Death

It’s always fascinating how much films change throughout productions. While the scripts originally plan out the entire story, changes are still going to happen. This could either be the actor’s performance or just some pacing issues fixed through re-shoots. Looks like one change actually saved a fan-favorite character from Captain Marvel a gruesome fate. It is none other than the Skrull Talos.

The character played by Ben Mendelsohn had some of the best lines in the film. It also was really clever casting by Marvel Studios. He is known for his villainous roles, so it was a nice twist when he turned out to be a decent person in a terrible war. As a bonus, he made a surprise cameo at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home teasing more of the character in the future. In an interview with NME, the actor revealed that Talos was originally going to die in the film.

“That truly exceeded my expectations. [Talos] was gonna die at around page 60 [in the script] originally and he survived that, so he’s done pretty well. And if that fucking shapeshifter rears his ugly head again, I’ll do my best to be inside it.”

It was a great decision to keep him around. Especially the enthusiasm that Mendelsohn has for returning in future projects. If the Far From Home post-credit scene is anything to go by, we will see quite a bit more of him in the future. He will most likely be an integral character throughout the rumored Secret Invasion plotline for Captain Marvel 2. There was even the rumor that the storyline would get its very own show. It would be cool to explore a Skrull invasion from the point-of-view of a Skrull, who lived alongside humans. Talos being torn between his own alien race and his friends could make for a great story.

Source: NME, Illuminerdi, MovieWeb

August 18, 2020
Solving Everything: A Possible Timeline for ‘BLADE’ and ‘FANTASTIC FOUR’

Connecting Imaginary Dots are pieces we write here that allow us to be what we all truly are: fans. These should not be taken as scoops, exclusives or facts; just speculation about the things for which we all share a great passion.

With the news that Disney has created production companies for what may be two upcoming Marvel Studios projects (Fantastic Four and Blade), there’s plenty of room for speculation. Should Solve Everything Productions and Grass-Fed Productions turn out to be those projects, questions will surface/ Why are these being filed now when there’s such a back log of projects? When will we be seeing them begin production? When might we expect them in theaters (I know that’s a loaded question in the midst of a pandemic)? Who might the studio have found to create the projects? Unlike Reed, I can’t answer all of these questions: the cost is just too high, but we can look into some of them and maybe, by piecing together what’s out there, we can come up with a starting point.

For me the most most answerable of all the unanswerable questions is: why are these being filed now? At the moment, Marvel Studios seems to have a massive traffic jam on the production highway. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki and Shang-Chi were all in production when the world came crashing to a stop in March. If not for that, we’d probably be watching The Falcon and The Winter Solider now, but the domino effect of not only the Marvel Studios projects being halted but also other studio projects that featured actors from various Marvel Studios projects meant that other projects which were scheduled to begin never got up and running. Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness would probably be done filming by now, Spidey 3 would have started up last month, Thor: Love and Thunder would be getting ready to go in Australia right now and Ms. Marvel may have even begun. But, as we all know, none of that happened so here we are with a ton of projects off schedule, Ant-Man 3 having been bumped out of its original slot on the schedule and the uncertainty of the pandemic still causing chaos, so the question of “why now?” is incredibly relevant.

While there’s no hard and fast rule here, there is a pattern worth noting that might get us to an answer to that pressing question. Over the past couple of years, Marvel Studios seems to register these production companies when they have given the green light to projects and have a tentative timeline for start of production. While there are certainly exceptions to the rule (for example, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stands out because it’s timeline shifted, which shifted Black Widow’s timeline), it seems that Marvel Studios usually creates these production companies about 12-18 months before the EXPECTED start of production. If they follow that pattern here, that means they’d be looking to film these two projects between August 2021 and February 2022.

Continuing down the line of established patterns, whenever possible Marvel Studios also likes to start production on their films about 12-15 months ahead of when the films are expected in theaters. So a film that goes into production in the August-October 2021 window would be ready for theaters around October 2022…and it just so happens that Disney still has a date reserved (October 7, 2022) on their slate for an Untitled Marvel Studios film, a date that would be just right for a vampire film. A film that goes into production around January of 2022 would be ready for theaters around February 2023…and it just so happens that Disney has a date reserved (February 17, 2023) on their slate for an Untitled Marvel Studios film. We all believe that Ant-Man 3 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are destined for that 2023 slate, but given Guardians A-list status and Ant-Man 3’s rumored big happenings, it’s possible that the studio would prefer them as traditional May and July tentpole releases, leaving room in February for something like the family friendly Fantastic Four. Of course all of this is contingent on studios showing they can keep a production going, the current state of the upcoming slate staying stable and is all based on wild speculation to begin with, but the pieces do fall into place if you let them.

The final and most tantalizing tidbit comes when we try to answer the question of whether or not Kevin Feige and his core group have identified creative teams for these projects. Past precedent suggests that, whenever possible, the studio likes to bring a writer on board about 2 years before they expect the project to hit theaters and pair that writer with a director as soon as possible. You can safely bet that they’ve been searching for those teams for Blade and Fantastic Four for some time now and given all the down time creators had, it’s no stretch to imagine they found their teams. If we buy that, we can come to a pretty exciting conjecture: Marvel Studios is getting ready to announce these teams or they will shortly be leaked through the trades. In the past, Disney has registered their companies shortly before either making public announcements or trade leaks. Simply put, Disney knows these are going to be found so they’ve always been smart about WHEN they create the entities. Fans have been clamoring for Marvel Studios news and I’m sure that they’ve noticed the hype around FanDome but here’s the thing as explained to me by one of my trusted sources: should Marvel Studios want to do their own pre-recorded online fan event, they don’t need to jump through very many hoops. They’ve got their own streaming service and could drop a pre-recorded “con-like event” on Disney + whenever they want. They could go as far as to not even hype or advertise the event and, within 10 minutes, it would be trending on every social media platform across the world.

Again, none of this is confirmed to be true and all starts from a foundation that’s based on guesses to begin with, but this is what being a fan is all about and that’s, first and foremost, what we are here at Murphy’s Multiverse: fans.

August 17, 2020
Not So Fast My Friend: Spider-Man May Not Be Homesick After All

Yesterday we ran a piece where we pointed out that both Maxim and Esquire were referring to the upcoming and officially untitled Spider-Man sequel as Spider-Man: Homesick. In that piece, we also mentioned that some crew in Atlanta were referring to it as such though we also shared that it wasn’t the ONLY title we heard it was going by. Now, the crew at The Direct have helped shine a little light on the matter.

The site reports that they reached out to Maxim about their use of the Homesick subtitle and their writer confirmed to them that they were going off of speculation and rumors when writing the article. So it looks like, as was mentioned yesterday, this could potentially be the result of an echo chamber of bad info. The good news here is that if it isn’t Homesick, we can all hope for a better title!

Source: The Direct

August 12, 2020
Wunmi Mosaku, the Time Variance Authority and ‘LOKI’

If you’ve never read an installment of Connecting Imaginary Dots, allow me to explain the idea. Connecting Imaginary Dots was the title I came up with for my speculation pieces when I was writing at MCU Exchange. These types of pieces basically allow me to unload a bunch of junk that’s circulating in my brain in a way that should never be confused for things I actually expect to happen. I basically take a bunch of facts that are almost always entirely unrelated and do my best to connect the dots with by stretching my imagination. In the past these types of pieces have resulted in me theorizing that the Spider-Man sequel which became Far From Home might end up being a team-up outing of Spidey and Hulk in the Savage Land; however, I also wrote one theorizing that Sterling K. Brown would be playing the father of Erik Killmonger in Black Panther LOOOOOONG before anyone else was considering it and one in which I theorized that Annette Bening was actually Mar-Vell when everyone else still thought Jude Law was playing the character. The bottom line is this: these are fun spec pieces that allow me to just be a fan. With that out of the way…

We are already aware that the Disney Plus Marvel Studios streaming series Loki will introduce the Time Variance Authority (TVA) to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Through set photos published by Just Jared back in March, we know that actress Wunmi Mosaku will be working with the TVA in some capacity. Additionally, according to IMDB (and yes I am well aware that it cannot always be counted on for legitimate information), a stunt woman worked 3 episodes as a stunt double for a character called simply “B15.” Taken independently, these are some interesting tidbits but that’s not what we do here and that’s not why these features are called “Connecting Imaginary Dots”, so here it goes…

After waking from a fever dream the other night, I decided that the dots here lead to the conclusion that Wunmi Mosaku will be playing a TVA Chronomonitor (though I’m not sure they’ll be using that title in Loki) labeled B15. For those rightly asking “What in theeeee hell is a Chronomonitor?”, here’s what you need to know. The massive halls of the TVA headquarters (The Halls of Chronometry) are filled with employees known as Chronomonitors, beings who are responsible for monitoring divergent timelines. In the comics, Chronomonitors are created on every occasion where a timeline “bifurcates” and it becomes their duty to monitor said timeline. These monitors even have the power/authority/responsibility to further split their timeline should events take place that they deem important enough to create another divergent timeline; of course such an act would also create an opening for another Chronomonitor, so you can imagine there are quite a lot of them…and there are, as you can see in the pictures below. When Chronomonitors locate disruptive entities within their timelines, they alert the Minutemen (the TVA’s time cops) to clean up the mess. We know the Minutemen are appearing in Loki so having the Chronomonitors makes sense as well (it’s also entirely possible that Marvel Studios has combined the two types of characters in an effort to simplify what might be a confusing plot device in the first place). Given the size of the role (at least 3 episodes), I’d say this particular Chronomonitor is pretty important. My guess here is that Mosaku’s Chronomonitor has been tasked with monitoring the bifurcation that occurred when Hulk smashed Tony’s face after descending the stairs, allowing the Tesseract to end up in Loki’s possession.

Chronomonitors are not named, but given a “letter-number” label, so B15 is right in line with how one might refer to them in the comics or in the Loki series. Now in all honesty, there’s not anywhere near enough evidence here to truly make claim that Mosaku is playing B15 and it’s unclear if any other Chronomonitors will be playing a role as large as Mosaku’s. That begs the question just how many Chronomonitors are we going to see in Loki which would be a direct result of just how much mischief the Prince of Lies can cause. We’ll find out when Loki hits Disney Plus in 2021!

August 12, 2020
Spidey 3 Allegedly Titled ‘SPIDER-MAN: HOMESICK’

In what’s probably a case of something being too good to be true, it seems that everyone in the entertainment industry other than me already knows the title to the third installment of Marvel Studios and Sony’s Spider-Man franchise. And the kicker is they’re casually flaunting it and nobody’s noticing! If the internet and some rumblings on the ground are to be believed, we’ll all be watching Spider-Man: Homesick in theaters next December.

UPDATE: According to a report from The Direct, Maxim magazine, one of the sites referring to the film as Homesick, based their decision on rumors and speculation, shining doubt on the legitimacy of the title.

This is not a confirmation on my part but simply me sharing evidence that’s out there. Whether or not this is the official title or not remains to be seen. Take a look at what’s out there already:

Both Esquire and Maxim have, for quite some time now, listed Spider-Man: Homesick on their websites’ respective upcoming superhero films pages.

If this isn’t the title, it wouldn’t be the first time a mistake like this has happened (Jude Law was playing Mar-Vell and the Controller was going to be the villain in Guardians of the Galaxy, after all) and it wouldn’t be a big deal. On the other hand, it also wouldn’t be the first time the title to an upcoming Marvel Studios film casually leaked. You might remember that we all found out about the last Avengers film’s Endgame subtitle when the composer leaked it on his resume. So it really could go either way, which is why we asked around a little bit to see what we could find out.

While we certainly can’t get confirmation from the studio, we did some digging around. As we reported the other day, set construction and prep work for the film has already begun in Atlanta where it is also being referred to as Homesick. Is that what it’s being called because, other than me, everyone has read Esquire and Maxim or is that what it’s called because that’s what it’s called? Your call but that’s not the only name we’ve heard and

Spider-Man: Homesick (?) should swing into theaters December 17th, 2021.

August 11, 2020
Report: ‘MS. MARVEL’ Looking to Cast Some Key Roles

A new report from the Illuminerdi indicates that Ms. Marvel, one of several planned streaming series in the works from Marvel Studios over at Disney Plus, is on the lookout for a couple of key characters from Kamala Khan’s inner circle. Unsurprisingly, it looks like the series will feature Kamala’s brother, Amir, and one of her best friends, Nakia.

According to the report, Marvel Studios trusted casting director, Sarah Finn, is looking to cast a Pakistani male, mid-to-late 20s, to play a “wiser older brother” and an actress, 16-20, of Turkish, Moroccan or Arab descent as a “woke, popular and smart” student activist. Fans of the comics will recognize those character as Amir and Nakia, two characters central to Kamala’s journey in the comics.

As it stands, Ms. Marvel is reportedly looking to begin production this November and wrap next March, making it possible we could see it sometime in the Fall of 2021!

August 10, 2020