Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel Studios

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 8, Shadowcat

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 8, Shadowcat

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts or, in this case.

    The Kitten

    Another victim of Fox’s focus on cool displays of powers rather than proper characterization, Kitty Pryde was reduced to meme status after being Juggernaut bitched in X-Men: The Last Stand. The character returned in 2014 for a role in X-Men: Days of Future Past where she got to touch Logan’s temples for a while and then became a teacher in the new timeline established at the end of the film. In essentially every way possible, Fox wasted a top-tier X-Men character who was portrayed by an incredibly talented actor. Outside of correctly using her phasing ability, Fox seemed to have absolutely no understanding of Kitty nor how important of a character she could be. That’s something that Kevin Feige will almost certainly remedy when he brings his version of the X-Men to the MCU.

    A bit of a child prodigy, Kitty showed genius-level aptitude in computer science and attended a prestigious engineering school as a child. She joined Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and became a member of the X-Men when she was just 13 or 14 years old. Kitty is just about the perfect poster child for Wolverine’s side of the debate with Cyclops over using teens as “soldiers” in Xavier’s crusade. Over the years, Kitty has grown close with Storm, Wolverine and Colossus, with whom she’s had an on-again-off-again romantic relationship. Kitty has arguably had one of the most chaotic and interesting lives of any X-Man and has battled demons, vampires, aliens and all other sorts of baddies and has always emerged from her battles as a central figure to the success of the team.

    What Fox failed to understand about Kitty Pryde is that despite being introduced in the comics as a teenager, she’s no sidekick. In fact, used appropriately, Kitty is probably the perfect point-of-view character to launch the MCU’s look at the inner workings of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. That’s not to say that the other characters aren’t incredibly important, only that Marvel Studios could take the unique approach of giving the audience Kitty’s perspective of entering the madness of the mutant world. Though Fox’s X-Men were always in danger, the question of whether they should have been was never fully explored in the Singer or Kinberg films. The Fox films never explored the true nature of Charles Xavier (as detailed here), something that could be done wonderfully by changing the lens through which he’s viewed. Marvel Studios has many characters from which to choose as they think about which character they want to be the eyes through which they meet the larger world of the X-Men, but there’s no better choice than Kitty Pryde. Shadowcat should be right out front as mutants step into the spotlight in the MCU.

  • ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ Concept Art Offers Great Look at Jonathan Majors’ Kang

    ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ Concept Art Offers Great Look at Jonathan Majors’ Kang

    A new trailer for Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania will be coming our way soon, but from what fans have seen of the film so far, Marvel Studios is really leaning into comic booky looks for the villains. M.O.D.O.K. hasn’t been fully revealed yet, but nobody would mistake his look as having come from a “grounded” universe. More importantly, Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror looks to have been ripped straight from the pages of Marvel Comics. The purple and green scheme and the blue mask seem to capture the otherworldliness of the character that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had in mind back in 1964 when he appeared in Avengers #8.

    As fans wait for the first truly great look at a fully geared up version of Kang, a new piece of concept art will give them something to tide them over.

    While Marvel Studios may miss the boat from time to time with the characterization of some of the characters they adapt for the MCU, their track record on character designs is much stronger. This look for Kang is another example of making minor and necessary modifications to the comic book look while capturing the essence of that look.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters in just 48 days!

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 7, Krakoa

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 7, Krakoa

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts or, in this case, an X-Men fixture that Fox left on the bench.

    The Island That Walks Like a Man

    If you’ve been reading along throughout the 12 Days of X-Mas, you may have noticed that many of the characters from the first six days have something in common: they all first appeared in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1. Nightcrawler, Storm and Colossus were among the group of mutants Charles Xavier sent as an extraction team when two previous teams of X-Men disappeared on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The events of Giant-Size X-Men #1, which introduced the sentient, mutant island of Krakoa, were monumental in 1975, set in motion the events of Chris Claremont‘s iconic run on Uncanny X-Men and led to the modern era’s greatest X-Men stories in Jonathan Hickman‘s House of X/Powers of X run. Any self-respecting live-action adaptation of the X-Men must include a proper representation of Krakoa.

    Hickman has displayed a penchant for devising clever retcons in his time at Marvel Comics, providing rich new history for characters as important as Apocalypse and Reed Richards…and he did it again with Krakoa. At NYCC ’22, Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski made mentioned an interesting bit of symbiosis happening at Marvel now that Kevin Feige has truly become the One Above All. According to Cebulski, the comic branch tries to stay “about 10 years ahead” (which seems to really mean 7-12 years ahead) of Marvel Studios and that timeline puts Hickman’s Krakoa retcon on track to be fair game for the studio right around 2026 which, coincidentally, is probably when the Marvel Studios mutant takeover will begin.

    Fox really teed up Marvel Studios when they failed to use Krakoa in their X-films. Certainly, nobody could have predicted Maestro Hickman’s genius being turned loose and retconning Krakoa into one half of the ancient island, Okkara, that once was home to Apocalypse and his family before being torn asunder and separated as the other half, Arakko, was sealed away in another dimension. Whether the Marvel Studios Parliament chooses to introduce Krakoa as it was in 1975 and then develop the backstory or jump right into the new history of Krakoa as relayed in 2019, the reality is they have a can’t-miss character with a rich and fascinating history that truly relays the weirdness that is and has always been the X-Men. Of course, by bringing The Living Island into modern day, Marvel Studios gets the added benefit of easily working in one of the coolest and most underappreciated X-Men: Doug Ramsey, aka Cypher. Thanks to Fox and much like Ryan Day, Marvel Studios finds themselves on third base without having to have legged out the triple.

  • ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Director Denies Any Interference by Disney or Marvel Studios

    ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Director Denies Any Interference by Disney or Marvel Studios

    There has been an ever-growing distrust of studios and their handling of projects. While history does show there will always be moments when they have a hand in the trajectory of a project, it’s not always something that is done purely to worsen a project. There are moments when creatives simply have different creative visions, that drift apart like with the original Ant-Man and Doctor Strange sequel scenarios with Marvel Studios, but it’s not always the case.

    Director James Gunn is currently working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for Marvel Studios before heading over to his new job as the co-CEO of DC Studios. Everyone involved has been very open about this new future venture, and Gunn is always very open to just how things happen behind the scenes. With a certain group of people online having general distrust towards Disney, Gunn instantly denied any distrust brewing on Disney or Marvel Studios influencing his current work, or even any from the past.

    There’s always been a soft spot between online fans and Disney. Not that it is entirely unfounded, but Marvel Studios generally is a very different beast and most of its influences stretch from how the greater narrative of the Marvel Cinematic Universe stretches between projects. It’s a studio model they are open about, and Scott Derrickson left Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on good terms.

    The only real fallout so far was with Edgar Wright‘s Ant-Man, which mainly results from how far the MCU came along since the original project was pitched. Wright’s original vision dates before the first Iron Man dropped and it seems that adding a few scenes into the story went against his vision, leading to the fallout. Yet, Wright has also openly stated recently that they long buried the hatchet and it’s not uncommon that projects simply don’t come together.

    Warner Bros. has a far bigger history with its involvement on projects leading to some questionable results, such as the entire Justice League debacle. We still see the results of that today. Gunn goes on to highlight that interferences are commonly when uncertainty arises for producers, especially once a film or series has already been filmed and is being edited. Sometimes we barely even know if there was an issue, to begin with, outside of random rumors that come from third-hand sources. In the digital age, chaos simply creates a very different atmosphere and that is why there’s more distrust than ever before.

    Source: Twitter

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 6, Colossus

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 6, Colossus

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts.

    The Russkie

    Piotr Rasputin was given a pretty fair shake in Deadpool and was characterized pretty much in line with who he’s been in the comics since first appearing in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men #1. However, much like his buddy Nightcrawler, Piotr’s best work comes as part of a team, something which he wasn’t able to be in Deadpool and was certainly robbed of in the nearly criminal portrayal of him in the X-Men films. A metal man with a soft heart, Petey may be more defined by his relationships with others than any other member of the team. Time and time again, Colossus has proven his willingness to sacrifice himself for those closest to him, including his sister, Ilyana, his friends Nightcrawler and Storm, his fastball special buddy, Wolverine, and the love of his life, Kitty Pryde.

    Colossus was central to many of the X-Men’s major adventures in the pages of Uncanny X-Men over the years and again in the early 2000s in the pages of Astonishing X-Men. Astonishingly enough, not only did Fox fail to utilize Colussus to his full capacity, they also didn’t adapt any of the wonderful stories to which he was so vital. From the rescue mission on Krakoa, to the major conflict with the Shi’ar, to his “adventures” in the Savage Land, to the horrors of Inferno and the sacrifice of his own life to help cure the Legacy Virus, Marvel Studios will have its pick of great stories involving Colossus thanks to Fox’s desire to make Wolverine and the X-Men films.

    Marvel Studios should have no problem providing a prominent role for Piotr in their X-plans. A proper presentation of Колосс may not require a story spread out over several solo projects, like Storm, for example, it’s essential that any stories being told involving Colossus touch on a few key things. Peter’s place as a mountain of a man who would rather not stand out in a crowd has always been an interesting part of his group dynamic. His bashfulness in the comics has always played such an integral role not only in his reluctance as a leader but also in the development of his romantic relationship with Kitty Pryde. His fearlessness in the face of danger, especially where his sister, the X-Man known as Magik, is concerned has often found him on the frontline where even his strength and stamina are stretched to their limits. Finally, the conflict that often brews within him as he balances his desire to live a peaceful life with the rage he feels when he sees wrong being done in the world. His inner conflict and sense of duty have pulled him in many directions over the years and are among the reasons he and Kitty drift apart and find each other again. It won’t take much planning for the creatives at Marvel Studios to find their way to a much more complete portrayal of the X-Men’s Chrome Dome should they choose to bring him into the MCU.

  • Conflicting Information Casts Uncertainty on Marvel Studios 2023 Streaming Slate

    Conflicting Information Casts Uncertainty on Marvel Studios 2023 Streaming Slate

    Following Kevin Feige‘s big summer blowout at SDCC ’22, Marvel Studios’ 2023 streaming slate seemed incredibly ambitious and full. Secret Invasion, Season 2 of Loki, Echo, Ironheart and Agatha: Coven of Chaos were set to be spread out from Spring to Winter, making 2023 Disney +’s most Marvel-ous year to date. No official updates to the streaming slate were given at D23, but as the year has progressed, the possibility that the slate might shift has begun to become realistic. Rumors that Echo might be delayed seemed to be confirmed by showrunner Marion Dayre and that show’s connection to Daredevil: Born Again may lead to other shows being bumped around. In the past, it was Disney’s practice to send out a preview of the upcoming year’s slate to members of the media who would be covering their projects, but given the ongoing impact of COVID on those projects, it’s become difficult for the company to make long-term plans. In the absence of that, fans are left to take what they can find online and right now, that means conflicting information even from official sources.

    As 2022 comes to an end and fans are hungry for information about what Marvel Studios projects they’ll be able to catch at home in 2023, it appears that the studio itself isn’t sure. Conflicting reports today from various official branches of Marvel have called into question what exactly the plan might be. First, Marvel’s UK and Ireland account released a small teaser that indicates all five streaming series originally planned for 2023 are still on the docket!

    https://twitter.com/MarvelUK/status/1608764836191649792?s=20&t=eLJ7qnoJoXXOroDL7Fw-CQ

    However, a trip over to Disney + Japan shows that only Secret Invasion, Loki and Ironheart are expected to be released in 2023. So which source is to be believed? It’s impossible to say at this point. Marvel Studios official Twitter account has not shared the Marvel UK & Ireland tweet and the Disney website still lists all five projects as 2023 releases and does not seem to have been updated recently. Fans may remember as similar situation arising in 2020 as Marvel Studios seemed to be intent on releasing WandaVision before the end of the year, but did not have it ready to stream until 2021. Unfortunately, with no official release from Disney available, it seems like the studio’s lack of information is working against itself for the time being.

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Won’t Be a Direct Adaptation of the Dark Frank Miller Arc

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Won’t Be a Direct Adaptation of the Dark Frank Miller Arc

    As Marvel Studios moves into Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the most anticipated projects comes in the form of Daredevil: Born Again. The Disney+ series will see the return of Charlie Cox into the titular role following his stint as the character on Netflix. While the title of Born Again can lead to the conclusion that the series will be based on the dark and brooding comic series of the same name, Cox has seemingly confirmed that the new series will be taking different inspiration.

    I don’t think anyone should read into the name as to the kind of stories that we’re going to tell.

    Charlie Cox

    Instead of being an adaptation of the specific comic series, the new show’s title appears to be more of an emblematic use of a new era away from Marvel Television’s Netflix regime. The concept of not basing the new series around the seminal Frank Miller comic run is intriguing in the sense that it could lead to a fresh take on Daredevil that isn’t intrinsically tied to darker themes. His guest appearance on She-Hulk: Attorney at Law proved that Cox has the range to portray Matthew Murdock in the more vibrant atmosphere of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Meanwhile, Cox continued to provide elaboration on if the version of Daredevil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is that of the Netflix series (which has dubious ties to the former’s canon). While the actor himself isn’t 100% on its status, he’s set on playing Matthew Murdock as if it’s the same.

    I don’t think it’s a different character. I just think it’s maybe a different period of his life. I don’t think my interpretation will change — they hired the same actor.

    Charlie Cox

    The 18-episode first season of Daredevil: Born Again is currently scheduled to release in the Spring of 2024 on Disney+.

    Source: inews 

  • Marvel Studios Developing a Pair of Follow-ups to ‘Werewolf By Night’ (Rumor)

    Marvel Studios Developing a Pair of Follow-ups to ‘Werewolf By Night’ (Rumor)

    Marvel Studios has had to learn and adjust on the fly over the past two years as they’ve rolled out streaming content onto Disney Plus. The first batch of streaming series was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the second wave of series was, according to social media, too long and too short all at once. Part of the adjustment to that criticism was the evolution of Special Presentations, two of which debuted to leave reviews late this year and, it seems, Marvel Studios is going with the old axiom of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” when it comes to those.

    A new rumor from insider Daniel RPK indicates that after the howling success of their first Special Presentation, Werewolf By Night, Marvel Studios has two more Halloween-themed specials in the works. There’s no word on what characters or teams might be the focus of these two follow-ups but there’s also no shortage of intriguing possibilities.

    One Above All Kevin Feige has been keen on bringing Marvel’s Spirit of Vengeance, Ghost Rider, to the MCU and a Johnny Blaze Special Presentation might help the head honcho speed up his rumored goal of getting Danny Ketch into the fray sooner rather than later. Another possibility could simply be a direct sequel to Werewolf By Night that follows up the continuing adventures of Jack Russell, Ted/Man-Thing and Elsa. Of course, outside of these two possibilities, there exists any number of new characters that the studio may wish to introduce ahead of a potential Midnight Sons team-up that Moon Knight star Oscar Isaac is championing or the must-see-TV that would be a Legion of Monsters series.

    This is certainly one of the most reasonable and realistic rumors we’ve heard this week and while it’s hard to pin down who to expect, it seems a safe bet that a Werewolf By Night follow-up or two is on the way.

  • 12 Days of X-Mas: Day 5, Storm

    12 Days of X-Mas: Day 5, Storm

    The X-Men are coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios has no small task ahead of them in making sure that the iconic team can lead the franchise in Phase 7 and beyond. Marvel Studios is also sure to make every effort to separate their adaptation of the team(s) from what came before. To celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas, we’ve decided to put together a list of which characters might play a key role and how Marvel Studios can ensure nobody will confuse them with their Fox counterparts.

    The Goddess

    Fox’s mishandling of Ororo Munroe stands as one of the most egregious mistakes of the X-Men trilogy…and the second X-Men trilogy. In what seems to be a common theme, the Fox X-films chose to focus on the enormity of Storm’s Omega-level powers over delivering an appropriate characterization. The results: some flashy VFX, a line of dialogue that’s on the top of everyone’s “Worst Lines Ever Spoken in a Superhero Film” list and two very forgettable adaptations of one of the X-Men’s greatest leaders. The good news moving forward is those mistakes are simple to remedy.

    Marvel Studios’ record of comic-accurate characterization isn’t bulletproof, but it isn’t anywhere near as assailable as Fox’s. MCU Steve Rogers is comic book Steve Rogers. MCU Tony Stark is, in all honesty, a more interesting version of comic book Tony Stark but still comic book Tony Stark. Like these two men, Ororo Munroe has the comic book cachet to lead an entire trilogy of solo films, should Marvel Studios be so inclined. And much like the two mentioned above, Storm could and should find herself in an ideological disagreement with another one of the X-Men’s greatest leaders: Cyclops.

    Marvel Studios has time but they don’t have all the time in the world to tell all the great X-Men stories. One that seems right in line with what the studio has done in the past is an adaptation of the Schism arc. While that arc was about an ideological disagreement between Cyclops and Wolverine, Marvel Studios doesn’t adapt one-to-one, instead choosing some snazzy titles and making movies that have something in common with the comics but are also different enough to avoid comic readers being bored. Since the hope is that Marvel Studios does not turn their version of the mutants into Wolverine and the X-Men, a Cyclops vs. Storm schism would be something to see.

    Ororo has evolved into an incredibly strong leader in the comics, one not even the gruff soldier Wolverine balks at taking orders from. Allowing Storm to grow into the role of leader over time and then challenging Cyke when he goes off the rails would both be in line with the comics and make for an MCU event film in line with Captain America: Civil War. Whatever the case, Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios Parliament have a tall order before them to give Ororo the respect she deserves while hopefully making fans forget about the less-than-stellar big screen iterations of the past.

  • Definitive Guide to the MCU Timeline to Be Released in 2023

    Definitive Guide to the MCU Timeline to Be Released in 2023

    Hardcore fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe rejoice…or get ready to be disappointed that all your hard work doesn’t match up with the Marvel Studios-endorsed official timeline of the MCU! Vanity Fair senior Hollywood correspondent Anthony Breznican, author Amy Ratcliffe and journalist Rebecca Theodore-Vachon collaborated WITH Marvel Studios to put together Marvel Studios The Marvel Cinematic Universe An Official Timeline, set to be released by Penguin Random House in September 2023.

    The book, described as “the definitive, filmmaker-endorsed guide to the lore, timelines, and characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe“, is sure to cause quite a buzz. Given the vast, interconnected nature of the MCU, a true chronological order of the events within it has become tougher and tougher to track. Fortunately, the new book sounds like it’s not messing around, presenting a history of the MCU that dates all the way back to its in-universe origins!

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is vast, incredibly varied, and richly complex. Different worlds, different timelines, countless characters. This is the guide to that universe. Created in close collaboration with Marvel Studios, it will answer the biggest questions: what happened, when, where, and why. 

    Follow the entire story of the MCU from before the Big Bang to the Blip and beyond. Along the way, learn more about the evolution of the Iron Man armors, the hunt for the Infinity Stones, and the formation of the Multiverse. Want to know how many times aliens have invaded Earth, or the complete history of Cap’s shield? Look no further!

    A treasured keepsake for any movie buff, filled with exclusive infographics, illuminating timelines, and amazing movie stills, this book will have pride of place on any MCU fan’s shelf.

    The 320-page book, which will retail for $50 and will be available at Target, Walmart, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and more, and sounds like something Kang the Conqueror would have on his own bookshelf.

    Source: Penguin Random House