Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel TV

  • Marvel Studios ‘What If’ Cast List Confirms Clark Gregg’s Return as Agent Coulson

    Marvel Studios ‘What If’ Cast List Confirms Clark Gregg’s Return as Agent Coulson

    Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series will explore the alternative realities of stories we’ve followed throughout the last few years. We’ve learned that quite a few iconic actors will reprise their iconic roles from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Surprisingly, there are some receptions as Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Black Widow, and Captain Marvel will get new voice actors as confirmed in the latest trailer. Yet, there are some great minor characters finally making their return to the franchise, such as the official cast list confirming Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson returning to the franchise. Here’s the complete cast list for the series as provided by Comic Book:

    Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Benicio Del Toro, Bradley Whitford, Carrie Coon, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Sullivan, Clancy Brown, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Danai Gurira, David Dastmalchian, Djimon Hounsou, Dominic Cooper, Don Cheadle, Emily VanCamp, Evangeline Lilly, Frank Grillo, Georges St-Pierre, Hayley Atwell, Jaimie Alexander, Jeff Goldblum, Jeremy Renner, John Kani, Jon Favreau, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Kat Dennings, Kurt Russell, Leslie Bibb, Mark Ruffalo, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Douglas, Michael Rooker, Natalie Portman, Neal McDonough, Ophelia Lovibond, Paul Bettany, Paul Rudd, Rachel House, Rachel McAdams, Samuel L. Jackson, Sean Gunn, Sebastian Stan, Seth Green, Stanley Tucci, Taika Waititi, Tilda Swinton, Toby Jones, Tom Hiddleston, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

    It’s crazy to think how many actors returned to lend their voices to the animated series. Yet, some major actors did not return. If they continue the series with multiple seasons, it’ll be curious to see if they can keep this sizeable voice cast. Gregg’s return is a great one, as it also adds to the show, potentially connecting the franchise with the events of Agents of SHIELD, whose canonicity is always an open question. He’ll likely appear in the episode that is based on Fury’s Big Week, the first adaptation of the prelude comic.

    Source: Comic Book, Variety

  • ‘Hawkeye’: First Look at Disney+ Series Released as Marvel Studios’ Confirms November Premiere

    ‘Hawkeye’: First Look at Disney+ Series Released as Marvel Studios’ Confirms November Premiere

    Marvel’s mighty marketing machine is finally revving up its engines for Hawkeye. Entertainment Weekly has released the first official image of Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner as Kate Bishop and Clint Barton in the upcoming Disney Plus series. The image doesn’t reveal much in the way of the plot for the Disney+ show, but it does give us a look at what appears to be some sort of Hawkeye hideout or training ground.

    Clint Barton is wearing the same outfit that Murphy’s Multiverse exclusively captured in the series’ first leaked set video, which would indicate the room is located in New York City and belongs to Bishop herself. The tweet by Marvel Studios with the image also confirms a November release date on the 24th.

    Marvel’s Hawkeye is set to draw heavily from Matt Fraction’s iconic 2012 run on the character. Not only will we see Barton form a mentorship with Bishop, but villains like Fra Fee’s Clown and the rumored Madame Masque will help bring the series to life as well. Other cast members confirmed to appear are Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, Tony Dalton as the Swordsman, Vera Farmiga as Bishop’s mother, and Alaqua Cox as the deaf assassin Echo.

    Also, soon-to-be-superstar Jolt will appear as the fan-favorite Lucky the Pizza Dog. The series will be helmed by Rhys Thomas and the directing duo of Bert & Bertie. The script comes from Jonathan Igla, filling the controversial “head writer” position Marvel has embraces as opposed to the traditional showrunner.

    Source: Twitter

     

  • Seth Green Teases Howard the Duck’s Role in Marvel Studios’ ‘What If’ Disney+ Series

    Seth Green Teases Howard the Duck’s Role in Marvel Studios’ ‘What If’ Disney+ Series

    It seems Howard the Duck may have more than a bit role in Marvel’s What If…?, according to actor Seth Green. The Hollywood Reporter recently published a retrospective on 1986’s Howard the Duck film, in honor of the cult classic’s 35th anniversary. The piece includes numerous interviews, including one from Green, who has been portraying Howard in the MCU since 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Among his comments on the character were interesting tidbits on his future in the Marvel wheelhouse, and a confirmation in which episode we can expect him:

    […] it resulted in a scene between T’Challa and Howard.

    Fans discovered Howard would be involved in the show via a surprise appearance in its first full-length trailer. Green’s comment seems to confirm he will appear in an episode featuring Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa replacing Peter Quill as Star-Lord and reveals he will play a big enough role to include a speaking part. The famed comedian also shared how he chose to portray the character, with a manner more in line with his comic history:

    He’s a punk rock noir detective, at least that’s the way I play it.

    Howard was written as a private eye in Chip Zdarsky’s 2015 run on the character, and it appears that former Howard the Duck actress Lea Thompson found inspiration from the same comics when developing her ideas for a potential MCU reboot. Thompson has been vocal about wanting to direct a modern remake of Howard, and some of her comments on the topic, from the same retrospective, do hint at a future for everyone’s favorite space Duck in the MCU:

    Marvel liked the pitch, but they have different plans for the different characters.

     Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Kevin Smith Talks Scrapped ‘Howard the Duck’ Plans and Hints at Werewolf By Night’s Marvel Studios Future

    Kevin Smith Talks Scrapped ‘Howard the Duck’ Plans and Hints at Werewolf By Night’s Marvel Studios Future

    Way back in early 2019, Hulu announced it would be producing an animated Howard the Duck series from famously nerdy filmmaker Kevin Smith. The project was ultimately scrapped, with very little information revealed before its downfall. Luckily for us, Smith finally opened up about the unmade show on the latest episode of his podcast, Fatman Beyond. In a quick rant, he revealed what the basic plot of the series would have been:

    The idea of our story was that Howard was trapped here and he was trying to get pages of the Darkhold, which would allow him to go back.

    The Darkhold, for those that don’t remember, is the same evil book of magic that was featured in the fourth season of Agents of SHIELD and the end of WandaVision. It seems much of the planned adult comedy would have been rooted in mysticism, as Smith also specified he wanted to use an obscure horror character that Marvel Studios already had plans for:

    I reached out to Walter Flanagan from Comic Book Men and told him I’m gonna take a stab at all the f–king 70s characters. Walt was giving suggestions and Werewolf By Night was absolutely on the list…then I go into Jeph [Loeb] and told him what I wanted to do, and that’s when they said ‘You can’t use Werewolf by Night,’ and I asked why. They said the movie division was using him.

    Essentially Marvel’s version of the Wolfman, Werewolf By Night has been rumored to have a role in Moon Knight for some time. After all, the two characters possess a long history as both friends and enemies. Marvel Studios hasn’t confirmed a Werewolf appearance just yet, but Smith’s comments should give fans of the character hope.

    Source: Fatman Beyond via Comic Book

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Director Kate Herron Explains Marvel’s Interconnected Multiverse

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Director Kate Herron Explains Marvel’s Interconnected Multiverse

    The final episode of Loki introduced the world to the multiverse. A single decision unleashed a new Multiversal War and opened up new paths for the once Marvel Cinematic Universe. What If and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will be our first visits int the multiverse, but we don’t know quite yet how it works. Luckily, our own Charles Murphy got a chance to sit down with director Kate Herron. She offered some insight into how the Sacred Timeline expanded.

    So, there’s the branches, right, which is like the alternative reality. But then something, you’ll see it, it’s very subtle but in the very last shot where you see the multiverse, there’s like basically other bigger physical timeline branches. So, it’s almost like these different separate trees that are now connecting.

    The visual of the Sacred timeline branching off was quite a memorable moment for those wanting to explore the infinite possibilities o the multiverse. The latest What If the trailer teased a crossover of these different Variants in the form of the Guardians of the Multiverse. Luckily, Herron elaborated that there will indeed be some points where these timelines interconnect.

    It’s almost like a bridge. If you imagine the branch, it is like another reality. But if the branch extends beyond a certain point, it will then connect to other physical timelines. […] That last shot we did, there are other like thicker [branches] that are meant to be like our timeline. And there are other timelines like that and the branches are the connectors basically.

    It’ll be interesting to see if Doctor Strange will be able to clean up the multiverse in the upcoming sequel, or simply witness the results of timelines colliding. We know that Kang is the cause of the Multiversal War. It might end up becoming the final connection point between them. It still seems very likely Secret Wars in our future and we cannot wait to see how the second season of Loki further explores the multiverse.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Director Kate Herron Hopes ‘Loki’ Season 2 Explores Hunter B-15’s Backstory

    EXCLUSIVE: Director Kate Herron Hopes ‘Loki’ Season 2 Explores Hunter B-15’s Backstory

    The season finale of the Disney+ series Loki left quite the impression on fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As it answered many of the questions we had since the show premiered, the finale left us with quite a few cliffhangers. We are left wondering where Judge Renslayer was heading and why the Time Variance Authority can’t remember Loki. Sylvie was last seen in the citadel at the end of time, as Kang’s image replaces the Time-Keepers. In an interview with the show’s director Kate Herron, our very own Charles Murphy asked her about the various cliffhangers, and she even proposed an additional one: What is B-15’s secret past?

    I have no idea. I don’t know the future plans but the other thing I will say to just kind of add on to your cliffhanger pile: “Who is B-15?” I loved that scene when her and Slyvie see her memories but we don’t know who she is and why was she happy? I don’t know, I feel like there’s a lot of unresolved questions in the first season, but as to when they’ll be answered, I don’t know.

     

     

    The focus on Wunmi Mosaku‘s B-15 is quite interesting. It shows that her backstory could hide some interesting secrets than we previously anticipated. In the scene that Herron specifies from the fourth episode, we see Hunter B-15 going to the year 2050 with Sylvie. There she confronts her what exactly she did to her coworker and fellow TVA hunter, C-20. Sylvie then proceeded to unlock Hunter B-15’s memories from before she became a Variant. Now, we are left to wonder what exactly those memories were. There’s also the question of what her Nexus Event was that brought her to the TVA in the first place. Hopefully, by the time we enter Loki‘s second season, we’ll get an answer to all of these questions even though Kate Herron isn’t returning to direct.

  • ‘Loki’: The Mystery Behind the Unused King Loki Scenes

    ‘Loki’: The Mystery Behind the Unused King Loki Scenes

    There have been many mysteries surrounding Loki. The show built up the big question of who is the man behind the curtain. We all wanted to know who was the puppet master of the Time Variance Authority. Trailer after trailer teased whoever it could be. There were countless teases, and even the trailers put many on the path of the mastermind being a king version of Loki.

    Well, it turns out that brief tease had nothing to do with the actual finale. It was a big question mark for many viewers, and it turns out it originally was part of the first episode all along. Chris Hemsworth even recorded the grunts of that brief cameo. Composer Natalie Holt offered some insight into why the scene didn’t make it into the first season in an interview with The Direct.

    That was a moment in Episode 1. When Mobius is showing [Loki] his life, there were more moments in there. I think they just kind of cut it down to kind of give it a bit more focus. But there were a few extra moments in there, and that Frog of Thunder moment was one of them. I had actually written, I had done something with choir for it like it was this big, grand moment where Loki takes over the crown in Asgard, and then you see Thor as a frog

    Interestingly enough, a week ago, we already heard that the first episode planned a fight sequence between Loki and Throg. It’s our first confirmation that this ties together with the King Loki sequences we’ve seen scattered throughout the trailers. It’s a great move to avoid this sequence, as it would’ve taken away from his cameo in the fifth episode. We also got a lot of comedic moments in the opening and adding more could’ve taken away from the dramatic core of Loki’s acceptance.

    There’s always a chance they might revisit this concept in the future, especially now that Loki will have a second season. Still, it was clever to use this unused footage in the trailers to keep people guessing until the end. Even if it didn’t serve the series directly, it was a clever idea by Marvel Studios’ marketing team.

    Source: The Direct

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Costume Designer Christine Wada Talks Variant Costumes and Richard E. Grant’s Reaction To the Classic Costume

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Loki’ Costume Designer Christine Wada Talks Variant Costumes and Richard E. Grant’s Reaction To the Classic Costume

    Loki has sparked many a discussion among fans not only about the intricacies and implications of the multiverse but also about the amazing costumes the characters wear on an episodic basis. Expect Loki characters to be the most cosplayed bunch in the coming years because the show is a haven for great costume design. And it wouldn’t be possible without people like Christine Wada, who brought the costumes conceptualized by Marvel’s visual development team to life in the Disney+ series.

     

    Loki Review - A Meta-Meditation on What It Is to Be a Comic Book Villain

     

    The latest episode titled Journey Into Mystery offered audiences a trove of treasures in the form of Loki variants, who ended up pruned into the Void. Each one had its own unique look that told a distinct story. Wada revealed the discussions they had in conceptualizing each Loki’s look.

    The conversation was all about digging through history for the times a Loki might’ve been caught and making sure their outfits would indicate a specific moment in time when they are caught and then adding a scavenged element to it. It was fun to do as it opened the world up to much possibility.

    She also revealed that the iconic Mad Max franchise played a role in how they approached the designs.

    There’s definitely a hint of Mad Max with a little more humor. I don’t know if the audience really got to see it but Loki in the comics is commonly referred as a wolf and there was a wolf reference in one of the costumes too. Kate and I have a problem with fur and using a wolf head freaked us out so one of the Lokis is instead wearing one of those ironic wolf shirts from the 90s.

    Sophia Di Martino made the news this past week when she revealed a unique costume feature Wada designed specifically for the British star. She had just given birth at the time of their filming. So, her costume allowed her to pump breastmilk with ease for her infant. Naturally, the costume sparked a discussion regarding Hollywood’s common lack of on-set support for talent and crew members who have the same needs as Di Martino. Wada had this to say on the issue:

    I can’t speak for other productions because I don’t know how they do it. I do know that my take on it has always been that an actor’s comfort should always be part of the conversation. Your job as a costume designer is not only to create a great look but to give a performer tools to work on their highest level. To me, I see it as being part of the actors’ success. You want people to be successful in what they do. We should all be considering that. You want the costume to facilitate and not hinder. 

     

    Loki' Episode 4 Spoilers: Sophia Di Martino Gives Sylvie Preview | TVLine

     

    A big talking point among fans in the last episode was how incredible Richard E. Grant was as Classic Loki. Grant wowed audiences with that awe-inspiring fight against Alioth and how he pretty much rocked the goofy, Silver Age Loki costume. Being one of the thousands of fans who adored him in this show, I naturally had to ask Wada what it was like making that suit for the acclaimed actor.

    It was always, ‘How can we make him look like the 1960s Loki as much as possible?’ I hope he doesn’t get mad at me for this but [when he wore it for the first time] he definitely was sad he didn’t get to wear a muscle suit [laughs]. Those were all Richard E. Grant’s fantastic muscles. But really, who needs to add anything to Richard E. Grant? All you need is that face and incredible talent and you’re pretty much done. 

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Had No Idea She Was Auditioning for ‘Loki’s Miss Minutes

    EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Had No Idea She Was Auditioning for ‘Loki’s Miss Minutes

    With Loki set to wrap its first season up later this week, fans are eager to uncover the secrets of the Time Variance Authority. We were just as confused as Loki on what was going on when he got dragged into the organization’s offices for the first time. Luckily, Miss Minutes, who is a living animated clock just bursting with southern charm, explained their origin.

    Minutes is voiced by none other than the famous voice actress Tara Strong. She is no stranger to superhero stories, as she worked on Teen Titans, Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, and famously voices Harley Quinn in many different shows. In a recent interview with our very own Charles Murphy, Strong revealed just how different the audition process behind this project was compared to others.

    You know initially in the audition, when I get an audition it’ll have a drawing of the character, a character description, a show bible with what this world was all about, and I didn’t get any of that for Miss Minutes. In fact, I called my agent to learn more about her, because everything I get feeds into how I go into creating an audition and I auditioned first in my home studio and they couldn’t get anymore information. I didn’t even know what show I was auditioning for.

    With so much mystery surrounding this process, she mentioned how she navigated her way through this process and how Miss Minutes was created. It seems she and director Kate Herron built upon her initial pitch without knowing fully what character she is going to play.

    So, I’ll take between ten minutes or three hours ’till I get it exactly how I want it and they said to try one with an accent. So, I did this sort of Southern Belle and they really liked that and then it wasn’t ’till I booked it that I knew what it was and then working on the Zoom with Kate and them playing me which audition they really liked and we worked on that collabratively to get it exactly where Miss Minutes is now.

    Strong‘s charming take on the character sure won fans over as she quickly became loved by fans of the show. We’ll see if we get more of Miss Minutes in the upcoming finale, but with her origin still remaining a mystery, there’s still a lot we can learn about the character.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Talks Miss Minutes Mysterious Origins And ‘Loki’ Fan Theories

    EXCLUSIVE: Tara Strong Talks Miss Minutes Mysterious Origins And ‘Loki’ Fan Theories

    Loki has taken Marvel fans by storm as each episode slowly unraveled the sinister secrets behind the TVA. We are so close to the finale, and everyone is still wondering who is the mysterious mastermind behind the organization and the robotic Time-Keepers. There have been countless fan theories on the true identity of the man in the castle. The list includes a Loki Variant, Kang the Conqueror, and even the adorable Miss Minutes.

    Luckily, our very own Charles Murphy got the chance to sit down with Miss Minutes herself, Tara Strong. She didn’t give away what we can expect in the next episode, but she gave a cheeky in-character answer when asked. She did share her love for the various fan theories that Miss Minutes is the evil mastermind behind the series. 

    I love, you know, connecting with the fans and seeing what they’re doing on social media. I’ve loved all the art that’s been made. It’s been incredible. And I love all their theories, I can’t comment if things are right or not, but it’s been fun to see people so invested in the show.

    She also talks about the challenge of playing Miss Minutes, who is an original creation for the show. Strong didn’t have a chance to research the character’s backstory and implied she still doesn’t know her origin. It’s a curious reveal if you consider her origin should tie directly into the TVA. Perhaps it is something they are keeping open to explore in the future if it doesn’t get answered in the upcoming finale. Whatever happens, Minutes will certainly stick with audiences and she hopefully has a long history ahead of her in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.