Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel TV

  • Marvel Studios Provides Release Dates for Season 2 of ‘Loki’, ‘Echo’

    Marvel Studios Provides Release Dates for Season 2 of ‘Loki’, ‘Echo’

    2023 will be nearly half over before Marvel Studios first streaming series of the year, Secret Invasion, will hit Disney Plus. However, it looks as though the last quarter of 2023 will have plenty of Marvel Studios entertainment.

    Loki will begin streaming on October 6 and will be almost immediately followed by Echo. In an unprecedented move, Marvel Studios will drop all episodes of Echo on November 29th. It’s expected that the second season of Loki will consist of 6 episodes and while Disney has not officially revealed it, rumors have swirled for months that Echo will consist of five episodes.

    The move also puts Marvel Studios’ new releases back on Fridays, where they first began, after moving to Wednesdays for some time. Should Marvel Studios only release one episode of Loki per week, that puts the final episode out the same day as the planned release of The Marvels. The studio has yet to release an episode of a streaming series on the same day as a film, though they’ve released episodes of their series on the Wednesday before an opening weekend so it’ll be worth following along to see what strategy Disney decides to follow.

  • ‘Secret Invasion’ Will Show a New, More Human Side of Nick Fury

    ‘Secret Invasion’ Will Show a New, More Human Side of Nick Fury

    Nick Fury has always been the MCU’s man with the plan. Always several steps ahead of the guy who thinks he’s the smartest guy in the room, Samuel L. Jackson‘s old spy has seen it and done it all. By the time the Chitauri invaded Earth in 2012’s The Avengers, ol’ Nick was already a seasoned veteran of alien affairs, having dealt with the Kree-Skrull War in the 1990s-set Captain Marvel. Next up for Fury is an alien invasion of a different kind in the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Secret Invasion and it’s set to show MCU audiences a whole new side of Fury.

    Secret Invasion will see Fury faced with his inability to keep a promise he made to the group of Skrull refugees he set out to help find a new home world nearly 30 years prior. As series co-star Emilia Clarke said, Fury “promised a lot of stuff a long time ago, and not a lot has happened. So understandably, a certain amount of resentment has been built.” According to Jackson, that Fury is not the same man featured in Secret Invasion. “Here you have a guy who’s showing his face, and showing his age,” said Jackson in a new interview with Empire, adding “It’s an opportunity to humanize someone that everybody thinks is superhuman.“

    In Marvel Studios’ new series “Secret Invasion,” set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.

    Official synopsis of Marvel Studios Secret Invasion

    As opposed to the comic book event from which it takes its name, Marvel Studios Secret Invasion is anything but a superhero cameo fest. That’s by design, according to executive producer Jonathan Schwartz, who wanted to take the focus off the MCU’s godlike icons and place it on the shoulders of its mere mortals. “One of the things we really wanted to bring to this show that makes it a little bit unique in the Marvel universe is vulnerability,” explained Schwartz and that means putting characters like Fury, Maria Hill, Everett Ross and newcomer Olivia Colman‘s Sonya Falsworth at the center of the show’s action. “Nick Fury is just a human, Maria Hill is just a human. A single bullet could take them out. That’s something we don’t always get in the MCU. To bring that level of tension, fear and vulnerability into one of our shows was really exciting,” said Schwartz.

    And so when audiences reconnect with Fury at the beginning of the series, gone is the eye patch and trenchcoat so long associated with the character. “All those things are part of a Nick Fury that’s invulnerable,” Jackson explained and Secret Invasion is more about peeling back the layers of who Fury is…and who he has been behind all the secrets. “It’s great to have an opportunity to find out who he was and delve into how much of a toll his job actually takes on his personal life,” said Jackson adding that the new spin on the character has given him a renewed interest in continuing to portray the character, “I love playing him, and I love the fact that they’re opening him up to all these other possibilities and this whole life that he has.” With Secret Invasion hitting Disney Plus in just over a month, audiences will get to find out just what that life has been and what the cost of it might be.

    Sources: Empire, Vanity Fair

  • First Look at Michael Gandolfini from the Set of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    First Look at Michael Gandolfini from the Set of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    Despite a significant drop off in the volume of set photos showing up online, Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Daredevil: Born Again is still filming in and around New York City. While the ongoing WGA strike may eventually shut production down, the series has continued with its business and last week one of the series’ stars was spotted for the first time.

    New York Newswire Director of Photography Steve Sands snapped several shots of Daredevil newcomer Michael Gandolfini in action on the set of Born Again.

    No official word has come from Marvel Studios on who Gandolfini will be playing in the series, rumors have swirled that he’ll be portraying a younger version of Wilson Fisk during flashback sequences. The set photos certainly give away anything that seems to confirm nor deny that rumor.

    As of now, Daredevil: Born Again is expected to stream on Disney Plus sometime in 2024.

  • Joe Locke’s ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ Role Revealed Disappointing Dozens

    Joe Locke’s ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ Role Revealed Disappointing Dozens

    Ever since he was cast in Marvel Studios WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Coven of Chaos, Joe Locke has been at the center of one of the greatest controversies of our time. Would Locke’s character, described as “a gay teen with a dark sense of humor” and “a fanboy”, be an immensely popular character from the Marvel Comics who fits the description perfectly and, like Agatha, is connected to the events of WandaVision or would he be a character that dozens of fans of Wikipedia skimming recently discovered?

    Despite it making much more sense for Locke to be playing Billy Kaplan, the former of the two characters, more than one insider and plenty of fans were sure he was playing the latter: Nicholas Scratch. The mystery was deepened even further recently when actress Patti LuPone, who admittedly has no clue what the MCU is all about much less too much about the comics on which it’s based, said Locke was playing a “familiar” in Coven of Chaos. LuPone’s words threw fans into a tizzy but fortunately, it seems everyone can relax as Locke’s body double has revealed the Heartstopper star’s role.

    The Scarlet With Update Twitter account uncovered stunt actor Jamie Sears‘ resume which lists Locke’s character as Billy.

    The news comes as a major shot to the gut to the legions of Nicholas Scratch fans out there. If Locke truly is playing Billy Kaplan, it may mean that all of Nicholas Scratch’s great comic book arcs may never be realized in the MCU. Fortunately, with or without Scratch, there’s still plenty of room for Salem’s Seven to appear on Coven of Chaos when it hits Disney Plus next year.

    What’s your favorite Nicholas Scratch story? Let us know in the comments.

    Source: Twitter

  • Disney and Victoria Alonso Settled Over Recent Firing

    Disney and Victoria Alonso Settled Over Recent Firing

    Marvel Studios is going through quite a bit of change. Not only did it have to work its way through the pandemic and Bob Chapek’s leadership, but it also was suddenly seeing a familiar face at the top once more with Bob Iger. The company is undergoing some harsh firing waves and many were shocked when long-time VFX chief Victoria Alonso was fired from her position. While the Internet obsessed with the topic believed this would start a new era for VFX works, many different allegations have come forth on the topic.

    Some stated Alonso was a kingmaker that kind of destroyed their relationship with VFX agencies, while others claimed she played a big role in keeping projects together. Nothing concrete ever came out of it but the firing certainly lead to some wild accusations of “consequences” by Alonso’s lawyers. Multiple statements have been shared on why she was fired, which included her work on a project and seemingly neglecting responsibilities; a report that has never been confirmed.

    Now, it seems that Disney and Alonso have settled with a multi-million compensation over her firing. It was seemingly reached just recently after many discussions surrounding her 17-year tenure at Marvel Studios and work in Argentina, 1985. We’ll likely never find out what exactly the threatening “consequences” are for Disney and Marvel Studios, but perhaps it’s only a matter of time before a report pops up with a claim about what it might be. For now, it seems that there won’t be further discussions or public announcements of Disney moving forward until the next major figure is fired.

    Source: Deadline

  • Marvel Snipers Be Damned: Patti Lupone Reveals the Identity of Her ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ Character

    Marvel Snipers Be Damned: Patti Lupone Reveals the Identity of Her ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ Character

    To hear the stars of Marvel Studios film and streaming projects tell it, somewhere out there exists an omnipresent Nick Fury Man on the Wall-esque character out there ready to silence them the moment they dare even consider sharing information about their projects. If he is real, Patti Lupone is not afraid of him. Lupone is starring in the upcoming Marvel Studios streaming series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, a project about which very little information has been made publicly available by the studio. During a visit to The View, Lupone changed all that pretty quickly.

    While discussing the project, Lupone revealed the identity of her character, one of a coven of witches who team with series lead Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha against some less than good witches. “Well it’s a coven of witches, and I play Lilia Calderu, who apparently is in the Marvel world,” said Lupone. “And I researched her, she’s hot! She’s really hot! She is! She’s got a great body, raven hair.” Calderu, The Witch-Queen of the Gypsies, is hardly a household name but is indeed ripped right from the pages of the Marvel Comics. Fortunately for Lupone, her research on the character was pretty easy as Calderu made one brief appearance in the comics before dying. While that might mean Lupone’s character’s time in the MCU will be short-lived, it also provides the opportunity for Marvel Studios to give the character a brand new story without being held to any standard from the comics.

    Lupone didn’t stop there as she went on to detail just who else was part of Agatha’s coven of witches and what role Joe Locke will play in that coven. “We are a coven of witches, and the witches are Kathryn Hahn, Aubrey Plaza, and the familiar — if anybody knows ‘Heartstopper’ — is Joe Locke,” explained Lupone. “And Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, and myself. And I play Lilia Calderu, a 450-year-old Sicilian witch, whose power is divination, and whose trial is tarot.” It is widely believed (ok, it’s known) that Locke is playing Billy Kaplan, aka the Young Avenger known as Wiccan, in the series so it’s interesting to see that he’s referred to as the coven’s “familiar” here. That means Billy will begin the series as nothing more than a companion to the witches before likely beginning to discover his true nature which, in the comics, is fairly convoluted.

    Lupone’s willingness to share details about the project probably came as quite a shock to Marvel Studios; however, given the lack of positive buzz around the studio at the moment, they’ll hopefully be a bit forgiving with the actress. Agatha: Coven of Chaos is expected to stream on Disney Plus sometime in 2024.

    Source: The Wrap

  • Rumor: ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ to Decanonize ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’

    Rumor: ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’ to Decanonize ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’

    Over the course of seven seasons of the ABC melodrama, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the events of the show seemingly became more and more detached from the goings on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Indeed, the majority of the events of the show’s final season were revealed to have taken place in an alternate timeline complete with its own unique history. Even before the show ended in 2020, the canonicity of it was a matter of debate and Marvel Studios has added fuel to that fire more than once in the last couple of years. Now, a new rumor suggests they may be preparing to do it again.

    Production on the WandaVision spinoff, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, has been ongoing for a few months now and while not much in the way of spoilers has made its way off the Atlanta set, something incredibly interesting–and in line with the decanonization of AoS–just did. According to insider Daniel RPK, the Kathryn Hahn-centric streaming series will delve a little further into Agatha’s personal past and explore her history with one of the MCU’s most dangerous objects: the Darkhold.

    The Darkhold played an important role in both WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before being destroyed by Wanda so while it may not play a role in the future of the MCU, Agatha: Coven of Chaos is rumored to include a revelation about the book’s past that will open a Pandora’s Box. According to RPK, Agatha: Coven of Chaos will make clear that Agatha Harkness has been in possession of the Darkhold for hundreds of years. Fans of both Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Runaways will most certainly understand how impactful that rumored revelation will be to the canonicity of those shows.

    Fans haven’t learned anything from WandaVision so while there’s certain to be any number of wild theories generated to work around what Agatha’s centuries-long possession of the book means, if this rumor is true it would effectively (once again) call into question the canonicity of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Darkhold played an integral part in Season 4 of the ABC series but if Agatha has kept the book with her for over one hundred years, Lucy and Joseph Bauer didn’t find it in a basement and Robbie Reyes didn’t take it to Hell with him because…you know…Agatha had it.

    In cases like this, Occam’s Razor works best and the simplest explanation makes the most sense: the Darkhold in Agatha’s possession in WandaVision isn’t the same as the one from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. because the two shows don’t take place in the same timeline. Fans can still enjoy all seven seasons of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but the evidence continues to mount that the entire series should not be considered MCU canon though an argument could be made that some early seasons were. Marvel Studios already went well out of their way to completely redesign the book for WandaVision, so this rumor shouldn’t ultimately be too shocking; however, we’ll have to wait to see Agatha: Coven of Chaos to get the full context and history of the Darkhold before knowing for sure what Marvel Studios intentions are.

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Photos Show a Stylish Matt Murdock, Reveal New Addition to the Cast

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Photos Show a Stylish Matt Murdock, Reveal New Addition to the Cast

    Production on Daredevil: Born Again continues in and around New York City which provides ample opportunity for passersby to snap shots of the action. The latest round of photos show Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock about town and having a conversation with an actor whose involvement in the series was previously unknown.

    • I’m walkin’ here!

    From the set photos, it appears that actor Harris Yulin (Ozark, Ghostbusters II) has joined the cast of the streaming series. Disney has yet to comment on Yulin’s involvement in the project and his role is unknown.

    Daredevil: Born Again will continue production for the majority of the rest of 2023 and is expected to hit Disney Plus in 2024.

  • Marvel Studios Rolls Out Paranoia Propaganda Warning of a ‘Secret Invasion’

    Marvel Studios Rolls Out Paranoia Propaganda Warning of a ‘Secret Invasion’

    Marvel Studios first streaming project of 2023, Secret Invasion, will see Samuel L. Jackson‘s Nick Fury racing against the clock against an enemy who could be anyone at any time. Adapted from the 2008 comic book event of the same name, Marvel Studios version will feature less super hero splash and more spy games while still asking the same question Brian Michael Bendis posed in the comics:Who Do You Trust?

    With Secret Invasion now set for a June 21st streaming debut, marketing got the series is unser and some great new promotional material has made its way online through a couple of Twitter accounts. The first group of material seems to indicate that at some point during th series, the general public will become aware of the Skrull invasion. Given it’s been reported that Christopher McDonald will portray a Tucker Carlson-esque talking head in the series, these seem like the type of paranoia propaganda he might use to spread an agenda of fear and distrust. “They can be anybody” can cause a helluva movement.

    The next set of promo art, featuring Jackson’s Fury, Don Cheadle‘s James Rhodes, Martin Freeman‘s Everett Ross, Olivia Colman‘s Sonya Falsworth and Emilia Clarke‘s Skrull spy, G’iah, uses that classic comic event tagline, “Who Do You Trust?” to target the audience as the show approaches. It’s likely that even in the trailers Marvel Studios has already begun misleading the audience into deciding who is who and on which side. Expect plenty of surprises to be in store as the show progresses.

    Sources: MCU Facility, Nacao Marvel

  • First ‘Wonder Man’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Ben Kingsley’s MCU Return

    First ‘Wonder Man’ Set Photos Offer First Look at Ben Kingsley’s MCU Return

    It’s strange to think that Wonder Man has seemingly started production but Marvel has yet to give it an announcement or tease officially. We’ve heard it from various official outlets but Marvel is surprisingly silent about this new series that likely introduce a major player with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams. Plus, it’s a series set in Hollywood, which makes it potentially the most meta entry in the franchise.

    Marvel may not be saying anything just yet, but luckily some set photos give us a glimpse at the show in a familiar face. We first heard that Ben Kingsley would return as Trevor Slattery back in August. So, it’s crazy to see him back on set in the role rocking a rather familiar hairstyle. We last saw him in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which followed up on the short All Hail the King.

    We still know very little about what the series will be about or how it’ll explore Wonder Man’s story from Hollywood star to unlikely superhero. There’s also the question of how Slattery ends up back in Hollywood, but perhaps the actor being abducted from prison after being arrested for portraying a terrorist would get any producer’s attention. So, perhaps he is there to pitch his life story as a film to one of Hollywood’s biggest actors, who is hiding his true abilities.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct