Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Campaign Replay Confirmed for March Hawkeye Update

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Campaign Replay Confirmed for March Hawkeye Update

    We’ve been keeping a close eye on Marvel’s Avengers‘ next major update, which will finally allow us to play as the iconic archer. Lately, some hints have started pointing to the update potentially including more than what we initially expected. Suddenly, Intel leaked a video early on the addition of customizable HARM rooms. Crystal Dynamics also unveiled that they are holding additional streams showcasing the game’s original storyline. The theory paid off, as they announced that the Hawkeye update will include a long-requested function. It looks like we’ll finally be able to replay the campaign.

     

     

    It’s been a highly requested feature, as the REassemble campaign was one of the highlights of the game. We finally get to revisit Kamala’s story, as she witnesses her heroes fall during A-Day before becoming an essential member of the team. It also makes sense to add this function alongside the next-generation upgrade. We’ll get to revisit the storyline with updated graphics and a much smoother framerate. @PlayAvenger was able to grab the video of how we can restart the campaign:

     

    https://twitter.com/PlayAvenger/status/1369364739281854469?s=20

     

    If you take a closer look, they also updated the overall UX. The storylines seem to be numbered now, so it is easier to know where you start. You can easily access any of the campaigns and restart them from the operations menu. They also published a new blog post that confirms every operation can be replayed, which is great news as one issue I had was that I couldn’t revisit parts of the story even if the missions were available. I am looking forward to trying out the replay, as I’ve wanted to revisit it for some time again, especially now as the game starts to expand with future DLC characters. I cannot wait to check out the new HARM rooms as well, which offer some replayability by testing out my heroes in creative ways.

    Source: Twitter (Update Overview), Twitter (Campaign), Play Avengers

  • Disney+ Passes 100 Million Subscribers Worldwide

    Disney+ Passes 100 Million Subscribers Worldwide

    Disney has always been a powerhouse in the entertainment market. It seemed like they were unstoppable. So, many were curious how well they would perform once they enter the streaming market with Disney+. With a nice boost through the release of Soul, they already reached a subscription number of 94.9 million by January. That was before WandaVision was even released on the streaming platform. Now, it seems that within the last month they finally managed to surpass the 100 million thresholds. In the latest shareholder meeting, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announce the milestone with the following words:

    The enormous success of Disney Plus has inspired us to be even more ambitious, and to significantly increase our investment in the development of high-quality content. In fact, we set a target of 100-plus new titles per year, and this includes Disney Animation, Disney Live Action, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic. Our direct-to-consumer business is the Company’s top priority, and our robust pipeline of content will continue to fuel its growth.

    Even in these uncertain times, the rapid growth of their streaming service has been able to keep their stock price soaring. The recent launch of India’s STAR platform has also added a lot of content that would draw in a new audience. Disney+’s biggest restriction was focusing purely on family-content, so this new direction will help it grow in Canada, European, and Asian markets. In the United States, Hulu remains bundled with the streaming service.

    Speaking of, it will be embedded with ESPN Plus, so you can access different services through one app. There is a good chance the same might happen for Disney+ as well with Hulu as the main hub. It is an amazing landmark for the young streaming service, and it will be interesting to see how it will further develop in the coming years.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Talks Doctor Strange’s Absence

    ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Talks Doctor Strange’s Absence

    WandaVision built up a mystery that could crumble the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s reality as we know it. As Wanda transformed a small suburban town in New Jersey into a real-life sitcom, we all wondered if this might attract the attention of another sorcerer. The introduction of the witch Agatha Harkness and the Darkhold would certainly be on the radar for the Sorcerer Supreme.

    Sadly, he did not end up making an appearance to confront Wanda on her actions. Well, in an interview with Deadline, the Disney+ series executive producer Jac Schaeffer was asked that question and her answer seems to imply that he was certainly included at one point:

    I heart Doctor Strange just like anybody. Yeah, it’s one of those things, that’s how the chips fell, that’s how the cookie crumbled, is what I will say, but I look forward to seeing him on screen with Wanda in Doctor Strange 2.

    As we learned from director Matt Shakman, their production was affected by the pandemic. Storylines they filmed didn’t make it into the official release, especially as the finale was only finished shortly before it aired on the streaming channel. Shaeffer tries to avoid the question, but she does hint that he was in the cards at some point. It could also have been affected by how much they could include in the finale while working through the crunch. Still, even if he didn’t make an appearance in WandaVision, we know it sets up her story for when she joins Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’ll be interesting to see how these stories interconnect when the film premieres March 23rd, 2022.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Reveals Why There Was No Secret Villain in the Finale

    ‘WandaVision’ EP Jac Schaeffer Reveals Why There Was No Secret Villain in the Finale

    Sadly, WandaVision has come to an end last week. It gave us a story about personal trauma and overcoming the hardships of our past. Of course, when a superhero is involved it gets a bit messier than just a few therapy sessions. She ended up revisiting her past to face the events that shaped her and unconsciously rewrote an entire town’s reality and turned it into a living sitcom world. She also ran into the witch Agatha Harkness, who revealed her destiny.

     

    Who Is Agatha Harkness in WandaVision? Agnes Revealed as Westview Marvel Villain

     

    Throughout the show’s run, many of us believed that there was another mastermind pulling the strings behind the scenes. Yet, as we found out, it was Wanda that affected this town. In an interview with Deadline, executive producer Jac Schaeffer revealed that this was always part of the plan when asked why Mephisto didn’t make an appearance:

    We didn’t think this series needed a big bad. I mean, the big bad is grief, you know, and that’s the story that we were telling. and then we got a bonus baddie in the form of Agatha Harkness who ended up facilitating Wanda’s therapy, so yeah, I think we feel preggy good about that.

    It was a great choice to avoid this trope of some evil manipulating the events from the shadows. This way, we got to take a closer look at Wanda and she had to face the consequences of her own actions. They highlighted this aspect in the season finale when she got confronted by the townsfolk. At the same time, Mephisto was heavily involved in the comics with the creation of Wanda’s children, so it is certainly a departure.

    Source: Deadline

  • International Women’s Day: Women on the Rise

    International Women’s Day: Women on the Rise

    It’s International Women’s Day! There aren’t really any special events in the comic book movie world planned to commemorate it a la Captain Marvel’s release two years ago, but that’s okay. A lot has happened to further women in the genre between then and now, and that gives us plenty to reflect on and celebrate today.

    I can’t help but be a bit sad taking a look back, though. Last year was supposed to be the biggest year for women in CBM’s yet, but that – like practically everything else in the world – didn’t end up panning out the way it was supposed to. DC and Marvel each had two films set for 2020, all four with women in the starring role and, possibly even more importantly, directed by women. Of all the MCU and DCEU movies before this, only Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel had been directed by women, and the latter also had a male director working alongside the female one. Yes, there were a few other female-led superhero movies before this, but none from the two main “universes” that are known and loved today. There were many awesome women in both DCEU and MCU movies – I particularly liked that Black Panther had so many different women in it because it allowed each of them to be more than “the token girl” who rolls her eyes when the men get silly and fun – but they didn’t get to lead their own franchises until those films came out.

    On top of this, Marvel revealed at the beginning of the year they were going to release the Disney+ series WandaVision in the same year. It really seemed as though by the end of 2020, women taking the lead on superhero projects on and offscreen would no longer be a novelty, but rather the norm.

    Of course, we all know how that panned out. Due to the pandemic, there was no major MCU release in 2020, as WandaVision was delayed into January 2021. DC’s two female-helmed projects were released, but neither ended up making huge waves. Birds of Prey was admittedly pretty niche from the get-go, but Wonder Woman 1984 would have probably done quite well financially if things had been normal) and the conversation surrounding both circled right back to whether or not women should helm superhero projects.

    That being said, I do think the discussion in this area is improving. I saw little to none of this kind of debate with WandaVision, which, while directed by a man, had a female lead and head writer (with several other women on the writing team). There was and is discourse surrounding the show, but it’s about the content and themes of the project rather than the fact that women played key leadership roles in making it happen.

    Speaking of WandaVision, that show also brought us the origin story of a new female superhero, when Monica Rambeau became…well, we don’t know her official superhero name yet (she’s had several in the comics, and the frontrunners for which one will be used in the MCU seem to be Spectrum and Photon )but she gained some cool new powers and also used her human abilities to help Wanda face her grief. I can’t wait to see her shine some more in Captain Marvel 2.

    I also appreciate that superhero media seems to be moving away from the “men direct male-led movies, women direct female-led ones” mentality. I know some believe projects with female leads should only be directed by women, but I’m okay if not all of them are as long as there are women at or near the top of the decision-making pecking order as well (for example, the aforementioned Matt Shakman-directed, Jac Shaeffer-penned WandaVision).
    And I’m all for women-directed male-led projects as well. In fact, you know the next Marvel project, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? The one that a lot of guys are saying is more “for them” than WandaVision because it looks fast-paced and action-heavy? Well, it’s being directed by none other than Kari Skogland, a woman who has helmed a bunch of other TV projects and spoken out about the importance of opportunities for up-and-coming female directors.

    Here’s to the further normalization of women in the comic book movie world. They’re not going anywhere, and neither is this woman who writes about them.

  • New ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Character Posters Show Off The Series Big Guns

    New ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ Character Posters Show Off The Series Big Guns

     

    With Marvel Studios first Disney Plus streaming series, WandaVision, now in the rearview mirror, the studio has turned its attention to promoting its next big event: The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Set to debut March 19th, the series will explore the legacy of Captain America in a post-Blip world. Marvel has kicked off what we can expect to be a busy couple of weeks of promo and press by releasing new character posters for the series leads.

    These characters also happen to be the same ones each getting an episode of Marvel Studios recap series, Legends. While the marketing for the series has understandably revolved around the title characters, we still know little about what exactly Zemo is up to here and even less yet about Sharon Carter’s role. Interesting is the absence of two other characters who will play a major role in the series: John Walker and Karli Morgenthau, aka Flag-Smasher. Perhaps we’ll see more of them over the next couple of weeks leading up to the debut.

    The Falcon and The Winter Soldier debuts on Disney Plus on March 19th!

     

  • ‘WandaVision’: Matt Shakman Opens Up About How the Pandemic Changed the Finale

    ‘WandaVision’: Matt Shakman Opens Up About How the Pandemic Changed the Finale

    It’s crazy to think that WandaVision has officially come to an end. After its nine-episode run on Disney+, we are anxiously awaiting the next entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Yet, we still are looking back at the ending of the first entry in Marvel Studios’ venture into long-form storytelling. The series nailed its main focus by exploring Wanda’s grief, but there have been some dangling plot threads that still remain in our minds. In an interview on Kevin Smith‘s Fatman Beyond podcast, they had an interview with direct Matt Shakman, who offered a bit of insight into how they were affected by the pandemic.

    The studio was originally planning on releasing the first three episodes simultaneously, which makes sense with the narrative arc they set-up. However, they only finished the finale around two weeks before its official release, which means they had faced a lot of crunch time. If they went with their original plan, they would’ve had to delay the finale.

     

    https://static2.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/wandavision-3.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&h=370

     

    It also seems that the engineer’s tease was 100% intended, but was getting worried when people suddenly expected Reed Richard to show up. A lot was left on the cutting room floor, so it may have originally had a bigger pay-off. They also confess that a lot of CGI edits were a bit awkward, as pointed out by Smith, as they had to finalize those post-lockdown. Monica was even originally going to have a bigger role in the finale, such as her, the kids, Ralph, and Darcy trying to steal the Darkhold from the basement. There we would find out that the bunny Scratchy was a demon. It was all filmed but they couldn’t finish the VFX for it.

    There might be a lot more that got cut down. It is a shame to see their original vision get affected strongly by the ongoing pandemic. If they had the chance, I would hope they could add the missing sequences later in, as we saw with a correction in an episode of The Mandalorian. It explains why Darcy only had one line in the finale even though she was a major supporting character throughout the show.

     

    If you are interested in listening to the interview, you can check it out below:

    Source: YouTube

  • ‘WandaVision’: Mission Accomplished

    ‘WandaVision’: Mission Accomplished

    Marvel Studios’ first foray into television with WandaVision had very high expectations. You can make the argument that the show exceeded those expectations during the first eight episodes. We hadn’t gotten any content from the MCU due to the pandemic so we have literally been hanging on every scene and moment in this show. Heading into the finale we all had a bunch of questions. Some were answered, and some weren’t, but the show accomplished its most important goal: Wanda Maximoff became the Scarlet Witch, and she’s not to be trifled with.

    As with anything these days, we overanalyze down to the minute details. All the devil references, the appearance of Evan Peters, and a mention of an aerospace engineer gave us something to think about every week. We obsessed over glances, lines, and so much more. While we did all of that there was something missing in that analysis. It was the entertainment that we were getting. WandaVision was operating at an extremely high level in giving us storytelling that MCU/comic book critics longed for. They made characters that aren’t as well known to the casual fan matter in a way that had to be rewarding for the people involved. For the diehards it was a chance to see Wanda as we’ve always wanted to see her; one of the most powerful beings in comic book lore.

    WandaVision Finale Recap, Episode 9: 'The Series Finale'

    The finale of the show wasn’t perfect, nor did it need to be. It’s not HaywardVision, MonicaVision, DarcyVision, or JimmyVision. It’s WandaVision. In professional wrestling terms, this show was designed to “put Wanda over.” They succeeded in that with her gaining a definitive victory over Agatha Harkness. Maybe there should’ve been a Dr. Strange cameo. Perhaps the Visions could’ve fought more physically instead of talking about the ship of Theseus. Would you have liked to see Jimmy Woo not escape so easily? Did you want Ralph to be more than what he was? Sure, all of those things could’ve happened. Then what? There would be a complaint about Darcy getting very little screen time or White Vision fleeing the coup so quickly. You can always find something wrong if you really look.

    Seeing Wanda as The Scarlet Witch is a moment in MCU history we’re never going to forget. After not understanding what was happening in the first three episodes, the show then took us on an incredible emotional journey. Even if it was for a short time, we got to see Wanda and Vision as a family and that was cool. Billy and Tommy may be gone now but based on the post credits scene we probably haven’t seen the last of them. We got to sit with Wanda and her grief, and all of the complications that come with that. Did you want Wanda to pay for her actions in some type of way like getting arrested? A reality-bending witch? Right. She’s paying for her actions having to live with loss, hurt, and ultimately being alone once more.

    WandaVision finale recap: MCU TV show serves a roller-coaster of an episode | Entertainment News,The Indian Express

    You can say that a character like Monica Rambeau got shafted in the finale with a brief appearance. We can also say that Teyonah Parris became a star here, and Monica got the introduction she deserved. She was already a hero before she got thrown through the Hex a few times. Her story is just beginning. The courageous moments she was given in this show are a perfect springboard for her in the future. The chemistry between Monica, Darcy, and Jimmy Woo made the middle episodes so delightful. There can always be more payoff, and there can always be more story for these characters to be apart of down the line.

    We also cannot talk about the critiques of this show without discussing the Quicksliver stuff. Kevin Feige said we were years off from getting X-Men related content. This is the first piece of material from Phase Four in the MCU. That’s on you if you expected anything along those lines. No Mephisto or Nightmare? Maybe we’ll see something in Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness.

    Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany deserve their flowers, and the writers and creators too. Imagine what stuff they wanted to put in that they couldn’t, or didn’t have time for? It’s not something we ever consider. Not everyone may have preferred how the show concluded, but this is what they gave us. When it comes to WandaVision ultimately they may have not accomplished your mission, but they accomplished theirs.

  • MCU Supercut: ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

    MCU Supercut: ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

    Over the past several years, Charles Villanueva has displayed his talents by producing some of the best MCU supercuts out there. Now, for the first time Charles has produced an exclusive supercut for Murphy’s Multiverse ahead of the debut of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

    With the series debut now less than 2 weeks away, it won’t be long before we see just how the legacy of Steve Rogers is handled in the MCU!

  • Why Evan Peters Needed to Be in ‘WandaVision’

    Why Evan Peters Needed to Be in ‘WandaVision’

    In the discussion surrounding WandaVision, there’s been a lot of theorizing, but possibly even more talk about theorizing. From fans convincing themselves certain characters would appear, to latching onto Easter eggs as having way deeper meaning than they actually do, there’s been a lot of complaints from viewers about the show not going in the direction they wanted or expected it to. But there’s one character that truly seemed ripe to set up the MCU’s greater narrative that never did: Evan Peters as Pietro…er, “Fietro”…er, Ralph Bohner.

    WandaVision': Marvel's Bait and Swith With Pietro Is Really Annoying

    Even though Peters showing up in WandaVision was a surprise to everyone – well, everyone except those who read our report of his involvement from last year – the theories started coming out immediately. Was his character really the MCU’s Pietro, or the one from the X-Men movie franchise that Peters played before?

    Neither, as it turned out. “Pietro” was actually Agatha’s puppet, played by the guy whose house she took over upon her arrival in Westview. Fietro and her offscreen “husband Ralph” and were one and the same, with the guy’s real name being Ralph Bohner.

    This character has basically become the new MCU Mandarin, well, the one in Iron Man 3 revealed to be an actor named Trevor Slattery, anyway (the true Mandarin is set to appear in the upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). But I’m not here to talk about fans rioting over changes between the comics and films; it’s gonna happen sometimes, and if people don’t know that by now they’re a lost cause. Rather, I want to address the reason why Marvel Studios “wasted” Evan Peters in this role.

    Most of the fan outcry over being “misled” by the WandaVision creative team has been over theories that originated within the fanbase and were never promised to be delivered on by the narrative itself. However, the whole Fietro thing was the one time when it actually was their obvious intention. As Agatha explains to Wanda after the fact, she brought him in to get her to trust in someone enough to open up about the creation of the Hex. To Wanda, he just looked like a random dude, but she was vulnerable enough to entertain the idea of him being her brother. But the viewers on the other hand? They would know immediately that an insignificant face claiming to be Pietro Maximoff was a lie.

    Does WandaVision Quicksilver Toy Spoil Show's Ending?

    The showrunners needed to find a way to get the audience to at least consider the possibility he was telling the truth. Sure, they could have brought back Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the job, but it wouldn’t work within the “rules” they’d set up for the Hex. So they called in Peters, a face recognizable to many Marvel fans from FOX’s X-Men movies. They knew fans knew the multiverse was on the way, which would give even more credence to the idea this guy really could be Pietro in some form, even if he wasn’t the MCU’s original version of the character.

    I’m sure the WandaVision team knew they would have some angry Marvel fans on their hands upon the reveal that the whole thing was just a ruse. But they needed to get viewers to at least toy with the idea of Bohner being Pietro in some form, and Peters was perhaps the best way to do it while staying true to the story being told. And who knows? With the multiverse truly coming into play in the near future, there’s still a chance for Peters (and/or Taylor-Johnson) to return as an actual iteration of Quicksilver.