Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: MCU Movies

  • Marvel Studios Rumored to Be Mulling Over Options for the Future of the MCU’s Biggest Star

    Marvel Studios Rumored to Be Mulling Over Options for the Future of the MCU’s Biggest Star

    It was inevitable. After launching the MCU in Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. became the face of the franchise, leading the way through the Infinity Saga before taking a well-earned rest. With the studio’s Multiverse Saga in free fall, Marvel called upon Downey to save the day, casting the actor as Doctor Doom, the new big bad set to menace the Multiverse in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. However, with just a brief cameo to his credit in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and production still underway on Doomsday, a new report claims that there may be more in store for Doom.

    According to insider Daniel Richtman, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, has begun mulling over the MCU future of Doctor Doom and is considering keeping Downey on in the role after the conclusion of the Multiverse Saga.

    SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: Robert Downey Jr. attends the Marvel Studios Panel in Hall H at SDCC in San Diego, California on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney)

    How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations? And he brought up Victor Von Doom. I looked into this character. Later on, he goes, ‘Let’s get Victor Von Doom right.’

    -Robert Downey Jr. on Kevin Feige’s pitch for him to return to the MCU,THR

    Feige went to great lengths to lure Downey back into the fold, beginning with a conversation in 2023, over a year before the actor officially took the role. And while the character is set to play a major role in the next two Avengers films, Doom is also one of Marvel Comics’ greatest characters who would certainly provide some great options for the studio as it moves toward resetting the MCU into a singular timeline post-Secret Wars.

  • Matt Shakman on the Cut Fantastic Four Villain Fans Will Never See

    Matt Shakman on the Cut Fantastic Four Villain Fans Will Never See

    As first revealed in November 2024, John Malkovich was cast in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Marvel Comics’ villain and twisted genius Ivan Kragoff. First introduced in January 1963’s Fantastic Four #13, Kragoff is better known as the Red Ghost, a recurring foe of Marvel’s First Family who often used his army of Super-Apes to aid him in his plans. Unfortunately, as recently revealed by director Matt Shakman, Malkovich‘s role was cut from the film. Now, in a new interview, Shakman has detailed why the decision was made and explained that it’s unlikely the footage will ever be seen.

    “We wanted to get the sense of history. We wanted these characters to feel lived in. We wanted the city to feel lived in. This is a real family, and they’ve been doing this for four years. Part of that was showing all the things they’ve done along the way,” said Shakman of the film’s opening act montage that replaced the classic origin story.“Building the Future Foundation, defeating Red Ghost, Mad Thinker, Mole Man…it was part of building the history for them so we could jump in and see them change as a family when a child is introduced.”

    “We had an opening that involved a lot of action about the Red Ghost,” Shakman continued. “We had an incredible performance from John Malkovich. It was just so much material when we were trying to get to that present-day moment when their world changes and Franklin’s arrival becomes imminent.“

    There were a lot of things that ultimately ended up hitting the cutting room floor. When we were building a ’60s retro-future world, introducing all of these villains, introducing these four main characters as a group, as well as individually, introducing the idea of a child — there was a lot of stuff to balance in this movie and some things had to go ultimately in terms of shaping the film for its final version.

    -Matt Shakman

    “We had Red Ghost trying to steal a rocket ship with his apes, Reed trying to defeat him and outwitting him,” he said of the cut scene. “They had a lot of really fun stuff. We used snippets of it in that montage you see where he’s kicking one of the Super-Apes into the water.“

    While Malkovich‘s take on Kragoff didn’t make the final cut, the character did appear in the film’s post-credit scene, as did his Super-Apes. “You can see in the credits Reed getting his face pulled by a baboon, which is an homage to Alex Ross,“ said Shakman. It’s unlikely that Marvel Studios has current plans for Earth-828’s Red Ghost in Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, but perhaps–and hopefully–there’s a way for Malkovich to bring the character to the screen in some way before long.

    Source: Phase Zero, Variety

  • Leaked ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Stinger Reveals Marvel’s Greatest Villain

    Leaked ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Stinger Reveals Marvel’s Greatest Villain

    The Fantastic Four: First Steps has begun its global run and it didn’t take long for the leaks to hit social media. Ahead of the film’s opening domestic weekend, clips and stills of one of the project’s stingers have landed online, providing a first look at the ultimate villain of the Multiverse Saga.

    The mid-credit scene, directed by The Russo brothers, shows Franklin Richards looking up and touching the face of Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom while the cloaked and hooded villain holds his iconic mask in his hand.

    The leaks are fairly easy to find at this point and the scene truly serves as nothing but an incredible tease for the character’s first full appearance in Avengers: Doomsday.

    The Fantastic Four: First Steps has opened to incredibly strong critical consensus, currently sitting at an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and is projected to open to a $200+M take globally. With Doom and the First Family both set to take center stage in Avengers: Doomsday, the film has already established itself as a must-see as the Multiverse Saga begins to move toward its end.

  • Kevin Feige Reveals Why Miles Morales Has Yet to Appear in the MCU

    Kevin Feige Reveals Why Miles Morales Has Yet to Appear in the MCU

    Since first appearing in Marvel Comics Ultimate Fallout #4 in 2011, Miles Morales has become one of Marvel’s most popular and important characters. In addition to becoming a major player for the publisher, Morales is also the centerpiece of both a video game franchise and an animated movie trilogy by Sony, while also appearing in a handful of other animated projects. In less than 15 years, Miles Morales has developed into one of Marvel’s most marketable characters and has popped up everywhere…except in a live-action film.

    In 2023, producer Amy Pascal indicated that Sony was developing a live-action Miles Morales feature film and in 2024, Marvel Studios’ Big Cheese, Kevin Feige, shared his hopes that the character would one day appear in a live-action MCU film once the animated Spider-Verse trilogy concluded. Now, in a wide-ranging press event, Feige has revealed why the character has not yet appeared in a Marvel Studios film despite being referenced in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

    When asked to update the status of the live-action Morales-centric project, Feige provided a blunt response. “That is nowhere,” he stated, before adding some context.”Sony has their brilliant, genius, incredible Spider-Verse animated franchise going and until that finishes, we’ve been told to stay away,” Feige explained, dampening hopes for the character to make an appearance in next year’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

    Sony’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, the finale of the Spider-Verse trilogy, will release on June 25, 2027, six months before Marvel Studios wraps up the Multiverse Saga in Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027. Perhaps coincidentally, both films have seen their release dates changed in the past few months, creating the opportunity for Morales to debut in Avengers: Secret Wars, should Sony and Marvel Studios be able to agree upon a fitting entrance. Given the lengths Marvel has gone to include characters from non-MCU films in the Multiverse Saga and the fact that the Spider-Verse franchise is also rooted in the Multiverse, it’s entirely possible that there’s more than serendipity at work and that a dovetail from the Spider-Verse to Secret Wars may be carved, allowing the popular animated version of the character to enter the live-action fray.

    Source: Variety

  • The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’

    The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’

    WandaVision director Matt Shakman was tasked with solving everything and finding a way to bring Marvel’s First Family into the MCU. By setting the film in a retrofuturistic alternate universe, Earth-828, Shakman freed it–and the fans–from the shackles an increasingly gargantuan shared narrative.

    Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet.

    -Synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps
    (L-R): Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2025 MARVEL.

    Originally announced by Kevin Feige at SDCC ’19, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, originally intended to be directed by Jon Watts, is finally hitting theaters next week and that means it’s time for…The Ultimate List of What to Watch Before…The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

    It is a no-homework-required movie. It literally is not connected to anything we’ve made before.

    -Kevin Feige

    For the first time in a long time, maybe since Iron Man launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008, there’s no required reading, no homework and nothing to watch that will add to the experience of a Marvel Studios film. Incredibly enough, The Fantastic Four: First Steps stands completely on its own.

    Tier 1

    Not a single thing

    Tier 2

    Yep, still nothing

    Tier 3

    Nothing

  • Marvel Studios Reshapes Its 2028 Release Slate

    Marvel Studios Reshapes Its 2028 Release Slate

    Under Bob Iger’s second tenure as the head of Disney, the big Marvel machine was instructed to scale back its production efforts, prioritizing quality over quantity. “We’ve also learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality. And frankly, we’ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much,” Iger told investors in March. “By consolidating a bit and having Marvel focus much more on their films, we believe that will result in better quality.” As such, projects began to disappear from the release slate and the studio looked to schedule 2 or 3 films a year moving forward, starting in 2026. However, plans are always subject to change and it now looks as though Marvel may look to launch its next saga with a more aggressive approach.

    Disney has added a fourth Marvel Studios film to its 2028 release slate, reserving December 15th for an untitled film. Should the studio hold to the current plan, fans can also count on being in theaters on February 18th, May 5th and November 10th.

    Marvel has yet to officially announce any of its 2028 projects, though its X-Men reboot and a third Black Panther film are expected to land in theaters that year. In an interesting development, Variety reports that a sequel to this summer’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is also in development and may be on track for a 2028 release. In addition, Thor, Doctor Strange and Shang-Chi sequels could be on the docket, as well as the studio’s long-awaited Blade reboot or the Midnight Sons ensemble film or Ryan Reynolds X-Men team up film. Whatever the case, it’s clear that the studio has options and may feel comfortable about moving forward with releasing four films because four good scripts have been turned in.

    Source: Variety

  • A Major Marvel Villain Is Rumored to Call the UK’s Windsor Castle Home in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’…And It Isn’t Doom

    A Major Marvel Villain Is Rumored to Call the UK’s Windsor Castle Home in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’…And It Isn’t Doom

    Marvel Studios certainly seems to be swinging for the fences with Avengers: Doomsday. The initial cast reveal included plenty of surprises, including multiple members of Fox’s original X-Men trilogy. While rumors of an Avengers vs. X-Men style battle have swirled around Doomsday for some time, the inclusion of Sir Ian McKellen on the list of 27 stars still caught fans off guard. Now it sounds like his Magneto may just have an important part to play in whatever it is the X-Men are up to on what’s believed to be Earth-10005.

    According to social Media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, the UK’s Windsor Castle will be used in Avengers: Doomsday as Magneto’s stronghold.

    The castle does bear some resemblance to the Autumn Palace, a castle that Magneto called home on Mars/Arakko after leaving Krakoa during writer Al Ewing‘s 2021 Marvel Comics series, X-Men: Red.

    Though it’s not entirely clear what to expect on Earth-10005–or whatever reality the Fox X-Men inhabit–it has been theorized that the reality’s timeline could have begun following the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past. If that’s the case, Magneto could very well be working with Charles Xavier and his X-Men to stop what’s beginning to look like an attack on their Earth by Robert Downey Jr‘s Doctor Doom.

  • Ryan Reynolds’ New X-Team Reportedly Revealed…and It Includes the MCU’s Rumored Wolverine

    Ryan Reynolds’ New X-Team Reportedly Revealed…and It Includes the MCU’s Rumored Wolverine

    Earlier this month, THR broke the news that Ryan Reynolds was “quietly plotting his return” as Deadpool. While the star has made it clear that he believes another solo Deadpool film would be superfluous, it turns out he’s been working toward a script for an MCU-based ensemble film that would include “three or four X-Men characters.” Now, a new rumor from one of social media’s busiest news might have revealed exactly what Reynolds has in mind.

    According to My Time To Shine Hello, Reynolds has been writing a script for a potential MCU-set X-Force film that would feature his Deadpool teaming up with Josh Brolin‘s Cable, Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine and an all-new actor as Storm.

    If the new information is accurate, it meshes with a late-2024 report from Marvel Studios insider Daniel Richtman, who claimed that Jackman was set to carry on as the MCU’s Wolverine in the studio’s upcoming Avengers films and beyond.

    Like nearly every team in the pages of Marvel Comics, the roster of X-Force has been a revolving door since the team first appeared in 1991. Founded by Cable, X-Force often takes a more proactive, militaristic, and covert approach to dealing with threats to mutantkind, often involving missions that the mainstream X-Men would deem too morally ambiguous or violent. While the X-Men typically strive to protect and integrate mutants peacefully, X-Force is essentially the “black ops” arm of the mutant world.

    Introducing multiple X-teams is a must for Marvel Studios as it launches Kevin Feige‘s reported 10-year plan for the massive roster of characters obtained when Disney purchased 21st Century Fox in 2019. By reuniting Reynolds and Jackman, who drove Deadpool & Wolverine to become the highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time, and bringing back Brolin, who certainly made a compelling case to continue on as the Askani’son, whole also introducing a new actress as Storm, the studio would certainly be putting its best foot forward its efforts to provide the new Saga with a strong foundation.

    Sources: THR

  • The Hulk’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Role Reportedly Revealed

    The Hulk’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Role Reportedly Revealed

    The news that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will feature Mark Ruffalo in a “substantial role” has generated some serious hype for the 2026 film. After years of rumors about the film’s potential plot and cast, fans seem to believe that Bruce Banner to finally meeting up with Spider-Man after nearly a decade of them failing to cross one another’s paths is a recipe for success. Now, a new rumor sprinkles even more spice into the mix.

    According to a pair of rumors making their way around, Ruffalo‘s Hulk will serve as the main villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Though it’s unclear why, the rumors suggest the Savage Hulk will return and that the showdown between him and Spider-Man will be central to marketing the film.

    With one part of the rumor reportedly stemming from a conversation with Chris Higashi, an entertainment journalist who claimed that Boomerang, Scorpion and Tombstone were revealed as part of Spider-Man: Brand New Day at the recent Disney Blockbuster Consumer Products presentation, also comes word that Tarantula will have a role in the film as well.

    Although the timing of these recent rumors can and should be questioned, fans have already begun to theorize what might cause Banner to revert to the Savage Hulk, and that the film will launch the MCU’s long-rumored World War Hulk project. With the film not set to hit theaters until July 31, 2026, expect plenty more rumors like these to emerge, and keep in mind that multiple reputable insiders leaked accurate information about Spider-Man: No Way Home that was initially disregarded until the film’s release.

  • ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Adds a Pair of MCU Vets to Its Cast

    ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Adds a Pair of MCU Vets to Its Cast

    Despite having its release date significantly delayed, Marvel Studios Avengers: Doomsday is deep into production. While there have been plenty of looks at a set that seems to show a downed Sentinel and a video taken by a fan who was able to sneak onto the studio lot, MCU fans are still waiting to catch a glimpse at some behind-the-scenes action. With the studio supposedly taking measures to keep prying eyes away from the action, those glimpses may be hard to come by; however, set photos and videos aren’t the only way to glean information about projects in production.

    As the cast of Avengers: Doomsday prepares to film on location in Bahrain, actress Mabel Cadena and actor Alex Livinalli, who played Namor and Attuma, respectively, in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, were spotted at dinner with other members of the cast.

    With Anthony Mackie, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta, Danny Ramirez, Simu Liu, Winston Duke and Hannah John-Kamen in Bahrain along with Cadena and Livinalli, it seems as though the Avengers will be turning to the Wakanda-Talokanil alliance for some assistance in solving the “space crisis” teased in Thunderbolts*.

    Bahrain’s unique location and architecture have fans theorizing that the capital of Manama could be used as a stand-in for Madripoor, which is believed to be visited in the film.

    While fans wait for another large-scale casting announcement, the returns of Cadena and Livinalli serve as a good reminder of just how large the scope and scale of Avengers: Doomsday will be. In addition to the rumored 60 “stars”, there will be plenty of other additions to the cast as the inhabitants of Earth-616 learn what’s coming their way.