Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: MCU News

  • Chris Evans’ Next MCU Appearance Reportedly Revealed

    Chris Evans’ Next MCU Appearance Reportedly Revealed

    All Chris Evans wants is to be done with his Marvel roles…but he won’t quit coming back. While he’s yet to step back into to MCU as its First Avenger after 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Evans reprised the role of Johnny Storm for a foul-mouthed appearance in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Beyond that, Evans has been true to his word, having yet to pick up the shield again despite regular rumors to the contrary.

    Yeah, maybe. I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing. So, no time soon. And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests.

    –Chris Evans on potentially returning as Captain America

    Late last year, a new round of rumors indicated that Evans–who in 2023 stated that if he did return, it would be “no time soon”–would be joining fellow MCU megastar Robert Downey Jr. in Avengers: Doomsday. If that’s the case, it’s news Marvel will is holding onto for another day as Evans was not part of the 5-hour livestream that introduced 27 members of the cast for the 2026 film. However, online buzz has grown recently that while an appearance in Doomsday certainly isn’t off the table, Evans may be headed back to the MCU even sooner.

    First shared by social media’s busiest bee, My Time To Shine Hello, then given support by other similar online personalities, the latest rumor has Evans suiting up in an unknown role in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

    Treating it simply as nothing more than an interesting possibility, one can quickly wonder if Evans‘ return in that film might well be as the Sacred Timeline’s Steve Rogers. Much has been made of the retrofuturistic 1960s setting of The Fantastic Four: First Steps and that could tie neatly into Steve Rogers’ decision to leave the Sacred Timeline to live a life with Peggy Carter in 1949. While there are plenty of other options, such as Evans appearing as Hydra Supreme or even another Variant of Johnny Storm, reprising his original role would neatly dovetail Marvel’s two Sagas together. Given what’s been explained about Incursions so far, it would seem Captain America’s presence in another timeline would be somewhat problematic.

  • New Rumor Suggests Marvel Studios May Have Landed the Perfect Director for the (Un)Dead ‘Blade’

    New Rumor Suggests Marvel Studios May Have Landed the Perfect Director for the (Un)Dead ‘Blade’

    Despite chicken little claims about superhero fatigue, superhero projects remain king in the 21st century. Advancements in technology have allowed studios to tell stories, through films and streaming series, that 80s and 90s kids always dreamt of seeing. However, even as Hollywood continues to seek to advance and elevate the genre, the first modern superhero film still sets the standard in at least one aspect.

    Released in 1998 (yes, the previous century), Stephen Norrington‘s Blade, starring Wesley Snipes, jumpstarted the superhero craze, making way for Sony to bring Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man franchise to live and allowing for Fox to dream big with the X-Men. But despite the dozens of comic book movies that have followed it into theater’s, Blade continues to hold the championship belt for having THE best opening scene. Unmatched nearly 30 years later, the iconic “Blood Rave” blitzed unsuspecting audiences with a raw and visceral introduction to Blade’s world. Replete with hard-pumping music and harder-pumping action, the “Blood Rave” left its mark on fans and film makers alike.

    Though it’s never been said outright, one of the last decade’s most beloved action franchises often feels as though it could have drawn inspiration from Blade‘s opening scene. Three of the four films in Keanu Reeves‘ John Wick franchise has featured an action-packed scene set in some sort of club that, like Blade’s “Blood Rave”, feels like it was crafted with the intention to overload the audience’s senses. And now, a karmic circle moment may be right around the corner.

    According to Jeff “The In” Sneider, Marvel Studios May have lielned up John Wick franchise director Chad Stahelski to inject some life into its (un)dead Blade reboot.

    A series of events that seems to long and painful to relive again here has resulted in Marvel Studios’ Blade remaining in development hell after first being announced in 2019. It’s enough to know that after years of stops and starts, the film was removed from the studio’s 2025 slate and never given a new release date. As director after director have left the project, fans have often called for Marvel to being in Stahelski, who has plenty of experience in both the superhero genre and with vampire projects and went on record in 2022 calling Blade “the one interesting thing” he would like to do at Marvel Studios, under one condition.

    And he [Kevin Feige] actually asked me, ‘What could we ever do?’ I was like, ‘Look, I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t know if I fit that kind of studio mold, but Blade would be the one interesting thing I’d like to do. I don’t know if I would’ve been the best choice for that in the direction they wanted to go. If you want to do the edgy rated R version, yeah, give me a call. If you want to be non-apologetic, yeah. That’s me. But I think they’re protecting their brand, they’re doing their thing. The individual they selected, I think is a very good director, and I think will do a great job in the direction that I think they want to take the property.

    -Chad Stahelski

    With the studio now in the business of making R-rated content and having granted previous director Yann Demange‘s version of the film the R-rating in an effort to help “unleash” the ferocity of film’s star, Mahershala Ali, it sounds as though Stahelski‘s one and only request has been met. Whether or not Stahelski, or anyone else, ever actually makes the film is, of course, an entirely different matter.

  • Fresh ‘Spider-Man 4’ Rumor Explains Tom Holland’s Absence from ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Fresh ‘Spider-Man 4’ Rumor Explains Tom Holland’s Absence from ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Marvel Studios’ impressive Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal had fans immediately wondering where the majority of the MCU’s biggest stars were. Sure, long-timers Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Sebastian Stan but plenty of questions arose about why Chris Evans, Lizzie Olsen, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Holland didn’t get their own fancy chairs. It wasn’t long before Marvel Studios calmed some of those concerns by teasing further casting announcements down the road. Even then, concerns arose over how big of a role any of those stars might play in the film with the already loaded cast. As it turns out, despite being consistently rumored to be a big factor in Avengers: Doomsday, one star may not have any role at all.

    According to a report from Jeff “The In” Sneider, the omission of Holland from the casting reveal for Avengers: Doomsday was not because the studio planned to announce it at a later date but rather because the Spider-Man star won’t be in the film at all.

    Every Marvel Studios’ project finds itself subjected to a near endless onslaught of reports, rumors and straight up bullshit but since Marvel struck a deal with Sony to incorporate Spider-Man into the MCU, the character seems to have a special place in the rumor mill. Since confirming Spider-Man 4 was set to head into production this summer, the status of Holland’s role in Doomsday has seemingly been in chaos. One day, Spidey is a main character; the next, he’s not. And now, he’s not in it at all because, as Sneider shared, Spider-Man 4 will be set synchronously with the events of Avengers: Doomsday. It would seem that Holland’s work on Christopher Nolan‘s Odyssey, in which he plays Telemachus, son of Odysseus, may have ultimately made it too tough to write his character into the script.

    Should this indeed be the case, it would seem a near certainty that Holland will be ready to play a key role in Avengers: Secret Wars, closing out the Multiverse Saga and, perhaps, his time as the Web-Slinger. With Kevin Feige recently teasing the addition of Miles Morales to the MCU, it would seem as though the time is near for Holland to unburden himself of the great responsibility that comes with bringing one of Marvel’s most beloved characters to life.

  • ‘Manhunt’, ‘Outer Range’ Star Joins Season 2 of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    ‘Manhunt’, ‘Outer Range’ Star Joins Season 2 of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’

    As principal photography on the second season of the Disney Plus streaming series Daredevil: Born Again continues in New York City, the project continues to add to its already impressive cast.

    With set photos revealing that NYC is under martial law with Mayor Wilson Fisk’s Anti-vigilante Task Force turning the Big Apple into a police state, some political pushback will be necessary and it seems as though Marvel has found an opponent.

    According to Deadline, three-time Emmy nominee Lili Taylor has joined the cast as as yet unidentified “political foe” of Fisk.

    Taylor’s role looks to have her board as a series regular in the eight-episode second season. After a creative retooling of Season 1, Season 2 will be run, start to finish, by Dario Scardapane with Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead returning to direct a block of episodes.

    Source: Deadline

  • New ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Set Photos Reveal New, Comic Book Accurate Suit for Season 2

    Without giving too much away about Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, Charlie Cox‘s Matt Murdock looks to be in for a fight in Season 2. Photos from the set of the sophomore season have revealed Wilson Fisk’s AVTF enforcing martial law in broad daylight at the Mayor’s behest and a black suited Daredevil emerging from the river in an all black suit. Now, a new look at the suit reveals something that comic book traditionalists will love.

    A video taken outside of the site used as Josie’s has provided a first look at Daredevil’s new season two suit which is complete with a comic book accurate addition.

    https://twitter.com/postmurdock/status/1905075161843277924

    Shown entering a very shut-down looking Josie’s, the video reveals a black suit that closely resembles the one worn by the character in the Shadowland event or the “Back in Black” suit from the 2015 Charles Soule and Ron Garney run. A still shot shared on Twitter reveals that the suit comes complete with a “DD” logo on the chest.

    Though it’s not expected that Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again will adapt Shadowland, anything is possible. Marvel isn’t exactly known for their direct page-to-screen adaptations but rather cutting and pasting highlights into various projects. And while Shadowland is far from the best Daredevil stories, the Shadowland suit is one of Ol’ Hornhead’s best.

    Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is expected to stream on D+ in 2026.

  • The 5 Biggest Surprises from the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Cast Reveal

    The 5 Biggest Surprises from the ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Cast Reveal

    For nearly five hours, Marvel Studios had as many as 10 million fans on the edges of their seats by showing them…empty seats. In a barely-teased-but-definitely-not announced social media live stream, the cast of Avengers: Doomsday–or at least a good chunk of it–was revealed one at a time. By the time Robert Downey Jr. took a seat in his chair, the cast had grown to 27 members, many of whom were not part of any of the incredible amount of rumors about the 2026 project.

    While it’s unlikely the entire cast, or even the entire main cast, has been revealed, let’s take a look at the biggest surprises from the event.

    Fox’s OG X-Men

    mcu magneto

    While Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen had previously been rumored to be working with Marvel Studios on something, nobody had the returns of Alan Cumming, James Marsden and Rebecca Romijn on their bingo cards. Kelsey Grammer‘s Dr. Hank McCoy is set to return as well but it’s unclear if he’ll be the Earth-10005 Beast, the “Binary” universe Beast or if those two universes are the same, as has been theorized by many. Just what these heroes will be up to in the film remains to be discovered but it sure looks like the pieces could be in place for some Avengers vs. X-Men shenanigans.

    Ch’ah Toh Almehen Is Back

    namor spinoff

    It’s not too surprising to see Wakanda play some role in another MCU event film. It is, however, somewhat surprising to see Ch’ah Toh Almehen, aka K’uk’ulkan, aka El Niño sin Amor, aka Fish Man, aka Namor back in action for Avengers: Doomsday. Tenoch Huerta Mejia‘s name was the first real surprise of the day and fans are already dreaming of the potential interactions between Namor and Vanessa Kirby‘s Sue Storm and wondering just how much rizz the King of Talokan will lay on the Invisible Woman.

    Cap’s Wingman…

    (L-R) The Falcon/Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) and Captain America/Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD. Photo by Eli Ad??. ?? 2024 MARVEL.

    Incredibly, despite potentially being the most annoying character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Danny Ramirez‘s Joaquin Torres is tagging along with Anthony Mackie‘s Captain America to… take on Doctor Doom? Worst case scenario: He does a few Fortnite dances and acts like an overgrown high schooler; best case scenario: Magneto strips him of his Falcon gear in mid-flight, and we never see the character again.

    Shang-Chi Stays in the Lineup

    When the film was originally being developed as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, word was that it was essentially a sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. When Marvel scrapped the original idea and pivoted to Doomsday, Destin Daniel Cretton, who directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and was on board for The Kang Dynasty, left. At that point, it seemed as though Simu Liu‘s character would have to wait a while before making his way back to the big screen. Obviously the size and importance of his role in Doomsday remains to be discovered but Shang-Chi does possess some of the most powerful weapons in the MCU and does have access to the realm of Ta Lo and a pretty cool dragon.

    A Pair of Powerhouses

    With both Chris Hemsworth and Lewis Pullman, Avengers: Doomsday will feature two characters who are purt near indefatigable, invincible or otherwise really hard to kill. The real question here, though, is…whose side will Sentry be on? And if he’s not on Thor’s side, can Thor survive a tussle with him?

  • Marvel Studios Reveals the Main Cast of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Marvel Studios Reveals the Main Cast of ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    In an unannounced live stream event across social media channels, Marvel Studios revealed the cast of the highly-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday.

    The orchestrated reveal was drawn out with each actor being revealed as their “director’s chairs” were placed on what appearee to be a sound stage at Pinewood Studios in the UK where the film is now in production. While many of the cast members were previously known or expected, the event did reveal a few surprises. The reveal also served as the rollout for a slightly updated new logo.

    • Chris Hemsworth
    • Vanessa Kirby
    • Anthony Mackie
    • Sebastian Stan
    • Leitia Wright
    • Paul Rudd
    • Wyatt Russell
    • Tenoch Huerta Mejia
    • Ebon Moss-Bachrach
    • Simu Liu
    • Florence Pugh
    • Kelsey Grammer
    • Lewis Pullman
    • Danny Ramirez
    • Joseph Quinn
    • David Harbour
    • Winston Duke
    • Hannah John-Kamen
    • Tom Hiddleston
    • Patrick Stewart
    • Ian McKellen
    • Alan Cumming
    • Rebecca Romijn
    • James Marsden
    • Channing Tatum
    • Pedro Pascal
    • Robert Downey Jr

    As expected, Anthony Mackie‘s Captain America and The Fantastic Four, who will join the MCU this summer, will be featured in the project, which will feature the First Family’s comic book archnemesis, Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr. Chris Hemsworth will return as original Avenger, Thor. Sebastian Stan will return along with fellow Thunderbolts* stars Florence Pugh, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen and Wyatt Russell.

    Letitia Wright‘s Shuri, now the MCU’s Black Panther, will return for the first time since 2022 and, shockingly, will be joined by Tenoch Huerta Mejia, who will return as Namor. The pair will be joined by fellow Black Panther franchise star Winston Duke.

    Paul Rudd‘s Scott Lang, who would have played a major role in the previous iteration of the film, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, was one of the surprise additions to the ensemble cast. Simu Liu, who would have also played a major part in the same project was another surprise addition as well as Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, last seen in The Marvels. However, no surprise will please fans more than that of Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki returning to the Multiverse Saga…

    and no surprise will be bigger than the revelation that Ian McKellen will reprise the role of Magneto! McKellen will be joined by original Fox X-Men trilogy stars Patrick Stewart and Alan Cumming, who will return as Charles Xavier and Nightcrawler, respectively. They’re joined by original X-trilogy baddie, Rebecca Romijn‘s Mystique and James Marsden who played a criminally underused Cyclops.

    It turns out the OG X-Men (plus alt universe Beast) aren’t the only ones playing a role as Channing Tatum, who made a name for himself as Gambit in Deadpool & Wolverine, will return for the fifth Avengers film.

    The reveal, which certainly did not contain the entire cast, ended with Robert Downey Jr. taking the stage.

  • Elizabeth Olsen Delivers Crushing Scarlet Witch Update

    Elizabeth Olsen Delivers Crushing Scarlet Witch Update

    It would seem the rumors of Wanda Maximoff’s imminent return to the MCU have been greatly exaggerated. Wanda stans were devastated when the character was seemingly killed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness; however, that tide of grief was soon stemmed when Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige made it clear that the final chapter in Wanda’s story had not yet been told.

    There really is so much more to explore. We still haven’t touched on many of her core storylines from the comics. I don’t know that we saw her under rubble? I saw a tower coming down, and a little red flash. I don’t know what that means.

    -Kevin Feige

    While it’s yet to be confirmed, it seems that while the collapse of Mount Wundagore may have been the end for the Scarlet Witch, somehow Wanda Maximoff surivived. For her part, Elizabeth Olsen had remained fairly tight-lipped on the plans for the character, only recently confirming that she does want to return in the role and teasing that she has a pretty specific idea of what she’d like to do. “Well, honestly, if I were to tell you exactly what I would want I think I would maybe be spoiling something,” said Olsen at a fan convention in November. “Kevin Feige genuinely asks us what we want to do with the character and then he does it [Laughs] so I don’t know if I can share…I just want to come back.” As excited as fans are to have her back and as willing as she is to come back, it seems as though the wait for Olsen’s return as Wanda will be longer than anyone thought.

    In an interview with THR, Olsen confirmed that she will not be part of Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars.
    scarlet witch spinoff

    “No, I’m back [in the States]. I just finished [Panic Carefully],” said Olsen when asked if the Russo brothers were going to extend her stay in the UK. “I’m moving on to filming a pilot for FX,” she then said, explaining why she’ll be absent from the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday.

    Interestingly, while Olsen’s absence from the next two Avengers films will certainly be disappointing–and likely the final nail in the coffins of quite a few social media scoopers who have been hyping her character’s major role in the films–it may make the long-rumored Scarlet Witch solo film even more likely. Late last year, rumors began to swirl that WandaVision and Agatha All Along creator Jac Schaeffer was working on a script for such a project. When asked if she could talk about the rumors, Schaeffer replied “not right now” which only fueled speculation that she had moved off of the studio’s Vision project to begin work on the Wanda-centric film. Of course, with everything at the studio continuing to be in flux, it may be some time before we find out exactly what the plans are to bring Wanda back to the MCU.

    Source: THR

  • Apple TV+’s ‘Shrinking’ Writer Reportedly Developing Long-Rumored Marvel Studios Streaming Project

    Apple TV+’s ‘Shrinking’ Writer Reportedly Developing Long-Rumored Marvel Studios Streaming Project

    For quite some time now, Marvel Studios has been working on bringing a team of young heroes to the MCU. Beginning with WandaVision and continuing on through other projects such as but not limited to Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Agatha All Along, that next generation of heroes has begun to fight its own battles. Then, in 2023’s The Marvels, the studio took its first step in uniting those characters when Kamala Khan did her best Nick Fury impression, sneaking into Kate Bishop’s apartment in an effort to recruit her to an as-yet-unnamed team.

    For quite a while, it seemed as though that team was destined to be the Young Avengers; however, in November 2024, a report indicated that with many of the characters rumored to be part of Kamala and Kate’s team not being very young at all, Marvel Television was looking to develop the project as Champions. Now, according to a new report, the studio has locked down a showrunner to develop the project for Disney Plus.

    According to Nexus Point News, Rachna Fruchbom has agreed to a deal with Marvel develop Champions as showrunner and executive producer.

    Fruchbom wrote 28 episodes of the ABC comedy Fresh Off the Boat before moving on to And Just Like That and, more recently, Shrinking, the Apple TV+ documentary series that follows a group of octogenarian men before, during and after they take the “Polar Bear Plunge.”

    While the source is sound, it comes on the heels of the studio halting development on a trio of shows including Nova, which had a showrunner and had even been rumored to begin production later this year. So despite reports that the studio has locked in on its core cast for Champions (Iman Vellani and Hailee Steinfeld, Joe Locke, Dominique Thorne, Kathryn Newton and Xochitl Gomez), it’s worth remembering that Marvel Televison headman Brad Winderbaum has repeatedly explained that the studio is developing far more projects than they will actually produce and that things can change quickly. That said, Champions has been rumored to be on the studio’s 2026 production docket with an eye on releasing it after the completion of the Multiverse Saga.

    Source: Nexus Point News

  • ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Directors on What They’re Bringing Back to the MCU

    ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Directors on What They’re Bringing Back to the MCU

    When Anthony and Joe Russo completed their work on Avengers: Endgame and turned their attention toward getting their studio, AGBO, up and running, there was always a belief that they’d return to Marvel Studios. Over the years, the brothers talked about what it would take to get them back in the directors’ chairs, indicating that their work with their own studio would keep them busy “until the end of the decade.” Things change, of course, and ultimately the story that drew them back to the MCU is the same one they’ve said would all along in Secret Wars.

    To get there, however, there’s some work to do, primarily in Avengers: Doomsday which is set to kick off production soon ahead of a May 1, 2026 release. Before work begins on the first Avengers films this decade, the brothers are making the rounds promoting their latest AGBO project, The Electric State. In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times, the directing duo explained what brought them back to the MCU while addressing a few things that have changed since they left and one thing they would like to bring back in Doomsday and Secret Wars.

    SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – JULY 27: (L-R) Joe Russo, Anthony Russo and Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios speak onstage during 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)

    “Well, we love the genre,” said Anthony of why they’ve returned ahead of schedule. “Some people wrote it off as a less comprehensive form of storytelling that’s more for children. But we think of it as relevant for adults, if it is treated with maturity and complexity. That’s really all it is — a commitment to storytelling.” And despite some missteps with their recent projects, the Russos have yet to tell a poor story in the MCU. However, things have changed quite a bit since Avengers: Endgame wrapped up the Infinity Saga, including an overwhelming expansion of characters, stories and settings. However, the brothers didn’t come back without a plan to address the changes.

    “Yes, the MCU has got quite large, that’s for sure. I mean, frankly, we struggle with that same issue,” Anthony explained. “But part of the reason Joe and I decided to go back is exactly what you’re talking about. There needs to be more of a central narrative.” The director’s comments harken back to all time when it was easy to trace the MCU’s main plot thread from 2014 straight through 2019, something that’s been possible in the Multiverse Saga and was actually complicated by the Russos‘ return and the pivot away from Kang the Conquerer to Doctor Doom as the main villains of the finale.

    That lack of continuity is something about which the Russos are keenly aware. Furthermore, it sounds as though they have sat with it for some time and have a plan to return the MCU to its former storytelling glory. “That was something we were very specific about when we worked with Marvel [before],” said Anthony of a central MCU narrative. “We would like to bring the focused narrative back.” And from the sounds of things on social media and message boards, fans would like it brought back, too.

    Source: The Sunday Times