Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: MCU

  • ‘What If’ Season 2 Officially Confirmed for 2022 Release

    ‘What If’ Season 2 Officially Confirmed for 2022 Release

    Marvel Studios’ 2022 Disney+ slate is looking like it might be as packed as 2021’s. We already know that this year will include Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk. The streaming service previously released a sizzle real to tease the 2022 Disney+ projects, but it notably did not include a tease of the second season of What If…? which had been expected.

    It now looks like the animated anthology series is confirmed to debut in 2022 after all. Disney released a production brief ahead of Moon Knight. While noting all of Marvel’s 2021 Disney+ projects, the release goes on to confirm that What If…? is indeed part of the 2022 plan:

    The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently the highest-grossing film franchise of all time. Feige is building on that success with a host of new series that streamed on Disney+ in 2021, including “WandaVision,” “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier,” “Loki,” “What If…?” and “Hawkeye.” Upcoming original series for 2022 include “Moon Knight,” Ms. Marvel,” “She-Hulk” and the second season of “What If…?.

    This makes sense given that What If… ? had been previously described as an annual release. While the series has yet to truly interact with the main MCU, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is rumored to incorporate some elements of the animated multiversal series. If it does begin to crossover, the hype will definitely build for future seasons of one of the MCU’s most unique entries to date. It will interesting to see if What If…? Season 2 keeps Season 1’s late summertime slot, considering that Ms. Marvel seems to be looking at a June premiere and She-Hulk is reported to be released after it.

    Source: Disney via The Direct

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Producers Talks the Show’s Approach to Mental Health and Batman Comparisons

    ‘Moon Knight’ Producers Talks the Show’s Approach to Mental Health and Batman Comparisons

    Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 is already known for dipping into mental health struggles, notably Wanda’s grief in WandaVision and Bucky’s PTSD in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The MCU is about to tackle mental illness directly with the upcoming Disney+ series Moon Knight.

    In the comics, Marc Spector is a mercenary who is seemingly revived by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu and becomes the vigilante Moon Knight to serve as his avatar. While that duality alone is enough to create an interesting conversation about identity. Marc Spector, however, is much more complex than the average vigilante. He suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID). While the series is likely to explore more personalities, we know that Moon Knight will feature Marc Spector’s alter Steven Grant, the Moon Knight himself, and the lesser-known Mr. Knight. Executive producer Grant Curtis discussed how the character’s DID impacts Moon Knight:

    It’s a story about identity and finding one’s true self…The journey that Marc Spector is on during our whole show is: Who am I? And how do I reconcile portions of my past, present and potential future that I don’t necessarily agree with? Coming to terms with our baggage and learning to live with ourselves is what we all deal with on a day-to-day basis.

    Grant Curtis

    The character of Moon Knight has often been compared to Batman, a fellow caped crusader that roams the city at night and often uses similar gadgets. But Curtis makes it clear that viewers should not expect to see a Batman copy:

    [Marc Spector is] someone longing for connection, and in a way, could be a counterpoint to the classic, tortured, dark vigilante guy we’ve seen a lot.

    Grant Curtis

    Writer and executive producer Jeremy Slater agrees, and notes:

    [Moon Knight’s DID] makes him much more than just sort of a palette-swapped Batman clone. A lot of superheroes are defined by their villains [but] Moon Knight is his own greatest enemy in a lot of ways.

    Jeremy Slater

    It is yet to be seen how exactly Moon Knight tackles Spector’s DID, and how mental illness is portrayed in entertainment can be tricky. We also do not know if other personalities of Spector’s will be featured in the series–in particular, his alter Jake Lockley has been noticeably absent from promotional materials. In any event, Moon Knight looks to be a unique entry in the MCU and his inner struggles should distinguish him from other popular heroes and caped crusaders.

    Source: USA Today

  • New Rumors Place The Scarlet Witch at the Center of Two Upcoming MCU Projects

    New Rumors Place The Scarlet Witch at the Center of Two Upcoming MCU Projects

    Elizabeth Olsen spent most of 2020 and much of 2021 inhabiting the role of Wanda Maximoff as the actress moved directly from production of WandaVision into production on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. After having some time off from Marvel Studios, new rumors point to Olsen’s schedule getting pretty full again in the near future.

    According to a scooper MyTimetoShineHello, Marvel Studios is keen to get Olsen back in action in a big way following her next appearance in the Strange sequel. The scooper claims that Wanda stans will get to see the Scarlet Witch in not only an adaptation of Alan Heinberg’s limited series, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade, but also in a solo Scarlet Witch project. Though the scoops indicated both projects are in development, no additional information was given about the order in which they might appear or whether they are intended to end up as streaming series or theatrical releases.

    Given the rumors about Wanda’s character arc in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, an adaptation of The Children’s Crusade seems like the perfect handoff for the character. The 9-issue event sees one of Wanda’s sons, Billy, go in search of his missing mother as he starts to realize the full potential of his own, potentially dangerous powers. Billy teams up with his brother, Tommy, and other members of the Young Avengers to track down Wanda who is spending time with one of Marvel’s most wonderful characters: Victor Von Doom. As with most things, MCU, it’s highly unlikely that Marvel Studios The Children’s Crusade would be a direct adaptation of the event.

    The Scarlet Witch solo project, should it come after The Children’s Crusade, could take inspiration from James Robinson’s 2016 Marvel Comic’s series, The Scarlet Witch, and take Wanda on a journey of discovery of just what being her generation’s Scarlet Witch entails.

  • New Evidence May Point To A Daredevil MCU Project In Development

    New Evidence May Point To A Daredevil MCU Project In Development

    It’s been over a year since Murphy’s Multiverse first reported that Charlie Cox would be returning as Matt Murdoch/Daredevil in the then untitled third MCU Spider-Man feature film. Following his cameo in the record-breaking spidey threequel, as well as Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Kingpin appearing in Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye, it felt like a matter of time until news would surface hinting at a Daredevil-centered project set well within the boundaries of the MCU.

    A likely new Marvel Studios production LLC formed a little less than two weeks ago seems to be a hint of just that. Its title, “Blind Faith Productions LLC”, feels like a perfectly condensed summary of two of Murdoch’s most defining characteristics, both physical and spiritual. But this does not mean that a new Daredevil project will debut any time soon as there’s no way of telling if the LLC is indeed for a Marvel project. As for the character of Matt Murdock, and quoting Charlie Cox himself, “expect to see him everywhere” while we wait for him to lead his own project.

    Following the take on the character seen in the Netflix shows, there is still a lot to get to in terms of Daredevil storylines. The biggest selling point might be getting to witness his interactions with so many of the characters that have now become available to explore, from Echo to She-Hulk just to name a couple. But smaller details like having him don his iconic yellow suit may very well come into play. Yellow is obviously not the best color to wear while trying to remain unnoticed in the middle of the night while battling criminals (even if you can make the case for it being a great hoodie color) but bringing into the picture how it is meant as a tribute to his late father, besides a cool new look, it will certainly give us yet another layer for the character to expand and grow out from.

    Limited liability companies are created to mitigate risk and keep the accounting for each project separate. More often than not, once the LLCs are established, the next step will be finding writers and eventually directors and/or showrunners, so we can only hope that that news will be coming out in the next few months.

  • Latest ‘Secret Invasion’ Set Video Reveals Emilia Clarke Fighting a Mysterious Assailant

    Latest ‘Secret Invasion’ Set Video Reveals Emilia Clarke Fighting a Mysterious Assailant

    While filming in Halifax, photos and videos of Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion set have been slowly coming to light. While previous images have given us our first look at certain actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Emilia Clarke, and Cobie Smulders, much about the future Disney+ series remains under wraps. Yet, it seems that it wasn’t quite the end of our glipses behind the scenes.

    There is still no official word on Game of Thrones alum Emilia Clarke’s character, and considering the series involves shape-shifting Skrulls, many characters are bound to remain mysterious until the series eventually ends. While previous videos have shown her character acting suspicious, a new set video appears to show Clarke’s character in some sort of fight with someone wearing a grey motion-capture CGI suit. While the video does not include audio, it looks like the CGI character is choking Clarke’s character out while she’s on the ground. See it here:

    https://twitter.com/Daenerys4lyfe/status/1500450021703315460

    While the motion-capture suit character could be anything, a Super Skrull is an obvious guess in Secret Invasion. The video does not show a lot, but it does suggest that Clarke could be in some action scenes and potentially at odds with at least one version of it. We’ve seen practical make-up for the regular Skrulls. So, it might open up the window to their overly-sized powered versions to join as well. The series will not drop on Disney+ anytime soon, so fans have plenty of time to speculate while hype builds for the highly-anticipated show.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • RUMOR: ‘Man-Thing’ Halloween Special In Development at Disney Plus

    RUMOR: ‘Man-Thing’ Halloween Special In Development at Disney Plus

    In an era where Marvel Studios is bringing more and more characters to the big and small screens, it looks like another iconic Marvel character may soon be brought to life. ScreenGeek is reporting that Marvel Studios is currently developing a Man-Thing Halloween special for the Disney Plus streaming service. It is rumored that the special will emphasize the horror aspects of the character and turn the Man-Thing special into a full-on horror-themed project.

    While Marvel Studios is reportedly looking for a big name to take on the role of Man-Thing, there is no indication at this time of who that might be. The only previous live-action adaptation of the character was the then-Sci Fi channel’s 2005 Man-Thing film, which received poor critical reviews. Fans are bound to be excited by the news of a Marvel Studios revival of the character after almost 20 years.

    Man-Thing was introduced in 1971 in Savage Tales #1 and quickly gained popularity leading to his inclusion in other comics, as well as eventually landing his own comic series. Man-Thing centers on Dr. Ted Sallis, a biochemist who is transformed into a large, slow-moving humanoid swamp monster in the Florida Everglades.

    While none of the specials have yet debuted, the special format–rather than a series–seems to be gaining momentum at Disney Plus. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special arrives later this year and a Werewolf By Night–centered special is also rumored to be in development.

    It is also interesting that Marvel is rumored to be focused on making the Man-Thing special a horror-genred project. Horror is relatively new territory for Marvel Studios, but the upcmong Doctor Starnge in the Multiverse of Madness is set to include horror elements from director Sam Raimi. While both Moon Knight and the rumored Werewolf By Night special are also strong contenders to bring darker elements to the MCU.

    Source: ScreenGeek

  • New ‘Secret Invasion’ Set Photo Reveals An Avenging Presence in the Streaming Series

    New ‘Secret Invasion’ Set Photo Reveals An Avenging Presence in the Streaming Series

    The Marvel Studios streaming series Secret Invasion continues production overseas ahead of what’s becoming an increasingly likely 2023 debut on Disney Plus and, to date, details about the series have remained…a secret.

    Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn are heading up the series and are joined by Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, Kingsley Ben-Adir. Set photos and videos haven’t revealed much in the way of the series’ plot or who is playing whom, but a new set photo does reveal that at least one Avenger will be making an appearance in the streamer.

    It looks as though Don Cheadle’s James Rhodes will be making an appearance in Secret Invasion. As revealed in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Rhodes is still an active member of the Air Force as of 2024. The set photo, which comes from IG user The_Insta_Phils, shows Rhodes on an in-universe newspaper with, presumably, American President Ritson. The newspaper also hints at some political tensions that’ll come into play in the series, as President Ritson is headed to the UK for “an emergency summit amid unprecedented tensions.” What info has leaked out about the series describes it as involving “political paranoia” involving spies, like Clarke’s yet-to-be-revealed character. Given the involvement of Skrulls, like Ben-Adir’s character, it’s no surprise that they’ll have found a way to pit the governments of the world against one another.

    What role, if any, Cheadle’s Rhodey will have in the series is completely unknown. It’s possible the photo in the newspaper is the character’s only appearance and we wont’ see Rhodes at all. Of course, it’s also possible that Rhodes isn’t Rhodes at all and a Skrull-simmed Rhodes could be sewing all kinds of discord using his political pull. That, after all, is what Secret Invasion is all about. Who do you trust?

    Source: Instagram

  • New ‘Moon Knight’ Stills Provide First Look at May Calamawy’s Layla

    New ‘Moon Knight’ Stills Provide First Look at May Calamawy’s Layla

    Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight has consistently generated buzz over the past few weeks since the first look at the show was released. So far, the footage has mainly focused on Oscar Isaac’s Steven Grant as he struggles to make sense out of some disturbing events, most of which he can’t be sure are real. Beyond that, outside of a few glimpses of Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow, the rest of the cast hasn’t been revealed.

    Now, thanks to still believed to be from Empire’s coverage of the series, fans have their first look at May Calamawy’s mysterious character, Layla. A couple of the images would seem to be from flashbacks that show Oscar Issac’s Marc Spector working with Calamawy’s character in Egypt. Of course, it’s possible that these are also stills showing them revisiting Egypt later in the series, but given the gear worn by both characters, I’m inclined it’s the former scenario and takes place before Spector is killed and revived by Khonshu.

    Little is known about Calamawy’s Layla, though it’s possible, given the fact that Marvel Studios seems to be reinventing minor characters for this series (like Hawke’s Harrow), that her character is a reworked Leila O’Toole, an archeologist and Egyptologist who while in Egypt studying the ruins, became a member of the Cult of the Living Pharaoh. The photos certainly seem to support her having some interest in exploring whatever dig Spector is part of and while it’s unlikely she’ll be a direct adaptation of the character (she’s probably not a mutant in the show), we still don’t know anything at all about her role in the series.

    Source: Reddit

  • New Figure Provides a Detailed Look at Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor from ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    New Figure Provides a Detailed Look at Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor from ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Marvel Studios continues to get beat to the punch in terms of costume reveals for their upcoming films. Recently, early looks at collectible figures have given fans detailed looks at the costumes of characters from upcoming films such as Eternals, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Now, a set of images has hit the internet, courtesy of Mephistu, that provides a very detailed look at Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor costume from the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.

    While this isn’t the first time fans have had a chance to glimpse Jane’s new look, the collectible, from S.H. Figuarts, is incredibly detailed even if the photos are a bit lo-res. The poseable figure not only comes with Mjlonir and a very cool looking blue lightning effect, it also seems to capture the moment in which Jane becomes Thor and Mjolnir is reforged! Set photos taken early in the film’s production seemed to tease the exact moment captured by the figure.

    Thor: Love and Thunder, which is now scheduled for a July 8, 2022 release, will see Natalie Portman return as Foster and team up with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor to take on Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale.

  • ‘Moon Knight’ Khonshu Voice Actor Revealed

    ‘Moon Knight’ Khonshu Voice Actor Revealed

    Oscar Award-winning actor F. Murray Abraham has been revealed as part of the cast of Marvel Studios upcoming Disney Plus streaming series Moon Knight. Abraham, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in 1984’s Amadeus, will voice the Egyptian Moon god Khonshu over the course of the series. Abraham has done some voice work recently, working on The Isle of Dogs and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. This will be his first turn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    In the comics, Marc Spector is a mercenary who is betrayed and killed during a mission in Egypt only to be revived by Khonshu. Spector goes on to serve as the avatar of Khonshu known as Moon Knight. Typically, Spector’s conversations with Khonshu aren’t observable by anyone else, casting further doubt on the hero’s grasp of sanity as it seems to be just another voice in his head.

    The trailer and TV spot for the series have hinted heavily that Ethan Hawke’s Arthur Harrow may be serving the will of another Egyptian god in the show, giving him an interesting connection to the lead character. The show’s synopsis teases a “deadly mystery” pertaining to the Egyptian gods, so the giant bird-like Khonshu might not be the craziest thing fans see in the show.

    When Steven Grant, a mild-mannered gift-shop employee, becomes plagued with blackouts and memories of another life, he discovers he has dissociative identity disorder and shares a body with mercenary Marc Spector. As Steven/Marc’s enemies converge upon them, they must navigate their complex identities while thrust into a deadly mystery among the powerful gods of Egypt.

    Moon Knight is set to begin streaming on Disney Plus on March 30th.

    Source: Disney Media