Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: MCU

  • Two-Episode ‘WandaVision’ Premiere Teased by French CANAL+ Magazine

    Two-Episode ‘WandaVision’ Premiere Teased by French CANAL+ Magazine

    Just yesterday, Charles shared the news that WandaVision will consist of nine episodes. So, it opened up the theory that we will most likely see two episodes during next week’s premiere. Well, it looks like that has finally been confirmed, as @V727Mr just shared an excerpt of the official French Le Mag CANAL+, which confirms that we will be welcomed to Marvel Studios’ first adventure into long-term storytelling with two initial episodes.

    The fact that CANAL+’s official monthly magazine reveals this is a good sign for its validity. To those that don’t know, it is a French premium television channel that embraces a hybrid model. Disney+ was made available through the service during its launch back in April. I already couldn’t wait for January 15th, so this isn’t making the wait any easier. It does open up the question if the show will follow a strict comedy format of 22-minutes per episode early on. The Mandalorian was quite flexible with its episode length, so we will see if Marvel is a bit more restrictive with their approach.

    As CANAL+ has shared the news, it is strange that Disney hasn’t advertised this fact. Yet, there is a chance they are building up to it shortly before release. It’s not uncommon for marketing to wait until the last minute to give away something that would give people a bit more hype before the release. We might get an official teaser in the next few days that finally reveals it, but it is still exciting to think not just one but two episodes. With the confirmation that we can expect nine episodes, it makes you wonder if we’ll get another two in the show’s second week as well.

    Source: Twitter, Vivendi

  • ‘WANDAVISION’ Confirmed as a 9 Episode Series

    ‘WANDAVISION’ Confirmed as a 9 Episode Series

    Disney Plus Media Relations has confirmed what the Murphy’s Multiverse team was first to share with you some time back: Marvel Studios first Disney Plus streaming series, WandaVision, will indeed consist of 9 episodes. The following email from D+ relations has been confirmed to be legitimate by a Disney rep.

    Image

    This news, along with the news from Disney Latino that the series will conclude Season One on March 5th, would seem to indicate that we will get two episodes of the series when it streams next Friday, January 15th. Even though we haven’t seen it yet, I think we all know more WandaVision is a good thing!

  • RUMOR: Elijah Richardson Joins ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ as Eli Bradley

    RUMOR: Elijah Richardson Joins ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’ as Eli Bradley

    It looks like we might be able to check another member of the Young Avengers off the already growing list as actor Elijah Richardson has joined the cast of Marvel Studios upcoming Disney Plus streaming series, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. According to his IMBD filmography, the 18-year old Richardson will play Eli Bradley, aka The Patriot, in 2 episodes when the show begins streaming this March. We will note here that we are well aware that IMDB can be edited anonymously, but there have been rumblings about the Bradleys being in the series before and, contrary to popular opinion IMDB is not ALWAYS wrong. We attempted to confirm the casting with two sources but were unable to do so.

    Elijah Bradley was first introduced as the leader of the Young Avengers in Young Avengers #1. A couple of issues later, he revealed to Captain America that he was the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, the Black Captain America. After originally leading his teammates to believe his powers came from a blood transfusion from his grandfather, Eli was caught injecting mutant growth hormone. Ashamed, Bradley quit the team but showed his true heroism when he was seriously injured taking a bullet to protect Captain America. That injury led to the need for a blood transfusion from Isaiah which lead to Eli becoming a true super soldier himself.

    Richardson’s Bradley would join Kathryn Newton’s Cassie Lang and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop as members of the original Young Avengers team. It seems a safe bet to assume that Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd will be a part of the team as well after being introduced in some capacity in WandaVision. That leaves only Teddy Altman, aka Hulking, and Iron Lad to go to round out the OG squad in the MCU. Xochitl Gomez will debut as America Chavez who joined a later iteration of the team, in Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness. A Young Avengers project is in the works and believed to be headed to Disney Plus, perhaps as early as 2023.

  • Grey DeLisle-Griffin Lends Her Voice to ‘WandaVision’

    Grey DeLisle-Griffin Lends Her Voice to ‘WandaVision’

    Just when you think WandaVision couldn’t possibly get any bigger, now the cast makes space for one of the most revered voice-actress in all of the mainstream media. Yesterday, Grey DeLisle-Griffin confirmed via her Twitter that her voice, in some shape or form, will be heard during the upcoming Marvel Studios series WandaVision. Check out the tweet below:

    https://twitter.com/greydelisle/status/1345135779396288512?s=21

    She is no stranger to working with Marvel, as she played the role of Captain Marvel, Betty Brant, Black Widow, Ms. Marvel, Enchantress, Elektra, Emma Frost, and many more in several Marvel TV shows and video games. You also might know Grey DeLisle-Griffin for many iconic roles she’s played over the years, which includes Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo, Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Vicky from The Fairly OddParents, Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Catwoman from the Batman: Arkham franchise, and Injustice games, Frankie Foster from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and the list goes on. Now, this begs the question of what her role could be in the upcoming series. There are a number of possibilities. DeLisle-Griffin could be portraying a CGI character during the series or an eerie voice in Wanda’s head. Anything is possible, but there’s a particular theory that comes to mind that might fit Grey DeLisle’s involvement in WandaVision. She could be playing a character in an animated episode of WandaVision.

     

     

    Fellow writer Julia Delbel theorized in her Theory Thursday article that WandaVision could include an animated section in the show, whether it be an animated intro in the stylings of Bewitched or even paying homage to classic animated sitcoms, such as The Flintstones and The Jetsons. Just imagine it’s Saturday morning at the Wanda and Vision household. Wanda’s kids decide to watch cartoons, and there’s an entire episode based on that. If the show does include some animation sequence, it would be the perfect opportunity to incorporate Grey DeLisle-Griffin‘s vocal talents into the mix when WandaVision rolls around in 2 weeks.

  • How Preparation and Opportunity Built the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    How Preparation and Opportunity Built the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    It’s hard to find the superlatives to qualify the level of success that Marvel Studios has achieved over the past decade as it became one of the biggest media franchises of all time. But even though its success is essentially a product of several good decisions concerning cast and director choices, having both a well thought out plan and the shrewdness to understand what storylines to adapt from the comics, that wasn’t always the case.

    There were a few instances when the situation presented itself as a blessing in disguise, and others where choices were so limited, to begin with, that there wasn’t much room for anything else other than what ended up happening. This can all be traced back to 2005/2006 when Marvel Studios announced they were working on the Iron Man.

    A limited number of characters available.

    Following a period of financial instability, the rights for the biggest names in the Marvel catalog weren’t available to develop features around. Therefore, when trying to launch a Cinematic Universe, there was no choice but to go with b-list and c-list characters, like Iron Man, and slowly develop their stories so general audiences would begin to care for these, in their eyes, unexplored origin stories. This allowed for each character to have the time they needed to be properly introduced and gain the relevance that, a decade later, has made us care about where they ended up. In a parallel universe where the rights for the entire Marvel roster were available from the start, it’s very likely that we wouldn’t have gotten so many character trilogies that truly became the backbone of the MCU, as the urge to go through the largest number of characters would make it impossible to find the time to spend three movies with each of them. All the team-ups and the ensemble movies are great, but they really stood on the shoulders of the growth each character when through on their solo outings. 

    A crowd-pleasing structure

    The limited characters available probably also led to the structure the MCU followed for the first few years, which proved to be a resounding success with audiences. By choosing to explore characters general audiences weren’t familiar with, origin stories were the way to go and this meant that team-up movies would have to wait until each member was properly introduced. Had the rights to characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men or the Fantastic Four stayed with the company, it would perhaps be expected for them to have a similar treatment that the MCU’s Spider-Man ended up having, where its origin story was skipped (since it was already fairly known) in order to dive head-first into a huge ensemble movie, and only later going into its solo feature. The structure the MCU ended up following through to The Avengers (and later replicated up until Endgame) ended up being a winning formula, as it gave audiences the time to become increasingly interested in the franchise, growing exponentially. That way, when the climactic story event did occur, its cultural impact was deepened, making the post-Avengers MCU a reasoned reality.

    An off-year

    The COVID-19 Pandemic disrupted the entire movie industry. But at a time when many were questioning what the MCU had to offer in a post-Endgame reality, the off-year 2020 became might have ended up helping to reinvigorate the hype surrounding the franchise as a whole. There is no way that this sort of hiatus would have happened unless the circumstances made it so as after Endgame there was still money to be made, and Disney wouldn’t obviously support the idea that coming to a halt for an entire year would be good for the brand. But the reality was that both production of the streaming shows and the release of the theatrical productions were impacted in a way that left fans clamoring for content throughout the year. When WandaVision premieres on January 15th it won’t be another MCU project, it will be seen as the “highly anticipated return of the biggest franchise of the 21st century”. And the way 2021 is lining up to be, Marvel won’t let their foot off the gas, for the time being, capitalizing on the drought they were forced to endure in the past few months.

    Disney+

    This return to form wouldn’t be possible without a streaming service that began to develop before Marvel Studios even knew it would be as crucial to their future as it has ended up becoming. With movie theaters mostly closed, and with audiences still turning their backs on the theatrical experience, having Disney+ at their disposal is invaluable, to say the least.

    It’s a project that obviously took a lot of investment on Disney’s part, it didn’t just manifest itself from thin air, but the timing of it all couldn’t be more perfect. By knowing that the service would be available to them by late 2019, Marvel began developing a number of streaming shows that, in the current circumstances, will prove essential for it to regain its momentum, reestablishing itself as the benchmark for cinematic franchises. And now, as they prepare their comeback after more than a year away from the public eye, having a number of properties ready to present will make said project much easier to accomplish. Streaming will also present itself as a valid alternative to theaters should it come to that in the near future. But that’s a story for another day.

  • What I Heard This Week: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

    What I Heard This Week: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

    As has always been the case, “What I Heard This Week” pieces should never be taken as more than rumors until they’re proven true or false.

    Hollywood has gone on holiday and as is the case every year, the information stream has slowed to a trickle. New is always slow this time of year and while I don’t have any solid news to share with you, there is one really fun rumor that might get fans buzzing and generate some interesting conversation. Again, this is only an unsubstantiated rumor at this time, not some fuego scoopage. If it turns out to be true, however, it could lead to Marvel Studios collaborating with a big-time, fan-favorite talent down the road. So before going any further, adjust your expectations because this one tidbit comes without context.

    7500': Amazon Wins Global Rights To Joseph Gordon-Levitt Movie – Deadline

    Early on Christmas morning, I was notified that the uber-talented Joseph Gordon-Levitt had recently been in contact with at least one of the creatives at Marvel Studios. Unfortunately, as the kids say: “That’s it. That’s the tweet.” Given the lack of specific context here, “contact” could mean a lot of things. He could have bumped into someone at a coffee shop; he could have had a meeting with Kevin Feige; he could have sent a “Happy Holidays” text to a producer buddy of his. We just don’t know, which is why I cautioned you to adjust your expectations; however, there’s no point in being a fan if you don’t speculate wildly about what this COULD mean.

    In an industry loaded with talent, JGL stands out as uniquely talented. The 39-year old has been acting since he was 7 and has also branched out into writing, directing, producing and even composing film scores. Therefore, being in contact with the studio doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to see Gordon-Levitt bring a hero or villain to life on the screen. It’s just as likely that, if he were to join the team at Marvel Studios, that his contributions come off-screen.

    MARVEL - MOON KNIGHT

     

     

    Gordon-Levitt was frequently fancast as Marc Spector, the vigilante hero that the trades have reported is set to be played by Oscar Isaac in Moon Knight, but that doesn’t mean that JGL couldn’t still contribute to the series in some way. The Jewish-American actor could easily be brought in to work with the writers to contribute to the authenticity of the script, have another role in the series (perhaps he could play Marc’s father, Elias, for instance) or simply be consulting on the project in some other way.

    Of course, the more tantalizing potential here is that JGL met with Marvel Studios to discuss the role of Reed Richards in Marvel Studios Fantastic Four, set to be directed by Jon Watts. After spending a couple of years away from acting following the birth of his children, Gordon-Levitt has worked on only a couple of projects per year the last two years and could be compelled to throw his hat in the ring for the role of Richards, one that will likely secure a decade’s worth of work as Mr. Fantastic is sure to become one of the MCU’s prominent characters in 2023 and beyond. JGL is among the most popular fan choices for the character, but keep in mind that this is nothing but sexy speculation here since we do not know the nature of the interaction he had with the Marvel Studios creative.

    Ultimate Reed Richards: 10 Worst Things The Maker Has Done, Ranked

    Going even further down the rabbit hole, Gordon-Levitt, who would be a very young-looking 40 or 41 by the time Fantastic Four went into production, resembles the Ultimate Reed Richards far more than he does the 616 version of the character. While I am not a fan of taking Richards down that road in the MCU, there is at least some physical similarity there; however, if Feige and Watts want to make sure their Fantastic Four stands apart from the previous versions, taking Richards down the road to becoming the Maker would do it.

    107. And Now-The Thing - Fantastic Four 1 by 1Fantastic Four 1 by 1

    Alternatively, JGL could also prove an interesting choice for another member of Marvel’s First Family: Ben Grimm. Before being exposed to cosmic rays and turning into the giant, orange Thing, Grimm was a handsome, athletic and highly intelligent guy who grew up on Yancy Street in a Jewish family. While he’s been portrayed as less than intelligent in some mediums, Grimm was an Air Force pilot and astronaut and far from a bumbling fool. Whether via flashbacks or due to the “human once a year serum” developed by Reed, we could see a human Grimm in the film played by Gordon-Levitt who could also do the motion-capture performance of the Thing. Again, it’s all just speculation at the moment, but that’s part of the fun of being a fan.

  • ‘Eternals’ Character Descriptions Released Online

    ‘Eternals’ Character Descriptions Released Online

    Just yesterday, we got an early leak revealing some details for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Eternals film. Director Chloe Zhao is going to introduce the world to a whole new race of forgotten superpowered individuals. The alien race was created a long-time ago by the Celestials to protect Earth. Now, it looks like the Indian retailer Redwolf is prepping for the film’s upcoming merchandise. According to their site, they share licensed merch from Marvel, so they are getting everything ready. A variety of the Marvel Legends has been leaked online, so the merchandise seems ready to go. We still don’t know when they will release it, as the film got delayed by an entire year. So, let’s take a closer look at some of the tidbits included for the characters.

    Ikaris is the leader of the Eternals, who is also known as the strongest. He can shoot cosmic energy from his eyes and must lead the Eternals once more to face the monstrous Deviants, who have returned. He is the love interest of Sersi, who supports him in this mission. She has an affinity for humans, so she remained on Earth as a museum curator. Her abilities allow her to manipulate matter.

    Their spiritual leader Ajak can heal humans and Eternals, so she a valuable asset in their upcoming conflict. The Eternals have left their imprint on humanity throughout history, such as Phastos using his ability to develop Earth’s technology from the shadows. There is also Makkari, who is the fastest woman in the universe, who scouts out planets. She is the only one who is deaf, so she isn’t affected by the sonic booms she creates.

     

     

    Quite a few of the Eternals have gone down their own paths, such as the Kingo, who’s been living as a Bollywood star on Earth. He loves wealth and fame a bit too much. Sprite’s time on the planet hasn’t been that nice, as everyone keeps thinking she is a child since she looks like a 12-year old girl. She can cast illusions, who will play a vital role in their battle against the Deviants. Of course, there are also Gilgamesh and Thena, who we covered in the previously-mentioned leak. Lastly, there is Druig. He disagreed with the others’ way of handling their interaction with humanity and may tread the line between friend or foe.

    These are just general descriptions that tease their various abilities and what we can expect from them. There is a surprising lack of Dane Whitman a.k.a. Black Knight. He may only have a minor role in the film. There were early talks of a love triangle, so it seems that Sersi is going to have to decide between Ikaris and Dane. It makes for an interesting dynamic, as she must decide between her Eternal heritage or her love for humanity. 

    Source: Redwolf

     

  • ‘Eternals’ Leak Teases the Backstory of Angelina Jolie’s Thena

    ‘Eternals’ Leak Teases the Backstory of Angelina Jolie’s Thena

    It is still bizarre to think that both Black Widow and Eternals got postponed by an entire year. As such, we haven’t seen a single piece of marketing material for the latter outside of various leaks from the Marvel Legends toyline. We still know very little about the film’s story and what we can expect from Marvel’s superhuman race. It looks like another toy leak may have offered a rather curious detail. In the comics, Gilgamesh was exiled by the Eternals ruler Zuras, who believed he had meddled too much in the mortal world. He would eventually be known as the Forgotten One. Don Lee is set to play the character and it seems like the upcoming adaptation will follow his origin story quite closely. Well, with one exception.

    @BRMarvelNews shared an image from Ikaris’ upcoming Legends Series figurine, which includes a piece of Gilgamesh’s Build-A-Figure. The packaging includes an interesting quote:

     

    The strongest and kindest Eternal, Gilgamesh becomes Thena’s de-facto partner when the events of the past exile them from the other Eternals.

     

    That is a rather curious reveal, as Thena never got exiled in the comics. Angelina Jolie‘s character is the daughter of the previously mentioned Zuras. Her name was changed from Azura to Thena to resemble that of Zeus’ daughter Athena. If you are wondering, no Zuras, and Zeus are not the same characters. Te humans were also having some trouble keeping them apart within the Marvel Universe. Either way, she ended up having a romantic interest in the Deviant’s leader Kro.

    Together, they conceived twins during the Vietnam War, who she would pass on to an infertile woman. At one point, both ended up at war with each other before he tried to court her once more. There is a good chance that they will connect his storyline with Gilgamesh, who may have known about these events and stood by her side. So, if they both get exiled in the film, it may have some connection to Kro. Going by his design from a leak some time ago, it is uncertain if they will still lean into the romantic backstory. Hopefully, we will get a tease soon to finally figure out what we can expect from Eternals.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘WANDAVISION’ Season 1 Seemingly Set for an 8-Week Run

    ‘WANDAVISION’ Season 1 Seemingly Set for an 8-Week Run

    The information comes from an official Disney site.

    Looks like Twilight Time is gonna go on for a while. After more than a year without any MCU content, Marvel fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the upcoming Disney+ series, WandaVision. The show centers around Marvel’s newly wedded couple; Wanda Maximoff and Vision, living out their lives in the peaceful, suburban town of WestView. A lot of questions have been asked regarding the show since the trailers sometimes tend to leave us with more questions than answers. How is Vision back? What is it with all these sitcom era homages? Is it all in Wanda’s head? Does it have to do with the Mind Stone? All of these questions will hopefully be answered during the series which premieres on January 15th. One of the questions a lot of fans have been waiting answers to is how many episodes the show would have? Many have been reporting that WandaVision would have a total of 6 episodes, but it seems that we’re in for a whole lot more WandaVision content than that.

    Disney Latino, an official Disney site, whose main focus in on Latin America, recently released this article relating to WandaVision’s premiere on Disney+. The translation is as follows:

    “On January 15, 2021, WandaVision opens on Disney + , Disney’s streaming platform. The series starring Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) and Paul Bettany (Vision) will have a new episode available every Friday, and will reach the end of its first season on March 5.”

    A lot of things to take in with this article. So first things first, the site states that following the premiere of the series on January 15th, we will be treated to a new episode EACH friday until the end of the season on March 5th. Meaning that WandaVision will be debuting a new episode each week for 8 weeks. That means there are bound to be AT LEAST 8 episodes from this series. The second important thing to notice is that it mentions that WandaVision will reach the end of “its first season”. Is it hinting at the possibility of perhaps a second season, or continuation of Wanda and Vision’s story? Only time will tell. The site also provided additional details on the series:

    “This new Marvel Studios production is set in Westview. Its protagonists describe it as a sitcom that spans many decades to the present and finds the characters of Vision and Scarlet Witch living an apparent married life in suburban bliss. The new series will not only be a great reunion for those who follow these characters in movies and graphic novels, but it will also allow us to know other sides of their stories.”

    This tidbit provides us with another clue as to what we can expect from WandaVision, teasing the possibilities of their stories being explored more in depth with the show than ever before, perhaps shedding some light on the unclear origins of some of these characters and how they came to be the characters we know and love today.

    Official Plot Synopsis: Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, “WandaVision” is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. The show features the return of Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis & Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, as well as the introduction of new faces, such as Teyonah Parris as an adult Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as the nosey neighbor, Agnes.

    WANDAVISION PREMIERES EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+ ON JANUARY 15TH.

  • New ‘WANDAVISION’ Teaser Features An Interesting New Detail

    New ‘WANDAVISION’ Teaser Features An Interesting New Detail

    We are just 3 weeks away from the first episode(s) of WandaVision streaming into our homes and this morning Marvel Studios gave fans a little present with a new look at the show during Disney’s Christmas celebration. Check out the new teaser below!

    This one definitely adds to the mystery of what exactly is going on in WestView, especially the scene where Agnes essentially wants to take the scene from the top after flubbing her lines. You can check out everything we know about the series, which kicks off Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here. WandaVision begins streaming on January 15th, exclusively on Disney Plus.