Tag: MCU

Connecting Imaginary Dots: Tyler Dean Flores Joins the Cast of ‘THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER’

CONNECTING IMAGINARY DOTS ARE PIECES WE WRITE HERE THAT ALLOW US TO BE WHAT WE ALL TRULY ARE: FANS. THESE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SCOOPS, EXCLUSIVES OR FACTS; JUST SPECULATION ABOUT THE THINGS FOR WHICH WE ALL SHARE A GREAT PASSION.

Much of the cast of the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier has been working in Prague for the past week or so and evidence suggests that we might be able to add one more to their number in the person of actor Tyler Dean Flores. An up and comer with under a dozen film or TV appearances, Flores might actually be the answer to a question I’ve been working on for nearly a year! Let’s take a look at the evidence and get into how he might be the missing puzzle piece I’ve been searching for.

Last night, an Instagram follower first alerted me to the possibility of Flores having joined the cast by sharing some recent Instagram photos that seemed to indicate that Flores was spending some time with Erin Kellyman, an actress whose now confirmed role in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was first revealed by Murphy’s Multiverse in a Connecting Imaginary Dots feature, and some other cast members.

A quick check of Twitter showed that the same information had been noticed by Screen Rant’s Cooper Hood. Some further investigation of Flores’ social media turned up another solid piece of evidence when the actor revealed he was, in fact, working in Prague, though he would not reveal the project.

I’d say on it’s own the cumulative social media evidence presents a pretty solid case for the Harlem native having joined the cast but there’s one more dot to connect here and, in doing so, it solves one of my longest standing mysteries around the series. Late last Fall/early last Winter, a casting call was shared for me that indicated Marvel Studios was searching for an Hispanic/Latinx actor to play a supporting role in the series. I couldn’t dig up the communications to find the date, but I know it was around the time we broke the news that Adepero Oduye has joined the series. I know that some other “scoopers” and one Hollywood trade were also in possession of the info and trying to find out who had landed to role as well. Seeing Flores hanging out in Prague with the rest of the cast gives me at least a small level of confidence that he is the actor who landed the role and, if the sizes of the roles of some of the other actors he has been working with are anything to go by, Flores’ role might extend beyond this series…perhaps as a member of the Thunderbolts. Of course none of this is confirmed at this point, so the evidence has to speak for itself, but in this case, I think it makes a pretty compelling case.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is currently filming and is now expected to stream on Disney Plus sometime in early 2021.

October 15, 2020
First Look at ‘WandaVision’ Funko Pops Unveiled

UPDATE: GameStop is also releasing an exclusive 70s Vision Funko Pop.

We now have our first look at the Funko Pop Vinyl line for the upcoming Marvel Studios Disney+ show WandaVision. The lineup of Funko Pops features Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany’s Vision across different eras.

As we can see from the images, we can see some of Wanda and Vision’s looks for the upcoming show which were already teased in the official trailer back in September.

Rewatch the trailer here:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sj9J2ecsSpo&w=560&h=315]

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 adult Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as the nosey neighbor, Agnes.

The show is currently scheduled to premiere Late 2020, streaming exclusively on Disney+.

October 12, 2020
‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’ Ramping up Production in Prague

Over the past few days, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021) production moved to Prague for some more shoots and takes for the upcoming Disney+ limited series. We know that as of now, they’re still trying to complete production and we don’t know exactly how far along the team is production-wise. But a local site has been keeping us to date on all of the things the team shoot and film for the show. And most recently, it seems that they started filming some action sequences involving Sebastian’s Stan double for the show, some wires, and a sequence involving a bridge.

View this post on Instagram

Now in these videos above, we can see Sebastian Stan’s double performing a sort of stunt sequence involving some wirework, along with a drone camera capturing another angle to the scene. According to the page and their sources, the production team was shooting “a chase scene close to National Theater – one of the main historic sites of Prague.” Neither Sebastian Stan nor Daniel Brühl (who plays Baron Zemo) are in Prague but sources say they will be arriving at a later date. Currently, Anthony Mackie & Wyatt Russell are already there in Prague for production. Another very important thing to note is that Adepero Oduye was seen on the premises of production. We’ve already discussed her joining the cast back in November. Her role still remains unknown, however, we’ve caught wind that the Oduye’s character will be “someone close to Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson.”

Another interesting tidbit from the set photos is that they were able to confirm that a part of the plot in Prague will be set in Riga, the capital city of Latvia, based on the street signs and the Latvian police cars.

Now apart from that chase sequence, there was also another production unit stationed at the Troja Bridge and “a road in the countryside where production shot a scene with armed vehicles.”

Stay tuned for more updates.

Source: Fandíme Filmu, Instagram

October 12, 2020
‘HAWKEYE’ Searching for Young Echo, Crazy Horse Lincoln and More

Marvel Studios streaming series Hawkeye has made quite a bit of news lately and now it looks like they are ready to start filling some supporting roles ahead of what looks to now be a November start of production.

Most notable among them, the series is searching for an actress, 8 years old, to portray a young version of Maya Lopez, whose addition to the MCU we first reported here and was confirmed just last week. The studio is seeking a deaf, Indigenous girl described as “independent, athletic and bright” which, coincidentally are the same descriptors used for Echo in the original call. Additionally, they are also searching for an Indigenous American to portray “a loving father and fierce protector”, a description that fits the bill for Echo’s father, Crazy Horse Lincoln. In the comics, Lincoln worked for and was killed by Wilson Fisk. As he died, he places his bloody hand on his daughter’s face, creating the look for which Echo is famous.

The series is also casting several recurring roles including an Eastern European henchman, an NYC police detective, an “oddball” that sounds suspiciously like Grills (Clint’s neighbor from the Fraction run), a “smart and scrappy” young, Midwestern woman, a pair of young kids (anyone remember Clint babysitting?) and a “professional and ambitious career woman.”

It’ll be interesting to see how this adaptation of the Fraction run works Maya Lopez’s origin story into it. Could Madame Masque fill the role of Kingpin and be the mob boss that sets her on the path to becoming Echo? While it might not be popular with fans, it’s a fairly easy change to have Madame Masque raise Echo and make her believe Barton was responsible for the death of her father, perhaps during his time as Ronin. We’ll have a bit of a wait to find out as it doesn’t seem like we’ll be seeing Hawkeye until late 2021.

October 5, 2020
Sasha Lane Interview Seemingly Confirms Role in ‘LOKI’

Early this year, stuntwoman Kelly Bellini was listed on IMDb as actress Sasha Lane’s stunt double for episode 2 of the Loki series. Unfortunately, IMDb is sometimes not the most reliable source of information, and Sasha had not actually been confirmed as being in the show as of many months later. Now a new interview with Sasha Lane with GoldenGlobes.com about her other series Utopia, has seemingly confirmed the IMDb listing.

Lane made her film debut in the award-winning movie, American Honey (2016), starring opposite Shia LaBeouf and Riley Keough, after being spotted on a Miami beach by the film’s director, Andrea Arnold. She followed up with roles in Hearts Beat Loud, opposite Nick Offerman, and The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Hellboy, and will next appear in the superhero series, Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston.

While there has been a few articles previously speculating Lane was in the Loki series, largely coming from that IMDb listing, it hadn’t really been confirmed; assuming Golden Globes wasn’t working off of that same listing, it looks like Lane’s presence in the series may have been confirmed.

Source: Goldenglobes.com

October 4, 2020
New Report Seemingly Confirms Echo for ‘HAWKEYE’

A few months back, we discovered that Marvel Studios was searching for a deaf female, Native American, First Nations, Indigenous or Latinx, 18 or older, to play the role of “Malia” in an unspecified Marvel Studios project set to go into production this Fall. At the time we felt strongly that the role was that of Maya Lopez, aka Echo, and that she was most likely to appear in Hawkeye. Today, a new report from the Illuminerdi seems to confirm just that as it indicates that a casting call for Hawkeye featured that same description.

The news, which comes on the heels of learning that the series will also feature Madame Masque, starts to bring the possible premise of the series into focus. We’ve heard that show will deal with the repercussions of Clint’s time as Ronin and now that we know Lopez, who was the original Ronin in the comics, is definitely part of the show, things are starting to crystalize. I’ve long felt and often discussed that Rhodey’s chat with Natasha about the messes Clint had made were more than just filler for Avengers: Endgame. We’ve heard that we’ll see more of Clint in the costume and now it seems that the backstory of Maya Lopez may well be tied to Clint’s time under the mask. Could Lopez be someone that comes back to haunt Clint? Could she have been a protege of his before he met Kate? More questions than answers at this point as we know so little about the series, but with filming starting soon, we should learn more by the day.

Hawkeye seems on track to hit Disney Plus in the Fall of 2021.

September 29, 2020
Marvel Studios ‘HAWKEYE’: Who is Madame Masque?

Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye is set to begin production soon and, as we draw nearer to cameras starting to roll, we’re learning more and more about the project. The recent report that one of Marvel Comics classic female villains, Madame Masque, is going to feature in the project has a lot of folks asking the same question: who is Madame Masque. Murphy’s Multiverse is here to help…in 400 words or less!

The woman who would become Madame Masque was born Giuletta Kristina Nefaria, the daughter of Avengers foe and made Maggia man Count Luchino Nefario. The Count sent her away and she spent her early years living with a foster family where she was known as Whitney Frost; however, when she discovered her true heritage, she came back to work for her father and eventually took control of the Maggia. A nasty little accident left her face permanently scarred so she had a fancy golden mask constructed for her, popped it on and became known as Madame Masque. For much of her early years in the comics, she found herself at odds with Tony Stark and while there are some great stories there, they’re not really significant in this context.

Madame Masque made a major resurgence in the 2000s, finding her way into several of the line-wide events such as Civil War, Secret Invasion, Dark Reign and Siege and then, beginning in November of 2012, she became a recurring figure in Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye run. MM caused quite a problem for Barton when she acquired and subsequently auctioned off a recording of Hawkeye assassinating a world leader (don’t worry, he didn’t actually do it). Both Barton and his protege Kate Bishop went to great lengths to prevent the video from going public and eventually stumbled their way into foiling MM’s plan, stoking her rage and making Kate the focal point of her vengeful plot. Madame Masque then became a constant thorn in Kate’s side even following her to Los Angeles and putting her through the ringer on more than one occasion.

Given that Hawkeye is rumored to deal with the fallout of Clint’s time as Ronin, it’s not out of the realm of possibilities that Madame Masque finds her way into the series much in the same way she did in the comics: by having the dirt on the Avenging Archer! We’ll all find out together in 2021!

September 28, 2020
Disney Dates Next D23 Convention for 2022

2020 saw the pandemic force the cancellation of almost every major convention that we have grown accustomed to as fans. While many cons opted to do some sort of online option, including the very well-watched DC FanDome, the general consensus was that fans and talent alike missed the con experience and couldn’t wait to get back. However, as we head into the Fall and COVID cases continue to creep back up around the world, it seems that at least one con we all expected next year won’t be there: Disney has announced the date for the next D23 and it looks like they’re sitting out next year.

The D23 Expo is a biennial event that began in 2009 and taken place every 2 years since. Last year’s Expo was a huge hit for Marvel Studios fans as Kevin Feige showed up to announce some unexpected new streaming series and casting info and setting fans abuzz. The expectation would be that they’d be back next year sometime but as experts continue to inform us that life won’t be quite back to normal by next summer, it seems Disney is taking the safe approach by delaying its next D23 Expo until September 9-11, 2022.

While this news may come as somewhat of a shock to fans, it’s good to see Disney, who recently took Marvel Studios entirely off the 2020 theatrical slate, take a proactive approach. We’ll have to see what other changes are yet to come to the film slate, but as of right now we can expect 2022 to be an absolutely wild and jam-packed year for Marvel Studios with at least 4, if not 5, films set to release. Imagine them capping it off with a huge info drop of what to expect in 2024 and beyond (X-Men anyone!).

September 28, 2020
RUMOR: Madame Masque to Appear in ‘Hawkeye’ Series

A new report from The Direct indicates that Madame Masque is set to appear in Hawkeye, the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series set to move into production this Fall. I can add that the production was searching for a female for a “flashy” role opposite Clint Barton’s Hawkeye and Madame Masque, who served as one of the primary antagonists in Matt Fraction‘s Hawkeye run, certainly fits that bill.

First appearing in Tales of Suspense #97, Giuletta Nefaria has gone by many names over the years and though primarily thought of as an Iron Man villain, she has been a thorn in the side of many Avengers and a part of the West Coast Masters of Evil. Matt Fraction used her brilliantly in his run on Hawkeye where she had a long-standing bout with Kate Bishop. This bout began when Kate moved to Los Angeles after a falling out with Clint in New York so it is nice to get an idea as to what aspects of the Fraction run they’re drawing from. The character also went by the name Whitney Frost and a version of that character appeared in Agent Carter, so it’ll be interesting to see what tap dancing they do around that if this report turns out to be true.

Hawkeye is set to begin production next month and stream on Disney Plus in 2021.

September 28, 2020
EXCLUSIVE: New Details on Fin Fang Foom’s Lair in ‘SHANG-CHI’

A couple of months ago, prior to the production on Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings getting back underway, set photos made their way around the usual channels of a huge set being built in Sydney. Seen below, the set features around a dozen smaller huts surround one larger, central hut all partially surrounded by a large green screen. Murphy’s Multiverse has learned some exclusive details about this set which we now believe to be The Valley of the Sleeping Dragon!

First seen in Iron Man #261, The Valley of the Sleeping Dragon is exactly what you expect it to be: the resting place of Fin Fang Foom. In the comics, the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon has been the resting place of Foom, “He Whose Limbs Shatter Mountains and Whose Back Scrapes the Sun”, since he and his fellow Makluans came to conquer Earth. Since then, it has been the job of a group of warriors to keep his terrible power at bay by keeping him asleep. This job has been passed down from one generation to another throughout the ages.

Our source describes the Valley of the Sleeping Dragon set as a hilly, seaside location with a temple at its center with the greenscreen serving as the seashore itself. The other huts each serve their own purposes but the other noteworthy feature is the large, bamboo structure known as the battle dome which is surrounded by an area where the village’s warriors hone the skills necessary to protect Fin Fang Foom.

As mentioned here by MCU Cosmic, it does seem that Foom is central to the plot of Shang-Chi; however, we’ve been able to dig up some additional details that give quite a bit more context. As in the comics, The Valley of the Sleeping Dragon has been under the protection of the descendants of a group of warriors dating back hundreds or perhaps thousands of years, giving a little more context to why the production was casting for ancient warriors as detailed here.

These elite warriors have devoted their lives to keeping at bay what is described as an ancient evil bent on the destruction of mankind. But, it seems, they are not alone in keeping this ancient evil asleep as our source indicates that while they are keeping a shapeshifting alien that looks like a dragon tucked away they might just have their own dragon to help them fight off invaders! The warriors wield shields and spears made from dragon scales (see our staff artist’s rendition of them below) in addition to one more incredibly powerful weapon: chi. The MCU Cosmic report mentioned we might see some magic users in Shang-Chi and, from what we can understand, these elite, ancient warriors, much like the Masters of the Mystic Arts, have learned to harness energy through a series of movements but instead of it being magic, it is chi.

In addition to the set description, our source adds that the village is led by an elder known as “Huang Bo” (this may or may not be his actual name but it most certainly is the character described in an old casting call searching for a male, 40-60 known as a wise, old statesman and the leader of his village) and he is joined in the village by another fierce protector: Michelle Yeoh’s character. It’s not hard to imagine this location being central to the Mandarin’s end goal, with a living weapon of mass destruction sleeping beneath it and all.

We’ll stop here as going any further into detail will certainly tread into spoiler territory, but it’s absolutely fantastic to see Marvel Studios mining the comics and bringing The Valley of the Sleeping Dragon to life in an absolutely incredible practical set with a touch of green screen. Perhaps the seaside set will include a nice, dragon-sized cave like the Hang Son Doong cave pictured above. Either way, the hype dial for this film better go to 11 as this set will feature some of the best action sequences in an MCU film to date. We can’t wait to see it in person when Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings hits theaters on July 9, 2021.

September 27, 2020