Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘Blade’ Delayed Indefinitely Following Bassam Tariq’s Departure

    ‘Blade’ Delayed Indefinitely Following Bassam Tariq’s Departure

    Following director Bassam Tariq’s departure from the project, it now seems that production on Marvel Studios’ Blade is unsurprisingly going to be delayed. Tariq’s departure leaves the project, which has already faced several delays, without either of the members of the original creative team now that Beau DeMayo has taken over script duties from Stacy Osei-Kuffour. With so many major shifts occurring in such a short span of time, Marvel Studios has made the wise choice to delay the start of the project but will continue pre-production work on the script.

    Just when principal photography on Blade may get underway is still in question and will likely remain that way for some time until Marvel can lock down a director. Following news of Tariq’s exit, several outlets and individuals, including Big Screen Leaks, shared news of the expected delay with a target date of early 2023.

    https://twitter.com/bigscreenleaks/status/1574973513743863808

    Later, Angela Boehm Casting in Ohio, an agency that had been working to find extra for Blade’s shoot in Cleveland, announced that the agency was halting its search for actors until the Spring.

    While these reports certainly don’t conflict with one another, they both indicate that the reality is nobody knows exactly when Blade will begin filming. It’s already very likely that the film will be moved from its November 3rd, 2023 slot. Now the focus becomes how soon it will be ready for theaters. With the studio recently moving its February 2024 film, which was just announced yesterday to be Deadpool 3, to September of 2024, a spot has opened up for Blade to land somewhere in the first quarter of 2024. Certainly, none of these things are linked together and are all just a series of unrelated, happy coincidences.

  • Bassam Tariq Exits ‘Blade’

    Bassam Tariq Exits ‘Blade’

    Blade has hit yet another setback.

    The Hollywood Reporter has announced that director Bassam Tariq has left the project. Marvel Studios confirmed the news, revealing that the director will remain an executive producer on the project. While Tariq’s exit is unfortunate, it does seem to be genuinely due to the film’s repeated delays, as the director also released his own statement on the matter.

    “Due to continued shifts in our production schedule, Bassam is no longer moving forward as director of Blade but will remain an executive producer on the film. We appreciate Bassam’s talent and all the work he’s done getting Blade to where it is.”

    Marvel Studios

    “Its been an honor working with the wonderful folks at Marvel. We were able to put together a killer cast and crew. Eager to see where the next director takes the film.”

    Tariq 

    Marvel Studios is already on the hunt for a new director. It’s likely we’ll hear news on that front in the coming weeks, although no names have been mentioned as being in contention just yet. THR was also able to confirm our report that Beau DeMayo was, in fact, brought on to rework the script.

    Blade is set to star Mahershala Ali in the title role, with the cast also including Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre. Also part of the cast is Milan Ray. The first draft of the screenplay was penned by Watchmen’s Stacy Osei-Kuffour. The film was set to hit theaters on Nov. 3rd, 2023.

    Source: THR.

  • ‘Star Trek 4’ Taken Off Paramount’s Release Schedule

    ‘Star Trek 4’ Taken Off Paramount’s Release Schedule

    Star Trek 4 won’t be boldly going anywhere anytime soon. The sequel has officially been removed from Paramount’s upcoming film slate. The film, which was being produced through J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot banner, was originally set to hit theaters on Dec. 22, 2023.

    Unfortunately, the news shouldn’t be too surprising. Star Trek 4 faced yet another setback when director Matt Shakman exited the project after signing on to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four. Prior to Shakman’s hiring, Paramount had brought on Jessica Jones director S.J. Clarkson to helm the film, but she ended up leaving the project and eventually signed on to direct Madame Web for Sony. While Noah Hawley (Fargo) and Quentin Tarantino were being eyed to direct other Star Trek films that ultimately never came to fruition.

    The fourth film was set to see the return of Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Karl Urban as Bones, John Cho as Sulu and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Filming was set to begin by the end of this year. With no director attached, however, there was no chance of the project meeting its planned 2023 release date.

    Updating…

    Source: Variety.

  • BREAKING: Hugh Jackman Returns as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3’, Gets September 2024 Release

    BREAKING: Hugh Jackman Returns as Wolverine in ‘Deadpool 3’, Gets September 2024 Release

    No, you read that correctly but it looks like Hugh Jackman isn’t quite done yet with his role as Wolverine. Ryan Reynolds shared a new video on his official Twitter account and suddenly dropped the news that Hugh Jackman will return as Wolverine in the upcoming third Deadpool movie. Not only that but he also revealed that the film will premiere on September 6th, 2025.

    There’s a fun reference in regard to the film not being featured during D23 but this random drop is right up Reynold‘s usual marketing scheme for the character. Instead of being a part of the massive Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are still going to explore Deadpool as part of the original 20th Century Fox era of the X-Men. Perhaps this is meant to not only send off the character into the multiverse but also as a way to wrap up the trilogy, which has repeatedly mocked their relationship.

    We also got a new logo fitting for Wolverine’s return and includes the Marvel Studios logo.

    This is technically the first non-mainline MCU project to release throughout the Multiverse Saga and it seems fitting that they’d make use of some familiar elements. If they are still waiting for an opportunity to fully use some elements from the original before they start building their own. Who knows if this also opens up the possibility of Hugh Jackman reeturning in Avengers: Secret Wars. After him seemingly leaving the role behind, it’s crazy to think Wolverine is back in style and perhaps he hopefully gets to finally wear the iconic suit this time around.

    Source: Twitter

  • Kevin Feige Teases the Scarlet Witch’s MCU Future

    Kevin Feige Teases the Scarlet Witch’s MCU Future

    Elizabeth Olsen has become a driving force behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her character’s journey from orphan to one of the most powerful characters in the Multiverse has been one of the MCU’s most impressive, long-term character arcs and Olsen’s work in WandaVision stands among the best performances given in the 14-year history of the franchise. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw Wanda turn heel, fully embrace the Scarlet Witch and eviscerate some of the Multiverse’s mightiest heroes before realizing the enormity of what she’d done and bringing Mt. Wundagore down around her.

    Since Multiverse of Madness premiered early in 2022, rumors have begin to swirl that despite her apparent demise, Marvel Studios had future plans for Wanda in not one, but two projects. A solo Scarlet Witch project and an adaptation of Avengers: The Children’s Crusade have both been the source of fairly legitimate rumblings, though Marvel Studios has had nothing to say on the subject…until now. In a recent interview with Variety, both Kevin Fiege and Olsen gave some insight into what the future might hold for the character.

    As fans of the MCU might come to expect, Olsen is hesitant to reveal even the slightest bit of information about whether or not there even is a future for the character, saying “I really don’t know my future. There’s nothing that has been agreed on.” Fortunately, and perhaps a bit uncharacteristically, Feige was a touch more loquacious.

    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

    Essentially, Feige is subscribing to the narrative that many fans have been quick to point out: though the circumstances seemed dire for Wanda as Wundagore came crumbling down, there’s no reason to surmise that one as powerful as the Scarlet Witch couldn’t have survived. More than that, Feige’s praise of Olsen is effusive, calling her “incredibly humble and incredibly down-to-earth” behind the scenes while also stating that she is “a force of nature” when “those cameras roll.” To cap it off, Feige enthused that he’d “work with Lizzie for another 100 years” before teasing “anything’s possible in the multiverse!” Certainly not the type of “I-said-a-lot-without-saying-anything” answers Feige tends to give nor a nail in the coffin of the character.

    Even after being told of Feige’s comments, Olsen remained mum on the topic of her return. But with her sons rumored to appear in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, two rumored projects that would feature her and Avengers: Secret Wars ahead, it’s hard to imagine that Marvel Studios would leave the Scarlet Witch buried in the rubble.

    Source: Variety

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Blade’ Recruits ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Scribe Beau DeMayo

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Blade’ Recruits ‘X-Men ’97’ and ‘Moon Knight’ Scribe Beau DeMayo

    Beau DeMayo is becoming a go-to-guy for Marvel Studios. Part of the writer’s room for Moon Knight and the head writer and executive producer of X-Men ’97, the revival of the iconic X-Men: The Animated Series, it looks like DeMayo may have joined the crew of one of Marvel Studios’ most anticipated feature films, Blade.

    While Disney has not commented officially on it, DeMayo has taken up temporary residence in Atlanta where Blade is in pre-production. In a recent Instagram post first pointed out by a Murphy’s Multiverse Discord patron, DeMayo showed off the Atlanta skyline from what he called his “new office.” While there are other Marvel projects underway, as a writer DeMayo would almost certainly not be joining one that was already deep into production. After running through the possible scenarios, Blade becomes the only logical choice. The start of principal filming has been delayed several times, recently pushed from an October kickoff to November, potentially allowing DeMayo a pass at the script.

    Stacy Osei-Kuffour was brought on as the film’s writer in February of 2021 and the studio had originally intended to begin production in late Summer of 2022 ahead of the project’s November 3, 2023 release date. Looking back at the bread crumbs, it’s likely that DeMayo has been attached to the project for a month or two now to polish up an already finished script by Osei-Kuffor rather than completely rewrite the story. Having multiple writers take a pass at movie scripts has become a fairly common practice at Marvel Studios, using the opportunity to take advantage of the strengths of different writers. Having DeMayo in Atlanta as pre-production gets underway is entirely in line with Marvel Studios’ past precedent and gives the new writer time to work intensely and closely with the film’s cast and crew to ensure the script is tight before filming begins. At this point, there’s no expectation of the film’s release date being delayed, keeping it on track for a late-2023 release.

  • REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Runtime Makes It the MCU’s Second Longest Film

    REPORT: ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Runtime Makes It the MCU’s Second Longest Film

    The final film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever may be one of Marvel Studios’ longest features to date. According to new listings on the Cineplex and Regal websites, the Ryan Coogler-directed sequel will be 161 minutes (two hours and 41 minutes) long. If true, that runtime makes it the longest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Avengers: Endgame, which ran over three hours.

    While still unconfirmed, a longer runtime could suggest that Wakanda Forever is taking its time to explore a larger story amidst the heavy nature of the film stemming from the passing of Chadwick Boseman in 2020. According to the film’s synopsis, Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Shuri (Letitia Wright), M’Baku (Winston Duke), Okoye (Danai Gurira), and the Dora Milaje fight to protect Wakanda from intervening world powers as the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, along with War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman). Tenoch Huerta will be making his appearance in the MCU as Namor, and the sequel also features Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, ahead of the Ironheart Disney+ series.

    While runtimes ultimately say quite little about the contents of a film, fans love to speculate. Before they were released, Eternals was deemed too long and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was deemed too short by those on social media. If Wakanda Forever does end up being the longest non-Avengers film in the MCU, it could be the result of a packed storyline, a slower-paced narrative, or both. In any event, the filmmakers likely took their time crafting the emotional follow-up to the iconic Black Panther.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on November 11, 2022.

    Source: Cineplex and Regal

  • Marvel Studios President Opens Up on Not Recasting the MCU’s T’Challa

    Marvel Studios President Opens Up on Not Recasting the MCU’s T’Challa

    The death of Chadwick Boseman was a heavy one; for many it was unexpected. Not only was it a tragic loss of amazing talent, but it also was a hardship his many friends, family, and more had to endure. His legacy lives on in many ways, such as his memorable take as T’Challa throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, it wasn’t an easy decision after his passing for Marvel Studios and director Ryan Coogler to figure out if they’d continue to tell the stories of T’Challa in Black Panther.

    While it’s uncertain still who exactly will carry over the mantle, there’s been a lot of discussions on if this was the right decision. Of course, while many want to see the stories of T’Challa continue in the MCU, there’s also the weight it puts on any actor having to take over that role and the heavy weight it would be for the cast and crew simply replacing a close friend. In an interview with Empire, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige offers some insight on why they decided to not recast.

    It just felt like it was much too soon to recast. Stan Lee always said that Marvel represents the world outside your window. And we had talked about how, as extraordinary and fantastical as our characters and stories are, there’s a relatable and human element to everything we do. The world is still processing the loss of Chad. And Ryan poured that into the story.

    Kevin Feige

    Of course, he highlighted that the big aspect was also them taking their decision and questioning how they continue. One thing was to keep that legacy that Chadwick Boseman left alive while tackling the sequel.

    What do we do next?’ And how could the legacy of Chadwick – and what he had done to help Wakanda and the Black Panther become these incredible, aspirational, iconic ideas – continue? That’s what it was all about.

    Kevin Feige

    No matter where one stands, there was never truly going to be a “right” answer. The first trailer definitely felt like our first glimpse into the weight this project will hold. For now, we still can only theorize how exactly they handle it but November isn’t that far away anymore.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Black Panther 2’ Actor Confirms Namor’s Mutant Status

    ‘Black Panther 2’ Actor Confirms Namor’s Mutant Status

    Many have wondered with the recent build-up to the mutant’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe if they are sticking to the comics for some characters. We are getting teases and hints of famous mutant characters but outside of an audio cue in Ms. Marvel, there hasn’t been a confirmation. Now that changes, as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever‘s Tenoch Huerta has confirmed that he is indeed a mutant in the upcoming Black Panther sequel.

    He highlighted that this is the aspect that is carrying over from the comics, as they are taking a different approach with their version of Atlantis. It is now called Talocan and is fully inspired by Mesoamerican culture; something the initial trailers have definitely put a large focus on and made sure to highlight.

    You can take Atlantis from Greek myth, or you can adapt from a real culture.

    Tenoch Huerta

    It’s impressive how they took that cultural identity and made it work so well while also including some great comic-accurate costume elements from his early days in the comics. We’ll see just how deep they explored the Mesoamerican cultural impact on the character when the film releases in November, but so far it has been quite impressive and it’ll be exciting to see what else they might have planned for the character.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Avatar’s Re-Release Pulls in Mighty $10M, Potentially Hinting at ‘Way of Water’s Performance

    ‘Avatar’s Re-Release Pulls in Mighty $10M, Potentially Hinting at ‘Way of Water’s Performance

    This weekend saw the re-release of James Cameron‘s original Avatar. Not only did it include new elements to better lead into the upcoming sequel The Way of Water, but it also acts as a reminder of one of the biggest releases in theaters many years ago. The film has managed to pull in $10M over the weekend landing in third place and with a higher box office than most of this year’s re-releases.

    Spider-Man: No Way Home was also a massive re-release a few months ago, it did so on around 4,000 theaters while Avatar managed to pull in its numbers on only 1,860. So, it’s looking quite good that Way of the Water is going to open massively worldwide. While it’s unclear if it’ll have the legs to pull off a $2 billion release window, there’s a decent chance at play here.

    As one might expect, the film that established the modern 3D boom also pulled in most of its money through that format. It’s no surprise, especially with Cameron‘s promise to bring a new era to that very technology with his upcoming sequels. It’s fascinating to see the reception to the film that has been coined as “forgotten” for quite some time and likely given the long breaks in-between re-releases. We’ll see if that momentum carries over throughout multiple sequels released every two years.

    Source: Twitter