Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘Eternals’ Star May Have Accidentally Confirmed Sequel in Development, Chloe Zhao to Return

    ‘Eternals’ Star May Have Accidentally Confirmed Sequel in Development, Chloe Zhao to Return

    Patton Oswalt might have just confirmed an Eternals sequel is in development. A Tweet circulating the internet features the actor and comedian discussing an “announced” Eternals 2, where he states Chloé Zhao will return to direct and he hopes to reprise his role as Pip the Troll. Oswalt was part of a surprise post-credits scene last year which introduced his character and Harry Styles‘ Starfox, the more handsome and charming brother of Josh Brolin‘s Thanos, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eternals released in November of 2021 to mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, causing concern from fans that a second installment might never come to fruition. There have been virtually no updates on a potential sequel since the first film hit theaters.

    Patton Oswalt might have just confirmed an Eternals sequel is in development. A Tweet circulating the internet features the actor and comedian discussing an “announced” Eternals 2, where he states Chloé Zhao will return to direct and he hopes to reprise his role as Pip the Troll. Oswalt was part of a surprise post-credits scene last year which introduced his character and Harry Styles‘ Starfox, the more handsome and charming brother of Josh Brolin‘s Thanos, to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eternals released in November of 2021 to mixed reviews from critics and audiences alike, causing concern from fans that a second installment might never come to fruition. There have been virtually no updates on a potential sequel since the first film hit theaters.

    https://twitter.com/neverland__pete/status/1554947788596989953?s=20&t=r0fl5sjicM6iw9B3niLIKA

    Despite a lot of silence on the part of Marvel Studios, Eternals did a lot in it’s nearly 3-hour runtime to set up a future for it’s large cast of characters. The movie ended with it’s ensemble cast splitting in two, with one half staying on Earth to face the judgement of the Celestial Arishem and the other half jetting into space to recruit other unseen Eternals to their cause. Kit Harrington‘s Dane Whitman was included mostly as a means of propping up future appearances. Other A-List stars are also attached to the franchise and would likely return for a second entry, including Angelina Jolie and Kumail Nanjiani.

    It’s not known if a possible Eternals 2 would be set within the “Multiverse Saga” – the collective name for Marvel’s fourth, fifth, and sixth phases – or if it would come sometime after 2025’s Avengers: Secret Wars. There are a few film release slots still open for Phase 6, so it seems entirely plausible fans could see some sort of Eternals 2 in that time frame.

    Source: TikTok via Twitter

  • ‘Joker’ Sequel to Mostly Take Place in Arkham Asylum

    ‘Joker’ Sequel to Mostly Take Place in Arkham Asylum

    The upcoming sequel to Joker subtitled Folie à Deux, finally gets a release date as Todd Phillips returns to the world he set up back in 2019. Joaquin Phoenix is already confirmed to return while rumors have hinted that the film is going to be a musical. There have been hopes that Lady Gaga might even take on the role of Harley Quinn. We know very little about the actual story direction of the sequel outside of rumors, but it looks like we got our first little nugget of information.

    According to The Wrap‘s Umberto Gonzalez, it seems that most of the upcoming films will take place in Arkham Asylum. So, it hints that it’ll set up right after where the first film ended and potentially follow the storyline known as Mad Love from the comics. The story revealed how Harley Quinn was actually Joker’s psychiatrist that would create a unique bond with him during her interviews with the inmate.

    It’ll be interesting to see how the project will come together, and it does seem likely that it’ll involve a lot of musical dream sequences throughout. It may be a way to add a different background as they explore the character’s bonding. We’ll have to see if they make an announcement on the casting in the near future, especially if they already set a release date.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ Nabs 2024 Release Date

    ‘Joker: Folie A Deux’ Nabs 2024 Release Date

    While Warner Bros. Discovery continues to re-evaluate HBO Max and the projects being developed for the streaming service, the studio is moving full steam ahead on the theatrical front. Deadline has reported that the Joker sequel, Joker: Folie a Deux has nabbed an official release date. The film will be hitting theaters on Oct. 4th, 2024.

    The news comes a day after Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would be shelving the nearly complete Batgirl, which was meant to hit theaters next year. That project was said to be shelved as a tax write-off after the studio felt it wasn’t enough of an event film. The October 4th date was originally being held by Warner Bros. Discovery for an untitled DC event film, so the news isn’t entirely surprising. The first film managed to surprise with $96.2 million when it opened in October before going on to earn $1.07 billion at the box office – making it the highest-grossing R-rated film ever.

    While Joker 2 was in development prior to the merger, it managed to avoid being canceled because the studio viewed the film and director Todd Phillips as a good way forward for its DC films. In fact, back in June, reports suggested Phillips was being considered to help guide DC and Warner Bros Discovery. It remains to be seen whether or not that ends up being the case.

    Production on Joker: Folie a Deux is expected to kick off this December. Leading man Joaquin Phoenix returns as the Joker, while Lady Gaga is reportedly in talks to portray Harley Quinn in the film that is being described as a musical. Todd Phillips co-wrote the sequel with Scott Silver and will return as the director.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Zosia Mamet Joins ‘Madame Web’

    Zosia Mamet Joins ‘Madame Web’

    The cast for the upcoming Madame Web solo film is by far one of the most intriguing things about it, with names such as Dakota Johnson, Emma Roberts, Isabela Merced, and Sydney Sweeney rounding out the cast. Production on the film is currently underway but it seems to cast on the project isn’t over quite yet as Deadline is reporting that Zosia Mamet is joining the cast of the upcoming Sony Marvel film.

    Mamet is joining the film in yet another undisclosed role within the film, with the film still shrouded in a mystery as we have yet to hear just who anyone in the film will be playing. It’s speculated that the lead, Dakota Johnson, could be playing the role of Julia Carpenter, the second Madame Webb, after being spotted on set sporting a very familiar red leather jacket.

    Madame Webb will be the franchise’s first female protagonist and one of the next entries in the Sony universe of Marvel characters, set to release following Kraven The Hunter in 2023. The original character in the comics was known as Cassandra Webb, who confided to a spider-web-shaped life support machine. Webb was blind and had psychic abilities and clairvoyance that allowed her to watch over the Spider-Verse and was a key part of the original comic event.

    Madame Webb is currently set to hit theaters on October 6th, 2023, and will be directed by S.J. Clarkson who previously worked on Marvel series like The Defenders and Jessica Jones for Netflix.

    Source: Deadline

  • HBO Max May No Longer Produce Scripted Shows, 70% Layoffs Expected

    HBO Max May No Longer Produce Scripted Shows, 70% Layoffs Expected

    The news surrounding Warner Bros. Discovery continues to ramp up. Not only did they shelve two almost finished projects with a combined cost of $130M but also decided to just shelve around six films from HBO Max that were original productions. Now, more details are finding their way online on what exactly is happening and the future of the streaming service is starting to look quite grim.

    HBO Max was quite the promising streaming service in the market and had the potential to rival both Netflix and Disney+ in its growth. Now, it seems that the future plans are to combine HBO Max and Disccovery+ into a brand new service. As a result, they are removing shows and movies that didn’t perform well (questioning what standard that exactly is) as partial tax write-offs. Yes, more projects are likely going to silently vanish from the streaming service.

    The only way that taxable income can be written off is by removing it from distribution, which also means we won’t see a future digital release; similar to what happened to Batgirl. They also seem to want to streamline their service to not overwhelm audiences with choices, a common complaint surrounding Netflix, but it may come at the cost for original productions.

    The plan seems to be to roll scripted shows with HBO to reduce redundancies between the two offerings. 70% of their current staff may be cut which is a massive movement by CEO David Zaslav and likely leave a very bitter taste in the industry. It’s unclear when they might clarify what exactly their future plans will be, but right now it seems that scorched earth is their internal strategy.

    Source: IndieWire, The Wrap

  • Ryan Reynolds Seemingly Starts Getting in Shape for ‘Deadpool 3’

    Ryan Reynolds Seemingly Starts Getting in Shape for ‘Deadpool 3’

    It’s a Deadpool kind of day, as we’ve been getting some bits and pieces on the upcoming third entry, such as Zazie Beets playing coy on if we can expect her return as Domino. Now Don Saladino has shared a few photos of him getting Ryan Reynolds in shape for an upcoming project. In his comments, he includes a red and two katanas, which definitely continues to push the notion that Deadpool 3 is happening sooner rather than later. While it wasn’t included in any of the Phase announcements, it may still take on the blank positions in Phase 6.

    Reynolds starting to prepare for the upcoming project is definitely a good sign that something is on the horizon. Perhaps D23 is where we’ll get an official announcement and even some insight into what exactly Phase 6 will be all about. They seemingly surprised us with how much they revealed during San Diego Comic-con and who knows what else might be heading our way with Disney+ Day and a Disney-owned event on the horizon.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘John Wick’ Director Had Discussions With Marvel Studios to Tackle ‘Blade’

    ‘John Wick’ Director Had Discussions With Marvel Studios to Tackle ‘Blade’

    The John Wick franchise has been nothing but successful for Lionsgate and filmmaker Chad Stahelski. After spending years as a stunt coordinator and second unit director on various projects, Stahelski received his big break helming the Wick films, which launched him into stardom and helped rejuvenate Keanu Reeves’ career.

    Apparently, the series also earned Stahelski a meeting with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige, whom he’d worked with before as the second unit on Captain America: Civil War, as stated by Stahelski during a recent interview with Comic Book. According to the director, Feige set up some time for a chat that meant a lot more than the producer might have realized:

    Marvel was very influential in my career. I owe them a great deal. Kevin [Feige] is an awesome guy and I’ve worked for him many times on second unit. After John Wick 3, he was nice enough to carve out a big chunk of time and have a nice talk. He’s been a…in a way…a very strong mentor, even though it was a short period of time. I’ve only talked to him a few times, but he has been very influential in mindset and how to do it.

    Chad Stahelski

    While the meeting seems to have been a general one, Stahelski revealed that Feige did inquire about signing him to a future project. Stahelski apparently only had one in mind:

    And he 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

    Blade, which was announced in 2019 with Mahershala Ali attached to the starring role, is now set to be directed by Bassam Tariq and will release on November 3rd, 2023. The Mogul Mowgli creative will bring to life a script from Stacy Osei-Kuffour, with Delroy Lindo and Aaron Pierre having since joined the cast. Stahelski, on the other hand, is busy preparing for John Wick: Chapter 4 to drop on March 24th, 2023.

    He has yet to direct anything outside the John Wick franchise, but perhaps his meeting with Marvel Studios will open the door for something else down the line. After all, there is no shortage of opportunities in Marvel’s plans for the next decade.

    Source: Comic Book

  • Zazie Beetz Plays Coy on Possible ‘Deadpool 3’ Return

    Zazie Beetz Plays Coy on Possible ‘Deadpool 3’ Return

    Zazie Beetz left her mark on the Marvel franchise when she appeared in Deadpool 2. The Atlanta actress portrayed Domino, a mutant mercenary and longtime comic book affiliate of Wade Wilson, in the well-received sequel project. She was introduced to the franchise alongside Josh Brolin‘s Cable, and before the merger of 20th Century Fox and Disney, many fans expected Beetz to reprise her role in the trilogy’s third installment. Now, with Deadpool 3 being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, pretty much everything aside from Ryan Reynolds‘ involvement is up in the air.

    Speaking with Variety at the premiere of her new film Bullet Train, Beetz was asked to comment on her potential future as Domino in Deadpool 3. Of course, the actress couldn’t really confirm anything, but her response felt far from an actual denial:

    It’s unknown how much of the Deadpool series’ storyline will carry over into the MCU, especially considering the concept of mutants is only just being realized in the franchise timeline. Luckily, Deadpool 3 could possibly fall within the ongoing “Multiverse Saga”, which would leave several doors open for performers like Beetz and Reynolds to enter the MCU from another dimension. After all, Domino does operate using the power to manipulate luck, so it’s entirely plausible that she has a hand in landing herself and the Merc with a Mouth in the multiverse’s most popular timeline.

    Deadpool 3 will be directed by Shawn Levy, from a script by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, and currently has no release date.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Deadpool 2’ Director Explains Why He Didn’t Return for the MCU Sequel

    ‘Deadpool 2’ Director Explains Why He Didn’t Return for the MCU Sequel

    David Leitch has made a name for himself in Hollywood. The former stunt man-turned-director is gearing up for his latest action film, Bullet Train, to hit theaters this weekend, and spoke to Uproxx about the many projects that have brought him to where he is today. After co-directing the first John Wick with Chad Stahelski, Leitch carved his own path and made more action hits with films like Atomic Blonde and the Fast & Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw. Perhaps his most popular work, however, is 2018’s sequel Deadpool 2, which he boarded after the first film’s maestro, Tim Miller, departed over creative differences.

    Curiously, Leitch has never returned to a franchise after working on it once. This could change in the future, but for now, the director explained to Uproxx that it’s almost entirely circumstantial:

    It’s probably more of what I’m doing and some circumstance. I love all of those worlds, and they’re all precious to me. Starting with John Wick. Chad has taken over that franchise and executed it beautifully. And Deadpool is amazing. And Atomic Blonde, I would love to go back. When I look back, I would love to go back to those worlds, but I think the way it’s worked out for me, or fate has brought me to this place, is that I get new opportunities and they’re really awesome, interesting, as well. Now moving on and doing The Fall Guy with Gosling, we’re prepping right now.

    David Leitch

    When asked if his upcoming production of The Fall Guy played a role in his not coming back for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Deadpool 3, Leitch made it clear this was not the case. In fact, the creative revealed he had actually spoken to Marvel about another Deadpool adventure, but simply couldn’t find the right window to make it happen between the studio and himself:

    No. Look, we had conversations about Deadpool 3, but I just was … I had things in the pipeline, too. And it was never, “Hey, do you want to do it or not want to do it?” or whatever. I think it was more we knew our dance cards were kind of full on both sides. And we have a window. And Marvel has calendars.

    David Leitch

    Deadpool 3 will be helmed instead by Ryan Reynolds‘ frequent collaborative partner Shawn Levy. There is not currently a release date, but fans can check out Leitch‘s Brad Pitt-starring Bullet Train on August 5th.

    Source: Uproxx

  • Tenoch Huerta Teases Namor Has “Deep Admiration” For Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa

    Tenoch Huerta Teases Namor Has “Deep Admiration” For Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa

    Tenoch Huerta is about to have his moment. The actor is set to debut as Namor the Sub-Mariner in this year’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, a role that will likely propel him into mainstream fame, but Huerta‘s mind is still focused on those who came before him. In an interview with Black Girl Nerds, the former Narcos: Mexico star explained that both himself and his character have a deep admiration for the late Chadwick Boseman‘s King T’Challa:

    Well, my character, and personally, it is fun, because my character has a deep admiration for Black Panther… T’Challa… But, me as an actor and as a simple human being, what Chadwick means: so powerful, so deep, it’s extraordinary. And it’s… Yeah, it’s a big inspiration.

    Tenoch Huerta

    Boseman passed away after a courageous battle with cancer in 2020, leaving a big hole to fill in Wakanda Forever. Namor, ruler of a fictional undersea nation, will help fill the void, but as Huerta states beautifully, nobody will ever truly replace Boseman‘s impact on the franchise or the world at large:

    So, in different levels, in the fiction and the real life, [to] be part of this and feel his presence… through the legacy, through the people who [were] involved in this project is fantastic. As I mentioned a moment before, it’s like his shadow is in the wall. So you line the shadow, and then you put a lot of colors, and music, and love, and you are part of that because it’s your colors as well. You know, your culture, your music is there, and it’s beautiful [to] be part of that, you know what I mean?

    Tenoch Huerta

    It seems Huerta enjoyed his time working on the film, and his comments continue to solidify the idea that the Black Panther sequel will still very much involve Boseman‘s influence. In the comics, Namor and T’Challa have a longstanding relationship that’s been both friendly and volatile at different points in time. This dynamic will unfortunately not be realized on the big screen, but the door is wide open for whoever ends up donning the Black Panther mantle to craft a new form of rivalry with the Sub-Mariner.

    Source: Black Girl Nerds