Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • DC’s HBO Max Future Uncertain, ‘Batgirl’ Likely Heading to Theatrical Release

    DC’s HBO Max Future Uncertain, ‘Batgirl’ Likely Heading to Theatrical Release

    The Wonder Twins have met an early demise as the new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to shake things up and set the DC Extended Universe on a clearer path. It seems the twins may have just been the first of many causalities going by a recent statement.

    The new leadership, led by David Zaslav, is reportedly placing a mandate that states all DC films should be set as theatrical releases as their first goal. This decision stems from the budgets many of these films have with Zaslav using Wonder Twins‘ $75 million as an example. They don’t see that kind of investment viable with a good return with a release on HBO Max. This would mean that a film like Batgirl, which is still set to release on HBO Max could instead see a shift from the streamer to a wide theatrical release.

    The Hollywood Reporter also states that sources have told them that a lot of things that are being developed by Warner Bros. are likely going to be scrapped and never see the light of day. It seems the Green Lantern series may be in danger as it’s hit multiple delays in production and could exceed the budget granted to projects on the streamer. The bright side could see the film finally get some steam behind it and the long-awaited return of a character like Hal Jordan could become a possibility.

    It may be a while before we know exactly what is happening with the DC Extended Universe and many of the other projects in development. While things may seem uncertain it could lead to a much smoother March forward for the franchise.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Lucasfilm Has No Plans for Indiana Jones Films without Harrison Ford

    Lucasfilm Has No Plans for Indiana Jones Films without Harrison Ford

    With star actor Harrison Ford nearing the age of 80, questions could be asked about the future of the franchises he’s long been involved with. At least when it comes to Indiana Jones, it’s been confirmed that Lucasfilm doesn’t have the intention to recast the role. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy confirmed as much.

    We would never make Indiana Jones without Harrison Ford. Having just finished the fifth movie, I can tell you, there wasn’t a day I wasn’t on set where I wasn’t like, ‘Yes — this is Indiana Jones.’

    Kathleen Kennedy

    This is congruent with the sentiments of Kennedy to avoid recasting legacy characters in the Star Wars franchise as confirmed in the same interview. Many questions have been raised about the direction of the Indiana Jones franchise moving forward, especially with the long delays between the fourth and upcoming fifth installments. This news confirms the notion that we are probably nearing the end of seeing the titular character on the big screen; however, there certainly is room for new characters to be created that would fill the role as a spiritual successor down the road.

    Indiana Jones 5 is naturally set to star a returning Harrison Ford as Doctor Henry Jones, Jr. As well, the likes of Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Toby Jones, and Antonio Banderas are set to join the franchise in undisclosed roles. The James Mangold-directed project wrapped production in February of 2022 and is currently scheduled to be released on June 30, 2023.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Warner Bros Discovery Reveals Why ‘The Wonder Twins’ Was Canceled

    Warner Bros Discovery Reveals Why ‘The Wonder Twins’ Was Canceled

    Just a few weeks ago, word began to spread via The Hashtag News that the Wonder Twins film had been scrapped just before it was set to begin filming. The project was quickly put together with Black Adam writer Adam Sztykiel set to direct the film with KJ Apa and Isabel May set to star as the titular twins, Zan and Jayna. While the cancelation was never officially confirmed, Warner Bros Discovery has officially announced by the studio, the project was confirmed as dead following the studio’s Upfront panel today.

    It has been confirmed that David Zaslav and the new leadership at Warner Bros. Discovery have already begun undoing some of the previous executive’s strategies, like their goal to produce multiple films a year solely for release on HBO Max. The previous plan was for a few of those films to be DC projects to continue to grow their brand and expand the DC Extended Universe.

    The company confirmed that The Wonder Twins met an early demise after David Zaslav deemed the $75 million-plus budget way too high for a film that would make a very limited return and just too high of a budget for a streaming film. Zaslav is instead interested in increasing the number of films that studio releases theatrically, reportedly aiming to release 20-25 movies a year, with the theatrical movies actually performing better on HBO Max following a theatrical run.

    Sadly, fans are gonna have to wait to see The Wonder Twins make their big-screen debut for now as they don’t seem to fit in the new leadership’s plans for the DCEU.

    Source: WSJ, That Hashtag News

  • ‘Deadpool 3’: New Image Teases “Update” and Ryan Reynolds Easter Eggs

    ‘Deadpool 3’: New Image Teases “Update” and Ryan Reynolds Easter Eggs

    Fans of one of Marvel’s most charismatic characters are eagerly awaiting the eventual return of Deadpool to the big screen. It has been four years since Deadpool 2 was released, and Deadpool 3 still has no release date. Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox certainly changed the game for the franchise, but Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool is still set to make his highly-anticipated return in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this time around.

    So far, we know that Free Guy‘s Shawn Levy will direct the Deadpool threequel, and Deadpool’s original writers are returning to help pen the script. Little else is known about the film, but the official Deadpool Movie Twitter account recently teased a “Deadpool 3 update.” The image features actor Rob Delaney’s character Peter in a room full of Ryan Reynolds-related easter eggs. The post states: “We’ve nailed down brand integrations. Story, character, and script next!” See the full post below:

    The easter eggs certainly highlight Reynolds’ many business ventures. Peter is shown wearing a Mint Mobile jacket, a bottle of Aviation Gin is shown on the table, Maximum Effort, MNTN software, and a poster referencing the football club Wrexham AFC, which Reynolds co-owns. While there is not much to go on in terms of actual updates about Deadpool 3, it could potentially be a sign that more information is coming soon.

    Source: Twitter

  • Kit Harington Joins ’Mary’s Monster’

    Kit Harington Joins ’Mary’s Monster’

    Kit Harington is Mary’s Monster.

    The Game of Thrones alum has joined the cast of Fulwell 73 and Rose Pictures’ Mary’s Monster, a biopic about Mary Shelley. He will join Clara Rugaard (Love Gets a Room), who will play Mary Shelley, while Harington will portray the monster. Also joining the cast are Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (CODA) and Sebastian De Souza (Normal People) who will play Shelley’s husband Percy Bysshe Shelley and the couple’s friend Lord Byron, respectively. 

    “’Mary’s Monster’ is a brilliantly original and fascinating script and I’m relishing the idea of depicting the unique part of The Monster,” Harington said in a statement to the press. “An embodiment of Mary Shelley’s psyche. I’m excited by Farren’svision and passion for the project.”

    The film will be directed by Farren Blackburn who directed episodes of Netflix’s Daredevil and The Defenders. He’s directing from a screenplay by Deborah Baxtrom (Living WithFrankenstein) and Stephen Hallett. Mary’s Monster will go into production in the U.K. later this summer.

    La La Land producer, Marius de Vries, has boarded the project as the executive music producer and an executive producer. While Fulwell 73’s Leo Pearlman and Heather Greenwoodwill produce alongside Rose Picture’s Rose Ganguzza, Max Born, Jake Alden-Falconer and Damon Lane.

    As of this writing a release date has not yet been announced.

    Source: Variety.

  • Netflix Exploring a 45-Day Theatrical Release of ‘Knives Out 2’

    Netflix Exploring a 45-Day Theatrical Release of ‘Knives Out 2’

    It was only a question of time, but it looks like Netflix is opening up its streaming-focused business model to also explore a cinematic release. While they’ve released films in the past, they are now considering a 45-day release window, starting with Knives Out 2. There’s been a lot of back and forth by the streaming service, but the recent scare after they’ve dropped in subscriber count for the first time has pushed them to try out new ventures.

    As of now, Rian Johnson‘s Knives Out 2 and the Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s Bardo are being considered. The former makes a lot of sense considering it pulled in $165M in the United States as well as $311M worldwide back in 2019 with a production budget of $40M. The move to purchase any sequels for $400M was quite the move and with the recent scare, its box office draw makes sense.

    Yet, there are going to be some issues with this move if they don’t play their cards right. Netflix’s usual bare-minimum marketing strategy won’t pull in the general audience to check out a film, as they may have forgotten it weeks after seeing the initial trailer. Plus, there’s also the fact that while it provides a new revenue stream, there might be some concerns due to moving away from its digital users to embrace a whole new target audience.

    They have released Don’t Look Up and The Power of Dog for two weeks in theaters, but the new 45-day window is becoming the staple for theatrical and streaming hybrid models. The only question will be if Netflix can pull this new model off and start a strong focus to ensure it reaches

    Source: Business Insider

  • ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ To Be Adapted By Hulu as a Film

    ‘League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’ To Be Adapted By Hulu as a Film

    Mortal men are, once more, attempting the unthinkable by adapting an Alan Moore project into a live-action feature. This time, it’s a reboot of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the film that not only made Moore swear off from ever signing off on adaptations of his work but also the film that ended Sean Connery‘s esteemed career. The unfortunate mortal tasked with helming this project is Justin Haythe, who penned the acclaimed film Revolutionary Road several years back. Hulu is the studio behind this reboot and the plan is for it to be a feature instead of a series.

    For the uninitiated, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a pulp comic that sees literature’s most famous characters get together to fight global conspiracies. The 2003 film barely resembled Moore and artist Kevin O’Neill’s wildly complex world and it’s a tall order for this feature to live up to the comic. As faithful as Zack Snyder‘s adaptation of Watchmen was, even that film failed to capture the nuances and thematics of Moore’s writing. The least this film can do is not be as bad as the 2003 version.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Has Passed $700M Worldwide

    ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Has Passed $700M Worldwide

    There have been a lot of discussions surrounding Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ box office development. Yes, it did face a harsh drop in its second weekend but as The Numbers pointed out, many frontloaded projects have tended to face harsher drops and Forbes made a good point on people expecting either an Avengers-level crossover film or a cameo fiesta like Spider-Man: No Way Home. Throw in the strong horror elements that may not jell with some general audiences, you end up with a B+ CinemaScore and people hoping for more, as such slowing down the word-of-mouth. Throw in a rather dead weekend with little competition.

    Still, the film opened as the 11th highest opening ever at the domestic box office. Even if it’s the second weekend was below The Batman‘s stronghold, the film is still not slowing down as it has now passed the $700M club. As of now, the film has garnered $297M domestically and $406M internationally. So, it managed to pull in the missing $12M to pass the benchmark it just barely missed over the weekend.

    There’s something fascinating about the discussions surrounding box office numbers. Even while Multiverse of Madness will very likely not pass the billion mark, it’s by far still a success for Marvel Studios. It already passed the box office of its original release, which stood at a strong $676M and is very likely going to move around the $900M mark. So, it is a definite increase from one film to the next even if it’s been six years between sequels.

    The MCU’s connected universe gives these films the benefit of sustaining franchises even with larger gaps due to ongoing appearances and staying relevant to viewers. We’ll see if Thor: Love and Thunder may soar with the expectations of the multiverse finally dropped from a new release.

    Source: Twitter, The Numbers, Forbes

  • Anson Mount on Returning as Black Bolt in ‘Doctor Strange 2’

    Anson Mount on Returning as Black Bolt in ‘Doctor Strange 2’

    It must’ve been hard for many of the actors that appeared as part of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness to stay silent. That especially goes for Anson Mount, who was able to return to the role of Black Bolt, which he only briefly got to play in the ill-received 2017 Inhumans series. Now that enough people are talking about the big moments in the film, Mount has taken to his Twitter account to share his enthusiasm for returning to the role, as well as confirm that it was Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige that invited him back to return to the role.

    It definitely was a great surprise and a deep cut for those that remembered the failed ABC series, which only ran for one season. Multiverse of Madness managed to not only bring him back to the role but even update his costume to be a lot closer to that from the comics. Yes, he even had his iconic fork on the mark, which Doctor Strange was quick to make fun of. He even went out in the most gruesome way, and it seems he had a lot of fun working with director Sam Raimi on bringing the character to life.

    We even got a comic-accurate version of his powers, which were given a very memorable visual flourish to stand out from the effect used on the ABC series. We’ll see if this brief appearance might also build up to more in the future, as not much is known about where the Inhumans fit within the MCU.

    Source: Twitter

  • New ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Concept Art Offers a Closer Look at Scarlet Witch Design

    New ‘Multiverse of Madness’ Concept Art Offers a Closer Look at Scarlet Witch Design

    There is no denying that Elizabeth Olsen‘s Scarlet Witch is one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s most powerful characters. Her recent turn to the side of chaos in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness cemented her as a terrifying force of nature in the eyes of many fans, and a new piece of concept art from visual developer Andy Park reflects this perfectly. The longtime Marvel Studios artist often uses social media to promote his previously unreleased artwork for the company’s shows and feature films, and it delivers every time. Most recently, Park has revealed a new look at Wanda Maximoff’s suit from the Doctor Strange sequel:

    The image displays Maximoff in all her scarlet glory, highlighting the immense amount of power she has gained from fully embracing the use of dark magic. Park comments that the intention of the new design was to stay true to WandaVision‘s grand finale outfit while also giving the character a “darker” spin overall. It would appear the artist was able to do just that, with the help of the film’s Visual Development Supervisor Ian Joyner and the rest of Marvel Studios’ talented concept team. Park started his career designing creatures and characters for the acclaimed God of War franchise, before moving over to Marvel in 2010. Since then, he has worked on a number of films including The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Ant-Man and the Wasp.

    Source: Twitter