Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Empire Cover Offers a Closer Look at a New Suit

    New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Empire Cover Offers a Closer Look at a New Suit

    Over time, it’s incredible how many rumored characters and storylines are potentially included in Spider-Man: No Way Home. As such, there’s been a lot of uncertainty on what we can truly expect from the film. The only real confirmations we got were the various suits he’ll wear in the upcoming film. It wasn’t until the trailer dropped that we at least got the tease of Green Goblin and Alfred Molina‘s return as Doc Ock. The promotion has been silent ever since. At least, that was until now.

    Empire has unveiled a new cover featuring the wallcrawler alongside Ock’s mechanical tentacles and the pumpkin bombs from Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man film. In it, we also get a good look at one of Spidey’s new costumes that got teased through the merchandise release. It’s not the Black-Gold suit or even the returning Iron Spider costume, but the one that seems like a natural combination of the latter with his base suit from Far From Home.

    It’s quite the stylish design and the way they added What If…?’s reflection effect to bring the multiverse to life is a nice touch. We also get a small nod to the magical webbing that was teased with the reveal of the black-gold suit is a nice addition. Of course, the Empire magazine is also the tease of more coverage in the near future as well as a potential second trailer. It’s still crazy we’re waiting for a poster.

    Source: Twitter

  • Penny Dreadful Alum Sir Simon Russell Beale Joins ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    Penny Dreadful Alum Sir Simon Russell Beale Joins ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’

    According to a playbill for his new gig, The Lehman Triology, British stage actor and Penny Dreadful alum Sir Simon Russell Beale has joined the MCU and will be making an appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder.

    https://imgur.com/gallery/2uMrQOM

    Beale has portrayed Shakespearian icons such as Malvolio, Hamlet, Iago and King Lear during his nearly 30 year career that has stretched from stage to big screen. He also memorably portrayed Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle over 3 seasons of Penny Dreadful.

    It’s not known what role Beale has taken on in Thor: Love and Thunder, but given his pedigree and the rumors that gods and goddesses from other pantheons may appear, it’s not too far fetched to think he might be portraying one of them.

    Thor: Love and Thunder will be in theaters on July 8th, 2022.

  • ‘Dune’ Spicing Up the Domestic Box Office With Potential $30M+ Opening

    ‘Dune’ Spicing Up the Domestic Box Office With Potential $30M+ Opening

    We’ve been waiting for Dune‘s arrival in domestic cinemas for quite some time. It already had a great start internationally with around $36.8M in its opening weekend across 24 markets in September. Now, we finally got a clearer picture for its domestic debut, as it garnered around $5.1M in its Thursday previews. Denis Villeneuve‘s latest film was also made available through HBO Max, which might give it a good audience boost. The numbers are looking good, as it drove 30% of Thursday’s box office, especially in Imax cinemas. It makes sense, as it was one of the big selling points of the film and ended up making up $1.5M of its total preview income.

    As of now, the box office seems likely for a $30M+ opening, but Warner Bros. is keeping their prediction at around $30M to be safe. Its Imax performance is certainly a showcase of the film’s marketing and selling the “cinematic experience,” but the question remains if it can keep the momentum going into the weekend. HBO Max availability has hurt films Saturday’s at times, but only time will tell for now.

    Villeneuve’s films haven’t always garnered box office attention but were still very popular with critics and audiences. As The Hollywood Reporter highlights, the biggest challenge lies in the franchise’s older draw. Even No Time to Die suffered a bit over the weekend due to the original novels’ older audience. It’s going to be exciting to follow its development.

    Source: Deadline, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter

  • RUMOR: New Character Description May Hint at ‘Batgirl’ Casting Alysia Yeoh

    RUMOR: New Character Description May Hint at ‘Batgirl’ Casting Alysia Yeoh

    As production is set to kick off sometime in November, we’ve recently got a slew of new information on the upcoming Batgirl film. The film seems to be taking its inspiration from the Burnside run that was prominent in the New 52. Directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi also teased the appearance of “the real” Batman, which naturally adds quite a bit of speculation. The cast is still growing as they recently added actor Jacob Scipio in an unknown role. It looks like they might be adding one more character.

    The production is currently looking to cast a role under the name Alanna. Cast-It lists it as an “Untitled Warner Bros. Action Film” with Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi listed as directors. What is also noteworthy is that it’s eyeing to shoot in the United Kingdom. The role is described as a transgender, Asian-American actress in their mid-late 20’s. The production is looking for someone to play both an older and younger version of the character. So, there’s an additional casting call for a 10 to 12-year-old Asian-American, transgender girl, or a non-binary/gender-diverse person. They are described as “athletic, fun, and confident”.

    This description matches almost perfectly to the character of Alysia Yeoh, Barbara Gordons best friend, and roommate from the comics. She would eventually end up dating Barbara’s brother James, which could even further backup that Jacob Scipio could indeed be playing James Gordon Jr. Batgirl currently has no set release date but will release exclusively on HBO Max. Leslie Grace is taking on the mantle and will be joined by J.K. Simmons, reprising his role as Commissioner Gordon.

    Source: Cast-It

  • Maluma Joins Disney’s Animated Film ‘Encanto’

    Maluma Joins Disney’s Animated Film ‘Encanto’

    It looks like Disney is ready to kickstart its advertising for the upcoming animated film Encanto. They’ve shared a little video on Twitter to promote Latin superstar Maluma joining the voice cast of the film. Of course, the Colombian singer will also lend his singing voice to the upcoming film. He’ll play the character of Mariano. He’s the soon-to-be fiancé of Mirabel’s sister Isabela. He had the following to share on his casting in the film.

    Encanto is such a magical movie. I’m from Colombia and the story is about a Colombian family. I’m proud to be part of this beautiful story. It means so much to me as I’m very passionate about sharing my country’s cultural values and story globally

    Maluma

    You can check out the video and first look at his Encanto character here:

    Juan Luis Londono Arias, better known to fans as Maluma, made a name for himself in the last ten years across the world. With six albums released, his work on “#7DJ – Seven Days in Jamaica” put him on the map with Billboard, Latin Billboard Awards, VMAs, and the Latin GRAMMYs. He’s also set to appear in the upcoming film Marry Me featuring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. Given his experience as an actor and singer, he’s a great addition to Encanto which is eyeing a November 24th release. The film also features songs by Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda and is directed by Zootopia‘s Jared Bush.

    Source: Twitter

  • WarnerMedia Studios CEO Seemingly Confirms Plans for a ‘Dune’ Sequel

    WarnerMedia Studios CEO Seemingly Confirms Plans for a ‘Dune’ Sequel

    Denis Villeneuve‘s adaptation of Dune is only the first part of the bigger picture. The story that explores the dunes of Arrakis offers a taste of what the story has to offer and many wondered if we’d finally get a sequel announcement. Luckily, it seems that WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Chair and CEO, Ann Sarnoff, might have confirmed that they’re already planning on the story getting a continuation. In a sit-down with Deadline, she gave the following answer on the question if we should expect the sequel.

    Will we have a sequel to Dune? If you watch the movie you see how it ends. I think you pretty much know the answer to that.

    Ann Sarnoff

    WarnerMedia CEO also added that their decisions on continuing franchises are based on audience responses and not just box office. The question was made due to the cinema epic also releasing on the streaming service HBO Max. WarnerMedia has been holding true to its promise that all 2021 releases will be made available simultaneously in theatres and their streaming service.

    It’s an interesting tease ahead of its domestic release. The film has been performing strongly internationally and the domestic release could be the last push it needed. Yet, it seems that there’s not as much pressure on Dune to outperform its earliest expectations for a domestic premiere. Our own Filip Manka had a chance to watch the film early and you can check out his review here.

    Source: Deadline

  • Zooey Deschanel Almost Played the Wasp in 2012’s ‘Avengers’

    Zooey Deschanel Almost Played the Wasp in 2012’s ‘Avengers’

    It’s always fun to take a look back at what could’ve been. Many films go through a variety of scripts before they settle on the one that makes it into cinemas. It looks like Avengers almost was a completely different story, as the new book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe confirmed that Joss Whedon‘s Avengers film was originally going to center on the Wasp. Not just that, they were eyeing New Girl‘s Zooey Deschanel for the role, as highlighted by producer Jeremy Latcham.

    It was all about The Wasp. He wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel. [Wasp] was the funniest character in the whole movie, and well-written.

    Jeremy Latcham

    They go into detail about how the production ended up including Wasp in a major role. It seems after Iron Man 2, no one knew if Scarlett Johansson would return and so they needed to fill the role that was originally meant for Black Widow. Whedon decided to add in Wasp. A quote by Whedon highlights that once Johansson was back on board, they had to rewrite the entire script, especially as they realized the Wasp character took over the story.

    The Wasp happened because there was a short period where it looked like we weren’t going to be able to get Scarlett [due to scheduling conflicts], so I was panicking. I thought, ‘Hold on, we could do The Wasp.’ Then I fell in love with that. But we did get Scarlett, and then I realized I had written this entire movie about The Wasp. Oops. I overcompensated there.

    Joss Whedon

    It’s certainly a little peek behind the curtains and exploring what could’ve been. Deschanel would match a more bubbly version of Janet van Dyne, which some may be familiar with from the animated Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes series. Of course, the character took quite a different route as Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope van Dyne would take on the iconic mantle. They turned the title into a legacy story, as she took over the role from her mother, who was cast as Michelle Pfeiffer in Ant-Man and the Wasp. Still, it’s crazy to imagine if Johansson didn’t find time, the MCU we are now experiencing might’ve been quite a bit different. Perhaps the adventure into the multiverse opens up the possibility for her to tackle the role after all.

    Source: The Story of Marvel Studios via ComicBook

  • REPORT: ‘She-Hulk’ Will Set Up a ‘World War Hulk’ Movie, Eyeing 2022 Production Start

    REPORT: ‘She-Hulk’ Will Set Up a ‘World War Hulk’ Movie, Eyeing 2022 Production Start

    We’ve long wondered if Hulk would ever get his solo project. Especially with the announcement of She-Hulk’s Disney+ series, it seemed like the Green Goliath was going to continue his run as a supporting character. Yet, it seems that the time has finally come for Hulk to take the spotlight, as Geeks World Wide has shared that Mark Ruffalo is set to return in his feature film inspired by the World War Hulk storyline. It looks like it’s also been planned for some time as it’s eyeing a late 2022 production start. There is also the hint that this is the first of many potential Hulk films.

    The aspect of this that truly stands out is that it confirms Disney and Marvel Studios have regained the rights to Hulk. As GWW points out, for a long time it seemed that the rights were in the hands of Universal. Yet, the moment we heard that Namor would potentially appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, it opened the floodgates. The character was also famously owned by the competition, but still no word on any Hulk project. This report might be our first hint that they truly regained all the rights.

    If this is indeed the next project, it opens up the question of how She-Hulk may set up this story. Of course, the story might be quite a bit different from what we are used to from the comics. Plus, it makes you wonder if She-Hulk has a role in this story. There’s a lot of potential in their take on the story.

    Source: Geeks World Wide

  • DC FanDome Tripled Its 2020 Viewer Count

    DC FanDome Tripled Its 2020 Viewer Count

    DC once again held its fan event DC FanDome. Unlike last year, however, they took a different route by shortening the event and not providing a full-on schedule for multiple different events. Luckily, it seems that it worked out for the streaming event as Deadline is reporting they managed to triple their viewership numbers from last year. It was available in 220 countries in 12 languages. There were 50 available live streams across Social Media, as people clocked in. WarnerMedia Studios and Networks CEO Ann Sarnoff shared their excitement for the digital event’s success with the following statement:

    With triple the fan traffic of last year, DC FanDome 2021 exceeded all of our expectations. We continue to innovate across the company in service of our fans, and I cannot overstate the creativity and hard work that went into this highly curated, global digital event. We gave fans what they wanted – the very best of all things DC – and their engagement and response have been fantastic. We’re as excited as they are to deliver on all the great content DC FanDome highlighted.

    Ann Sarnoff

    As of now, the event pulled in 66M viewers worldwide. It’s also a testament to DC’s decision to downsize the event in their favor. Instead of investing in countless panels with hosts, special guests, video editing, and so much more, they kept it to a few hours to push out reveals at a steady rate. Given its success, there’s a good chance we’ll get another release next year as they continue to expand the DCEU moving forward.

    Source: Deadline

  • Charlie Cox on Possible ‘DD’ Return: “A reimagined, upgraded version of the character”

    Charlie Cox on Possible ‘DD’ Return: “A reimagined, upgraded version of the character”

    Charlie Cox continues to be a gentleman as the press endlessly asks him about his return to his famed take on Daredevil while promoting his new show Kin. In an interview with Sirius XM, Charlie was unsurprisingly quizzed about a hypothetical return to the role, to which he responded interestingly:

    What happens in the comics is a writer and an artist will team up for a run of a comic, so they’ll do 10 issues, 20 issues. If there was an opportunity for me to come back as Daredevil, whatever that would look like, I imagine it would be a reimagining of the character and the show. If they choose me to do it, there are going to be some elements that are of course the same. But I imagine it would be like the upgraded version of the character.

    It’s no secret that while the Daredevil Netflix show was excellent in quality, it had certain limitations with how they could push certain aspects of the character such as the suit and the radar sense. In addition to Spider-Man: No Way Home, Daredevil is rumored to appear in Disney+ shows Hawkeye, Echo, and She-Hulk, all of which have substantially larger budgets. Charlie openly talking about his hypothetical, upgraded return is indicative of the talks he’s had with Marvel Studios about a Daredevil reprisal.

    Source: Sirius XM