Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’ Sequel Wraps Production on Reshoots

    ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’ Sequel Wraps Production on Reshoots

    It looks like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has wrapped production on its reshoots, as makeup artist Tricia Sawyer took to her Instagram to share that they’ve wrapped up production and aren’t “Strange anymore.” Kevin Feige hinted that the original production ended back in April. So, they must’ve entered production on reshoots at some point in the last few months and just finished up. Whatever they may have adapted, the Scarlet Witch is definitely involved.

    In the photo, she’s standing next to Elizabeth Olsen as they celebrate the production’s end. The film is set to premiere in March and after Shang-Chi‘s recent success, it seems unlikely they’ll postpone any future releases. It’s ending now gives the film plenty of time to work on the special effects ahead of its release. The film will explore potentially a variety of dimensions that may offer very unique designs. We can’t wait to see how it mixes things up once Strange explores the very multiverse he may have had a hand in creating.

    There’s still a lot of question surrounding the project. Marvel Studios has been keeping a tight lip on the film’s production, especially with Doctor Strange’s appearance in the near future. What If…? only recently explore an alternative dimension version of the character, who might even potentially appear in the live-action film. He’ll also appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home and had a very prominent role in the first trailer. It’s uncertain how that’ll fit into the ever-expanding multiverse but here’s hoping we get a tease sooner rather than later.

    Source: Instagram, ScreenRant

  • Disney’s ‘HAUNTED MANSION’ Reboot Adds ‘LOKI’s Owen Wilson

    Disney’s ‘HAUNTED MANSION’ Reboot Adds ‘LOKI’s Owen Wilson

    It looks like Owen Wilson has eyed a few more projects together with Disney, as Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Loki actor will star in the upcoming reboot of Haunted Mansion. It’ll join another popular adaptation of one of Disney’s popular theme park rides. Director Justin Simien is famous for his work on Dear White People and Bad Hair Day, but the upcoming horror-comedy will be his first big-budget adaptation. It’s our first update on the film since LaKeith Stanfield and Tiffany Haddish joined the project back in July.

    The story still remains under wraps, but it’ll not venture too far away from the 2003 film featuring Eddie Murphy. It’ll explore a family that moves into the titular mansion that is being, you guessed it, haunted. It’s eyeing an October production start in Atlanta. Disney just recently had a successful launch with Jungle Cruise and seems to be eyeing various theme park attractions. They just recently greenlit a sequel and we might see many more get adapted.

    There’s also the Pirates of the Caribbean reboot that’s been in production for some time, which was announced back in June 2020. Margot Robbie and Christina Hodson joined the project and will revive the popular franchise that may have been their most successful adaptation of a park ride-themed film. It’ll be curious if Haunted Mansion‘s success might also see potential sequels moving forward.

    Source: Hollywood reporter

  • RUMOR: Netflix Rebooting ‘POKÈMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU’ To Tie Into New TV Series

    RUMOR: Netflix Rebooting ‘POKÈMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU’ To Tie Into New TV Series

    Here’s a curious rumor. In July, Lucifer‘s Joe Henderson was hired by Netflix to develop a live-action adaptation of Pokémon for the streaming service. It looks like they may have some bigger plans, as Illuminerdi shared the news that they’re also looking to develop a film that interconnects with the ongoing series. They do not go into detail but they do word that it won’t be a continuation of the popular Detective Pikachu film but act like a reboot. It’s uncertain if this means it’s an actual reboot of the 2019 film, or rather simply meant as a reboot of the franchise overall as they also highlight that no continuation of the Warner Bros. film by Rob Letterman is planned.

    It makes sense they’ll reboot the franchise from scratch. However, it seems unlikely the film will release ahead of the TV series. It seems like a safer bet to establish the world, as they might try to include hints at a bigger picture. It would be great if they utilize these films as highlights of side characters arcs, or even as the tournament to end a seasonal arc on a high note.

    It won’t be cheap adapting this unique world filled with creatures that state their own name in repetition. The film did an amazing job selling a living and breathing world filled with Pokémon and it’ll be interesting if Netflix takes a different direction to make it stand out from the previous entry. The combination of realism with the cartoon designs worked surprisingly well but they might take a very different direction. It’ll join a variety of Netflix series eyeing a live-action adaptation of Anime and it won’t be the last.

    Source: Illuminerdi

  • EXCLUSIVE: Fala Chen Talks Tony Leung and Being the Heart of ‘SHANG-CHI’

    EXCLUSIVE: Fala Chen Talks Tony Leung and Being the Heart of ‘SHANG-CHI’

    Shang-Chi and The Legend Of The Ten Rings features plenty of action. Each action set piece is bigger than the last until the film’s explosive third act. Now everything that leads into that action is surrounded by the heart of the movie: Jiang Li, mother of Shang-Chi, played by Fala Chen. Murphy’s Multiverse was fortunate enough to talk with Chen recently about her role, working with Tony Leung and more.

    Chen’s Jiang Li makes a big impact as the moral center of the film. Chen addressed how she stepped into that central role:

    I feel it was very natural for me to step into that role. I got to spend a lot of time with the cast prior to the beginning of filming. We trained together for so long that we hung out after our training sessions. We got to really know each other so well and we became best friends. So I think that really helped me to imagine some of the character I didn’t get to play with on screen but have a relationship with that was really helpful.

    Chen gave director Destin Daniel Cretton credit for not only helping her create what is an entirely original character but also creating an authentic vibe for Ta-Lo, they mystical realm from which Jiang Li hails.

    Then Destin (Director Destin Daniel Cretton), I have to give him so much credit for spending so much time with me to map out the journey of my character. He explained the backstories, and asked me what ideas I had for the character. There are imaginary backstories that we mapped out together. I feel like I was very lucky to not only play the character but have a lot of personal input as well. Here’s a small example particularly with the language. My character spoke Chinese in the film, and there are so many dialects in the Chinese language. Even with Jiang Li coming from Ta-Lo, which is a mystical village we wanted to be very specific about every word that she was using. It’s precise, it’s part of the spirit. The language we used is such an ancient, nuanced language we wanted to make sure it’s authentic. In order to do that we spent a lot of time with a translator. I had a lot of personal input in the translation of that. It was a lot of collaboration amongst us all.

    Chen absolutely stole the show in her role, a role, as it turns out, she never auditioned for as Marvel Studios was eager to work with her.

    I was offered the role and never had to audition for it, which was like, “What? “I was so honored and so happy. I almost didn’t even get the call that came through, because they’ve been tracking my availability. For a long time we didn’t know what the project was about. I had heard in the news that Shang-Chi was in the making, so I’ve been tracking it. We never know because they (Marvel) have been so secretive. I then went on a honeymoon with my husband. Then suddenly, my agent was trying to reach me and I didn’t hear from them for the longest time. Eventually we got a call from a satellite phone as we were literally out of this world, and they made an offer.

    Jiang Li’s tragic story was such a necessary part of this movie. It provides the context for Shang-Chi, Xialing, and specifically Wenwu’s journeys. The opening scene between Chen’s Jiang Li and Tony Leung’s Wenwu was a beautiful homage to Asian cinema. Chen talked about that scene and working with Hong Kong legend Leung:

    I have to say that was the most difficult scene to play but also the easiest thing to play. The difficult part obviously being the physical fighting. It was the intricate choreography and also being 50 feet in the air flipping around. Doing all that physically is really difficult as well as pretending to be such a master of a high power. At the same time the easiest part is looking into his eyes and just being a fan girl.

    Chen also echoed the sentiments of much of the film’s Asian and Asian-American cast when asked how she felt being a part of the production that brought Marvel Studios first Asian hero the big screen

    While I was a part of making this, I’m still kind of in disbelief that I’m lucky enough to be a part of this amazing story that’s going to be an historic film. Obviously not only for the Marvel Universe, but for especially the Asian-American community.

    Marvel Studios Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings is in theaters now.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘SHANG-CHI’ Producer On That Trevor Slattery Comeback

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘SHANG-CHI’ Producer On That Trevor Slattery Comeback

    Wherever you’ve landed on the Iron Man 3 villain twist that saw the menacing and powerful “Mandarin” turn out to be an eccentric and incredibly goofy actor named Trevor Slattery, one thing was never in doubt: Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of Slattery was an absolute gem. Given the popularity of Kingsley’s Slattery, the character’s counterfeit connection to the Ten Rings, and the recent marketing of his All Hail the King one-shot on Disney+, fans were overjoyed to see Trevor Slattery return to the Marvel Studios big screen in Shang-Chi as the same lovable, strange, and hilarious character we met back in 2013.

    Fans weren’t the only ones happy about Kingsley’s return. When asked about the actor’s comeback, Shang-Chi Producer Johnathon Schwartz had this to say:

    “We love having him back. He’s an amazing actor, he’s an amazing presence. And he was just sort of a cool, funny, unique character who just fit organically in the story we were trying to tell. We always sort of wanted to bring him back and bring him back in maybe a bigger role than maybe people initially imagined he might be…I think was very exciting.”

    Kingsley’s triumphant return to the MCU highlights Marvel Studios’ ability and potential to tell long-running stories with characters from extremely different properties and time periods. The fact that Shang-Chi was able to pull off Trevor Slattery’s reintroduction with such ease and joy is a fine tribute to Marvel’s attention to detail, as well as its love and appreciation for all of its work both past and present.

  • Sony Moves ‘VENOM’ Sequel One Last Time

    Sony Moves ‘VENOM’ Sequel One Last Time

    Following the surprising box office success of Marvel Studios Shang-Chi, Sony has chosen to move Venom: Let There Be Carnage one more time, this time moving it forward to an October 1st release.

    The sequel has moved several times over the past year and change, recently moving to October 15th from a planned September 17th release. The new October 1st date puts the film’s release almost exactly one year from it’s initial October 2, 2020 target date. The new date also means the sequel will debut exactly 3 years after the original which opened to over $80M, an October record at the time.

    Tickets for the Andy Serkis-helmed sequel will go on sale this Wednesday. Venom: Let There Be Carnage will see Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock face off with Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasaday who, after biting Brock, becomes one of Marvel’s most unhinged characters: Carnage.

    Source: Deadline

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: Mohan Kapur Reprising Role as A Yusuf Khan in ‘The Marvels’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: Mohan Kapur Reprising Role as A Yusuf Khan in ‘The Marvels’

    The upcoming sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel will bring together the Marvel family. Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani will reprise their roles as Monica Rambeau and Kamala Kahn, respectively, joining Brie Larson Unlike Parris, Vellani has yet to make her live-action debut and will do so in Ms. Marvel, an upcoming Disney+ original series that will explore the origins of Kamala Khan as she becomes the titular hero. However, it seems Kamala may not be the only returning character from the Disney+ series.

    A recent listing on IMDB may hint that actor Mohan Kapur will return as Yusuf Khan, Kamala’s father. Kapur’s stunt double, Sonny Louis, is currently listed as his stunt double on the upcoming film. While IMDB listings are never confirmation, Kapur’s return seems likely as Kamala Khan takes on a larger role.

    Although Sonny Louis is not currently listed as a stunt double for Mohan Kapur on Ms. Marvel, he appears to be taking on the stunt double role for The Marvels. Kapur’s return as Yusuf Khan could suggest some danger may be coming for Kamala’s family – potentially explaining what ends up bringing Captain Marvel and Kamala Khan together.

    Ms. Marvel currently has no set release date but should debut sometime early next year on Disney+. The Marvels will hit theaters on November 11th, 2022. The film was written by WandaVision writer Megan McDonnell and will be directed by Nia DaCosta, picking up the reigns from Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

    SOURCE: IMDB

  • ‘Shang-Chi’ Shatters Labor Day Record With $89.2 Million Opening

    ‘Shang-Chi’ Shatters Labor Day Record With $89.2 Million Opening

    Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is off to an impressive start at the box office. While Disney is reporting an estimated $83.5 for the four-day weekend, industry experts are expecting the film to nab $89.2 million over the holiday weekend.

    The latest Marvel Studios entry opened to an estimated $71.4 million for Friday-Sunday. That includes the $29.6 million opening day total, with 37% of that total coming from large-format and/or 3D screens. It is, however, expected to near $90 million as moviegoers continue to hit theaters this holiday weekend. While Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had a lower opening than Black Widow‘s $80.4 million, the film did beat out the likes of Fast and the Furious 9 and A Quiet Place 2.

    “Shattering Labor Day box office records with an origin story new to many fans, Shang-Chi delivers an emphatic statement: people really want to get back to the movies,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of Imax in a statement released to the press. “It’s clear that great filmmaking plus an exclusive theatrical release is a winning formula at the box office, and this groundbreaking film has successfully launched an exciting new cinematic journey for Marvel and a strong fall blockbuster slate for the industry.”

    Internationally, Shang-Chi took in an estimated $56.2 million. Bringing the movie’s opening weekend to a projected $145.4 million, including the four-day estimates.

    Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings is in theaters now.

    Source: Deadline.

  • Jason Momoa Reveals New Stealth Suit for ‘AQUAMAN’ Sequel

    Jason Momoa Reveals New Stealth Suit for ‘AQUAMAN’ Sequel

    The first Aquaman film was quite the hit, bringing in over a billion dollars at the box offices with praise from critics and fans alike. It wasn’t long before a sequel was announced and that Jason Momoa and James Wan would be back. Now, with filming underway on Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Momoa and Wan took to Instagram to reveal Arthur Curry’s brand new suit for the upcoming sequel.

    In a new post on Instagram, Momoa showcases the armor of Atlan that appeared in the first film, but alongside that was a new look at the stealth suit. The new suit is quite the vast departure from the other with a dark blue look with silver armor plating.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CTcibM2sBii/

    In Wan’s post to Instagram revealing the stealth suit, he went into further details explaining how the suit works and what inspired them to make the suit. The suit is Atlantean tech is based on a Cephalopod’s ability to camouflage with its surrounding area. Wan stated that he and writer David Leslie Johnson were inspired by the Aquaman mini-series from the 80’s, written by Neal Pozner and Craig Hamilton.

    Plot details for the Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom remain under wraps but it seems likely that Arthur would be using a suit such as this to sneak around in said kingdom, without the bright orange and green giving him away like a construction worker on a busy road. The reveal of this suit may also mean we may see some filming take place outside and get us a better look at what’s going on in the film.

    SOURCE: Instagram

  • EXCLUSIVE: Why Marvel Studios Created New Characters For ‘SHANG-CHI’

    EXCLUSIVE: Why Marvel Studios Created New Characters For ‘SHANG-CHI’

    The MCU has had its fair share of original characters created for the films prior to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Once upon a time, before he starred in his own 7-season series, Phil Coulson was an original character they made for Iron Man. Darcy Lewis, one of the runaway stars of this year’s Wandavision, was created for Thor.

    Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings has the distinction of being the MCU film with the most original characters and for good reason. Producer Jonathan Schwartz shared with us why and whether it’s something we will see more of as they adapt obscure characters.

    I think it will always be case by case. Some of those characters, even if they’re obscure, have either a cool supporting cast or a supporting cast where you can find some cool element and update it. I think Shang-Chi in particular was in need of a refresh due to some of the comic elements that are a little more problematic. So we took more liberty to invent a little and bring more to it.

    Interestingly enough, Shang-Chi originally has a notable supporting cast in the comics in the form of certain MI6 agents. Schwartz elaborated why they scrapped the MI6 characters saying, “It would’ve loaded the movie up British Caucasian characters rather than having a movie that is primarily Asian.” Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see how they reinvent lesser-known characters for future properties.