Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • The Skinny on Marvel Studios ‘Nomad’

    The Skinny on Marvel Studios ‘Nomad’

    It’s been almost three years since we uncovered evidence that Marvel Studios was developing a Nomad project. Following that discovery, COVID continued to impact production for quite a while and by the time Marvel Studios got back to SDCC in June of 2022, there had been no public acknowledgement of a Nomad project.

    Months ago, several of the trademarks that were filed for “Marvel Studios Nomad” turned up as “dead” and recently those “dead trademarks” made the rounds on social media and message boards. Between those dead trademarks and the lack of any sort of announcement by Marvel Studios, the general consensus seemed to be that the Nomad project was dead. Now it looks like it may only be mostly dead which is, as Miracle Max taught us, slightly alive.

    When Marvel Studios trademarks upcoming projects, they file multiple different trademarks. Some are for toys, some are for clothing, some are for cups and other types of merchandise; however, they also file one for “entertainment services” which essentially indicate they are making either a film or TV series.

    Entertainment services, namely, the development, creation, production, and distribution of digital multimedia and audio and visual content, namely, motion picture films, television programs, and multimedia entertainment and educational content; development, creation, production, distribution, and rental of audio and visual recordings; production of entertainment shows and interactive programs for distribution via audio and visual media, audio and video streaming, and electronic means; production and provision of motion pictures, entertainment news and entertainment information via electronic communication networks and audio and video streaming; providing online computer games; providing websites featuring a wide variety of general interest entertainment information relating to motion picture films, television programs, musical videos, film clips, photographs, and other multimedia materials; entertainment services, namely, providing online non-downloadable comic books and graphic novels; amusement park and theme park services; educational and entertainment services rendered in or relating to theme parks, namely, live stage shows, live amusement park shows, live performances by costumed characters, and production and presentation of live theatrical performances; production and presentation of live shows; theater productions; entertainer services, namely, live appearances by a professional entertainer

    As with everything else they make, Marvel Studios filed one of these for Nomad and while they’ve let all the other trademarks die, this one remains alive and well. In fact, the studio has taken measures to extend the trademark on several occasions including recently.

    What does this mean for the development of the project? Ultimately it may well mean nothing. Bob Iger‘s return to Disney in combination with a pair of major strikes have further slowed development of several of Marvel Studios announced projects. Given that Nomad has never been officially been acknowledged as a future MCU project, it could easily go by the wayside as part of the studio’s renewed commitment to quality over quantity.

    There are no firm details on what the project might even be about which means there’s no way to know if it was ever integral to the Multiverse Saga to begin with. At the end of the day, the existence of the trademark provides no assurance that any Nomad project will ever hit any screen, big or small; however, it does still have a pulse so don’t bury it just yet.

  • EXCLUSIVE: Wimpy Kid Creator Jeff Kinney Hopes to Make a Summer Movie for Disney Plus

    EXCLUSIVE: Wimpy Kid Creator Jeff Kinney Hopes to Make a Summer Movie for Disney Plus

    The December 8th launch of Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever marks the third consecutive year that Wimpy Kid creator Jeff Kinney has seen one of his beloved books adapted as an animated feature on Disney Plus. While the original plan was for an adaptation of The Last Straw to hit the streaming service in 2023, Kinney noted that he switched gears when Disney approached him about putting together a holiday special instead. With quite a bit of work already done on The Last Straw, Kinney is hopeful that the project will make its way to the streamer soon but the idea of working around a theme also struck a chord with the writer.

    While talking with us about Cabin Fever, Kinney revealed that as he works through developing each of his books into features for Disney Plus, he’s hoping to break out of the winter time frame and put together one of his projects as a summer movie.

    “I would love to do a summer movie, eventually,” said Kinney. And as fans of the series might expect, the author already has one story in mind. “I’m really hoping we get to tell lots of stories including Dog Days because I think a really good summer movie would be fun.”

    Published in 2009, Dog Days is the fourth book in the series. It details Greg’s adventures on the summer vacation between his seventh and eighth-grade years, one Greg remembers as possibly the worst summer ever. So far, each of the three Wimpy Kid animated features has been released in December but it’s possible that Disney would work with Kinney to roll one out during the summer allowing kids to take it in on their own summer vacation.

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever is now streaming on Disney Plus.

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Wimpy Kid’ Creator Jeff Kinney Details His Evolution as a Story Teller

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Wimpy Kid’ Creator Jeff Kinney Details His Evolution as a Story Teller

    When Jeff Kinney started writing the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in the mid-2000s, it was a way for him to, in his own words, “sneak” his cartoons into books once his career as a newspaper cartoonist didn’t pan out. A decade and a half later, Kinney is still pushing out new ideas (the 18th book in the series, No Brainer, was published in October) while also working with Disney to adapt his stories into animated features for Disney Plus. Ahead of the release of the latest animated feature, Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever (read Arlyn Murphy’s review here), Kinney talked with us about his career and the unique opportunity provided to him to be able to revisit his own works years later.

    “It’s funny because I wrote the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books…when I first started writing them I was 28 years old,” began Kinney when asked to reflect on his career trajectory. “Now I’m 52. It’s a big jump forward in time. At first, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I was writing–I was just trying to write jokes–just write a bunch of jokes, string them together into a reasonable plot but I never really cared about writing a good story,” he explained.

    “Now I care a lot about writing a good story. So I think I’ve changed over time,” he reflected before adding that his work with Disney Plus adapting his own stories has fundamentally changed the way he works. “Movies really taught me how to structure a story properly,” explained Kinney, “and so now even when I write the books I’m using a cinematic framework to tell the stories.” With Kinney having no plans to stop writing new Wimpy Kid books any time soon, it looks as though fans have many more good stories to look forward to.

    Diary of a Wimpy Kid Christmas: Cabin Fever is now streaming on Disney Plus.

  • Mahershala Ali Shares Motivating Update on Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade’

    Mahershala Ali Shares Motivating Update on Marvel Studios’ ‘Blade’

    It’s kind of crazy to think how long ago Mahershala Ali was announced as the iconic vampire hunter Blade. We all were quite excited to see the direction this take on the iconic character would take, especially with the potential of it being one of Marvel Studios’ first R-rated projects. Yet, we still are waiting for it to start filming after COVID delays and these strikes.

    Some even believed that Ali may have lost interest in the project given how long it took up until now to get the ball rolling. Luckily, it seems he’s still very much attached to the project as he reveals in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that they are still actively working on the project.

    We’re working on it. That’s the best I could tell you. I’m really encouraged with the direction of the project. I think we’ll be back at it relatively soon.

    Mahershala Ali

    In the same interview, he adds that he is “sincerely encouraged” regarding those involved in directing and writing the project since it went through several creatives since the initial announcement. We even had a director attached in Bassam Tariq who left the project at one point.

    I’m sincerely encouraged in terms of where things are at and who’s on board and who’s leading the way as far as the writing of the script and the directing and all that. So that’s the extent of what I can tell you.

    Mahershala Ali

    It’s definitely great news to hear that Blade is still happening (for now) and we’ll see if they might end up starting production sooner rather than later to hit that initially expected 2025 release date. For now, we still have to wait for the next update. Yann Demange is currently attached to direct and there hasn’t been a change in director so far.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • Brad Pitt Nearly Started as Cable in ‘Deadpool 2’

    Brad Pitt Nearly Started as Cable in ‘Deadpool 2’

    Josh Brolin played a mean Cable in 2018’s Deadpool 2. The veteran actor brought the right amount of snarl and grit to the old time traveler but before Brolin landed the role, rumors suggested Brad Pitt was destined to portray the Askani’son. According to comic book creator Rob Liefeld, those rumors weren’t just the usual Internet fodder.

    “I know for 100% fact that was true,” Liefeld said of the Pitt rumors in an interview with Comic Book. “They did previews, and David Leitch had a very special relationship doing stunt work with [Pitt]. What people don’t know is that was very early early on. So when they knew they weren’t going in that direction, they went down several others.”

    As Liefeld indicated, Leitch worked as Pitt’s stunt double on five projects including Fight Club, Troy and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. In 2014, Leitch broke into the big leagues as a director when he co-directed John Wick with Chad Stahelski. When Deadpool director Tim Miller departed Deadpool 2 amidst creative differences, Fox quickly pivoted to Leitch to he the sequel.

    Aside from Pitt, Kyle Chandler was also associated with the role. However, as Liefeld told Comic Book, the role quickly went to Brolin…once his wife convinced him to read for the role. Rumors have Cable’s time traveling device playing a major role in Deadpool 3 so it wouldn’t be shocking to see Brolin return as the Son of Tomorrow, especially given the number of actors set to cameo in their prior Fox roles.

    Marvel Studios Untitled Deadpool and Wolverine film is set to hit theaters on July 26th, 2024.

    Source: Comic Book

  • ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Set Photos Feature Some Classic Marvel Vehicles, Tease a Mad Max-esque Scene in The Void

    ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Set Photos Feature Some Classic Marvel Vehicles, Tease a Mad Max-esque Scene in The Void

    Recently, some spoilery photos from the set of Marvel Studios untitled Deadpool and Wolverine project made the rounds. Now, a larger series of photos has emerged and provides not only a little more context to the previous photos but also revealed some incredible cameos and Easter eggs.

    Spoiler Ahead

    The set photos, which can be viewed here, seem to indicate that a portion of the film will involve a battle in The Void that looks to be very much inspired by George Miller’s Mad Max franchise. The leaked images show more of a character who looks just like Tyler Mane‘s Sabretooth joined by a slew of other villains including Toad, a character who resembles Boyd Holbrook’s Donald Pierce from Logan and some other currently unrecognizable characters making their way through the Void on a wild array of vehicles. Among them are what looks to be a lunar rover hooked up to multiple motorcycles (is one of those Cap’s?) that’s reminiscent of the Doof Wagon seen in 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the von Darrelman cupcake van from Moon Knight, and most incredibly a FULLY FUNCTIONAL FANTAST-ICAR which seems to be inspired by the MK1 model that first appeared in Fantastic Four #3 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

    The photos also seem to confirm the rumors that the TVA will play a role in the project as they look to reveal a TVA agent in the Void alongside the heroes and villains. It is believed that Matthew Macfadyen will portray a TVA employee named Paradox in the film and ultimately end up tagging along with Deadpool and Wolverine.

    As Marvel Studios only theatrical release in 2024, Deadpool 3 must pack quite a punch at the box office. Between the rumors surrounding its plot and the set photos that have made their way online so far, it certainly seems as though it stands a chance to impress!

  • Marvel Studios Head Promises They Won’t Revive Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man

    Marvel Studios Head Promises They Won’t Revive Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man

    In the multiverse, anything is possible. There have been many rumors that Marvel Studios has instantly tried to bring back its iconic Infinity Saga characters to undo whatever the internet has been complaining bout. As much as Phase 4 and 5 have been a bit more varied in their quality, there’s certainly something curious about the amount of rumors people still clamor around.

    In an interview with Vanity Fair, however, Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige has once again highlighted that they are not going to undo the big heartbreaking death of Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. He gave the following statement that they won’t “magically undo it in any way.”

    We are going to keep that moment and not touch that moment again. We all worked very hard for many years to get to that, and we would never want to magically undo it in any way.

    Kevin Feige

    However, we should keep in mind that this doesn’t mean Robert Downey Jr. could still return in some form in the franchise. They could have him take on a different role and still appear in the multiverse franchise. The fact they haven’t used the actor since they started the multiverse storyline showcases that they are holding back and likely only reintroduce a version of him if it fits the story thematically.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Tom Holland “Engaging in Conversations” on Fourth ‘Spider-Man’ Film

    Tom Holland “Engaging in Conversations” on Fourth ‘Spider-Man’ Film

    We’ve all been waiting for the update on when we can expect an update on the fourth entry in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man franchise. As much as everyone is discussing the current status of Marvel Studios, there’s still hope to further build upon the rather melancholic ending that Spider-Man: No Way Home left us with. It seemed like the perfect time for Spider-Man to return back to basics.

    Yet, it seems Tom Holland isn’t quite on board. This would mark the first actor to get a fourth live-action entry and it seems he wants to make sure they do it quite right, as he feels “very protective” of this iconic Marvel franchise and character. It’s fitting and hopefully, we’ll get more updates as time goes by, but in an interview, he highlights that he’s “actively engaging in conversations” on the fourth entry.

    All I can say is that we have been actively engaging in conversations about what it could potentially look like for a fourth rendition of my character. Whether or not we can find a way to do justice to the character is another thing. I feel very protective over Spider-Man. I feel very, very lucky that we were able to work on a franchise that got better with each movie, that got more successful with each movie, which I think is really rare, and I want to protect his legacy. So, I won’t make another one for the sake of making another one. It will have to be worth the while of the character.

    Tom Holland

    Of course, there’s the likelihood that he’s already signed on and just highlighting how much he cares about the project, as they are trying to make sure they find their way moving forward. There are rumors that they might not fully remove the character from the multiverse saga though the hints have been for a more grounded storyline. Though, perhaps it’s simply a post-credit tie-in forced upon by Sony given that they don’t want to lose the contract again. Still, we’ll see once they start hinting at the next entry moving forward.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Thunderbolts’ Star David Harbour Talks the “Unexplored History” of Red Guardian

    ‘Thunderbolts’ Star David Harbour Talks the “Unexplored History” of Red Guardian

    Marvel Studios Thunderbolts has gone through some turbulence in its efforts to make it to the big screen; however, with cameras now set to roll next April, some of the film’s stars have been a little more forthcoming in sharing their excitement for the film. Wyatt Russell, who will reprise his role as John Walker in the film, thinks director Jake Schreier has what it takes to bring out the best in the ensemble cast which includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Steven Yeun and David Harbour. Though Harbour has to complete work on Season 5 of Stranger Things before getting to work on Thunderbolts, he did recently talk with Screen Rant about the MCU project.

    Thunderbolts will in many ways be a follow-up to 2021’s Black Widow. Three of the film’s main characters (Taskmaster, Red Guardian and Yelena) were featured in Black Widow and Thunderbolts will reunite Harbour’s Alexi with Pugh’s Yelena. Black Widow gave some insight into their shared past–not all of which was bright and happy–and Harbour teases that there’s more of that to come in Thunderbolts. “So they have a lot of unexplored history,” says the actor of Alexi and Yelena. “There’s a lot of details that the director, Jake, has gone into the great care of what their life was like in the Midwest when they were doing all that spy stuff. And then, a lot of that comes up in really fun, interesting, beautiful ways, which, like in the Black Widow movie came up with that song, American Pie. And there’s just a lot of complexity between me and Florence’s character, which I love,” he concluded.

    Thunderbolts will mark the first time the two have interacted on screen since the death of Scarlett Johannson‘s Natasha Romanoff. That loss is sure to be central to at least some of the interaction between the two in the film, something that Harbour also teased. “And also they’re two people that… she can’t stand, but she needs some because she’s incomplete in a certain way that he may be able to help her with. I think that’s always so beautiful. Because I feel like our relationships are always so… Sometimes we don’t get to choose the people that complete us. The people that we really need. I think that they exemplify that in their own way. It will be fun to bring that to life in the movie.“

    While their father-daughter relationship was contentious at best in Black Widow, it was obvious that not only did Alexi truly care for Yelena but also that part of her BIG personality certainly came from spending time with her larger-than-life surrogate father, the boastful Super Soldier from Russia. Whatever emotions they’ll have to process, they’ll have to do so quickly as their team will be faced with the daunting task of taking on Yeun’s Sentry when Thunderbolts hits theaters on July 25, 2025.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • Wyatt Russell Says ‘Thunderbolts’ Is Not a “Straightforward Marvel Movie”

    Wyatt Russell Says ‘Thunderbolts’ Is Not a “Straightforward Marvel Movie”

    Everyone loves to take a shot at the king; however, when the CEO of your parent company comes out swinging on your latest film, even the big shots at Marvel Studios have to pay attention. Truly, while Bob Iger’s recent comments about why The Marvels failed to succeed might be the first time the public has caught wind of the Disney CEO’s train of thought, it’s very likely those sentiments have been shared behind closed doors in the months since his return. His goal is simple: get Marvel Studios back on top. And that’s a goal that at least one MCU actor shares with Iger.

    Wyatt Russell joined the MCU as deranged Super Soldier John Walker in 2021’s The Falcon and The Winter Soldier and is set to reprise the role in Black Widow 2 Thunderbolts. While chatting it up with THR, Russell gave some insight into the delays that have faced the project and what he expects to accomplish.

    As of now, principal photography on Thunderbolts seems slated to get underway in April of 2024. For a film that was originally scheduled to be released on July 26th, 2024, you can see how that’s problematic. It’s been obvious to the public that the project has its fits and starts and according to Russell “almost started shooting that about 14 times.” While the recent WGA and SAG strikes certainly were part of the problem, they weren’t the entire problem. The film has changed writers multiple times but now seems to be on a little more solid footing.

    “I have confidence it’s gonna be good,” said Russell. “I know everybody is sort of on this Marvel train right now of things not going so well.” Part of the actor’s confidence in the project clearly stems from his trust in the director, Jake Schreier. Despite Thunderbolts being Schreier’s first big tentpole film, Russell believes the director has what it takes to make a great Marvel Studios film.

    I know Jake so well and I know how smart Jake is and how much he cares about making something interesting and different and utilizing everyone’s talents to the best of their ability

    Wyatt Russell on Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier

    Russell’s confidence will only do so much for the project; however, the actor also indicated that while he hasn’t read a final draft of the script, Thunderbolts has a lot going for it, including not being so cut and dried as many MCU films have been in the past. “The story that I think they’ve come up with is really interesting,” said the actor. “I know parts of the story and how the story works, I can’t talk about it. But it’s not a straightforward Marvel movie as you’ve seen in the past.“

    Whatever it is that Russell does know and is holding back, he’s confident MCU fans will be impressed. “I think that it’s gonna be a lot of fun,” he said, “but I think it will be something that hopefully Marvel fans will look at and go, ‘Oh OK, this is a little different, let’s go hard at it.’ And as far as how we are approaching it, it’s time to go to work a little bit, it’s time to make a good Marvel movie, so let’s do that and work hard at it and don’t take things for granted.” Just how straightforward and good a project it ultimately ends up being remains to be seen.

    Thunderbolts is currently expected in theaters on July 25th, 2025.

    Source: THR