Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘The Flash’ Director Won’t Recast Ezra Miller in Possible Sequel

    ‘The Flash’ Director Won’t Recast Ezra Miller in Possible Sequel

    The hype surrounding The Flash is a troubled one. While the film has been in development hell for quite some time, Andy Muschietti is finally going to reveal it to the world in just a few more weeks. Yet, the discussion surrounding its leading star, Ezra Miller, has left some questioning his future as the iconic hero.

    In 2020, the actor made headlines due to choking a woman before it started going to new questionable levels in 2022. Miller was stated to be in treatment for “complex mental health issues” and is completely absent from the film’s promotional run. Yet, Muschietti believes that they are the only one right to play Barry Allen.

    If [a sequel] happens, yes. I don’t think there’s anyone that can play that character as well as they did. The other depictions of the character are great, but this particular vision of the character, they just excelled in doing it. And, as you said, the two Barrys — it feels like a character that was made for them.

    Andy Muschietti

    His wife and co-producer, Barbara Muschietti, also highlights Miller’s role during filming and highlighting that he was “the most committed” actor on set to bring the different variations of Barry to life.

    In principal photography, Ezra was brilliant and the most committed and the most professional [actor]. Ezra gave everything for this role — physically, creatively, emotionally. They were absolutely supreme.

    Barbara Muschietti

    It’s hard to say what people will take away from the film and if Miller will still stick around once the new era of the DC Cinematic Universe kicks off under James Gunn and Peter Safran’s management. Warner Bros. Discovery has put all its money into this film’s box office and we’ll see if it’ll manage to do just that once it finally releases next month.

    Source: Variety

  • Live-Action ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Finds its Hiccup and Astrid

    Live-Action ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Finds its Hiccup and Astrid

    While many have been hoping Disney’s attempt to bring their classic animated franchises to live-action would end, Dreamworks has just started with their own attempt. The animated film How to Train Your Dragon is heading back to the silver screen but not with an animated sequel or spinoff, but rather a live-action adaptation. With a March 14th release date in 2025, Dean DeBlois is attached to direct and it seems they found their leading duo.

    Deadline has reported that Mason Thames and Nico Parker will take on the roles of Hiccup and Astrid in Universel’s upcoming adaptation. They will retell the story of Hiccup’s journey as a young Viking that ends up bonding with a dragon, who he eventually names Toothless. Dreamwork’s original trilogy was nominated for Academy Awards and a Golden Globe, so it’s not surprising they want this adaptation featuring human characters to make its way to live-action

    Thames just had his first big hit with The Black Phone staring opposite Ethan Hawke. He even got the lead role in Incoming and is also going to star alongside Mel Gibson in Boys of Summer. Parker just had a role in The Last of Us alongside Pedro Pascal. She’s also appeared in the live-action Dumbo film by Tim Burton and is set to appear in HBO’s The Third Day.

    Source: Deadline

  • Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ Heading to Strong $121M+ 4-Day Opening

    Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ Heading to Strong $121M+ 4-Day Opening

    It looks like The Little Mermaid is going to continue the box office performance of Disney’s live-action adaptations of their beloved animated classics. While the internet continues to groan about the existence of taking an iconic animated fair and trying to put a realistic lens over it (as much as possible, poor Flounder), it does seem like audiences are continuing to eat it up as much as they can. The film pulled in a mighty $30M on Saturday after a $38M on Friday (including previews), which is on par with the Aladdin adaptation and is on its path to a strong Memorial Day weekend.

    As of now, it seems that the film will pull in around $97M+ in three days and wrap up the four-day weekend at $121M+. It seems the film boasted an 80M-worth global promo partnership that makes it one of the biggest for a non-Lucasfilm or Marvel Cinematic Universe cooperation. After being quite absent throughout the early parts of the year, it seems families are finally going back to theaters. That A CinemaScore is definitely also doing its job for strong word-of-mouth.

    Fast X is losing quite a bit of speed, as it is dropping around 67% in its second 3-day weekend which would rival any of the previous Marvel entries from the previous years. That on a soft $67.5M hurts far more than any of the frontloaded Marvel movies and perhaps continues to showcase that the current superhero fatigue is likely more than meets the eye given Transformers‘ latest entry isn’t coming in as hot as one would hope for such a mega tentpole franchise.

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still hanging in there with a strong 26.6M over the four-day weekend. That’s just a 36% drop and further highlights that it’s all about keeping fans coming back to theaters. While some will call this an exception to the rule, the film still opened softer and positive word-of-mouth will keep the genre kicking. If The Flash manages to pull in a strong audience, it’ll also carry over into November’s release of The Marvels and so forth.

    Overall though, counterprogramming for this week isn’t doing what it should do as Machine and About My Father are falling a bit short. They both highlight the issue that grew out of the pandemic’s streaming focus that hit big films as well with mixed word-of-mouth scores: there’s a strong distinction between “what I’ll watch in theaters” and “I’ll wait to check it out on streaming eventually” mentalities than ever before. Big thank you to Disney+’s 45-day release window and Warner Bros.’ day-and-date strategy for that.

    Source: Variety, Deadline

  • ‘The Little Mermaid’ Cinemascore Reveals Audience’s Impression of the Live-Action Reimagining

    ‘The Little Mermaid’ Cinemascore Reveals Audience’s Impression of the Live-Action Reimagining

    Disney’s live-action reimagining of the 1989 animated classic, The Little Mermaid, looks set to have one of the top five Memorial Day box office takes of all time with experts predicting as much as $125M. Critics have given the film mostly positive reviews and given it a thumbs up as a worthy companion to the beloved original. Now, following its opening night, audiences have given their opinion.

    After taking in the film on its first Friday, audiences have spoken loud and clear about where they stand on the remaining with it grading out with an A according to Cinemascore.

    Critics and audiences seem to agree that the film, carried by the strong performance Halle Bailey as Ariel, stands tall among Disney’s efforts to reimagine its catalog of animated classics. That’s good news for the studio whose Disney Plus release of Peter Pan & Wendy certainly didn’t catch the same positivity.

    The Little Mermaid is now in theaters.

  • ‘The Little Mermaid’ Cast Shares What Makes Their Romance Stand Out From the Original

    ‘The Little Mermaid’ Cast Shares What Makes Their Romance Stand Out From the Original

    The Little Mermaid is set to continue Disney’s trend of bringing their beloved animated classics to a new generation in live-action. It’s not an easy task and while there have been many discussions on if it truly played out for the studio, there’s a lot of hope with the talents behind this project that it’ll stand out from what came before.

    During the official press conference for the Disney remake, Jonah Hauer-King, who plays Prince Eric, got a chance to share what he believes makes this version of the iconic romance between his character and Ariel stand out from the original. He highlights that it’s “friendship” and how they tackle what connects these characters rather than the love at first sight trope.

    Friendship, I think. Disney romances are always, you know, they’re filled with that instinctive attraction to one another. We all wanna see that. But I think what was fun about this, and I think a lot of it came from our off-screen selves as well, was looking at Ariel and Eric as two people who were kindred spirits. Who felt a little bit restless, who felt like they were behind the four walls of their respective castles, and were very much looking outwards and not in.

    Jonah Hauer-King

    It’s definitely a great move to add a bit more depth to their romance by having them share a common theme. Ariel’s journey is all about going beyond the world she knows, and having Eric reflect that on the surface adds a little something extra to give more insight into what connects them.

    And I think what was nice about that was that it meant that their relationship feels really earnt. They both felt like they were teaching each other things. They were excited and fascinated by each other’s worlds although they didn’t actually know it until the end.

    Jonah Hauer-King

    Of course, it’s one thing saying that this was their approach and something pushed further by their bond behind the scenes, the challenge will definitely be in how they showcase it for viewers. The Little Mermaid’s remake will be longer than the original and they might make use of that additional time to add a bit more depth to the story and just give them more time to share their experiences.

  • Summer Box Office May Be Slowing Down With ‘The Flash’ and ‘Elemental’s Soft Forecasts

    Summer Box Office May Be Slowing Down With ‘The Flash’ and ‘Elemental’s Soft Forecasts

    Here’s a surprise but it seems the summer tentpoles are showing quite a bit of a slowdown. The Little Mermaid is heading to a strong $120M+ opening weekend over Memorial Day, which puts it at $100M over three days. That is slightly behind the other Disney releases Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantmania but still a strong opening if the film has legs like the previous Guardians film.

    Yet, the rest of the box office is looking a little lukewarm so far. Fast X made a huge splash internationally but is slowing down quite a bit domestically at $67.5M. Even the return of the former box office champion isn’t really lighting up the box office’s engine with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts tracking for a soft $40M in early projection. Yet, it seems some other hopefuls aren’t showing that momentum many hoped for this year.

    The Flash is currently heading for $70M. It’s quite a bit lower than what Warner Bros. Discovery is banking on given that they used all of Shazam: Fury of the Gods‘ marketing budget on this film that they are pushing as “the best superhero film of all time.” The question remains if it’ll have strong word-of-mouth and legs afterward. If it offers what is promised, it does have a good chance but it’s still far from where you’d want your $250M+ film to open.

    There’s also the depressing development of Pixar’s box office due to the Disney+ releases throughout the last few years. Elemental is looking at a $40M similar to Transformers, which would put it on track with Onward and The Good Dinosaur but even Ratatouille managed to become a success with a soft $47M. They just need to hope that old momentum carries over.

    Source: Variety, Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Finds its Kitana

    ‘Mortal Kombat’ Sequel Finds its Kitana

    Mortal Kombat‘s next film is finally revving up. Surprisingly, the film had one of the biggest releases on HBO Max during the day-and-date release strategy but somehow Warner Bros. has been quite hesitant about getting the next one into production. While the WGA strike is running, casting is still moving forward for the sequel with the latest addition Adeline Rudolph joining the production as Kitana.

    The actress actually starred opposite Tati Gabrielle in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, who is also going to appear in the film. They are the third addition after Karl Urban was recently confirmed to take the iconic role of Johnny Cage. While we might have to wait a bit longer until we see him with the tattoo of his first name across the chest, it’s still looking like Simon McQuoid is ready to start production on the sequel.

    2021’s Mortal Kombat wasn’t quite the faithful adaptation of the original games that people hoped it would be, but it still offered some of the fun charms. Fatalities weren’t kept a secret and it still tried to establish its own unique take on the lore of the original; though it was weird that the first Mortal Kombat film was more a prequel to the tournament of the same name. Still, we’ll see if the second one offers what the first couldn’t.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • Set Photos From Chinatown Set of ‘Captain America 4’ Include a Potentially Major Twist

    Set Photos From Chinatown Set of ‘Captain America 4’ Include a Potentially Major Twist

    Downtown Atlanta was recently transformed into Chinatown as part of production on Marvel Studios Captain America: New World Order as revealed through photos shared by Christopher Oquendo. The photographer was back at the location again and among some high-quality close-up looks at the set is a very interesting location that could indicate a major twist to what already seems like a packed plot.

    As part of the Chinatown set, a restaurant reveals that the scenes being shot on location are set on Canal St. in Chinatown. While it’s much more likely that it’s not an important detail, Canal St. has actually been an important location in the pages of Marvel Comics in the past as the location has served as a hideout for The Hand and The White Dragons, a gang under the control of Mister Negative.

    The addition of either Mister Negative or The Hand to the film, which is already packed full of villains, would be shocking. However, given so little is known about the plot of the film and Marvel Studios’ history with mashing up characters, it’s not out of the question that the Serpent Society is somehow tied to one or the other. Of course, it’s far more likely that it’s just a nice touch on a setpiece that may not even make the final cut of the film but it’s interesting nonetheless.

    Captain America: New World Order hits theaters on May 3, 2024.

  • ‘The Little Mermaid’ Director Rob Marshall Explains How the New Film is Grounded in the 19th Century Fairy Tale

    ‘The Little Mermaid’ Director Rob Marshall Explains How the New Film is Grounded in the 19th Century Fairy Tale

    Disney’s live-action reimagining of the beloved 1989 animated musical fantasy, The Little Mermaid, has been fairly warmly received as one of the studio’s best efforts in their quest to remake every animated film in their catalog. Rather than directly adapting the animated classic shot-for-shot, director Rob Marshall and the production team, which included Lin-Manuel Miranda and John DeLuca, looked for ways to make the live-action version a “completely original confection” and a “massive musical” that still captured the heart of the story.

    For the new film, that meant more music, bigger swings and helping the stars of the project find their comfort zone and their voices to make the audience feel like they were seeing something new. That’s no small task given that not only is it a reimagining of one of Disney’s most popular films but also based on a nearly 200-year-old fairy tale. Surprisingly enough, as Marshall revealed at the global press junket for The Little Mermaid, it was revisiting Hans Christian Andersen‘s 1837 story that helped the production team find the foundation of their film in one very famous quote.

     But a mermaid has no tears and therefore she suffers so much more

    The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
    Halle Bailey as Ariel in Disney’s live-action THE LITTLE MERMAID. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

    “Well, it’s so interesting ’cause the first thing that John and I did when we actually started this journey was to go back to the Hans Christian Andersen tale to understand where it all came from,” said Marshall of the famous quote that is shown on screen as the film opens. “We were immediately aware of how this was a very contemporary story already in the 1830s about this young girl who feels displaced and wants to, you know, go on a journey of self-discovery, you know, to another world. And so, for me, [clears throat] the quote, to be able to find something from Hans Christian Andersen specifically, so we sort of ground this in where it came from, was important to us, to find something from him. And this, you know, it’s the most sort of famous quote from the tale.”

    That quote turned into one of the film’s prevalent themes and was emoted wonderfully by Ariel actress Halle Bailey. According to Marshall, adapting the story to live-action actually aided in realizing the Andersen quote. “And I have to say that because we were bringing, I think, more depth and emotion, which you can in a live-action piece. You know, that’s what this genre helps you do,” he explained. The idea that, because a mermaid has no tears, and she feels more, she suffers more, it felt to us like it set the table for this more emotional telling of the story.” Bailey’s performance has been roundly praised by critics as elevating the overall quality of the film, including the strong emotional performance delivered when the character is without a voice. Audiences can see Bailey’s emotional performance for themselves as The Little Mermaid is now previewing in theaters ahead of tomorrow’s wide release.

  • Melissa McCarthy Shares How She Brought Ursula to Life

    Melissa McCarthy Shares How She Brought Ursula to Life

    While all eyes are on the performance of Halle Bailey as Ariel, there’s a talented cast that has the challenge of bringing some iconic characters to life, especially the iconic songs that made The Little Mermaid what it was. Melissa McCarthy will be the one to bring us “Poor Unfortunate Souls” as the iconic Ursula. Some trailers have already teased her performance as the underwater witch, she got a chance to share the challenges of playing the character in live-action.

    Animation doesn’t have any restrictions on how a character is brought to life. So, you can much easier imagine someone with multiple limbs swimming around while singing. In the case of McCarthy, the actress had the challenge of constantly floating with a rig as revealed during the film’s official press event. She does share one funny moment that did happen the one time she touched anything while acting.

    I slipped on the clam shell occasionally, on my back, but I was never literally on my feet. We were either up in rigs or, you know, there were all different magical things. You know, if you were diving, it was one rig. If you were spinning, it was another. But no, never on the ground.

    Melissa McCarthy

    It must’ve been fun just hanging around from a rig while acting out your soul or even singing. She sadly doesn’t share what that was like, it’s still interesting to know just what kind of movie magic they used to ensure Ursula stays as true as possible to the original film from 1989.