Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • Marvel’s “Oscars Reunion” Is a Stealth ‘Doomsday’ Marketing Blitz

    Marvel’s “Oscars Reunion” Is a Stealth ‘Doomsday’ Marketing Blitz

    Don’t let the tuxedos fool you—Sunday night at the Oscars is the first unofficial press stop for Avengers: Doomsday.

    The Academy has confirmed a Marvel reunion for the March 15 Oscars. Pedro Pascal, Gwyneth Paltrow (will she know if she was in a movie with any of these folks?), Lewis Pullman, Channing Tatum and, most importantly, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans are all presenting together.


    As cool as it might be, this isn’t just a tribute; it’s a soft-launch for the full-scale marketing of Avengers: Doomsday. With Evans and RDJ on stage together for the first time in years, Marvel has an opportunity to lean into the Steve vs. Doom hype that they simply cannot pass up.

    Rumors are swirling that we might get a surprise drop during the ceremony—specifically, the first footage of Doom and Cap face-to-face. Even if we don’t get a trailer, the optics of  Doom standing next to Steve Rogers is the most powerful marketing image Marvel could ask for. By putting RDJ and Evans center stage, they’re reminding the world that the heart of the MCU is back.

  • ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Trailer Rumors Hit Fever Pitch

    ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Trailer Rumors Hit Fever Pitch

    If you’ve been refreshing your feed waiting for Tom Holland to suit back up, you might want to clear your schedule for next week. While Sony and Marvel have been playing their cards closer to the vest than usual, the rumor mill for Spider-Man: Brand New Day has stopped spinning and landed on a date.

    According to several reliable corners of the internet—including the incredibly accurate Cryptic4KQual—the first official trailer for the fourth Holland-led Spidey flick is slated to drop on Wednesday, March 18.

    With a locked-in release date of July 31 just over four months away, fans are rabidly anticipating a first-look teaser. Marvel and Sony traditionally kick off the 100-day marketing sprint around this time, and with the Brand New Day subtitle signaling a fresh start for Peter Parker after the multiversal madness of No Way Home, first time franchise director Destin Daniel Cretton has taken the opportunity to put together a completely different take on the Wall-Crawler
and maybe get a hint or two about the identity of Sadie Sink‘s mysterious character.

    Fans were disappointed when Marvel skipped a trailer drop during the 2026 Super Bowl, but the consensus is that Sony wanted a standalone window to dominate the conversation without competing with the big game’s noise. And with the studio’s Project Hail Mary set to dominate the box office, pairing the teaser with that film will ensure it meets plenty of eyeballs.

  • Aaron Pierre Officially Joins ‘Man of Tomorrow’

    Aaron Pierre Officially Joins ‘Man of Tomorrow’

    The “Lanterns” news cycle just shifted from small-screen detective work to full-blown cinematic event. While Aaron Pierre‘s John Stewart  has been rumored to be headed to the big screen, Jeff “The In” Sneider has confirmed that Pierre will officially reprise his role in James Gunn’s Superman sequel, Man of Tomorrow.

    Reportedly, Pierre‘s role isn’t just a cameo; it’s the connective tissue the DCU has been promising since Chapter One: Gods and Monsters was first announced.

    Stewart’s inclusion makes enormous sense from a tactical standpoint. If Lars Eidinger’s Brainiac is the threat we think he is—a world-collector forcing an alliance between Superman and Lex—having an intergalactic lawman like John Stewart on the ground is a necessity, not a luxury. Stewart is a marine; he’s a man of order and protocol. Watching him navigate the ego of Nicholas Hoult’s Warsuit-clad Lex Luthor while trying to save Metropolis may well be a highlight of the sequel.

    By putting Pierre in Man of Tomorrow, Gunn is giving the general audience a reason to tune into the Lanterns series on HBO. It establishes Stewart as a major Justice League-caliber player before the team even officially exists.

    Man of Tomorrow is set for a July 9, 2027 release.

    Source: The Insneider

  • Kate Winslet Joins ‘The Hunt FOR Gollum’ in Massive Lead Role

    While the return of the Lord of the Rings legacy heavyweights for Andy Serkis’s directorial debut in the franchise has been making headlines, industry insider Daniel Richtman just dropped the biggest casting nuke yet: Kate Winslet is officially heading to New Zealand to star in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.

    Winslet’s breakout role was in LOTR director Peter Jackson’s 1994 masterpiece Heavenly Creatures. According to Deadline’s follow up report, Serkis and Jackson spent “most of last year” coaxing Winslet into joining the project. She’s reportedly uprooting her family to New Zealand for a shoot that runs from late May through October.

    Though the studio is keeping the specific character under wraps, she is playing the “female lead” of the film. Given the film will be set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, smart speculation seems to be on her playing Gilraen, the mother of Aragorn. If the film explores Aragorn’s early years and his lineage as he tracks Gollum, Gilraen could serve as the emotional anchor of that story.

    Winslet joins an increasingly “legacy” cast that includes:

    • ​Ian McKellen (Gandalf)
    • ​Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins)
    • ​Andy Serkis (Gollum/Director)

    While Viggo Mortensen won’t be back, the addition of Winslet gives this film the prestige weight it needs to feel like a true successor to the original trilogy rather than just a spin-off. Warner Bros. is clearly playing for keeps with a December 17, 2027 release date.

  • Mother Knows Best: Kathryn Hahn Tapped for Live-Action ‘Tangled’

    Mother Knows Best: Kathryn Hahn Tapped for Live-Action ‘Tangled’

    The “Hahn-aissance” continues. After bewitching fans with her turn to the dark arts in the MCU, it looks like Kathryn Hahn is trading Agatha Harkness’s purple robes for Mother Gothel’s dramatic velvet. Hahn took to social media to reveal she has taken the role of thr villain in Disney’s live-action reimagining of Tangled.

    Hahn has been associated with the role for over a year and as previously discussed, her work in Agatha All Along proved she could handle a villainous role that requires both comedic timing and a genuine sense of threat. Mother Gothel—a woman obsessed with eternal youth and psychological manipulation—is a role practically tailor-made for her energy.

    The production, which is rumored to be looking at a 2027 release window, is reportedly eyeing a “darker, more grounded” take on the Rapunzel story while still maintaining the musical elements of the 2010 animated hit.

    Following the success of The Little Mermaid and the hype for Lilo & Stitch, Disney knows that the villain often makes or breaks these remakes. By putting a powerhouse like Hahn in the tower, they’re ensuring that Tangled isn’t just another carbon copy, but a vehicle for a top-tier character study.

  • Donald Glover is Your New Yoshi as ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Drops Final Trailer

    Nintendo and Illumination aren’t messing around. With the April 1st release date for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie looming, they used today’s Nintendo Direct to drop a final trailer that confirms they are leaning into the star-power casting that made the first film a billion-dollar hit.

    In addition to a returning voice cast full of A-listers, we no know that Donald Glover is officially voicing Yoshi.

    Glover isn’t the only heavy hitter joining the Mushroom Kingdom’s cosmic expansion. Luis Guzmán will voice Wart, a deep-cut villain pull from Super Mario Bros. 2., and Issa Rae will lend her voice talents to the Honey Queen, bringing some Galaxy specific royalty into the mix

    The final trailer gives us a clearer look at the stakes. Bowser Jr., voiced by Benny Safdie, is stepping up to the plate, determined to break his father out of captivity and restore the Koopa family legacy. Mario and Luigi aren’t just protecting the Mushroom Kingdom anymore; they’re heading into deep space to stop a crusade that spans multiple planets.

    Nintendo is clearly positioning this as their Empire Strikes Back. The scope is bigger, the cast is more diverse, and the April 1st release dat le is being backed by a massive marketing push and ticket sales that are already live. After the first movie’s success, the “Mario Cinematic Universe” is no longer a joke—it’s vying to become the new gold standard for animation.

  • King Conan Lives! Arnold Drops a Cimmerian-Sized Bombshell

    Arnold Schwarzenegger never actually retires a character—he just lets them ferment. And in this case, the character has been fermenting for quite some time. At his Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, Arnold casually dropped a nuke on the fantasy genre: King Conan is finally, officially moving forward at 20th Century Studios and he’s bringing Mission: Impossible franchise director Christopher McQuarrie along for the ride.

    Whether it was titled Crown of Iron, The Legend of Conan, or just King Conan, the project has spent more time in development hell than most of you have been alive. Originally, John Milius had a script that was supposed to turn into a gritty two-film epic. Then, around 2012, Fast & Furious architect Chris Morgan was attached to a version described as a “fantasy Unforgiven,” focusing on an old man who has to shake off the rust. The project hit a brick wall in 2019 due to a mess of rights issues that Arnold himself once called a “thorn in the side” of the sequel.

    The McQuarrie Factor

    Bringing in McQuarrie—the man who basically saved the Mission: Impossible franchise and turned it into a masterclass in practical action—is a massive statement. Arnold confirmed that McQuarrie is set to write and direct, while also stating he’s putting together a script for his current age of 78, rather than continuing to pretend he’s 40.

    Tonally, fans can probably expect something closer to Conan the Barbarian‘s operatic brutality rather than the campier Conan the Destroyer. The story beats Arnold teased sound like classic Robert E. Howard.

    With King Conan, it’s a great old story that Conan was forty years as King and now he gets forced out of the kingdom and there’s conflict, of course, but somehow he comes back and there’s all kinds of madness, violence, magic and creatures and stuff like that.

    -Arnold Schwarzenegger

    With potential returns to both the Predator and Commando franchises also in the works, Arnold is entering his Legacy Era, and if McQuarrie can capture the raw, heavy metal soul of John Milius‘s original world, King Conan could be the definitive final chapter fans have been waiting 40 years to see.

  • Mask On? John Campea Claims RDJ’s Face Won’t Be Seen in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    Mask On? John Campea Claims RDJ’s Face Won’t Be Seen in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

    The discourse around Robert Downey Jr.’s Doom just took another turn. Recently, the consensus among the scooper community has been that while Victor Von Doom would keep his mask on when in front of the 616 heroes, the audience would get that meta moment of seeing RDJ’s face—likely to hammer home the tragedy of a man who looks exactly like the hero we lost in Avengers: Endgame.

    However, John Campea is now throwing a monkey into that wrench. On a recent episode of his show, Campea stated that he has confirmed Marvel is keeping the mask firmly in place for the duration of Avengers::Doomsday, saving the face reveal  for the grand finale in 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars.

    One of the rumors about Doomsday that we did confirm for people is that they do not reveal Robert Downey Jr.’s face as Doctor Doom
 they don’t reveal Tony Stark’s face or Robert Downey Jr.’s face in Doomsday, and that the repercussions of that and the reasons for that and all that kind of stuff is something they’re saving for Secret Wars.

    -John Campea

    To mask or not to mask, that is the question but it’s hardly a new debate. But with Robert Downey Jr. in the role, it seems hard to believe that Marvel invested that kind of money just for a voice-over performance and a stunt double in a green cape.

    If Campea is right, Marvel is making a bold, narrative-driven choice. By withholding the face, they’re forcing the audience to treat Victor as a separate entity from Tony Stark. It builds tension so  when that mask finally comes off in Secret Wars, it’s a tactical emotional nuke designed to break the heroes, perhaps mirroring the division in Captain America: Civil War.

    This contradicts several other reports that suggested the audience see a scarred version of the 616-Stark-lookalike early on. If Campea’s info holds water, it means the brothers Russos are leaning into the horror of Doom, which does match up with  Film Threat’s Chris Gore’s claim that Doom’s face will be disfigured and, in his opinion, looks to be inspired by the look of creatures from “classic Universal Monster movies.”

    If they’re saving the face for Avengers: Secret Wars, they’re betting everything on a singular moment of shock to carry the entire Multiverse Saga finale.

  • Is James Mangold’s ‘Dawn of the Jedi’ Dead? Insider Weighs In on Lucasfilm Shocker

    Is James Mangold’s ‘Dawn of the Jedi’ Dead? Insider Weighs In on Lucasfilm Shocker

    For nearly three years, the promise of a “Biblical Epic” set 25,000 years before the Skywalker Saga has been the north star for Star Wars fans seeking something truly original. James Mangold, fresh off Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was set to explore the very origins of the Force.

    However, speaking on The Hot Mic (via SFFGazette.com), Jeff “the In” Sneider didn’t mince words when asked about the film’s status:

    I heard this week actually. I just heard it. That’s like dead. I can’t say that conclusively, but it doesn’t sound good. I think Mangold is focused on that TimothĂ©e Chalamet heist movie is what I think. I think Swamp Thing could be after that.

    -Jeff “The In” Sneider

    If the report holds true, the primary culprits for the film’s demise would seem likely to ne creative differences and  scheduling.

    With Dave Filoni now weileing unlimited power over the “creative direction of the franchise in film, television, and any other platforms in the galaxy,” it’s very possible that Mangold’s film didn’t fit his vision of what Star Wars should be moving forward.

    Mangold has spent the last year riding a massive wave of momentum following the Oscar-winning success of his Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. Mangold and star TimothĂ©e Chalamet have officially reteamed for a motocross heist thriller titled High Side. The project, described as “Heat meets Hell or High Water,” was picked up by Paramount in a massive bidding war. With High Side now moving into active production, it appears the timeline for a galaxy far, far away has simply run out of room. And, of course, there’s Mangold’s Swamp Thing lurking in the background.

    The sting of this cancellation is felt even more acutely because of the creative team involved. In April 2024, news that Andor scribe Beau Willimon had joined the project to co-write the script with Mangold seemed to give the project new life.

    Willimon’s involvement was seen as a guarantee of quality, bringing the same stylings to the Jedi origins that he brought to the Narkina 5 arc in Andor. However, news recently broke that Willimon has moved on to write a major Game of Thrones feature film for HBO, which, in hindsight, may have been the first major  that the Jedi project was on life support.

    For Star Wars fans, this story feels all too familiar. From Patty Jenkins‘ Rogue Squadron to the Kevin Feige-produced project, Lucasfilm has a documented history of announcing high-profile director-led films that never make it to the screen
or even into production. The studio’s pivot toward the Mandalorian and Grogu as their primary theatrical return signals a retreat to safe IP, which seems to be the way of things at the House of Mouse. A 25,000-year-old prequel about the origins of the Force was always a high-risk gamble. In a 2026 landscape where Disney is prioritizing guaranteed hits, a risky, mold-breaking epic like Dawn of the Jedi may have simply been too unconventional for Filoni.

  • Sadie Sink Is Reportedly the MCU’s Jean Grey—and She’s Debuting in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

    Sadie Sink Is Reportedly the MCU’s Jean Grey—and She’s Debuting in ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’

    For over a year, the Marvel fandom has been playing a high-stakes game of “Guess the Redhead.” Since Sadie Sink was first reported to be joining the MCU back in early 2023, speculation has swung wildly from her playing Songbird in Thunderbolts to being a Multiversal variant of Mary Jane Watson.

    However, following a series of massive leaks over the last 48 hours, the mystery appears to be solved. Trusted scooper Cryptic HD QUALITY has doubled down on earlier reports from Jeff Sneider, explicitly stating that the Stranger Things star is portraying the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Jean Grey.

    The journey to this confirmation has been anything but linear. When Sink officially joined the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in March 2025, she was famously cagey, calling the Jean Grey rumors “cool” but stopping short of a confirmation.

    As production moved through Glasgow and eventually back to Pinewood Studios, the “Insider Info War” reached a fever pitch. We saw theories ranging from Sink playing a Mark Millar-inspired Ultimate Jean Grey to a live-action version of Spider-Gwen from Earth-65. But as we noted back in August 2025, the sheer scale of Sink’s casting suggested someone much more pivotal to the MCU’s future than a one-off Spider-Man supporting character.

    Why Jean Grey? Why Now?

    The most common question among fans is: Why introduce one of the most powerful X-Men in a Spider-Man movie? According to the latest leaks, the answer lies in the Department of Damage Control (DODC) and the fallout of the Multiverse Saga.

    Reports from the Glasgow set suggest a sequence where Sink’s character is being hunted by the DODC. Insider Daniel Richtman has indicated that Sink’s character utilizes telepathic mind control—a hallmark of Jean Grey’s power set—to manipulate guards and potentially even turn Bruce Banner into the Hulk. And then, there are on-set descriptions that have consistently noted Sink wearing green and yellow—the signature colors of Jean Grey’s Marvel Girl.

    By introducing Jean as a street-level mutant being persecuted by the government, Marvel Studios is effectively setting the stakes for the Mutant Saga before the X-Men even have a team. This grounds Jean in the 616 reality, making her a sympathetic figure Peter Parker feels compelled to protect. And it also makes one ask what might have happened to the Jean Grey from whatever universe the X-Men appearing in Avengers: Doomsday are native to.

    The Road to Avengers: Secret Wars

    Perhaps the most compelling piece of evidence for the Jean Grey reveal is Sink‘s reported future in the franchise. It has been widely reported that Sink will reprise her role in Avengers: Secret Wars, which begins filming in London later this year.

    Casting an actress of Sink’s caliber for a multi-film arc—especially one that leads into the climax of the Multiverse Saga—only makes sense if she is playing a true heavy gitter. Jean Grey isn’t just a mutant; she is a cosmic entity. If the MCU plans on adapting the Phoenix Force in a post-Secret Wars world, Sink is the perfect anchor for what could unfold as a decade-long narrative.