Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • Disney May Return to Licensing its Films and TV Series to Rivals

    Disney May Return to Licensing its Films and TV Series to Rivals

    Disney+ was a big venture for Disney with a strong focus on creating a singular hub for everyone loving any of their properties. They went out of their way to purchase 20th Century Studios to ensure they could expand their library in a way that would allow them to do exactly that. Yet, the losses taken throughout the last few years under new management of Bob Chapek didn’t truly shape an optimistic outlook on streaming’s future.

    With the return of Bob Iger, we’re seeing some traditional directions for the company such as an increase in movies hitting theaters in future years and it seems they may be back peddling on some decisions. As part of their Disney+ venture, Disney pulled back on a variety of external licensing deals for their films and television series. This consequently added to their overall loss and made it more difficult to truly showcase the potential of streaming.

    Now, it seems they are once again exploring selling their library to their rivals by establishing new licensing deals. It’s a strategy that has worked quite well for Sony Pictures, who have actively avoided sinking their cash into building their own streaming service. They’ve managed to create a deal with Netflix and Disney+ to offer their expanding library to multiple services in a layered rollout.

    It makes sense and it might become a new standard moving forward for many of streaming services. We might not see Moon Knight or Percy Jackson on Netflix for quite some time but the various Marvel movies are likely to hit streaming services in a few years. If they play their cards right they’ll keep exclusivity rights for at least a year and then expand their offerings. It’s a double catch and very likely the future direction for the entire streaming industry. Streaming won’t go away anytime soon but the market landscape is surely going to change once again.

    Source: Bloomberg

  • ‘Jurassic World’ Director Teams Up with ‘House of the Dragon’ Writer for New Atlantis Film

    ‘Jurassic World’ Director Teams Up with ‘House of the Dragon’ Writer for New Atlantis Film

    It looks like we’re taking a trip to Atlantis. Sadly, it isn’t an adaptation of the iconic Disney film, even if it almost seems expected they’d at least try to bring it into live-action but an original story by Jurassic World‘s Colin Trevorrow. Not just that, he’s also set to team up with House of the Dragon‘s Charmaine DeGraté, who will co-write and executive produce the project. The deal was finalized with Skydance which will see Trevorrow also direct the film titled Atlantis.

    Trevorrow‘s Metronome Film Company is producing and it seems that this project was already developing for some time. Universal was initially involved but had to return the project to Trevorrow due to turnaround,w which gave Skydance the perfect opportunity to nab it. It does seem like a previous draft was already finished with Alien: Covenant‘s Dante Harper having been involved.

    It seems that the base fantasy adventure style will remain exploring the advanced civilization that was sunk. There’s no word yet though how exactly this film will tackle the iconic mythological city and if they’ll take a specific direction with the project to make it stand out from previous iterations. This is also the first non-Jurassic World project for Trevorrow in a while which just released the third entry last year. Perhaps Atlantis is an underwater dino theme park that was never revealed until now.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Matthew Lillard Signed a 3-Picture Deal for ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s

    Matthew Lillard Signed a 3-Picture Deal for ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s

    It’s been a long wait until Five Nights at Freddy’s finally started production. The project was trapped in production hell due to creator Scott Cawthon not signing off on any of the projects. Yet, just recently the film finally started production and is moving forward in full force. The next big surprise was who they were able to cast for the project with Matthew Lillard joining the film. Not just that, rumors already made the rounds that he’s potentially playing the franchise’s main antagonist.

    In an interview with WeeklyMTG, Lillard offered a little tease of his future with Blumhouse and Universal, as it seems he’s signed a 3-picture deal for joining Five Nights at Freddy’s It seems likely the actor is all-in for the project and they may have made up lost time by building a full-on trilogy based on the gaming franchise.

    Blumhouse has been on a roll with its latest projects and FNAF does neatly fit into their overall horror expansion. The recent release of M3GAN is already seeing its franchise potential with a sequel on the horizon and why not have a trilogy focused on the nightmarish Chuck E. Cheese-inspired attractions starring the voice of Shaggy as its villain? Though Lillard also has proven his horror chops with the original Scream and it’s great to see him once again diversify his acting filmography. Here’s hoping we get a tease of what he’ll look like and if he’ll indeed have some purple in his outfit.

    If you want to watch the full interview, you can watch it here:

    Source: YouTube

  • Michael B. Jordan Ready to “Expand the Creed-Verse” with Spinoffs and ‘Creed 4’

    Michael B. Jordan Ready to “Expand the Creed-Verse” with Spinoffs and ‘Creed 4’

    Michael B. Jordan has certainly made a splash in cinemas with his various projects over the years. Yet, he continues to build up his fictional boxing career in the now Creed trilogy. With a third entry on the horizon where he’ll face off against Jonathan Majors, it seems he’s not going to be wrapping up his work on the self-titled “Creed-verse” anytime soon.

    In an interview with IGN, Jordan highlighted that he was excited to continue the franchise when he was asked if he was interested in adding a fourth entry or even a spinoff.

    I just want to expand the Creed-verse within reason, but definitely expect other things around Creed for sure.

    Michael B. Jordan

    It’s curious he’ll title it the “Creed-verse” as it’s technically a spinoff already from the Rocky films. Adonis Creed is carrying on the legacy of his father and the original Rocky Balboa, Sylvester Stallone had a major role in bringing back the boxing franchise under its new title. Jonathan Majors is also set to become a massive star with a variety of projects under his belt and a Marvel film debut in a few weeks. So, he might be a popular choice to explore in a spinoff.

    Creed 3 is set to release on March 3rd, and marks Michael B. Jordan‘s directorial debut.

    Source: IGN

  • ‘Avatar’ Producer Teases a Time Jump and Return to Earth in Future Sequels

    ‘Avatar’ Producer Teases a Time Jump and Return to Earth in Future Sequels

    Avatar is set to rekease up to three films going by the success of Avatar: The Way of Water. There’s always a chance that they could expand beyond that, but director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau have seemingly at least mapped out as far as its fifth entry. Instead of keeping everything as close to the chest as possible, they are giving us a small glimpse of what the future has in store for us.

    In a new interview with Empire, Landau got the chance to hint at what exactly is heading our way in the fourth and fifth Avatar entries. We know that the third will introduce the fire Na’vi race known as the Ash People. It looks like the first entry will feature “a big time jump” which also matches taking the age of the actors into account.

    Landau also highlighted once again the visit to Earth, which he previously confirmed in an interview with Gizmodo, which technically might be quite a spoiler on the future of a character in this story.

    We go to it to open people’s eyes, open Neytiri’s eyes, to what exists on Earth.

    Jon Landau

    This time around, he highlighted that they’ll get a chance to explore Earth which is suffering from “’over-population and a depletion of our natural resources that make life harder.” So, we’ll likely see Neyitiri exploring a world that is different from nature telling her exactly what humanity has done wrong. Perhaps it also opens the possibility of a rift between her and Jake Sully, as she never believed just how far humanity has fallen.

    Source: Empire via Variety, Gizmodo

  • Oona Chaplin Set to Play Fire Na’vi Leader in ‘Avatar 3’

    Oona Chaplin Set to Play Fire Na’vi Leader in ‘Avatar 3’

    Avatar: The Way of Water has passed the two-billion mark and has set in motion the future of a brand-new franchise. James Cameron is certainly excited to continue the work he started going beyond the third film, but he still is busy putting the finishing touches on Avatar 3. We already heard that it’ll introduce a new tribe of Na’vi that is based on fire; adding to more comparisons with the Avatar: The Last Airbender series.

    Now, we got a bit more information on this new race, as they are definitely going to be antagonistic but it’s uncertain if they might turn to the good side once humanity does its usual thing in these projects. These Ash People are “an aggressive, volcanic race” and it seems Game of Thrones‘ Charlie Chaplin is set to play their leader Varang. Producer Jon Landau shares why they decided on this direction in an interview with Empire.

    There are good humans and there are bad humans. It’s the same thing on the Na’vi side. Oftentimes, people don’t see themselves as bad. What is the root cause of how they evolve into what we perceive as bad? Maybe there are other factors there that we aren’t aware of.

    Jon Landau

    It definitely will add a bit more to the exploration of the various Na’vi cultures we’ve seen to this point. There’s a chance that perhaps these Na’vi have been excluded from the connection we’ve seen with various races and the Ash People living in a volcano don’t have the same connection to nature that others have. Though, we don’t yet know what the environment looks like in this new part of Pandora.

    Source: Empire via Variety

  • Seth Rogen Believes ‘The Boys’ “Wouldn’t Exist” Without Marvel Studios

    Seth Rogen Believes ‘The Boys’ “Wouldn’t Exist” Without Marvel Studios

    There’s been an online debate for years if Marvel Studios catering too much to a younger audience. With the rise of more adult fare like The Boys, some people feel like there’s no place for that franchise anymore. The series creator Seth Rogen, however, does acknowledge that the films are “just not for” him as he believes it’s not made for an “adult with no children.” Though he also aknowledges that is his own personal taste and praises Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige.

    Yet, he also goes on to highlight that The Boys “wouldn’t exist” if it weren’t for the existence of Marvel Studios. It’s classic counterprogramming that we’ve seen many times throughout the years and a simple evolution that was set by the produciton company in the superhero genre. It’s common that alternatives pop up that cater to different types of audiences that may want to embellish in mocking the other. He also highlights how the “Western” never truly went away but many of its elements still live on in modern projects.

    Truthfully, without Marvel, ‘The Boys’ wouldn’t exist or be interesting. I’m aware of that,” Rogen said. “I think if it was only Marvel [in the marketplace], it would be bad. But I think it isn’t – clearly. An example I’m always quoting is, there’s a point in history where a bunch of filmmakers would have been sitting around, being like, ‘Do you think we’ll ever make a movie that’s not a Western again? Everything’s a Western! Westerns dominate the fucking movies. If it doesn’t have a hat and a gun and a carriage, people aren’t going to go see it anymore.

    Seth Rogen

    ONe could argue that the understanding of what is and isn’t “adult” does leave a lot of wiggle room. The Boys offers some powerful story telling but also enjoys its over-the-top violence and earning its hard-R rating. Yet, that isn’t the case for everyone. Marvel Studios isn’t making films specifically for children but something anyone can enjoy at all ages, as not every adult without a child might agree with Rogen‘s view on the matter.

    He makes a good point that a certain type of filmmaking has been very dominant finanically speaking in comparison to traditional cinematic experiences, though he also tries to drive a wedge between these two by describing one as “audiovisual entertainment” and “cinema,” creating a distinction of these experiences.

    The debate that sparked from Martin Scorsese has flip-flopped from creative to creative. Blockbusters are still a big part of the cinematic experience but what one describes as “cinema” can change from person to person. There should not be a reason to create a distinction but consider the ramifications of one type dominating the other. Though this is a matter we’ll likely never see a consensus on the matter given how discourse has changed over time.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Detective Pikachu’ Sequel Still “In Active Development”

    ‘Detective Pikachu’ Sequel Still “In Active Development”

    Yeah, I had to question that title as well but it seems that the long-awaited sequel to Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is still “in active development” according to a Legendary Entertainment representative. Of course, we don’t know at what stage it is exactly without anyone actively involved with the project but it seems Legendary is still keen on releasing the project at some point if possible.

    The sequel was renewed ahead of the first entries’ theatrical release. So, Legendary was all in creating their own universe. Yet, we also heard that Netflix was potentially going to reboot the film to better tie into their new TV series that is being developed by Lucifer‘s Joe Henderson.

    As such, it’s hard to say if we should ever actually expect a sequel or not. The new series was announced back in July of 2021 and there has been little movement on the project since. So, we don’t know if Netflix passed on the project or if even The Pokémon Company may have decided not to move forward. As of now, the cinematic future of this franchise leaves us questioning things like a Wobbuffet.

    Even the writer of Detective Pikachu, Benji Samit, and Dan Hernandez, pointed out that there’s a general rights issue for Pokémon that may be the leading cause of why we haven’t seen anything moving forward. The film did a lot right and offered some of the best live-action adaptations of an anime but sadly seemingly lost all momentum since its release in 2019.

    Source: Polygon

  • Marvel Studios Publishing Scott Lang’s Memoir From ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

    Marvel Studios Publishing Scott Lang’s Memoir From ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

    If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to get a look into the mind of Scott Lang, you’re in luck. Marvel has unveiled that they are publishing the book Look Out for The Little Guy which is inspired by the novel written by Scott Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

    The book is set to hit bookstores and was created in cooperation between Marvel Studios, the filmmakers, and Hyperion Avenue, which will explore what truly happened between the Avengers and Thanos. The statement shared by Lang is the following:

    Once upon a time I was just a guy living a normal life who committed a crime (for the greater good!), unfortunately, went away for a couple of years, got out and became a Super Hero, joined the Avengers, went down to the Quantum Realm, and then came back and saved the universe. You know, typical dad stuff. Dive into the pages of my new book, Look Out for the Little Guy, to read all about what it’s like to be the little guy (and sometimes, the very, very big guy) overcoming all the odds to help defeat Thanos

    Scott Lang

    The book will include 20 pieces on Scott Lang’s time as Ant-Man and is set to release September 5th. It’s already available as a preorder for those willing to take a look into the story of Avengers’ smallest yet biggest hero. It’ll be a must-buy for anyone who wants a deeper look into what it’s like living in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Source: Marvel

  • Disney Set to Make a Splash at Super Bowl LVII

    Disney Set to Make a Splash at Super Bowl LVII

    Disney has several major tentpole films slated for release in 2023 and according to a new report, marketing for them is going into high gear. Deadline reports that Disney will be very active at this year’s Super Bowl, promoting as many as six of their upcoming films.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, which will release just a few days after the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles square off in Super Bowl LVII, will certainly be on display during the big game. It is expected to be joined by spots for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Little Mermaid and Pixar’s Elemental with spots for Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny and The Marvels possible as well. In the case of The Marvels, Disney has yet to show off any footage of the new film other than to the audience in attendance at last year’s D23 Expo, meaning this would be the first look at the project for general audiences. In the past, it has often been the practice to release a full trailer online following a 30-second TV spot during the game.

    While Disney does have a multitude of streaming projects rolling out on Disney Plus this year, including Season 3 of The Mandalorian on March 1st, the report makes no mention of their plans for marketing those other than to add that Disney is not expected to showcase the upcoming Marvel Studios streamer Secret Invasion during the game.

    Other studios will be in on the fun as well, with spots for The Flash, Fast X, Scream VI, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts all set to debut.

    Super Bowl LVII will be played on February 12th and will be broadcast on Fox beginning at 6:30 PM ET.

    Source: Deadline