Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • ‘Deadpool’ Director Taking Over Additional Photography For Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’

    ‘Deadpool’ Director Taking Over Additional Photography For Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’

    Here’s a curious story, as it seems that Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller is joining the production of Borderlands. He will oversee the reshoots of the production as first reported by One Take News. They do go on to highlight that the original director Eli Roth is still involved with the project and has not been fired yet. It seems that his schedule has not lined up with that of the various actors required for the reshoots.

    As such, Tim Miller is simply joining the production with the blessing of Roth to supervise the reshoots necessary to finalize the project. He supposedly has also seen the rough cut of Borderlands. Eli Roth is currently busy working on the film Thanksgiving which was inspired by a mock trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez‘s Grindhouse film. So, those reading the headline expecting another version of what happened to the Justice League film can know that this isn’t a situation where studio interferences led to the director taking over.

    Still, we still have seen rather little of the Borderlands film. We got some teases here and there, but the film promises a star-studded cast that consists of Cate Blanchett, Edgar Ramirez, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, and more. If Miller has Roth’s blessing, it doesn’t seem like he’ll add anything to change the style that the director used to bring this iconic gaming franchise to life, but it’ll be interesting to see what parts they added through reshoots.

    Source: One Take News, Deadline

  • Nicolas Cage Has No Interest in Joining a ‘Star Wars’ Project

    Nicolas Cage Has No Interest in Joining a ‘Star Wars’ Project

    We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on what Star Wars’ cinematic future looks like. To this day, there’s still no word on if Damon Lindelof‘s project is moving forward, even with rumors circulating that the film is already starting casting a person-of-color lead. There’s also Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron project that was put on the back burner due to her commitment to Wonder Woman 3; a film that is ironically not going to happen now.

    As we theorize about what the future might look like for Lucasfilm’s cinematic universe, we have the confirmation that there’s one actor we don’t have to consider in any project moving forward. In an interview with Kevin Polowy, the actor revealed that he’s “a Trekkie” and has no interest in joining a Star Wars project.

    I think this is the first interview of the New Year, you might as well get something that no one knows. But that’s a fact. I grew up watching Shatner, I thought Pine was terrific in the movies. I think the movies are outstanding.

    Nicolas Cage

    He goes on to highlight that he’s more about “the political” and “sociological aspects of science fiction rather than jumping into a world that is more science-fantasy at times like Star Wars.

    I like the political, the sociological… To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that is really where you can really say whatever you want, however you feel, you put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future and you can – without people just jumping on you. You can really express your thoughts like Orwell in the science fiction format and Star Trek really embraced that. I thought they got into some serious stuff.

    Nicolas Cage

    Of course, it’s a shame that we’ll never see his zany performance in a Star Wars project, it does open up a bigger interest in if he could finally star in something Star Trek-related. There are a variety of shows and even a new film in development.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • ‘M3GAN’ Sequel is Already in Development

    ‘M3GAN’ Sequel is Already in Development

    The world of horror movies should be prepared for seeing more of the Model 3 Generative Android. Deadline has shared that a sequel for the new horror film M3GAN is in the very early stages of development. This news makes sense with the surprising surge at the box office the horror film has had on its first full day of release.

    The Universal Studios film won at the box office yesterday by earning over $11M, which has moved M3GAN’s opening weekend projection to $27.5M. This respectfully outperforms the initial $20M expectations, and the film has the potential to see it continue to increase if word of mouth continues to be a success.

    M3GAN, directed by Gerard Johnstone, is based on a story by Akela Cooper and James Wan. It was produced under Blumhouse Productions and follows the story of roboticist Gemma (played by Alison Williams) as she suddenly finds herself in the custody of her niece Cady (played by Violet McGraw) following the death of the latter’s parents.

    To help remedy a struggling home life situation, Gemma provides her niece with a prototype of her new work project to assist in looking after and providing emotional support for Cady: the Model 3 Generative Android (abbreviated to M3GAN). This of course has dire consequences as the artificial intelligence gains sentience that’s combined with a warped and everchanging moral code.

    The first major American release of 2023 is a relatively strong underdog story in the film industry. Being the film to dethrone Avatar: The Way of Water as #1 at the box office is a major accomplishment, and the notion of M3GAN being the movie to do it is certainly a surprise. The Way of Water is still set to win the weekend, but M3GAN being able to be relatively competitive without showing in most premium formats is a major feat.

    Without getting into specific spoilers from M3GAN, there are threads that can be continued for future projects. The character of M3GAN certainly matches the enigmatic nature shown in the trailer and is rife to be a successful black comedy franchise. Audiences should be prepared to see a great deal more of this artificial intelligence doll in the future.

    M3GAN is currently available at movie theaters globally. You can read Murphy’s Multiverse official review of the film here. 

    Source: Deadline

  • Hugh Jackman Hints at His Wolverine Training and When ‘Deadpool 3’ Starts Production

    Hugh Jackman Hints at His Wolverine Training and When ‘Deadpool 3’ Starts Production

    One of 2022’s most notable stories in the film industry was the surprise announcement that Hugh Jackman would be returning to the role of Wolverine. The face of the X-Men franchise will be entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the upcoming Deadpool sequel in 2024. As Jackman hasn’t played the character since 2017’s Logan, some might be curious about the time it would take for him to get in enough shape to play the iconic character once again. Luckily in an interview on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?, the star actor confirmed the timetable for when he’ll physically be set to play the co-lead for the Marvel Studios production.

    I‘ve learned you can’t rush it. I’ve learned that it takes time. So we have six months from when I finish (‘The Music Man’ on Broadway) to when I started filming. And I’m not doing any other work. I’m going to be with my family and train. That’s going to be my job for six months. And I’m really fit right now. There’s one thing that about eight shows a week being on Broadway singing and dancing is I’m fit. So I’m healthy. I have a good place to start. And apologies chickens. Run a mile. Start running now because I’m coming for you.

    Hugh Jackman

    The notable news from this quote is that Deadpool 3 is apparently set to begin production in six months following the close of The Music Man on Broadway next week. This would mean a summer start for the highly anticipated multiversal romp. With that in mind, fans looking for the inside scoop on what to expect won’t have to wait too long before the first pieces of information about the film are made public. In terms of Hugh Jackman’s preparedness, the physical condition of the star actor shouldn’t be of any concern when production begins and he dons the metal claws for an additional time.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘M3GAN’ Surprises and Dehtornes ‘Avatar 2’s Friday Box Office

    ‘M3GAN’ Surprises and Dehtornes ‘Avatar 2’s Friday Box Office

    M3GAN is a surprise hit as the film is currently overperforming. Initially expected to make around $20M, the film is currently en route toward $28M. If it keeps up the performance with the horror classic B CinemaScore, there’s a chance it could even scratch the $30M. Of course, it’s not that easy with horror films that don’t leg out over the weekend, as they tend to have a stronger hold in the following weeks. It also doesn’t have any real competition so the film is definitely a success for Blumhouse.

    The big surprise, however, is that the film managed to dethrone Avatar The Way of Water on Friday. Yes, the monolith of a film was finally pushed out of its top seat even if just for a single day. M3GAN is still unlikely to win the weekend, but it’s something that the film can be proud of, especially in how Blumhouse made use of the empty January to release a fitting counterprogramming that pulls audiences in.

    January used to be an infamous dead zone for film releases but has become a popular horror release month. M3GAN almost covered its $12M budget with its opening day and is definitely going to end up profitable by the end of the weekend or early next week. Scream was released on January 13th last year and also managed to pull in quite some impressive numbers. Perhaps there’s a new market this month and Blumhouse is definitely going to make good use of it moving forward. You can read what we thought of M3GAN by clicking here.

    Source: Twitter

  • REPORT: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Will Be The Longest ‘Ant-Man’ Film

    REPORT: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’s Will Be The Longest ‘Ant-Man’ Film

    If there ever is a tradition with any Marvel Studios project, it’s the long discussions surrounding what runtimes the latest epic in the Marvel Cinematic Universe might have. With only a month left to go before its next major release, the speculation began on just how long Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania might end up being. Would the usually comedy-centric franchise stick to a shorter runtime or expand with its more Avengers-level-style teasing?

    Well, it seems that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will be the longest entry in the trilogy, as according to Fandango the film will run for two hours and five minutes. That puts it well ahead of Ant-Man‘s one hour and 57 minutes. Ant-Man and the Wasp was only a minute longer than its predecessor. The film’s runtime puts it ahead of other Marvel Studios films like Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more. Though, it’s not going to rival any of some of the major crossover films, which share some of the longest runtimes in the franchise.

    When compared to the Phase 4 entries, the film is only a minute shy of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ runtime. Though, Thor: Love and Thunder remains the shortest entry of that Phase, as it’s still the only film to be under two hours. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania kicks off Phase 5 and it’ll be interesting to see if these longer projects remain and only a handful tends to stick to shorter runtimes moving forward; a potential learning from the last films.

    Source: Fandango

  • New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Vulture in Scrapped Finale

    New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Vulture in Scrapped Finale

    It’s not new that Marvel Studios’ productions go through a variety of changes. Not only do they rewrite the scripts before production starts, but they aren’t strangers to also adapting on the fly if necessary. That especially became a necessity during COVID, as the pandemic didn’t make it easy for any production to stay on schedule or even remain in its original slot, forcing it to adapt story elements to adhere to the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    In the case of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we always wondered just how much was changed throughout production, especially with the inclusion of a variety of actors from legacy projects. There was one aspect that stood out from No Way Home and that was the lack of any villains representing Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man. As it turns out, Storyboard artist Phil Langone shared a drawing from one of the finales that seemingly includes Michael Keaton‘s Vulture as part of the ensemble.

    It was always funny how the film had the opportunity to establish the Sinister Six but ended up short one member. Perhaps during or before production started, they simply couldn’t get the version of the story together as they intended. Perhaps Keaton wasn’t available for the film, as he did end up reprising the role in Morbius. Whatever the case might be, we’re sadly stuck with what could’ve been off seeing a fully formed Sinister Six and the return of a great villain. Perhaps a future project could see his long-awaited return.

    Source: Instagram

  • ‘Sea Beast’ Sequel in Development, Director Signs Deal with Netflix

    ‘Sea Beast’ Sequel in Development, Director Signs Deal with Netflix

    It looks like director Chris Williams has made quite the impression with Netflix, as he has now signed an overall deal with the streaming studio. It seems that he has two projects currently in development with one being a direct sequel to his film The Sea Beast. The animation legend has worked for 25 years at Disney Animation on various Oscar-winning and nominated films. It seems the deal came together shortly around when they were wrapping up work on his first project.

    We had just wrapped up on the Sea Beast and we were in the post-production phase when we started talking about me continuing at Netflix and working on something else. They were cool about letting me know they wanted me to stay. I felt so supported throughout the making of Sea Beast, even though it was a massively ambitious movie. That represents a financial investment and risk, and they were always cool letting me making the movie I wanted to make. I always value people’s opinions and I will always listen to what anyone has to say. But they never forced my hand and they never made me do anything other than let me do the movie I wanted to make. And I really appreciated that. And so I wanted to do it again.

    Chris Williams

    William‘s first big project outside of the usual walls of Disney was his Moby Dick-inspired story of The Sea Beast, which was inspired by movies from his youth. It’s no surprise that Netflix would want him back, as his film is the most-watched animated film in Netflix’s library even with some stellar competition already on the platform.

    With that success, Netflix has penned a deal with Williams to produce two originals for the studio. The sequel will follow the continuing adventures of Jacob Holland, but he’s also set his eyes on an original fantasy film that would be a combination of The Princess Bride meets The Lord of the Rings.

    I pitched an original fantasy story. And it would be similar to Sea Beast in that I would create a completely cohesive world. Tonally, it would be between Lord of the Rings and Princess Bride. It’s like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings where you have a history that leads up to the point where the story begins, and it’s a huge world with multiple events going on outside the story being told. But at the same time, I want to have fun with some of the conventions that Princess Bride did. It’s not parody and it’s not making fun of it, but it has a perspective that is light and refreshing.

    It definitely sounds like he has ambitious plans and Netflix is definitely on board to see where their investment in his vision goes. With the success of his previous project, it makes sense they wouldn’t want to lose the talent they have already working for them.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Tim Blake Nelson Cast in ‘Dune: Part Two’

    Tim Blake Nelson Cast in ‘Dune: Part Two’

    The all-star cast assembled for the Warner Bros. Entertainment and Legendary Entertainment produced Dune: Part Two has grown even more. Tim Blake Nelson has officially been announced to join the highly anticipated sequel in an undisclosed role. The star actor will be joining the likes of Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Léa Seydoux, and Christopher Walken as new additions to the franchise. These names will be joining original leads Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, and Javier Bardem. Director Denis Villeneuve will be helming the sequel feature film.

    Tim Blake Nelson most recently starred in the first episode of the Netflix anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosity. Nelson also worked with the acclaimed director on the critically acclaimed adaptation of Pinocchio from late last year, providing the voice for the Black Rabbit. Nelson is slated to make his long-awaited return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Samuel Stern, aka The Leader, for 2024’s Captain America: New World Order.

    Dune: Part 2 will complete the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 science-fiction novel of the same name, which is the first in a sprawling literary saga. No official word has been on the future of any theatrical sequels following the release of Dune: Part 2 later this year. Villeneuve has expressed interest in adapting Dune Messiah, the second novel of the series, depending on the success of this year’s film. In addition, a prequel spinoff series of Dune: The Sisterhood is currently in production for HBO Max.

    Dune: Part 2 is set to release exclusively in theaters on November 3rd of this year.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Paul Mescal to Star in ‘Gladiator’ Sequel

    Paul Mescal to Star in ‘Gladiator’ Sequel

    The long-awaited sequel to Gladiator is finally moving ahead. Deadline has announced that Paul Mescal is currently in talks to lead the film. Ridley Scott, who will return to helm the sequel, is producing the film along with Scott Free President Michael Pruss and Doug Wick & Lucy Fisher via Red Wagon Entertainment. Scott helms the film from a script penned by David Scarpa (The Day the Earth Stood Still).

    Per Deadline, also set to return for Gladiator 2 are costume designer Janty Yates and production designer Arthur Max. While the first film was produced by both Universal and DreamWorks, the latter will not be involved in the project. In fact, as it stands, Universal doesn’t look to be involved just yet — although Universal has the right to partner again when the project is packaged.

    Mescal is set to play the role of Lucius, the son of Lucilla, who was played by Connie Nielsen. The rising actor is said to have beat out the likes of Miles Teller, Austin Butler, Richard Madden and Timothée Chalamet for the gig. Mescal is perhaps best known for his role in Hulu’s Normal People.

    Source: Deadline.