Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movie News

  • First Look at Keira Knightley in 20th Century’s ‘Boston Strangler’, Heading to Hulu in March

    First Look at Keira Knightley in 20th Century’s ‘Boston Strangler’, Heading to Hulu in March

    The next 20th Century Studios production is making its way to Hulu, as the upcoming true-crime thriller from director Matt Ruskin is heading to Hulu on March 17, 2023. Boston Strangler explores the story of reporter Loretta McLaughlin (Keira Knightley), who is hot on the heels of the Boston Strangler murders. With the help of her colleague Jean Cole, played by Carrie Coon, they fight their way through the sexism of the era to stop a killer at their own personal risk.

    The film is set to premiere on Hulu in the United States with Disney+ and Star+ in international territories as part of the Star banner. The film has a star-studded cast as joining Knightley and Coon is Bill Camp, David Dastmalchian, Alessandro Nivola, Morgen Spector, and Chris Cooper. In the producing chair are Ridley Scott, Kevin J. Walsh, Josey McNamara, Michael Pruss, and Tom Ackerley.

    Hulu has slowly been becoming the home for many of Disney’s 20th Century Studios productions. It’s a shame it’s not getting a theatrical release as it is set as a streaming exclusive, but that has proven successful for Disney throughout the pandemic and in 2022 with projects like Prey, Hellraiser, and more. It’ll be interesting to see what Boston Strangler brings to the table, especially in a desperate need for more crime-thriller films. So, it’ll be worth keeping a close eye on the upcoming first trailer for the film set for its March 17th release.

  • REPORT: Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Talks for James Bond Role

    REPORT: Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Talks for James Bond Role

    There has been one discussion that has been on everyone’s radar: who will be the next James Bond? Daniel Craig offered a memorable tenure as the character since 2006’s Casino Royale before wrapping up his time in the role with 2021’s No Time to Die. Now, the future of the franchise remains uncertain, especially with who might take on the mantle and when we can expect the next entry.

    Of course, fans have their own personal choices on who would be fitting for the 007 franchise. Idris Elba has been one of the most popular choices, which even made the rounds that the producers, Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, openly discussed its inclusion. To kick off the new year, it seems that there’s one frontrunner who has already had talks to take on the role: Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

    In a new report by Puck, it seems that Taylor-Johnson has sat down with the producers on potentially taking the role. While it doesn’t mean he’ll definitely be our next bond, the fact that the meetings went well would give him a good chance. He does make for a good choice in the role, though it would be a shame if they don’t venture out more to find their next James Bond.

    We still have to wait a bit longer before they start working on the next entry of the 007 era, but we do have a reality TV series in development at Amazon to tie us over. If talks do continue this year, we may know who is the next Bond by the time we inch closer to 2024.

    Source: Puck

  • REPORT: Casting Still Underway for Marvel Studios ‘Fantastic Four’

    REPORT: Casting Still Underway for Marvel Studios ‘Fantastic Four’

    2023 has been filled with casting rumors and theories on who might become the next members of the Fantastic Four in Marvel Studios’ reboot of the franchise. As we were nearing San Diego Comic-Con, there were many rumors floating about hinting at who may have already nabbed the role of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, or the Thing before they would fizzle out again. The same thing happened shortly after as D23 was around the corner.

    In a new report by Puck, it seems that there still is no one set in the various roles, but they are still actively casting for the 2025 release. Fantastic Four is a dream project for Marvel Studios CEO Kevin Feige, and past reports have hinted at him being heavily invested in getting them right after the mixed reception of the more comedic take in 2005 and the poorly received 2015 entry.

    Matt Shakman is set to bring this franchise to life after his successful work on WandaVision. Originally, the director of the MCU Spider-Man films, Jon Watts was attached to direct but passed on the project to focus on another franchise, his upcoming Disney+ Star Wars series, Skeleton Crew.

    We still have to wait quite a bit before we find out what Marvel Studios has planned for Marvel’s first family, but it definitely has the potential to be one of their most ambitious projects yet. There’s also the possibility of how it introduces one of Marvel’s most iconic villains, Victor van Doom, who was initially rumored to appear in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. For now, we’ll have to wait a bit longer for an actual update.

    Source: Puck

  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Won’t Release on Disney+ in January After All

    ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Won’t Release on Disney+ in January After All

    James Cameron‘s Avatar: The Way Of Water continues to dominate the box office over the holiday weekend, but that doesn’t mean other films aren’t holding on as well. Disney’s other massive release of the year, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has still been going strong as it now stands at $820M worldwide. Many worried that heading to Disney+ too early could drag its box office down, but it seems that it’s being given quite a lot of time to breathe.

    After several weeks of listing the movie as “Coming Soon to Disney+”, the platform has finally updated the page, which is now listed as “Coming to Disney+ February 1, 2023.” Not too long ago, Disney+’s support team apparently confirmed the movie to be released on January 20th on the streaming service, which now has been seemingly debunked. It’s unclear if they may have pushed back the release date, or perhaps the Support Team jumped the gun on sharing the information.

    Wakanda Forever
    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on Disney+.

    The time duration between the end of the theatrical window and the Disney+ release has varied quite a lot, from Black Widow‘s 0 days (with Disney+ premier access) to Shang Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings‘ 81 days. Most recent projects have commonly released around the 45-day mark, which has led to some fear of its influence on a film’s box office performance. Luckily, it seems Disney is moving away from exactly that.

    February 1st also marks the start of Black History Month in the United States and Canada, which might be part of the decision as to why this date was chosen. Just like all the other MCU movies streaming on Disney+, this will be available to watch in IMAX enhanced, which allows viewers to have an immersive experience and enjoy the beauty of Wakanda and Talokan in the comfort of their homes.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now playing in theaters.

    Source: Disney+

  • ‘Knives Out’ Director Loves the Idea of Including the Muppets in a ‘Glass Onion’ Sequel

    ‘Knives Out’ Director Loves the Idea of Including the Muppets in a ‘Glass Onion’ Sequel

    After Benoit Blanc’s latest mystery led to him confronting a group of rich and influential people on a Greek island, many online had some fun trying to imagine what a sequel to Glass Onion would look like. Besides the countless fan castings due to the massive casting of the first sequel, there was one fun idea that seemed almost too perfect. Given Benoit Blanc’s usual habits, Social Media was ablaze with the hilarious idea of him eventually joining a mystery caper that sees him with nonother than the Muppets.

    Yes, the internet started imagining what it would be like if Knives Out director Rian Johnson created a story that saw Blanc in the strangest mystery of his lifetime starring the loveable members of the Muppets. Luckily, it seems that Johnson is quite a fan of the idea after hearing about it in an interview that was shared by the official Glass Onion/Knives Out account on Twitter, where he revels in the idea.

    Of course, there’s the challenge that the Knives Out sequels are all owned by Netflix, and The Muppets are part of Disney’s library. Of course, we could see them making a deal potentially that may lead to these films landing on Disney+ in exchange for them using the Muppets. It would be quite a lot of fun to see Kermit and Miss Piggy rocking some of the amazing fashion we see in these projects, while one of the Muppets ended up stabbed on the ground.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Robot Chicken’ Writer Among Those Credited For ‘The Marvels’ Script

    ‘Robot Chicken’ Writer Among Those Credited For ‘The Marvels’ Script

    According to Marvel Studios, via a new official press release for The Marvels, Zeb Wells is confirmed to be one of four writers credited with penning the film’s script. Wells joins the previously announced Megan McDonnell who served as a staff writer and story editor on WandaVision. Additionally, Elissa Karasik, a staff writer and executive story editor on Loki has also been given a writing credit on the film, as well as the film’s director Nia DaCosta.

    Like both McDonnell and Karasik, Wells is no stranger to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is credited with writing Episode 7 of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, “The Retreat,” and is the head writer and executive producer on the upcoming Marvel Zombies animated series. Wells is also the creator of the adult stop-motion animated sitcom SuperMansion and was a writer and director for Robot Chicken, for which he won an Emmy. Wells has also written numerous titles for Marvel Comics, including Civil War: Young Avengers/Runaways, Heroes for Hire and various Spider-Man titles.

    Considering his comedic background, Wells‘ involvement would seem to suggest that the Captain Marvel sequel might be taking a rather humorous turn. However, tonal shifts have been seen before and executed well in MCU sequels such as Thor: Ragnarok and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Both of those tonal shifts resulted in incredibly successful sequels and The Marvels looks to have a chance to follow that trend. Fans will just have to wait and see once The Marvels is released in theaters on July 28, 2023.

    Source: MCU – The Direct

  • New ‘Batgirl’ BTS Images Offer the Best Look at Brendan Fraser’s Firefly

    New ‘Batgirl’ BTS Images Offer the Best Look at Brendan Fraser’s Firefly

    Batgirl is the project we’ll always wonder what it would’ve been like if it released as initially planned. It’s still bizarre to think that Warner bros. Discovery simply scrapped a near-finished project, especially with the hopes of them building a true DC Cinematic Universe. Sadly, we might never know what Batgirl was going to be like but ever since the cancelation, we’ve been seeing quite a few BTS images make the rounds.

    Just yesterday, its star Leslie Grace shared a look at what her final costume was going to look like. Now, Twitter user @BatgirlFilm which shared quite a few scenes from behind the scenes throughout its production shared another set of photos that include another look at Grace‘s Batgirl costume. That’s not all, as we also get a close-up of what Brendan Fraser‘s Firefly costume was going to be.

    It’s definitely a shame we’ll never truly see what exactly Firefly was going to be capable of, especially with how amazing Brendan Fraser‘s resurgence as an actor has been. We don’t know if they would’ve gone down a very different route with the character as a more redeemable man forced into the position he is in, or if Fraser got the chance to just be a straightforward villain.

    Is there a chance we might see this project released after all? Sadly, as they cut it mid-finalization due to saving tax, they aren’t allowed to produce or release it. Perhaps the new co-CEO James Gunn has a chance to find a workaround to get it back. For now, we can only think of what was.

    Source: Twitter

  • New Avengers and Multiversal Avengers Lineups Rumored for ‘The Kang Dynasty’ and ‘Secret Wars’

    New Avengers and Multiversal Avengers Lineups Rumored for ‘The Kang Dynasty’ and ‘Secret Wars’

    The MCU has gotten much larger since Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame wrapped up the Infinity Saga. Thanks in part to Disney Plus, new heroes and villains have quickly accumulated and with two years to go until the next Avengers double-feature kicks off with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, those numbers will surely continue to grow. With so many new heroes joining those who survived Endgame, putting together a team of heroes to take on Kang the Conqueror shouldn’t be too hard. However, with Secret Wars set to follow up shortly after, are there too many heroes?

    A new rumor from @MyTimeToShineH suggests that in order to keep the runtime of Secret Wars a little more manageable, Earth-616’s Avengers will be the main focus of The Kang Dynasty but kept to the sidelines for most of Secret Wars, which will “focus on the heroes from other universes.” It sounds like the events of the 2026 film will involve a group of Multiversal Avengers!

    Those other heroes could be from Fox’s Fantastic Four or X-Men films, the Sam Raimi or Marc Webb Spider-Man films or other universes populated with versions of heroes that haven’t been visited yet. It’s an interesting rumor that also happens to fit most peoples’ wishes for the film. Given the previous rumor about Hugh Jackman and Tobey Maguire fighting alongside each other, it would seem that they’d be leading the squad. What characters would you like to see on the team of Multiversal Avengers?

  • New ‘Quantumania’ Promo Art Offers Closer Look at Ant-Man, Wasp, and Cassie’s Suit

    New ‘Quantumania’ Promo Art Offers Closer Look at Ant-Man, Wasp, and Cassie’s Suit

    2023 is finally upon us. We’ve entered a new year and Phase for Marvel Studios, as we’re about to see what else they might have up their sleeve. To kick off the new era, we finally meet Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. While this part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was always more of a comedy, the third entry will seemingly up-the-ante in a spectacular way with Cassie Lang also growing into a new role.

    The first artwork already gave away she’ll become a hero of her own, but the new artwork is offering a closer look at some of the updated designs of these characters. As shared by @MCU_Facility, there are a few new pieces that offer a look at the various designs and Ant-Man’s family still remains the most consistent across the various characters, especially with Lang’s costume combining elements from her father’s and van Dyne’s.

    Interestingly enough though, it seems like Cassie won’t be getting a superhero name just yet. In the comics, she’s known either as Stature or would eventually get the name Stinger; something a bit closer to that of Ant-Man and Wasp.

    There’s also a creative use of the Pym Technologies logo, which has somehow generally become a representative of the various Ant-Man characters.

    They might still be trying to keep some secrets from viewers, and it’s being hinted at as the next big event film for Marvel Studios. So, it’ll be interesting to see if Quantumania can offer that what some had hoped to see in the more comedic-driven entry of the MCU.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Wakanda Forever’ Was Always Originally Going to Feature 2 Black Panthers

    ‘Wakanda Forever’ Was Always Originally Going to Feature 2 Black Panthers

    Yes, you read the title right. It seems that Shuri was always meant to inherit the title of Black Panther, but not in the way Chadwick Boseman‘s tragic death led the story. It seems that they originally wanted to have Letitia Wright‘s character also inherit the title and explore the dynamic that persists of two characters holding it at the same time.

    Instead, the mantle has now been passed on due to T’Challa also passing away in the universe. So, the story had to take a different direction with her being the sole heir to the title and a surprising twist on who will rule Wakanda. In an interview with Empire, Wright got a chance to reflect on the original plans and the weight of carrying the title.

    It was bittersweet. Shuri was always gonna do it. But it was gonna be done in a different way where her brother was gonna be alongside her, really explore that, like the comic books, the ways that T’Challa and Shuri would be Black Panther alongside each other and try to figure out how to defend their nation. But unfortunately that’s not how it panned out. I knew the responsibility, I knew the weight of it, but it was just bittersweet, something I struggled with a lot. But I’m extremely proud of myself, had great support.

    Letitia Wright

    The more we hear about the original storyline behind Wakanda Forever, the more it seems that most of the pieces were always in place but had to reshape it surrounding a much stronger story of grief. It matched the overall theme of Phase 4 but it always leaves one wondering what could’ve been.

    Source: Empire Movie Podcast via ScreenRant