Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Adds ‘The Strain’ Star

    ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’ Adds ‘The Strain’ Star

    It looks like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is kicking into high gear, as they are adding quite a few to the cast just after announcing the project. Wes Ball is set to direct the continuation of the original Planet of the Apes trilogy for the 20th Century and it has now added The Strain star Kevin Durand to its cast.

    Durand is now the latest to join the cast which now includes Peter Macon, Owen Teague, and Freya Allen. Jessica Jones star Eka Darville was also announced to have joined the cast earlier today. there’s no word if Andy Serkis might be involved in some manner, as he spearheaded the original trilogies as the ape Caeser, but this film with a 2024 planned release technically takes place many years after the original.

    It’s definitely going to be interesting to see just how they explore the titular “kingdom” and how humanity co-exists alongside the apes. There’s a lot of potential with this franchise as it moves away from the original that mainly acted as a more modern retelling of the origin from the original films, which wasn’t explored until the fourth entry, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes in 1972. So, perhaps this film acts as the set-up for where we originally got introduced to the science fiction franchise.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Leaked’Madame Web’ Set Photos Include Spoilery Action

    Leaked’Madame Web’ Set Photos Include Spoilery Action

    Almost unbelievably, Sony continues making movies with their roster of Spider-Man adjacent characters, including Madame Web, which is now in production. Set photos and rumors of a confirmed cast list have been making the rounds for a while now, but a new leak seems to contain some pretty hefty spoilers.

    A new group of set photos reportedly shows the stunt double for actor Tahar Rahim squaring off against Dakota Johnson and Celeste O’Connor’s character. The photos pretty clearly show Rahim’s stunt double wearing what can only be described as an alternate Spider-Man suit.

    The suit seems to lend credence to the rumor that Rahim is playing Ezekiel Sims, a character who, in the comics, had similar powers to Spider-Man, wore a Spidey suit (though it didn’t look like that one) and found himself sometimes at odds with other Spider-folk. Whether Rahim is Sims or not, I’m sure it’ll all much a whole lot of sense when Madame Web hits theaters next October.

  • ‘She-Hulk’ Makes a Major Change to the MCU Landscape, Hint at Possible Cap 4 Connections

    ‘She-Hulk’ Makes a Major Change to the MCU Landscape, Hint at Possible Cap 4 Connections

    Billed as a legal comedy and delivered pretty much along those lines, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law didn’t seem like the type of show that would have far-ranging implications for the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, with one episode left to go, it seems that quite a bit of potential has been packed into these shorter episodes. Bruce Banner has left the planet for personal business on Sakaar; Jen’s blood has fallen into the hands of the HulkKing; and a man is running around in a frog suit! As big of a deal as Leap-Frog might seem to have been in Episode 8, “Ribbit and Rip It”, another revelation might end up being a bigger factor down the line.

    During Jen’s brief and slightly embarrassing court battle with Matt Murdock, Murdock casually revealed that the Sokovia Accords, which have governed the vigilantism of superheroes since the United Nations adopted them in 2016 following the events in Lagos, Nigeria, have been repealed. The Accords were intended to put an end to the unsanctioned acts of powered individuals and groups, such as the Avengers, by establishing an agreed-upon set of regulations.

    The Accords have been addressed in several projects over the years after having been established in Captain America: Civil War. WandaVision saw a government agency defy them and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which was set in 2024, saw them on display in the Smithsonian. So while they might have seemed like a relic of the Infinity Saga, they’ve been kept alive for a reason before being tossed out there again in She-Hulk, which is set in 2025. What good comes from keeping them on the minds of the audience, though, when they’ve largely been ignored since their creation? The answer might be in the fine print.

    By signing the Accords, heroes agreed to a whole mess of things, including:

    • providing a DNA sample
    • revealing their secret identities/legal names
    • power analysis
    • the use of tracking bracelets

    The Accords also prohibited governments from sending powered heroes to other countries without the approval of that country; outlawed the creation of self-aware AIs; outlawed the creation of further superhumans without strict oversight.

    For a line that was interjected into the middle of a fairly fast-paced bit of dialogue by Murdock, the revelation that the Accords no longer govern not only the actions of powered individuals but the CREATION of them seems incredibly important given the fact that Jen’s “better blood” is in the hands of, presumably, the Intelligencia which, presumably, is lead by The Leader. With The Leader recently announced as the villain of Captain America: New World Order, Jen’s tease of a Red Hulk and the long-standing rumors of her blood being used to create multiple Hulks that might face off in a World War Hulk project, the fact that there are now no universally accepted regulations on how to handle these types of situations seems like it is setting the stage for chaos to ensue…and a new order to be established.

  • BREAKING: Emma Tammi to Direct ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’

    BREAKING: Emma Tammi to Direct ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’

    Blumhouse has been developing a film adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy’s for several years now in collaboration with creator Scott Cawthon. In August, Jason Blum indicated that the production was working with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop on the adaptation, but things have been quiet since then…until now. Emma Tammi will helm the project, with production set to begin in February 2023.

    The live-action adaptation of the popular horror video game has been in the works since 2015, just a year after the game debuted. Christopher Columbus was attached to direct the adaptation at one point, but development stalled over the years and the two parted ways. Now it’s in the hands of Tammi, who recently directed two episodes of Into the Dark for Hulu.

  • New ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Concept Art Offers First Look at Daniel Craig’s Scrapped Cameo

    New ‘Doctor Strange 2’ Concept Art Offers First Look at Daniel Craig’s Scrapped Cameo

    While Doctor Strange‘s travel through the Multiverse of Madness wasn’t as cameo-filled as many hoped, it still gave us some great bloody cameos. The return of Patrick Stewart as Chares Xavier stole the show alongside the fan-casting-turned-reality with John Krasinsky as Mr. Fantastic. Still, there’s always a little sense of what might have been when first teases came of what sadly had to get scrapped due to the pandemic.

    Among them was the MCU debut of Daniel Craig as Balder the Brave. Not only would he have been the Illuminati’s stand-in for Thor but also open up the Norse mythology. Of course, the biggest shame is that we almost had 007 but luckily concept artist Darrell Warner has given us a first look at what the character would’ve looked like if they managed to go through with it.

    While it seems like a one-time chance to make it a reality, we’re still in the middle of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga. So, there’s still a chance they might revisit the character in a future entry such as through Secret Wars. We still don’t know if this character actually ever existed in the mainline MCU.

    So, we’ll see if they’ll potentially use him as a way to force Thor to explore more secrets that his father has kept from his family. Considering he got a surprise sister in Thor: Ragnarok, maybe a new half-brother is the perfect addition to pushing him further off the cliff after all the loss he had to endure up until now. Only time will tell if they will make this a reality after all.

    Source: Instagram

  • RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    RUMOR: Transformers to Face Unicron in ‘Rise of the Beasts’ Movie

    We’ve long speculated on who might be the next foe in Transformers‘ latest cinematic release. As the franchise moves away from Michael Bay‘s time with the characters, it’s starting to embrace more elements from the original animated series. The upcoming entry by Steven Caple Jr. will introduce the world to elements from the Beast Wars storyline and act as a sequel to Bumblebee. If a new rumor is to believed, we might also know how exactly they will be facing.

    While there’s no word if Megatron or Starscream might return, we do know that the Terrorcons and Maximals will have a role in the film. Yet, it seems that @ViewerAnon took to Twitter to share that the film will include Unicron as it’s big bad. There’s no word if he’ll potentially have an overarching role or they might use the Lord of Chaos for multiple entries.

    If the rumor is true, it’s certainly quite a step up to have a planet eater as your main bad guy. With his focus on devouring the multiverse, perhaps it’s a concept they want to use to make the new film franchise stand out. Marvel’s quite busy building up their own multiversal storyline as DC hopes to do the same with The Flash. So, it seems fitting that one of the other massive pop cultural cinema franchises also takes its chance into the wider multiverse. Perhaps it’s also their way of establishing their new timeline while keeping the door open to revisit the old franchise in some way.

    Source: Twitter

  • RUMOR: New Leak Offers First Look at Chris Pratt’s Mario in Illumination’s ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie

    RUMOR: New Leak Offers First Look at Chris Pratt’s Mario in Illumination’s ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie

    Just yesterday, Illumination and Nintendo revealed our first look at what the upcoming Super Mario Bros. film will look like. While the animation studios’ reputation had many concerns, the visuals showcased in the poster for an upcoming exclusive Nintendo Direct did seem promising. We got the classic hero shot from behind looking at the world he’s about to enter and most of it seems pretty faithful to the games.

    Now, the first look at the character may have leaked early. Someone working for Mcdonald’s has shared a piece of artwork on Discord (which subsequently was shared by Twitter user @ConnorEatsPants) to offer a first look at the actual design of Mario and he seems mostly faithful to the original games.

    There are tweaks that make the character look a bit more “realistic” but nothing truly distracting to state that this is some kind of live-action version of the original. We might hopefully find out what he sounds like in the upcoming teaser as Chris Pratt takes on the role of the iconic plumber.

    We know surprisingly little about the actual story of this film, but it may explore his first visit to the Mushroom Kingdom and making his way to save the princess. Of course, they could mix things up and have Bowser kidnap Luigi which adds a more personal touch and potentially have his baby brother driving the Koopa King crazy. Whatever they may have planned, we’re closer than ever to get a true first look.

    Source: Discord via Twitter

  • Keanu Reeves Considering Directing Netflix’s ‘BRZRKR’

    Keanu Reeves Considering Directing Netflix’s ‘BRZRKR’

    In October of 2021, BOOM! Studios launched BRZRKR, a comic book series about an immortal half man/half god named B. who bears a striking resemblance to a real-world immortal: Keanu Reeves. Written by Reeves and Matt Kindt with art from Ron Garney, BRZRKR was quickly picked up by Netflix who is developing an animated series and a live-action film that Reeves will star in and produce. Now, as development on the project continues, it turns out Reeves may decide to wear another hat.

    In an interview with Collider, Reeves revealed that there’s a 33% chance that he will choose to direct the adaptation. While Reeves is one of Hollywood’s most beloved and busiest talents, he has only one credit to his name as a director in the 2013 film Man of Tai Chi. Interestingly enough, according to Reeves, his involvement as writer led him down the path to eventually direct.

    I know how it’s a lot of work, but the film that I directed, Man of Tai Chi, was born, I became the director because I was part of the writing process, and I didn’t want to hand it over. I was like, oh, okay. I have to direct this. I’m not quite there yet on ‘BRZRKR’. I have to read the script, but I’m also interested in having a collaborator and what they could bring to it.

    Keanu Reeves

    Even as Reeves did not write the script for BRZRKR and admits he has not yet read it, it’s reasonable to assume he’ll feel a similar ownership over the project given that he’s the co-author of the source material. Certainly something to keep an eye on as things progress.

    Source: Collider

  • Jacob Batalon Says He May “Not Necessarily Be a Part of” ‘Spider-Man 4’

    Jacob Batalon Says He May “Not Necessarily Be a Part of” ‘Spider-Man 4’

    While Tom Holland has yet to officially sign up for another solo Spidey adventure in the MCU, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige made it clear to fans that they planned to continue collaborating with Sony to develop Spider-Man 4. The fourth installment of the franchise has been in active development for nearly a year, but short of Sony execs making it clear they want Holland, Zendaya and director Jon Watts back for the project, there’s been next to no news on the project made available to fans. And if one of the original trilogy’s stars is to be believed, the actors are in the same place.

    Actor Jacob Batalon, who played Peter’s best friend and man-in-the-chair, Ned Leeds, recently spoke with Collider and indicated that while he’s sure there will be a Spider-Man 4, he isn’t sure if there’s a part in it for him. Discussing the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw his character’s entire history with Peter wiped from his memory, Batalon described the conclusion as “poignant”, adding that it “ really puts an exclamation on the continuance of Spider-Man, but maybe not with us, and I think that’s a great thing. We may not necessarily be a part of it, in the end, but it was a beautiful ride anyway.”

    The film’s final scenes depict Peter moving on, creating a new, more comic-accurate suit and swinging above New York City during the holiday season, seemingly promising more adventures for the Wall-Crawler within the MCU, even without the word of Feige. But with Ned and Zendaya’s MJ no longer having their formerly strong relationship with Peter, it’s natural to wonder what role, if any, the characters might play. And given Ned’s importance to the first three films in the franchise, it would also be natural to think he’d have some sort of a heads up as to what the plans might be for his character. But according to Batalon, that’s not the case.

    I feel like actors are the last people to know. I think that people assume that actors are always hiding secrets. I promise you, we don’t know anything. But again, if it’s the right place, at the right time, with the right group of people that we’ve been with, I would say, why not? But other than that, whatever happens, happens. Really, those decisions are up to the big bosses, the people who sign the checks. We’re open to the idea, but we’re not hoping for it.

    Jacob Batalon

    As Batalon points out, Marvel Studios actors are often thought to be dissembling, if not flat out lying, about their involvement in future projects, so he’ll have to forgive those of them who aren’t quite buying what he’s selling. That said, it’s hard to imagine a long-term plan for Spidey in the MCU that doesn’t eventually loop Ned back into Peter’s life…one way or another.

    Source: Collider

  • Ryan Coogler on Bringing Namor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    Ryan Coogler on Bringing Namor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

    One of Marvel Comics’ oldest characters is making his MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Namor, the Sub-Mariner first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1939 and has remained present as a hero, anti-hero and even outright villain over the years. From the footage seen over the course of two trailers, Namor certainly looks like the antagonist of the Black Panther sequel and while his origins have been greatly changed from the comics, director Ryan Coogler made sure that some of his trademark features remained.

    In an interview with EW, Coogler explained that while developing Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, he wanted to “lean into” the character’s comic book origins even while creating a new take on Namor. Now the emperor of the hidden kingdom of Talocon-as opposed to Atlantis-the MCU’s Namor is steeped in new mythology while staying true to his iconic look from the comics.

    I think with making these types of movies, you’ve got to lean into the weird stuff, or you risk missing what makes it fun. He’s got really unique features and things that don’t necessarily go together. He can breathe underwater, obviously, but he’s got these little wings on his ankles. He’s got pointy ears and walks around in his underwear. It’s all fun, man.

    Ryan Coogler

    The latest trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever certainly leans into that weird stuff as it shows Namor taking to the air to attack the Queen’s location and to avoid projectiles from a Wakandan ship. Given the character’s comic book history with Wakanda and the looks of the trailer, it appears that Coogler has stayed true to the character’s nature as well, making him an incredible threat to the nation.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters November 11th.

    Source: EW