Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • ‘Star Trek’ Spinoff in Development, ‘Andor’ Director Attached

    ‘Star Trek’ Spinoff in Development, ‘Andor’ Director Attached

    It’s been some time since they first announced that they would be developing a final chapter in the main Star Trek cinematic franchise, which was started by J.J. Abrams. Originally, Matt Shakman was attached to direct but he went on to work on Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and is currently busy preparing to direct Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four film.

    While we still have no clear future for that entry, it does seem that Paramount is not going to rest with their franchise just ending as a new spinoff is in development. It seems it’ll take place in the same universe and sees Seth Grahame-Smith penning the script with Abrams‘ Bad Robot returning to produce. The big addition is that they also have a director attached to Andor’s Toby Haynes.

    The fourth Star Trek film is still in development and it is unclear how exactly these will connect, but it’s definitely an exciting announcement given the talent working on the project. Plus, there’s a chance they can explore the universe in a unique way given the long varied history of the franchise. Perhaps we’ll get a more intimate adaptation that returns to elements we haven’t seen in the franchise in quite some time.

    Source: Deadline

  • Gerard Butler to Reprise His ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Role in Live-Action Adaptation

    Gerard Butler to Reprise His ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Role in Live-Action Adaptation

    Universal is full steam ahead in bringing its iconic animated trilogy How To Train Your Dragon into live-action. And it seems like they got one major addition to the cast, who is quite familiar with the material. Gerard Butler will join the live-action adaptation as Hiccup’s father. This is not his first time playing the role, as he also voiced him in the animated films. He’ll join Mason Thames and Nico Parker, who are taking on the roles of Hiccup and Astrid in Dean DeBlois‘ film.

    Disney has become infamous for a live-action adaptation of their classic Disney properties, so there are some concerns about what Universal has planned with a live-action adaptation of their animated film from 2010. It is great though to see them bring back some familiar faces to once again play their characters and it has the original director involved, as Dean DeBlois also worked on the animated projects based on the 2003 book series.

    Butler’s return also opens up the question of how close they will try to stick to the original designs, or simply try to make the live-action its distinct project. They can re-use similar elements and the overall story, but they can still try to give it a more distinct visual identity to make it stand out. However, who knows if we might also see others from the animated film return in the live-action adaptation.

    Source: Deadline

  • Vincent D’Onofrio Reveals What It Would Take to End Wilson Fisk’s Reign as the Kingpin of NYC

    Vincent D’Onofrio Reveals What It Would Take to End Wilson Fisk’s Reign as the Kingpin of NYC

    As Bruce Springsteen once reminded us: only the strong survive. Vincent D’Onofrio‘s Wilson Fisk is a survivor. New York City’s Kingpin of Crime survived a point-blank shot to the head in the season finale of Hawkeye and it back on his feet in Marvel Studios’ latest streaming series, Echo, where he will find himself face-to-face with the one who pulled the trigger: his adopted “niece”, Maya Lopez.

    From the sounds of it, Fisk’s return in Echo is just the first step along a path that will see the Kingpin become the “big bad” of Marvel Studios’ street-level stories. Next up for Fisk will be the streaming series Daredevil: Born Again, where it’s been rumored the Fat Man will run for Mayor of New York City. Further speculation posits that his arc in that series will dovetail into Spider-Man 4, which has reportedly been developed as a “street-level Civil War.”

    While there have been no official announcements, it seems the next Spidey film won’t hit theaters until 2026 at best. That means we’re a long way off from casting and set photos; however, D’Onofrio hasn’t been shy about expressing his desire to appear in the film and taking on the Web-Slinger. It’s likely that Spidey wouldn’t be alone in trying to take down the Kingpin (recent rumors support the common sense idea that Daredevil would be among the street-level heroes teaming up with Spider-Man) should they square off and, according to D’Onofrio, the Wall-Crawler would need all the help he can get.

    In an interview with Jake’s Takes, D’Onofrio was asked who could take down the Kingpin for good, since a bullet to the head couldn’t do the job, and while he doesn’t see that as a possibility, he did reveal who might stand a chance.

    This is a very difficult question, because I don’t see that happening. I don’t see Kingpin dying. Kingpin never died in the canon of the comic books, so that’s very difficult. I’ll talk in terms of who could come close to it. I think that it would have to be either Daredevil or Spider-Man…together, the two of them together, maybe. But I don’t see Kingpin going away. He never did when I was a kid, so I don’t expect he will now.

    While D’Onofrio can’t come out and say it, it sure seems as though Fisk is destined to find himself facing off against Daredevil and Spider-Man in the next Spidey solo film. Spidey star Tom Holland has also expressed a desire to see his character take on Kingpin and you have to think that at least part of Marvel Studios’ plan in bringing D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox back was to eventually put them together on the big screen.

    Fisk can be seen in Echo, which debuts on Hulu and Disney Plus on January 9th.

  • Marvel Exec on Wilson Fisk’s Thanos-Sized Role in the MCU’s Street-Level Stories

    Marvel Exec on Wilson Fisk’s Thanos-Sized Role in the MCU’s Street-Level Stories

    Vincent D’Onofrio’s return to the role of Wilson Fisk in the 2021 Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Hawkeye helped carve out a whole new corner of the MCU. As Kevin Feige confirmed at SDCC ’22, Marvel Studios was taking their storytelling to the streets where heroes such as Spider-Man and Daredevil would lead the way. Spinning out of Hawkeye is the studio’s next streaming series, Echo, which sees Fisk return from what should have been a kill shot at the end of Maya Lopez’s barrel.

    Despite some creative retooling, it’s expected that Echo will dovetail into another streaming series, Daredevil: Born Again, which will reunite Fisk with Charlie Cox’s Man Without Fear. Beyond that series, rumors point to the storyline continuing to be threaded into the fourth Marvel Studios/Sony Spider-Man collaboration, which was recently described as a street-level Civil War. Early rumors suggested that Daredevil: Born Again would adapt Marvel Comics’ “Mayor Fisk” storyline. Photos from the set of the series seemed to support those rumors as they showed a very distinguished-looking Wilson Fisk on the streets of New York. All signs point to very big things ahead for the Kingpin of Crime.

    In an interview with Screen Rant’s Joe Deckelmeier, Marvel Studios’ Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation, Brad Winderbaum, responded to the notion that Fisk was being positioned to be the “Thanos of the street-level corner of the MCU.” “Oh man, you kind of hit the nail on the head,” said Winderbaum. “I can’t say too much, only that as a chapter in Wilson Fisk’s life, this is a crucial one and sets the stage in some remarkable ways for what’s coming next.“

    While there’s been no official announcement by Sony about when a fourth installment in the Spider-Man franchise may appear, it’s been made clear by Feige that the project has been in development for some time and that writers have long understood the assignment for the film. For his part, D’Onofrio has made it well-known on multiple occasions that he’d like to see Fisk, who first appeared in the pages of Spider-Man comics, square off against the Wall-Crawler in Spider-Man 4. Though he stops short of saying it, Winderbaum certainly does nothing to turn down the heat on the rumors and, if anything, his comments are sure to fan the flames of an already hot fire.

  • Breaking: Steven Yeun Out as Sentry in Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’

    Breaking: Steven Yeun Out as Sentry in Marvel Studios ‘Thunderbolts’

    Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts has already overcome a litany of obstacles on its way to production. In November, star Wyatt Russell, who will reprise the role of John Walker in the film, somewhat jokingly said that the project had “almost started shooting that about 14 times“, referring to multiple delays caused by the studio bringing in multiple different writers and the 2023’s mid-year WGA and SAG strikes. Now a new report indicates that the film is facing another major challenge ahead of its scheduled April start of production: replacing its leading man. According to THR’s Aaron Couch, Steven Yeun as dropped out of Marvel Studios Thunderbolts, leaving the studio searching for an all-new, all-different actor to fill the role of Sentry.

    In November 2022, a rumor emerged that Marvel Studios was searching for an actor to fill the role of an “evil Superman” in Thunderbolts. By March 2023, that rumor turned into buzz that The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun had been cast in the film as Sentry, one of Marvel Comics most powerful heroes. While he never confirmed the role, Yeun did confirm he had joined the project, citing his relationship with director Jake Schreier as the primary reason.

    I don’t know if it was explicitly on my bucket list. It was more the story, getting to work with Jake Schreier again, who directed Beef, and what his intentions were. The intentions of the particular character that they wanted me to play were very clear, and that’s what drew me to the film.

    Later, in an interview with Collider, Yeun shared his excitement about joining the MCU-set project. “I feel good. I feel excited. I feel like a new challenge. I feel blessed to be able to play in a place that reaches so many people,” said Yeun. “I got to touch that on Walking Dead. It feels exciting to get another chance to connect with people in another way.” And while Yeun tried his best to keep his role under wraps, his cover was blown in November when Robert Kirman–who created the comic book on which the Amazon Prime streaming series of the same name is based–revealed that Yeun had indicated he’d worked with Marvel Studios on a costume fitting for the character.

    My good friend Steven Yeun in playing the Sentry in a movie. Yeah, he called me…he went in for a costume fitting…I hope I’m not…I don’t think this is a spoiler or anything that’ll get anybody in trouble. I don’t know. Maybe. We’ll see. I don’t care. I don’t work for Marvel what are they gonna do to me? But he called me and he said, “I just came back from a costume fitting for the Sentry! I guess I only do superheroes that are yellow and blue.” He said he was at the costume fitting and was like “Aw, crap! I forgot Invincible is yellow and blue.”

    Robert Kirkman

    With cameras set to roll in April, it could prove tough for Marvel Studios to find a suitable replacement for Yeun, whose Sentry was rumored to have a role beyond Thunderbolts. Yeun was set to join the long list of actors who portrayed characters that populated both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Walking Dead Television Universe. We will continue to follow and update this story.

    Source: THR

  • ‘Walking Dead’ Franchise Mainstay Reportedly Among Marvel Studios Top Choices for Major Role

    ‘Walking Dead’ Franchise Mainstay Reportedly Among Marvel Studios Top Choices for Major Role

    When Steven Yeun debuts as the powerful Sentry in 2025’s Thunderbolts, he’ll join the extensive list of talent who have appeared in two of the industry’s most popular shared universes: the Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Walking Dead Television Universe. Michael Rooker, Danai Gurira, Lauren Ridloff and Matt Lintz are among those who have all held down major roles in the MCU while also spending time fending off zombies in AMC’s popular and expansive franchise. Jon Bernthal, who along with Andrew Lincoln was one of the first two actors cast in The Walking Dead, is set to reprise his role as Frank Castle, aka the Punisher, in the Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series, Daredevil: Born Again, and fans have pined for Norman Reedus, whose Daryl Dixon remains one of the faces of The Walking Dead franchise, to land a Marvel role–mostly Ghost Rider Johnny Blaze–for years. However, a new report indicates that another franchise mainstay might be next in line to join the MCU.

    According to industry insider Daniel RPK, Colman Domingo, who has starred as Victor Strand in Fear the Walking Dead, is atop the list of actors that Marvel Studios is considering for a major role in their ongoing Multiverse Saga.

    The new report suggests that Domingo, who has appeared in 109 episodes of the series over its 8 seasons, is among a group of actors being considered by Marvel Studios to fill the role of Kang the Conqueror, the current franchise “big bad.” Jonathan Majors, who was originally cast as Kang and has appeared as Variants of the character in both seasons of the streaming series Loki as well as 2023’s Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, was fired by the studio in December 2023 after being found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and of harassment stemming from an incident with a former partner in March 2023. Domingo, who also starred in 2021’s The Candyman, HBO’s Euphoria and voiced Unicron in 2023’s Transformer: Rise of the Beasts, immediately emerged as an online fan favorite for the role of Kang in the wake of the news of Majors’ firing and would be a strong choice should the studio cast him.

    Rumors about a potential pivot away from a focus on Kang the Conqueror have been prominent for some time and only grew louder when Marvel cut ties with Majors. Fan reception to the character, particularly in his role in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, has been less than enthusiastic and with a creative overhaul of the two-part finale of the Multiverse Saga—including a new writer on Avengers 5, which was set to feature Kang–it seemed as though Marvel might choose to wash their hands of the character and replace him with another villain. While they still may choose to reduce Kang’s role in the remaining films in the Saga, interest in an actor of Domingo’s caliber suggests there are still some plans for Master of Men.

  • Marvel Studios ‘Armor Wars’ Gets an Encouraging Production Update

    Marvel Studios ‘Armor Wars’ Gets an Encouraging Production Update

    When Bob Iger returned to Disney, the typically busy Marvel Studios production pipeline didn’t just slow down…it came to a complete stop. The WGA and SAG strikes that followed allowed the studio to take a long look at the projects that were either already in production or the time or were on deck. No inside sources are necessary to understand that Iger didn’t like what he saw. Other than Marvel Studios’ Untitled Deadpool Movie, every project that was already underway has been hit with even further delays.

    After filming for several months, the studio’s most ambitious streaming series to date, Daredevil: Born Again, essentially started from scratch. Showrunner Dario Scardapane, who wrote Netflix’s The Punisher, and Moon Knight and Loki directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead took over and while it is expected some of the footage already filmed will be kept, Moorehead indicated they were starting at “day zero.” While Captain America: Brave New World, which was immediately retitled when Iger returned, completed production before the strikes, rumors began to swirl the studio was planning significant reshoots. In December, those reshoots were confirmed along with the news that a new writer, Matthew Orton, had been brought on board to pen the new scenes. Destin Daniel Cretton’s streaming series, Wonder Man, which filmed for a few weeks in the spring before the strikes shut it down, was expected to restart production in November but has yet to get going again sparking rumors it, too, is being retooled. Finally, two additional films, Thunderbolts and Blade, both of which brought on new writers shortly before the WGA strike, were forced to push their start dates back. With 6 months of 2023 lost to the strikes and all the changes Marvel Studios chose to make, the chain reaction inevitably impacted all of the projects in the studio’s Multiverse Saga, including the one-time-series-turned-movie, Armor Wars.

    First announced during Disney’s 2020 Investor Day, Armor Wars was originally planned as a Disney Plus streaming series. Based on a seven-issue run on Iron Man written by Bob Layton and David Michelinie and published in 1987, the project was developed as a starring vehicle for Don Cheadle.

    For nearly a year, outside of vague updates by Cheadle, little was heard about the series.

    We are just talking about what that show is going to be. We probably will start filming sometime next year and are just kind of cracking the story right now, deciding what’s that journey gonna look like, what’s Rhodey’s…the iteration of this going to be. Obviously people know Armor Wars-if they know Armor Wars they know what the series is about but it’s also kind of figuring out how to establish and dig really deep into who Rhodey is because we haven’t really seen a lot of that in the movies

    Don Cheadle on Armor Wars
    July 2021

    In August 2021, Yassir Lester signed on to write the series but by October it was clear that not much progress had been made. In July 2022, fans started to worry that the project was scrapped when it wasn’t part of Marvel Studios big return to Hall H at SDCC ’22; however, it was included at the studio’s panel at September 2022’s D23 where Marvel Studio’s One Above All, Kevin Feige, indicated the cameras were set to roll on the project in 2023. Just a few weeks, later, however, news broke that Armor Wars was being developed as film because, according to Marvel Parliament member Nate Moore, the ideas that formed the basis of the project were “too big” for a streaming series. 2023 came and went and not only did Armor Wars not begin principal photography, it all but disappeared from the news cycle. But now, to kick off the new year, it’s back again.

    According to insider Daniel RPK, with some order seemingly restored at Marvel Studios, Feige and crew have slowly started moving down the line of stacked-up projects and now it’s Armor Wars turn to finally get going. The insider reports that the studio will open the new year by searching for a director for the film in hopes of being able to begin production at some point in 2025. That would likely put the film somewhere on the studio’s 2026 slate which currently includes Avengers 5 on May 1st and three unknown films set to release on February 13th, July 24th and November 6th. With rumors that the streaming series Ironheart, which completed production in 2022, includes some plot ties to Armor Wars, was moved to a late 2025 release to allow it to stream closer to the release of the film, the timeline does seem to line up.

    RPK also indicated that actor Sam Rockwell, who portrayed Justin Hammer, one of the two main antagonists in 2010’s Iron Man 2, has engaged in talks to reprise the role once more for Armor Wars. Rockwell has returned to the role both in the One-Shot, All Hail the King, and in Season 2 of What If…?, where he voiced the character in the episode “What If…Happy Hogan Saved Christmas”. Rockwell’s Hammer is a fan favorite and would make a strong addition to the project which will explore the repercussions of the work of Tony Stark, Hammer’s nemesis, falling into the hands of his enemies.

  • Ryan Reynolds Shares a BTS Photo of a VERY Comic Accurate Costume for Marvel’s ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Movie

    Ryan Reynolds Shares a BTS Photo of a VERY Comic Accurate Costume for Marvel’s ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ Movie

    As the only one of Marvel Studios’ projects that hit pause during the strikes to resume production, the untitled Deadpool threequel had all eyes on it when cameras began to roll again in England. That meant–much to star Ryan Reynolds’ dismay–that quite a few incredibly spoilery set photos made their way online in early December. Those newest photos are in addition to some from July that revealed not only Reynolds‘ new costume for the film but also Hugh Jackman‘s incredible Wolverine costume which is the comic-accurate look fans have been pining for over the last 20 years. Now, as production on the film likely draws near to its end, Reynolds has shared the best look yet at the new look the Merc with a Mouth will be sporting in the film.

    As part of an Instagram post and story celebrating the past year and ringing in 2024, Reynolds shared a behind-the-scenes look at Deadpool’s look in the new film and it’s one that is certainly much brighter and a little more aligned with the character’s comic book look than the ones from the previous two films.

    A side-by-side-by-side comparison of the new suit with those from the 2016 and 2018 films shows not only a much brighter shade of red but also that the character will sport the iconic and comic-accurate belt buckle.

    L to R: Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool (2016), Deadpool 2 (2018) and the Untitled Deadpool Movie (2024)

    The move to comic-accurate Deadpool and Wolverine costumes for the film is interesting and opens the door to some of the rumored cameos in the film potentially featuring their own classic costumes. The Untitled Deadpool Movie is on track for a July 26th, 2024 theatrical debut.

  • ‘Fantastic Four’ Production Update Keeps the Film on Track for 2025

    ‘Fantastic Four’ Production Update Keeps the Film on Track for 2025

    Despite an October statement by director Matt Shakman indicating the production on Fantastic Four was set to kick off in Spring 2024, recent misinformation had fans confused. A bogus report about a January start of principal photography caused fans to believe that the lack of casting news in recent weeks meant the film would not start on time and that it would be delayed. Alas, this is the world in which we live where starting on time powers a tsunami of bullshit. Nonetheless, a new report from a reliable insider has smoothed the rough waters for now.

    According to insider Daniel RPK, cameras are set to roll on Fantastic Four beginning in May. The project, which was originally announced at SDCC ’19 with Jon Watts as director, has been a constant source of rumors and speculation, especially around the cast. As of now, no members of Marvel’s First Family have been announced though rumors persist that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon-Moss Bachrach will fill the roles of Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, respectively.

    The unfounded concerns about a delay in the start of production have led to internet buzz that the film will be unable to make its May 2nd, 2025 theatrical debut. While that may come to pass, there’s nothing at the moment that is cause for concern. Given now long the project has been in development and that Shakman has been on board and working with writers Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer for well over a year, there’s no telling how much VFX work may have already been done that might allow for post-production to take place both concurrently with filming and speed up the process after.

  • Marvel Studios 2024 Slate Officially Revealed

    Marvel Studios 2024 Slate Officially Revealed

    In July 2022, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, unveiled a significant portion of the Multiverse Saga slate. At that time, 2023 was set to be the studio’s most ambitious year yet with 8 live-action projects set to roll out in theaters and on Disney +. The best-laid plans and all that and as 2023 comes to a close, 2 of those projects, Echo and Ironheart, have yet to stream and one of the films, Blade, has yet to begin production. As those projects began to get moved out of 2023, the shuffle was on and 2024’s took on a whole new look as well.

    As originally presented at SDCC ’22, Marvel Studios 2024 slate included 4 films and 5 live-action streaming series. At the time, no dates were announced for any of the studio’s animated series. Things have certainly changed dramatically since then. In an official release from Disney, Marvel Studios entire 2024 slate is now composed of only 5 projects and only 3 of them (1 film and 2 streaming series) are live-action.

    (L-R): Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in Marvel Studios’ Untitled Deadpool movie. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2023 MARVEL.

    As per the official release, the studio’s year will kick off when all 5 episodes of Echo stream on January 9th. The untitled Deadpool sequel will be Marvel Studios’ theatrical release of 2024, debuting in theaters on July 26th. The final live-action project of the year, Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, is officially set to stream at some point in the Fall which lines up with earlier reports of a September 19th target date.

    Marvel will also roll out three animated streaming series over the course of 2024. The newly announced Eyes of Wakanda, produced by Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media, X-Men ’97 and the recently retitiled Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man are all on the docket for the new year though no release windows were provided by Disney.

    As becomes more evident every year, the slate is very fluid. Projects could be moved in or out of 2024 as any number of variables dictates.