Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • RUMOR: Marvel Studios May Announce ‘Fantastic Four’ Cast and Director at D23, Eyeing 2024 Release

    RUMOR: Marvel Studios May Announce ‘Fantastic Four’ Cast and Director at D23, Eyeing 2024 Release

    With D23 and San Diego Comic-Con on the horizon, rumors are going crazy with what exactly Marvel Studios has planned for the future. Phase 4 has been surprisingly been controversial as everyone is trying to find their footing in a post-Endgame world. Yet, it seems D23 will give us a clearer picture.

    According to DisInsider’s latest Rumor of the Week, they not only hinted that The Thing may appear in She-Hulk but also Marvel Studios’ D23 plans. They share that Kevin Feige and his team might unveil the film’s cast during the Disney-owned event.

    That is not all, as they also teased a director announcement after Jon Watts famously left the project to take a break after Spider-Man: No Way Home. They may be eyeing a 2024 release for the film, which means they’d have to start production sooner than later.

    It’s still a rumor and have to take it with a grain of salt, but D23 does seem like a perfect time to tease the future. SDCC is also their usual Phase announcement event but with a Disney-owned event on the horizon, wouldn’t be too surprising they mix it up.

    Source: YouTube

  • Adam Scott Joins Cast of ‘Madame Web’

    Adam Scott Joins Cast of ‘Madame Web’

    The cast of Madame Web continues to grow in recognizable star power. Fresh off his Emmy nomination for his lead performance in Apple’s hit series Severance, Adam Scott has joined the cast of Sony’s latest Marvel film. Sony declined to comment on the news and the nature of Scott’s role remains unknown at this time. Madame Web will features Dakota Johnson’s portrayal of the titular character alongside the likes of Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Emma Roberts, and Tahar Rahim. The film is being directed by S.J. Clarkson and currently is in production in Boston, Massachusetts.

    Not much is known about what this film will ultimately be about as the character of Madame Web hasn’t had much of anything in the way of a solo-based story in the comics. Industry insiders have speculated that this film will seeJohnson’s character essentially become the Sony version of Doctor Strange and tie into Spider-Man’s connection to the multiverse. Meanwhile, it’s also been suggested that Madame Web could end up being some different, secret project (whatever that may mean). Recent set photos revealed a probable early-2000s New York City setting for at least part of the film (which could hint at this film connecting with the Sam Raimi-directed universe of Spider-Man). 

    In addition, there have been some rumblings that Marvel Studios is involved with this film in some way. If this is accurate, it has the potential to be game changing both in terms of how the greater ensemble of Spider-Man characters could connect to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and for the working relationship between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures.

    Source: Deadline

  • Marvel Studios Phase 4: It’s Not Them, It’s You

    Marvel Studios Phase 4: It’s Not Them, It’s You

    Marvel Studios concluded its thirteenth project of Phase 4 this past Wednesday as Ms. Marvel shocked us all with an impactful finale. Revealing Kamala Khan as a mutant was a game changer. More importantly, it was a reminder that the MCU is still evolving, growing, and-pun intended-embiggening. When the pandemic shut things down for 2020 we as a collective were starved for content. Any morsel of footage we were grateful for. We waited for Disney+ day and it came and we got trailers and previews and titles. It was exciting, and then WandaVision happened.

    When WandaVision first aired on a Friday in mid-January of 2021 we were satiated. Everything we missed about the MCU was back, except it was different. We were going week to week as opposed to the normal 3-4 month wait between movies. Simply put, watching WandaVision was a phenomenon. There was a level of captivation that brought the theory boards and connecting of Easter eggs. Remember when we thought that space engineer was Reed Richards? Or how about the calls for Mephisto? Yes, that was us. Now none of those things happened, and WandaVision ended with Wanda Maximoff becoming The Scarlet Witch. That should’ve been enough right? Monica Rambeau’s debut and her getting her powers on screen? Should’ve been enough you think?

    Instead what followed was a collective groan from a vocal part of fans annoyed that their theories didn’t come true. Also even with the explanation from show-runners and producers as to how the pandemic changed filming we didn’t take that into account. It became a demerit. Even if you enjoyed WandaVision-and many did-it didn’t quite hit the same as when it started. Two weeks later, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier debuted. We didn’t have the time to really digest what happened and why we became so hypercritical. It was odd to say the least.

    12 additional projects later, the fandom generally seems ornery. Between leaks coloring fans’ views before things come out and critics mocking the formula of the MCU, we as a collective are in an interesting place. As Thor: Love And Thunder came out last week to mixed reviews the whispers seem to be getting louder. VFX and CGI have become apart of everyone’s vocabulary in a way we’ve never heard before. Now social media should never be the end all be all in judging a product. The bottom line should be. Yet, you almost can’t deny a feeling of impatience amongst the masses.

    Where are we going? What’s the main story? These questions are in blogs, and on peoples’ minds. The answers seem to be there. It feels like Loki told us the answers. Ms. Marvel just gave us more. The truth is the real answer is the MCU is telling new stories. The Infinity Saga is over. It was fantastic. Akin to a dynasty in sports. Now it’s time to rebuild. Kevin Feige is leaning more on source material. We have new characters. These movies are more comic book like than ever dropping us in for a ride and taking us home at the end. Seems reasonable enough. Not to us though.

    We’ve heard the ridiculous and misogynistic phrases like “MidCU” and “MSheU”. Stories of representation are being told and it’s still not enough. So at some point the question needs to be asked, is it them or is it us? Now Marvel does have work to do. They’re still trying to figure out structure on this streaming platform. These finales often seem rushed, undercutting more than one thing even if the overall stories are rewarding. Movies are always subjective so you can always quibble with that. Let’s take a look at what happened to us.

    Endgame is now over three years old. Since then we have experienced a time period of going from no content for nearly two of those years to content all the time. It’s changed us. We view these things differently and it’s not because of fatigue. The truth of it all is that we aren’t the same people we were in 2019. We’ve grown, and we’ve seen a lot of terrible things in the world. All of that is bound to increase cynicism of everything. Plenty of people who consume this content make a living off of it. That trough has only grown. Of course this doesn’t reflect everyone, but with that becomes not only the responsibility to be honest but enough care to zoom out and ask yourself this question. Is it really them, or is it us?

    Essentially what’s happened is paralysis by over-analysis. The fun many of us grew up with reading comics and enjoying that escapism has been replaced by the blurred lines of our lives and the ones of characters on screen. The drug of nostalgia has been dosed with a chaser of “fatigue” and “CGI” and “director choices.” Truthfully, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. When it’s all said and done, we are on the fast train to Secret Wars, Kang The Conqueror, and Mutants. You can make the argument Phase 4 is doing just fine. How are you though?

  • ‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On’ Director to Adapt Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’

    ‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On’ Director to Adapt Live-Action ‘Lilo & Stitch’

    Now, this is quite the surprising reveal but it seems that Dean Fleischer-Camp already has set his next major project after the critical darling that is Marcel The Shell With Shoes On. Deadline has revealed that he’s attached to direct the live-action adaption of the popular animated film Lilo & Stitch. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich are producing the project with Ryan Halprin set to executive produce. There is no word if the film is currently going to be a theatrical one or even land on Disney+.

    Chris Kekianiokalani Bright is currently in negotiations to write the film’s script that retell the story of the human girl Lilo who finds herself an adorable pet, who she names Stitch. The fact that he’s actually a creature that was engineered to destroy everything in its path and is also a fugitive from the space’s equivalent of the police. This will be the first live-action film for Fleischer-Camp who has hit it big with his work on the A24 film.

    It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how they tackle this project and his background in animation is likely going to help with bringing Stitch to life. This film marks the latest addition to the family of live-action reboots for Disney classics, which have been quite successful for the studio. As deals are finalizing, we may get some casting announcements sooner than later.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Ms. Marvel’ Head Writer Clarifies What Happens in the Post-Credit Sequence

    ‘Ms. Marvel’ Head Writer Clarifies What Happens in the Post-Credit Sequence

    The following article will include spoilers on the post-credit sequences of Ms. Marvel. So, only continue at your own risk.

    Ms. Marvel‘s post-credit sequence may be among the Disney+ series’ best, especially given how it offers a curious segway into the upcoming The Marvels while also keeping things a bit confusing to let Nia DaCosta put the pieces together as she needs it. Luckily, Ms. Marvel’s head writer confirmed one thing: that wasn’t Kamala Khan transforming into Brie Larson‘s Carol Danvers but rather them switching places.

    Kamala doesn’t turn into Carol. […] It’s an important distinction, just because in the comic books, that’s something that [Kamala] does —  she can change the way she looks and she looks like Carol Danvers in Issue 1 of the comic book. She’s not turning into Carol [on the show]. That’s Carol Danvers standing in Kamala’s bedroom.

    Bisha K. Ali

    It definitely had many wondering what exactly happened, as it opened up many questions about how they swapped places, how it connects to her bangle, and the reveal of her potentially having the mutant gene. At this point, there are a lot of possibilities going into the The Marvels and how they might tackle her relationship with Carol. Who knows how she’ll be meeting her idol who found out she has a room filled with posters of her face plastered across them.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Scream 6’ Adds Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori to Cast

    ‘Scream 6’ Adds Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori to Cast

    The Scream franchise has officially expanded its ensemble with two marquee additions for its next film. As initially reported on by Bloody Disgusting and later confirmed by Deadline, both Samara Weaving and Tony Revolori have been cast in undisclosed roles for Scream 6. The latest installment in Paramount Pictures’ horror franchise is currently in production and is slated to release theatrically on March 31, 2023.

    In addition to the new names, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Jenna Ortega return after appearing in the initial revival film earlier this year. In addition, this film will see the return of Hayden Panettiere to the world of Scream as her character Kirby Reed. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are helming this new film after their work on the most recent Scream film.

    The young Tony Revolori has established himself as a mainstay in the landscape of Hollywood and this currently untitled Scream sequel has the potential to continue to elevate him as a performer. He’s best known from his work as Flash Thompson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man trilogy and especially for his critically acclaimed performance in Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel.

    Meanwhile, this film serves as a reuniting of Samara Weaving and directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett after working together on 2019’s Ready or Not. The comedy horror film served as a launching pad for Weaving’s career into more mainstream attention that she has been capitalizing on moving forward. As well, Weaving confirmed to Collider previously that she was approached for a role in this most recent Scream film, but scheduling conflicts prevented her from appearing.

    We were talking about it, but our schedules aren’t gonna work, which is a bummer. We talked about it a lot, but unfortunately, because of scheduling, I couldn’t do it. I’ll still be [in Australia], working on Nine Perfect Strangers, so we couldn’t make it work. Traveling is very difficult these days.

    Samara Weaving

    It certainly will be interesting to follow any further developments for Scream 6 in the year heading into its release and what it may mean for the future of the franchise.

    Sources: Bloody Disgusting, Deadline, Collider  

  • Joe Russo Talks Marvel Studios ‘Secret Wars’

    Joe Russo Talks Marvel Studios ‘Secret Wars’

    It’s no secret that the directing duo of Joe and Anthony Russo have a dream project that could tempt them to return to Marvel Studios where they helmed four films together, including the two-part culmination to the Infinity Saga. Even as they did press for Avengers: Endgame in 2019, the brothers spoke openly about how one project might get them back behind the cameras for Marvel Studios: Secret Wars.

    At the premiere of their new movie, The Gray Man, the Russos were asked, once again, what would bring them back to the Marvel Studios fold. And it was no surprise that Joe Russo gave what at this point is a pretty canned response to the question. This time, however, Joe may have given a little more away than usual.

    Our love for Marvel is based on the books we read as kids and the books that we fell in love with. The one series that we adored growing up was Secret Wars. It’s incredibly ambitious. It would be bigger than Infinity War and Endgame, but it’s a massive undertaking and those two movies were very hard to make. Trying to imagine making another two movies even bigger than those two…we’re going to have to sleep on it.

    Joe Russo

    It sounds like Joe and Anthony may have done more than sleep on the decision to return to co-direct Marvel Studios Secret Wars. In fact, it sounds like they are far enough down the road that they’ve outlined what they believe the story should be and have determined that it would take two films to tell the story the way they see fit.

    Once considered a pipe dream, an MCU-set Secret Wars has become an inevitability at this point. The story was first teased during Loki and further teased in Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness when John Krasinski’s Reed Richards introduced the idea of Incursions. The introduction of Incursions makes it more likely than not that the MCU’s Secret Wars will, at least in part, be based on Jonathan Hickman’s 2015 event series, though the Russos oft-professed love for the the original 1984 event almost certainly means that its influence will be felt as well.

    It’s hard to imagine that the brothers, who worked so hard to make sure the two-part conclusion of the Infinity Saga were more than parts 1 and 2, would be happy with a basic Hollywood two-parter. With Joe imagining Secret Wars as a two-part event, it’s safe to assume they have something along the lines of an Infinity War and Endgame split in mind for their next MCU gig, making sure each film can stand on its own spectacular feet.

    Source: Deadline

  • Theory Thursday: What That ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Mid-Credit Scene Might Mean for the Future of the MCU

    Theory Thursday: What That ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ Mid-Credit Scene Might Mean for the Future of the MCU

    Thor becoming the first Avenger to get a 4th film in their own series is actually a good thing given that there are still a few adventures for Odinson to go on, and make no mistake: this one leaves him in a very different place than any of the other three before it. The events of Thor left him on Asgard away from Jane and mourning the death of Loki. Thor: The Dark World had him leaving Asgard to be with Jane while again mourning the death of his mother and Loki…a second time. Then along came Ragnarok where he lost his father and sister and home but managed to escape Surtur. I think it is safe to say that no hero in the MCU has lost as much as Thor, and this fourth entry adds even more loss after adventures with the Avengers that saw him lose Coulson and Heimdall and Loki (again!) right in front of him. It should come as no surprise then that Thor’s latest movie ends with someone dying right in front of him then. Tragedy, it would seem, is what propels the God of Thunder forward into different adventures. It’s not just putting the Asgardian at the center of tragedy, though, that usually leads into the next big Avenger’s threat.

    It was Thor’s brother who arrived on Earth necessitating the Avengers to assemble initially, and it was the mind stone located inside Loki’s scepter that led to the creation of Ultron AND VIsion and the Scarlet Witch, which led to the Avengers reuniting. It was Thor sending Loki to light the eternal flame and unleash Surtur that also led to Loki stealing the Tesseract from Odin’s throne room, which drew Thanos to the refugee ship that the Asgardians were on. If you look back at the Infinity Saga, you can rightfully argue that Thor brought the Avengers face to face with their greatest villains (Loki, Ultron, and Thanos). The mid-credit scene of Thor: Love & Thunder hints at that continuing to be the case.

    Zeus, with a lightning-sized hole in his sternum, sends his son, Hercules, on a mission to knock the Odinson out of the sky, reclaiming glory meant for the gods instead of heroes. However, what if there’s more to this scene than meets the eye? What if what we are seeing play out isn’t really telling us everything? What if, to understand what’s really happening, we have to accept that someone else has paved the way?

    In the comics, one of Kang The Conqueror’s variants, Immortus, utilizes what are known as Space Phantoms to go after the Avengers by masquerading as famous heroes from different eras. This included heroes like Merlin, Goliath, and, yes, Hercules. This caused a team of villains led by Baron Zemo, who had enlisted Immortus’s help in defeating the Avengers, to go back in time to the moment where they accepted his help and, this time, refuse it. By introducing Hercules here, as an antagonist for Thor who arrives on Earth seeking the God Of Thunder out, it will undoubtedly bring the Olympian face to face with whoever the new group of Avengers is. What if the Hercules that arrives on Earth looking for Thor isn’t Zeus’s son, but a space phantom controlled by Immortus? Or, what if the Thor that Hercules finds isn’t the God of Thunder himself, but a space phantom?

    We are entering the world of secret invasions and variants. With Thor’s consistent connection to all of the Avengers-level villains, it stands to reason that we didn’t just see who Thor’s next antagonist would be, but that we just saw another piece of the puzzle being laid down by one of Kang’s variants. Hercules may be a son of Zeus, but he may also be a Space Phantom of Immortus.

  • Emerald Fennell Brought on to Rework Script for John Wick Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

    Emerald Fennell Brought on to Rework Script for John Wick Spinoff ‘Ballerina’

    Emerald Fennell, who wrote and directed Promising Young Woman, is sprucing up the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina. The news was revealed by the film’s star Ana de Armas during a recent interview for Elle magazine.

    The initial script for Ballerina was written by Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum) and director Len Wiseman. However, upon being cast in Ballerina, de Armas sought to hire a female writer to tweak the script. “It was really important for me to hire a female writer, because to that point when I got involved in the project, it was only the director, Len Wiseman, and another guy. And I was like, ‘That’s not going to work.’ So I interviewed, like, five or six female writers. We hired Emerald Fennell, which I was so proud of,” the actress told Elle.

    For de Armas, it’s important that she’s closely involved behind the scenes during the process for Ballerina, which is why bringing in a female writer was vital. However, it remains to be seen whether or not Fennell will receive credit for her work on the script. As Variety states, that decision will ultimately be decided by the Writers Guild of America.

    Ballerina follows de Armas’ young female assassin as she seeks revenge against those that killed her family. As of this writing, further details regarding the film and its cast remain unknown. It is the second spinoff from the John Wick franchise, however, as Mel Gibson is set to star in the television series spinoff, The Continental, for Starz.

    Ballerina is yet another high-profile job for Fennell, who recently served as the showrunner on Killing Eve Season 2 and is set to pen a Zatanna film for DC and Warner Bros. – assuming that project is still in the works.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Batgirl’ Headed to Theaters in 2023

    ‘Batgirl’ Headed to Theaters in 2023

    A few years back, the previous studio heads over at Warner Brothers were interested in developing original films set within the DC Extended Universe for release exclusively on HBO Max, with the first of these being Batgirl and Blue Beetle. Since then, Blue Beetle has forgone its streaming release for a theatrical one. Earlier this year, Warner Brothers Discovery was debating giving Batgirl a theatrical release as well, citing David Zaslav’s distaste for releasing such big films on streaming.

    There has been radio silence on a potential release for the film, still currently set to release on HBO Max. However, it seems there may be a change incoming for the film. In an updated release schedule from Warner Bros UK, Batgirl is now listed under “2023 Theatrical Release.”

    Now this isn’t doesn’t mean the same for the United States and elsewhere as of right now for one specific reason. HBO Max currently is not available to the United Kingdom, meaning a theatrical release would be one of the only ways fans would be able to see it there.

    The studio has the perfect opportunity to cash in on a theatrical release if they were to hold on the film until late next year. Batgirl could thrive in late 2023 release, sometime around November and December, considering the film is set during Christmas and that Warner Brothers currently has no DC films set for release following Blue Beetle’s release next August.

    SOURCE: Twitter