Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • Sam Raimi Opens Up on Why He Decided to Direct the ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Even After ‘Spider-Man 3’s Heavy Backlash

    Sam Raimi Opens Up on Why He Decided to Direct the ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel Even After ‘Spider-Man 3’s Heavy Backlash

    Director Sam Raimi is well-known for directing the generally beloved and well-received original Spider-Man trilogy starring Tobey Maguire as the titular hero. While the first two installments of the trilogy were standouts in the early days of comic book superhero movies, Spider-Man 3 received overall poor reviews from both fans and critics. The negative reception and backlash to the threequel halted plans for Raimi to direct the fourth film in the franchise. However, he is back to tackle Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In a recent interview, the director opened up about the stress of returning to helm another Marvel film:

    I didn’t know that I could face it again because it was so awful, having been the director of Spider-Man 3. The Internet was getting revved up and people disliked that movie and they sure let me know about it. So, it was difficult to take back on.

    Sam Raimi

    The Doctor Strange director, Scott Derrickson, ultimately backed out of the sequel due to creative differences. While the sting of Spider-Man 3 has certainly not gone away, Raimi ultimately decided to tackle Multiverse of Madness after learning that it had an opening:

    My agent called me and said, ‘They’re looking for a director at Marvel for this movie and your name came up. Would you be interested?’ And I thought, ‘I wonder if I could still do it.’ They’re really demanding, those types of pictures. And I felt, ‘Well, that’s reason enough.’ I’ve always really liked the character of Doctor Strange. He was not my favorite, but he was right up there with the favorites. I loved the first movie, I thought [director] Scott Derrickson did a wonderful job, an incredible job. So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ They left the character in a great place. I didn’t think I would be doing another superhero movie. it just happened.

    Sam Raimi

    Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is certainly a massive and highly-anticipated film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Raimi’s work on Spider-Man 3 may always remain infamous, taking on the challenge to direct the Doctor Strange sequel could serve as the director’s redemption story for superhero films. The second entry in the franchise is currently eyeing a March release.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Predictions Eyeing $40M to $60M+ Domestic Opening

    ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Predictions Eyeing $40M to $60M+ Domestic Opening

    The signs are getting better and better for the box office’s revival. After Shang-Chi dominated and James Bond‘s next film No Time to Die eyeing a great $90M international start, things are looking up for the industry. Now, early predictions are also hinting at some good numbers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage. It’s currently eyeing between $40M to $60M+ over the course of three days at 4,200 locations. These are great numbers

    Deadline also shared that the fan screenings were filmed to the brim this Monday, which adds some hope that it’ll surpass the higher end of its predictions. Shang-Chi originally was hovering around a $50M+ prediction before it managed to beat expectations. Let There Be Carnage is a theater-only release and that has proven quite successful. Even if the lowest predictions are closer to A Quiet Place 2‘s box office, it’s still showing a positive development within the market.

    The original Venom opened to the best domestic opening in October with $80.2M. While it was trumped by Joker a year later, it still was an impressive feat by the Spider-Man spinoff without the wallcrawler involved. It’s going up against The Addams Family 2 and The Many Saints of Newark, which will both have digital alternatives. The only question remains if Sony will be happy, even considering the current pandemic, with the sequel performing less than its first entry, especially with its initial Rotten Tomatoes rating by critics. Though, fans did quite enjoy it as it stands at 81% audience score. So, it might all depend on critic reactions and word-of-mouth to push the sequel.

    Source: Deadline, Rotten Tomatoes

  • Lee Majdoub to Return as Dr. Stone in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Sequel

    Lee Majdoub to Return as Dr. Stone in ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Sequel

    Ever since the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel announced that Idris Elba would voice Knuckles, we haven’t heard much about the project. It’ll return to the little town of Green Hills, as Sonic tries to live a normal life with the Wachowskis. Yet, as the post-credit sequence of the first film teased, he’ll get wrapped up in more chaos from his former life. Of course, there’s also the disappearance of Dr. Robotnik into a mushroom dimension and his potential return. Luckily, it seems someone will be keeping his seat warm until his eventual return, as Lee Majdoub will officially return as Dr. Stone.

    His return does signal the potential appearance of Robotnik in the sequel. Jim Carrey‘s performance was a highlight of the first film, especially his dynamic with his assistant. The touch of using National Coffee Day to reference Robotnik’s love for his latte with steamed Austrian goatmilk. They made a great duo and there’s a lot of potentials to explore the vacuum left behind by the manic genius.

    They did work with the government in the first film. Perhaps his involvement could lead to the creation of GUN, which has also been teased some time ago. Robotnik’s drones might be useful in the right hands, and with the existence of little creatures running fast enough to create a sonic boom, they’d prepare for anything. It’s also a great way to integrate elements from Sonic Adventures 2 to expand the film’s adaptation of the character.

    Source: Twitter

  • Alan Taylor Would Love a Director’s Cut of ‘Thor: The Dark World’

    Alan Taylor Would Love a Director’s Cut of ‘Thor: The Dark World’

    Veteran director Alan Taylor is currently riding high from the promotional tour of his new film The Many Saints of Newark, but that doesn’t mean he’s unwilling to revisit moments from his past. In a recent interview with Inverse, the filmmaker once again discussed his history working with Marvel Studios, a collaboration that resulted in the sequel, Thor: The Dark World. Taylor, who was selected to helm the second Thor feature after impressing the studio with his work on shows like Game of Thrones, shared his original cut of the story. The director has hinted at a plot that involved more “wonder”, and now, he thinks he’s like to see it come to fruition.

    I was cheering for Zack Snyder when he was doing that and thinking, Will he pull this off? This is amazing. I think every director was kind of rooting for that. I would love to, I mean to. Can you imagine that? They give me however many millions of dollars they gave him to go back in. Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to get that phone call.

    Alan Taylor

    It would seem the experimental “Snyder Cut”, a full-length re-release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, has given Taylor the spark he needed to find interest in going back to revisit his work with Marvel. In the same interview, he acknowledged his massive respect for Marvel boss Kevin Feige and the success of the MCU since his days with the company. While The Dark World doesn’t quite have the same widespread fanbase as Justice League, it would still be interesting to see what the original version of that story looked like. Unfortunately, with the MCU’s tightly woven web of interconnectivity already moving well beyond the year 2013, it seems unlikely Feige and crew would be willing to go back and change anything. Still, one never knows what the future may hold.

    Source: Inverse

  • Ravencraft Could Offer Enough Villains for Future ‘Venom’ Sequels

    Ravencraft Could Offer Enough Villains for Future ‘Venom’ Sequels

    The upcoming Venom sequel will introduce the world to his most iconic offspring, Carnage. Even as the franchise has not connected to Spider-Man, it is trying to build up its universe and rules. Of course, throwing out one of the biggest characters from the symbiote family in the second film seems like Sony is already showing their hand too early. Yet, director Andy Serkis believes that there’s enough to play around with for sequels. In an interview with ScreenRant, he teases that we might have just scratched the surface for potential villains.

    But I think there’s real mileage in some of the other supervillains that reside in Ravencroft. There’s such fertile ground to be uncovered there. That would be the sandbox I’d be really interested in playing. Who’s lurking in there that could break out?

    Andy Serkis

    It’s certainly curious and might be a good sign that the film’s hiding some Easter eggs once we enter Ravencroft. Trailers did show Carnage’s escape, which might be how some of these bad guys find their way onto the streets. So, Let There Be Carnage may also kickstart the franchise and introduce a variety of thugs for our favorite symbiote to take on. If they start connecting the universes, it would be interesting to see if they would also introduce a new host for Venom. Imagine Tom Hardy‘s Eddie Brock losing him to a character like Mac Gargan. They have built up their relationship quite a bit and seeing a fallout between them, only for Venom to realize how good he had it would make for some fun drama. Plus, they’d not rely too much on a symbiote vs. symbiote format for these films.

    Source: ScreenRant

  • Will Smith Explains Deadshot’s Absence in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    Will Smith Explains Deadshot’s Absence in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    Perhaps one of the brightest spots in the original Suicide Squad film was Will Smith, who played Floyd Lawton, AKA Deadshot. Smith however did not return for the follow-up, and initially was almost recast. Early reports indicated that Idris Elba would take over the role of Deadshot, but that ultimately didn’t pan out so that the door may be left often for Smith’s return. Elba would go on to play Robert Dubois, aka Bloodsport, with no mention of Deadshot in the film.

    Recently Smith participated in a special interview with GQ in which he’d gone incognito on social media to answer some of his fan’s questions. One of the many questions that came up was “Why is Will Smith’s Deadshot not in the Suicide Squad, Maybe bc he didn’t want to reprise the role??”. Smith responded to the question with the following quote.

    Yeah, I was working and they were ready to shoot. It was a timing issue, I can come back.

    It seems he was aware of the initial reports that the studio was eyeing Elba as his replacement, as he ask those around him about the status of Deadshot in the DCEU.

    They didn’t cast anybody in Deadshot? they left Deadshot out, right?…So Idris playing a different character he’s not playing, or is he playing Deadshot? Different character? Alright cool so I can come back!

    It’s great to see Smith so excited that the door is still open for him to return as Floyd Lawton, maybe in another Suicide Squad film or a potential Secret Six project. While there’s no current plan to bring Will Smith back in any upcoming project we sure hope he pops up again somewhere in the DCEU.

    SOURCE: GQ

  • Marvel Studios Currently Juggling 30+ Projects

    Marvel Studios Currently Juggling 30+ Projects

    Marvel Studios has always been an overachiever in the business. Not only did they build a connected universe on the silver screen, but decided to expand it through streaming on Disney+. Recently, they even ventured out into animation while adding new talent to continue their efforts to expand. We only get a glimpse into what they are working on with each grand announcement, which hopefully expands once Disney+ Day arrives.

    They also recently gave Victoria Alonso, who has been with the company since 2008’s Iron Man, a promotion. In an interview with 221radio, she offered some insight into her current schedule, which was brought to our attention through our very own Discord. While discussing her time on The Marvel‘s set, and lunch with Salma Hayek, she also offered a small window in just how many projects are currently in development over at Marvel Studios. After the interviewer asked if they were working on 35 projects, she corrected them with the actual number and that not everyone makes it out of some form of development.

    We are currently working on 31 projects, don’t add 4 more, please. (Laughs) It is a question about how are we handling multiple plates in the air at the same time, and the biggest thing is that sometimes the plates fall, and, you know, what are you going to do then? We want people to understand that the idea that we have, to tell these connected stories, it is important that the world knows that the characters we create, their stories have to do with how humans interact with each other.

    Victoria Alonso

    The number makes sense, as currently there are seven films alone in production, as confirmed by the President of Physical and Post Production, Visual Effects, and Animation Production. She did also highlight that they are venturing into animation more in the future. She also highlights that some might just not make it out of a specific step of development. It’s crazy to think how many projects they are currently working on, and the number might only continue to rise as time goes on.

    Source: 221radio

  • Alice Waddington to Adapt Dark Horse’s ‘Dept.H’ for Netflix

    Alice Waddington to Adapt Dark Horse’s ‘Dept.H’ for Netflix

    Netflix continues its ongoing adaptation spree, as Deadline shared that Paradise Hills‘ Alice Waddington has joined the upcoming adaptation of Dept.H. T.S. Nowlin, who penned The Maze Runner, will tackle the script with Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, and Paul Schwake of Dark Horse Entertainment producing. It’ll explore the story of how the death of a scientist leads his estranged daughter six miles below the ocean floor to uncover what lead to his untimely end. It becomes a race against the time as it might become her underwater grave.

    Dept.H was written and illustrated by Matt Kindt, which started under the Dark Horse banner back in 2015. Ever since their success with Umbrella Academy, they’ve been expanding their ventures with Dark Horse Entertainment, such as the recent announcement of Grendel. The streaming market has been quite competitive and it continues to grow with each new competitor.

    Netflix has been focusing more and more on developing well-known IPs to build its brand. Umbrella Academy proved that their model has some potential, and we’re seeing recent developments with them going beyond just Dark Horse. They are tackling live-action adaptations of popular Anime, such as the recent showcase of Cowboy Bebop. It’s going to be interesting to see how it continues to grow moving forward.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘No Time To Die’ Eyeing a 90M International Opening Weekend

    ‘No Time To Die’ Eyeing a 90M International Opening Weekend

    It hasn’t been easy for the James Bond franchise. Like many others, it faced countless delays due to the pandemic. The final entry in Daniel Craig‘s time as the British secret agent is nearing and the new marketing push has been highlighting that moment where the story that started with 2006’s Casino Royale comes to an end. As the film is set to release this week, the box office predictions are in and it’s looking good. It’s set to release in 50 markets overseas, which includes UK, Spain, Mexico, Japan, and many more. Even with its older demographic, it seems likely the film might pull in around $90M internationally.

    There’s always the chance this number can change, but for an early prediction it#s quite the win for the final entry. In the UK, it seems that Bond could be its biggest opening since the last summer before the pandemic started. Once the review embargo lifts, we’ll have a clearer picture of where the film is heading and if it manages to reach 2015’s Spectre‘s $123.5M. Currently, the film’s pre-ticket sales are even outperforming 2019 ‘s numbers by 10%.

    We’ve been seeing more recovery by the box office weekly. Dune even opened to a very formidable $77M internationally and it won’t release in the US until October. The big question mark is always a China release, which the film secured for October 29th. It’s going to be interesting if the last Craig-led project will dominate the box office to sign off the end of an era with a bang.

    Source: Deadline, Forbes

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Filming in Iceland

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Filming in Iceland

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is currently busy filming since late July as it’ll close out the trilogy that started back in 2015. Director Peyton Reed has teased some of its production, such as its use of The Mandalorian’s famous Volume, where he also worked on the Disney+ series the second season. Back in February, we even heard that they are filming something in Turkey, as revealed by its Tourism minister at the time. After some digging, some crumbs also seem to be hinting that production is heading to Iceland.

    The company TrueNorth has a list of films and TV series they work with on their website. It offers production services to help overseas studios film in the Nordics, which includes Norway, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Finland, and Iceland. TrueNorth has quite the filmography, as they’ve worked with The Mandalorian, Avengers: Endgame, Black Widow, Eurovision: The Story of Fire Saga, and many more in the past. In one of their latest updates, it seems that Ant-Man and the Wasp‘s third entry is also working with the company. They are listed after Mission: Impossible 7, which recently wrapped up production. Of course, it doesn’t pinpoint where exactly they were filming, but IMDb might have just the answer we need if we take a closer look at their Location Management.

    The listing does include a supervising location manager for Iceland by the name of Thor Kjartansson. Taking a look at his page, he’s no stranger to working with Marvel Studios, as he also had the same role in Iceland for the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Avengers: Endgame, and Captain America: Civil War. So, the updates may hint they are or already have filmed in Iceland. There’s a chance that production was done by the film’s second unit but either way the Icelandic landscape offers some beautiful backdrops for the upcoming threequel.

    Source: TrueNorth, Collider, IMDb, IMDb (Location Manager)