Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • ‘Batgirl’ Confirmed to Shoot In Glasgow

    ‘Batgirl’ Confirmed to Shoot In Glasgow

    Things are moving quite fast on the Batgirl film after spending years in development hell. Once the film found its directors, it was off to the races. It was announced just a few weeks ago that actress Leslie Grace would indeed be putting on the cape and cowl to suit up as the titular hero in her very own solo film.

    While the film has set no release date for its HBO Max debut, production seems to be ramping up with Glasgow Live reporting it is set to kick off in November. Batgirl will mark the third DC film to make its way to Glasgow as the setting for Gotham city after The Batman and The Flash both recently wrapped up filming there. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah both recently arrived in Glasgow to do some scouting ahead of principal photography.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CTATfQTiOrO/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading

    With filming on the project beginning so soon and recent sets in Glasgow being a hot spot for paparazzi, it’s likely DC Fandome could give us not just a release date, but our first look at Grace suited up to avoid the first photos coming from the streets of Glasgow.

    Batgirl will be directed by El Arbi and Fallah, with a script written by Christina Hodson, who previously wrote both Birds of Prey and The Flash. The film will also see the return of JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, following his short appearance in Justice League.

    SOURCE: GlasgowLive

  • Disney+ to Revive ‘THE ROCKETEER’

    Disney+ to Revive ‘THE ROCKETEER’

    It looks like Disney is ready to revive a cult classic, as Deadline is reporting that a new film titled The Return of the Rocketeer will bring new life into the 1991 classic, The Rocketeer. It’ll release on Disney+ with David and Jessica Oyelowo set to produce through their Yoruba Saxon banner. Ed Ricourt will pen the script with David Oyelowo also potentially starring int he titular role. There is currently no director attached. It’ll be the first film under Yoruba Saxon’s first-look deal with Disney. Deadline also shared some first story details, as it will follow a retired Tuskegee airman, who takes up the mantle.

    Ricourt made his mark with the hit Now You See Me and Marvel’s Jessica Jones. He even was a consulting producer on that series and went on to pen Raising Dion for Netflix. He has some heavy shoes to fill by bringing Joe Johnston‘s 1991 film to life while staying true to Dave Stevens original graphic novel. The story of a young pilot finding a jetpack and helping others stuck with many over the years.

    Updating the project and acting as a sequel is a smart move. Rather than just retelling the original, they can continue the legacy set up and even see how the character would look like in a new era. It heading directly to streaming is a curious decision and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of budget the film will get. The franchise did make a return in 2019 as a children show on Disney Junior and Disney Channel, which followed a young girl named Katherine “Kit” Secord, which was promptly cancelled after only one season.

    Source: Deadline

  • Connecting Imaginary Dots: The Contessa is Making More Moves in ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’

    Connecting Imaginary Dots: The Contessa is Making More Moves in ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’

    Atlanta has served as one of the industry’s central filming hubs for some time. The area has several studios and a tax friendly approach to filming, making it a great place for Hollywood studios to get work done. For the past several years, Marvel Studio has used it as much as anyone, filming maybe a dozen or so projects in the area, including a major project now: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The sequel is set to introduce Namor, Riri Williams and a handful of other characters to the MCU but it also seems like it’ll mark another appearance for Julia Louis-Dreyfus‘ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

    Piecing together a couple of recent Instagram photos might give enough evidence to prove that JLD is now in Atlanta on the set of the sequel to the 2018 blockbuster.

    The first photo comes from JLD who tags her friend and (maybe) personal make-up artist, Karen Kawahara, who, as it turns out is in Atlanta. As it turns out, the set Kawahara included in her photograph is one that matches the description recently given to me of one being used for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Connecting imaginary dots here, it seems VERY likely that we will see JLD reprise her role as Val in this film.

    Val is already known to be working with John Walker and Yelena Belova, Captain America and Black Widow replacements respectively. Could she be trying to line up an Iron Man replacement here in Riri? Could she be recruiting or working with someone in Wakanda? Certainly Namor wouldn’t be interested in anything the human world has to offer. Kevin Feige recently indicated we’d see Val again soon and learn more about her past. Maybe Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is that place!

  • Disney Already Working on ‘JUNGLE CRUISE’ Sequel

    Disney Already Working on ‘JUNGLE CRUISE’ Sequel

    Looks like Disney was quite satisfied with Jungle Cruise‘s performance, as the House of Mouse already green lit a sequel. Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt will also return as their respective characters, Frank Wolff and Dr. Lily Houghton. Co-writer Michael Green is also slated to return. Hollywood Reporter believes that Jaume Collet-Serra is also returning to direct the project alongside the original’s producers. Johnson took to Twitter to share his excitement on the sequel announcement:

    The film was one of Disney’s simultaneous releases on Disney+ Premier Access and theaters. Even with the additional pricing tag, the film saw a good success as it premiered at $34.2M in domestic sales. It added an additional $30M on the streaming service and it managed pass the $100M in its fifth weekend. Currently, it stands at $187M worldwide.

    So, it certainly looks like that Disney has been quite satisfied with its Box Office performances and sees a lot of potential in the franchise. With the pandemic still raging, there’s also a good chance the film would’ve pulled in more during regular times. All eyes are currently on Disney’s first theater-exclusive release to give a good indicator what the future holds for the domestic Box Office with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter, Twitter

  • ‘ETERNALS’ Shares Themes With Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-Winner ‘NOMADLAND’

    ‘ETERNALS’ Shares Themes With Chloé Zhao’s Oscar-Winner ‘NOMADLAND’

    Marvel Studios is starting to venture into new territory with its upcoming projects. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will offer our first martial arts-inspired film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s also the mysterious project by Chloé Zhao, as the Eternals ventures into the long history before the Avengers fought their first enemy. In an interview with Empire, producer Nate Moore teased how the film will reflect the themes she used in Nomadland.

    Chloé’s interested in telling stories about outsiders who find themselves adrift in new worlds. Nomadland and Eternals both share that DNA. Nomadland doesn’t have the same bells and whistles as Eternals, but it has the same thematic resonance.

    It’s not uncommon for directors to build upon themes and stories they’ve introduced in other films. Sometimes it’s the venture into taking unique aspects on the same topic that showcases their talent in telling stories. Nomadland and Eternals may explore very different types of beings, but it highlights that no matter where we come from, we all can become outsiders in this strange world of ours.

    The Eternals promised not to intervene in human history. They are forced to watch how events unfold following the strict orders of their creators, the Celestials. Some have distanced themselves from these beings while others, like Gemma Chan‘s Sersi, tried to connect with humanity. It seems clear that this conflict will lie at the core of the story and it’ll be interesting to see how their decisions may shape the future of the MCU.

    Source: Empire

  • Nia DaCosta’s ‘CANDYMAN’ Takes Top Spot with $22M Domestic Opening

    Nia DaCosta’s ‘CANDYMAN’ Takes Top Spot with $22M Domestic Opening

    The Box Office has been a big question mark throughout the pandemic. While 2021 saw a resurgence throughout the second quarter, once we entered the summer numbers reflected the concerns over the Delta Variant. Free Guy surprised with a stronger performance and this week’s release of Candyman also added some hope that we’re seeing an upward trend again. Nia DaCosta‘s horror film written by Jordan Peele passed industry expectations with $22.37M in the first three days of its release.

    Candyman' 2021 Movie Review: Nia DaCosta, Jordan Peele

    What makes their success stand out from previous entries is that they are theater-exclusive. So, there’s no concern over the digital release and piracy affecting the film’s performance. It’s also a positive push towards the upcoming release of Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings. It’s the first Disney film since the pandemic started to get an exclusive cinema release. After the controversy surrounding Black Widow and growing uncertainty, these recent developments might support it’s potential to pass early expectations.

    Candyman did see a slower start in its international release, but the legacy franchise does have a stronger cult following in the States. Still, the film cost around $25M, which it’ll easily make back in its domestic release alone. Free Guy also continues to surprise in its Box Office run alongside the children film PAW Patrol. Sadly, overall 2021 is still 50% behind from 2019 which is a given as the world is still adjusting. Disney’s Jungle Cruise also officially dropped the $100M mark this weekend while still being available on Disney+ Premier Access.

    Source: Variety

  • HBO Max’s ‘BATGIRL’ Director Shares Update on Script

    HBO Max’s ‘BATGIRL’ Director Shares Update on Script

    2021 was the year of HBO Max, as Warner Bros. released all their films simultaneously on the streaming service and in theaters. The Suicide Squad became the second-highest viewed film release on HBO Max and opened up the floodgates to expand through digital-exclusive releases. Batgirl became the first DC film announced for the streaming service with Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah attached to direct.

    We haven’t heard much on it since the casting of Leslie Grace as Barbara Gorden last month, but it looks like the script has gotten finalized. Arbi took to Instagram to share an update on the project, which he also did during his work on Ms. Marvel, and gives us our first confirmation that Christina Hodson‘s script Luckily, Slash Film saved an image of the script as Instagram Stories are available for a limited time. While not revealing any details, it does give us a hint that production is fast-tracked and we may expect the release sooner rather than later.

    DC has kept the script under wraps for quite some time. There’s still some uncertainty if we might see the return of a Commissioner Gordon from a previous DC film, or if we might explore a brand new universe. There’s the rumor that J. K. Simmons might reprise his brief role from Justice League. As The Batman will introduce Jeffrey Wright as the same character which will act as its own separate continuity from the one we started following since Man of Steel. It’s going to be interesting to see how the DCEU continues to expand in the future.

    Source: Slash Film

  • Lashana Lynch Spotted with ‘THE MARVELS’ Cast and Director

    Lashana Lynch Spotted with ‘THE MARVELS’ Cast and Director

    The Marvel family will finally unite in the upcoming sequel to 2018’s Captain Marvel, with Carol Danvers set to team up with Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau. With all these newcomers, it would be nice to see a few familiar faces. Luckily, Samuel L. Jackson already teased his return as Nick Fury and Jude Law also potentially making a return. Yet, it seems that they may not be the only returning characters.

    Recently the cast and director of The Marvels were spotted out in public with actress Lashana Lynch, who previously played Maria Rambeau in the first Captain Marvel film. The character was briefly mentioned in Wandavision, where we met an older version of her daughter working for S.W.O.R.D. In it, we found out that Maria had passed away due to cancer sometime during the blip.

    https://twitter.com/MarvlUpdates/status/1431669126578249730

    Its currently unknown if Lynch has indeed joined the upcoming film, but seems possible if she was spotted with both DaCosta and Parris, who are both newcomers to the franchise. If she is indeed in the film, the role will most likely be limited and set in the past. Perhaps we can explore her life after the first film and the formation of S.W.O.R.D. It’ll be interesting to see them explore the Rambeau’s relationship with Captain Marvel, as there seemed to be some resentment towards Carol from Monica seen in a brief moment in WandaVision. Here’s hoping we find out more in the near future.

    Source: Twitter

  • Martin Freeman Rocking a Beard in Latest ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’ Set Photos

    Martin Freeman Rocking a Beard in Latest ‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’ Set Photos

    The set photos for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have been slowly pouring in. Not too long ago, we got our first real look at Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams on the film’s set. We even got a few pictures featuring Letitia Wright and Danai Gurira. It’s not over, as Just Jared shared a brand new look at Martin Freeman, as he rocks a beard. The actor had a strong supporting role in the first film as CIA agent Everett K. Ross and it’s great to see his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    As we sadly can’t share pictures from JustJared, you can check them out here.

    We still know very little about the film’s upcoming plot, but it looks like the CIA will get involved in one way or another. They’ve been busy shooting scenes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which might be the reason he gets involved. We don’t know the details but it looks like Riri will have some role in the film.

    There’s a chance that Ross might not be as involved in this film as he was previously. The rumors of the film focusing on a potential war between Wakanda and the MCU’s version of Atlantis will introduce quite a few new players. So, they’ll likely try to keep the supporting cast between these two nations. It’ll be interesting to see how much the initial trailer will reveal or hint at, as they might want to keep a few things close to their chest moving forward. Either way, here’s hoping Freeman might appear in other projects further down the line. He might need to sit down to have a chat with his now evil former co-worker and now Power Broker.

    Source: Just Jared

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘WANDAVISION’s Paul Bettany to Write and Star in Director Mark Waters’ Film ‘HARVEST MOON’

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘WANDAVISION’s Paul Bettany to Write and Star in Director Mark Waters’ Film ‘HARVEST MOON’

    We can exclusively share that WandaVision‘s Paul Bettany has joined Mark Waters‘ next film, Harvest Moon. No, it’s not an adaptation of the popular farm simulator game that’s been a Nintendo staple since 1996. Rather, it’s the story about the early months of the pandemic, where a young boy named Charlie tries to get his estranged parents together again. Bettany will play the father, Johnny. Not only that, he’s also one of the writers behind the project, as he penned the script alongside Dana Brown. Currently, the film is eyeing a production start in October of this year.

    Neues LEGO VIP-Gewinnspiel mit signiertem Paul Bettany-Bild

    Bettany is, of course, famous for his portrayal of JARVIS and the Vision throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yet, he does have some writing experience, as he wrote the screenplay for 2014’s Shelter, which starred Jennifer Connelly and Anthony Mackie. He was also behind the director’s chair for that project. He’ll work together with Waters, who worked on a variety of films. He recently directed the Adam Devine-led Magic Camp or Disney+ but also worked on Mr. Popper’s Penguins, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and even The Spiderwick Chronicles.

    Given the director’s background in more comedic fair, we can expect a similar tone from this film. It’s not every day a boy and his favorite stuffed dog Foofy try their best to get his parents to fall in love again. Bettany has proven his ability of juggling his comedic and more dramatic chops, especially in the recent release of WandaVision. Not only did he replicate the different eras of TV history and their comedy, but still gave us a thought-provoking performance while consulting Elisabeth Olsen‘s Wanda during her time of need, and while facing his alter ego in a philosophical battle on their own existence. Whatever direction the film is heading towards, he’ll certainly give us a memorable performance.