Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • Anthony Mackie Explains How His Approach to Captain America Will Differ From Chris Evans’

    Anthony Mackie Explains How His Approach to Captain America Will Differ From Chris Evans’

    Captain America: New World Order is shaping up as one of 2024’s most exciting MCU projects. Harrison Ford has joined the cast, taking over the role of Thunderbolt Ross from the late William Hurt; more than 15 years after his debut, Tim Blake Nelson is returning to the MCU as Samuel Sterns; and Anthony Mackie will lead his first film after assuming the mantle of Captain America during the events of Marvel Studios’ Disney Plus streaming series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

    While Mackie’s Sam Wilson shared a wonderful friendship with Steve Rogers, the road to becoming Cap was very different for Sam and that path will certainly shape his time with the shield. As Mackie explained in an interview with Kevin Polowy, his Captain America is much more grounded in his real-world experiences as a non-powered hero and counselor.

    “I think with my Cap, he’s not a superhero; he doesn’t have a super serum,” explained Mackie. “So his superpower is his humanity,” he continued, “so I think with him, he has to come to the stage with a very different understanding of what it is to be a good guy or be a bad guy and what are the decisions that make you toe that line in the way that you did. I just see him as more of a humane Cap as opposed to a distinctive–a Cap of judgment–where this is right and this is wrong…your decisions that make you choose right or wrong.”

    Mackie’s insight into the character is pretty telling considering some of the more well-founded rumors about the plot of the film which point to Wilson finding himself less than thrilled with the choices being made by the U.S. Government. What happens when Captain America disagrees with the choices being made by America?

    Wilson’s time as Cap is just getting started and will be defined by the choices he makes as a hero but according to Mackie, one choice he believes to be an upgrade over Steve Rogers is the costume, which debuted in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. “And a flyer costume!” added Mackie, when describing why Sam’s Cap is different than Steve’s. “It’s leg day every day, baby. We going straight spandex. None of this cotton stuff. We doing straight spandex!” Mackie’s already taking on the mantle of Captain America and now it sounds like he’s issuing a challenge to Winston Duke over the mantle of the thick-thighed god of the MCU.

    Captain America: New World Order heads into production in March ahead of its scheduled May 3rd 2024 release.

  • Leslie Grace Speaks Out on the Cancellation of ‘Batgirl’

    Leslie Grace Speaks Out on the Cancellation of ‘Batgirl’

    During her first major interview after it was announced that Warner Bros. Discovery had decided to cancel the Batgirl movie after the first “disappointing” test screenings, actress Leslie Grace spoke out on how she found out and gave her take on the film.

    The film co-directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah was meant to be released exclusively on HBO Max but then was “promoted” to a theatrical release. Instead of releasing in theaters, the film will never be seen at all as David Zaslav canceled the project and took a $90M tax write-off.

    According to Leslie, she was unaware that the movie, initially slated to be available on HBO Max, had been put on hold until it was reported by the New York Post. “I found out like the rest of you… and then my phone just started blowing up“, explained the actress.

    Leslie and her co-star Brendan Fraser were caught off guard by the news. Fraser recalls his initial reaction was laughing hysterically because he was being pranked. When he became aware of the reality of the situation, Fraser’s thoughts turned towards the loss of a potential icon to a generation of children. “What I find most lamentable,” said Fraser, “is that now a whole generation of little girls are going to have to wait longer to see a Batgirl and say, ‘Hey, she looks like me.’”

    Rumors have swirled that Batgirl was “unreleasable”, though according to Grace, who saw the film in its most complete form it was “incredible.”

    “I got to see the film as far as it got to; the film wasn’t complete by the time that it was tested. There were a bunch of scenes that weren’t even in there. They were at the beginning of the editing process, and they were cut off because of everything going on at the company. But the film that I got to see — the scenes that were there — was incredible. There was definitely potential for a good film, in my opinion. Maybe we’ll get to see clips of it later on.”

    -Leslie Grace
  • Revisiting Superior Iron Man

    Revisiting Superior Iron Man

    As Marvel Studios has grown into one of the most consistently successful production entities in Hollywood, the value of information about the studio’s upcoming projects has spawned an industry of its own. No other IP has the cachet of Marvel Studios IPs and those with information on those projects–the scoopers, leakers, insiders and influencers–have a major impact on how a small fraction of the audience perceives upcoming projects. If we’ve learned anything from WandaVision, it’s that Marvel Studios’ fanbase has a bit of an issue separating speculation from rumors and separating legitimate rumors from gobbledygook and no one example better illuminated that than a flatly false rumor that lingered around the direct follow-up to WandaVision: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

    One year ago today, Marvel Studios released the official trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness just ahead of Super Bowl LVI. Partly because of Marvel Studios’ overly intense secrecy and partly because of a new creative team taking over the film late in the game, an unusually high number of rumors sprang up around the film, most of which came from a new wave of “insiders” who hadn’t established any sort of track record in regards to being an accurate, trustworthy source of information. However, what was true then and is more true now is that a track record of accuracy isn’t necessary for “inside information” to gain traction online. Fans want to hear what they want to hear and if the “inside information” checks off a few boxes, it spreads like wildfire.

    And so, the legend of Tom Cruise‘s Superior Iron Man was born. It’s not worth tracking down where the rumor began much less digging into how it was ever able to cross over from the small fraction of fans who typically follow the rumor mill so closely into mainstream media; it happened and fans wanted to believe it so desperately that when the Super Bowl trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuted, thousands of fans took to Twitter to proclaim that the screenshot of Lashana Lynch‘s alternate universe Captain Marvel seen below was in fact Cruise‘s Superior Iron Man.

    Even as higher-resolution screenshots from the trailer emerged, fans held strongly to their beliefs that they were seeing Marvel Studios debut Tom Cruise‘s MCU character in a trailer. Fans held so strongly to this belief, which was strongly stoked online by insiders old and new, that when the movie debuted and Cruise wasn’t in it, they were furious and shocked that they had been misled despite all the evidence they needed to know Cruise wasn’t in the film was quite literally right in front of them. Some convinced themselves that the actor filmed scenes for the movie but that Marvel Studios ultimately chose to cut them.

    After the fact, Multiverse of Madness writer Michael Waldron explained that not only did the studio not cut footage of Cruise from the film but that there never was any footage because Cruise was, as anyone with access to the internet could have known, busy shooting back-to-back Mission: Impossible films. Though Waldron admitted he thought the idea would have been pretty cool because Cruise was offered the role of Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man before declining, it never progressed past the idea stage. Interestingly enough, rumors of a Superior Iron Man appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars (which doesn’t even begin filming for at least another 18 months) have already begun popping up online and you can bet it won’t be long before Cruise’s name gets associated with them again and fans take the bait…again.

  • RUMOR: ‘Wonder Man’ Star May Have Joined Damon Lindelof’s Secet ‘Star Wars’ Movies

    RUMOR: ‘Wonder Man’ Star May Have Joined Damon Lindelof’s Secet ‘Star Wars’ Movies

    Well, here’s an exciting surprise. We’ve long heard about a mysterious Star Wars project from Damon Lindelof and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy but still have no idea how far along in production it is. The project was first teased all the way back in March and a new rumor from The Hot Mic may have hinted that it has already found its central star. It seems that the future Wonder Man himself, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has joined another major franchise and will be one of the leads for this new Star Wars entry that reportedly takes place after The Rise of Skywalker.

    This is naturally a rumor and nothing more, but Adul-Mateen has been quite the rising star. Not only did he have a major role in the Aquaman film but was even set to lead a spinoff that sadly got canceled. He took on the iconic horror role of Candyman in a recent remake and is also attached to Marvel Studios’ upcoming series Wonder Man. So, adding another Disney franchise with Star Wars to his resume is definitely not too shabby.

    This also marks the second time he and Lindelof worked together on a project, as he also took on the role of Dr. Manhattan. He gave quite a memorable performance and may have left quite an impression, which potentially put him on the list to lead this project. It’s certainly going to be exciting to see just how far his career will go and how big his future is with Star Wars if this turns out to be true.

    Source: The Hot Mic via SFF Gazette

  • Producer Stephen Broussard Teases Marvel Studios Next-Gen Team-Ups

    Producer Stephen Broussard Teases Marvel Studios Next-Gen Team-Ups

    Marvel Studios’ Phase 4 introduced audiences to more than a dozen new heroes, many of whom are (or on track to become) legacy heroes in the MCU. Kate Bishop and Yelena Belova have stepped into their respective roles as Hawkeye and Black Widow and Riri Williams is primed to become the MCU’s new Armored Avenger. Marvel Studios’ latest project, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, will see another legacy hero added to that list as Cassie Lang, who has long hoped to be a superhero like her Dad, will finally suit up.

    There’s definitely a pattern forming and while it doesn’t only include young legacy characters (Sam Wilson has taken on the mantle of Captain America, there’s a new Hulk in Jen Walters and Jane Foster served as Thor for a spell), they certainly seem to be at the forefront. According to Quantumania producer Stephen Broussard, Cassie’s emergence as a hero is something inherent in the DNA of the Ant-Man franchise and not necessarily connected to the larger plan. “I think it’s very germane to the Ant-Man film because it’s a generational film,” said Broussard. “The Ant-Man mantle gets passed down from Hank to Scott and now essentially to Cassie, who’s almost more of like the new Ant-Man, even though she doesn’t go by such, more so than the new Wasp.”

    Still, fans of the comics can see a pattern within the pattern of the young heroes being added to the MCU. Now that Cassie has assumed her mANTle as a hero, she joins Kate Bishop, America Chavez and Elijah Bradley as members of the comic book team known as the Young Avengers who have made their way into projects in the Multiverse Saga. WandaVision introduced and took away Billy and Tommy Maximoff, but with Joe Locke set to bring Billy Kaplan into the mix in Agatha: Coven of Chaos, it seems likely that Tommy Shepherd won’t be far behind. Should Teddy Altman and the Kang Variant Iron Lad make their way into upcoming projects, all the original Young Avengers (and then some) would be present and waiting for their team-up.

    While Broussard denies that a Young Avengers project is in the works, he does admit that a pattern is emerging. “But a lot of Phase Four was about introducing the next generation and introducing new characters,” said Broussard. And if the Young Avengers are all hanging out in the MCU, wouldn’t it make sense for them to team-up? Broussard agrees it would be a good idea and teases it’s probably on the table. “I think that’s one of the themes that the next generation reminds us,” Broussard said of the idea of these heroes finding each other and working together, adding “and that would be exciting to explore with Cassie going forward, or with any of the new characters, like Kate Bishop. People like that, who have inherited the mantle, and keeping to fight the fight, and make the world a better place.”

    In summary, Broussard said that yes, they wanted to introduce the Young Avengers in the Multiverse Saga and that yes, they’d like to see them all team up but no, there’s no Young Avengers project in the works. We hear you loud and clear, Stephen.

    Source: Inverse

  • Evangeline Lilly on the Growth of Hope and Why It’s Time for a Wasp Solo Film

    Evangeline Lilly on the Growth of Hope and Why It’s Time for a Wasp Solo Film

    Evangeline Lilly‘s Hope van Dyne stands among Marvel Studios‘ most decorated female heroes, now making her fourth appearance in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Hope has undergone an incredible transition over the course of her appearances, providing Lilly with the opportunity to spread her acting wings and put her versatility as an actress on display. Ahead of Quantumania’s premiere, Lilly reflected on her character’s past and waxed hopeful about the future in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

    “She started the films as a very cold, very detached, very insular woman, who was independent and not reliant or really intimate with anybody,” said Lilly of Hope. “And now, suddenly, I mean, we’ve evolved through this third iteration of the story where she has redeemed her relationship with her father, she’s reunited with her mother, she has fallen in love with Scott and she’s also like a stepmother to Cassie.“

    As happy as Hope is to reunite with her mother, Michelle Pfeiffer‘s Janet hasn’t been entirely honest with her family about her time in the Quantum Realm, which ruffled some family feathers, according to Lilly.

    It was really good for me. It felt like we were entering a space that I was far more comfortable in. I was like, ‘OK, this is my jam now. Now we’re talking about the space where I thrive, which is more dramatic material. And I was excited to dive in with Michelle and Michael

    Evangeline Lilly

    Lilly’s excitement about the growth of her character led her to pitch a solo project for her character to Marvel Studios’ head honcho, Kevin Feige. And while Feige stayed non-commital, Lilly expressed her certainty that the time was right for the project.

    When I first started, it was like, ‘No, no, no. Ant-Man and the Wasp, they’re a duo. They’re so good together. Three movies later, I’m like, ‘OK. Alright. We did it. C’mon, I want some time to tell a story.

    Evangleine Lilly

    Lilly’s passion for the character speaks for itself; however, Marvel Studios plans its work out several years in advance, so while there is certainly room for The Wasp, it may be a matter of years before fans can catch it in theaters or on Disney Plus.

    Source: ET

  • Michael B. Jordan’s ‘Rainbow Six’ Finds a Pair of Writers

    Michael B. Jordan’s ‘Rainbow Six’ Finds a Pair of Writers

    Though the John Krasinski-led Jack Ryan series will come to an end following its fourth season, the future of the Clancyverse continues to look bright. In January, Amazon announced it was moving forward with an adaptation of Tom Clancy‘s Rainbow Six, to be directed by Chad Stahelski, as a follow-up to 2021’s Without Remorse, which starred Michael B. Jordan as John Kelly. Now things are prepped to heat up as the project has found its co-writers.

    Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and Marlon Smith, who co-wrote 2013’s British TV series Run, have signed on to write Rainbow Six, according to THR. Unlike its predecessor, Rainbow Six is expected to debut in theaters.

    Source: THR

  • Vin Diesel Signs On for One More Ride in the Franchise That Launched His Career

    Vin Diesel Signs On for One More Ride in the Franchise That Launched His Career

    Before he broke out the white tank in The Fast and The Furious, Vin Diesel boldly sported a black tank in the 2000 sci-fi adventure Pitch Black. Diesel’s twisted space Jesus, Richard B. Riddick, went on to be the focus of a pair of follow-up films in 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick and 2013’s less wordy Riddick. Now, a decade later(and as the Fast franchise comes to an end), Diesel is heading back to the Pitch Black universe.

    According to Deadline, Diesel and David Twohy, who wrote and directed the three previous installments in the franchise, are working together on developing Riddick: Furya. Twohy, whose screenwriting credits also include Kevin Costner’s Waterworld, Harrison Ford‘s The Fugitive and Demi Moore‘s G.I. Jane, broke the news in an official release.

    Our legion fans have demanded it for years, and now we’re finally ready to honor their call to action with Riddick: Furya. My collaboration with Vin and One Race has spanned 20 fruitful years, as together we’ve created three movies, two video games, an anime production, and motion comics for the internet. This new big-screen event will see a return to Riddick’s homeworld, where we finally get to explore Riddick’s genesis.

    David Twohy

    The announcement came with a brief synopsis of the new adventure and based on what can be gleaned from it, it seems that Riddick’s latest adventure may lead him to the discovery of the most important thing in the universe: family.

    Riddick finally returns to his home world, a place he barely remembers and one he fears might be left in ruins by the Necromongers. But there he finds other Furyans fighting for their existence against a new enemy. And some of these Furyans are more like Riddick than he could have ever imagined.

    Diesel’s return to the role of Riddick, one he famously snagged at the last minute, as he wraps the Fast franchise could open the door to more projects in the Pitch Black universe. Though none of the films have landed well with critics and the most recent one didn’t really resonate with audiences, Vin is Vin and two of the three films earned more than double their production budgets. Perhaps Vin will take Dom’s advice, see how the next film is received and plan the future of the Pitch Black franchise a quarter mile at a time.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Quantumania’ Producer & Director Weigh In on the Film’s Most “Insane Character”

    ‘Quantumania’ Producer & Director Weigh In on the Film’s Most “Insane Character”

    M.O.D.O.K. seemed like one of the most unlikely characters to jump from the pages of Marvel Comics to the shared cinematic universe being created by Marvel Studios. Everything about the character seemed for too over-the-top for a live-action version to be accepted…and then came Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. Against all odds, M.O.D.O.K., played by Corey Stoll, will make his debut in the film as a member of Kang’s Quantum Realm crew. The inclusion of the character, who was greatly reimagined for the film, was no easy task but thanks to the commitment and imagination of the creatives working on Quantumania, M.O.D.O.K. is ready for his grotesque closeup.

    “For me, it was a personal thrill,” said director Peyton Reed about the inclusion of the massively craniumed character. “I was a kid who spent a lot of my childhood alone in a room reading Marvel comics.  And M.O.D.O.K. was always this insane character.  And he’s grotesque.  He’s a giant head that has been turned into a mechanized organism designed only for killing,” explained Reed. “That was intriguing. So, we started talking about, is there a place in the MCU in the Ant-Man movies, for a live-action version of M.O.D.O.K.?  And what would that look like and how would we go about it?“

    Reed’s line of questioning was addressed by Marvel Studios’ Parliament member and Quantumania executive producer Stephen Broussard. “I mean, it’s a very odd character, to say the least,” stated Broussard.  “It’s kind of loomed large in our imagination of how and if we could pull that off.  You know, it always felt like a challenge, like, going back years, here at Marvel.  And we hit on an idea.  And we think we had an idea that we were excited about,” he added of bringing the character to the MCU. “And I don’t wanna say too much here in this forum,” teased Broussard, “but I think the time was right to bring M.O.D.O.K. to the big screen, finally.“

    M.O.D.O.K. was almost certainly not on many lists as a character who would make their way into the MCU, but as Broussard said, the time was right and tying Stoll’s Darren Cross’s grotesque exit in 2015’s Ant-Man to M.O.D.O.K.’s classically discomforting look was a brilliant way to tie things together and find an in for the villain. Judge for yourself if Reed and Broussard made the right choice wit the character when Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania opens in theaters on February 17th.

  • Kevin Feige Responds to the Prospect of a ‘The Wasp’ Solo Film

    Kevin Feige Responds to the Prospect of a ‘The Wasp’ Solo Film

    In 2018, Evangeline Lilly‘s Wasp became the first female character to have her name in the title of a film in Ant-Man and The Wasp. The Wasp is back (and back in the title) in Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and the character has undergone significant growth since being introduced in 2015’s Ant-Man. With Scarlett Johannson‘s Black Widow off the board, The Wasp now shares the title of the MCU’s longest-tenured female lead with Zoe Saldaña‘s Gamora and Elizabeth Olsen‘s Wanda Maximoff.

    While there’s already been talk of a fourth Ant-Man film in the works at Marvel Studios, one that would almost certainly see Lilly return as Hope, the actress also has bigger plans in mind for her character. During the world premiere of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, Lilly expressed her desire to see her character star in her own solo project, “a Wasp standalone film.” During the global press junket for Quantumania, Marvel Studios One Above All, Kevin Feige, was asked about the prospects of such a project. “The opportunities within the MCU are endless, as they are in the multiverse,” said Feige.  “So, we will have to see what happens in the future.“

    Feige’s non-commital comments shouldn’t be read into too deeply. The head honcho of Marvel Studios wouldn’t confirm or deny the existence of such a project during a junket. Phase 5’s slate looks to be set and probably won’t even include whatever Peyton Reed and Paul Rudd throw together for Ant-Man 4; however, the Multiverse Saga is certainly not the end of the MCU and, as Feige says, the possibilities for its future are endless and those may just include The Wasp somewhere down the line.

    Marvel Studios kicks off Phase 5 with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania on February 17th.