Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • What to Expect from the New ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ Trailer

    What to Expect from the New ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’ Trailer

    A new look at Marvel Studios first 2023 film, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, is slated to be featured during tonight’s NCAA Football National Championship Game. If you’re wondering how to catch it and what to expect, you’ve come to the right place.

    When Will It Happen?

    The CFP National Championship game is slated to kickoff at 7:30 PM ET on January 9th. However, exactly when during that game the new look will debut is anyone’s guess. When Marvel Studios has debuted footage from films and/or series during sporting events in the past, the footage tends to drop a little later in the broadcast of said events than non-sports fans like. The networks like to keep those viewing numbers high and having a bunch of Marvel fans tune in to catch footage of the next big thing helps.

    Where Can You Watch It?

    The CFP National Championship game will be broadcast on ESPN and the footage will debut there. In the past, Marvel Studios has used TV spots to debut portions of a new trailer and then released the full trailer online simultaneously. The good news is that even if you are not watching the game, the new spot/trailer will go online right away so you can catch it on YouTube or your favorite Twitter account.

    (L-R): Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man and Kathryn Newton as Cassandra “Cassie” Lang in Marvel Studios’ ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.

    What Can You Expect?

    While it’s not a hard and fast rule, Marvel Studios does seem to follow a bit of a trend when it comes to promoting their films. The first trailer is a true teaser that gives the basic premise of the film, shows off some of the big characters in the film and some fancy VFX shots but doesn’t really give the audience too much in terms of the plot. For example, the Quantumania teaser establishes that Cassie’s device transports the Ant-Family to the Quantum Realm, which looks really cool and is where Kang, who seems pretty powerful, wants to make a deal with Scott.

    When it comes to second trailers, however, Marvel Studios tends to be a little more forthcoming with plot points. Traditionally, the studio has placed all kinds of spoilery things in their second trailers. Sometimes those things are clearly spoilery teases (Charles Xavier’s voice in the second trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness); Other times, fans don’t even know they’re being spoiled (Nick Fury’s return from the dead in the second trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier). So what could that mean for the new Quantumania footage?

    One might guess that the trailer will give fans a little better idea of just what it is Kang is up to and the extent of his power and knowledge. The footage shown exclusively at D23 contained an extended version of the scene between Scott Lang and Kang from the first trailer and it really put an emphasis on just how outmatched Scott was. Another solid guess is that the new trailer will reveal the film’s other/true villain: M.O.D.O.K. Given that merchandise of the character has already gone on sale, there’s no reason to hold back on hyping up fans with a look at the giant, floating head. Will they tease the big reveal that he’s being voiced by Corey Stoll? No reason to think they wouldn’t feel free to do that, but who knows when it comes to these things.

    What Else Should I Know?

    Given the proximity of this trailer to the release date of the film, it’s very likely that tickets will go on sale the night of January 9th as well. It’s also worth noting that as spoilery as second trailers can be, if you’re truly worried about going into the film unspoiled, do not continue watching promotional footage from the film as the release date draws nearer. Marvel Studios has a fair track record of releasing incredibly spoilery TV/social media spots in the days right before release, so after tomorrow you might want to consider muting some keywords on social media.

  • ‘Stranger Things’ Star Sadie Sink Rumored to Be Headed to the MCU

    ‘Stranger Things’ Star Sadie Sink Rumored to Be Headed to the MCU

    The lack of actual news about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the rumor mill cranking harder than ever. Rumors of project delays, plot points and potential castings have run rampant over the past few weeks and this week looks to be starting off no differently as a new casting rumor is making the rounds. According to an anonymous source (shared by Reddit’s Marvel Studios Spoilers mods), Stranger Things star Sadie Sink may be joining the MCU.

    The rumor is that Sink is being eyed to join the cast of Thunderbolts as team mainstay Melissa Gold, aka Songbird. While interesting, the rumor seems potentially problematic. Sink is only 20 years old and certainly looks younger than that; Gold has not traditionally been portrayed as teen/young adult in the comics. Additionally, Season 5 of Stranger Things is set to begin filming in May 2023 and Thunderbolts is rumored to begin filming in June 2023 and Marvel Studios features usually film for about 5-6 months, plus scheduled reshoots. Of course, there’s plenty of room to work around that as Sink’s Stranger Things character, Max Mayfield, was comatose at the end of Season 4 and Season 5 is expected to be in production for nearly a year and co-star David Harbour is also working both projects.

    The rumor also states that Songbird won’t be the only addition to the team shown in concept art at D23. The Sentry, whose presence in the film has been rumored for some time, and Anthony Ramos‘ Parker Robbins/The Hood are also said to be joining the roster of Thunderbolts in the 2024 film. While there’s no word what role Songbird might fill on the team, she could potentially be another experimental Super Soldier working under the command of CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. With filming only several months away, casting for the film should start to pick up over the next month or two, so fans may not have to wait long to see if this rumor checks out.

    Source: Reddit

  • Paul Rudd Spotted Filming Some Additional Reshoots for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

    Paul Rudd Spotted Filming Some Additional Reshoots for ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’

    Reshoots have become quite common for any production, but it became quite normalized when Marvel Studios included it as part of their usual production cycle. While reshoots received a bad reputation over the years, most notably with projects like Justice League, it’s an important part of any filmmaker wanting to tighten up their film as much as possible ahead of its release.

    Of course, there’s the trouble of including additional shots requiring CG work, which would cut it close before a film releases and adds a lot more pressure to those involved with that part of the process. Ever since COVID hit, that time window has gotten difficult to keep in check and also added more pressure to the industry.

    Yet, it’s interesting to note that Paul Rudd has seemingly been spotted by Twitter user @paulruddcom undertaking some reshoots for the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It’s notable given that the film is set to release just next month and they may be adding some more minor shots to the production. He’s not in his Ant-Man suit and it seems connected to the opening hinted at in the film’s trailer. So, they may just be adding some minor scenes as a pick up, which was also hinted at by Big Screen Leaks.

    For now, it shouldn’t be something to worry about and reshoots have also commonly taken some time up to the release. Here’s just hoping that there aren’t many CG-intense sequences that had to be filmed putting more pressure on the artists bringing the vision of the Quantum Realm fully to life in the upcoming sequel. It should also be noted that most of the film was filmed on the Volume, which may elevate some of that pressure, but we know too little from the production to really know how much they are still working on at the moment.

    Source: Twitter, Twitter

  • What to Expect from Marvel Studios 2023 Films

    What to Expect from Marvel Studios 2023 Films

    Marvel Studios 2023 theatrical release is all sequels, all the time. Two trilogy cappers (Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) lead up to The Marvels, the sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel, which is the only 2023 film with a new director at the helm. Only three films, but quite a bit to be excited about, so we thought we’d get you ready by letting you know what to expect from Marvel Studios upcoming slate of films!

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania

    Peyton Reed‘s Ant-Man films hold a funny spot in the minds of MCU fans. Some people love them, some people find them incredibly boring and some people aren’t sure why they spent time watching them. While fans may not love Quantumania, it’s unlikely anyone will be bored or wonder why they spent time watching this one as it will advance the longform narrative of Marvel Studios’ Multiverse Saga more than any project to date.

    Expect big action, a wild antagonist in Corey Stoll‘s M.O.D.O.K., some surprising revelations about the Ant-Family and a knockout performance by Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, who is all about getting out of the Quantum Realm to go about…conquering. Also expect some interesting twists, turns, double-crosses and unresolved issues that will set the gears in motion for the big Avengers films at the end of the Saga!

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

    Originally targeted for a May 2020 release date, the final chapter in James Gunn‘s Guardians trilogy (and in his time at Marvel Studios) arrives this Summer with the promise that not everyone will make it out alive and no one will make it out unchanged. The emotionally charged first trailer made it clear that just about every member of the team will face a life-or-death situation as they investigate Rocket’s origins and his ties to the High Evolutionary.

    Expect good music, a day-late-and-a-dollar-short adaptation of Adam Warlock, an unsettling villain in Chukwudi Iwuji‘s oddball High Evolutionary and tears. While death is on the line for all of the Guardians, our money is on Dave Bautista‘s Drax kicking the bucket, especially given his recent expression of relief that the “silly performance” of the character is behind him.

    The Marvels

    The Marvels represents a totally different direction for the Captain Marvel franchise under the direction of Nia DaCosta. It’s a bit of a risky move, having the film’s two co-leads and the main plot device be products of Disney Plus streaming series that not all moviegoers will have watched, but it’s also the kind of change of pace the franchise needs after a less than stellar first outing.

    Expect a much more upbeat, fast-paced film than Captain Marvel and the possibility that Iman Vellani steals the show. Despite the wacky body-swapping premise, it’s not all fun and games, however, as The Marvels has a very real and terrifying tie to the big arc of the Multiverse Saga that will help fans who have so adamantly repeated that they don’t know where things are headed figure out where things are headed!

  • ‘M3GAN’ Impresses With $30M+ at the Box Office, ‘Avatar 2’ Passes $500M Domestically

    ‘M3GAN’ Impresses With $30M+ at the Box Office, ‘Avatar 2’ Passes $500M Domestically

    M3GAN is a sure-fire hit, as the film has now even beaten its recent projections and is set to wrap up the weekend with $30.2M. Internationally it also pulled in $14.8M putting it at an impressive $45M for a PG-13 film. It’s quite an increase from its initial $17M projection and a great win for Blumhouse, who made back the $12M production budget in just its opening weekend. It’s also a good indicator of strong word-of-mouth that could carry it in the coming weeks even with Avatar: The Way of Water still dominating.

    There’s hope after all for January to potentially lose its death month status for most releases. It’s the first movie to perform this well since 2012’s Devil Inside, which had a slightly higher opening. Even during the pandemic, horror films have remained the most consistent performers and even pull in audiences throughout multiple weeks; making the discussion surrounding the definite showcase of the CinemaScore more and more difficult.

    Speaking of, The A CinemaScore film Avatar: The Way of Water had another strong fourth weekend, as it pulled in another $45M and has now made $516M in the United States. Most of its gross is internationally at $1.1B, but it seems likely that it’ll pass two billion in a week or at the latest in two. Most of the competition won’t hit until February. These kinds of legs normally go to films with the coveted A+ rating, but James Cameron films just operate differently. Still, it’s an optimistic start to 2022 which has a much better balance in what films are set to release throughout the year.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Deadpool’ Director Taking Over Additional Photography For Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’

    ‘Deadpool’ Director Taking Over Additional Photography For Eli Roth’s ‘Borderlands’

    Here’s a curious story, as it seems that Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller is joining the production of Borderlands. He will oversee the reshoots of the production as first reported by One Take News. They do go on to highlight that the original director Eli Roth is still involved with the project and has not been fired yet. It seems that his schedule has not lined up with that of the various actors required for the reshoots.

    As such, Tim Miller is simply joining the production with the blessing of Roth to supervise the reshoots necessary to finalize the project. He supposedly has also seen the rough cut of Borderlands. Eli Roth is currently busy working on the film Thanksgiving which was inspired by a mock trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez‘s Grindhouse film. So, those reading the headline expecting another version of what happened to the Justice League film can know that this isn’t a situation where studio interferences led to the director taking over.

    Still, we still have seen rather little of the Borderlands film. We got some teases here and there, but the film promises a star-studded cast that consists of Cate Blanchett, Edgar Ramirez, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, and more. If Miller has Roth’s blessing, it doesn’t seem like he’ll add anything to change the style that the director used to bring this iconic gaming franchise to life, but it’ll be interesting to see what parts they added through reshoots.

    Source: One Take News, Deadline

  • Nicolas Cage Has No Interest in Joining a ‘Star Wars’ Project

    Nicolas Cage Has No Interest in Joining a ‘Star Wars’ Project

    We’re still anxiously awaiting any news on what Star Wars’ cinematic future looks like. To this day, there’s still no word on if Damon Lindelof‘s project is moving forward, even with rumors circulating that the film is already starting casting a person-of-color lead. There’s also Patty Jenkins’ Rogue Squadron project that was put on the back burner due to her commitment to Wonder Woman 3; a film that is ironically not going to happen now.

    As we theorize about what the future might look like for Lucasfilm’s cinematic universe, we have the confirmation that there’s one actor we don’t have to consider in any project moving forward. In an interview with Kevin Polowy, the actor revealed that he’s “a Trekkie” and has no interest in joining a Star Wars project.

    I think this is the first interview of the New Year, you might as well get something that no one knows. But that’s a fact. I grew up watching Shatner, I thought Pine was terrific in the movies. I think the movies are outstanding.

    Nicolas Cage

    He goes on to highlight that he’s more about “the political” and “sociological aspects of science fiction rather than jumping into a world that is more science-fantasy at times like Star Wars.

    I like the political, the sociological… To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that is really where you can really say whatever you want, however you feel, you put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future and you can – without people just jumping on you. You can really express your thoughts like Orwell in the science fiction format and Star Trek really embraced that. I thought they got into some serious stuff.

    Nicolas Cage

    Of course, it’s a shame that we’ll never see his zany performance in a Star Wars project, it does open up a bigger interest in if he could finally star in something Star Trek-related. There are a variety of shows and even a new film in development.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • ‘M3GAN’ Sequel is Already in Development

    ‘M3GAN’ Sequel is Already in Development

    The world of horror movies should be prepared for seeing more of the Model 3 Generative Android. Deadline has shared that a sequel for the new horror film M3GAN is in the very early stages of development. This news makes sense with the surprising surge at the box office the horror film has had on its first full day of release.

    The Universal Studios film won at the box office yesterday by earning over $11M, which has moved M3GAN’s opening weekend projection to $27.5M. This respectfully outperforms the initial $20M expectations, and the film has the potential to see it continue to increase if word of mouth continues to be a success.

    M3GAN, directed by Gerard Johnstone, is based on a story by Akela Cooper and James Wan. It was produced under Blumhouse Productions and follows the story of roboticist Gemma (played by Alison Williams) as she suddenly finds herself in the custody of her niece Cady (played by Violet McGraw) following the death of the latter’s parents.

    To help remedy a struggling home life situation, Gemma provides her niece with a prototype of her new work project to assist in looking after and providing emotional support for Cady: the Model 3 Generative Android (abbreviated to M3GAN). This of course has dire consequences as the artificial intelligence gains sentience that’s combined with a warped and everchanging moral code.

    The first major American release of 2023 is a relatively strong underdog story in the film industry. Being the film to dethrone Avatar: The Way of Water as #1 at the box office is a major accomplishment, and the notion of M3GAN being the movie to do it is certainly a surprise. The Way of Water is still set to win the weekend, but M3GAN being able to be relatively competitive without showing in most premium formats is a major feat.

    Without getting into specific spoilers from M3GAN, there are threads that can be continued for future projects. The character of M3GAN certainly matches the enigmatic nature shown in the trailer and is rife to be a successful black comedy franchise. Audiences should be prepared to see a great deal more of this artificial intelligence doll in the future.

    M3GAN is currently available at movie theaters globally. You can read Murphy’s Multiverse official review of the film here. 

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘M3GAN’ Surprises and Dehtornes ‘Avatar 2’s Friday Box Office

    ‘M3GAN’ Surprises and Dehtornes ‘Avatar 2’s Friday Box Office

    M3GAN is a surprise hit as the film is currently overperforming. Initially expected to make around $20M, the film is currently en route toward $28M. If it keeps up the performance with the horror classic B CinemaScore, there’s a chance it could even scratch the $30M. Of course, it’s not that easy with horror films that don’t leg out over the weekend, as they tend to have a stronger hold in the following weeks. It also doesn’t have any real competition so the film is definitely a success for Blumhouse.

    The big surprise, however, is that the film managed to dethrone Avatar The Way of Water on Friday. Yes, the monolith of a film was finally pushed out of its top seat even if just for a single day. M3GAN is still unlikely to win the weekend, but it’s something that the film can be proud of, especially in how Blumhouse made use of the empty January to release a fitting counterprogramming that pulls audiences in.

    January used to be an infamous dead zone for film releases but has become a popular horror release month. M3GAN almost covered its $12M budget with its opening day and is definitely going to end up profitable by the end of the weekend or early next week. Scream was released on January 13th last year and also managed to pull in quite some impressive numbers. Perhaps there’s a new market this month and Blumhouse is definitely going to make good use of it moving forward. You can read what we thought of M3GAN by clicking here.

    Source: Twitter

  • New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Vulture in Scrapped Finale

    New ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Storyboard Reveals Vulture in Scrapped Finale

    It’s not new that Marvel Studios’ productions go through a variety of changes. Not only do they rewrite the scripts before production starts, but they aren’t strangers to also adapting on the fly if necessary. That especially became a necessity during COVID, as the pandemic didn’t make it easy for any production to stay on schedule or even remain in its original slot, forcing it to adapt story elements to adhere to the bigger Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    In the case of Spider-Man: No Way Home, we always wondered just how much was changed throughout production, especially with the inclusion of a variety of actors from legacy projects. There was one aspect that stood out from No Way Home and that was the lack of any villains representing Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man. As it turns out, Storyboard artist Phil Langone shared a drawing from one of the finales that seemingly includes Michael Keaton‘s Vulture as part of the ensemble.

    It was always funny how the film had the opportunity to establish the Sinister Six but ended up short one member. Perhaps during or before production started, they simply couldn’t get the version of the story together as they intended. Perhaps Keaton wasn’t available for the film, as he did end up reprising the role in Morbius. Whatever the case might be, we’re sadly stuck with what could’ve been off seeing a fully formed Sinister Six and the return of a great villain. Perhaps a future project could see his long-awaited return.

    Source: Instagram