Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • Stephen Lang on His Villainous Return in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

    Stephen Lang on His Villainous Return in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

    In 2009’s Avatar, Stephen Lang played Colonel Miles Quaritch whose disdain for the inhabitants of Pandora made him both memorable and hateful. At the film’s end, Quaritch met his fate at the hands of Neytiri making the actor’s return for the sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, an interesting proposition. Director James Cameron stated that the character will be the main antagonist for the next three Avatar films and it was revealed earlier this year that Quaritch’s return came with a twist: his consciousness has been uploaded into a Na’vi avatar.

    During the global press event for Avatar: The Way of Water, Lang sounded thrilled for the opportunity to return to the role that gained him some significant cachet in Hollywood.

    Oh it was very exciting to come back and it was, I was just so honored to be able to deepen and expand on the vision that Jim had for this character. I think in the first film he’s very, very colorful, he’s got personality, he’s got some great qualities. But essentially he moves through like a mindless shark, in a way.

    Stephen Lang

    Continuing on, Lang talked a bit about the “irony” of returning as what is known in the film as a Recombinant and how it lead to a new understanding of the character

    …There’s the absolute magnificent irony that Jim has written of coming back as the very thing he has been trying to destroy. And having to make the adjustment to that, to adapt to that. And I think it’s just, it’s been a… it was a total pleasure for me to continue to massage this character, and find the depth, and maybe some of the humanity that’s in him.

    Stephen Lang

    As for that humanity, Quaritch seems like a character who might be fairly hard to redeem. As Lang quipped, “He’s such a warm character, and beloved by so many…” and to that end, there are probably a lot more fans waiting to see him suffer more than anything.

    Avatar: The Way of Water will continue the villainous tale of Quaritch when it hits theaters December 16th.

  • Peyton Reed Teases “Great” ‘Fantastic Four

    Peyton Reed Teases “Great” ‘Fantastic Four

    Long before Marvel Studios regained the live-action rights to Fantastic Four, director Peyton Reed pitched a version of the film to the execs at Fox. That film obviously was never made and Reed has since gone on to become the driving force behind Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man franchise. With the third film in the franchise, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, next up on Marvel Studios’ theatrical slate, it seems that the first round of press has begun and Reed found himself asked about his never-was Fantastic Four.

    In an interview with Somos Geeks, Reed quickly dismissed his take on Marvel Studios’ First Family in favor of hyping the upcoming film which is due to hit theaters on February 14th, 2025. Marvel Studios Fantastic Four was originally set to be directed by Jon Watts, who directed Marvel Studios and Sony’s Spider-Man trilogy; however, Watts had to depart the project and after a long search, Marvel Studios brought WandaVision director Matt Shakman on board. Though Shakman has only been on the project for a little less than four months, development on Fantastic Four has been ongoing for years, including an ongoing cycle of concept art. That art, it turns out, is something Reed has been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of while hanging out at Marvel Studios. “Matt Shakman is gonna do great,” said Reed, continuing on to say. “and I’ve seen initial artwork for the Fantastic Four…stuff around the Marvel offices…it’s gonna be great.”

    Concept art does not a movie make, of course, but Reed’s vote of confidence, which he volunteered on his own, should not be taken lightly. While there are some parts of the internet who don’t appreciate the Ant-Man films or believe Reed should be helming Marvel Studios projects, the perception of the director by those in charge of Marvel Studios couldn’t be any more different than that. Reed’s voice and passion for Marvel are valued and respected at the studio and he may even be a contender to direct the capstone of the Multiverse Saga, 2026’s Avengers: Secret Wars. Concept art isn’t just lying around everywhere at the studio, so Reed’s ability to take a peek could hint as his involvement in Secret Wars. Of course, it could also mean absolutely nothing. But as every day goes by without a director for the sixth Avengers film and the release of Quantumania (which is going to really surprise MCU fans) draws nearer, one does have to consider the very real possibility that Reed might be on the shortlist to helm the big saga-ending project.

    Source: YouTube

  • SNL is the Reason ‘Avatar’ Changed its Logo and Font

    SNL is the Reason ‘Avatar’ Changed its Logo and Font

    Have you ever wondered why James Cameron‘s Avatar suddenly changed its logo and font? At the time, there was the righteous assumption that perhaps it was mainly done with Disney’s usual knack of marketing its projects but it seems that it was more a reaction to a joke by Saturday Night Live. Yes, you read that correctly, the SNL sketch starring Ryan Gosling jokingly referring to the font as Papyrus is one of the reasons.

    Producer Jon Landau got a chance to talk to Entertainment Weekly, where he reflected on the joke and even went on to highlight that the correct font wasn’t actually Papyrus but Toruk. It seems the fact that it had a very plain logo, the SNL sketch in combination with people questioning its actual cultural relevance inspired the need to establish a logo that screamed Avatar.

    When we realized that the movie was going to expand into a franchise and we’d have other IPs, we went out and created our own font that we’re now using, and we call it Toruk, and it’s available for people to use. But the Papyrus font is a fun thing, and I also love the fact that… it was certainly several years after the movie came out, and I guess it illustrated to people who were questioning Avatar’s cultural relevance that it was still part of the culture.

    Jon Landau

    Even with The Way of Water set to make a massive opening box office, and a secured but rare China release, the discussions are still making the rounds on how relevant this franchise truly is. The first film has the heavy burden of having to make $2B to be considered a success but there’s also the dead market at the moment that could drag it down. For now, we have to see what’ll happen once it releases next week.

    Source: Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Becomes Paramount’s Most-Watched Trailer Ever

    ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Becomes Paramount’s Most-Watched Trailer Ever

    Steve Caple Jr.’s upcoming Transformers film subtitled Rise of the Beasts has become one of Paramount’s most watched trailers. After dropping during CCXP in anticipation of the dangerous Marvel panel later in the day, we got our first look at the latest addition to the Transformers franchise; the first since Bumblebee back in 2018. It’s been 4 years since we last saw one of cinema’s biggest franchises dominate the market and they are back in style with some more animalistic friends joining the fray in June of next year.

    Not only is it making its grand return but also seemingly broke a record for Paramount, as the film’s first trailer pulled in 494M globally in its first week. That beats out even Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s 182M and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’s 77M. 238M checked out the trailer within the first 24 hours, which is above any other theatrical trailer released by Paramount and only behind Avengers: Endgame‘s 268M and Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s 355.5M.

    Supposedly, it’s even the most shared trailer to date beating out Jurassic World: Dominion‘s 185K with 400K. For those wondering if this is a sign that Rise of the Beasts will domiante theaters, it’s not exactly an easy comparison drawn. Solo: A Star Wars Story once drew in massive trailer viewership and had a better first-day ticket sale than Black Panther but lost a lot of momentum, as pointed out by The Wrap. Yet, there’s likely a big curiosity about the return of the franchise, especially since Michael Bay‘s films dominated the box office back in the day and we haven’t seen one in quite some time.

    Perhaps the surprise drop combined with a “oh, this is back” element could’ve gotten word-of-mouth going but its box office will strongly depend on Paramount going all-in with its marketing. Bumblebee didn’t make as much as its predecessors did and it does seem like they are trying to pull back some elements from Bay into this sequel, but perhaps it was simply the insanity of “Bayhem” that truly had people going to theaters back in the day; looking for that thrill similar to Top Gun: Maverick early this year. We’ll know more once the next trailer drops and popularity remains building up into its June release next year.

    Source: The Wrap

  • James Gunn Swiftly Debunks Popular ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Casting Rumor

    James Gunn Swiftly Debunks Popular ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ Casting Rumor

    The moment rumors hit the web that Bradley Cooper‘s Rocket would be joined by his love interest Lylla, everyone already had an idea who they’d want to play the character. Lady Gaga instantly became a fan-favorite to take on the role with even some rumors circulating online. The first poster recently dropped giving us our first official look at the film alongside the confirmation of her inclusion. Like clockwork, people started speculating once more and it seems director James Gunn silenced any more theories moving forward.

    To celebrate the release of the first trailer, James Gunn shared it on his personal Instagram account. Most shared their enthusiasm for the next Marvel entry and return of the popular band of intergalactic misfits. There were some, however, that used the opportunity to see if the actress voicing Lylla might have a name that ended with “ga” which the director swiftly denied without any further elaboration.

    Lady Gaga won’t be a stranger to the comic book world, as she’s set to take on the role of Harley Quinn in the upcoming Joker sequel: Folie á Deux. Yet, the casting of her as Lylla seems mostly inspired due to the chemistry that she and Cooper shared in the remake of A Star is Born. Ever since the film’s release, she’s ended up as a must-casting for the character and generally has become quite popular to appear alongside the actor. Yet, it seems that those that have imagined this happening, it seems

    Source: Instagram, The Direct

  • ‘Avatar’ Producer Cautions Fans About Leaked Sequel Titles

    ‘Avatar’ Producer Cautions Fans About Leaked Sequel Titles

    In 2018, the BBC reported that they had seen documentation indicating the titles of the next four films in the Avatar franchise. The BBC is certainly not known as a hotspot for pop culture leaks, but it is absolutely one of the most reputable news sources there is. The report listed the following titles for the films:

    Avatar: The Way of Water

    Avatar: The Seed Bearer

    Avatar: The Tulkun Rider

    Avatar: The Quest for Eywa

    At this point, the accuracy of the BBC report doesn’t seem to be in question; however, according to franchise producer Jon Landau, fans might want to pump the brakes on having the future titles added to their Avatar tattoos. “We have decided on titles,”Landau told i09, “but I would not go by those other three titles that were out there. You know, if you roll the dice one in six times, you’ll pick the right number.”

    Landau’s comments are especially noteworthy given the fact that the BBC’s report has already been proven 25% true and one would assume that the documentation for the other films they referenced is from the same source as that which correctly gave them the title The Way of Water. Of course, there’s nothing less important than the name of a film no matter how much of hot button topic it is among fans. Avatar 5 could be called Avatar: Lots of Blue People and as long as the film is well-done, audiences will grow to love it.

    While we wait to find out what the titles for Avatar 3-5 turn out to be, the wait for Avatar: The Way of Water is getting shorter by the day as it hits theaters on December 16th.

    Sources: BBC, iO9

  • ‘Wakanda Forever’ Repeats the Original ‘Black Panther’s Box Office Record

    ‘Wakanda Forever’ Repeats the Original ‘Black Panther’s Box Office Record

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has kept its position at the top of the box office, as the film has finally crossed $400M to do so. What stands out though is that while it’s a rough weekend for the box office, this marks Ryan Coogler as the first director to have two of his films stand at the top spot for five weeks consecutively; that back-to-back releases. The film did luck out with Wakanda Forever having no true competition until Avatar: The Way of Water that’ll release next weekend.

    One thing is clear though, Wakanda Forever is not going to scratch the $700M domestic or the $1.3B global from the original Black Panther in 2018. While some corners of the internet are calling it a flop, the film is far from it. Its success is quite commendable if you also consider it lost its main draw, the title star Chadwick Boseman, and a movie market that is simply not what it once was. Only in 2022 can a film that’s going to pass $800M be considered a flop of any kind; a fate cursed upon Thor: Love and Thunder just a few months back. As of now, Wakanda Forever stands at an impressive $767.8M and is the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2022.

    The big question on everyone’s mind is: what is going on? The weekend pulled in $38.5M and marks the second worst of the entire year followed by the soft opening back in January at around $35M. Sadly, with no real releases throughout the last few weeks, there’s simply no momentum or reason for people to go to the theater. We’ve seen some standout successes this year that still managed to revive the box office, such as Marvel Studios’ three massive openings, The Batman and Top Gun: Maverick‘s impressive legs, Jurassic World still showing its dominance, and even a Minion movie almost crossing a billion.

    Yet, the fall release schedule has been abysmal with minor releases and barely anything to draw audiences in. Black Adam did not reignite the spark that Warner Bros. hoped it could when it’s saving measures led to it only releasing two films for the rest of the quarter. Smaller releases did quite well like Violent Night‘s impressive hold at the second spot but Disney couldn’t give it a boost with its undermarketed Strange World animated film. Devotion went on to proof that Top Gun Maverick was more a lightning in a bottle rather than the new norm. There’s hope that the packed schedule for 2023 could bring some more life back into theaters, but 2022’s only remaining hope is Avatar: The Way of Water.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • Zoë Saldaña Discusses the Changes to Neytiri in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

    Zoë Saldaña Discusses the Changes to Neytiri in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

    While it’s been 13 years in the real world from the release of Avatar to its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, there’s also been a significant passage of time experienced by the characters who inhabit the fictional world of Pandora. In Avatar: The Way of Water, a decade has passed since the events of the first film and that means a great deal has changed for main characters Sully and Neytiri. So much changed, in fact, that director James Cameron wrote what star Sam Worthington called “Avatar 1.5” in order to prepare the cast by sharing with them the experiences their characters had during that decade.

    For star Zoë Saldaña, who has had 3 children in the time between films, the changes in her personal life are mirrored in her character, Neytiri, a fierce and fearless Na’vi warrior who now has children of her own. During the global press junket for Avatar: The Way of Water, Saldaña talked about the changes to her character and how they reflect her personal growth since 2009.

    Neytiri and I, in a way, we’ve lived parallel lives. There is, there’s a level of fearlessness and rebellion that I have, as I guess as a person, that Neytiri had as herself. And I, we were able to sort of find kindred in that. You know, but the leap of falling in love with something outside of you, that challenges you to see something that you’ve never seen before, that has always been her dilemma. To surrender to that, and then to bring forward, you know, fruits of that love, and… but that presents the challenge for her. Because forcing her to grow, it’s forcing her to love something that she’s been taught to hate. And it’s, you know, it’s hard, it’s really, really hard.

    Zoë Saldaña

    Saldaña continued on about the role that fear plays in the life of a parent and how that helped her find a connection with where Neytiri was on her journey in Avatar: The Way of Water.

    Also fear. In my personal life, when I became a parent, fear entered my realm. The fear of losing something that you love so much, you know? And you just spend a great deal of your time creating these hypothetical scenarios that just unimaginable. When I read, you know, the second script, that was her, that was Neytiri. But I didn’t see it then. I see it now.

    Zoë Saldaña

    Traditionally, actors give their best performances when they can find real-life inspiration for the roles they inhabit. In this case, it sounds like Saldaña and Neytiri have so much in common that they’re almost kindred spirits. That’s good news for fans of the franchise who can look forward to an intense portrayal by Saldaña as she looks to protect her children from those “unimaginable” scenarios she described.

    Avatar: The Way of Water debuts in theaters on December 16th.

  • Crazy MCU Theory Posits That the Ending of ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Has Already Been Spoiled On Screen in Another Project

    Crazy MCU Theory Posits That the Ending of ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ Has Already Been Spoiled On Screen in Another Project

    Time travel! As Tony Stark warned in Avengers: Endgame, when you mess with time, it tends to mess back. Thanks to Sylvie’s actions at the end of the Season 1 finale of Loki, the heroes of the MCU are about to find out what happens when you come face-to-face with the Master of Time as Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror is set to wreak havoc across the Multiverse. Rumors have Kang wiping the floor with the Avengers in Avengers: The Kang Dynasty before facing off against a multiversal team of heroes in Avengers: Secret Wars. While everyone ultimately expects a big win for the good guys, a crazy theory puts forth the idea that fans may have already seen the aftermath of the big battle against Kang!

    The theory comes courtesy of Heavy Spoilers and it packs a pretty meta punch. Rumors of the plot of Avengers: The Kang Dynasty have the Avengers teaming with a version of He Who Remains, a Nathaniel Richards Variant first met in Loki. This Variant, who hasn’t become He Who Remains yet, goes by Nathaniel and eventually helps put together a multiversal team of heroes that take on Kang in Avengers: Secret Wars. According to the theory, once Kang is defeated, Nathaniel will go on to become He Who Remains and create the TVA in order to oversee the Sacred Timeline, just as seen in Season 1 of Loki!

    If that theory were to play out in Avengers: Secret Wars, it would mean that the aftermath of that film will already have been shared with fans years in advance of it occurring on screen! This would mean that the story He Who Remains tells Loki and Sylvie about the peace between realities erupting into an all-out war was only in the past from his perspective and that he was actually describing the events of Avengers: Secret Wars to fans years before they would ever see the film. To quote Marty McFly, “this is heavy.”

    Time travel!

    Source: Heavy Spoilers

  • ‘Avatar’ Producer Confirms ‘Avatar 5’ Will Indeed Head to Earth

    ‘Avatar’ Producer Confirms ‘Avatar 5’ Will Indeed Head to Earth

    James Cameron, the creator and director of the Avatar franchise, recently teased the possibility of the fifth film in the franchise taking place, at least in part, on Earth. While Cameron’s tease was a little light on detail, his longtime creative partner, producer Jon Landau, was a little more forthcoming about how Avatar 5 would include a trip to Earth.

    In an interview with i09, Landau explained that a portion of the plot will involve Zoë Saldaña‘s Neytiri headed to the third rock from the sun. “In movie five there is a section of the story where we go to Earth,” said Landau, “and we go to it to open people’s eyes, open Neytiri’s eyes, to what exists on Earth.” Earth, of course, is the home planet of the RDA, the Research Development Administration, which serves as the main antagonist of 2009’s Avatar as the come to strip Pandora of its natural resources.

    As Landau explains, part of Neytiri’s journey there is to come to understand that there’s more to Earth than the RDA. “Earth is not just represented by the RDA”, he pointed out. “Just like you’re defined by the choices you make in life, not all humans are bad. Not all Na’vi are good. And that’s the case here on Earth. And we want to expose Neytiri to that.”

    Avatar 5 is currently slated for a December 22nd, 2028 release and there’s obviously a lot of story to tell between now and then. Given Cameron’s commitment to the franchise and his continued desire to push the limits of what’s possible in the realm of visual effects, it’s fun to think about what advances might be developed in the next 6 years and what kind of spectacle Avatar 5 might end up being!

    Avatar: The Way of Water premieres December 16th!

    Source: iO9