Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • James Cameron Says ‘Avatar 4’ Is So Nuts It Made the Studio Say the F-Word

    James Cameron Says ‘Avatar 4’ Is So Nuts It Made the Studio Say the F-Word

    Avatar: The Way of Water is so close to theatrical release, audiences can almost taste it. When it finally drops, it will only be the second film in the Avatar franchise, but director James Cameron has much bigger plans than just two movies. The Hollywood legend has infamously spent the last decade of his career developing multiple sequels to his 2009 megahit, with the third entry reportedly already done with the filming process. Not to be contained, Cameron has stated he has outlines for an overall Avatar story that lasts up to seven or eight films, though whether or not he winds up helming all of them remains to be seen. Either way, in a recent interview with Collider, the creative made a big promise that each sequel will only be more insane than the last.

    Cameron has a long history of not holding back in his work, as evidenced by his gutsy bet to fully film sequels to a project that has yet to even release. However, according to his conversation with Collider, the currently-untitled Avatar 4 may be his most “nuts” achievement yet. The Titanic filmmaker explained a hilarious behind-the-scenes scenario during the interview:

    I can’t tell you the details, but all I can say is that when I turned in the script for 2, the studio gave me three pages of notes. And when I turned in the script for 3, they gave me a page of notes, so I was getting better. When I turned in the script for 4, the studio executive, creative executive over the films wrote me an email that said, ‘Holy f-ck.’ And I said, ‘Well, where are the notes?’ And she said, ‘Those are the notes.’ Because it kind of goes nuts in a good way, right?

    James Cameron

    There’s no telling what audiences might be in store for when Avatar 4 hits cinemas on December 18th, 2026, but they can get a better idea when Avatar: The Way of Water drops on December 16th (of this year).

    Source: Collider

  • REPORT: Willem Dafoe Will Not Appear in ‘Aquaman’ Sequel

    REPORT: Willem Dafoe Will Not Appear in ‘Aquaman’ Sequel

    Willem Dafoe has left the ocean, or something like that. According to a new report from industry insider KC Walsh, the fan-favorite actor will not appear in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, despite playing a major role in the previous film and cameoing alongside Jason Momoa‘s Arthur Curry in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Dafoe portrayed Aquaman’s mentor Nuidis Vulko, a chief Atlantean scientist and one of the hero’s foremost supporting characters from the comics. The former Spider-Man star was widely expected to reprise the Vulko role in the sequel, but Walsh states the story has other plans.

    ***POTENTIAL SPOILERS***

    In response to an inquisitive fan on Twitter, Walsh made the claim that the friendly father figure will not only be absent from the film but will be snuffed out of the franchise altogether. Vulko will, supposedly, be killed offscreen at some point during the movie, ending Dafoe‘s time in the DC cinematic universe and stripping Aquaman of his most-trusted confidant.

    Dafoe‘s journey as Vulko has been a bit strange from the start. He was originally cast in the role by Snyder for Justice League but saw all his scenes cut from the theatrical release. He eventually debuted in Aquaman before having his initial Justice League restored in the highly-demanded Director’s Cut.

    Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to be directed by James Wan, returning from the first film. Momoa will be back in the title role, with Patrick Wilson also returning as his formerly villainous half-brother Orm Marius. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Dolph Lundgren, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, Randall Park, and Amber Heard are all expected to make a comeback as part of the cast.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Avatar’ Producer Teases ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Sequel

    ‘Avatar’ Producer Teases ‘Alita: Battle Angel’ Sequel

    James Cameron has spent the last decade of his career working on Avatar: The Way of Water and its many follow-ups, but that hasn’t stopped him from producing a film or two along the way. Most famously, the director was a driving force behind the creation of Alita: Battle Angel, a 2019 movie based on the acclaimed Japanese sci-fi manga Battle Angel Alita. Cameron had originally been attached to direct the project, which he started developing as far back as the year 2000, but ultimately relinquished the job to Robert Rodriguez so he could better focus on expanding the Avatar franchise. After a middling box office run in theaters, Rodriguez’s final product became a huge sleeper hit on streaming and home video, earning a cult following online with high demand for a sequel.

    It would seem now that fans might get their wish, with Cameron’s longtime production partner Jon Landau hinting at progress being made at the Avatar: The Way of Water red carpet premiere. Speaking with Deadline, Landau was asked if he had any films in the pipeline aside from the remaining Avatar projects, and his answer was surprising:

    There’s a little film called Alita: Battle Angel that we’d love to circle back and do a sequel to. Been talking to Robert about that, and hopefully that comes to fruition.

    Jon Landau

    Alita was always crafted with sequels in mind. The film was full of high-profile cameos intended to set up the future, and built an expansive world with plenty of loose threads to play with. Rodriguez has been open about wanting to make another installment in the past, citing his work on Lucasfilm’s The Book of Boba Fett as a trial run for how much people wanted to see a return. With the fanfare that series received upon release, it’s probably safe to say Landau and company are excited at the prospect of doing more business.

    Source: Deadline

  • Snyderverse Fans Won’t Love the News Out of the Latest ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ Test Screening

    Snyderverse Fans Won’t Love the News Out of the Latest ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ Test Screening

    Earlier this year, Aquaman star Jason Momoa posted a shot of him alongside Ben Affleck teasing the latter’s inclusion in the upcoming DC release Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom. Fans of Affleck’s Batman believed that this meant Affleck was back as the Bat, booting Michael Keaton’s version of the character and signaling a return to the Snyderverse continuity. According to one insider, a recent test screening of the film might not be the best Christmas present for those hoping to see Affleck return to the role.

    Following a test screening of Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, KC Walsh shared the news that Affleck was nowhere to be seen in the cut shown to a test audience.

    In fact, according to Walsh, neither Affleck nor Keaton’s version of Batman showed up in the cut.

    So what happened between Momoa’s tease and the test screening? Perhaps Affleck was just visiting? Maybe he did shoot scenes and throughout the chaotic front office upheaval at DC, which has found James Gunn in charge of storytelling, the decision was made to pull any Batman-related scenes from the film. At the moment, wild speculation is the only recourse for fans as they ponder what this means for the future of Batman outside of the Matt Reeves-led Gothamverse as many online rumors have led them to believe that Affleck was going to return to the role long-term. Again, a lot has changed since this Summer and until Gunn and DC co-chair Peter Safran present their long-term vision for DC Studios, fans are going to be left in the dark.

  • First ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Reactions Indicate It’s Another James Cameron Classic

    First ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ Reactions Indicate It’s Another James Cameron Classic

    After a thirteen-year wait for the sequel, it sounds like audiences who fell in love with 2009’s Avatar are about to have a very happy holiday season at the movie theater. Avatar: The Way of Water premiered yesterday and those who were in attendance in London or at press screenings around the globe were allowed to take to social media to share their thoughts. In a nutshell, the film is another hit for director James Cameron.

    Our own Hunter Radesi called the film an “improvement over its predecessor” and praised the film’s incredibly “immersive” use of VFX:

    Reel Blend’s Kevin McCarthy joined Hunter in praising the use of technology to make the “most jaw-dropping immersion” he had ever seen in theaters.

    Fandango’s Erik Davis called the film “phenomenal” and “visually breathtaking.”

    Joseph Deckelmeier, who attended the World Premiere in London called it a “cinematic achievement.”

    THR’s Beatrice Verhoeven didn’t go in looking forward to it, but says the film changed her mind!

    While Scott Mantz jumped on board the VFX train, he believed the story behind the sequel wasn’t quite as good as the first and that it felt drawn out over the film’s extensive run time of 190 minutes.

    Fellow filmmaker Guillermo del Toro praised Cameron’s work on the film, saying the sequel showed the work of “a master at the peak of his powers…”

    While there was never really a doubt that the film would be a major box office draw over the holiday season, the initial word of mouth about the VFX and the overall quality of the story are sure to help Avatar: The Way of Water be one of 2022’s biggest box office draws when it hits theaters beginning December 16th!

  • Gamora Cannot Die in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

    Gamora Cannot Die in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

    Somebody(s) will die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn has promised an emotional conclusion to his trilogy and we know that the film is the last ride for this version of the Guardians. Vegas should probably open the betting line on who fans think will die in the film (maybe they already have) and pretty much any death will pack a heavy emotional punch, but there’s one character who should have a lot more gas in the tank in the future of the MCU: Star-Lord. Gamora absolutely cannot die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

    Zoë Saldaña is a sci-fi queen. Having held down roles in 3 major sci-fi franchises (Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar), Saldaña has become the second highest-grossing female actress of all time and she’s not done yet. With Avatar: The Way of Water and at least 2 more Avatar films after that, Saldaña will almost certainly surpass Scarlett Johansson. While the Avatar films are about as safe of a gig as one could ever hope to land and Saldaña seems to be tiring of the intense secrecy surrounding her Marvel Studios’ projects, the actress could have the option of another decade of MCU projects ahead of her if Gamora were to survive Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And, should Gamora survive, the opportunity to almost totally reinvent the character into a more traditional representation of the character from the comics certainly presents itself.

    Created by Jim Starlin, Gamora earned her reputation as “the most dangerous woman in the galaxy” and “the deadliest woman in the universe” by…being dangerous and deadly. Raised by Thanos as a weapon in the fight against his great enemy, the Magus, Gamora was depicted in the comics as an assassin with a near-endless amount of bodies left in her wake. While Gamora has quite a bit of the same background in the MCU, her character, like the rest of the team, has been modified quite a bit with the Gamora who is now dead having grown less stoic and ruthless over time. The Gamora who now inhabits the prime timeline has had a different set of experiences and none of those have involved her falling in love with Peter Quill, making her a bit of a blank slate when it comes to what’s known about her. She was pulled from 2014 into the post-Blip world of 2023, disappears following the Battle of Earth and is not present with the Guardians during the events of Thor: Love and Thunder. Other than that, nothing is known about her at the present.

    Though seen quite a bit in the trailer, Gamora doesn’t seem to be part of the team of Guardians. She’s not wearing the same gear as them and she seems to only be part of their trip to infiltrate the High Evolutionary’s weird space base but not part of their adventures in the first act or so. Like Loki, she’s a familiar character to fans but one who is capable of carving an entirely new path through the MCU should she have a future in it. And should the MCU’s future involve adapting the great stories of Marvel Comics’ modern cosmic age, Gamora, much like Star-Lord and Nova, could play a major role in those adaptations. Additionally, Gamora has a very complicated comic book history with Adam Warlock, who joins the MCU played by Will Poulter in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Should Gamora survive the events of that film, she faces a future full of possible stories ripped right from the comics.

    Whether Marvel Studios took the path through Annihilation, Annihilation: Conquest and War of Kings or went wack with some version of Starlin’s Infinity Watch team coming together, Saldaña could suit up as Gamora anywhere between 3-6 more times in the next decade but, in doing so, completely redefine the character. That’s not an option everyone has and it seems that bringing something new to a character actors have played many times is just the type of thing that interests them enough to come back (that and lots of money). Of course all that is up to Saldaña, but from a narrative standpoint, Gamora’s recent death and the transplant of a Variant Gamora into the prime timeline provide way too many potential avenues to explore in the future for the character to die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

  • Michael B. Jordan Discusses What It Took to Keep Killmonger’s Return in ‘Wakanda Forever’ a Surprise

    Michael B. Jordan Discusses What It Took to Keep Killmonger’s Return in ‘Wakanda Forever’ a Surprise

    A debate about which character should become the next Black Panther in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arose among fans following the death of franchise star Chadwick Boseman. Some fans believed Marvel Studios should follow the route established in the comics and have Shuri assume the mantle. Other fans, however, had other ideas. Nakia, M’Baku and the villain of Black Panther, Killmonger, all made the lists of fans around the globe. Killmonger, who was played in the first film by Michael B. Jordan, was an interesting choice given the fact that he was both canonically deceased and made terrible choices during his reign as King and Black Panther of Wakanda. Ultimately, writer and director Ryan Coogler made the decision to have Shuri become the protector of Wakanda and take on Namor. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t room for Jordan’s Killmonger in the film.

    Upon recreating the heart-shaped herb and moving into the Ancestral Plane where she believed she would be greeted by her brother, Letitia Wright’s Shuri was shockingly greeted by her cousin, the villainous Killmonger. The return of the character to the Ancestral Plane was the subject of rumor and speculation long before the film’s release, but Jordan never gave it away. In fact, according to the star, he knew that working with Marvel Studios meant he “had to lie to everybody” to keep the appearance a secret.

    While discussing his return in an interview with Extra, Jordan indicated that lying and denying is just part of the deal when working with Marvel and that includes lying to his family.

    I had to lie to my family over here. I had to lie to everybody out here… I had to just keep it under wraps… When you’re dealing with Marvel and stuff like that, you know the routine. So you just gotta, you know, deny, deny, deny, deny, deny until the end of it, yeah.

    Michael B. Jordan

    Marvel Studios and its actors are, of course, famously disingenuous when it comes to discussing upcoming projects. The “Marvel way” of lying and misleading fans rather than using the actors’ presence in the project is certainly a curious way to build hype, but Marvel has maintained its intense level of secrecy for well over a decade, at times to the dismay of stars such as Zoë Saldaña, who compared working with the studio to being part of a cult in terms of holding on to secrets. Hopefully, Jordan’s family forgives him in time for the holidays!

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is still in theaters!

    Source: Extra

  • ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Concept Art Reveals Wild Character Mash-Up Cut from Film

    ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Concept Art Reveals Wild Character Mash-Up Cut from Film

    In 2018, Marvel Comics published Infinity Wars, a 6-issue event that saw Gamora inadvertently use the Infinity Stones to create some mash-up characters such as Iron Hammer (Iron Man and Thor) and Soldier Supreme (Captain America and Doctor Strange). It was a crazy idea that made resulted in some great-looking character designs, but they ultimately stayed behind in their own Warp World when things returned to normal.

    Infinity Wars certainly didn’t corner the market on character mash-ups. Donny Cates has made a living on them and the long-running What If…? comic series explored the idea often but the idea hasn’t really translated to the big screen. However, some newly located concept art from Avengers: Infinity War reveals that fans were almost introduced to Iron Strange in the 2018 film!

    Found on Reddit, the concept art from Phil Saunders, who has worked on Marvel Studios from Iron Man through Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was created for a scene that didn’t make the final cut of Avengers: Infinity War, explored the idea of Tony Stark using the Mark 50 suit to save Doctor Strange from his torture at the hands of Ebony Maw. However, according to Saunders, it wasn’t just as simple as Strange wearing the suit. Once covered in the Mark 50, Strange’s Eye of Agamotto became the power source for the suit, making it a true mash-up: Iron Strange!

    One early script idea that didn’t make into the final movie was this hybrid of the Iron Man Mk 50 suit and Dr. Strange. This would have been for a scene in the Q ship when Tony and Spidey are trying to rescue Dr. Strange from Ebony Maw. To protect Strange from Maw’s magic needle torture, Tony transfers his suit onto him. I imagined the Eye of Agamotto would have taken the place of Tony’s RT and powered the suit, burning a sigil around it. Later in the scene Tony gets Strange’s cloak, leading to a bizarre team-up. Could have been cool, I don’t know why they cut it from the script.

    Avengers: Infinity War Concept Artist Phil Saunders

    The concept even goes so far as to show Strange’s signature energy projection coming from the suit! As Saunders points out, this would have made for a fascinating scene and one that would likely stand out in the minds of fans for its uniqueness. Perhaps there’s a chance for the concept to find new life down the road, perhaps in Avengers: Secret Wars, should Doctor Strange come across any multiversal Iron Men.

    Sources: Phil Saunders Art Station, Reddit

  • All-Star Ensemble Cast Set for ‘Book of Clarence’

    All-Star Ensemble Cast Set for ‘Book of Clarence’

    An elite cast of Hollywood names has been announced to join Jeymes Samuel’s second feature film, Book of Clarence. Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, RJ Cyler, Alfre Woodard, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Caleb McLaughlin, Eric Kofi Abrefa, Babs Olusanmokun, and Tom Glynn-Carney are set to join LaKeith Stanfield and Omar Sy in roles for the film. Book of Clarence has officially just now begun its production in Italy.

    Book of Clarence is based on Biblical-era epics that used to be a tried and true genre in Hollywood. The story follows Clarence, played by Stanfield, in an attempt to capitalize himself as a celebrity off the back of the Messiah. The film is said to be an exploration of the themes of faith and how it can come from unexpected places.

    The film is being produced by Legendary Pictures and will be one of the first films from the studio following its new deal with Sony Pictures. The film is to be released theatrically, unlike Samuel’s debut film, The Harder They Fall, which was a Netflix original. With The Harder They Fall playing as a pastiche to classic Western film, it will be interesting to follow if Jeymes Samuel can do the same with this genre of vintage Hollywood history. Based on the directorial style he brought in his debut and mixed with the all-star cast assembled, one would think that this has the potential to be another success story for the young director.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Ghostbuster: Afterlife’ Sequel Lands Director; Jason Reitman Returns to Co-Write

    ‘Ghostbuster: Afterlife’ Sequel Lands Director; Jason Reitman Returns to Co-Write

    Earlier this year, Sony slated a sequel to 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife for a December 20, 2023 release. Right on time, the studio has now found a director for the film in Oscar nominee Gil Kenan. Afterlife director Jason Reitman, whose father Ivan created the franchise with 1984’s Ghostbusters, will produce and co-write the sequel with Kenan, who also shared script duties for the first film.

    In a statement published by Deadline, Kenan confirmed his involvement with the film:

    It’s an absolute honor to pick up the proton pack and step behind the camera for the next chapter of the Spengler family saga. I just wish I could go back to 1984 and tell the kid in the sixth row of the Mann Valley West that one day he was going to get to direct a Ghostbusters film.”

    Gil Kenan

    Kenan’s directorial debut was 2006’s Monster House, which was nominated for 2007’s Best Animated Feature Film. Kenan also directed the 2015 Poltergeist reboot as well as one episode of Scream: The TV Series. The Afterlife sequel will be the second film on which Kenan will serve as both writer and director, joining 2021’s A Boy Called Christmas.

    The trade report indicates that Afterlife stars Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon are expected to return and that the sequel will make good on the post-credit scene that saw Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore returning to New York City hinting at the future of the franchise.

    Source: Deadline