Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Movies

  • EXCLUSIVE: ‘Strange World’ Directors Reveal Much Darker Version of Film

    EXCLUSIVE: ‘Strange World’ Directors Reveal Much Darker Version of Film

    Strange World, Disney’s next major animated film, is almost in theaters, and it promises to be another joyous, family friendly ride from the House of Mouse. However, according to directors Qui Nguyen and Don Hall, there was almost a version of the movie that was much darker. Speaking exclusively with Murphy’s Multiverse, the veteran creatives were asked if there’d been any unused ideas they wished could have stayed in the movie, or that they hoped people might one day see. Nguyen answered the question first, revealing an early take on the story that involved a lot more violence:

    We had so many. That’s the joy of making one of these films. We get to play with a lot of different ideas, especially in the story stage. We had a series of deaths that were – like we were murdering different characters throughout. There was a version of the movie where, like, the whole crew is dead and you have a feral Callisto at the end who’s like “I’m enraged! I will destroy this place no matter what I do!”

    Qui Nguyen

    Strange World revolves around the Clade family, as they explore an unknown world in search of something that might save their homeland. The farmer Searcher Clade (Jake Gyllenhaal), his adventurous son Ethan Clade (Jaboukie Young-White), his proactive wife Meridian Clade (Gabrielle Union), and his larger-than-life father, Jaeger Clade (Dennis Quaid). They are joined on their journey by Callisto Mal (Lucy Liu), the President of Avalonia and leader of an exploration group assigned to help the Clades on their mission. As Nguyen described, Callisto was almost a villainous presence in the film, and apparently, Jaeger was originally a bit scarier as well:

    We had a much more barbarian type of Jaeger who like killed a giant caterpillar monster with his bare hands, which was really cool. So, there’s a lot of iterations of this film that were really fun to do…like, what if Jaeger was a lot more barbaric or Callisto was a lot more angry or something like that.

    Qui Nguyen

    Not all of the abandoned concepts were so gloomy, however, as Hall chimed in to discuss his favorite deleted scenes. The former Big Hero 6 director explained that one of the creatures in the film, lovingly referred to as a “Poop Pickle”, was intended to play a much bigger role. Unfortunately, time didn’t allow this to happen:

    Yeah, and the creatures that show up, sort of, a little way through the movie in the acid lake. Those kind of green, blobby things we call “Poop Pickles”. We had storyboarded scenes where those creatures were explored more extensively and they were all very funny and kind of wonderful. We just didn’t have time to support that much. We needed them to do what they do in the movie, which is help them get out of a jam. But who knows? Maybe in the future we’ll get to explore some more about the world of the Poop Pickles.

    Don Hall

    Strange World is now in theaters.

  • Fan-Favorite Character Confirmed to Return for ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’

    Fan-Favorite Character Confirmed to Return for ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania’

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is set to kick off Marvel Studios Phase 5 when it releases in theaters in February. The third film in the Ant-Man franchise, Quantumania is set to take the Ant-family into the Quantum Realm where they’ll meet the big bad not only of their film but also of the Multiverse Saga: Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror. The first two films in the franchise were smaller in scale, which means Quantumania will take the family into uncharted territory as the film will have “a profound effect on the MCU“, according to returning director Peyton Reed. However, heading into uncharted territory doesn’t mean some familiar faces from the franchise won’t return for the adventure.

    A new theater standee shared on Twitter by user @charlestrotter has indicated that in addition to the main cast of Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Douglas returning for the film, one other actor is set to return for his third MCU film.

    As can be seen just below Kang’s pinky finger, David Dastmalchian is credited with an appearance in the film. Dastmalchian has played Kurt Goreshter in the previous two Ant-Man films and along with Michael Pena’s Luis and T.I.’s Dave was a frequent source of comedic relief. At last check during the events of Ant-Man and The Wasp, the trio was now successfully running their business venture, X-Con Security Consultants. While Dastmalchian’s return for the third film may seem like it was a slam dunk, the actor did not believe he had a role in the film as recently as March of 2022.

    Just how big of a role Kurt will have in the third film remains to be seen but, at the moment, he’s the only one of the “Wombats” who looks to be in the film. Trade reports confirmed that T.I. would not be returning for Quantumania and Michael Pena refused to comment on whether or not he’d return. While Pena’s name does not appear on the standee, be cautious in taking that as confirmation that Luis will not be in the film.

    Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania is set to hit theaters on February 17th, 2023.

    Source: Twitter

  • It’s Time for Old King Thor to Join the MCU

    It’s Time for Old King Thor to Join the MCU

    I am Thor Odinson. King of a broken Asgard. Last of all the gods. And today I will try yet again to see Valhalla. I vaguely remember how this started, so long ago, with a dead god floating in the sea and later a little girl’s prayer on a world without gods, and now this is how it ends. With blood and thunder, with hammer and sword, with one last stand at the gates of heaven. Whatever happens now, whatever my fate, know that I face it like a god.

    Imagine a Thor movie starting like that, with words ripped right from the page of Jason Aaron’s epic exploration of Thor, and you’ll understand which way we think the fifth installment in the Thor franchise should go. Thor is the only solo character so far to receive four films. While Ragnarok reinvented the franchise after the uneven The Dark World, Love and Thunder veered drastically into Bad Marvel territory. It still had its enjoyable parts (The Mighty Thor was a highlight and the end credit scene was a nice touch), but an under-utilized villain who didn’t do much god butchering and some awful attempts at humor left us with a bad taste in our mouths. One could argue that Love and Thunder was way worse than Eternals, a movie that gets so much more scorn than it deserves. Still, there is a way to reinvent Thor one more time, while also setting the stage for what’s to come, and Marvel need look no further than Jason Aaron for inspiration. 

    There would have to be some adjustments made, but a story where Earth-616 Thor goes on a multiversal adventure and meets some of his other selves would give Chris Hemsworth a chance to play multiple versions of Thor. Sure, you’d get some comedy, but it could be a real introspective look at a character who has lost more than almost anyone in the MCU. You could put Hercules in this, building off of the Love and Thunder end-credit scene, and have Hercules hunting Thor across the multiverse while Thor goes on a journey to find himself.

    Thor could embark on this journey as a response to his grief for losing Jane while trying to teach Love about what it means to be a god. Marvel has really shown different sides of how people deal with their grief during Phase 4: with Wanda never moving past it, and the Wakandans burying themselves in their work to mask it. Thor would be the first character to actively run from their grief. While the idea of a multiversal adventure may seem similar to what Doctor Strange did in Multiverse of Madness, the difference here would be that you could explore what seeing different versions of himself means for Thor. Imagine a Thor that has lost Cap, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Jane Foster meeting a Thor who never returned to Asgard and stayed with Jane. Envision Earth-616’s Thor, a proud member of the Avengers, meeting a Thor who was an adversary for the Avengers. That sounds like the kind of thing Hemsworth is alluding to in what he wants to see in terms of character growth and the opportunity to do something different. Tying his own self-exploration (he saw Thanos coming and didn’t kill him, he didn’t see Gorr coming and couldn’t kill him, and he now wants to be ready for whatever is coming next) into the overarching multiversal war that is coming means that Thor gets the chance to step into the limelight as a leader of the Avengers as his life is winding down. Whereas King Thor fought Dr. Doom for almost 100 years, you could have this version of that character fighting Kang for almost 100 years. 

    Because Loki wasn’t pruned from existence after stealing the Tesseract, there is now an Earth where Thor actually becomes King substantially sooner than he was set to in the Earth-616 timeline. With no Loki to lull Odin into his eternal sleep, thereby replacing him on the throne, you have a Thor that returns to Asgard with no brother and no Tesseract. Putting that grief aside and stepping up to take the throne, he would stand to inherit the Odinforce upon Odin’s passing: in one of the What If…? episodes, Loki becomes King shortly after Thor comes to Earth and is killed by the Wasp, so while one would assume it is Loki’s trickster ways that lead to Odin’s death, it could be the banishment of his son and true heir. Earth-616 meeting this Thor, who warns him of a variant of Kang The Conqueror that he has been at war with, could set the stage for Thor versus Kang before Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. 

    Earth-616’s Thor being warned of Kang by King Thor would be the first part of this journey. However, having this variant of Kang kill the multiverse’s King Thor so that Earth 616’s Thor becomes the new King of that world’s Asgard would finally allow Hemsworth to be King, briefly. It would be him taking the throne begrudgingly while trying to convince Hercules that they should work together to defeat Kang. Hemsworth would be moving closer to the Thor we see in Avengers: Endgame, albeit with more on his shoulders and returning to a point where he felt a responsibility to Asgard’s people. Having Earth-616’s Thor seek Kang out for revenge much sooner than he’s meant to could really up the ante in terms of what awaits the Avengers. Not only would this confrontation bring Kang The Conqueror from Quantumania’s quote about “have I killed you before” into focus, it lets the general public know that we haven’t met the worst version of him yet. Because I would have Kang kill Earth-616’s Thor and send him to Valhalla. This death would be the catalyst for Hercules swearing to protect Earth-616 for Thor in the war ahead. 

    In the Jason Aaron King Thor run, the only thing that can bring Thor back from Valhalla is the Phoenix Force. In that regard, he’s almost immortal. Saving a bearded Thor’s return, perhaps with the Necrosword in his possession, from Valhalla for Avengers: Secret Wars with all the fallen Avengers (Iron Man, Black Widow, Mighty Thor, Loki, a Star-Lord that dies in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Ant-Man after Kang turns him into ant dust) would top the portal scene from Endgame. 

    All hail King Thor. It’s time. And let Gareth Evans direct it.

  • ‘Wakanda Forever’ Concept Art Reveals Alternate Designs for Namor

    ‘Wakanda Forever’ Concept Art Reveals Alternate Designs for Namor

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced one of Marvel Comics oldest and most conflicted characters to the MCU in Tenoch Huerta’s Namor. Writer and director Ryan Coogler wanted to give Namor, who is the Prince of Atlantis in the comics, and his underwater kingdom a unique makeover. The result was the underwater city of Talokan, a Mesoamerican-inspired twist on Atlantis.

    While fans only see the finished look of Namor, Talokan and its people in Wakanda Forever, the design process takes hundreds of people thousands of hours with the majority of that work never being seen. Ultimately, dozens of designs don’t make the final cut of the film for whatever reason despite having just as much work put into them as the ones that do. Concept artist Anthony Francisco, whose look for “warrior” Namor was chosen for the film, released a series of alternate designs for the character via Twitter.

    Francisco’s tweets detail the incredible amount of work the artist put into the character, including researching multiple cultures and their histories. His description of how he finalized the design for Namor’s necklace, which was featured throughout the film, provides a fascinating insight into the creative process.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is now in theaters.

    Source: Anthony Francisco Twitter

  • Marvel Studios Can’t Produce a ‘Black Panther’ Spinoff Focused on Namor

    Marvel Studios Can’t Produce a ‘Black Panther’ Spinoff Focused on Namor

    There’s been a lot of hype around Tenoch Huerta‘s incredible performance as Namor, the leader of Talocan and antagonist in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Many have hoped that this performance would kick off interest from Marvel Studios to get this character his own solo project, but sadly it seems that rights are still an issue for some of the Marvel characters.

    According to The Wrap, the rights are still not fully with Marvel Studios and are something from the pre-Disney era. When Marvel Comics was about to go bankrupt, they sold the rights to their characters to studios that would work on films. That’s how Sony and Fox originally got access to the pantheon of popular characters long before Marvel Studios was even a thought.

    Black Panther: Wakanda Forever producer Nate Moore has confirmed to The Wrap that the character can definitely return in a future project, but Disney is not able to produce a standalone project based around the character. It seems the rights are still with Universal, who also holds the rights to Hulk and was the reason that character never got a sequel since the Edward Norton film back in 2008.

    Sadly, this means we shouldn’t expect any further exploration of Talocan in a solo outing in cinemas or even Disney+. Perhaps they’ll find a way to bring the characters back as part of another project where he isn’t the main character but still has a major role. Of course, there’s also the chance that Disney sees the potential and is open to repurchasing the rights to the character; though that may be more difficult with a potentially higher price given his newly found popularity.

    Source: The Wrap

  • CCXP Confirms Marvel Studios Plans for Next Week’s Event

    CCXP Confirms Marvel Studios Plans for Next Week’s Event

    Brazil’s annual comic-con experience, CCXP, has more often than not proven a source of self-made disappointment and frustration for Marvel fans. Returning as a live event in 2022, however, CCXP looks to be set to make at least a little noise that should satisfy those same fans. A tweet from the official CCXP account has confirmed that not only will Marvel Studios One-Above-All Kevin Feige be in attendance on December 1st, but he’ll also be bringing some friends and some info on at least a couple of projects with him.

    According to the tweet, Feige will be joined at the event by Peyton Reed, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Jonathan Majors to hype Marvel Studios’ next theatrical release, Ant–Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. The third film in the franchise, Quantumania is set to hit theaters on February 17th, 2023 and although the first trailer for the film hit social media at the end of October, it’s possible that a new look at the film debuts at CCXP. However, as often is the case, it’s possible that any new footage released may be a con exclusive and not be shared publicly for some time.

    In addition to Quantumania, CCXP will also feature something Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 related. A recent rumor indicated that Disney may be angling to have the first trailer for Vol. 3 ready to be in theaters by mid-December to play in front of Avatar: The Way of Water. While that hasn’t been confirmed, it makes sense that the studio would use the sequel, which is expected to have a monster opening weekend, to hype what’s likely to be one of 2023’s most anticipated films in Vol. 3.

    Given the panel will likely run nearly an hour, it’s also possible Marvel Studios might use it to hype other projects set to debut in the first half of 2023 such as Secret Invasion and Loki, which are slated to stream on Disney Plus in Spring and Summer, respectively.

  • Kang the Conqueror is Trapped in the Quantum Realm

    Kang the Conqueror is Trapped in the Quantum Realm

    Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is only a few months away, as it introduces us officially to our next major threat to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kang the Conqueror. Jonathan Majors is taking on the iconic role after a brief introduction of his Variant in Loki, whose death leads to unlocking the many others from across the multiverse that has been kept hidden through the TVA’s ventures. While we don’t know if this is the same version we were teased by the Disney+ series’s final moments, a new article from Empire Magazine reveals how Kang ended up in the Quantum Realm.

    As it turns out, he is not there on purpose but is trapped. There are no details offered on what may have ended up leading to him getting stuck in the sub-atomic realm, but it does open up a rather interesting question. Perhaps an Ant-Man from across the multiverse is the cause of it, or his time in the Quantum Realm is what lead to his ability to time travel. The events from Avengers: Endgame could also be at play here, or with multiple Variants out there, a different version of himself may have led to it.

    We do see in the trailer that he made this place his home, and has seemingly built up an army. He also hints during the D23 footage that he’s actually killed an Avenger in the past. Perhaps this version of Kang has already defeated all the heroes that opposed him and they may have pushed him into this realm as a last-ditch effort. Whatever he may have planned for Ant-Man could also be a way to help him to find a way out.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Quantumania’ Director Reveals Why Ant-Man and the Wasp are Facing Kang the Conqueror

    ‘Quantumania’ Director Reveals Why Ant-Man and the Wasp are Facing Kang the Conqueror

    When the announcement dropped that Jonathan Majors would play Kang the Conqueror in the Ant-Man and the Wasp sequel, many were a bit perplexed about why his first true arrival would be against that specific Marvel hero. It seemingly created the vision of an instant loss for the character, though the more we see of the project it seems like it won’t be as straightforward as one might expect. Still, the main antagonist of the Multiverse Saga as part of the third entry in the franchise the internet loves to call “filler” may have become one of the most important entries.

    Surprisingly, it seems that Quantumania‘s director Peyton Reed had the very same idea, as he had some joy in visiting this idea of the “weakest Avenger” taking on this villain that is more than just your typical villain but rather what he views as an “absolute force of nature.”

    That’s interesting to me: to take the tiniest, and in some people’s minds weakest Avenger, and put them up against this absolute force of nature.

    Peyton Reed

    With the reveal that the character is also trapped in the Quantum Realm, perhaps he could use Ant-Man’s unique ability to find a way to escape. It would definitely make him an antagonist but not the main threat to the character. It seems obvious that no one would take him on directly, but with the confirmation of MODOK as part of the film, we may see our favorite group of ant-themed heroes stuck between two sides vying to conquer the Quantum Realm.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Writer Still Hopes for a Sequel

    ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Writer Still Hopes for a Sequel

    Star Wars has grown quite a bit since its purchase by Disney. They started off with a new trilogy that further explored the aftermath of the original, tested out some unique spinoffs, and went on to establish a variety of TV series on Diseny+. At the moment, Andor has been dominating the Internet with a prequel series to Rogue One, but it’s not the only prequel entry with the protagonist’s name in the title.

    Back in 2018, we had the first prequel film that featured Alden Ehrenreich in the leading role of a younger Han Solo. Sadly, the film wasn’t quite the box office draw that many hoped it would be, but it still told an interesting story and has a set up that still hasn’t seen a payoff to this day. It seems writer Jon Kasdan agrees, as he’d love to return and tackle a sequel even after all this time.

    The reason for a Solo 2 is if there’s a great reason and certainly I’d be game if there was…there were so many great characters we were able to establish, and for me, the strongest argument for a Solo 2 is the movie was Alden’s journey to owning that mantle, and by the end of it I thought he really did, and he didn’t get the fun of getting to just inhabit it for a movie, so I’d love to see him back.

    Jon Kasdan

    Any project tackling one of the original trilogy’s main casts was going to face an upward battle. Ehrenreich‘s recasting was an inspired and fitting choice, but the controversy surrounding it led to Lucasfilm preferring to digitally de-age its actors, such as Mark Hamill reprising his role as Luke Skywalker in The Mandalorian. For now, we’ll have to wait if they might decide to tackle a sequel at some point, or at least pick up where the film left off.

    Source: YouTube via ComicBook.com

  • ‘John Wick’ Director Teases What to Expect in the Latest Franchise Entry

    ‘John Wick’ Director Teases What to Expect in the Latest Franchise Entry

    John Wick is set to return for a fourth entry and it continues to be one of the most exciting franchises hitting cinemas. While superheroes and the usual blockbusters have taken the medium by storm, there’s something refreshing about a revenge story continuing to unfold through the eyes of Keanu Reeves‘ John Wick. Even in a grounded world, he is facing ever bigger challenges. Luckily, director Chad Stahelski offered a tease of what’s to come in the upcoming fourth entry and it already sounds insane.

    If you took The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, crossed it with Zatoichi, and threw in a Greek myth, you’d probably get something close to this. And who else fucking says those kinds of sentences? Now you know why I like doing John Wicks.

    Chad Stahelski

    Zatoichi is definitely a curious tease and might mean we’ll see a lot more samurai action throughout the entry. Samurai showdowns aren’t truly new to the franchise, but with the addition of Hiroyuki Sanada it does seem like we’ll get some more stunning action sequences inspired by it. We know very little about his character, but a blind samurai would be quite an interesting opponent for Wick to tackle.

    The tease of Greek myth is also quite a curious addition to that list. One of the franchise’s biggest assets is the unique world-building it uses to make its world and The Continental stand out. So, perhaps we’ll explore more corners of this assassin-filled world and find out what exactly is funding all these hits.

    Source: Empire