Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Streaming

  • Jon Bernthal Reveals Release Window for “High -Octane” ‘The Punisher’ Special Presentation

    Jon Bernthal Reveals Release Window for “High -Octane” ‘The Punisher’ Special Presentation

    After returning to the role of Frank Castle in Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, Jon Bernthal will make his MCU theatrical debut in 2026 in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. From what can be gleaned from set photos, Castle–and his sidekick–will serve as agents of chaos in the Destin Daniel Cretton-helmed flick, providing a foil to Tom Holland‘s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

    It’s going to be dark; Frank has no interest in breaking out the darkness. It’s not going to be easy. I don’t know if that’s the Netflix tone then that’s what it’s going to be. It will not be Punisher-lite, I promise you that.

    –Jon Bernthal on The Punisher Special Presentation

    However, before Castle brings his particular type of madness to the Spidey franchise, the character has another bit of business to attend to in The Punisher Special Presentation, set to stream on D+ in 2026. With Castle confirmed to not have a role in Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again, it seems clear that the streaming special–in which he will take on monster Ma Gnucci–will be a direct follow-up to his escape from Wilson Fisk’s dungeon. However, even as Disney recently revealed its 2026 streaming slate at NYCC, the studio has kept quiet about a release window for The Punisher. Now, in an interview with Screen Rant, Bernthal provided an idea of when to expect the feature.

    While talking about his role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which hits theaters on July 31, 2026, Bernthal stated that The Punisher will stream on D+ “around that same time.”

    “Around that same time, there will also be this Punisher special that’s coming out, that I think will be as high-octane Punisher as you’ve ever seen,” said Bernthal. While it’s not officially confirmed that the special presentation is set before the events of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, there’s enough evidence to support a reasonable assumption that it is, making a June or early-July streaming debut the most likely scenario.

    It’s like a shotgun blast of a story, but also has all the pathos and emotion that you want out of a Frank Castle story.

    -Marvel Television Top Dog Brad Winderbaum

    Co-written by star Jon Bernthal and Reinaldo Marcus Green, The Punisher will be the third Special Presentation to stream on D+, joining Werewolf By Night and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. All signs point to the feature being incredibly violent, which has caused some consternation about how the character could blend seamlessly into the world of a very friendly Wallcrawler. Bernthal addressed those concerns as well.

    “I think what was really important to me and to Destin and to Tom is that we believed that The Punisher could walk off of the Spider-Man set and could walk onto the special set, and I do believe that we achieved that,” Bernthal explained. Without directly stating it, Bernthal seems to be implying that, as is the case in the comics–and with Daredevil’s appearance in She-Hulk Attorney at Law–characters can be malleable in order to fit the environment in which the story is set.

    Source: Screen Rant

  • ‘Daredevil: Born Again’: Bullseye’s Full (Mostly) Comic-Accurate Suit Has Been Revealed

    ‘Daredevil: Born Again’: Bullseye’s Full (Mostly) Comic-Accurate Suit Has Been Revealed

    Following the takeover of New York City by Mayor “Kingpin” at the end of Season 1 of Daredevil: Born Again, Matt Murdock vowed to out together an army to stop his archenemy from destroying the city. Whole the new season was a hit, it felt frustrating at times, surely in part to it being almost entirely overhauled in mid-production. According to one of the show’s producers, Sana Amanat, any issues that impacted Season 1 were not an issue while making the sophomore season.

    “The landscape was open, and that was so liberating,” said Amanat in an interview with Empire. “We were like, &We can do whatever we want.’” And part of that looks increasingly like a team-up between Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil and Wilson Bethel‘s Bullseye.

    Photos from the NYC set showed the two apparently working together while also providing fairly clear looks at their updated Season 2 costumes. Recently leaked promo art gave a much better look at the costumes, revealing some comic accurate details on Dex’s new gear but nothing quite so comic-accurate as a second leak which clearly shows the character’s traditional logo on his mask.

    https://twitter.com/variablelace/status/1990525409700852052?t=Aka2yng4nt4ejHOOOXL3kQ&s=19

    While it’s clearly a much more subdued color scheme than the drastic black and white contrast, it is unmistakable. With a show (and fanbase) so unbelievably obsessed with darkness, it’s probably as close as we’ll get to the outlandish Bullseye costume from the comics but it’s a solid step forward from the first iteration.

    Source: Empire

  • ‘ViSiONQUΞST’ Reportedly Set to Feature Dark Reign Era Villain

    ‘ViSiONQUΞST’ Reportedly Set to Feature Dark Reign Era Villain

    Though the first trailer for Marvel Television’s VisionQuest featured a heavy dose of the “Marvel AIs” as showrunner Terry Matalas called them, it also introduced Thomas Shepard, the host of the soul of Vision’s son, Tommy, who will played by Ruaridh Mollica. While Matalas has called the relationship between Vision and Ultron the “core dynamic of the show,” Mollica‘s Tommy will certainly be a key figure as well, especially with a Young Avengers/Champions project likely to follow.

    Whatever role Tommy plays in the series, it seems as though he won’t be entirely alone as his brother, Billy, believed in Agatha All Along. According to a trade report, Lauren Morais is set to play Lisa Molinari, a character who they say is “closely connected” to Tommy and who has a very interesting comic book history.

    First introduced in 2009’s Dark Reign: Young Avengers #1, Molinari met Tommy Shepherd in a juvenile detention facility. After finding an enchanted object known as Tibero’s Coat, Molinari went on to form her own team of Young Avengers who eventually became known as the Young Masters. While she’s a bit of a nuanced character, Molinari ultimately became a mercenary under the employ of a new incarnation of the Masters of Evil.

    A relative newcomer, Morais can be seen in the AMC series, The Red King. Though the extent of her role in VisionQuest is unknown, it seems unlikely she’ll move into a major role in the MCU given the recent reduction of projects.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘American Vandal’ Creators Set to Deliver DC Studios’ First Streaming ‘Superman’ Spinoff

    ‘American Vandal’ Creators Set to Deliver DC Studios’ First Streaming ‘Superman’ Spinoff

    Ahead of the July launch of the all-new, all-different DCU, the Wall Street Journal reported that a pair of streaming series intended to spin out of Superman were in development. According to the Wall Street Journal, a pair of series featuring Superman’s pal, Jimmy Olsen, and Mister Terrific were being considered by DC Studios’ co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran.

    Less than two weeks later, with Superman  having been a hit with audiences and critics alike, DCU Leaks revealed that the Olsen-centric spinoff was moving forward. According to the report, Skyler Gisando was set to repeirise therole of Jimmy Olsen in an anthology that would feature the character as he investigated supervillains for the Daily Planet. Now trade reports have come through with more information on the series which will indeed move ahead.

    According to THR, Gisondo will star in DC Crime, “a fictional true crime series set in the DC Universe.” The project will be created by Tony Yacenda and Dan Perrault, the creators of “the critically-acclaimed Netflix show American Vandal, which spoofed the true crime genre.”

    Variety’s report also revealed that the first season of the show will feature Gorilla Grodd, a member of Flash’s Rogues Gallery. Grodd is a hyper-intelligent, telepathic gorilla from the hidden African community of Gorilla City. The original lore, from back in The Flash #106 (1959), says an alien meteor gifted him and his people super-intelligence and psychic powers.

    Grodd isn’t just strong (and he is ridiculously strong—he can trade blows with people like Wonder Woman and Superman). His telepathy is his real ace in the hole. He can straight-up take over the minds of others. The Flash has a fast brain, but Grodd has a powerful one. He’s also a brilliant schemer, which is why he’s consistently a founding member or a major player in groups like the Secret Society of Super-Villains and the Legion of Doom. He brings the brains and the brute force.

    Grodd, whose presence in the series was originally revealed by Jeff “The In” Sneider, was already seen Creature Commandos. Appearing in a vision of the future where he aligned with the Pokolistan army to take out metahumans, Grodd looked to be set up as one of the DCU’s biggest bads.

    Source: THR

  • Marvel’s Angel of Death Reportedly Set to Appear in Upcoming Streaming Series

    Marvel’s Angel of Death Reportedly Set to Appear in Upcoming Streaming Series

    While most folks might not even know that a team of heroes known the Great Lakes Avengers exist in the Marvel Universe, some of those that do might think of the group of oddballs count among their number some of the most powerful heroes found on Earth-616.

    In 2017, Freeform began development on a New Warriors series that would have seen a couple members of the GLA make their way into what would certainly have been considered a non-canon project similar to Runaways and Cloak and Dagger. While the series never got off the ground, one character from it, Mister Immortal, made a cameo appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. And now, a new rumor suggests he’ll soon be joined in the MCU by another incredibly powerful member of the Great Lakes Avengers, the most wonderfully dysfunctional government-recognized super-team based out of Wisconsin.

    According to social media’s busiest bee, My Time To Shine Hello, OG GLA member Doorman will appear in Marvel Television’s Wonder Man.

    Doorman, Doorman, does whatever a door can.

    When you’re talking about Marvel Comics’ Doorman, you’re talking about one of the great punchlines—and then one of the great cosmic surprises—of the entire Marvel Universe.

    The Great Lakes Avenger

    Doorman, real name DeMarr Davis, made his debut back in West Coast Avengers #46 (1989), a John Byrne creation who, on the surface, seemed like a joke waiting to happen. DeMarr is a mutant, but not one who could level a city block or fly at Mach 5. His initial power? He could turn his body into a portal that connects two parts of the same room, essentially letting people pass through him to get to the other side of a solid object.

    Yes, that’s right. He’s a human door. Highly situational, right?

    Despite his seemingly limited powerset, DeMarr remains one of the team’s most cynical and long-suffering members, constantly comparing their low-stakes adventures and general incompetence to the “real” Avengers.

    An Angel of Death

    Here’s where the story gets a whole lot more interesting—and a lot less funny.

    His mutant ability isn’t just “turning into a door”; it operates by tapping into the Darkforce Dimension, the same spooky, interdimensional energy source used by characters like Cloak and the Darkforce user known as Deathurge.

    In a surprisingly dark twist for a GLA member, Doorman was killed by the cosmic villain Maelstrom. However, his connection to the Darkforce got the attention of the cosmic entity Oblivion–the personification of all that will not be. Oblivion resurrected DeMarr, not as a hero, but as his new Angel of Death.

    His new gig as a psychopomp—a guide for souls—came with a massive power upgrade:

    • Supernatural Durability and Intangibility.
    • Light-Speed Flight (often on ethereal skis—still a punchline, but a fast one).
    • Darkforce Constructs. So like Green Lanterns but with Darkforce.
    • The ability to sense and interact with the spirits of the dead.
    • A major increase in his intelligence and cosmic awareness.

    Despite being a servant of Oblivion, Doorman managed to keep one foot in the world of the living, occasionally returning to his friends in the GLA. He’s a character who combines low-brow comedy with genuinely high-stakes, cosmic responsibility, making him a unique figure in the Marvel lineup.

    MTTSH gave no further details on Doorman’s role in Wonder Man but it does seem unlikely he’ll be  major character in the series. Interestingly, actor J.E. Burton is listed in IMDB as having an unknown role in Wonder Man and bears at least a passing resemblance to Doorman. We’ll all find out together when Wonder Man streams on January 27, 2026.

  • ‘Lanterns’ Star, Showrunner Tease John Stewart’s Discordant Dynamic with Hal Jordan

    ‘Lanterns’ Star, Showrunner Tease John Stewart’s Discordant Dynamic with Hal Jordan

    DC Studios co-chair James Gunn has big plans for the Green Lantern Corps; however, with the potential sale of Warner Bros. Discovery creating uncertainty around the future of the new DCU, it remains to be seen how much of those plans will come to fruition. Those concerns don’t look to be halting the release of the HBO Max streaming series Lanterns, set to debut in 2026.

    With Rebel Ridge breakout star Aaron Pierre and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) cast as John Stewart and Hal Jordan, respectively, Lanterns has all the cache of an HBO Prestige series. Created by  an all-star team of writers led by Ozark‘s Chris Mundy, DC Comics’ ace Tom King and TV icon Damon Lindelof, the series is meant to play a key role in the larger, shared narrative of the DCU…should it get to play out. But even if it doesn’t, it sounds as though the series will serve as a solid standalone story.

    John Stewart and Hal Jordan are two of DC’s most compelling characters, and Lanterns brings them to life in an original detective story that is a foundational part of the unified DCU…

    -James Gunn

    In a wide-ranging interview with Men’s Health, Pierre and Mundy set the stage for the series, which the latter calls “as much of a buddy cop show as a superhero show.”

    From the sounds of it, Lanterns will see Pierre‘s Stewart, who the actor says “radiates strength and fortitude,” being prepped as a replacement for Hal Jordan which, as one might expect, will cause some friction between the two.

    “Our show is in a lot of ways about replacement—when should someone step aside and when is it time for the next person to take the reins? That push and pull between those two characters is really important,” Mundy explained.

    We have a few other Lanterns peppered in there but this is really a terrestrial based TV show which is almost like True Detective with a couple of Green Lanterns who are space cops watching over Precinct Earth in it they discover a terrifying mystery that ties into our largest story of the DCU.

    -James Gunn

    Pierre describes Stewart as a man who has “That hunger to be the best version of yourself, which also holds you accountable when you’re not.” According to Mundy, that resolve will be challenged by what sounds like a pretty abrasive Jordan.

    “So much of the power that John has is by not taking the bait, understanding that you lose your power if you’re yelling and screaming,” said Mundy. “That’s what we’re trying to convey: He knows he belongs, so he doesn’t have to overcompensate. There’s a real balance there that’s just innately inside of Aaron. He’s big. He’s an intimidating presence just physically. But there’s a softness to him too. There’s a thoughtfulness. You can’t teach that.”

    Should Stewart’s story continue beyond Lanterns, it sounds as though he’ll come out of the streaming series truly tested by Jordan, making him more than worthy as his successor.

    Source: Men’s Health

  • Lucasfilm Rumored to Be Repackaging Long-Delayed Star Wars Project for Streaming

    Lucasfilm Rumored to Be Repackaging Long-Delayed Star Wars Project for Streaming

    During Disney’s 2020 Investor Day presentation, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy announced that Patty Jenkins had signed on to direct Rogue Squadron. At the time, the film was slated for a Christmas 2023 release but following a production delay in 2021, the film was removed from Lucasfilm’s slate in September 2022 leading fans to believe the film had been canceled. In early 2023, trade reports confirmed that the project was dead in the waters of Dagobah but somehow, Rogue Squadron returned.

    According to social media scooper My Time To Shine Hello, Lucasfilm has provided a new hope for Rogue Squadron, choosing to redevelop the long-delayed project as a streaming series for D+.

    While this isn’t the dead project fans are  currently wishing will come together (that honor goes to The Hunt for Ben Solo), the project has always sounded relatively exciting and D+ might be the perfect place for it. Set to introduce a “new generation of starfighter pilots as they earn their wings and risk their lives in a boundary-pushing, high-speed thrill-ride, and move the saga into the future era of the galaxy,” Rogue Squadron is believed to be set AFTER the sequels and could serve as a companion piece to Star Wars: Starfighter.

    With the New Republic Mando-verse projects nearing their narrative conclusion in the not too distant future, Lucasfilm is certainly looking for its next batch of stories and Rogue Squadron could have survived uncertainty and become part of the future.

  • ‘Daredevil’ Star Confirms Season 3 Return

    ‘Daredevil’ Star Confirms Season 3 Return

    After being originally left out of Marvel Television’s Daredevil: Born Again, Wilson Bethel joined the cast following the creative retooling that brought it into alignment with the original Netflix series. Thanks to a little retcon, Bethel‘s Bullseye became a bit more interesting, having influenced Matt Murdock enough to have him take a bullet for the Fat Man.

    Set photos have revealed that Bullseye will play an integral role in Season 2, perhaps even as part of Murdock’s resistance, though it’s unclear just how long the pair will remain allies, given Dex offed Matt’s bestie. What is clear, however, after a recent con appearance by Bethel, is that Dex will survive the events of Season 2 and be back in action when season 3 hits D+ in 2027.

    “As some of you might know, we’ve already got picked up for another new season that we will start doing next year,” said Bethel. “We’ll have more Bullseye on the way and Kingpin and all the rest.” Yay…

    As exciting as it is to learn that Marvel Television has no interest in moving away from Kingpin and Bullseye six seasons into Daredevil, Bethel did try to prime the pump for Dex’s appearance in Season 2.  “There are whole new avenues of Dex’s interesting, messed-up psyche that we get to explore, and there’s some really, really fun stuff that’s on the way for Bullseye and Dex,” Bethel said.

    Bethel also teased “a truly fucking awesome” sequence filmed for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, which will debut on D+ in March 2026. “I think the coolest Bullseye fight sequence that we have yet to see in the show is part of [Season 2].” Hopefully it involves some buzzing and more of him using odd shit to kill people because there’s nothing more interesting.

  • Marvel Studios Reportedly Moving Ahead with a Second Season of Its Latest Animated Hit

    Marvel Studios Reportedly Moving Ahead with a Second Season of Its Latest Animated Hit

    Though Marvel Animation’s Marvel Zombies wasn’t the studio’s highest-rated streaming series, the four-episode mini-event drew a lot of eyeballs. A report from The Direct claimed the series exceeded expectations and given that Marvel’s streaming skipper, Brad Winderbaum, said that the studio would be looking at viewership numbers before unleashing a second season of Marvel Zombies, it’s seemed likely that more zombies were on the way…and it sounds as though they are.

    According to Marvel Studios insider Daniel Richtman, the powers that be have decided to move ahead with a second season of Marvel Zombies.

    Frenetic, savage and gadgety-on-the-brink-of-gimmicky, Marvel Zombies ended up a bit less than the sum of its parts while still managing to deliver a sinewy supernatural survivor story.

    -Murphy’s Multiverse review of Marvel Zombies

    While Season 1 of Marvel Zombies wasn’t perfect, it delivered some absolutely phenomenal fun, including “a truly all-time great zombie apocalypse moment that sits right there with 28 Days Later and World War Z.” And while the finale teed up a second season, there are plenty of other tales to be told on the alternate Earth where the Dead Queen rules, meaning there’s plenty of meat on the bone for additional seasons.

  • Excelsior! ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ D+ Debut Date Revealed

    Excelsior! ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ D+ Debut Date Revealed

    Hot on n the heels the release of physical media, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is headed to Disney Plus.

    In an official release provided across its social media outlets, Disney revealed that the Marvel Studios film will hit the streaming platform on November 5th.

    The film, starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, introduced Marvel’s First Family to the MCU in time for the group to star in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The film took in just over $520M worldwide and played well for critics and audiences alike and will likely continue the trend of Marvel Studios’ films becoming streaming darlings.

    Following Disney CEO Bob Iger’s statement that the film “successfully launched this important franchise into the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Marvel boss Kevin Feige reportedly set his sights on developing a sequel with director Matt Shakman back on board. Though no official word has come down, screenwriter Eric Pearson shared some ideas about the direction of a potential sequel, which could allow the project to come together in time for a 2028 theatrical release.