Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: TV News

  • ‘The Thing about Pam’s Jenny Klein to Showrun New ‘Power Rangers’ Series for Netflix

    ‘The Thing about Pam’s Jenny Klein to Showrun New ‘Power Rangers’ Series for Netflix

    It looks like eOne’s Power Rangers reboot over at Netflix is finally picking up some speed. For quite some time now, we’ve learned that Jonathan Entwistle has been supervising a Power Rangers universe, but we never got any concrete information on where the project may or may not be heading. Now that all changed, as they’ve added their first member to the team. The Thing About Pam‘s Jenny Klein has inked a deal with Entertainment One and will act as showrunner on the Power Rangers series heading to Netflix, where she’ll work with Entwistle on the series. eOne’s EVP, Gabe Marano, shared the following statement:

    Building this partnership with Jenny, whose talent and passion transcends genres, is an exciting moment for us. We believe that her distinctive vision makes her the perfect fit to help us develop Hasbro’s deep library of IP, as well as original projects, and we’re thrilled to have her on board.

    Gabe Marano

    There are still no details on what exactly the upcoming new take on the franchise will offer. Power Rangers is still currently airing with the Dino Fury series, which marks the 29th season since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers aired. There is likely still going to be a continuation as with Klein only joining now, they might not start production on a new series until 2023. Still, it’s exciting to finally get an update and it does seem like they are picking up the pace for the new Netflix universe based on the iconic series.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Astro Boy’ Reboot in Development by ‘Miraculous’ Creator

    ‘Astro Boy’ Reboot in Development by ‘Miraculous’ Creator

    It looks like Astro Boy, the iconic anime series from 1963, is once again making its return. Variety has just unveiled that Tomas Astruc, who created the popular animated series Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir, is working on the animated adaptation. Method Animation, who worked on that series as well as The Little Prince, will work on the new series together with Shibuya Productions.

    The series was adapted from the original manga by Osamu Tezuka, which has sold over 100 million copies worldwide and was the franchise to set the path to modern Japanese anime. The simple concept of a child-like robot also became an iconic element of the industry, which would eventually also spark similar ideas such as Megaman. The following statement was shared on its international production.

    Tezuka’s original comics were far advanced in delivering a powerful message to readers worldwide. These fantastic stories of the little boy who flies are all about strong values that still resonate today for a global audience.

    It seems that this adaptation is seemingly going to be a timeless adaptation. Astruc will direct 52 half-hour episodes for the series which will be CGI-3D. So, we can expect a style quite similar to Miraculous. Still, it’s great to see the classic anime character getting another adaptation of this childhood classic.

    Source: Variety

  • RUMOR: ‘Tokyo Vice’ Director May Have Joined Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Series

    RUMOR: ‘Tokyo Vice’ Director May Have Joined Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Series

    We’ve been slowly getting a good look behind the scenes at who is working on the upcoming live-action One Piece series. Just recently, the agency United Agents gave away that Doctor Who director Emma Sullivan was working on the production. Earlier in April we also learned that Lost in Space‘s Tim Southam has joined the production as Daredevil‘s Marc Jobst wrapped work on the first two episodes of the series. Now, it may look like one more has been uncovered.

    First shared by @OnePieceNxBr on Twitter, an agency site for hair and make-up artist Amanda Ross McDonald reveals she is actively working on Project Panda, the name of One Piece‘s production. What sticks out is that alongside the previous three directors, they also confirm one more is part of the team. The list reveals that Josef Kubota Wladyka may be directing episodes of the series spearheaded by Steven Maeda and Matt Owens.

    Wlydka has been building up quite the filmography, as he not only worked on quite a few episodes of Netflix’s iconic Narcos and Narcos: Mexico series, but also recently worked on HBO Max’s break-out hit Tokyo Vice. He’s also worked on Fear the Walking Dead and The Terror. So, he has quite a varied background that’ll definitely come in handy

    Source: Gems Agency

  • Paul Reiser Joins ‘The Boys’ as Stan Lee Parody

    Paul Reiser Joins ‘The Boys’ as Stan Lee Parody

    The Boys isn’t done surprising fans with major guest stars.

    It was revealed today that veteran actor Paul Reiser has joined the series’ cast as “The Legend,” a parody of real-life icon Stan “The Man” Lee. The character originates from the Garth Ennis comic books, where he is a former employee of Vought-American’s Victory Comics who is now living underneath a comic book store. “The Legend” was responsible for writing many of the stories that made Supes famous, and as a result, possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of Vought’s superhuman roster. This proves to be helpful when he later becomes an unofficial member of The Boys.

    Viewers won’t have to wait long to see Reiser take over the role. Amazon teased yesterday that the character would appear in this week’s episode of the hit series, titled ‘The Last Time To Look On This World Of Lies.’ It’s currently unknown if the former Mad About You star will play a version of “The Legend” recognizable from the comics, or if his live-action take will be something new for streaming audiences. Amazon’s press release for the announcement does refer to “The Legend” as “an iconic fan-favorite character from the original comic book series”, so perhaps there is hope that this iteration will stay true to his graphic origins. Either way, the role marks another big step in Reiser‘s recent return to the spotlight. The actor is also currently starring as Dr. Sam Owens on Netflix’s smash hit Stranger Things.

    The Boys Season 3 is now streaming on Amazon Prime.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Squid Game’ Reality TV Show in Development at Netflix

    ‘Squid Game’ Reality TV Show in Development at Netflix

    It looks like the YouTuber Mr. Beast provoked Netflix enough to make their own Squid Game, as he beat them to it. While a second season for the iconic South Korean series has already been announced, they have announced that they are also creating a new reality series titled Squid Game: The Challenge. 456 players are going to play the iconic games from the series for prize money of 4.56 million. Yes, they are replicating the show with an open casting call for anyone interested in attempting it.

    Of course, Netflix isn’t going to kill off contestants but it’s certainly a curious choice to replicate a game show that showcases rich people enjoying the desperation of people trying to win money to cover their depths. Now, they are producing their own Squid Game, a game of people desperately trying to win money while people watch it from home. While it’s no surprise they’d try to bank on the success of the concept, it does seem a bit curious to replicate the show’s concept in real life given its themes.

    We’ll see just how they tackle the project and if they will closely follow the Korean-based games or add more western additions. They’ll definitely include Red Light, Green Light as well as the iconic candy shape game. Still, it’s a very bizarre choice to make this a reality, and kind of how undermines the principle of the original show. We’ll see if they will truly pull through with this project or what direction it potentially takes given the underlying concept.

    Source: Twitter, Variety

  • ‘Loki’ Season 2 Production Kicks Off With Set Photo

    ‘Loki’ Season 2 Production Kicks Off With Set Photo

    It looks like the first of hopefully many second seasons of any Marvel Studios Disney+ show has finally started production. Cinematographer Isaac Bauman took to his personal Instagram account to share that they have started production on the second season of Loki (as shared by Twitter user @enchantcs due to Bauman deleting the post). He shared the first look from the set which doesn’t reveal too much but does tease with the sentence “Just the beginning.”

    https://twitter.com/enchantcrs/status/1536356800899035137

    As Michael Waldron went on to continue his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Eric Martin is taking over as Loki‘s head writer. It’s unclear how they will continue the franchise and if the second season may be a bit removed from what came before. We know that the Time Variance Authority will make its return, but with a new creative team on board, they may make some changes to make the season stand out from the previous one.

    Even director Kate Herron has moved on from the project to tackle new ventures with Moon Knight directing duo Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead taking on the duties. So, it’ll be interesting to see just how they continue the look and feel from the previous season while still adding their own twist moving the franchise forward.

    Source: Instagram via Twitter, The Direct

  • Amazon Renews ‘The Boys’ For Season 4

    Amazon Renews ‘The Boys’ For Season 4

    A week after Season 3 debuted, Prime Video has renewed The Boys for Season 4. The Emmy-nominated series based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson has been a huge hit for the streaming service. Vernon Sanders, who serves as the head of global television for Amazon Studios, expressed excitement over the return of the hit series. “From our first conversation with Eric Kripke and the creative team about Season Three of The Boys, we knew the show was continuing to get even bolder—an impressive feat considering the wild success of the Emmy-nominated second season.”

    Sanders continued, “The Boys continues to push boundaries in storytelling while also being relentlessly entertaining and threading the needle on social satire that feels all too real. This stylized world of the series has incredible global reach and the viewership for opening weekend is proof of that. We are immensely proud of the cast and crew that has spawned a franchise for Prime Video, and we look forward to bringing more of The Boys to our customers.”

    While Prime Video, much like some of the other streamers, does not release official ratings, the streaming service did note that Season 3’s debut saw the worldwide viewership for the series grow by 17% from Season 2 and an astounding 234% from Season 1.

    The streaming service is putting a lot of faith into The Boys, having already commissioned the animated series Diabolical and the still untitled college spinoff series. While no news has been announced regarding a potential second season of Diabolical, Sanders didn’t shut it down. “We thought there was a two-fold opportunity with Diabolical. One was to get The Boys fans excited about and get it out early. But we also wanted to see if there was another bite of the apple once the mothership show returned, and we are seeing real engagement and growth of the show there. We’ve definitely had conversations with the producers about what the next installment would look like.”

    As for the untitled college spinoff, Sanders couldn’t say too much. Since it was announced, the spinoff series has seen plenty of changes from both behind-the-scenes and in front of the camera – from new showrunners to big casting changes. Sanders did call it “different” from The Boys, but with the spirit of the hit series. Production on the untitled college spinoff is currently underway for a projected 2023 release.

    The fourth episode of The Boys Season 3 is now live on Prime Video.

    Source: Deadline

  • Sana Amanat on Balancing Comic Accuracy with Reimaginings in the MCU (EXCLUSIVE)

    Sana Amanat on Balancing Comic Accuracy with Reimaginings in the MCU (EXCLUSIVE)

    Before audiences had seen a single episode of Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series Ms. Marvel, the online discussion centered on the changes being made to Kamala Khan as they adapted her character for the MCU. New powers. New villains. No Inhumans (?). These things had fans of the character wondering exactly what about the MCU version was going to resemble the one they’d grown to love in the comics.

    Marvel Studios has made it clear over the years that they have no interest in the MCU becoming a collection of direct page-to-screen projects and Ms. Marvel is no different. Charles Villanueva asked Sana Amanat, who co-created the character in the comics and also shepherded her into the MCU, how they worked on balancing a story that was faithful to the comics while also becoming its own thing.

    Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige in particular are very respectful of the source material. He’s a fan, through and through. So for him, he really wanted to adapt [Ms. Marvel] but really brought what worked, which was Kamala, her family, and her world. So the first thing that was important to us was that the casting was there and that the tone and style of the show were there.

    Sana Amanat

    Amanat notes that the casting of the character was of the utmost importance and, in Iman Vellani, the studio seems to have found an actress who truly captures the essence of Kamala Khan. So while the series, and the future of the character, might diverge from the comics in some ways, the heart of the character looks to have made the jump to the MCU.

    Ms. Marvel is now streaming on Disney Plus.

  • ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ on HBO Max Adds Co-Showrunner 

    HBO Max’s Dead Boy Detectives is adding a new co-showrunner to the mix.

    On Thursday, Variety announced that Beth Schwartz has joined the HBO Max series as co-showrunner. She will co-showrun alongside Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant). She will also executive produce the title for the streaming service. This marks a return to DC for Schwartz as she previously served as the showrunner for the final two seasons of The CW’s Arrow. Along with working on Arrow, Schwartz helped to develop Sweet Tooth for Netflix. She served as the co-showrunner for that show’s first season. Jim Mickle will serve as the sole showrunner for Season 2 of Sweet Tooth.

    Dead Boy Detectives was ordered to series back in April. The series is based on DC Comics characters created by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner. The Dead Boy Detectives, Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, first made their live-action debut in the critically acclaimed Doom Patrol series. George Rexstrew has been cast as Edwin Payne, while Jayden Revri has been cast as Charles Rowland. Other members of the cast include Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace, Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse, Yuyu Kitamura as Niko and Jenn Lyon as Esther.

    The pilot episode was penned by Yockey and directed by Lee Toland Krieger (Shadow and Bone). Schwartz will executive produce the series alongside Yockey, Jeremy Carver, and Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter of Berlanti Productions.

    Source: Variety.

  • HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Adds Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson 

    HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Adds Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson 

    HBO’s The Last of Us is doubling up on familiar faces. It was revealed during a panel at Summer Game Fest that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson will both have major roles in the upcoming television adaptation of Naughty Dog’s iconic franchise. The pair originated the protagonist roles of Joel and Ellie in 2013’s hit PlayStation exclusive, and both returned in 2020 for the acclaimed sequel The Last of Us Part II. It’s been known for some time that The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal and Game of Thrones breakout Bella Ramsey will take over as the leads for the live-action show, and it was confirmed during the panel that Baker and Johnson will indeed be playing different characters than they do in the game series. They join Merle Dandridge in the exclusive club of performers both in the original project and it’s adaptation.

    Also revealed at the panel is the increased role of franchise creator Neil Druckmann in HBO’s creative process. After directing both video game installments, Druckmann will helm an episode of the series on top of writing and executive producing. It was promised that with Druckmann’s help, the show would ensure a faithful retelling of the story and it’s intricately detailed world. This information is in direct contrast to earlier claims from Druckmann that the HBO series would differ from the original game in significant ways. However, it’s always possible both statements are true in their own right, with changes being made while the overall story stays true to it’s initial design. Either way, the fact Baker and Johnson want to be involved is probably a good sign.

    Source: Naughty Dog