Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: TV News

  • First Look at Titania, Leap-Frog and More in ‘She-Hulk’ Teaser

    First Look at Titania, Leap-Frog and More in ‘She-Hulk’ Teaser

    The rumors of a lengthy delay to Marvel Studios Disney Plus streaming series She-Hulk have been debunked with the first teaser for the series debuting and the release date is officially revealed. The teaser also gave fans their first looks at the supporting cast of the show, including Jameela Jamil’s updated Titania, and a surprise appearance by a Daredevil baddie that’s sure to have everyone Wiki-ing away.

    Jamil‘s role in the series had hardly been a secret, with reports dating back nearly a year ago that she’d be bringing Titania to live-action. Described as a Kardashian-esque influencer, Jamil‘s version of the character looks to be an incredibly modernized version of the comic character, first introduced in the 1984 event, Secret Wars.

    Finally, Daredevil baddie Leap-Frog made a surprise appearance in the teaser, proving that no character is off-limits in this series. The character first made his appearance in the comics over 50 years ago in Daredevil #25 and had a wildly unsuccessful career as a villain despite being a genius inventor. Leap-Frog’s son took over the suit and going by the name Frog-Man, became a hero who was eventually part of The Initiative. It seems that, in the MCU, the character will be a mish-mash of father and son.

    You can watch the full trailer here:

    She-Hulk will begin streaming on Disney Plus on August 17th.

  • First ‘She-Hulk’ Trailer Reveals New Title for Disney+ Series

    First ‘She-Hulk’ Trailer Reveals New Title for Disney+ Series

    After a long wait, the first trailer finally arrived for Disney+’s She-Hulk. We’ve only gotten a glimpse at the project during last year’s Disney+ Day alongside a new logo, but that was only the tease of what’s to come. The project also got a new logo at the time, which was closer to its Law & Order inspirations rather than the comic-inspired logo. It seems that it got another revamp and a new logo going along with it, as the Marvel Studios series is now titled She-Hulk, Attorney At Law.

    Image

    Now, the title certainly highlights the comedy series’ strong focus on procedural, as we’ll likely spend a lot of time with the titular heroine trying to fight her way through one lawsuit after another. Yet, it also may have caught the attention of some that are fans of Cartoon Network’s earliest Adult Swim era. The title seems like a tribute to Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

    If it is intended, the tribute makes a lot of sense given the way that the animated series featured a former superhero acting as an attorney. He would have various iconic characters from Hanna-Barbera’s animation history pop in for various lawsuits, no matter how crazy they may have been. We’ve even written a piece in December of 2020 about how She-Hulk should echo that series given its perchance to also break the fourth wall. Maybe we even get some appearances of Gary Cole or Stephen Colbert, which would be a nice little touch to pay tribute to the iconic Adult Swim series.

    She-Hulk will begin streaming on Disney+ on August 17th.

  • Ava DuVernay’s Animated ‘Wings of Fire’ Adaptation Canceled by Netflix

    Ava DuVernay’s Animated ‘Wings of Fire’ Adaptation Canceled by Netflix

    It hasn’t been easy for Ava DuVernay‘s projects as of late. Not only did her New Gods project get canceled by Warner Bros but her new CW series adaptation of Naomi won’t be returning for a second season. Now, it looks like her animated adaptation of the Wings of Fire‘s fantasy book series.

    It looks like her series is one of many animated series that were cut as a result of Netflix’s recent subscriber drop. The adaptation would’ve explored Tui T. Sutherland’s books, which would’ve run for a ten-episode season. It explores an ongoing war between dragon tribes of Pyrrhia. A prophecy proclaimed that five young dragons would lead to peaceful times, who would set out on a quest to uncover themselves and just what led to the war in the first place.

    Dan Milano and Christa Starr were working on the project as showrunners and executive producers. DuVernay and Sutherland were also executive producing alongside Sam Register and Sarah Bremner. Sadly, Netflix has generally been on a cancelation spree with their projects, which also included Boons and Curses, Dino Daycare, and Pearl.

    The news also comes in addition to recent mumblings that 150 people are about to lose their job, as their revenue growth has slowed down. Netflix right now is weighing its options and those productions that are further in may not be affected, but it seems they have set their eyes on animation as their main way to save money moving forward when it comes to active pre-productions.

    Source: Deadline

  • Robert Downey Jr. Working on New Discovery+ Series Turning Muscle Cars Eco-Friendly

    Robert Downey Jr. Working on New Discovery+ Series Turning Muscle Cars Eco-Friendly

    Robert Downey Jr. is about to revisit his Tony Stark era in a new and creative way. He is working on a new unscripted series where he turns sports and muscle cars into eco-friendly variants for the 21st century. This makes his second Discovery+ series currently being worked on under the title Downey’s Dream Cars.

    They may change the title, but Team Downey is involved with the project, which is Robert and Susan Downey‘s production banner. They are working with Boat Rocker’s Matador Content with the series eyeing a release later this year on Discovery+, which will not yet fuse with HBO Max after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. He made the following statement on it:

    My goal is to showcase that it’s possible to keep the integrity of classic cars while leveraging new tech and innovation to make them more eco-friendly. I’m thrilled audiences will get to see this series on Discovery+ later this year.

    Robert Downey Jr.

    This project marks the second one alongside the four-part documentary series The Bond. Downey’s Dream Cars is a passion project for the former Avengers: Endgame star, as he tries to bring these cars into the modern eco-friendly age. It’s great to see the star combine his passion with a new project, which has generally become a new trend as stars have entered reality TV productions to explore hobbies in a new way through their production banners.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Loki’s Sasha Lane Says It Is Possible Hunter C-20 Could Return for Season 2

    ‘Loki’s Sasha Lane Says It Is Possible Hunter C-20 Could Return for Season 2

    The highly-anticipated Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has finally been released and has given fans a taste of the MCU’s vast multiverse. In the midst of all the madness, it is easy to forget where the multiverse began. The Season 1 finale of Loki showed the infinite branches of reality cracking open after the death of Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains.

    Loki created far more than the multiverse, though, as it also introduced the Time Variance Authority to the mythos. The season finale threw a wrench in viewers’ ability to predict Season 2 because Tom Hiddleston’s Loki found himself in a very different TVA at the end. Anything seems to be possible. Recently, actress Sasha Lane told Collider that her character Hunter C-20 could possibly return in Loki Season 2, even though Hunter C-20 appeared to meet her end in the first season.

    I remember telling the producer, because they’re like, ‘Oh, we’ll see,’ and I was like, ’If I happen to make it back, can I just be hiding behind a little rock somewhere? Just squatted behind a rock just like, ‘Hey! Missed you guys. It’s been a while.’ I’m desperately hoping to be hiding behind a rock somewhere because you don’t know where I went! You don’t know. So, to me, I’m not dead, so I’m just trying to project it out there that there’s a rock that I’m sitting behind just, ‘Is anybody gonna stop by soon?’

    Sasha Lane

    While bringing characters back from the dead has always been an option in these stories, there are plenty of other avenues for Hunter C-20 to return. For example, Owen Wilson’s Mobius did not know who Loki was at the end of the season finale, implying that he could be a different Variant of the Mobius we met initially. So, with all the complications of the multiverse, there is no reason a Hunter C-20 Variant could not exist. Still, it could be the case that the character never died in the first place, as Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Ravonna Renslayer’s actions were shady enough that there is room for interpretation as to what exactly happened to the TVA hunter.

    Fans will be able to see what Loki Season 2 has in store eventually. It does not have a confirmed release date, but Hiddleston said production on the season should be starting soon.

    Source: Collider

  • ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1932’ Adds Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford

    ‘Yellowstone’ Prequel ‘1932’ Adds Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford

    Talk about adding some star power, as Taylor Sheridan‘s Yellowstone prequel series titled 1932 has added Helen Mirren and Harrison Ford. They are going to star in the Paramount+ exclusive streaming service that is currently eyeing a December release. It was picked up back in February, which will explore a new generation of the Dutton family during the early 20th century.

    The storyline will take place at the end of Prohibition and the Great Depression affects the mountain west, where the Duttons have made their home. Sadly, they won’t reveal what characters Mirren or Ford are playing as of now. It’s definitely a power move, especially after the success of Sheridan‘s Yellowstone series.

    It also continues to signal Paramount+’s move to further establish the new streaming service with some powerhouse names. There have been various other spinoffs and prequels in development based on Yellowstone, such as 1883 and a spinoff 6666, which is still in early development. So, he’s been slowly building up a cinematic universe on the streaming service.

    With the exception of Yellowstone, all of these projects will be part of Paramount+ with 1932 being produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, and Sheridan‘s Bosque Ranch Productions. he is joined by executive producers John Linson, David C. Glasser, Art Linson, Bob Yari, Ben Richardson, and David C. Glasser.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • First Details on Disney+’s Ad-Supported Model

    First Details on Disney+’s Ad-Supported Model

    There’s been a lot of questions on what exactly the future has in store for Disney+’s ad-supported model. It was announced that they were planning on expanding it worldwide and in an interview with Wall Street Journal, Disney’s President of Ad Sales and Partnerships, Rita Ferro, explained their approach to the new model. It seems their base plan is to keep it at four minutes for every hour, which is quite a bit smaller than traditional TV and other streaming rivals.

    Peacock is only a minute longer while traditional television has between 18 to 23 minutes per hour. The other Disney streaming service, Hulu, has double the amount while HBO Max also sticks to four minutes per hour as well. The big statement Ferro instantly made is that they are not collecting data to target kids using the service. That was a big concern given its family-friendly focus that this could be seen as its USP for advertisers, but they are staying true to it. They’ve also already confirmed that they won’t allow advertising involving politics or alcohol on the service. They also are excluding rival ads, which isn’t unusual.

    They are also highlighting that they will exclude ads when it involves pre-school audiences, which is seemingly running through the profile rather than the actual content being watched. Of course, the cheaper option for those uncertain about subscribing and with a limited amount of ads at 4 minutes may not sound too bad. There’s no word how it may affect GroupWatch functions.

    It’s important to note that child advertising is illegal in specific countries, which is why an international release for the ad-supported version may be rolled out in different stages. They likely may test it out with internal ads for their own shows and offerings, as a way to fill space and see how people respond to the ad tier before rolling it out. The data provided in the service is definitely going to be a big question mark, as it’s not uncommon in the US that this information is sold. They will also have to abide by the GDPR in Europe, which could lead to some challenges on how they integrate ads, but we might find out more as they build up the model.

    Source: Wall Street Journal

  • Samuel L. Jackson Teases Nick Fury’s Evolution in ‘Secret Invasion’

    Samuel L. Jackson Teases Nick Fury’s Evolution in ‘Secret Invasion’

    All eyes are on Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk as the next Marvel Studios releases on Disney+. Yet, they’ve also been really busy working on other shows such as the Samuel L. Jackson-led Secret Invasion. Nick Fury finds himself at odds with a Skrull invasion and it looks like the series will take the character to places that we haven’t seen from him yet.

    In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he talked about learning new things about Fury, and also giving him the chance to “explore something other than the badass-ery” sounds like a promising direction for the series.

    There are things that even I really didn’t know about Nick Fury that I just found out, that the minds behind what happened during the Blip are fantastic. That’s part of what we’re uncovering when we do this series now. The place that Nick Fury is in, the evolution of his story, or the devolution of his story, as maybe we wind it down or maybe we crank it up. It’s kind of hard to tell. But, giving me an opportunity to explore something other than the badass-ery of who Nick Fury is. I’ve had a good time doing that, and I’m looking forward to people sharing that aspect of who he is when this series does happen.

    Samuel L. Jackson

    It definitely sounds like a promising direction for the series, as it was unclear if it’ll act as an ensemble piece or further develop Nick Fury, who has been the guiding light of the franchise since his first appearance back in 2008’s Iron Man. Jackson‘s excitement to continue playing the character also pushes him to be the currently longest member of the MCU and we’ll see just what is heading his way once we get a first look at the series trailer.

    Source: Twitter via The Direct

  • Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Had Heated Debates Over ‘The Mandalorian’s Grogu

    Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni Had Heated Debates Over ‘The Mandalorian’s Grogu

    The Mandalorian was the series to not only kick off Disney+ but also redefine Star Wars storytelling. With Jon Favreau at its head, the same man who kickstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we’ve started to see a new expensive network of shows all based around this series, such as last year’s The Book of Boba Fett and Dave Filoni‘s upcoming Ahsoka.

    In an interview with Vanity Fair, Lucasfilm CEO Kathleen Kennedy talks about what it’s like working with him and how ended up developing The Mandalorian.

    I knew that Jon Favreau was always deeply interested in Star Wars. He was the first person I went to. He said, ‘Not only would I have an interest, I have an idea.’ What’s unique about Jon is his commitment. He’s had a sole focus pretty much on this for the last several years. That’s been a godsend.

    Kathleen Kennedy

    She reveals that after they met in her office in Santa Monica, Favreau already started working on the series. He ended up writing up around four episodes even though he didn’t even have a contract at the time. Interestingly enough, there were multiple conflicts when he started developing the series based on a Mandalorian. Not only was James Mangold originally developing a Boba Fett-centric film, but Dave Filoni also had plans for it.

    So, Kennedy had a simple way to remedy this issue, as while Mangold went on to tackle Indiana Jones 5, she simply had Filoni and Favreau sit down and talk about their visions. Once they started exchanging ideas, they started combining them into what would eventually become The Mandalorian.

    “They got along instantly, like gangbusters,” Kennedy revealed but there was one element they couldn’t fully decide on. It seems that Favreau’s idea of Grogu, who many dubbed Baby Yoda early on, was quite a ferocious discussion point between the two. Yet, she highlighted this as them trying to challenge each other to truly refine the concept and it led to us getting the series that became a staple of Disney+.

    Source: Vanity Fair

  • Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie to Direct ‘Echo’

    Sydney Freeland and Catriona McKenzie to Direct ‘Echo’

    As production has finally started on the Hawkeye spinoff Echo, we’ve finally gotten a first look and hint at what’s to expect from the upcoming Disney+ series. That is not all, as it also gave us a confirmation that Reservation Dogs‘ Sydney Freeland is indeed directing, which she technically indirectly confirmed back in March, and she’ll be joined by Catriona McKenzie.

    Now, a big part of the upcoming Disney+ series is about Alaqua Cox‘s Echo retracing her Native American roots. As such, a big part of the series is also dedicated to exploring the meaning of cultural heritage and one’s Indigenous roots. McKenzie is an Indigenous Australian director, who is Gunaikurnai. She’s worked on a variety of series such as How to Get Away With Murder, Supernatural, and The Walking Dead.

    Sydney Freeland is of Navajo descent and has worked on a variety of projects, which includes Rutherford Falls, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Fear the Walking Dead. She’s also one of the creative minds behind FX’s Reservation Dogs, which included all Indigenous writers and directors.

    It’s great to see the talent they are pulling in for this project, especially with the series making it an important push for the representation given its main character’s background. It’ll be interesting to see how it might tie to her upbringing under Wilson Fisk and how visiting her hometown might change her way of looking at her past and future.