Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: TV News

  • Marvel Studios President Hints at Strong International Performance of Disney+ Series

    Marvel Studios President Hints at Strong International Performance of Disney+ Series

    The Internet will often point to “quality over quantity” in regard to lower-than-usual performing Marvel movies. Though they still dominated most of 2022, their only “shortcoming” so far was Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania underperforming with 470M. Yes, it didn’t make its money back but it’s still an amount most people would dream of in such a competitive market after running for 10+ years. Still, the vocalization of the Internet’s displeasure has also been very openly pointed at Disney+.

    Some say the shows aren’t good enough quality, constantly dragging down the viewership numbers based on 3rd party tracking, and hatred from being too “woke” by a specific crowd. Last year, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Ms. Marvel took the brunt of it, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige left with a strong message during Disney’s Upfronts by pointing out that their shows have reached “often two to three times the numbers of viewers” from the “buzziest shows on competitive services.”

    Thanks to Disney+, we’ve expanded the Marvel Cinematic Universe into genre and formats new to us that we haven’t done before. We’ve been able to introduce exciting new heroes and villains, locations and storylines into the MCU. And I’m pleased to share that when you compare our Marvel series to some of the buzziest shows on competitive services, even our smallest series are reaching much more international audience – often two to three times the number of viewers.

    Kevin Feige

    We can’t really prove it and streaming services continue to share very little outside of Netflix, but it’s definitely an interesting perspective to offer. And it’s not like they are inventing numbers, it may be a showcase of the international audience embracing these shows more, and discussions on quality are much more diverse than they appear to be; especially if you see how the Internet reacts toward the existence of shows like The Good Doctor.

    We’ll see what the future holds for these shows, but Marvel is definitely taking a step back and changing up their strategy, such as Echo becoming a binge release. For now, it feels like we’re about to enter a new era as the pandemic has been left behind and theatrical releases are finally a viable strategy again.

    Source: The Direct via Twitter

  • ‘Ahsoka’ Release Date May Have Been Revealed

    ‘Ahsoka’ Release Date May Have Been Revealed

    Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars streaming series, Ahsoka, has been slated for an August release since Star Wars Celebration 2023. However, as Bob Iger‘s return to Disney has slowed the roll of the company’s big hitters on its streaming service, it’s been tough to pin down exact release dates…until recently. Kevin Feige just revealed when the next two Marvel Studios’ series, Loki and Echo, would hit Disney Plus and now it seems the release date for Ahsoka may have made its way out into the world, although not intentionally.

    In a page now unavailable, Disney Movie Insiders indicated that Ahsoka is scheduled to premiere on Disney Plus on August 31st. Of course, on the internet nothing is ever truly gone and a screenshot of the information was captured before it was taken down.

    Disney Plus has been releasing Star Wars and Marvel Studios on Wednesdays for some time and August 31st is a Thursday but there’s some reason to believe the date for Ahsoka might be accurate. Feige’s recent release of the start dates for Loki and Echo revealed that those Marvel Studios series will drop on Disney Plus on Fridays. With Loki set to debut on August 6th, Ahsoka’s last 3 episodes would run concurrently with Loki’s first 3 episodes (assuming both of the shows are releasing one episode per week). By moving Ahsoka to Thursday and running Loki on Friday, Disney Plus original series would more often than not dominate the weekend discourse on social media. We’ll continue to monitor the situation but until Lucasfilm releases the date officially, don’t etch it into your stone calendars just yet.

  • Disney Upfront Reveals First Look at Mobius’ New TVA Suit

    Disney Upfront Reveals First Look at Mobius’ New TVA Suit

    Disney just recently had its Upfront presentation, where it showcased to advertisers just how important it is to invest their money in Disney+. Their new ad-supported model is just picking up speed and it’s no wonder that they would try to push what the future has in store plus all the pre-existing franchises that pull in quite a number of viewership. At the after-party, it seems there are a few displays of iconic imagery from Star Wars and Marvel.

    that isn’t all, as there’s also a showcase of Loki’s second season. We get a look at a black suit that has been teased for the God of Mischief. Not just that, but the standee is next to something that looks like a space-inspired suit from the TVA. The logo is on it, and there were some hints at this being something Morbius wears in the upcoming second season, but it’s interesting that they are including some spoilers from sequences we haven’t seen yet.

    Looking closely at the picture next to Iron Man’s helmet, you can actually see that this suit is, in fact, for Morbius. It’s called a Temporal Core suit and may play into the time travel elements that continue to be a big part of this new multiversal storyline. With the confirmation of a release date during the Upfronts, we’re still waiting for an actual trailer. Of course, they may be trying to focus on Secret Invasions to avoid overlapping too many ads that create the “quantity over quality” belief of the web.

    Source: Twitter

  • Netflix’s Real-Life ‘Squid Game’ Eyeing November Release

    Netflix’s Real-Life ‘Squid Game’ Eyeing November Release

    Netflix’s first Upfront has come and gone with very little fanfare. They mainly focused on their ad-supported model and selling future advertisers that they should definitely invest in. Sadly, most of their future big projects are being left behind, there are some surprises like a double season renewal of Ginny & Georgina and Love is Blind surprisingly soon return later this year.

    Probably one of their biggest “IPs” is Squid Game. While Season 2 is still taking quite a bit of time to produce, it does seem like their upcoming reality show inspired by the anti-capitalism series (the irony still isn’t lost) will come sooner than expected. The series is set to premiere sometime this November, 17 months after it was given a green light.

    It’ll consist of ten parts and see players re-enact many of the iconic games from the original with the hope of winning the big prize. The last we heard about it was that some production issues had led to some concerns over the project. People go through hellish conditions to bring a simple concept to life. We’ll have to see how it turned out and with a potential November release, there’s still some time before any official trailer drops.

    Source: Deadline, Deadline

  • Den Den Murphy Episode 28 – More Live-Action ‘One Piece’ News

    Den Den Murphy Episode 28 – More Live-Action ‘One Piece’ News

    After a bit of a hiatus, Suki and Joe are back to talk all things One Piece. The excitement is rising with Netflix’s upcoming live-action adaptation of the popular manga series with an official statement by Eiichiro Oda. Not just that but the two also catch up on the manga, and discuss the new One Piece Odyssey DLC.

  • Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Cast Continues to Grow

    Netflix’s ‘One Piece’ Cast Continues to Grow

    Is it perfect timing ahead of Netflix’s first attendance at the Upfronts that a variety of actresses and actors are revealing their involvement with Netflix’s live-action One Piece series? Probably not, but it’s a fun coincidence either way as a variety of new cast members have been unveiled.

    Once again, @OP_Netflix_Fan and the @OPLAfandom, whose discord you can check out by clicking here, have uncovered a slew of talent revealing their involvement with the upcoming series. Interestingly enough, while these are mainly supporting cast, there are some rather important cast members included.

    Let’s kick it off with the two biggest flashback characters. Mackenyu Arata’s younger self will seemingly be played by Maximilian Lee Piazza. He’ll take on the role of Zoro during the iconic flashback from the East Blue saga. It was rumored for quite some time since September of 2022, but it’s great to have a confirmation now. He’ll be joined by Audrey Cymone, who will take on the role of Kuina, Zoro’s childhood friend.

    We also seemingly have a casting for the role of Ririka, who is the mother of Rika and is set to be played by Nicole Fortuin. While she doesn’t have a major role in the story, she does appear in Zoro’s introduction arc in Shells Town. Yet, that is not all, as we also finally know who is the other half of the Nyaban Brothers (or Siblings rather) Albert Pretorius will take on the role of Buchi and star opposite Bianca Oosthuizen, who will play Sham.

    It’s great to get some more announcements and here’s hoping that the timing for them adding to the CV might have some meaning. We’ve been anxiously waiting for any details we can get our hands on nowadays, as the show’s release seems closer and closer with every day. While we don’t know if something will drop during the Upfronts, the hope is definitely alive going in and beyond.

    Source: Twitter, Instagram, APM (Ririka), APM (Buchi)

  • Aubrey Plaza Teases ‘Agatha’ Disney+ Series With Disney Reference

    Aubrey Plaza Teases ‘Agatha’ Disney+ Series With Disney Reference

    Marvel Studios just recently used the Disney Upfronts to tease what the rest of the year has in store for us for its Disney+ series. We finally have a release date for not just Loki but also Echo, which has finally been confirmed to release later this year. Yet, they also have other projects in development and it seems Aubrey Plaza is having fun teasing another project that is rumored to arrive tomorrow.

    Without any real word, Aubrey Plaza has shared an image that states Marvel Studios: The Darkhold Diaries. While it might be easy to think this might be a new spinoff series from Agatha: Coven of Chaos, there’s been no word that they’d want to add even more shows after already dialing it back this year.

    What is more likely, this might be a reference to the series she’s working on and the logo might be a new production title for it. Plus, the logo and font seem to be a dark twist on the Disney classic The Princess Diaries. We still know very little about the project but it’s great to see the excitement of Plaza’s involvement with the project.

    For now, we might not know for quite some time what exactly the is teasing with this image. Perhaps we will get a better tease in the near future and this is just the beginning, but it’ll generally be interesting what the future has in store for Marvel Studios’ overall Disney+ strategy.

    Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s success might push them towards reworking where Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania fell into a slump. Perhaps dialing it back with their Disney+ projects is just the first step and spreading them out even further. We don’t know how long the wait will be for the next but there’s a chance after Echo, we’ll see another slowdown until the summer kicks off.

    Source: Instagram

  • FX’s ‘Archer’ Will End With Season 14

    FX’s ‘Archer’ Will End With Season 14

    FX’s spy comedy Archer is ending. During an unveiling of summer premiere dates, FX announced that the animated spy comedy’s 14th season will be the last. The network also reports that the final season will be on FXX, its partner channel, and will treat fans to two episodes to open the season on August 30. Episodes will be available the next day on Hulu.

    Since Archer premiered in 2009, it’s been a major foundational piece of FX’s comedy content programming. The series touts 10 Emmy nominations with four wins, including 2016’s Emmy for best-animated series. The final season finds Archer and The Agency navigating a new path led by Lana. Lana’s mission is to make money and the world better, but she quickly realizes this is no easy task.

    Archer joins a busy summer lineup, chalked full of notable shows, starting in June. Fans can expect more from shows like What We Do in the Shadows, Justified: City Primeval, Reservation Dogs, and more.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Marvel Studios Provides Release Dates for Season 2 of ‘Loki’, ‘Echo’

    Marvel Studios Provides Release Dates for Season 2 of ‘Loki’, ‘Echo’

    2023 will be nearly half over before Marvel Studios first streaming series of the year, Secret Invasion, will hit Disney Plus. However, it looks as though the last quarter of 2023 will have plenty of Marvel Studios entertainment.

    Loki will begin streaming on October 6 and will be almost immediately followed by Echo. In an unprecedented move, Marvel Studios will drop all episodes of Echo on November 29th. It’s expected that the second season of Loki will consist of 6 episodes and while Disney has not officially revealed it, rumors have swirled for months that Echo will consist of five episodes.

    The move also puts Marvel Studios’ new releases back on Fridays, where they first began, after moving to Wednesdays for some time. Should Marvel Studios only release one episode of Loki per week, that puts the final episode out the same day as the planned release of The Marvels. The studio has yet to release an episode of a streaming series on the same day as a film, though they’ve released episodes of their series on the Wednesday before an opening weekend so it’ll be worth following along to see what strategy Disney decides to follow.

  • Live Action ‘One Piece’ Adds Former Cirque du Soleil Acrobat as Cabaji

    Live Action ‘One Piece’ Adds Former Cirque du Soleil Acrobat as Cabaji

    We’re only a few more weeks away from entering the second half year and Netflix is still playing with our hearts on when we can expect the first trailer or release date for its live-action One Piece adaptation. While many are likely still quite a bit cautious due to their track record with these adaptations, a lot of elements are coming together hinting at this potentially being the one to break the mold with passionate cast and showrunners. Even the manga creator Eiichiro Oda has his hands on the project, confirming that it won’t go out into the world until he approves it.

    To hold us over until Netflix drops an official statement, @OP_Netflix_Fan and the detectives over at the One Piece Live-Action Discord server have uncovered another actor playing a familiar role in the live-action adaptation. Buggy’s crew is finally growing with Sven Ruygrok confirming he is set to play Cabaji in Netflix’s One Piece in his CV. Going by it, he has a background in gymnastics and dancing but most notably worked as part of Cirque du Soleil, which makes him an interesting choice for the man commonly unicycling his way through combat.

    It’s great to see them adding an actor that also has the acrobatic skills that match the character from the manga. While it’s unclear just how much we’ll see him jump around or if he’ll primarily be using a unicycle (if at all) but it’s definitely a great little addition to the already stellar cast. Now, we only need to know if he also has a bizarre haircut and a long scarf. They may have shortened it to ensure it doesn’t get in the way during combat; especially if he uses swords.

    Source: Twitter, APM, IMDb