Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: TV

  • SWCE: Final 2 ‘The Mandalorian’ Episodes Directed by Rick Famuiywa

    SWCE: Final 2 ‘The Mandalorian’ Episodes Directed by Rick Famuiywa

    The Mandalorian is still in the middle of its third season as we’re nearing the end of its third season. There has been a lot of development for these various episodes that introduced us to many more corners of this series. While Din Djarin and Grogu remained its main focus, the franchise has continued to grow in unexpected ways. While some felt that the threads haven’t quite come together just yet, it seems that Rick Famuiywa promises that’ll change very soon.

    During the Star Wars Celebration panel, he unveiled that he directed the final two episodes in the third season and also promised that all these various storylines will intersect by the end of the series. So, just a little more patience might unveil the masterplan that Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Fumiywa have lied out throughout the series runtime.

    Source: Twitter

  • SWCE: ‘Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae Playing a Jedi Knight

    SWCE: ‘Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae Playing a Jedi Knight

    The Acolyte has been quite a mysterious project for Lucasfilm. Not only was there a lot of curiosity about it being the first real disconnected story from a previous iteration in the franchise, but it also hinted at exploring an era that has yet to have been seen in live-action. Luckily, the latest Star Wars Celebration has arrived and we got a good look at what the future has in store.

    Not only did they unveil a new and much cleaner logo for the series. But they also confirmed some of the castings that we can expect for the series. First off, one of their biggest additions was the breakout star Lee Jung-jae after his leading role in Squid Game. They also confirmed that Joonas Suotamo will be playing a Wookie Jedi.

    Source: Twitter

  • SWCE: Inspirations of ‘The Acolyte’ Revealed

    SWCE: Inspirations of ‘The Acolyte’ Revealed

    Among the many upcoming projects on the Star Wars slate is the streaming series The Acolyte. Created by Leslye Headland, the series is set in the High Republic era well before the rise of the Empire giving fans a brand new perspective on the galaxy far, far away. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy hyped the show at Star Wars Celebration saying that the four finished episodes of the series blew her mind before turning the stage over to Headland, who detailed some of the show’s interesting inspirations.

    According to Headland, her original pitch for the series was “Frozen meets Kill Bill.”

    While that sets up some pretty interesting ideas of what type of action fans can expect from the new series, it was also revealed that the project will take philosophical inspiration from the works of legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. Kurosawa’s work famously inspired Star Wars creator George Lucas’ take on the franchise and, according to Headland, two of his films, Yojimbo and The Hidden Fortress, have inspired her on The Acolyte.

    The Acolyte will stream on Disney Plus in 2024.

  • SWCE: ‘Andor’ Season 2 Eyeing Late Summer 2024 Release

    SWCE: ‘Andor’ Season 2 Eyeing Late Summer 2024 Release

    After a long wait, Star Wars Celebration is back with its big panel teasing what the future has in store for Lucasfilm. They kicked off the panel with their sleeper hit from last year: Andor. The more grounded story of the early days of the rebellion has sparked with many fans and may have become the one series that many believe is even Lucasfilm and Star Wars’ best entry to date.

    We’ve known for some time though that the series isn’t quite done yet and would wrap up with a second season. During the big Lucasfilm panel at SWCE, the series showrunner and creator Tony Gilroy unveiled that we might expect the series sometime next year. He highlights that they are already halfway through production and once again confirms that the series will end where Rogue One starts.

    Source: Twitter

  • HBO Max’s ‘It’ Prequel Scares Up its First Cast Members

    HBO Max’s ‘It’ Prequel Scares Up its First Cast Members

    It looks to have found its first four cast members. The upcoming prequel series based on the popular It duology by Andy Muschietti will further explore the early days of the town of Derry. For now, it only has the fittingly working title of “Welcome to Derry” but it seems that the project is moving forward at full speed after it was ordered straight-to series back in February.

    As of now, four cast members have joined the production which includes Ma Raney’s Black Bottom‘s Taylour Paige, Babylon‘s Jovan Adepo, Oppenheimer‘s James Remar, and Perry Mason‘s Chris Chalk. Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane are serving as co-showrunners on the project with Muschietti acting as an executive producer through Double Dream.

    Currently, the following logline has been shared for the HBO Max original series:

    Set in the world of Stephen King’s ‘It’ universe, ‘Welcome to Derry’ is based on King’s ‘It’ novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films ‘It’ and ‘It Chapter Two.

    Supposedly Andy Muschietti will also direct multiple episodes, including the pilot. Fuchs wrote the teleplay for the first episode, but it is based on an idea he worked on with Muschietti and his wife, Barbara Muschietti. It’ll be interesting to see how they might tackle this adaptation and how much the focus may be on Pennywise given he’s an integral part of Derry’s history. Bill Skarsgard, who played him in the last two films, confirmed he has not been in talks to join just yet. So, we’ll see if an announcement will follow.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Star Wars’: Donald Glover Eyeing Return As Lando For Future Project

    ‘Star Wars’: Donald Glover Eyeing Return As Lando For Future Project

    Solo: A Star Wars Story actor Donald Glover wants to return as Lando Calrissian in a galaxy not so far away. Glover confirms that he is in talks to return as Lando in a future project. Details of exactly what that project may remain under wraps. According to Glover, Lando’s charming character is a rarity in recent memory, and he says he welcomes the chance to reprise his character.

    “I would love to play Lando again. It’s a fun time, being him. It just has to be the right way to do it. Time is precious…I’m not interested in doing anything that’s going to be a waste of my time or just a paycheck….It just has to be the right thing, and I think it could be. Lando is definitely somebody I like to hang out with.”

    Zak Sharf, Variety

    If this new project is to be successful, it’s got its work cut out. Debuting in 2018, “Solo” was costly as the film narrowly exceeded its $250 million-plus budget. The $392 million worldwide sales did not net Disney a profit. Something else fans should remember: Director Ron Howard has openly said he’s unaware of a sequel in the works. He adds fans primarily drive news of a “Solo” sequel. Howard warns that while not impossible, he doesn’t get the sense it’s a priority for Lucasfilm. Glover returning to the big screen would be under other storylines for now.

    Source: Variety

  • Warner Bros. Eyeing a ‘Harry Potter Revival as an HBO Max Series

    Warner Bros. Eyeing a ‘Harry Potter Revival as an HBO Max Series

    The Wizarding World has lost a lot of steam with its latest Fantastic Beast entry, and it seems that Warner Bros. is trying to bring back the magic, as they are currently eyeing a new adaptation of the iconic Harry Potter books. This time around, however, it won’t be a new set of films but rather an ongoing series for HBO Max that would recount all books. The only troubling reveal is: J.K. Rowling may be involved to produce.

    While it makes sense that the author of the original work would be involved, Rowling has become quite infamous for her views online. It has gotten to a point where stars of the original have quite openly spoken out against her beliefs and the troubles that come with it. It seems that her involvement is due to her creative control over the work.

    The project is among the many ideas that WBD has without any talent involved. So, it is in the very early stages and once they move forward, they’ll likely focus on trying to add a writer that would work alongside Rowling to bring this series to life for the streaming service. The plan, for now, seems to adapt one book per season, which would lead to around seven seasons’ worth of stories to explore.

    In a way, it’s not too surprising as WBD has also been quite vocal about wanting to revive its “big IPs” in the past such as recent movements on bringing back The Lord of the Rings with its original creative team involved, or at least in talks to return. So, they are trying to recapture that magic again and push the franchise back into the spotlight. Perhaps moving it to HBO Max is also a way to give it time before its cinematic potential is revived. Just a shame they didn’t create their own story in Hogwarts to make it stand out.

    Source: Deadline, Bloomberg

  • Frank Grillo Doubts a Crossbones Return to the MCU, Hints at DCU Future

    Frank Grillo Doubts a Crossbones Return to the MCU, Hints at DCU Future

    There’s always a discussion surrounding how villains are treated in any comic book cinematic franchise. Most commonly, they survive for mostly one film and those that make it out alive aren’t around for too long. So, while the heroes continue to get some development, outside of Loki, most villains end up one-dimensional due to the lack of screen time.

    As it turns out, Crossbones actor Frank Grillo feels the same. His character was seemingly set up for a long future with the Marvel Cinematic Universe but faced an untimely end during Captain America: Civil War. One might argue that without his character, the events of that entire film wouldn’t have taken place but it seems Grillo wasn’t a fan of how his character was treated, and seemingly confirms he’ll appear in an upcoming DC project.

    They never told a story [about Crossbones]. The mythology of the MCU and just what Marvel has in its pool of characters, it’s so deep. Crossbones was there for a minute, but he was supposed to be there longer, then they went the direction they did. I think Crossbones serves a purpose, but I think the interesting thing is that if you see how many people around the world have responded to Crossbones, and again, he’s on the screen for a very f–king short amount of time, I think there’s more there. I think there was more meat on the bone. I was disappointed, which is why I went over to DC.

    Frank Grillo

    It’s certainly a bit strange as he probably had more screen time than any villain in the MCU. Plus, he also returned for two projects even after his character died, as he returned in Avengers: Endgame and even voiced Crossbones again in What If…?. So, he wasn’t a character that was completely sidelined and it would’ve been great to see him return especially with future multiversal storylines. But going by his comments, that ship has sailed.

    Source: ComicBook.com

  • ‘Thunderbolts’ Director Jake Schreier Joins Impressive List of ‘Skeleton Crew’ Skippers

    ‘Thunderbolts’ Director Jake Schreier Joins Impressive List of ‘Skeleton Crew’ Skippers

    Though the project has long since completed filming and is now in post-production, the Star Wars streaming series Skeleton Crew continues to sound more promising by the day. Billed as an Amblin-esque adventure set in the Galaxy far, far away, Skeleton Crew has assembled quite the group of directors. Now a new report suggests another hot name has joined the list.

    According to One Take News, Jake Schreier directed an episode of the series for Lucasfilm. Schreier Joins The Daniels and David Lowery on an impressive list of talented directors who have worked with creator Jon Watts behind the camera.



    Skeleton Crew tells the story of four kids who find themselves lost in in the vastness of the galaxy trying to find their way home.

    Official synopsis of Skeleton Crew via Lucasfilm

    A year ago, Schreier was known more for his work on music videos than major projects. That all changed when Marvel Studios selected him to direct the 2024 film Thunderbolts, which will begin production this Spring. Schreier’s first major project, the streaming series Beef, hits Netflix soon and has already been the subject of a lot of positive critical buzz. Interestingly enough, Thunderbolts will serve as a bit of a Beef reunion for Schreier with star Steven Yeun and screenwriter Lee Sung Jin joining him on the Marvel Studios project.

    Lucasfilm has not officially confirmed the team of directors for Skeleton Crew. However, it’s expected that the project will be a part of the upcoming Star Wars Celebration presentation on April 7th in London.

    Source: OTN

  • Great Scott! Chapter 22 of ‘The Mandalorian’ Rocks Out with a Trio of Juicy Cameos

    Great Scott! Chapter 22 of ‘The Mandalorian’ Rocks Out with a Trio of Juicy Cameos

    Bryce Dallas Howard returned to direct Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian and she brought some big names along with her. The episode, titled Guns for Hire, saw Din Djarin, Grogu and Bo-Katan head to the planet of Plazir-15 where they looked to enlist Axe Woves, Koska Reeves and their team of Mandalorian mercenaries into their quest to reclaim Mandalore. While the series Mandalorian leads found who they were looking for, they also met a trio of new faces who made surprising cameos in the episode.

    The grandiose world of Plazir-15 is new to the Star Wars universe which gave Howard and creator Jon Favreau room to get creative and they did exactly that. Shortly after landing on the planet, Din, Grogu and Bo-Katan were escorted to a rather extravagant party. And who invited the Mandalorians to have a seat at the table, take a load off and sip on secretions? The planet’s rulers, The Dutchess and Captain Bombardier, played by Lizzo and Jack Black, respectively.

    As the plot of the episode moved ahead, it turned out it had one more surprise cameo in store. Before Din and Bo-Katan would be allowed to meet with their fellow Mandalorians on Plazir-15, they had a small task to complete for the Dutchess and Captain Bombardier. Plazir-15, as it turned out, had recently experienced some unpleasant business with some rogue droids. To get to the bottom of the matter, Din and Bo-Katan met with the planet’s head of security, Captain Helgait, played by the iconic Christopher Lloyd. Though Helgait was revealed to be behind the droid attacks and exiled from the planet, he did live to see another day.

    It’ll be interesting to follow both the reaction to the trio of cameos and any forthcoming information from Lucasfilm about them. For his part, Black has created a few social media videos expressing his fandom for Star Wars and, in particular, The Mandalorian. His 2022 May the Fourth Be With You and Revenge of the Fifth Tik Toks made quite a splash.

    Chapter 22 of The Mandalorian is now streaming on Disney Plus.