Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: TV

  • ‘Ironheart’ Wrap Gift Teases New Armor’s Faceplate

    ‘Ironheart’ Wrap Gift Teases New Armor’s Faceplate

    Ironheart is slowly building up momentum, as not only is the unique direction for the project grabbing quite a bit of attention but it’s also getting set up in the upcoming Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever. Surprisingly, many believed we wouldn’t see her fully realized armor until the Disney+ series, but early toy leaks hinted at her already getting her hands on it earlier than expected.

    Yet, early set photos from Ironheart also hinted at her having other armors to play around with and a new image featuring the Disney+ productions wrap gifts hints at the design for two of the armors. Of course, we don’t know how many she may have access to, but it’s quite interesting that we see a grey design that may be the one leaked through the set photos alongside socks with the design that’s closer to her comic design. The images come courtesy of @ironhnews who shared them from one of the crew’s private Instagram account.

    The faceplate on the hat looks like it would fit the design we saw in the first set photos from the Disney+ series. Perhaps she develops an armor that can tank some magic attacks, or she doesn’t have a fitting power source to keep her “main” suit running for long periods of time. So, she ends up experimenting to find the perfect way to make full use of her design. For now, we can only speculate but the more we see from this project, the more promising it gets.

    Source: Instagram via Twitter

  • ‘WandaVision’ Scribe Joins Writer’s Room of ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’

    ‘WandaVision’ Scribe Joins Writer’s Room of ‘Agatha: Coven of Chaos’

    According to her Writer’s Guild profile, WandaVision staff writer Megan McDonnell is among the team of writers working on the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series Agatha: Coven of Chaos. McDonnell joins fellow WandaVision writers Peter Cameron, Laura Donney and Cameron Squires in the writer’s room with creator and executive Jac Schaeffer, who also worked on WandaVision, overseeing the project.

    According to the WGA, McDonnell is credited with writing Episode 3 of WandaVision, “Now in Color”, and co-writing Episode 4, “We Interrupt This Program”, with Bobak Esfarjani. Neither of those episodes heavily featured Kathryn Hahn’s Agnes/Agatha.

    According to Hahn, production on Agatha: Coven of Chaos should kick off “in about a month.” The series was officially announced by Marvel Studios and is expected to stream on Disney Plus sometime in late 2023 or early 2024. Though little is known about the plot of the series, casting calls may hint at it introducing an aged-up Billy Maximoff and his boyfriend, Hulkling, to the MCU.

    Source: Writer’s Guild via Reddit

  • James Patterson’s ‘Alex Cross’ Series Adds ‘Black Adam’ Star

    James Patterson’s ‘Alex Cross’ Series Adds ‘Black Adam’ Star

    Black Adam‘s Hawkman is set to return. Well, at least Aldis Hodge is, as he has already nabbed his next high-profile project in the adaptation of James Patterson‘s Alex Cross. Amazon Prime Video has ordered the adaptation to the series with Hodge attached as its main lead. It’ll be titled Cross and has seemingly been in the works since January 2020. Amazon’s Head of Global Television, Vernon Sanders, shared his excitement about the series.

    James Patterson is among the best at captivating audiences with his undeniably enthralling novels and we are confident that with Ben Watkins’ artistic vision, Cross will do the same for our global customers. We are proud to work with James and Ben alongside Paramount Television, Skydance, and the extremely talented Aldis Hodge, who we know will do an exceptional job of bringing Alex Cross to life.

    Vernon Sanders

    Ben Watkins is attached to write and executive produce the series as its showrunner. Hodge is not only taking on the leading role but is also set to act as a producer. Patterson joins as executive producer alongside Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn, and Craig Siebels. Skydance Television is set to produce with Paramount Television Studios and James Patterson Entertainment attached.

    In Variety’s announcement, they teased that the series’ take on Cross hints at him being “brilliant, flawed, and full of contradictions. A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it.”

    It’s great to see the actor nab a big project after one of fall’s biggest releases. There’s still no word if we can expect a Black Adam sequel starring Hodge in the near future, or if Hawkman might get his own spinoff at some point, but the actor will certainly be quite busy moving forward.

    Source: Variety

  • Peacock’s ‘Girls5eva’ Returns for Season 3 on Netflix

    Peacock’s ‘Girls5eva’ Returns for Season 3 on Netflix

    It looks like Peacock’s series Girls5eva is getting a new home, as it was announced that its third season is now heading to Netflix. It seems the third season will only be available on the streamer while the previous two entries remain on Peacock but also join Netflix for those that haven’t had a chance to check out the series.

    It’s a surprisingly bittersweet addition, as this marks a reunion for creator Meredith Scardino alongside producers Tina Fey, Robert Carlock, and Jeff Richmond. Fey and Carlock famously worked on the Netflix smash hit Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, where Scardino worked as a writer. Richmond also served as a composer in addition. They had the following to say in a joint statement:

    Our deepest thanks to Peacock for bringing ‘Girls5eva’ to life and supporting us creatively at every turn since the first pitch. And we are endlessly grateful to our partners at NBCU for their boundless commitment. Today, we are thrilled to announce that our reunited girl group will be re-reunited at Netflix. We are so thankful to everyone at the streamer who fell in love with our music-filled comedy. We cannot wait to introduce Dawn, Wickie, Summer, and Gloria to the global Netflix audience. Well, not fully introduce, if you look closely, ‘Girls5eva’ can be seen in the background of the Woodstock ’99 documentary setting a porta potty on fire

    Girls5eva is the story of a one-hit-wonder girls’ group that reunites since their success from the 1990s faded. It’s not a new concept but certainly, one that offers some fun ideas to play around with for everyone involved. It’ll be interesting to see if the show will go through some changes when it starts production for its new home.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘House of the Dragon’-Episode 10 Recap

    ‘House of the Dragon’-Episode 10 Recap

    After seeing how the Greens reacted upon learning of King Viserys’s death, acting on long-laid plans and instilling his son Aegon II as king, over Rhaenyra, Episode 10 took the story to Dragonstone.

    The Black Council

    The episode opened with Rhaenys serving as the bearer of bad news. Not only is Viserys dead, but Aegon had been named king in front of all of King’s Landing. Daemon point blank asked Rhaenys why she didn’t roast them alive when provided with the opportunity in the previous episode. Rhaenys said it wasn’t her war to start, which makes sense, but come on! They were right there!

    The shocking news of her father’s death sent Rhaenyra into labor with her third child with Daemon. She wasn’t due for months, and sadly lost the baby. While this wasn’t the final straw for her to declare war on her childhood best friend and half-siblings, it was just another thing to blame on the Greens.

    Rhaenyra was very restrained in the war council, asking if it’s her duty to hold the realm together, or to tear apart the country to get to her throne. This moved Rhaenys, and in turn garnered both her and Corlys’s support and fleet, providing one of many lords and armies she’ll need to take the Iron Throne.

    Daemon

    Our warmongering rogue prince got up to his usual shenanigans. He’s eager to show Westeros who is the rightful heir to the throne, and he is willing to use dragons to do so. Damon addressed the many dragons that are still unclaimed and stated that the Blacks needed to find riders for them. Even with Vhagar’s sheer size, the Blacks having 13 dragons vs the Greens having 4 would make this war short-lived. But we see later in this episode what a dragon can do to another dragon. Is it worth the cost?

    A much-talked-about scene from the episode saw Daemon grab Rhaenyra by the throat and choke her. What forced this? We haven’t seen violence like this between Daemon and Rhaenyra, but he does have a history of murdering his wives. Well, turns out that even though Daemon was the heir before Rhaenyra was confirmed, he didn’t get all of the privileges that a Targaryen heir gets. He had no idea about Aegon the Conqueror’s vision, which is The Song of Ice and Fire (what the entire series is based on) when Rhaenyra brought it up. There’s a very good quote from Emma D’arcy, the actor that plays Rhaenyra, that might help explain the scene. “On the one hand, he can say that he doesn’t believe in prophecies. But he was never trusted to anyway.”

    This revelation that he was never really considered as the heir sent him off to try and bring out some of the unclaimed dragons, and we see him singing to Vermithor, the dragon to King Jaehaerys, who ruled before Viserys. Expect to see a lot more of these unclaimed dragons in Season 2.

    Storm’s End

    Having read Fire and Blood, I knew that this scene was coming, and I knew that the show had to nail this sequence. Aegon being crowned isn’t the catalyst that drove the realm into war. A woman being named heir over a male isn’t the catalyst. It is simply a young man with a vendetta and a nuclear weapon at his disposal that he can’t control.

    To set the scene, Rhaenyra was seeking to confirm who her allies are. By sending Jace north to the Vale, White Harbor, and Winterfell, as well as Luke being sent to Storm’s End, it sent a stronger message than just sending a raven. But when Luke gets to Storm’s End to treat with Borros Baratheon (who was chosen to lead, not to read), he finds Vhagar causing a ruckus outside, and Aemond the anime warrior with the sapphire eye already there. Luke was spurned by Baratheon and turned to leave to go back to Dragonstone. Aemond demanded justice, however, telling Luke to cut out his own eye and he’d let bygones be bygones. Borros stopped things and let Luke go. But he also let Aemond go.

    If you’re reading this, you saw the dragon fight, if you want to call it that. Vhagar is at least 5 times the size of Arrax, and it was not much of a battle so much a light snack for the oldest dragon in Westeros. But it also proved to be a major deviation from the book, and it might have some effects on the main series, Game of Thrones. Both Arrax and Vhagar disobeyed their riders, with Arrax shooting flame at Vhagar, and Vhagar going after him and killing both Luke and Arrax. With both Aemond and Luke repeatedly screaming for their dragons to stop and obey, it recalls a warning given by Viserys throughout this season that dragons are something that the Targaryens trust in too much, being that they are still uncontrollable wild animals at their heart. That came to life here. Aemond meant to just intimidate his nephew, and instead he started a civil war that will tear apart the Seven Kingdoms.

    Things to Come

    With the dragons acting on their own will in the ending sequence, I hinted that this may have further effects on Game of Thrones, in particular, when Dany burns King’s Landing to the ground. Could House of the Dragon possibly be trying to retcon this action, by placing the blame on Drogon instead of Daenerys? Something to think about.

    In Season 2, we’ll be seeing the Vale again, as well as Winterfell, where Jace will be traveling. We’ll also finally see Daeron, the third son of Viserys and Alicent, who has been in Oldtown for all of this season, along with his dragon Tessarion. He’ll have a large part to play in the coming war. Exciting things to come, and it was a great start to the show.

  • ‘True Detective’ Season 4 Adds Three to its Cast

    ‘True Detective’ Season 4 Adds Three to its Cast

    HBO has been quite busy with quite a few adaptations on the way. While all eyes at the moment are on The Last of Us adaptation, they are already continuing their work on the fourth season of True Detective. With the subtitle Night Country, the anthology series will see Jodie Foster and Kali Reis taking the lead this time around. Now, the project which will be run by Issa López, has added to its cast with Aka Niviâna, Joel D. Montgrand, and Isabella Star Lablanc joining the production.

    The story will explore the long winter nights in Ennis, Alaska as six men vanish after working on an Arctic Research Station. Foster will play the role of detective Liz Danvers alongside Reis‘ Evangeline Navarro. Niviâna will take on the role of Julia, who is Navarro’s sister who is battling demons. Montgrand is taking on the role of Navarro’s love interest Eddie Qavvik, who is a local musher. Danvers’ stepdaughter Leah will be played by Lablanc.

    It’s definitely looking to be another promising entry in the anthology, which followed a different set of detectives each season. The first entry made quite a splash with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in the leading roles. It’ll be interesting to see what they may add to this project and how it’ll stand out from the previous entries.

    Source: Deadline

  • REVIEW: ‘Andor’ Episode 8

    REVIEW: ‘Andor’ Episode 8

    Lucasfilm’s latest Star Wars streaming series, Andor, has been routinely described as a “slow burn”; to date, no episode has served as a better exemplar than Episode 8. The 12-episode first season has been neatly broken up into 3-episode arcs and, so far, the second episode of those arcs has seemed to work as the table setter for the high-energy third episode of each arc. That seems to be the case again with “Narkina 5,” though setting the table doesn’t make the episode any less critical.

    Episode 8 takes the time to make the characters and the audience feel the extent of the Empire’s response to the Aldhani heist. Ironically, as three different factions search for Cassian for different reasons, he’s already found himself caught in the tightening grip of the Emprie. As Luthen Rael had hoped, the Empire’s response was swift and fierce and Cassian experiences it first-hand in the prison work camp on the planet of Narkina 5. By the end of the episode, a month has passed and while there’s no telling just how long Cassian will be in prison (we know it won’t be his entire six-year sentence), it’s worthwhile to wonder how his time there will shape him into the who we know he becomes. Director Toby Haynes makes the audience feel the mundane nature of Cassian’s time in prison, putting them through the same automated paces the prisoners experience, while also illustrating the hopelessness of the situation through the suicide of a fellow prisoner.

    Meanwhile, it’s the wrong time to be a Rebel. As the episode showcases the precision of the Imperial machine (indeed the series’ lead finds himself a cog in the very machine he hoped to take down), it does so in contrast to the fractured nature of the Rebellion. Rael’s visit with extremist leader Saw Gerrera on Segra Milo illustrates just how slipshod the fledgling Rebel Alliance is, if it’s really an alliance at all. Rael and Gerrera lie and posture and argue only to ultimately find themselves no more likely to achieve their “shared” purpose than they were before their meeting, in fact, in light of the enlightening conversation they share, they seem to be parsecs apart.

    A slow burn to be sure, but “Narkina 5,” which is another in a line of beautifully shot episodes in this series, brings the tension down a notch from previous weeks but does so simply to lay the groundwork for the next “event.” Though he tried to walk away, Cassian’s mission on Aldhani has led the ISB to Ferrix where they have begun to wrangle up any and everyone associated with him. Episode 8 begun to weave together many of the series’ ongoing, individual threads, causing the rough-and in some cases unexpected-intersection of their arcs. Karn and Meero’s meeting went about as smoothly as Rael and Gerrera’s, which certainly isn’t the way most fans had it playing out. How long does someone with Karn’s ambition stay sidelined? How will he respond to being dismissed by the Empire? These are fair questions which we didn’t even know needed answering. And that’s emblematic of what Andor has provided fans of Star Wars so far. For a series about a dead character, it’s certainly proven to be one of the most thought-provoking streaming series Lucasfilm has made to date.

  • Seth Rogen’s ‘Sausage Party’ Returns With New Series

    Seth Rogen’s ‘Sausage Party’ Returns With New Series

    You read that title correctly, Seth Rogen‘s adult-animated film about talking grocery items is about to make a return. This time around, the story continues in an eight-episode TV series that’ll be titled Sausage Party: Foodtopia. It’ll stream on Amazon Prime Video but story details are being kept under wraps. The announcement from Rogen on Twitter highlights the returning cast of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Edward Norton, and more.

    Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg shared the following joint statement on the new series announcement.

    Film used to be the superior art form to television, and we humbly reached the pinnacle of what can be achieved with film in our remarkable opus, Sausage Party. But now that film is completely dead and TV is the forever-king of entertainment, we’ve decided to continue the epic adventures of our culinary crew in the soon-to-be-legendary televised masterpiece Sausage Party: Foodtopia.

    SethRogen and Evan Goldberg

    The series will act as a sequel to the 2016 film, which followed the story of the sausage Frank, voiced by Rogen, and his love for the hot dog bun Brenda, played by Wiig. Curiously, it does seem like Salma Hayek is not returning for this series, as she played Teresa del Taco in the film and had a significant role. It’ll be interesting to see how they adapt this as a series, especially with its raunchy humor and the shock value of the original concept no longer being its main selling point. Perhaps humans will try to take back the grocery store that the food items took over, or some infighting due to their believes could lead to more carnage. Whatever it may be, it looks like we’re going to find out in 2024.

    Source: Twitter, IGN

  • Official ‘Secret Invasion’ Site Reveals Emilia Clarke as Abigail Brand

    Official ‘Secret Invasion’ Site Reveals Emilia Clarke as Abigail Brand

    As information about Marvel Studios’ 2023 streaming series Secret Invasion trickled out during production, one detail that remained a tightly-guarded secret was the identity of Emilia Clarke’s character. Now it seems as though Marvel Studios may have inadvertently let the cat out of the bag.

    An official Disney site has released several GIFs from the upcoming series, including one featuring Clarke entitled “It’s the Beginning Abigail Brand.” Rumors and reports have had Clarke playing multiple characters from Brand, to Skrull spy G’iah and even Skrull Queen Veranke.

    O

    Of course, given that the series is an espionage thriller, it’s reasonable to question if Clarke really is Brand or if she’s a Skrull who is simming the character. Set photos showed Clarke’s character seemingly working with Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik, who is the villain of the series. In the comics, Brand is a half-alien/half-human mutant who worked with S.W.O.R.D. During the events of Secret Invasion, Brand played a key role in freeing Mr. Fantastic from Skrull imprisonment which helped lead to the end of the takeover.

    Secret Invasion is currently slated for a Spring 2023 release on Disney Plus.

  • The Golden Age of Superhero Movies Is Over

    The Golden Age of Superhero Movies Is Over

    With the continued expansion of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC properties, more and more superhero movie and television content is being pumped into screens almost non-stop. New genres and formats are being explored and countless characters are being brought into live-action. So, we should be at the peak of the age of superhero movies, right? Unfortunately, it seems we have sailed right on through the Golden Age of Superhero Movies that took place in the 2010s. 

    This feature could not function without describing the massive and crucial impact that Marvel Studios and the MCU had on the superhero genre. However, other films began paving a path before 2008’s Iron Man. DC had been producing films, particularly based on Batman and Superman properties, for decades that had a clear cultural impact. Marvel, through Sony or Fox, had major hits like the Spider-Man and X-Men franchises. While the superhero movie genre had been present for some time, the MCU was the undeniable spark that caused the concept of the superhero movie to explode.

    While Iron Man was the first of now many films in what became the MCU, the whole franchise did not pick up an insane amount of steam for several years. The early Phase One movies were—overall—OK. They existed as origin stories, but the superhero origin story had already been done nearly 3,333 times before. Everything changed when Avengers was released in 2012.

    The crossover aspect is undeniably one of the key (if not the key) components that changed the way audiences engaged with the genre. While other superhero movies still trickled out around this time, no other franchise was combining four other franchises into one mega-franchise. The MCU was surely not the first to invoke the crossover strategy, but it certainly was the first to employ it on such a large scale. And luckily, Avengers was a smash hit and will remain one of the most culturally significant films of the early 21st century. Movies stopped becoming just movies—they were entire events and spectacles that transcended just a single film. At this point, “franchise” became the business term while “universe” because the one fans experienced.

    The Infinity Saga experience, frankly, cannot be surpassed. The post-Avengers excitement leading the Avengers: Endgame was the definitive Golden Age of Superhero Movies. During this time, millions and millions of fans waited feverishly for the one or two movies the MCU dropped each year. Easter eggs and cameos felt like invaluable treasures as people started to stitch together this rich, magical fictional universe that entertained them like no other. The promise of some ultimate “finale” to the saga being lived through buoyed even some of the weaker installments. And, boy, was that finale spectacular. 

    At this point, there is no reason to overanalyze Avengers: Infinity War or Endgame anymore. Regardless of contemporary or retrospective reviews or criticisms, virtually everyone who was a fan during that time can tell you those films were the hype of all hype. The iconic moments from those films we still conjure up frequently were the fruition of 11 years of storytelling, and every bit of the event was stylized as the definitive and ultimate moment of the unprecedented sensation that was the MCU. 

    Of course, the MCU did not stop. In fact, it is producing content at a rate that would even a 2018 fan would never believe. More characters that comic book fans never thought would ever make it to live-action are now here, living amongst the universe we feel we grew up or grew old in. There is something to be said, though, about the onslaught of content. The ever-warned-of “superhero fatigue” that some spoke of a decade ago may actually be creeping in. With often little to no chance to take a breath between MCU projects, each one has the potential to feel less and less special. The anticipation for the next project has weaned. Now, it is difficult to take in the entire MCU given how many hours of content exist. A casual fan may very well be overwhelmed, and new fans may have no idea how to actually get involved. Old fans may have had to abandon their annual MCU rewatch. 

    But Phase Four—and beyond—content has also produced some phenomenal projects. Many would agree that Spider-Man: No Way Home, Werewolf By Night, and She-Hulk are all gifts in their respective formats. But even with quality new projects, the expectations are clearly higher than they once were. Part of it is the high of Infinity Saga that so many keep chasing. However, the toxic online culture surrounding film discourse—particularly in the comic book genre—has felt out of hand since Phase Four began. Surely the Golden Age would not include thousands of people trash-talking every frame of a film, leading robust campaigns centered around hating women, and whining, complaining, and arguing about rumored post-credits scenes for much more important films that have not been released yet.

    And while the MCU can now tell bigger and more fantastic stories with an increasing range of characters, it is almost inevitable that the overarching plot will be Marvel Studios’ answer to: “How do we go bigger and better than Endgame?” The infinite possibilities, cameos, and combinations of Avengers: Secret Wars will almost certainly be a proper answer to that question and the payoff will almost certainly be astronomical. But it will not be able to live up to the Infinity Saga finale. While the story is presumably unique and the cheer-worthy moments will be plenty, at the end of the day the MCU has already taken us through that journey. The build-up and surprises are expected, and the energy will never match that of 2018 and 2019.

    This article focuses on the MCU for obvious reasons, but DC and the DCEU shot their own shots, though it was generally fumbled. So far in the post-Endgame time period, we have seen a DC that is fractured, confused, disorganized, chaotic, repetitive, and often mediocre. There are no doubt some standouts, including The Suicide Squad, Joker, and The Batman. But the fact that they remain as separate isolated incidents keep the DC Universe from thriving in the way that it could. Black Adam’s insistence that this is all set to change is empty until it happens. To be fair, the recent news that James Gunn and Peter Safran will lead a new “DC Studios” is something to keep an eye on. But either way, DC really missed the Golden Age boat at this point, unless they can turn it around and do something extraordinarily special.