Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: TV

  • UPDATED: ‘The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff May Have Found its Director

    UPDATED: ‘The Batman’s Penguin Spinoff May Have Found its Director

    UPDATED: Craig Zobel has been confirmed as the director for the still-untitled The Batman spinoff focused on Penguin. It seems the director has a deal with HBO after his acclaimed work on The Mare of Easttown. He won#t be filming the entire series but rather is responsible for the first two episodes. So, we might get more director confirmations in the coming months.

    Source: THR

    We’ve long waited for an update for the upcoming The Batman spinoff series focused on Colin Farrell‘s Penguin. The HBO Max series is reportedly in discussions with Mare of Easttown‘s Craig Zobel to not only direct but also executive produce the series. His work on the HBO series has put him in the spotlight and makes him a perfect choice for this further exploration of Gotham.

    Supposedly the series is also eyeing to start production in early 2023, but no exact date or time window is given at the moment. The director is set to join the production, which is currently being showrun by Lauren LeFranc, best known for her work as a writer and producer on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Chuck.

    Zobel has also worked on The Hunt, which was surrounded by quite a bit of controversy. It’s been a long journey for the director to make a name and leave the shadow behind from the controversies but with quite a few awards under his belt, it’ll be interesting to see what he brings to the upcoming The Batman spinoff.

    Source: Discussing Film

  • HBO Max’s ‘Velma’ Adds Constance Wu, Sam Richardson, Glenn Howerton and Many More

    HBO Max’s ‘Velma’ Adds Constance Wu, Sam Richardson, Glenn Howerton and Many More

    Mindy Kaling has been busy during New York Comic-Con promoting her upcoming HBO Max series, Velma. The darker take on the Scooby-Doo franchise explores the story of Velma Dinkley before she joins Mystery Inc. or even is a thought. While details have been sparse, it looks like we finally got the full cast revealed for the series.

    Mindy Kaling takes on the role of Velma while Sam Richardson joins to take on the iconic role of Norville, better known as Shaggy. Glenn Howerton will play the series’ take on Fred with Constance Wu taking on the role of Daphne. They are joined by Frank Welker, Jane Lynch, Russell Peters, Wanda Sykes, Melissa Fumero, Gary Cole, Ken Leung, Stephen Root, Cherry Jones, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Sarayu Blue, Yvonne Orji, Fortune Feimster, Ming-Na Wen, Shay Mitchell, Debby Ryan, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Kulap Vilaysak.

    The first time we got a good look at the project was with a still during May’s upfronts, where they first confirmed their take on Velma will be of South Asian descent. The new take will definitely be interesting but it highlights how the franchise continues to be quite popular and open to many different iterations throughout the years. We’ll see if the childhood classic finds its footing as an r-rated project.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • NYCC: Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy Tease their HBO Max ‘Scooby-Doo’ Prequel ‘Velma’

    NYCC: Mindy Kaling and Charlie Grandy Tease their HBO Max ‘Scooby-Doo’ Prequel ‘Velma’

    One of New York Comic-Con’s most exciting panels is for Velma, a new animated series from executive producer Mindy Kaling and showrunner Charlie Grandy. The former The Office breakout, a multifaceted talent in her own right, will voice Velma Dinkley in a reimagining of the character that sees her come from South Asian descent. Velma, who is billed as “the mystery before the Inc.”, will explore the origins of the title character and the rest of the iconic Scooby-Doo gang from an adult-oriented viewpoint. Kaling and Grandy were on hand at NYCC to discuss the series in-depth for the press, and Murphy’s Multiverse was in attendance to make note of it all.

    Kaling began the panel by explaining that Velma was chosen as the protagonist because she offered the most unique perspective for storytelling. She also mentioned that she was happy to play the character because Dinkley was always the one she related to the most. Projects like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Riverdale were mentioned as inspirations for telling diverse stories about teenagers in the modern world, with a change to adult-oriented comedy giving fans of the franchise a new way of looking at the Scooby-Doo universe. Kaling clarified the series will not be for children and will cover topics like “teenage urges“. Grandy mentioned he wanted to take a look at why a group of kids would commit their lives to hunting criminals and solving murders, which Kaling ensured the press would be actually sort of terrifying.

    Finally, the creative team confirmed Velma would take cues from the original 1960s series but would mostly have its own voice. Fans can expect to see origins for Velma’s famous “JINKIES!” catchphrase, and Shaggy’s well-known nickname. He’ll be called by his birth name otherwise. Velma’s relationship with her father will also be a major part of the series, something Kaling was especially excited about. More will be revealed when the cast and crew take the Main Stage later today, but for now, fans can feast their minds on more Velma information than ever before.

  • REVIEW: ‘Werewolf By Night’

    REVIEW: ‘Werewolf By Night’

    One of Marvel Studios’ longest-kept “secrets” turns out to be perhaps one of the most triumphant projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four, if not the MCU as a whole. Formally announced only last month, Werewolf By Night is Marvel Studios’ first foray into the “Special Presentation” format (in this case, a one-off feature less than an hour long) and without a doubt, this project is, indeed, enormously special. Werewolf By Night shines for several reasons, but its brilliance as a standalone story is the most obvious.

    The first thing the viewer notices about Werewolf By Night is its aesthetic. Through its limited marketing, it is known that the feature was inspired by classic horror films of the 1930s and 40s. While the concept elicits immediate excitement from some, it of course risks overwhelming a story with a gimmick. Fortunately, the stylistic choices of this project were almost entirely in service of the story itself, and director Michael Giacchino achieves a near-perfect cocktail of stunning imagery, blocking, and overall texture. The use of black-and-white is an easy grab for an older or spookier look, but it was far more productive in Werewolf By Night than in most modern films that use the technique. The unique and rather all-consuming style certainly takes the viewer to a place easily associated with horror and monster stores, but it also removes one from the known Marvel universe. Consequently, the natural expectations the audience might place on the feature are almost reset, allowing a completely fresh experience.

    The greatest achievement of Werewolf By Night is surely its excellence as its own story, disconnected from anything else. Whether in the comic book genre or elsewhere, there is something extremely refreshing about a short story that is able to be thoroughly enjoyed and leave a memorable impact on the viewer. Despite a limited runtime and plenty of moving parts, the feature does a phenomenal job telling a full story without invoking virtually any backstory. The triumph of Werewolf By Night is captured in the feeling of simplicity and ease it executes despite clearly arising from a relatively complex technical foundation. At the end of the day, the project is a wonderful standalone think piece that invokes plenty of metaphors and themes regarding what makes a monster.

    However, given its inclusion in the MCU, there is little question that Werewolf By Night will ultimately be part of a larger narrative. Lucky for Marvel Studios, the feature doubles as an exciting introduction to a future Monsterverse considering it leaves the audiences with a litany of questions about the story’s and characters’ past and futures. If anything, Werewolf By Night could have benefitted from additional runtime purely due to the fact that there is enough action and intrigue to go around. An expanded rendition of the hunt itself would almost certainly be a riot, as a prolonged bottle-episode-type suspenseful action thriller would without a doubt rival the famous Daredevil hallway fight scene.

    In fact, a certain sequence in Werewolf By Night already does. The amount of violence in the feature has been a key talking point ahead of its release. The project features, objectively, some of the most violent, brutal, and gory scenes in the MCU. Where those are utilized are done so in a way that serves the story—Werewolf By Night is not filled to the brim with blood and violence, but it stands out when on display in the best way. Similarly, the feature gives off plenty of notes of horror, but it is not an overwhelmingly “scary” or frightening piece. It is, however, extremely tense, suspenseful, and even uncomfortable at times like any good horror film.

    Werewolf By Night further benefitted from its cast and character ensemble. Laura Donnelly as Elsa Bloodstone is, perhaps, the surprise standout of the feature. Not the title character and not given much fanfare, Donnelly’s portrayal comes off as effortless and she easily carries scenes in a way that cements Elsa as much more than she appears. Two rather different storylines crisscross throughout the special, and Elsa is the rock that holds them together. Gael García Bernal certainly hits the sweet spot as the mild-mannered and warm Jack Russell. The heart of the project resides in him, even if he were not (ultimately) the title character. Viewers should not worry about a “nice” Jack, as Bernal can flip the switch into the titular werewolf without a problem.

    The rest of the cast is stellar, and the character designs are so spectacular as to stand out in a generally visually-stunning project. Harriet Sansom Harris supplies the particular brand of sinister that Werewolf By Night needs to achieve its delicious end result. The monster at the heart of it all will surely go on to be a new fan-favorite creature of the MCU, but the special does not forget that he is, indeed, a monster.

    If Marvel Studios intended for Werewolf By Night to be a surprise, it is perhaps the best surprise a viewer could hope for. The special is incredibly unique on virtually all levels, and its short story format is one of the most fulfilling MCU experiences in years. Not all Marvel projects can benefit from, or achieve, the type of creative leap required to produce this feature. This special demonstrates that Marvel Studios should continue investing in “Special Presentations,” but Werewolf By Night is special enough on its own to be a one-and-done.

  • REVIEW: ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 8

    REVIEW: ‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Episode 8

    Given the fact that She-Hulk: Attorney at Law has received rather positive reviews each week, it feels somewhat monotonous to call “Ribbit and Rip It” the best episode of the series—but it cannot be avoided. Of course, the character ensemble in Episode 8 seems instantly iconic, but the episode hit every beat it could: lawyer, superhero, Daredevil, sexy hilarious, and dark. This episode can only be thoroughly enjoyed and yet it still ends on the heaviest and most cliff-hanging note of the series.

    All eyes are on Charlie Cox’s return as Daredevil in the character’s first MCU appearance. While this is She-Hulk’s show—as we are reminded—anyone who tries to suggest that he was not the highlight of the episode is lying. Predictably, Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock meet in court on opposing sides before meeting as superheroes. Cox truly embodies the role, and his love for the character and the return is incredibly palpable. Quite honestly, he came across as substantially more charismatic than the character has previously been—and that is a high compliment. Daredevil is lighter than fans of only the Daredevil Netflix show may be used to, but being funny as hell does not take away from the rest of the character which was on full display. Those that will continue to scream into the void about She-Hulk ruining Daredevil are on another planet.

    While Murdock was the biggest player, Episode 8 highlights that She-Hulk works best when the titular character has a colorful cast to play around with. Leapfrog and Jacobson held their own in such a high-profile episode, and the ultimate result of all the moving pieces was sublimely paced, extremely funny, and it felt like a much bigger and more exciting show than it had been until now. Obviously, She-Hulk as a bona fide superhero is new and played a major role in that. The chemistry between Jen and Matt—presumably aided by the chemistry between Tatiana Maslany and Cox—created the best pairing of characters in a series riddled with great character interactions.

    Despite being an overwhelmingly fun episode, the penultimate episode landed on a dark note with haste to lead into the finale. She-Hulk has not been shy about weaving in themes and jokes surrounding misogyny, but it felt like the darker elements that existed within the show truly hit in full force all at once. It is not easy to compete with Daredevil in an episode, but the ending managed to put up an impressive fight in that regard. Not only did Jen have her entire private life broadcast to everyone during what was perhaps the greatest moment of her career, but it came in the form of sexual shame and revenge porn—activities that tend to almost exclusively attack and cause extreme harm to women. The word “slut” is not uncommon in reality, but even in the context of She-Hulk it landed with a thud. The dark brilliance of the sequence is that She-Hulk, who is ordinarily invincible, can be a vulnerable target to destroy because she is a woman and there are dedicated ways for someone to pursue that without any kind of confrontation. We see Jen lose control of her anger—finally calling back to the first episode—becoming an enemy and a monster regardless of how justified and ordinary that level of anger would be in that situation.

    At the end of the day, Episode 8 managed to do everything She-Hulk can seemingly tackle and pull off in just one episode. Daredevil’s introduction to the MCU was beautiful, and this episode does quite a lot for the character going forward. Even though the penultimate episode was almost certainly the most entertaining and witty episode of the entire series (and it is hard to see how the finale can top it), it also ended on the darkest and most emotional beat yet. Before the last few minutes, the fact that the finale was right around the corner felt rather empty. There is still a very minimal underlying HulkKing plot, but for the first time, it actually feels important to She-Hulk. It may very likely go on to set up other Hulk-related MCU projects in the future, but the damage inflicted to the main character from it is now the driving force of the remainder of the series. The finale is still a mysterious concept given the format of the show, but Episode 8 finally begins to truly define the hero She-Hulk will be in the MCU.

  • ‘She-Hulk’ Makes a Major Change to the MCU Landscape, Hint at Possible Cap 4 Connections

    ‘She-Hulk’ Makes a Major Change to the MCU Landscape, Hint at Possible Cap 4 Connections

    Billed as a legal comedy and delivered pretty much along those lines, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law didn’t seem like the type of show that would have far-ranging implications for the landscape of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, with one episode left to go, it seems that quite a bit of potential has been packed into these shorter episodes. Bruce Banner has left the planet for personal business on Sakaar; Jen’s blood has fallen into the hands of the HulkKing; and a man is running around in a frog suit! As big of a deal as Leap-Frog might seem to have been in Episode 8, “Ribbit and Rip It”, another revelation might end up being a bigger factor down the line.

    During Jen’s brief and slightly embarrassing court battle with Matt Murdock, Murdock casually revealed that the Sokovia Accords, which have governed the vigilantism of superheroes since the United Nations adopted them in 2016 following the events in Lagos, Nigeria, have been repealed. The Accords were intended to put an end to the unsanctioned acts of powered individuals and groups, such as the Avengers, by establishing an agreed-upon set of regulations.

    The Accords have been addressed in several projects over the years after having been established in Captain America: Civil War. WandaVision saw a government agency defy them and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which was set in 2024, saw them on display in the Smithsonian. So while they might have seemed like a relic of the Infinity Saga, they’ve been kept alive for a reason before being tossed out there again in She-Hulk, which is set in 2025. What good comes from keeping them on the minds of the audience, though, when they’ve largely been ignored since their creation? The answer might be in the fine print.

    By signing the Accords, heroes agreed to a whole mess of things, including:

    • providing a DNA sample
    • revealing their secret identities/legal names
    • power analysis
    • the use of tracking bracelets

    The Accords also prohibited governments from sending powered heroes to other countries without the approval of that country; outlawed the creation of self-aware AIs; outlawed the creation of further superhumans without strict oversight.

    For a line that was interjected into the middle of a fairly fast-paced bit of dialogue by Murdock, the revelation that the Accords no longer govern not only the actions of powered individuals but the CREATION of them seems incredibly important given the fact that Jen’s “better blood” is in the hands of, presumably, the Intelligencia which, presumably, is lead by The Leader. With The Leader recently announced as the villain of Captain America: New World Order, Jen’s tease of a Red Hulk and the long-standing rumors of her blood being used to create multiple Hulks that might face off in a World War Hulk project, the fact that there are now no universally accepted regulations on how to handle these types of situations seems like it is setting the stage for chaos to ensue…and a new order to be established.

  • ‘Eight Crazy Night’s Director Almost Adapted ‘Kingdom Hearts’ as an Animated Series for Disney

    ‘Eight Crazy Night’s Director Almost Adapted ‘Kingdom Hearts’ as an Animated Series for Disney

    There have been many theories that Disney has been trying to adapt Kingdom Hearts in some capacity beyond the games. Considering the series is based in the many worlds from their long-running IPs, it seemed like the perfect show for them to adapt that plays into nostalgia while also offering something new to draw an audience in.

    As it turns out director Seth Keasley, famous for the Adam Sandler animated film Eight Crazy Nights, was actively working on a Kingdom Hearts pilot that even managed to test well. While the initial script he received was just like the game featuring characters from the game series reliving the Disney story, he got a chance to rewrite the script that tested incredibly well. Yet, the project seemingly never picked up and a recent experience seemingly led to him wanting to share what that pilot would’ve been like.

    At the time, we weren’t even really allowed to do sequential story, like every episode had to stand on its own and also with the pilot, it had to stand on its own, it had to be ‘episode seven’. I couldn’t do the origin story… so I said, I like it, I wanna do it and then they gave me a script and I read the script and the script read like an episode of Aladdin co-starring the characters from Kingdom Hearts. And I was like, ‘I don’t wanna do that’, I said, ‘I don’t like the script, I wanna do a rewrite,’ and they said, ‘You’re fired,’… I was like, ‘It’s not that I hate the script, it’s that this reads like an episode of Aladdin co-starring Kingdom Hearts characters and I really think that this should be like an episode of Kingdom Hearts that happens to take place in the world of Aladdin.’ So I got to do a rewrite. I spent a lot of time with a writer and we came up with a new version that definitely felt like Kingdom Hearts.

    Seth Kearsley

    In his YouTube video, he highlighted that he had no idea about the gaming franchise before tackling the project but did explore it. He seemingly fell in love with it once he gave it a shot and tried to give it a chance. It’s crazy to think that this project never picked up and only now details are finding their way online.

    There were some rumors hinting at a potential Disney+ series being in some form of development, which has never been officially announced or even hinted at. It still is a project that would make a lot of sense fo the Disney-owned streamer but we’ll still have to wait for more details on the fourth entry in the gaming franchise. Perhaps the next entry might spark some interest to revive a TV project once again.

    Source: YouTube via ScreenRant

  • Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Adds 2 More to Cast

    Netflix’s Live-Action ‘One Piece’ Adds 2 More to Cast

    There was a lot of hope and excitement for Tudum to potentially offer our next glimpse at the live-action adaptation of One Piece. Netflix has seemingly been all-in with the project and highlighted it during their big event of the year. Yet, it somehow only got a brief mention in Japan’s Tudum section without any news update hitting the web. While we might have to wait a bit longer for any real insight into how the production is going, especially with it having wrapped production not too long ago, it seems we can at least add two more to the series cast.

    According to their CVs, actor Nathan Castle has joined the production as the character of Koushirou while Brett Williams will play Merry. For those not familiar with the story and remembering the boat being named Going Merry, Williams is not playing the Straw Hats iconic boat that they secured in the East Blue. He’s actually taking on the role of Kaya’s butler, who we meet in Syrup Village alongside Jacob Romero Gibson‘s Usopp.

    In the case of Castle, he is set to play Koushirou who plays an important role in the backstory for Mackenyu‘s Zoro. He is nonother than Roronoa’s swordmaster and the father of Kuina. We would later also find out more about his family’s lineage but in the East Blue Saga, which the upcoming Netflix series will adapt, he’s mainly featured in the flashback exploring what inspires Zoro’s goal. It’ll be interesting to see if they might allude to some elements that didn’t get revealed in the manga until almost 25 years later.

    Source: ERM Stars, ERM Stars

  • David Ramsey’s CW Arrowverse Series ‘Justice U’ Still in Development

    David Ramsey’s CW Arrowverse Series ‘Justice U’ Still in Development

    The CW’s future has been a big question mark for some time. As Warner Bros. Discovery seemingly was restructuring its future projects, it was unclear just how they’d keep their CW network going. As it turned out, they simply decided to give up their majority stake in it and are focused on still producing shows for the network.

    Still, quite a few of their DC shows are slowly coming to an end with the big question being if we can expect more in the future. Among them was a project spearheaded by Arrow veteran David Ramsay titled Justice U and it seems that he’s offered a little insight into where the project currently stands with TVLine.

    We’re on the second draft of a script, and we just closed the deal on a writer. I’m not sure I can say her name, so I won’t, but we’re very close to submitting our second draft. It’s still in development, and we’re moving forward.

    David Ramsey

    So, it seems like they are still working on it and they are still in the early script phase. This isn’t the same scenario as what we saw with Powerpuff, which had an entire pilot filmed before they decided to move on from the project; with still no update on where exactly it stands currently. So, we’ll have to see until they start confirming production starts on a pilot.

    Source: TVLine

  • Eiza González Denies Elektra Casting Rumors for ‘Daredevil’s Disney+ Series

    Eiza González Denies Elektra Casting Rumors for ‘Daredevil’s Disney+ Series

    You know that casting rumors can reach a new level of insanity when an actress has to confirm they aren’t involved in any way directly on Twitter. Eiza González has been rumored to potentially take on the role of Elektra in the upcoming Disney+ series Daredevil: Born Again.

    It’s uncertain where the rumor started but the reaction has not been great with many mad at a potential recasting of Elodie Yung from the Netflix run of Daredevil. It seems that the negativity surrounding this rumor has reached a boiling point for the actress to outright deny any castings on Twitter; highlighting she’s already busy with Netflix’s adaptation of Three-Body Problem.

    One cannot deny the extent that some rumors circulating online nowadays. They even led to negative reactions surrounding projects focused on the multiverse, as fan favorites didn’t show up leading to some online upset about them not showing up as “was promised.” The online discourse has changed quite a bit since the pandemic first hit and expectations have skyrocketed after a long drought.

    While some managed to offer exactly what some rumors hinted at, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, other projects have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Daredevil has become quite popular online through his adventure on Netflix, which also sets a very specific expectation for what defines that character and his world. So, the weight on anyone involved with the project won’t be trivial.

    Source: Twitter