Multiverse News

Stranded Panda

Your source for news and commentary about all of your favorite fictional universes.

  1. 1d ago

    James Gunn Out at DC Studios, Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult Test for Bond

    Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes. James Gunn and Peter Safran are out at DC Studios after four years, with former Marvel executive Jeremy Latcham taking over as president and chief creative officer effective December 1. Latcham spent more than a decade at Marvel Studios under Kevin Feige, rising to senior vice president of production and development and producing The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he will now oversee DC’s film, television and animation slate. The timing caught the industry off guard, since Gunn and Safran had been named to David Ellison’s leadership team only months ago when Paramount closed its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The Hollywood Reporter says the pair presented their long term plan to Ellison in recent weeks and learned of the decision on Friday, November 6, when Ellison and co-CEO Ynon Kreiz came to their office on the Warner Bros. lot, two days before it was announced. Both say they are returning to full time filmmaking. The Hollywood Reporter reported Friday that Robert Pattinson has screen tested for James Bond, with the test taking place in London over the weekend of October 24 while he was shooting The Batman Part II. The same report named Nicholas Hoult as a contender, and Deadline and Variety have since reported that Hoult tested as well, putting the two of them alongside Jack Lowden, Callum Turner and Josh O’Connor. Hoult was a finalist for Batman before Matt Reeves cast Pattinson, and he currently plays Lex Luthor in the DCU. Amazon MGM has declined to comment, and Deadline reports a decision could land by the end of November.  Godzilla Minus Zero opened at number one with $62 million worldwide, setting a record for the largest opening ever for a live action foreign language film in North America and topping the $17.8 million Hero managed back in 2002. Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel is also the first Japanese production ever filmed for IMAX, and IMAX screens accounted for $21.3 million of the global total, roughly a third of its entire take. Warner Bros.’ animated The Cat in the Hat landed in second with a $30.5 million worldwide debut against a reported $92 million budget, though audiences did give it an A CinemaScore. Overall ticket sales nearly doubled from the previous weekend, a sharp rebound after a quiet Halloween frame. Disney is developing a Frozen animated series for National Geographic and Walt Disney Animation Studios, with Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad and Jonathan Groff all returning to voice their roles from the films.

  2. Nov 6

    James Gunn Talks Harley Quinn, X-Men May Have Cast Iceman, and Dune Popocalypse

    Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes.\ The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping actor Ben Wang has entered talks to play Iceman in Marvel Studios‘ new X-Men movie, sources tell Deadline. Wang has appeared in several other Disney projects as well as the recent Stephen King adaptation of The Long Walk. Actor Shawn Ashmore played Bobby Drake, “Iceman,” in the 2000s Fox X-Men movies.  James Gunn hosted a one-off podcast episode titled “The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon?,” in which he addressed DCEU and DCU canon questions. Notably he discussed Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, a character she played in 2021's The Suicide Squad. Gunn said specifically, “I don’t know where Margot’s head is with all of this. Harley is a character I’m almost certainly going to use in the DCU, and if Margot wants to play her, then I’ll bend over backwards to explain that in the world. But if she doesn’t, then I might go with somebody else, where I don’t have to be attached to what happens to Harley in this movie.”  As they say in Star Wars, “This is getting out of control…now there are two of them!” It seems fitting after the announcement where AMC Theaters revealed two collectible popcorn buckets for Dune Part Three. One features two sandworms and another features a sandworm and a thumper.  Sir Patrick Stewart, the star of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Picard, the X-Men film franchise and many other movies, TV shows and stage plays, died October 28 at his home in Los Angeles following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. He was 86.  Netflix is developing a live-action series based on the battle royale video game “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (“PUBG“) with Donald Glover attached to direct, write, and star in the project.  Neve Campbell confirmed in an interview with the Associated Press that she will return to the Scream franchise for the upcoming eighth film.  DC Studios has tapped the writer and director of the upcoming Evil Dead Wrath Francis Galluppi to write a John Constantine movie for the studio, sources tell Deadline. The last time the character appeared in a film was in Francis Lawrence’s 2005 film Constantine that starred Keanu Reeves.  HBO Max dropped a surprise prequel episode of It: Welcome To Derry on Halloween this weekend titled 'A Story of Derry.' The 30-minute episode takes place hundreds of years before the events of the show.  Stranger Things star Maya Hawke has boarded director Matt Johnson’s Magic: The Gathering, the live action feature from Legendary Entertainment and based on Hasbro’s iconic trading card game.  In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Scarlett Johansson was asked about her upcoming projects, The Exorcist: Martyrs and The Batman Part II, and which role pushed her furthest out of her comfort zone. “Probably the role in The Batman,” she responded. “It gave me a lot of existential angst for some reason. It was very hard to figure out. I don’t know why, whether it was just the role or was just where I’m in my life, or what’s going on, but it was just hard to crack it. And that’s all I can say about it. It was a tough role in a lot of ways."

    James Gunn Talks Harley Quinn, X-Men May Have Cast Iceman, and Dune Popocalypse

  3. Oct 29

    Doomsday at the World Series, Clayface Wins the Weekend, Bond Narrows the Field

    Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes. Disney dropped a new Avengers: Doomsday promo during Game 1 of the World Series, showing the Fantastic Four throwing out a first pitch in their universe before Doctor Doom turns up in the skies over the stadium. On the casting side, The Hollywood Reporter reports that Sandra Hüller has joined the film in a role being kept secret and described as a cameo. The Anatomy of a Fall Oscar nominee appeared in this year’s Project Hail Mary, and the rumor mill has floated her as Doom’s mother, a witch, or one of the hooded Latverian Witches.  Industry trades have DC Studios’ Clayface opening to $43 million worldwide against a reported $44 million budget, short of the $45 to $55 million the studio had projected, with the running total now at $47.4 million. Audiences handed it an A- CinemaScore, a rare mark for a horror release and the same grade as Superman, alongside a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have been more split, with 77% positive on Rotten Tomatoes but a 59 on Metacritic, which classifies that as mixed or average. Considering the modest budget, and a reception that has critics and audiences in different places.  Amazon MGM held final screen tests for the next James Bond this past weekend, with sources telling The Hollywood Reporter that between three and five actors tested. Callum Turner, who recently starred in the rom-com One Night Only, and Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden are said to be in the mix, and Deadline reports Josh O’Connor among those testing as well. Jack O’Connell from Sinners was initially rumored but apparently is not involved, and despite some reports, Jacob Elordi is not testing either. Prime Video has renewed Mike Flanagan’s Stephen King adaptation Carrie for a second season. Flanagan had originally said he envisioned the adaptation as a three season arc. Aaron Guzikowski, who wrote Denis Villeneuve’s English language debut Prisoners, has been tapped to write a new Alien feature for 20th Century Studios and Ridley Scott. HBO’s Harry Potter series has cast Harry’s parents, with Jasper Talbot as James Potter and Hannah Chinn as Lily. Harry Gilby also joins the cast as Charlie Weasley. The final trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 3 has arrived, showing off new footage and the scale of the film. It reaches theaters on December 18. Deadline reports that writers Amit Cohen and Ron Leshem have been brought on to write Marvel’s spy series Zodiac, which will follow a pair of spies chasing targets with special abilities. Leshem created the original Israeli Euphoria, and the pair created the Hulu drama No Man’s Land for the U.S. market. We lost actor Walter Koenig on Oct 25 as did voice actor Eric Bauza who voiced many modern day Looney Tunes, who was just 45. Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie is in talks to star opposite Ryan Gosling in Marvel’s Ghost Rider, in a villain role. Paramount has announced that the upcoming third installment in Parker Finn’s horror franchise Smile has tapped David Bruckner to helm the next film which is penned by Nick Antosca.

    Doomsday at the World Series, Clayface Wins the Weekend, Bond Narrows the Field

  4. Oct 22

    The Batman Part II Adds a New Director, Poison Ivy Show, Fourth Wing Casting, Red Rising Movie

    Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes. Due to Matt Reeves departure from the set of The Batman II for personal reasons, Steven Soderbergh is being brought in to help complete principal photography, working with Reeves from a distance for the final months of production as the film heads toward its February 18, 2028 release date. Soderbergh, the director behind Ocean’s 11, Magic Mike, and Traffic, approached Reeves with the offer to help. In a post on social media, Reeves made it clear that he is still involved with the project and not stepping away from his Batman sequel. In an interview with IGN, DC Studios heads Peter Safran and James Gunn broke the news that the upcoming animated Mister Miracle series, based on Tom King’s award-winning comic of the same name, will star Josh Hutcherson and Mackenzie Davis. Hutcherson will play Mister Miracle, aka Scott Free, while Mackenzie Davis will star as his fellow New God, Big Barda. In other news, The Penguin showrunner Lauren LeFranc is currently in talks to develop a Poison Ivy series.  In the world of literary fiction, two beloved franchises got major updates last week. Pierce Brown’s popular Red Rising series will be developed by Paramount Pictures. Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence is set to helm this dystopian sci-fi creation for the screen. Romantasy favorite Fourth Wing, being developed by Amazon, cast its two main characters - with Esther McGregor set to play Violet Sorrengail, and Emilio Sakraya landing the role of wingleader Xaden Riorson.  Zendaya has joined the cast of a new untitled sci-fi film to be written and directed byAlex Garland for A24. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the feature is set to shoot in 2027.  The fifth season of True Detective has cast its leads. Nicolas Cage and Antonio Banderas will star in the HBO anthology’s next season, which is set to begin filming in 2027. Both stars have been rumored to be attached to the show for some time: Cage was first reported to be in talks for a lead role in the summer of 2025, and speculation about Banderas joining True Detective first surfaced late last year.  This weekend at the box office, Paramount's live action Street Fighter opened to a less than forecasted 51.1 million dollars worldwide. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's You Can See Everything opened to $15M on a limited screen release, easily the second best opening ever for a documentary at the box office after 2004’s Fahrenheit 9/11.  Prime Video has released the first trailer for season 3 of The Rings of Power which will premiere on November 11th. Disney+ and Hulu have greenlit a reboot of Ryan Murphy’s 2009 musical dramedy series Glee. Variety also reports that original series star Lea Michelle will return to reprise her role from the original series which ran for six seasons and originally concluded in 2015.

    The Batman Part II Adds a New Director, Poison Ivy Show, Fourth Wing Casting, Red Rising Movie

  5. Oct 16

    200th Episode - Marvel TV’s Next 3 Years, DC Slate Takes Shape

    Check Out Our Merch Store!https://multiverse-news-shop.fourthwall.com/en-usd Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes. Marvel Television and Marvel Animation laid out the next three years of Disney+ programming at New York Comic Con, with Brad Winderbaum running the panel. Daredevil: Born Again brought most of the Defenders onstage for season three footage, and VisionQuest closed things out with a surprise screening of its first episode ahead of its two episode premiere last night. Here’s all of the announcements from the panel: Zodiac is the newly announced live action spy thriller, revealed with its official title and logo. It hits Disney+ in 2028 and begins filming in London this spring. The Hollywood Reporter notes the logo appears to hint at a SHIELD connection, and that it is one of the five shows the trade previously reported were in development. Marvel Zombies returns as a trio of two-part specials, one per year. The Winter Soldier arrives during the Halloween season of 2027, The Fist of Khonshu follows in 2028, and The Last Guardian caps it in 2029. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man season two has a date, January 13, 2027, and the first poster confirms Venom is along for the ride. X-Men ’97 brought season three footage, showing where this universe stands after Apocalypse’s defeat. Deadline has published a rundown of where Skydance stands after the Warner Bros merger, sorting the slate into the pictures that are ready, the ones in the works, and the ones on fire. On the DC Studios side, that puts a number of films in early production, including Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the Deathstroke and Bane film now titled Savage Hunters, a live action Teen Titans, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman. It is the clearest look yet at how much DC is trying to move at once under new ownership. Paramount Pictures is developing a live action film set in the Cyberpunk 2077 universe, based on CD Projekt Red’s action adventure RPG. Lorenzo di Bonaventura is attached to produce. Universal has released the first trailer for Exorcist: Martyrs, Mike Flanagan’s reboot of the franchise. Scarlett Johansson, John Leguizamo, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jacobi Jupe star, and it reaches theaters March 12, 2027. The first trailer for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew has arrived, and The Hollywood Reporter reports the response has been split, ranging from the best the franchise has looked in years to complaints that it lost its soul to CGI. Netflix releases the film in theaters and IMAX on February 12, 2027. At the box office, The Social Reckoning opened well below projections at just under $9 million worldwide, while horror film Other Mommy held the number one spot with a $45 million worldwide opening. Netflix is developing a feature adaptation of Hatchet, Gary Paulsen’s 1987 young adult survival novel. Derek Cianfrance, the filmmaker behind Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, will write and direct.

    200th Episode - Marvel TV’s Next 3 Years, DC Slate Takes Shape

  6. Oct 7

    Avengers On Top Again, Gunn and Safran Will Stay at DC, The Batman II Paused

    Avengers: Endgame has once again reclaimed the global box office crown from Avatar, narrowly passing it with $2.9255 billion worldwide after its return to theaters. Avatar sits second with $2.9237 billion. Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage is taking aim at the franchise’s current direction. During a recent Q&A at Fan Expo Dallas, Cage said he misses when Marvel movies focused more on story, character development, and weaving together different backstories. Cage said watching talented actors put on “ridiculous outfits” only to prepare for the inevitable big fight makes it difficult not to see the MCU as “a well-funded and glorified WWE.”  Despite the shake-up at Skydance amid the Warner Bros. and Paramount merger, insiders say that James Gunn and Peter Safran are reportedly expected to remain in charge of DC Studios. Meanwhile, production on The Batman Part II has been temporarily paused as director Matt Reeves stepped away to focus on a family matter. Warner Bros. and DC Studios said Reeves has their “full support” and that they look forward to continuing the film’s journey soon.  On Tuesday it was announced that David Ellison’s Paramount completed its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, officially combining two legendary film studios, an enormous conglomeration of TV networks, two large streaming services, and multiple news organizations into one player that the mogul hopes will let him compete with the likes of Disney and Netflix, to say nothing of Amazon, Apple and Google. The new mega company will be called Skydance, dropping both of the historical names that are well-known.  Focus Features and Blumhouse-Atomic Monster have given Curry Barker‘s upcoming horror-comedy Anything But Ghosts a release date of May 7, 2027.  Warner Bros. announced last week that Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest is set for theatrical release on June 1, 2029. Owen Harris directs the film that has a script from Beau Willimon, marking the first feature film for the franchise that adapts author George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy book series.  Bradley Cooper has signed on to star as field commander Duke in Paramount‘s G.I. Joe movie from Danny McBride. Paramount also confirmed that G.I. Joe has been “uncoupled” from the Transformers franchise. That crossover was teased at the end of 2023’s Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Sources tell Deadline that Walton Goggins is set to join Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler in Universal’s Miami Vice ’85 in a villain role.  Warner Brother's Tom Cruise led Digger opened to a disastrous $20 million dollars worldwide box office this weekend, the lowest opening for Tom Cruise in nearly 20 years. Amazon MGM's Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity took the number one spot with a $62.5 million dollar worldwide opening. Both films received C+ Cinema Scores, indicating steep drop offs coming next weekend.  Sources tell Deadline that Paramount and Hasbro Entertainment have appointed Steven Spielberg to focus on all creative aspects of the next live-action Transformers film alongside Michael Bay, who is in early talks to return as director. Michael Bay directed 5 live action Transformers films from 2007 to 2017.

    Avengers On Top Again, Gunn and Safran Will Stay at DC, The Batman II Paused

  7. Sep 30

    Marvel’s Re-Release Fever, Jon Watts Lands the Next Star War, and the Final Clayface Trailer

    Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all your favorite fictional universes. Avengers: Endgame took back the number one spot at the box office this weekend, with the Endgame: Encore re-release opening to $86 million worldwide. It lands as Joe and Anthony Russo keep a tight lid on Avengers: Doomsday, telling Empire Online that Bruce Banner is certainly involved in the story revolving around Doom while declining to confirm or deny whether the Hulk appears, and adding that there are characters and actors in the film who have not been announced. That is on top of the 31 Marvel characters already confirmed for the December release. Deadline also reports that Sony has a theatrical re-release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day in the works featuring new and unseen footage, including a cut scene with Rosario Dawson, though no date has been set. Lucasfilm has enlisted Jon Watts to direct the first installment of a new Skywalker saga trilogy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Watts directed the first three Tom Holland Spider-Man films and has been in this galaxy before, co-creating the Disney+ series Skeleton Crew with Christopher Ford in 2024. Simon Kinberg was previously attached as a writer on the trilogy, which would feature Daisy Ridley’s Rey in a supporting role. Nothing has been dated yet, and Star Wars: Starfighter, the Shawn Levy film starring Ryan Gosling, is still the next theatrical entry on the calendar for May 28, 2027. DC Studios has released what it is calling the final trailer for Clayface, the last big marketing push for a film that arrives October 23. James Watkins directs the horror thriller from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen, a Gotham actor left disfigured by a crime boss who takes an experimental treatment that restores his looks but costs him his grip on reality. It lands at a pivotal stretch for the DCU, coming after Supergirl finished its summer run at roughly $126 million worldwide against a reported production budget north of $170 million, and with Lanterns closing out its first season on HBO Max next Sunday.  Warner Bros has made release date changes to a pair of upcoming films. DC Studios animated film Dynamic Duo is moving from June 30, 2028 to September 22, 2028, and the Chris Columbus directed untitled Gremlins film is shifting from November 19, 2027 to October 6, 2028. Elsewhere at the box office, Resident Evil stayed strong in its second weekend and is about to cross $200 million. Lance Oppenheim’s Primetime, starring Robert Pattinson, opened to $20.3 million worldwide, though its release was limited outside the United States. A24 has dropped a full trailer for You Can See Everything, the Elizabeth Holmes documentary from Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, and confirmed an October 16 release date. Blumhouse, Atomic Monster and James Wan have enlisted Mike P. Nelson to direct a new Saw movie. Nelson previously directed 2021’s Wrong Turn and the 2025 remake of Silent Night, Deadly Night. John Goodman, Ian Alexander and Laura Bailey have joined the season three cast of HBO’s The Last of Us. Alexander and Bailey have both voiced characters in the video games, though they are not reprising those roles in live action. Prey director Dan Trachtenberg is in talks to direct an original film inspired by Sleeping Beauty at Disney, according to Deadline. The untitled project is in early development and is said to take the story in an entirely new direction. Prime Video has renewed Reacher for a sixth season just 12 days after the season four finale, marking the first time the show has received two renewals in the same year. Season four drew 66 million viewers globally in its first 28 days, topping season three. Jennifer Lawrence will star in Zach Cregger’s next film titled The Flood. Nothing is known about the plot of the film, but Warner Bros. executives call it “bold and wholly original.” The Flood is set to release August 11, 2028.

    Marvel’s Re-Release Fever, Jon Watts Lands the Next Star War, and the Final Clayface Trailer

  8. Sep 23

    Daredevil Cancelled, First Look at Greta Gerwig’s Narnia, Puppet Dynamic Duo Casting

    According to sources for The Hollywood Reporter, the forthcoming third season of Daredevil: Born Again will be the show’s final season. The decision comes about two months after the show’s third season wrapped filming. The move also comes as Marvel has quietly parted ways with showrunner Dario Scardapane, whose contract was up and was not renewed. The parting of ways is eyebrow-raising as it means that Scardapane is exiting the show in the middle of post-production. It has not been reported as to who will oversee the final stages of the show. The same article confirmed that Marvel has three to five live-action shows in development, and sources say it just greenlit a spy thriller referred to as the codename Zodiac. The most notable Marvel comics reference of Zodiac is tied to a criminal organization headed by a villain named Scorpio that featured villains themed to the constellations. In the comics, it was known for going head-to-head against SHIELD. According to industry insider Jeff Sneider, Mason Thames has been cast as Dick Grayson and Logan Kim has been cast as Jason Todd in the upcoming DC Studios animated film Dynamic Duo. Chris Pine has been offered the role of Batman. The animated film is yet another Batman Elseworlds project even though it will live under the DCU banner. Thames’ name will be familiar as Hiccup in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon, and Kim played the character of Podcast in both Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.  Empire magazine has published several first look images at Greta Gerwig's upcoming adaptation of The Magician's Nephew from The Chronicles of Narnia. In the article, it is confirmed that Meryl Streep will voice Aslan, as well as that the film is inspired by rock operas of the 70s and 80s. The film comes to cinemas February 12, 2027, and will be streaming on Netflix beginning April 2, 2027.  Paramount has reached a settlement with California and 11 other states, clearing a major legal hurdle for its roughly $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. As part of the deal, Paramount has agreed to produce at least 30 movies a year, invest another $1.5 billion in U.S. film production, and create a $47.5 million fund for workers affected by the merger. The deal still needs final court approval, but it essentially clears the path for Paramount and Warner Bros. to become one massive Hollywood company.  After more than a decade of false starts, Paramount is finally closing in on making a sequel to its 2013 hit World War Z. Brad Pitt is set to return to star in the feature that also has Edward Berger, the filmmaker behind All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, on board to direct.  Zach Cregger's Resident Evil opened strong at the box office this weekend with a $108 million worldwide opening, $60 million of which was made domestically. This opening is not only a best for Cregger, but it is also a best for the Resident Evil franchise.  Netflix has released a trailer for David Fincher's The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, in which Brad Pitt reprises his Oscar-winning role as the stuntman first introduced in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The film is set to premiere in Imax theaters on November 25, before hitting the streamer December 23. Alan Ritchson is in talks to star in Sony’s adaptation of its PlayStation video game property, Helldivers. The move comes after Jason Momoa exited the project in early June and would be the first time the Reacher star headlines a theatrical studio feature.  Actor John Leguizamo has been cast as a villain in Joseph Kosinski's upcoming Miami Vice '85, a film reboot of the 1980s TV show. The cast already includes Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler in starring roles.

    Daredevil Cancelled, First Look at Greta Gerwig’s Narnia, Puppet Dynamic Duo Casting
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Your source for news and commentary about all of your favorite fictional universes.

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  • Creator
    Stranded Panda
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    205
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Stranded Panda
  • Show Website
    Multiverse News

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