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It’s the Inevitable Return of the Russo Brothers to Marvel, Shogun Leads the Emmy Nominations, Twisters Spins Up a Big Box Office, and Trailers Galore Across the Multiverse. All of that and more coming up on this edition of Multiverse News!

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universes.

Russo Brothers Save the Day?

“Your saviors are here!” Yes it’s true, the Russo Brothers are in talks to return to the MCU and direct both Avengers 5 and Avengers 6. The news is exciting, but not shocking, as the Russos directed many of the most well-received Infinity Saga films including the climactic Avengers: Endgame. We know the sixth Avengers film will be Secret Wars…what kind of heavy lifting to the Brothers Russo have to do to get us there?

Shogun Shows Out

It should come as no surprise to viewers of Shogun that the groundbreaking series depicting feudal Japan set an Emmy’s record with 25 nominations. Likewise, The Bear set a comedy series record with 23 Emmy nominations - though there’s lots of discourse about categorizing the show as a comedy. Only Murders in the Building, True Detective: Night Country, and The Crown, cap off the high number of nominations at 21, 19, and 18, respectively. We’ve had rich entertainment in the television industry with the advent of streaming. Will Shogun run away with the wins?

Trailer Park

It feels like the fall movie and television season is heating up! We’re going to break down each of the following trailers that recently debuted.



JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

DUNE: PROPHECY

FINAL DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE TRAILER

Twisters Chases the Box Office

Moviegoers felt it and chased it this weekend during the opening for Twisters. The standalone sequel to 1996’s Twister swirled in the cash, beating expectations and making $80.5 million domestically and over $123 million globally. This pushes the film to the top opening for a disaster movie ever in the U.S., beating out 2004’s The Day After Tomorrow and boasts the third highest opening weekend for a movie in 2024 behind Inside Out 2 and Dune Part 2. What do we think…do the twos have it?

Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universes

Last week, just two weeks ahead of the studio’s return to San Diego Comic Con and the release of their sole theatrical outing for the year, Marvel surprised fans by releasing the teaser trailer for Captain America: Brave New World. Clocking in at just under two minutes, this first look is chock full of characters, set pieces and action, with a tense political atmosphere on display that certainly harkens back to 2014’s much beloved The Winter Soldier.



Marvel Animation has clearly found a voice they have a lot of confidence in, as What If…? series writer Matthew Chauncey has been hired to write the third season of X-Men ’97. He replaces Beau DeMayo who wrote the incredibly well received first season of the animated revival as well as the yet to air second season, before being infamously fired by Disney ahead of the show’s premiere. Chauncey previously stepped up into a leadership position when he replaced What If…?’s A.C. Bradley as the head writer for season 3. Beau DeMayo received a lot of retroactive praise for not shying away from social issues and commentary with his first season of X-Men ’97.



Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy’s career seems to continue to be on the upswing, as his Star Wars film locked down a writer, Levy’s frequent collaborator, Jonathan Tropper. Tropper wrote 2022’s The Adam Project and is well established in the TV world, having created both Warrior and Banshee, as well as working as the showrunner for Apple TV’s See. There are a lot of Star Wars films in the works these days, many of which were announced prior to Levy’s and have yet to receive such significant updates.



Despicable Me 4 held the top spot at the box office last weekend, becoming the first animated franchise to cross the $5 billion threshold. Newcomer Longlegs took second place with an impressive $22.6 million debut, setting a record for indie distributor Neon.



Warner Brothers and Paramount have unveiled the first trailer for Watchmen Chapter 1, the first of two upcoming animated films set to release digitally on August 13th. The voice cast features Matthew Rhys as Nite Owl, Katee Sackhoff as the second Silk Spectre, Titus Welliver as Rorshach, and Michael Cerveris as Doctor Manhattan, among other notable actors.



Michael Bay is in talks to direct Barbaric, a fantasy series for Netflix based on the Vault Comics title. It will star Sam Claflin and Patrick Stewart with X-Men First Class screenwriter Sheldon Turner writing and executive producing the series.



Prime Video has ordered The Greatest, a limited series about Muhammad Ali from executive producers Michael B. Jordan and Ben Watkins with Jaalen Best starring as Ali. It is the first authorized scripted series with access to Ali's estate.



Apple TV+ released a teaser for Severance Season 2, which premieres on January 17 and will include 10 episodes that release on Fridays weekly.



A prequel series to Martin, the show that ran on Fox from 1992 to 1997 and starred Martin Lawrence is in development and will be titled Young Martin. Lawrence's production company RunTelDat will produce.



Filming on Euphoria's third season is slated to begin in January 2025 — just about three years after the premiere of season two. HBO says all of the principal cast is set to return, including Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and Hunter Schafer.



Shelley Duvall who starred in seven films directed by her mentor, Robert Altman and is best known for her role in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, died last Thursday. She was 75.



Shannen Doherty, who starred on Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed, has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 53.



On Monday, Netflix released a behind the scenes video of production of the final season of Stranger Things featuring looks at the set, returning cast, and new characters. The series is currently expecte

Marvel Studios gave fans a real trick and treat by dropping the first Agatha All Along trailer on Monday. The peek at September’s MCU show highlights Kathryn Hahn’s return to the character Agatha Harkness, first introduced in WandaVision. We see Harkness awakening from Wanda Maximoff’s spell and setting out to regain her power.



While one of Matt Reeves’ Elseworlds projects is moving forward, one is taking a step back. Reeves announced a Gotham police show in 2020, then it changed to focus on Arkham Asylum and has been through several directors and showrunners since. But as of now the show is no longer moving forward



It was Marvel’s Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum’s turn in the hot seat on last week’s episode of the Marvel Official Podcast. Winderbaum gave each of the upcoming television shows Marvel is working on some quick sound bites.



He said “What If Season Three feels like the culmination of a trilogy.”



Winderbaum alluded that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will have a teenage ensemble.



He also said that Eyes of Wakanda ties into the MCU “more than any other animated show.”



He said of Agatha All Along that it’s really scary and it gets quite dramatic, but qualified the statement with “It’s a Marvel brand of scary.”



Of Daredevil: Born Again, he discussed how the dynamic between Matt Murdock and Kingpin won’t just be about murdering each other, but the politics they find themselves in.



Winderbaum Is “most excited” for people to see what they’re doing with Marvel Zombies.



Revenge is a dish best served hot and sweaty in the first trailer for Gladiator II. Boasting a star-studded cast that includes Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nelson, Paul Mescal, and Joseph Quin, the film appears to truly be a sequel to the Russell Crowe movie and pave its own path for a new story.



On July 4th, Anthony Mackie took to social media to share a new photo from his forthcoming film, Captain America: Brave New World. The photo revealed a look at the Captain America suit Mackie will be wearing in the film.



Despicable Me 4 ruled the Fourth of July box office with an estimated five-day domestic opening of $122.6 million dollars including a three-day weekend haul of $75 million after earning a stellar A CinemaScore. Globally, the film grossed $230 million dollars. Inside Out 2 held at number 2 and has now crossed $1.2 billion dollars globally. A Quiet Place: Day One held at No. 3 in its second weekend with a three-day gross of $21 million for an impressive 10-day domestic tally of $94.4 million. A24’s horror slasher MaXXXine opened Friday and placed No. 4 with an estimated $6.7 million.



The teaser for a new Formula 1 racing movie titled “F1,” starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and Bridgerton star Simone Ashley has dropped. The Apple Original Film is directed by “Top Gun: Maverick” director Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.



A sequel to 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada is in development with screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna in negotiations to return.



After months of back-and-forth, Shari Redstone has finally agreed to sell control of Paramount Global to a consortium led by Skydance Media for a deal valued at $8 billion dollars.



Apple TV released a trailer for Taika Waititi’s re-imagined version of Time Bandits. The original film came out in 1981.



Joel McHale says the Community movie should begin filming in 2025.



The final season of Umbrella Academy begins on August 8. A trailer was released today.



Director Sam Raimi is set to direct and produce a new horror thriller called Send Help. Damian Shannon and Mark Swift will write the script.



New Girl star Lamorne Morris has been cast in Spider-Noir, the Nicolas Cage-led series that will premiere on Amazon Prime. Morris will play journalist Robbie Robertson. Brendan Gleeson has also reportedly joined the cast as the show’s villain.



The Con

Welcome to Multiverse News, your source for information about all of your favorite fictional universes.

Marvel Studios Town Hall (H)

Our favorite shared universe multimedia franchise, that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, blessed us with an outpouring of updates this week, so let’s tackle them in a segment we dub Town Hall:


Hall H



Speaking of Halls, Deadline sources say that Marvel Studios plans to return to San Diego Comic Con’s marquee panel, Hall H, for the first time since 2022’s Phase 5 and 6 slate reveals. With no lack of projects, series and films in the works, how big of a splash are we expecting from the studio come late July?


Fantastic FourWhile speaking on the recently launched Marvel Official Podcast, Kevin Feige confirmed that the upcoming Fantastic Four film is a period piece set in New York in the 1960s. He also tipped his hat to fan observations noting the apparent alternate history setting seen in the promotional art, as quote, “smart”. And not to bury the lede, the studio president also confirmed the film’s shooting start date for July 29, the day after Comic Con concludes. How do these deets jive with everything else we know about this hotly anticipated flick?




AgathaEmpire Magazine unveiled an exclusive first image from Agatha All Along, of course featuring Kathryn Hahn, but also giving us our first look at Patti LuPone as Lila, Ali Ahn as Alice, Sasheer Zamata as Jennifer and WandaVision’s Debra Jo Rupp, as Sharon. Showrunner Jac Schaeffer provided the additional detail that the characters share the common bond of being witches without covens, who strain to work together, in spite of their selfish tendencies. Are we bewitched by these magical morsels?



A Leaky Legacy for Supes?

We aren’t ones to celebrate or propagate unofficial leaks here on Multiverse News, but the magnitude and scale of the recent set leaks from James Gunn’s Superman, beg a discussion. We won’t go into details or describe the images in question, so you’re free from spoilers; but it is worth noting that the clarity of the images, characters, costumes, and settings within, feel a bit more authorized or allowed than one might expect, with James Gunn even gesturing and posing for the camera. In typical fashion, the images have elicited a range of reactions from fans, both muted and hyperbolic. How about us? Does a production so leaky, have us quite as squeaky as some fans?

Headmasters of HogwartsAfter the recent announcement that it would be an HBO series, rather than Max, the Harry Potter series has found its creative voice and force, with a pair of Succession alumni, Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, joining the project. Gardiner will serve as writer and showrunner and Mylod will direct and executive produce the entire first season, which as we understand, will adapt JK Rowlling’s first novel, The Sorcerer’s Stone, for television. Gardiner’s previous credits include AMC’s Killing Eve, Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle as well as His Dark Materials for HBO and the BBC, while Mylod recently directed The Menu as well as episodes of The Last of Us. Do any of these developments have us keen to catch the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 and ¾ when the series lands in 2026?

In a Q&A with The Hollywood Reporter, Fargo and Mad Men star Jon Hamm proclaimed himself a “comic book nerd” and mentioned he is still in talks with both heads of Marvel and DC for roles as well as confirmed that he passed on The Green Lantern saying it was one he “definitely didn’t want to do.” Hamm even indicated he has a role selected at Marvel, if the studio does the storyline…and they say they will.

The second trailer for The Penguin, the Colin Farrell-led spinoff series of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, was released. It highlights more characters who will appear and indicates the Falcones, Gotham’s first family of crime, will be at the center of the story. The show also features Salvatore Maroni, played by Clancy Brown, and is led by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. showrunner Lauren LeFranc.

Pixar’s Inside Out 2 has jetted past Dune Part 2 to take the crown for top box office take of the year so far. Arthouse film The Bikeriders was highly marketed, but opened at third place with $10 million, and Russell Crowe’s horror flick The Exorcism didn’t even scrape the bottom of the barrel at a $2.43 million opening.

At this point Blade isn’t in purgatory…it is officially in development hell. Between the writer’s and actor’s strikes, actors, writers, and directors being let go and leaving the project, it seems almost impossible that Mahershala Ali’s Blade will ever see the light of day. But Hollywood Reporter claims both Ali and Marvel boss Kevin Feige seem like they don’t want to drive a stake through the movie, regardless of the lengthy development timeline, obvious loss of money, revolving door of talent, complete changes to the story, and more.



M3GAN, the hit horror movie from James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Jason Blum’s Blumhouse, is getting a spinoff titled SOULM8TE, a thriller that expands the M3GAN universe and is set for release on January 2, 2026.

Donald Sutherland, the beloved actor who starred in scores of films such as The Dirty Dozen, MASH, Klute, Animal House, Ordinary People, Pride & Prejudice, and The Hunger Games franchise and won an Emmy for Citizen X, died last Thursday in Miami after a long illness. He was 88.



HBO has officially greenlit the first show under DC Studios titled Lanterns. The series has been given an eight episode straight-to-series order by HBO with Chris Mundy serving as showrunner and executive producer.



Jonathan Majors is set to star in the revenge thriller Merciless, which is based on an original screenplay by Frank Hannah. Martin Villeneuve, the younger brother of filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, will direct. The film will mark Majors’ first role since his third degree assault and harassment conviction earlier this year.



Paramount has released the first trailer for Smile 2, the follow up to Parker Finn's 2022 horror hit. The

film debuts in theaters on October 18.



DC Comics pulled all unpublished cover artwork by artist Francesco Mattina after Adi Granov and Scott Williams accused him of using AI in recently released cover artwork. Williams is the inking partner of publisher and CCO, Jim Lee at DC.



A Spaceballs sequel is in development at Amazon MGM Studios. Josh Gad is set to star, and will produce alongside Mel Brooks.



Patrick Dempsey has joined the cast of Dexter: Original Sin as a series regular. He is set to portray Aaron Spencer, the Captain of Miami Metro Homicide who has a decades-long relationship with Christian Slater’s Harry Morgan.



Sources tell Deadline that Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan are in negotiations to star in Season 2 of the Netflix and A24 anthology series Beef. The roles Isaac and Mulligan would be playing were rumored to be for Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, but that ultimately did not come to fruition.



Apple Films has acquired the rights to The Wives, an original film produced by A24 and starring Jennifer Lawrence. The Wives is described as a murder mystery inspired by The Real Housewives franchise.

Bon Voyage, Yann Demange

Marvel’s Mahershala Ali-led Blade has suffered yet another setback as Director Yann Demange has exited the project, marking him the second director to exit Blade. The split is reportedly amicable and occurred some time ago, with Marvel veteran Eric Pearson currently working on the screenplay. Despite this loss, Mahershala Ali remains attached, and the film is still scheduled for release on November 7, 2025.

Pix-ar It Didn’t Happen

Inside Out 2’s $155 million debut this Father’s Day weekend handedly surpassed projections and injected some much-needed adrenaline into the summer box office. The animated sequel’s impressive opening haul was enough to supplant Dune: Part 2 as 2024’s highest opening, as well as earning a spot as the second highest domestic opening for an animated film, behind 2018’s Incredibles 2, another sequel to a beloved Pixar original.

Don’t Rock The Steamboat

According to a Variety exclusive, Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Buck Productions has signed a multi-year, first look deal with The Walt Disney Company to develop theatrical and streaming films. While specific details are not currently available, it is known that the collaboration is not limited to film content and would also give Seven Bucks the opportunity to work across all of Disney’s divisions.

Don’t July to Us, Deadpool!

Box office tracking reports are projecting a $200 to $239 million opening for Marvel Studios’ Deadpool & Wolverine later this July. The reports, made public via Deadline, were provided by the box office monitoring service, The Quorum, who went as far as to say those estimates are on the more conservative end. The first Deadpool still holds the record for the highest opening for an R-rated film at $132.4 million in February of 2016.

Lightning Round:

Catherine Laga‘aia, a 17-year-old actor from Sydney, Australia, has been cast as Moana in the live-action remake of the 2016 animated hit. She joins Dwayne Johnson, who reprises his role as demigod Maui.

Parker Finn, director of 2022’s Smile, is teaming with Robert Pattinson to remake the 1981 psychological supernatural horror cult classic, Possession. Studios are currently bidding for the project.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in a deal that puts a major Hollywood studio back in the business of owning a movie theater for the first time in more than 75 years.

Euphoria actress Hunter Schafer has been cast in a lead role in Prime Video's Blade Runner 2099. She will star alongside Michelle Yeoh.

HBO has officially renewed Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon for a third season.

Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios are developing an animated series based on Blue Beetle, which would act as a follow up to the 2023 feature film.

Franchise scribe Derek Connolly has been hired to write Paramount’s G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover that Chris Hemsworth recently became attached to.

Miles Teller is set to star in Paramount's An Officer and a Gentleman, a modern update to the 1982 film that starred Richard Gere.

Warner Brothers has confirmed that Adult Swim animated series My Adventures With Superman, currently in its second season, has been renewed for season 3.

Warner Brothers has ordered the animated series Get Jiro! for Adult Swim based on the best-selling DC/Vertigo graphic novels co-written by the late Anthony Bourdain.

Terry Matalas, has been tapped to write an update of the 1985 cult sci-fi movie Enemy Mine for 20th Century Studios.

A live-action TV series based on the cult classic French cartoon Totally Spies! is in development at Amazon with Will Ferrell as executive producer.

Emily Blunt is in talks to star in Steven Spielberg’s next film.

Jordan Peele’s next filmhas been pushed from its original Dec 25, 2024 release date to October 23, 2026.

Amazon MGM Studios has given a pilot order to The Nightbeast, a horror comedy starring Tatiana Maslany.

Sony Pictures has