
Wicked is Good at the Box Office, Scarlett Johansson Enters The Exorcist Franchise, and Hugh Jackman = Wolverine Forever?
Episode Description
Welcome to Multiverse News, Your source for Information about all your favorite fictional universes.
When Wicked: Part One released this time last year, it broke a slew of records for a Hollywood adaptation of a Broadway Show, as well for its talent behind and in front of the camera. Now Wicked: For Good has finally arrived on the scene and with a $150 million domestic, and $226 million global opening weekend, it has broken nearly every record its predecessor established, including Best Global and Domestic Opening for a Movie Based on a Broadway Show, as well as for stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and director Jon M. Chu. It’s no surprise with numbers like these that Universal Pictures is already “underway” with ways to continue the franchise on the screen, according to the studio’s chief marketing executive, Michael Moses.
Scarlett Johansson will star in Mike Flanagan’s upcoming adaptation of The Exorcist. Backed by Universal and Blumhouse, Flanagan’s film is said to be in the universe of The Exorcist, but is not a remake or sequel according to the director. Flanagan’s take on the story was greenlit last year, more than 50 years after the original film came out in 1973.
Wolverines never say die…at least that’s the takeaway from Hugh Jackman’s comments recently on the Graham Norton show. When asked about his time as the iconic X-Men character, Jackman replied “Maybe. I’m never saying never again…” and went on to elaborate about having declared he wouldn’t play Logan until the Deadpool & Wolverine opportunity came about.
Amazon is officially moving forward with a new Stargate TV series from producer Martin Gero, who began his career in the original franchise. The project continues the legacy that started with the 1994 film starring James Spader and Kurt Russell and expanded through Stargate SG-1 and multiple spinoffs.
HBO has renewed several HBOMAX series for second seasons including crime drama Task and comedies I Love LA and The Chair Company as well as House of the Dragon for a 4th season and Knight of the Seven Kingdoms for a 2nd season.
Paramount, Comcast and Netflix have submitted bids to acquire all or part of Warner Bros. Discovery and a sale decision is expected to be made before Christmas, although regulators would most likely take at least a year to approve the sale.
Per an exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter exclusive, we’ve learned that Paramount is actively in talks with veteran producer Neal H. Morris, whose claims to fame include the Fast & The Furious and Sonic The Hedgehog film franchises, to kickstart a new live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise.
Sony Pictures has made one of the biggest book acquisitions of 2025, landing film adaptation rights to James Islington’s Hierarchy series. The move comes as the book series’ second installment, The Strength of the Few, debuts at No. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list following its Nov. 11 U.S. release.
A24 has dropped the first trailer for How To Make A Killing, which stars Glen Powell and Margaret Qualley. The film debuts in theaters on Feb. 20th.
Eva Green has been cast as Aunt Ophelia in season 3 of Netflix's Wednesday, a character that was teased at the end of season 2.
FX will adapt Ubisoft's video game series Far Cry into an anthology series, Variety has learned. Noah Hawley and Rob Mac will create the series and Mac will also star.
Barbara Broccoli‘s Eon Productions, the former producer of the James Bond franchise, and Qatar’s newly launched Film Committee are jointly producing a film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s “Othello,” directed and starring David Oyelowo, and also featuring Rachel Brosnahan and Cynthia Erivo.
Toby Wallace has been cast in a lead role in Netflix‘s upcoming “Assassin’s Creed” TV series.