In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Justice League, Justice League Mortal, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 2, Shazam, Suicide Squad 2, Batgirl, The Joker, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Titans, Batman and Harley, Batman and Harley Quinn, The LEGO Batman Movie, Deadpool 2, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Fantastic Four, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Inhumans, The Punisher, Luke Cage, Daredevil, The Defenders, The Crow, Hellboy and more…
The mystery surrounding Joss Whedon’s credit on Justice League appears to be solved, with a credit list for Warner Bros.’ upcoming DC blockbuster revealing that Zack Snyder is to receive sole director’s credit, while Whedon is listed as a screenwriter alongside Chris Terrio. Meanwhile, some new rumours on the much-publicised reboots have surfaced, claiming that Whedon is maintaining Snyder’s vision and that “the majority of the footage that you’re going to see on the screen is still the footage that was previously shot during principal photography.” And we’ve also heard that the film will be a “direct sequel” to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and will begin with “Superman in the grave after sacrificing himself during the battle against Doomsday. Batman and Wonder Woman are gathered in mourning before Steppenwolf makes himself known, leaving the duo to team up with other enhanced heroes…”
…In other Justice League news, we’ve had a series of character promo images featuring Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg [see here], along with an image of Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash ready for battle [see here] and a LEGO version of the movie poster [see here]. Meanwhile, an action figure catalogue may have confirmed the inclusion of Superman’s black suit [take a look here], while both Ezra Miller and Willem Dafoe have been chatting about their roles as Barry Allen and Vulko respectively…
…Some new details about George Miller’s cancelled Justice League Mortal movie have surfaced this week, with Jay Baruchel revealing that his character Maxwell Lord was going to engineer a fight between Superman and Wonder Woman: “There’s a scene where Maxwell Lord brainwashes Clark and all of a sudden this guy’s got Superman as a weapon. But in order for me to do this – to get in to a Kryptonian brain – I start bleeding out of every fucking orifice because it takes that much to get into the head of a Kryptonian. And then I turn him into Red-Eye Superman, and there’s this big ass fight between him and Wonder Woman where he breaks her wrists…”
…By now, you’re probably exhausted by all of the rumours surrounding Ben Affleck’s continued involvement with The Batman; in the build up to Comic-Con, THR reported that Affleck was out, only for the actor to debunk the report during Warner’s DC panel in San Diego. Then director Matt Reeves seemingly revealed that the film will not be part of the DCEU, only to subsequently backtrack/clarify his comments. And now THR has been back this week, claiming that despite Affleck and Warner’s denials, The Batman will indeed be standalone, and will feature a different actor in the cape and cowl. Expect more denials and rumours next week…
…As Warner Bros. continues its search for a new Justice League Dark director, the studio has enlisted filmmaker Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) to polish the script for the planned DC ensemble. Johnstone was previously mentioned as a contender to succeed Guillermo del Toro and Doug Liman in the director’s chair alongside Safe House and Life helmer Daniel Espinosa, although for the time being he’s only contracted to work on the screenplay…
…Coinciding with the digital release of Wonder Woman, a deleted bonus scene has arrived online, which sees Etta Candy (Lucy Davis) recruiting Steve Trevor’s band of militants for a new mission to recover a mysterious artifact [watch it here], while director Patty Jenkins has said that the film’s reception – and the subsequent Oscar buzz – is “an amazing honor”. Meanwhile, Jenkins also briefly discussed her plans for Wonder Woman 2, stating that: “The greatest thing about making this [the first Wonder Woman] movie was the fact that you’re really building to the Wonder Woman that we all love, but not until the end of the movie. The most exciting thing about [the sequel] is literally seeing her loose in the world now, living those classic stories. Here’s Wonder Woman, and what can she do? It should be a totally different movie, but a grand and now full-blown Wonder Woman in the world…”
…In a few other bits and pieces from the DCEU, it’s been revealed that pre-production is now underway on the Shazam movie under director David F. Sandberg (Annabelle: Creation), while Suicide Squad 2 is unlikely to start shooting until late in 2018 due to Will Smith’s schedule, and that Warner Bros. had no plans to use the character of Batgirl before Joss Whedon came in and expressed his love for the character…
Turning to Warner’s new non-DCEU DC division now and it’s been claimed this week that Warner Bros. is hoping to use producer Martin Scorsese’s close friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio to lure the Oscar winner into playing the Clown Prince of Crime in the recently-announced – and said to be “super dark” and “real” – Joker origin movie (and that Jared Leto isn’t happy about the prospect of multiple Jokers, making his thoughts known to the studio). Death Note star Lakeith Stanfield has also expressed his interest in the role, while Flickering Myth’s Liam Hoofe has penned a feature looking at ‘10 Actors Who Could Play The Joker In the Upcoming Origin Movie“, and Ben Robins has written an article on ‘The 5 DC Comics Storylines That Deserve Standalone Movies’…
…This week brought us a new trailer for the third season of The CW’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow [watch it here], as well as producers’ preview videos for the new seasons of Legends, Supergirl, The Flash and Arrow [watch them here], and Flickering Myth’s Alex Moreland caught up with Vixen actress Maisie Richardson-Sellers to discuss her role and the third season of Legends [read the interview here]. Meanwhile, FOX also released a new promo for Gotham season four, which sees young Bruce Wayne donning a mask and costume as he suits up as Proto-Batboy [watch the promo here], while it has also been announced that Michael Cerveris (Fringe) has secured the role of DC villain Professor Pyg for the upcoming season…
…In other TV news, it has been announced that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales star Brenton Thwaites has been cast as Dick Grayson, a.k.a. Robin, the Boy Wonder, in DC’s upcoming live-action Teen Titans series Titans. “Dick Grayson is one of the most important and iconic heroes in the DC Universe, and it wasn’t easy to find him but we have. Brenton has the emotional depth, heart, danger and physical presence of Batman’s former protege and the Titans’ future leader,” said DC’s Geoff Johns. “We’re extremely lucky he’s chosen to bring his talents to this project and this character.” Meanwhile, if rumours are to be believed, Titans will also be featuring the crimefighting duo of Hawk and Dove, along with Dick Grayson’s Bludhaven PD partner etective Amy Rohrbach…
…Coinciding with the release of Batman and Harley Quinn, Flickering Myth’s Amon Warmann got the chance to speak to Batman: The Animated Series star Kevin Conroy about the film, and his role as the Caped Crusader. Conroy revealed that his favourite Batman movie is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and that he’d like to voice the character in adaptations of the Hush and A Death in the Family comic book story arcs. For the full interview, click here…
…On the DC merchandise front, Toys ‘R’ us has unveiled its exclusive The LEGO Batman Movie Bricktober minifigure set [see here], while Funko has revealed some of its DC exclusives for New York Comic Con, including a Batman and Batmobile set from the classic 1960s TV series [see here]…
…Click below to continue on for Deadpool 2, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Fantastic Four, Avengers: Infinity War, Thor: Ragnarok, Iron Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Inhumans, The Punisher, Luke Cage, Daredevil, The Defenders, The Crow, Hellboy and more…
