…With production underway on 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Apocalypse, Bryan Singer has confirmed that we’ll finally be getting a bald Professor Xavier in the 1983-set sequel, posting a behind-the-scenes image of James McAvoy sans hair; meanwhile, the director has also revealed that the Rogue Cut of last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past is set to hit shelves on July 14th…
…Back in March, Hugh Jackman suggested that the 2017 follow-up to The Wolverine would be his last outing as fan favorite mutant, and now the star has reiterated that he plans to retire the adamantium claws following his third solo outing: “[Wolverine 3] will be my last one. It is my last time. It just felt like it was the right time to do it. And let’s be honest, 17 years. I never thought in a million years it would last, so I’m so grateful to the fans for the opportunity of playing it. I kind of have in my head what we’re going to do in this last one. It just feels like this is the perfect way to go out…”
…David Ayer pulled back the curtain on Warner Bros.’ second DC movie of 2016 this week, releasing a first-look image of Task Force X from Suicide Squad, featuring Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez as El Diablo, Adam Beach as Slipknot, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress and Karen Fukuhara as Katana. The cast photo was followed by an official shot of Deadshot complete with mask [see here], as well as a selection of set photos featuring Harley Quinn and the rest of the Squad [see here], and a potential Hawkman Easter egg [see here]…
…Following the Suicide Squad reveal, Harley Quinn co-creator and DC animated legend Bruce Timm shared his thoughts on Margot Robbie’s look, giving his seal of approval: “I just saw the pic like a couple of hours ago. It was interesting. I was frankly a little nervous about what Harley would look like, but I thought she looked really cool. So I’m optimistic, we’ll see. It’s funny, because she started off as just like a one joke idea and she’s gained all these different dimensions from all the stories we did, and the stuff that happens in the comics. I think bottom line the most important thing about her is that she’s funny. One way or the other regardless of what her backstory is, or whether she’s in an abusive relationship with the Joker, or if she’s off on her own, or hanging out with Poison Ivy, or whether she’s a villain or a hero. I think bottomline her stories always have to be fun, if not flat out hilarious (but that would be even better). That’s one of the things I like about the current comic. They understand that, they’re not treating her as another angsty bizarre superhero type character. She’s really weird and funny and kind of chaotic…”
…Tom Hardy has spoken about his decision to pull out of Suicide Squad, citing scheduling conflicts with Alejandro G. Inarritu’s The Revenant which forced him tp vacate the role of Rick Flagg, while he’s also teased that he has a mystery DC project in the works with Warner Bros.: “I actually got something cooking with Warner Bros. which is also a comic book, it’s a DC thing which is kind of… It’s really good actually, it contains elements of all kinds of stuff. From Ocean’s Eleven, to Batman, you can get all the wrappers out and it would be a big, really cool, Technicolor, Pulp Fiction…It’s a psychological fuckfest, it’s absolutely awesome. It’s as if you would take Transmetropolitan and make it happen, but it’s not that out there it’s something which is much more real world. It could be like Heat, it could be fucking awesome… It’s real estate, it’s PRIME real estate which is sitting there right under everybody’s nose that no one’s really thought about yet and it goes TV and movie, it’s awesome. I can’t believe that nobody has even –I know they thought of it but no one has actually blown life into it yet…”
…As the TV networks finalise their plans for the 2015/2016 schedule, The CW has confirmed that it has placed a full series order for the Arrow/Flash spin-off DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, offering up a full synopsis for the show: “When heroes alone are not enough… the world needs legends. Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat – one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known..?”
…We won’t have to wait until the premiere of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow to get our first look at Ciara Renee’s Hawkgirl, with the actress revealing that she’s set to make her debut in the season finale of The Flash, which airs a week on Tuesday. And, as The CW’s current DC shows march towards their season finales, you can take a look at a trailer, promo and images for The Flash’s penultimate episode ‘Rogue Air’ here, as well as Arrow’s season three finale ‘My Name Is Oliver Queen’ here. Meanwhile, be sure to take a look at Jessie Robertson’s reviews for ‘Grodd Lives’ here and ‘This Is Your Sword’ here…
…The CW isn’t the only network giving the green light to new DC shows, with CBS officially placed a full series order for the Melissa Benoist-headlined Supergirl, while FOX has also order a full season for Lucifer, as well as releasing a first look image of Tom Ellis in the title role from the Vertigo adaptation…
…It’s not all good news on the DC TV front though, as NBC has opted against picking up a second season of episodes for Constantine. All may not be lost though, as showrunner Daniel Cerone has revealed that Warner Bros. is actively looking to find a new home for the supernatural detective…
…The first season of Gotham drew to a close on FOX this past Monday, and you can check out our catch-up reviews for ‘Everyone Has a Cobblepot’ [see here], ‘Beasts of Prey’ [see here], ‘Under the Knife’ [see here], ‘The Anvil or the Hammer’ [see here], and the finale ‘All Happy Families Are Alike’ [see here], as well as Anghus Houvouras’ controversial op-ed ‘Fixing Gotham: Make Jim Gordon Batman’ here…
…In more DC TV/digital news, Machinima has placed a second season order for the upcoming animated series Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles (despite the fact that both the first season and the feature-length animated movie are yet to arrive), as well as giving the green light to a live-action adaptation of Dial H For Hero entitled #4Hero, which is described as a “VFX-heavy action-comedy about a young woman named Nellie Tribble who is quietly desperate to make her mark on the world, but wholly unprepared to do so. Nellie stumbles upon a life-altering smartphone app that allows her to instantly become a Super Hero for a short amount of time. The problem is her super powers are dictated by whatever is trending on social media at that moment, and they are always only semi-useful…”
…And finally, we’ll also be getting a second season of Powers, with Sony VP of Platforms marketing John Koller announcing that the PlayStation Network show has been renewed: “The reception of Powers has been incredible, and we are thrilled to have successfully launched a platform for original content with the PlayStation gamer in mind. We believe original content will continue to be a key pillar as we broaden the value proposition for PlayStation Plus, and we’re excited for what’s to come with season two of Powers.”
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
