…I’m sure there are many Batman fans out there who’ve longed to see The Killing Joke play out on the big screen, and if you live in the States, you’re going to get your chance on July 25th. Yes, that’s right, Warner Bros.’ upcoming animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke is set to receive a one-night-only theatrical release in the U.S. ahead of its digital release on July 26th and DVD and Blu-ray on August 2nd…
…The British Board of Film Classification rated the bonus features for The Killing Joke this week, and it doing so, they revealed that we’ll be getting a sneak peek of Warner’s next DC Universe Animated Original Movies release, Justice League Dark. You will of course recall that Guillermo del Toro spent a couple of years developing a live-action adaptation of Justice League Dark before vacating the project, which was said to remain a priority for Warner. There’s no word yet as to whether this animated movie is based upon the live-action project, or is being used to test the water for a feature film…
…In other Justice League-related animated movie news, the UK release for LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout has been confirmed for July 4th, a week ahead of its U.S. bow. The latest instalment in LEGO’s series of DC Super Heroes animated features sees the Justice League having to watch over Gotham City when the Dark Knight takes a long overdue break, and comes with an exclusive Nightwing LEGO minifigure…
…That’s not the only Justice League animated news we’ve got this week, as an image has arrived online which features a number of characters set to feature in Cartoon Network’s upcoming series Justice League Action, including the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Shazam, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, Harley Quinn, Hawkman, Lobo, Blue Beetle, Doctor Light, Doctor Fate and Big Barda; check it out here…
…And in one final piece of DC animated news, the trailer, cover art and synopsis has arrived online for DC Super Hero Girls: Hero of the Year, a feature-length movie featuring the exploits of the teenage Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Bumblebee and Katana. The movie is set for release on Digital HD on August 9th and DVD on August 23rd…
…Moving on to Fox’s X-Verse now and there was controversy this week after Charmed star Rose McGowan led the charge against a “misogynistic” poster for X-Men: Apocalypse featuring Oscar Isaac’s villain choking out Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique. Be sure to read Kirsty Capes’ op-ed ‘Why Rose McGowan is Wrong About That X-Men: Apocalypse Image’, along with Henry Bevan’s ‘Women in Refrigerators: Why Female Representation in Superhero Movies Needs to Evolve’…
…X-Men: Apocalypse may have choked at the domestic box office, having earned just $126 million to date (that’s a franchise low as it stands at present), but the film has had a strangle hold on the international markets – particularly in China – helping to propel the Bryan Singer-directed sequel beyond the $400 million mark worldwide. Globally, it’s the fourth-highest grossing instalment in the franchise with $428.8 million and will presumably overtake X-Men: The Last Stand’s $459.4 million this weekend…
…With filming underway on Hugh Jackman’s X-Men swansong, a new batch of set photos have arrived online this week showing Jackman’s Logan alongside a rather frail-looking Professor X (Patrick Stewart) [check them out here], while a rumour has surfaced claiming that the title for the movie will be Weapon X (something I predicted way back in 2013 – should have pulled a “Mayimbe” and pretended I actually had a source!), and an alleged casting call has surfaced which apparently confirms the inclusion of X-23…
…The Merc with a Mouth finally made his way to Japan this past week, with Deadpool claiming the number one spot in the market and pulling in $6.5 million to take its worldwide haul to $771.2 million. Could $800 million still be on the cards? It’s certainly possible. Meanwhile, screenwriter Rhett Reese has revealed that Fox pushed for a PG-13 version of the script before ultimately giving the go ahead to the R-rated version: “We got reasonably close to that. Fox asked us at one point ‘hey, write the PG-13 version and we can make a decision based off that.’ We did it. We sold our soul for a few minutes [laughs]. But interestingly the PG-13 version is not that different from the R version. The language is reduced, the sexual content is reduced, but most of the action and the structure of the movie and the scenes were all the same. It was up to Fox to look at it and decided ‘should we make this?’ and thankfully – thankfully only in retrospect – they didn’t. It allowed us to circle back with the support of Simon Kinberg a couple of years later and convince them that R was always the best way to go…”
…Fantastic Four star Toby Kebbell has been speaking about last year’s box office flop, stating that director Josh Trank had a “great” cut of the movie, and revealing that he wasn’t around for the enforced reshoots, and so barely portrayed Doom in the final movie: “I tell you, the honest truth is [Trank] did cut a great film that you’ll never see. That is a shame. A much darker version, and you’ll never see it. I played Doom in three points: walking down a corridor, killing the doctor and getting into the time machine, and lying on the bench. They were the only times I played Doom. Everything else was some other guy, on some other day… doing some other thing. I was infuriated that he was allowed to limp like that…”
…Click below to continue on for Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, Iron Man 3, Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6 and more…
