In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Batman, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman Triumphant, Watchmen, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Marvel’s Most Wanted, Deadpool 2, Gambit, Legion and more…
The fifth superhero – or in this case supervillain – movie of 2016 opened this week as Warner Bros. unleashed the latest chapter of the DC Extended Universe, Suicide Squad. And, much like the previous chapter, it didn’t go down to well with critics, with the David Ayer-directed ensemble sitting on 26% at Rotten Tomatoes (which rather hilariously led to an online petition to close RT down seeing as critics around the world don’t seem to like DC movies these days). Reviews here at Flickering Myth have been mixed: Ricky Church awarded it four stars [read Ricky’s review here], while Luke Owen went for two [read Luke’s review here]. As for me personally, well, I’m leaning more towards Luke, but do let us know what you make of Suicide Squad in the comments below…
…As well as upsetting Marvel fans at the film’s premiere, David Ayer shrugged aside the critical reception to Suicide Squad by stating that he “made it for the fans” – and the fans have come out in force, with the film smashing the August preview night record set by Guardians of the Galaxy with $20.5 million (compared to Guardians’ $11.2 million), and is looking at a projected $140 million domestic opening weekend. If it performs to expectations through the full weekend, don’t be surprised if the movie tops $300 million worldwide by close of play on Sunday. However, a report emerged this week detailing the behind-the-scenes drama with regards to the film – including competing cuts between Ayer and the studio – which also suggested it will need to make $750 – $800 million to break even for the studio – and it looks like it will have to achieve that without a release in China…
…In other Suicide Squad news, this week has brought us a couple of featurettes focussed on The Joker and Harley Quinn [watch it here] a new image of the villainous couple [see here], an extended TV spot [watch it here], a LEGO remake [watch it here], details on two Blu-ray collector’s editions [see here] and promotional images for Hot Toys’ Cosbaby figures [see here], while Kevin Smith has shared his thoughts on the movie [see here], details on a Zack Snyder-directed scene have emerged [see here], and Jared Leto has revealed that a lot of his scenes as the Clown Prince of Crime ended up on the cutting room floor [see here]…
…Looking ahead to Warner’s next DC Films release and the first TV spot for Wonder Woman landed online this week; it doesn’t feature any new footage beyond what we saw in the Comic-Con trailer, but if you want to check it out you can do so here…
…Jared Leto is looking towards his next outing as The Joker, revealing that he hopes the character will get to square off against Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight in the solo Batman movie: “I think it would be incredible to see Batman and the Joker go head-to-head! This Batman and this Joker. I mean, I don’t know, that might be too much! But that would be fun. I hope [Suicide Squad] is an introduction [of the Joker] … and not the end! Because I could easily just play the Joker a couple more times and then retire. Because it’s so fulfilling and so creative and it’s so imaginative. It’s really difficult to think about doing anything else!”Leto was also asked whether the Clown Prince of Crime could appear in a Suicide Squad sequel, with the Oscar-winner replying that: “If people like [Suicide Squad] enough. But, you know, the Joker’s not officially in the Suicide Squad, so they could make another Suicide Squad movie and have somebody else [as the wild card villain]. And I would be sad not to be part of the fun…”
…Suicide Squad director David Ayer has shared his thoughts on Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: “I liked it a lot. I love Zack; he is probably the biggest fan of DC Comics. He has an incredible passion in a very specific way, a specific take on it. He’s a smart guy, and I think he heard everybody, he heard them loud and clear, and you grow and you evolve. I thought it was a stunning movie, absolutely stunning. I wish I could get some of those shots in the can. The guy’s an amazing visualist.” Be sure to check out Luke Owen’s review of the Ultimate Edition which arrived on Blu-ray here in the UK this week, and take a look at a new behind-the-scenes photo showing Snyder, Ben Affleck and screenwriter Chris Terrio cracking smiles on the set…
…In a couple of other DC movie bits and pieces, Luke Owen has cast his eye back over the planned sequel to Joel Schumacher’s Batman & Robin, which could potentially have seen Courtney Love starring as Harley Quinn [read his article here], while Screen Junkies have given the Honest Trailer treatment to Zack Snyder’s first superhero movie Watchmen [check it out here]…
…Turning to the small screen as this week has brought confirmation that Calista Flockhart will be returning as Cat Grant for the second season of Supergirl, while Katie McGrath (Merlin, Jurassic World) has secured the role of Lena Luthor, younger sister to Lex Luthor. You can see the first set photo’s of McGrath’s Lena here, as well as some new set photos of Tyler Hoechlin as Clark Kent here…
…The CW has also enlisted a new member of the Justice Society of America for season two of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, with Matthew MacCall (iZombie) nabbing the role of Commander Steel, while Brandon Routh has spoken about the upcoming introduction of the JSA: “So far what I know about the show, the season is Ray is pretty gung-ho about meeting the Justice Society of America and thinks they’re pretty cool, and they’ve got a well-oiled machine. And maybe the Legends can emulate certain aspects of that… This season opens up an opportunity to have a whole bunch of people back from the last season and from the other shows, as well. Because this season we’re not chasing Vandal Savage so we’re able to kind of do more of whatever we want. The whole world is open. Well we’re going back to the ’40s, for the JSA,” he continues. “That’s where we meet the JSA. And I think we’ll spend a fair bit of time there, in different countries within the 1940s. It’s the focus of the first couple episodes…”
…Click below to continue on for Avengers: Infinity War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Marvel’s Most Wanted, Deadpool 2, Gambit, Legion and more…
