…It’s been rumoured for a couple of years, and now it’s official: Fox has been exploring the possibility of bringing together its X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises for a big Marvel crossover, with director Bryan Singer revealing that: “Those ideas are in play. That would be a natural match-up because they’re both ensemble films and there is a natural mechanism by which to do it. We’ll have to see how [Fantastic Four and Apocalypse] turn out. To just say you’re going to do it would be a mistake, you have to see how the films evolve before you make that decision to completely commit to that…”
…Like Singer says, before we get to a crossover, Fox needs to hope that Fantastic Four proves a hit at the box office and they’ve been very active with the promotion this week, releasing a final international trailer and featurette, along with a whole boat load of TV spots, which you can watch here, here, here and here…
…Evan Peters has been discussing his return as Quicksilver in next year’s X-Men: Apocalypse, teasing a new sequence for the speedster that is “bigger and better” than the one we saw in X-Men: Days of Future Past: “The special effects guys, man, they absolutely nailed that and did a fantastic job on it. This year we’re working on something that’s bigger and better, keeping the same elements that worked, then adding a few new ones. I’m really excited to see it all cut together, and I’m excited for people to see it, too. I think it’s going to be a really fun sequence in what is going to be a massive X-Men movie...”
…With Fox gearing up to start production on another of its X-Men offerings this October, a casting call has arrived online for Gambit, which gives us some idea about the supporting characters set to join Channing Tatum’s Remy LeBeau in the 2016 spinoff; check it out here…
…Moving on to DC now and a rumour (well, it’s from Heroic Hollywood, so “speculative guess” is probably a more apt description) has emerged this week suggesting that Zack Snyder’s son Eli Snyder is set to play the (deceased) Robin in a flashback in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, while Gal Gadot has shared a few comments about her upcoming role as Wonder Woman, as well as responding to critics of her casting as the Amazon Princess: “I’m so excited about this role. “I feel like I’ve been given a huge opportunity to inspire people, not only women. And not because of me but because of who Wonder Woman is and what she stands for. There’s a lot of responsibility. But I have the best team and the best people to work with. It’s going to be an amazing ride, knock on wood. No matter what you do, you can never please them all. People will always have something to say because that’s the way people are. And it’s okay. But for me, it’s my job. It’s my career. It’s my art. Whatever I do, I take it very seriously and I do my research and I give it my best. I just want to be able to shine and inspire people. And it’s not just about me. It’s the script and the story and the acting. I hope people are going to love it…”
…In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the Comic-Con trailer for Warner’s Suicide Squad has overtaken the YouTube views of the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer, despite being released thee days later, and despite not having the names of two of the most iconic superheroes of all time (versus each other!) in its title. Meanwhile, Flickering Myth’s Oliver Davis has pored over the trailer to work out who Jared Leto’s Joker is torturing in the footage. Is it Jason Todd? Click here to find out…
…Tyrese Gibson continued his campaign to build support for his casting as John Stewart in 2020’s Green Lantern Corps, claiming this week that he’s had discussions with the studio: “I’ve already had a couple of meetings at Warner Bros., so we’ll see what happens. I do believe that there needs to be more black superheroes out there, but that’s not even my motivation. I think I would be the best Green Lantern and based on my fans and supporters that spent around $6 billion in box office receipts, I feel like there’s a fanbase of fans out there waiting to see me put on this green suit and do my thing. So I would love to confirm something today but I can’t. We’ll just keep following up…”
…A few weeks back it was revealed that Guillermo del Toro’s has left Warner Bros.’ Justice League Dark adaptation, and the filmmaker revealed this week that he was forced between choosing the supernatural DC ensemble and the upcoming sequel Pacific Rim 2: “Warners liked the script, they were very enthusiastic and wanted to green-light it but they wanted it to coincide with the shoot of Pacific Rim 2. I was put in a very difficult place facing a difficult choice, and I chose to do Pacific Rim 2…”
…And while we’re on the subject of del Toro, with Ron Perlman lobbying at every opportunity for Hellboy 3, he’s also discussed the chances of the third instalment ever becoming a reality – and unfortunately it doesn’t sound too promising: “The hard fact is that the movie’s going to need about $120 million and there’s nobody knocking down our doors to give it to us. It’s a little beyond Kickstarter. It would be great to complete the trilogy. But in a way I don’t see the world—the industry—supporting that idea. But you know, Ron is no spring chicken, so we’d better get to it before Hellboy has to do everything from a Barcalounger…”
…Shifting back to DC now and this week has brought us the first two promos for the upcoming second season of Gotham [watch it here], while it’s also been announced that Michael Chiklis (The Shield, Fantastic Four) has joined the cast of the Batman prequel series, where he’s set to play Gotham Police Captain Nathaniel Barnes, who “lands on the GCPD like a tornado….ripping out the dead wood of Gotham’s police force. He is a law and order zealot; unafraid of making enemies – on either side of the law. For Gordon, Barnes is a hero and a mentor, someone with whom he can share the burden of heroism. Captain Barnes proves himself to be a strong ally to Gordon… but one day he will make an equally powerful enemy…”
…The CW’s Arrow has also been fleshing out its cast for the fourth season, with Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) set to play Jessica Danforth, who is described as “a friend of the Queen family [whose] political ambitions will place her in the crosshairs of a menacing antagonist”, JR Bourne (Teen Wolf) cast as Jeremy Tell, a.k.a. the supervillain Double Down, and Jimmy Akingbola (Sons of Liberty) nabbing the role of Baron Reiter, a.k.a. Baron Blitzkrieg. However, executive producer Marc Guggenheim has all but ruled out an appearance by Hal Jordan, stating that: “They announced the Green Lantern Corps movie, and I’d be surprised if it didn’t include Hal. It would be great [to include him in Arrow] but I doubt it very much…”
…It looks like Arrow will explore Sara Lance’s (Caity Lotz) return as the White Canary prior to her starring role in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, with Marc Guggenheim revealing that: “The White Canary will be launched in the first few episodes of Arrow. 4×08, our typical crossover episode, will be doing a lot of heavy-lifting in terms of getting the Legends of Tomorrow characters set up and also seeing where they are with relation to The Flash. It’s a big episode.” As it happens, those episodes could include an appearance from Hawkman, with Carter Hall also confirmed to make his debut in Arrow and The Flash ahead of Legends of Tomorrow…
…During Comic-Con we saw an image of an updated Flash costume for the second season of The CW’s Arrow spin-off, and now an official still has been released featuring Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen all suited up, complete with white background on his emblem; check it out here…
…CBS has stepped up the promotion for its own DC superhero show Supergirl, releasing a new trailer for the series [see here], as well as a poster featuring Melissa Benoist suited up as Kara Zor-El [see here] and a behind-the-scenes featurette [see here]…
…Ahead of its release next week, the first clip from the all-ages animated movie Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem has landed online [see here], as has a teaser and sneak peek for next year’s Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin follow-up Batman: Bad Blood [see here]. Meanwhile, with an animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke in the works, legendary Joker voice actor Mark Hamill has admitted that he’s got his fingers crossed he gets the call to reprise the role of the Clown Prince of Crime…
…And finally, the first teaser trailer has arrived online for Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, the upcoming reboot of the cult 70s superhero show, which sees YouTube stars Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart portraying the crime-fighting duo. The official synopsis follows, and you can watch the trailer here: “ELECTRA WOMAN & DYNA GIRL follows two superheroes Electra Woman (Grace Helbig) and Dyna Girl (Hannah Hart) as they move from Akron to Los Angeles in hopes of making it big in the crime fighting world, only to find competition with other vigilantes and infighting amongst themselves.”
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.
