…Turning to the DC Extended Universe now and the saga of Ben Affleck’s The Batman rolled on this week. First up came a rumour that Warner Bros. had decided to push back production from the Spring to the Summer, seemingly giving Affleck more time to perfect his script. So, all good, right? Well, perhaps not, as the same report – which is unconfirmed it should be said, and in my opinion a little sketchy, Affleck may be looking to bail on the DCEU, seeing as Justice League is “a mess”. It did look like Affleck had shot down the report, stating the next day that he was fully on board to direct the movie, before shifting gears once again and suggesting that he’s a little hesitant: “Superhero movies get the level of attention that is nothing like any film I’ve done. You cast the 14th lead in these movies and the Internet goes crazy. I understand and embrace that. That’s part of the pressure that comes with doing it. That’s why I am not going to do it, unless I really feel confident about it… But when that day comes, should that day come, I’m sure that’s going to be the most pressure, the most stress I have ever experienced in my professional life. There’s no doubt.” Be sure to read Samuel Brace’s op-ed on the situation, ‘3 Things to Take Away from Ben Affleck’s The Batman Saga’…
…In addition to more rumours of trouble in the DCEU, this week has also brought several comments from those involved with regards to the lighter tone we can expect going forward, beginning with Dwayne Johnson, who is set to play Black Adam in Shazam: ““Had a very cool and strategic meeting with the heads of DC about their entire universe,” said Johnson. “As a hard core DC fan, to get a real sense of the tonal shifts and developments coming in these future movies has me fired up. Something we, as DC fans have all been waiting for for a very long time. Hope, optimism & FUN. Even when talking about the the most ruthless villain/anti-hero of all time finally coming to life. Prepare yourselves DC Universe…”
…The Rock’s comments were echoed by Aquaman screenwriter Will Beall, who previously penned an early draft of Justice League and had this to say about the DC ensemble: ““I think Justice League again is, what you’re going to see — I hope I’m not going to get in trouble for saying this — but it’s much more fun, much poppier,” said Beall, who contributed to an early, unused draft of the script for the DC team-up. “I haven’t seen Wonder Woman yet, but Batman v Superman was a little more somber. But Justice League is a lot more fun. And I think that feels to me like the direction those movies are heading now…”
…Beall also discussed the Aquaman movie, adding that: “It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be really fun. What we’ve come up with and James Wan especially — he has a really clear idea of the tone he’s going to have, and I think Aquaman is one that’s going to blow people’s minds, not just visually, but I think the story and the scope of it is really great. What’s interesting is that you couldn’t have done it before. You know, you could do Batman in 1988, but now you have the technology, and it’s going to be cool…”
…We got a brand new image from Justice League this week featuring team members Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Cyborg (Ray Fisher), The Flash (Ezra Miller) and Aquaman (Arthur Curry), while Zack Snyder spoke about the Amazon Princess and how she’ll have evolved from her solo movie by the time of the team-up: “[Humanity] has its moments, but it can be brutal, and her coming to terms with that dichotomy is what we come to learn about her. And in Justice League, she’s fully evolved into someone who’s embraced mankind, partly through Superman’s sacrifice. She’s like, ‘All right, I’ve got to pick it up…’”
…Before we get to Justice League in November, we do have July’s Wonder Woman to look forward to, and this week brought some new behind-the-scenes images featuring Gal Gadot, Connie Nielsen (Hippolyta) and director Patty Jenkins [see here], along with details on the villain and his scheme: “There is a deadly gas that could well annihilate humanity. Now, it turns out that this is precisely the goal of Ares, the god of war. He is jealous of humanity, which is a creation of his father, the deceased Zeus (he was killed by Ares when he rebelled against his son, despite the help of the Amazons)…”
…An image surfaced online this week showing Margot Robbie reading a copy of Harley Quinn’s Valentine’s Day Special, prompting speculation that elements of the comic book will be incorporated into Gotham City Sirens (the issue in question sees Bruce Wayne having to spend a night with Harley after she wins a date with Batman’s alter-ego at a charity auction). Meanwhile, Sideshow and Prime 1 Studio have revealed their Harley Quinn statue from Suicide Squad, and you can see the official promotional images here…
…It’s been a long while since we’ve had any news on Green Lantern Corps, but it has been announced this week that the project has found a producer and writer in DC regular David S. Goyer (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), who will pen the script with Justin Rhodes (Contract Killers, Grassroots). The announcement brought news that the project is being eyed as “Lethal Weapon in space” and will focus on John Stewart training as a Green Lantern under Hal Jordan. And we’ve already had one actor throwing his hat in the ring for the role of John Stewart, with The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and upcoming Black Panther star Sterling K. Brown tweeting that: “Dear powers that be, if you are looking for someone to play John Stewart, I humbly submit my name…”
…With the Television Critics Association winter press tour taking place this week, The CW took the opportunity to drop plenty of news for its current DC shows, beginning with the announcement that Supergirl, Arrow, The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow have all secured early renewals. Other announcements on the panel included the return of Gorilla Grodd and Ronnie Raymond to The Flash, along with Black Flash (who’ll potentially appear across all of the Arrowverse shows), and confirmation that Music Meister will be the villain in the upcoming musical crossover between Supergirl and The Flash…
…During The CW panel, network president Mark Pedowitz and executive producer Greg Berlanti spoke about the chances of Tyler Hoechlin reprising the role of the Man of Steel, either for a return in Supergirl or his own spinoff show. “Tyler did a great job [but] there’s no plan to do a series. There are no plans at the moment for him to return [to Supergirl]. If they wish to have him return, we’d love to have him,” said Pedowitz, with Berlanti adding: “Look, we were just really lucky. We asked to have him come on for the first couple episodes and they were great about it. We’d love to have Tyler back, he’s amazing, he was great in the role. In success, I think all those things are possible. I’m always the guy who says ‘yes’ if there seems to be an appetite for it and the people involved are really nice…”
…In other CW news, we’ve got a trailer and batch of images from Supergirl’s Kevin Smith-directed midseason premiere Supergirl Lives [see here and here] and a synopsis for the tenth episode ‘We Can Be Heroes’ featuring the return of Livewire [see here]; a synopsis for the eleventh episode of The Flash season three ‘Dead or Alive’ [see here], a synopsis for the eleventh episode of Arrow season five ‘Second Chances’ [see here]; a trailer and batch of images for the midseason premiere of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow season two ‘Raiders of the Lost Art’ [see here and here] and a synopsis for the tenth episode ‘The Legion of Doom’ [see here]; and a look at PREVIEWS’ exclusive Arrow and The Flash collectible statues [see here]…
…Over at FOX and Gotham returns this Monday with its midseason premiere ‘Ghosts’ [watch a clip from the episode here], but fans will probably be disappointed to hear that the Batman prequel series will be taking another break after just three episodes, returning on April 24th. You can read the official synopsis for the winter finale ‘The Gentle Art of Making Enemies’ here…
…The DC sitcom Powerless is set to premiere on NBC on February 2nd, and the network has released a new promo introducing the team at Wayne Security, led by Vanessa Hudgens’ Emily Locke [watch it here], as well as another promo focussing on Batman’s cousin Van Wayne, played by Alan Tudyk [watch it here]…
…On the animated front, we’ve got a new clip from the DC Universe Animated Original Movie release Justice League Dark, which features Justice League members Batman, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Cyborg, Hawkman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter and the John Stewart Green Lantern (making his DCAOM debut) [watch the clip here]…
…And finally, we’re less than a month away from the release of the hotly-anticipated LEGO Movie spinoff The LEGO Batman Movie, and Warner Bros. has released five new promos for the animated feature this week, offering up some previously unseen footage [watch them here].
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.
