In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, The Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Gotham, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Constantine, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Krypton, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!, Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man, Inhumans, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, Guardians of the Galaxy, Gambit, Legion and more…
We’ll start things off with DC this week, as thanks to the latest issue of Total Film, we got a new look at the Trinity of Batman (Ben Affleck), Superman (Henry Cavill) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) with a batch of new images from March’s big superhero blockbuster Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice [see here], while director Zack Snyder has discussed the latest take on The Dark Knight, the new-look Batmobile and taking inspiration from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns [see here], writer David S. Goyer revealed that he was giddy following a screening of the film [see here], and stars Affleck and Cavill spoke about the reasons behind Batman’s beef with Superman [see here]….
…If rumours are to be believed, Batman v Superman is shaping up to be the most expensive movie ever made, with a report this week claiming that Warner Bros. has plowed $410 million into the film, beating the previous record of $341 million for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The report also claims that the budget for the two-part Justice League will be $500 million, which – rather ludicrously – seems small change given the recent talk that Marvel has set aside $1 billion for Avengers: Infinity War…
…It’s been rumoured that Ben Affleck will direct a solo Batman movie (and even a trilogy of solo Batman movies), but it seems that’s not yet the case, although he has admitted that he’d love the opportunity: “Look, if I could make it work, yeah, obviously it would be like a dream. The trick is, as to any movie, is to make sure that you- if you’re going to direct it- that you can make it good. You’ve got to have the right idea and the right take on it. Broadly speaking, it’s something I’d be open to, for sure. It’s a very exciting idea….”
…With Wonder Woman set to go into production next month, some potential plot details have arrived online for the Gal Gadot solo movie, concerning the film’s villains, storyline, and a potential cameo from a fellow Justice League member. We don’t want to post any potential spoilers, so if you’re interested you can find out the details here…
…During an appearance at the Dallas Comic Con, Jason Momoa spoke about his upcoming role as Aquaman, telling fans to “keep an open mind” when it comes to his interpretation of the character: “There’s not really a lot of spoilers I can give away. But the research I’ve done on the New 52 stuff with Geoff Johns, and just researching who he is, he’s amazing. He’s got a lot of powers. He’s extremely tough. He’s super strong. But I’m excited about… there’s a big beautiful map laid out and I wish I could carry it with me. It’ll come out soon enough and you’ll see just how big it’s going to be…”
…Flickering Myth’s Samuel Brace has posted a DC-themed op-ed this week, responding to criticism of Warner’s handling of its various comic book properties; check out the ‘DC Bad Movie Myth’ here…
…Shifting to the small screen and this week’s Gotham saw the introduction of the female version of Firefly, with actress Michelle Veintimilla sharing a few thoughts on her casting: ““I actually had no idea I would ultimately be playing a villain. It wasn’t until my first fitting with costume designer John Glaser that I discovered I’d be portraying the notorious [Firefly]! It was a huge surprise for me. I immediately starting reading up on the different incarnations and quickly realized that Gotham was doing their own take on the character… a new, badass, female version! Bridgit’s story goes beyond what you would expect. I’m really excited for everyone to see her story unfold and witness her transformation. It was incredibly empowering to get to play her as an artist and woman.” Firefly will be the focus of this Monday’s episode ‘By Fire’ and you can take a look at a promo here and a batch of images here, while we’ve also got images from the following Monday’s episode ‘Mommy’s Little Monster’ here…
…Gotham will have some competition this coming Monday from fellow DC show Supergirl, and ahead of its premiere Melissa Benoist’s Kara Zor-El has graced the cover of TV Guide, while we’ve got promotional images from the second episode ‘Stronger Together’ [see here], along with the third episode ‘Fight or Flight’ [see here]…
…Over at The CW, The Flash is set to introduce a new Firestorm this Tuesday, and the network has released a trailer, promo, poster and batch of images for the fourth episode of season two, entitled ‘The Fury of Firestorm’ [see here and here], along with an official synopsis for episode six ‘Enter Zoom’, which as you can guess introduces the second season’s new big bad [see here]. Meanwhile, a new official image has arrived online showing Danielle Panabaker’s Caitlin Snow as Killer Frost, which you can see here…
…We’ve also got a trailer, promo and images for Wednesday’s fourth episode of Arrow season four, entitled ‘Restoration’ [see here], along with a first look image of Matt Ryan’s Constantine from episode five ‘Haunted’ [see here] and an official description for the sixth episode ‘Lost Souls’ [see here]…
…Be sure to check out Jessie Robertson’s reviews of The Flash season two episode three ‘Family of Rogues’ [see here] and Arrow season four episode three ‘Restoration’ [see here]…
…It looks like we can add another fan favourite character to the roster of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, with Warner Bros. confirming this week that casting is underway for Connor Hawke, although unlike the comics it is said that the show’s incarnation will not be the offspring of Oliver Queen and Sandra Hawke (unless he’s from the future or something)…
…While Warner Bros. and DC have made a conscious effort to keep their TV shows separate from the movie universe, it seems an exception is being made for the planned Krypton series, with David S. Goyer revealing this week that it will serve as a prequel to Man of Steel: “It takes place 200 years before Man of Steel. We’re treating Krypton like it’s a historical piece. We look to previous cultures on Earth to model what that would be like. We scratched the surface in the film and, for me, that was the allure. I was always fascinated, as a kid, with the books about Krypton and they’ve only shaded in a tiny bit, so we’ll learn about the politics of the world. We’ll learn about the culture, the art, all the different guilds…”
…Warner Bros. Animation’s LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! was released on DVD and Blu-ray here in the UK this past Monday; be sure to check out Matthew Lee’s review of the direct-to-video movie here…
…Click below to continue on for Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man, Inhumans, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, Guardians of the Galaxy, Gambit, Legion and more…
