…Cinematographer Ben Davis has been speaking about Marvel’s plans for Doctor Strange, revealing that: “It has a very psychedelic grounding, and it’s not your typical Marvel action movie. Most of the work within it is about other dimensions. And I described it, I think, when I was talking to Marvel as Marvel’s Fantasia, in a way, because it’s so sort of out there and different to everything else that they’ve done. I can’t really say much more about it, I’m afraid. But I think it’ll be really interesting, and it’s a very dark movie, I’m pleased to say…”
…With Ava DuVerney (Selma) pulling out of contention to direct Black Panther, Straight Outta Compton helmer F. Gary Gray has now thrown his hat in the ring to tackle T’Challa’s big screen adventure, stating that: “I would love to direct a superhero movie. We’ll see what happens. If [the rumours are] right, I’m there..!”
…Some new behind-the-scenes images from Avengers: Age of Ultron have arrived online today, giving us a look at Paul Bettany as he undergoes his transformation into The Vision; check them out here…
…A year on from its release, director James Gunn has reflected on Guardians of the Galaxy, stating that: “One year ago today, Guardians of the Galaxy opened up in the U.S. and many places around the world. The movie massively over-performed that weekend, even by our own expectations, but what meant more to me is how much so many of you, no matter where you were from, took the story and the characters into your hearts. What meant more to me is that ‘We are Groot’ became a rallying cry for unity among friends and families. What meant more to me is that you laughed at the dumb stuff I thought you’d miss, like ‘Cap’n’s gotta teach stuff’ and ‘I was thinking of something else.’ What meant more to me is that in our tenth week we were out-performing any comic book film in recent history – not because of the money, but because people were going back to see the film a second, third, fourth, fifth time, or more, because they loved it. What mattered to me is that after a lifetime of telling stories and half a lifetime making movies, I felt like you and I, filmmaker and audience, were at the same place at the same time. It mattered to me mostly because I told a story fully with my heart, and you took it into yours. I don’t think I can ever explain how much that means to me. It makes every failure I’ve ever had well worth it. I get a lot of messages from people saying, ‘You made me believe in movies again.’ Well, you guys made me believe that what I spent my life doing was worth doing. And you strengthened my belief that nothing’s worth doing, if it’s not done honestly, and it’s not done with love. On this, the one year anniversary of the cinematic Guardians entering our solar system: thank you, thank you, thank you. We really are, truly, honestly Groot. Love, James…”
…In other Guardians-related news, this week has brought us a new trailer for Disney XD’s animated series, as well as the prequel short ‘Star-Lord Origins’, both of which you can watch here. Another short will air today (Saturday), this time focussing on Groot…
…Agent Carter co-showrunner Tara Butters has revealed that Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter will go up against Madame Masque as the villain for season two of the 40s-set show: “Our villain from the season is very much a Marvel villain that we co-opted a little bit like we did Dr. Fennhoff in the first season. We’ve co-opted [Madame Masque]. I think we’ve changed the look of her a bit obviously. We’ve made her an actress, which is very Hedy Lamar. She was a ‘40s siren actress who was also a scientific genius, so that’s part of what we’re mining with this character…”
…12 Years a Slave producer John Ridley has offered a brief update on his mystery Marvel Television project for ABC, stating that: “The only thing I can say about it is that I’m really in love with that project. I continue to give Marvel and ABC credit because within their system they’re still trying to bring in other voices. I’m in the development stage where I get down on my knees and pray that it goes forward.” Asked about the rumours that the show could feature Kamala Khan’s Ms. Marvel, Ridley responded: “My only connection to social media is my lovely wife, who is dialed in, and I can tell you that 99.99999 percent of everything that was put on social media was so phenomenally off-the-mark. Not to be arcane, but the rumors are truly off-the-mark. But it’s in a fun way. I’m just glad to be part of the conversation…”
…Before we move on from Marvel, you may want to check out Samuel Brace’s op-ed on why Phase Three of the MCU in going to be better than Phase One and Phase Two, which you can read here…
…It looks like Warner Bros. may have blown its load last month for Comic-Con as its been a very quiet week from the DC Cinematic Universe, although we did get a piece of (likely unofficial) artwork from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice featuring Ben Affleck (Batman), Henry Cavill (Superman) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), while Zack Snyder shared an image of Ben Affleck standing in a field, which prompted several ‘Ben Affleck: Outstanding in his field” gags. Meanwhile, a rumour also surfaced suggesting that Warner Bros. execs were so impressed by Affleck’s performance in an early cut of Batman v Superman that they are trying to lock him down to a new extended deal for a trilogy of solo movies…
…Remember when El Mayimbe said that Jim Parrack (True Blood) was playing Deathstroke in Suicide Squad (after earlier claming Joe Manganiello was playing Deathstroke in Suicide Squad)? Well, this week brought confirmation that Parrack is actually set to play Jonny Frost, henchman to Jared Leto’s Joker, in the supervillain ensemble. Expect a third guess at who’s playing Deathstroke over at Heroic Hollywood in the coming days…
…Things were a little more active on the DC TV front, with a new promo for the second season of Gotham entitled ‘The Lunatics Will Run the Asylum’ [see here], as well as a first poster and two new images featuring Theo Galavan (James Frain) and Tabitha Galavan (Jessica Lucas), a.k.a. Tigress [see here]…
…It’s been a pretty big week for casting for The CW’s DC universe, with Keiynan Lonsdale (The Divergent Series: Insurgent) nabbing the role of Wally West for season two of The Flash, and Casper Crump (The Killing) and Falk Hentschel (Transcendence) will play Vandal Savage and Hawkman respectively in the spinoff series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (with both set to debut in the Arrow and The Flash crossovers)…
…The CW also has the animated spinoff Vixen set to debut on CW Seed later this month, and this week brought us a piece of concept art for the series featuring Stephen Amell’s Oliver Queen…
…As October’s premiere of Supergirl draws closer, CBS has released a new promo for the upcoming DC TV series, while it’s been announced that Channing Tatum’s wife Jenna Dewan Tatum is set to play Lois Lane’s sister Lucy and will make her debut in the third episode….
…Having spent the best part of the last couple of months lobbying for Hellboy 3, Ron Perlman has now said that he doesn’t really want to make the film, but feels he owes it to the fans: “Let me make the record clear. I don’t want to do Hellboy 3. It’s a pain in the ass to put that makeup on and take it off. But I feel we’re obligated to finish the story. That’s it. End of conversation. We’re in the business of moving mountains, those of us who are used to working in mainstream film and television. Don’t come to me with details and problems. Just tell me how we move the mountain…”
…And finally, if you’re one of the handful of people looking forward to Relativity Media’s remake of The Crow, then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed to hear that production on the troubled project has been “suspended” owing to Relativity’s financial woes. Apparently the plan is for the remake to move forward, but the crew have vacated the studio at Pinewood Cardiff following weeks of pre-production work, and at this point it all seems up in the air. It’s the latest in a series of blows to the long-gestating movie, which just recently saw Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) become the latest actor to vacate the role of Eric Draven.
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.
