…Grant Gustin took to Twitter this week to drop some rather exciting news, revealing that the season three premiere of The Flash will be titled ‘Flashpoint’ – referring of course to the acclaimed comic book storyline that saw Barry Allen awakening in an alternate timeline which saw huge changes to many of the iconic DC heroes and villains. Details are virtually non-existent at present, but Gustin did state that: “We’re definitely doing this FP thing our own way. I’ve read Flashpoint, I’ve seen the amazing animated film. This will be its own thing.” Meanwhile, Funko also unveiled its Gorilla Grodd Pop! Vinyl figure, which will be available exclusively at Comic-Con next month…
…Arrow has added a couple of new cast members for its fifth season; Chad L. Coleman (The Walking Dead) has signed on to play Tobias Church, a villain aiming to unite Star City’s various criminal organisations, while Madison McLaughlin is set to reprise the role of Evelyn Sharp, albeit under the new identity of the archer Artemis…
…A couple of weeks ago it was announced that season two of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow would be introducing a new incarnation of the Vixen character, and now it has been announced that Maisie Richardson-Sellers (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) has secured the role of Amaya Jiwe, grandmother to Megalyn Echikunwoke’s Mari McCabe. Here character description reads: “Amaya Jiwe – better known as Vixen – is the newest superhero to board the Waverider and join the ranks of the Legends of Tomorrow. Like her granddaughter, Mari McCabe, Amaya’s powers are derived from the mysterious Tantu Totem, which allows her to magically access the abilities of animals…”
…Over at Fox and the producers of Gotham have also been filling out their cast for the upcoming third season, with Maggie Geha (Ted 2) set to take over as Poison Ivy from Clare Foley, Jamie Chung (Sucker Punch) signing on to play Valerie Vale (the aunt of Vicki Vale), and James Carpinello (The Punisher) portraying Mario Falcone, the son of John Dornan’s Carmine Falcone. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has also released details of the DVD and Blu-ray release for Gotham: The Complete Second Season; check out the artwork and special features here…
…Syfy could potentially be the latest network to get in on the superhero business, assuming its upcoming Krypton series makes it past the pilot stage. Filming on the pilot for the Superman prequel series is set to get underway in the summer, and this week brought a casting breakdown for the David S. Goyer-created project, offering up descriptions for the characters of Seg-El, Lyta Zod, Val-El, Alura Zod, Dev-Em and Ter-El…
…Ahead of its release next month, legendary Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy has been talking about reprising the role for the hotly-anticipated Batman: The Killing Joke animated movie: “I like to think I never left the voice of Batman. I’ve been doing it for 24 years. What’s wonderful about it is getting back in the booth with Mark Hamill, because that Batman-Joker relationship, it’s almost like Joker defines Batman and Batman defines Joker, it’s the dark and the light, and sometimes it feels like either of us wouldn’t exist completely without the other, and Mark and I work so well together… I could never do what Mark does, because Mark becomes Joker. I wish the audience could see him in a booth. His face is like rubber, and um, he’s just like Jim Carrey you know, he just becomes the character, he’s like devouring the microphone and when I’m doing Batman I get dark and broody you know. It’s weird how we both inhabit the characters when we’re in the room. It’s kind of fun.” Conroy went on to explain how they have expanded the source material, and you can read the rest of his comments here…
…In other DC animation news, a new clip has arrived online from LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, which you can watch here…
…With production on Spider-Man: Homecoming getting underway, the first set photos arrived online from the Marvel and Sony reboot, giving us a rather unrevealing look at Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, along with Zendaya’s character Michelle. Meanwhile, the cast expanded with the additions of Hannibal Buress (Broad City), Bokeem Woodbine (Riddick), Abraham Attah (Beasts of No Nation), Isabella Amara (The Boss), Jorge Lendeborg, Jr. (Graceland), Michael Mando (Better Call Saul), Selenis Leyva (Orange Is the New Black) and JJ Totah (Glee), while director Jon Watts spoke about assembling a diverse cast for the movie: “Peter Parker goes to high school in Queens, and Queens is one of—if not the—most diverse places in the world. So I just wanted it to reflect what that actually looks like.” You can read Watts’ comments on how he intends on differentiating the reboot from Sony’s previous Spidey movies here., and be sure to check out Henry Bevan’s op-ed here on Flickering Myth, ‘The One Thing Spider-Man: Homecoming Needs To Do To Be Great‘..
…Marvel legend Stan Lee has shared some praise for Tom Holland’s wall-crawler, as well as revealing that he’s recently shot three cameos (presumably for Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok): “Oh, [Holland’s] wonderful! I was with him the other day. He is great! I can’t believe it. It’s as if we created a living being to be Spider-Man, and it turned out to be him. I have a favorite [cameo] but I can’t tell you what it is, because it hasn’t appeared yet. I did it — I had to go to… where did I go? Somewhere on the East Coast in Georgia. Atlanta! I don’t know, somewhere. But I had to go there and do three cameos for three movies at the same time. One of the cameos I did is for the…” Stan was then cut off before dropping any spoilers, adding that: “I can’t even mention the movie?! Well, let me put it this way, it’s a movie that will come out soon. You’re gonna all want to see it because it’s one of your favorites, and — in that movie — I have a cameo where I’m dressed up as… I won’t tell them! But you are gonna love it..!”
…Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman was asked this week whether the studio has plans to launch “a whole Spider-Man universe” and collaborating with Marvel on projects beyond the main Spidey series: “Yes to both those questions. It’s been fantastic, our relationship with Marvel. Sony has the ultimate authority. But we have deferred the creative lead to Marvel, because they know what they’re doing.” And it did not take long for the first rumour to emerge about this expanded Spider-Man universe, with a report suggesting that the studio is reviving its plans for a Silver Sable movie…
…Sony also has the as-yet-untitled animated Spider-Man movie set for release in 2018, and this week saw the studio appointing a director in Bob Persichetti, who will be making his directorial debut on the film after working on projects such as The Little Prince, Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens and Puss in Boots. Meanwhile, screenwriters Phil Lord and Chris Miller also discussed the project, promising a unique take on the web-slinger: “It is not going to feel like every other Spider-Man movie you’ve seen. It will stand on its own as a unique filmgoing experience,” said Miller, with Lord adding that: “It’s wonderful and the people that are working on it are geniuses. It is unique. … People will love it…”
…Click below to continue on for Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Jessica Jones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Ghost Rider, Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6, Guardians of the Galaxy, X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine 3, Deadpool 2 and more…
