…During an interview for the home-entertainment release of Guardians of the Galaxy, director James Gunn has given an update on the status of the 2017 sequel: “The whole story is written. I’m very excited about it. And that’s where it is. But the story point for me is, in a lot of ways, the most difficult thing. I feel like it’s pretty strong. It’s constantly shifting, but I feel like it’s pretty strong. I’m excited about it. I think there’s a combination of some new world-building, combined with getting to know the world we already know a little bit better, just taking a closer look at everything to get to know things a little bit more intimately as opposed to seeing in very broad terms what some of these cultures are — like, getting to know them very up close and personal. Really, it’s just about walking forward in an elegant manner. When you go forward with a group of characters, that means you have to go forward. And going forward means you’re understanding these characters in a new way, you’re developing a new kind of story about their lives and who they are and where they’re going. And if you’re doing that, if you’re walking forward, then you can’t just repeat what you did before. That’s going backwards. That’s not understanding the character.” As for what all this might mean for the team, he adds, “The Guardians are going to continuously change. I think that some of the characters are probably worse than what we think they are, and other characters are better than what we think they are. It’s going to be interesting to learn a little bit about that as time goes on…”
…Shifting to Warner Bros. now and a potentially huge spoiler concerning the fate of a major character PRIOR to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has surfaced this week [see here if you want to know], while Jeremy Irons has spoken about his role as Bruce Wayne’s trusted butler Alfred Pennyworth, promising a very different interpretation from what we’ve previously seen on the screen: “He is quite a different Alfred than we have seen so far. Zack Snyder had very clear views about what he wanted. I would just say he’s more hands-on perhaps than just a butler…”
…While we’re on the subject of Batman, Christian Bale took a moment to share his thoughts on the conclusion to The Dark Knight Rises during a promotional interview for his new film Exodus: Gods and Kings, revealing whether he thought Bruce Wayne’s appearance at the Italian cafe was real or a figment of Alfred’s imagination: “[Alfred] was just content with me being alive and [away from the Batman life] because that was always the life that he wanted for him. I find it very interesting and, with most films, I tend to always say it’s what the audience thinks it is. My personal opinion is no, it was not a dream. That was for real and he was just delighted that finally he had freed himself from the privilege but ultimately the burden of being Bruce Wayne…”
…And, after Christian Bale admitted that he felt a little jealous hearing that Ben Affleck was taking on the role of The Dark Knight for Batman v Superman, Michael Keaton was asked the same question, responding that: “No. Do you know why? Because I’m Batman. I’m very secure in that.” Keaton then went on to discuss the impact of Tim Burton’s Batman on the superhero genre, stating: “Tim changed, or started, everything. And I’m proud of the choice I made, in terms of how to play Batman. It’s probably easier now because Tim paved the way, and if I did anything to pave the way, I’m proud of that, too. I’ve never seen [a superhero movie] beginning to end. Oh actually, I saw the first Spider-Man – I thought that was really good. You can step into it more easily now, is my guess. Technically, [superhero movies] do everything for you. They create a world where all you’ve basically got to do is show up, not f*ck it up too much and you’ll come off OK…”
…Shifting back to Warner Bros.’ current projects and as well as the Flickering Myth Podcast team giving their thoughts on the recent Suicide Squad cast announcement [listen to the episode here], John Ostrander – creator of the team – has spoken about the upcoming film: “I wouldn’t have guessed that it would have been one of the properties that they would do quite so quickly. That’s a heck of a slot. It’s the first movie after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. That places them pretty high and sure, that pleases me… It sounds like they are going with my original concept, which is that these are bad guys, and in order to earn their freedom, they have to go on missions, in which they could be killed. I’ve even read that they are talking about that as the film, as well. Which I think is a good one.” Click here to read what Ostrander had to say about Will Smith as Deadshot, Tom Hardy and Rick Flag and Jared Leto as the Joker…
…On the small screen, Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen went up against Reverse-Flash in the midseason finale of The Flash, and you can read our review of the episode ‘The Man in the Yellow Suit’ here, as well as checking out a promo for the next episode ‘Revenge of the Rogues’ – which airs on January 20th – here. Meanwhile, it’s also been announced that Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Mark Hamill will be reprising another of his past roles and is set to return as The Trickster in The Flash, having portrayed the DC villain back in 1991 in the original John Wesley Shipp series…
…The Flash’s sister show Arrow also aired its midseason finale this week as Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) squared off against Ra’s al Ghul (Matt Nable) in single combat at the conclusion of ‘The Climb’. You can read our review of the episode here as well as watching the climactic showdown between Arrow and the Demon here, while we also have a promo of the next episode ‘Left Behind’, which you can see here…
…Over at NBC and Constantine will also be taking a break until the New Year, where it will air the remaining five episodes of the supernatural DC series. You can watch a promo for the currently-untitled ninth episode here, and we’ve also got a review of episode seven ‘Blessed Are the Damned’ here…
…With the future of Constantine hanging in the balance, David S. Goyer is already prepping his next DC television project in Krypton, which will be set on Superman’s home planet and revolve around the adventures of Kal-El’s grandfather: “Years before the Superman legend we know, the House of El was shamed and ostracized. This series follows The Man of Steel’s grandfather as he brings hope and equality to Krypton, turning a planet in disarray into one worthy of giving birth to the greatest Super Hero ever known…”
…And it looks like another DC TV property is moving forward, with DC’s CCO Geoff Johns revealing that the pilot for the live-action Teen Titans adaptation Titans is set to shoot in the New Year…
…Finally, we’ve got a couple of superhero-themed op-eds from Anghus Houvouras this week; be sure to check out Five Characters Who Could Replace Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War and Do We Really Need a Deadpool Movie?.
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.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=PL18yMRIfoszFJHnpNzqHh6gswQ0Srpi5E&v=zzYUW1bfw34
