…Moving on to the DC Extended Universe now and Warner Bros. has announced that it is bringing both Justice League and Aquaman to Hall H of the San Diego Comic-Con International later this month, with Ben Affleck (Batman), Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), Ezra Miller (The Flash) and Ray Fisher (Cyborg) all on hand for the DC Films panel. Guess they really are trying to keep Superman a surprise. Meanwhile, if you’re keen to take another look at the new DC Films intro and want to try and spot a few more characters, you can find the opening online in HD here…
…As filming continues on next year’s Aquaman, a new set video has emerged from Down Under showing Amber Heard shooting a scene as Mera, while the actress also shared a behind-the-scenes image of her alongside co-star Jason Momoa and director James Wan; check them out here…
…Wonder Woman hit another box office milestone this week as it passed $700 million worldwide, and with $725 million and counting, it is fast catching up to the previous DCEU release Suicide Squad, which earned $745.6 million last year. And that’s not all, as thanks to Wonder Woman’s success, the DCEU has now passed a combined $3 billion at the global box office. With Justice League to come this November, it looks like things may really be starting to look up for the DC universe…
…With his new film War for the Planet of the Apes set to open this coming week, director Matt Reeves will soon be turning his full attention to The Batman, and he’s revealed this week that he may have plans for a potential trilogy of movies: “I have ideas about an arc, but really, the important thing is just to start… you have to start with one. You know, you have to start with a story that begins something. And I would be lying if I could tell you that the arcs of Apes was already planned out, because it simply wasn’t; it’s one of those things where that character was so potent, and the possibility was embedded from the beginning, but exactly how you’ve got from A to Z is not something that existed… The way that I see a Batman story, is a kind of ambition for a series of stories, but really the most important thing is gonna be to tell a vital first story.” You can read the rest of Reeves’ comments here, while he also shared some praise for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, and you can find those comments here…
…Rumour time now and it seems that Warner Bros. may have found a director for 2020’s Green Lantern Corps, with a report this week claiming that Rise of the Planet of the Apes helmer Rupert Wyatt is in line for the film. Said rumour also offered up two very brief character descriptions for Hal Jordan and John Stewart, which you can read here…
…It seems that his experience on Ant-Man with Marvel may not have entirely put Edgar Wright off the superhero genre, as the Baby Driver director has revealed this week that he’s not against the idea of helming a DC movie: “I don’t know,” said Wright. “I’m really not too familiar with their heroes, so I couldn’t say which one I would do…”
…Turning to the small screen and Arrowverse executive producer Marc Guggenheim has been chatting about this year’s four-way crossover, revealing that the plan is to raise the emotional stakes rather than trying to outdo the ‘Invasion!’ arc in terms of scale and scope: “If we end up doing what we’re talking about doing, it’s going to be pretty cool. The crossover is always the most challenging thing we do, but it’s also the most fun. Every year we feel the pressure [to top ourselves]. I feel like each crossover has topped the previous one. Topping last year’s, that’s a high bar, if for no other reason than what do you do that’s bigger than aliens? We’ve got some very, very exciting ideas…. Very early on in the process of doing last year’s crossover, Greg Berlanti said there’s probably no way to get bigger than aliens, so the best way to make the next crossover especially epic is if you can’t increase the bombast, increase the emotional stakes and the emotional payoffs, so that’s a very oblique comment on where our heads are at for this season…”
…It seems that Supergirl actor David Harewood wasn’t overly enthusiastic about the show’s portrayal of Cyborg Superman: “I don’t like playing Cyborg Superman,” said Harewood. “It’s boring. They didn’t really flesh it out, they didn’t really write for the character. They just gave me this rather cheap-looking mask and no costume, and said ‘Okay, you’re Cyborg Superman.’ But it didn’t really pan out – they didn’t really go into why he was a cyborg, how he became a cyborg, what his powers were … it was just kind of randomly calling him ‘Cyborg Superman.’ I was very excited about it at first, but then I very quickly realized that there wasn’t really much to it so, it’s kind of boring. Whenever I’m walking to my trailer and I see that costume, I just switch off. Because I know it’s going to be a really boring day.”
…In other CW news, former Smallville star Erica Durance has signed on to play Alura Zor-El in the third season of Supergirl, replacing Laura Benanti who has been forced to exit due to scheduling conflicts; meanwhile, the season four premiere of The Flash has been revealed as titled ‘The Flash Returns’, and Arrow star Stephen Amell has expressed his interested in a crossover with Supernatural: ““I mean, that’s really up to Jensen and Jared. I heard that they’re getting a spin-off which is exciting but as the much, much more senior members of the CW family, it really would be about finding a moment in their schedule to make all the fans happy. I’m totally up for it. I’m not trying to pass the buck, but the buck is now sitting at their feet…”
…And finally, it looks like the reboot of Hellboy may have found itself a studio, with a report this week suggesting that the Neil Marshall-directed Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen could be heading to Lionsgate, with advanced discussions said to be taking place.
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.
