In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, The Flash, Shazam!, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, Powerless, Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage, Runaways, Avengers: Ultron Revolution, Fantastic Four, Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four and more…
We’ll kick off this edition of The Week in Spandex with Suicide Squad, which retained top spot at the domestic box office last weekend (despite suffering a near-Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice decline), and has since gone on to crack the $500 million mark worldwide. Meanwhile, a report from a Jared Leto fansite emerged this week claiming that the actor felt “tricked” into apeparing in the film and expressed his “disappointment” in the theatrical cut (although the author subsequently backtracked, claiming their comments were taken out of context – despite being reported word for word as to what they wrote), while producer Charles Roven also addressed the reports of competing cuts: “Yes, there were a couple of different cuts of the movie, but they all really had to do with finding the final shape of the movie. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and that’s not the first time something like this has happened, and it won’t be the last. Sometimes, in order to get the work done, you really just have to bring on more people and spend really long days and nights getting work done to get it ready…”
…Roven also took the opportunity to defend director Zack Snyder following criticism of Batman v Superman and rumours that the director could have been removed from Justice League given the reception to this year’s big DC blockbuster: “We did take into consideration some of the things that we learned from some of the comments about Batman v Superman. You need to pay attention [to criticism], but you also need to stay true to your vision. Zack Snyder is a great director…”
…Henry Cavill took to social media this week to tease the Man of Steel’s black costume for Justice League, while a set photo surfaced showing Cavill in the traditional blue costume, complete with the Man of Steel’s classic hair curl; it was widely reported as being from Justice League, but was actually an old photo from Batman v Superman…
…Looking further ahead in the DC Extended Universe, and Aquaman director James Wan has been talking about Jason Momoa’s solo movie, and working with Zack Snyder to define the character in Justice League: “[Justice League] is basically Zack’s vision for that world, but you know, early on, Zack tried to involve me as much as he could and I really appreciated that. It’s just that it was very hard for me to solely focus on it, because I was still in the midst of finishing up and shooting The Conjuring 2 for Warner Bros. – the same studio! So it’s this very interesting world, you know? As much as they wanted me to be involved with Aquaman early on, I was busy making a movie for them. [Laughs] But now that everything is finishing up, I’m definitely getting in there much, much more. And I’m definitely really excited about running with my standalone movie.” Wan also spoke about his ideas for handling underwater breathing, as well as comparing Aquaman to Wolverine, and you can read the rest of his comments here, as well as a few words from screenwriter Will Beall here…
…This week brought a rumour suggesting that Ray Fisher’s Cyborg could be set to appear alongside Ezra Miller’s Barry Allen in 2018’s The Flash, while Miller also offered up a few words of praise for director Rick Famuyiwa and his co-host Kiersey Clemons, who will be playing Iris West: ““I think there’s just an intention to make something extremely fun and something superhuman and something deeply human. It’s the thing we’re all trying to do, but I think Rick’s mind and his heart are in an excellent place, and his expertise as a filmmaker, as evidenced by Dope, all come together as very exciting factors to me. It’s hard when talking about Rick to not use the word dope too many times. It’s the Brooklyn in me; dope is a big part of my vernacular. Kiersey is amazing. I had the opportunity to read with her and do some explorative acting in our chemistry read … the results of these experiments clearly were positive. I’m just deeply excited about what these people carry in their hearts, and I’m excited about the radical intention that everybody seems to be bringing to the genesis chamber of this film…”
…The DC Extended Universe has come in for plenty of criticism, but it seems that the team behind Shazam! aren’t concerned by the mixed reaction to Warner’s first three DC movies, with Dwayne Johnson’s ex-wife and co-producer Dany Garcia revealing that they are pretty much doing their own thing – although it will take place within the DCEU: “Shazam! is to live in the same world [as the other films] but we have incredible autonomy over this brand and franchise,” states Garcia. “We are working with a different team, different producers, directors… it’s a different set-up. We don’t feel fettered by, or constrained by, the successes or failures and challenges of the other projects. That was a key component to our participation—that we be able to control the tone and the voice, and do it the way we want to. It needs to be of the world. You’ve got Justice League, Wonder Woman with a different director, so you’re going to see different points of view. I think by the time we land with [Shazam!] we’ll fit nicely within the world that’s been created, but not such a shorthand relationship. [It’ll be] enough that people say, ‘Oh, this is within the family,’ but the culture will be a little different.” You can read the rest of Garcia’s comments about their current progress with the script here…
…Moving on to the small screen and Melissa Benoist has shared a set photo from Supergirl season two giving us our first look at former Wonder Woman star Lynda Carter as the President of the United States, while Kevin Smith has revealed that his episode is going by the title of ‘Supergirl Lives’, paying homage to his 90s script for the ultimately aborted Man of Steel big screen reboot Superman Lives…
…The CW has announced a few new Arrowverse casting additions this week; we have two new supervillains for The Flash, with Joey King (Fargo) set to play Magenta and Ashley Rickards (Awkward) portraying The Top, while Jessica Jones star Wil Traval has joined Arrow in the role of Human Target…
…CW Seed has announced that it is launching a second animated DC series, Freedom Fighters: The Ray, which is set to feature the first gay superhero lead on the small screen. Here’s the official series description, and you can check out the poster here: “Raymond “Ray” Terrill was a reporter who discovered a group of government scientists working on a secret project to turn light into a weapon of mass destruction. But before he could report on his findings, the project head exposed Ray to a “genetic light bomb.” The bomb failed to kill him and instead gifted Ray with light-based powers. With these abilities, Ray realized he could go beyond reporting on injustice – he could take action to help stop it. Calling himself The Ray, he was recruited by Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters to fight violence and oppression wherever it exists…”
…Over at Fox and we’ve got a new image of Maggie Geha in the role of Poison Ivy from the third season of Gotham. It’s a lot less chesty than the first look image…
…NBC’s DC workplace comedy Powerless has hit a bit of a stumbling block this week with the news that showrunner Ben Queen has exited the project due to creative differences. His departure has led to a delay in production on the Vanessa Hudgens-headlined sitcom, although it’s still expected to make its midseason premiere date…
…Last year it was revealed that Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar would be reprising their roles from the classic Batman TV series for a new animated feature, and this week has saw the release of the official announcement trailer for said film, titled Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders. The movie will see the Dynamic Duo battling the likes of The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman, and is set for release on Digital HD on October 11th and Blu-ray on November 1st. Check out the Blu-ray cover art here…
…Click below to continue on for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange, Avengers: Infinity War, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Luke Cage, Runaways, Avengers: Ultron Revolution, Fantastic Four, Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four and more…
