…And so we come to Warner Bros., who kicked off Saturday in Hall H amid rumours that a huge DC movie universe announcement was imminent (thanks in no small part to Dwayne Johnson dropping a massive hint earlier in the week that he’s bagged the role of Shazam and WB dropping a new image of Ben Affleck’s Batman, as well as displaying his cape and cowl on the convention floor). Well, the rumours were wrong, but Warner Bros. did have one big DC surprise in store, with Zack Snyder taking to the stage to introduce Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice cast members Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) and Henry Cavill (Superman), before giving us our first look at Wonder Woman [see here], posters of the Trinity side-by-side [see here], and some first look footage from the hotly-anticipated DC ensemble featuring Affleck’s Dark Knight in an armored Batsuit and a rather angry-looking Man of Steel looming above him [you can see a few images here, and if you’re lucky, the footage itself is still online here]…
…So, no DC movie universe reveal from Warner Bros., but the Justice League movie has moved a step closer towards finally becoming a reality, with the studio reportedly tapping Argo screenwriter Chris Terrio to pen the script for the DC team-up, having been impressed by his rewrite of David S. Goyer’s screenplay for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice…
…And it seems there could still be another incarnation of the Justice League on the horizon, with Guillermo del Toro taking a moment out from promoting Crimson Peak to reveal that he’s still developing his proposed Justice League Dark adaptation: “I’m still working on it. Sandman doesn’t figure in the Dark Universe. We have Deadman, we have the Demon, we have Swamp Thing, we have Zatana, we have Constantine, but DC and Warners have been very clear that they are trying to keep those properties separate so when the time comes they can unite them, once they know they’re quantifiable. Batman, Superman, Green Lantern… everyone eventually will come together. Right now, they’re allowing us independence. I had that conversation when the Constantine show was pitched. I said, ‘Do I have to have continuity with that?’ and they said, ‘No, feel free to continue the way you’re going…'”
…Warner Bros. got things started on Saturday with Batman v Superman, and following Marvel’s panel, they closed the day by showcasing their impressive line-up of DC Television projects, bringing together the casts of Arrow, The Flash, Constantine and Gotham for a special screening and Q&A session hosted by Oliver Queen himself, Stephen Amell. You can watch the Q&A right here, and be sure to check out the new Warner Bros. / DC logos for all four of the shows here…
…The CW held its own panel for Arrow on Friday afternoon, which you can watch here, along with a first trailer for the upcoming third season of the show here. Meanwhile, it was confirmed that Ra’s al Ghul is set to serve as the new big bad for season three, with The CW offering up a glimpse of the Demon in a new promo, while it was also revealed that the classic DC character Ted Grant, a.k.a. Wildcat, will make an appearance on the show, and will “have some interaction with Laurel”, leading to speculation that he’ll train her to become the next Black Canary…
…The Flash has also added another DC character to its growing roster, with confirmation that Gorilla Grodd is set to appear on the Arrow spin-off; meanwhile, The CW also dropped a new promo for the upcoming series [watch it here], while a new poster featuring Grant Gustin’s Scarlett Speedster was spotted on the window of a building around San Diego [see here]…
…Ahead of its world premiere on Saturday evening, FOX dropped a brand new trailer for its upcoming Batman prequel series Gotham [see here], as well as a Gotham Chronicle viral video urging citizens to take their city back from the infestation of criminals [see here]…
…Not to be left out, NBC also dropped a new trailer for Constantine, which featues footage from the pilot, as well as our first look at subsequent episodes [watch it here], while a new viral campaign also launched, inviting you to get in touch with Excorcist, Demonologist, and Master of the Dark Arts John Constantine via a telephone number that leads to a recorded message from Constantine namedropped Alex Holland, a.k.a. Swamp Thing [see here]. And you can also check out video of the Constantine Comic-Con panel featuring Matt Ryan (John Constantine), Harold Perrineau (Manny), Angelica Celaya (Zed) and Charles Halford (Chas) and executive producers Daniel Cerone and David S. Goyer here…
…In other DC TV news, Batman ’66 stars Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar were on hand to promote the upcoming release of Batman: The Complete Television Series – watch the press conference here, and take a look at the box art, special features and limited edition collectables for the Blu-ray set here…
…On the DC animated front, Warner Bros. announced the next releases in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line, with the Justice League: War sequel Justice League: Throne of Atlantis set to be followed by the Son of Batman follow-up Batman Versus Robin, which is said to be a loose adaptation of ‘The Court of Owls’, and Justice League: Gods and Monsters, which will see Bruce Timm returning to DC animation as writer and producer…
…This week saw the release of the first trailer for the upcoming documentary The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?, which delves into the aborted Superman Lives movie from the late 90s, which would have saw Tim Burton directing Nicolas Cage as the Man of Steel; take a look at the trailer here…
…Writer-producer Simon Kinberg told us that The Fantastic Four would be absent from 20th Century Fox’s Comic-Con presentation, and sure enough he was true to his word with no sign of the Josh Trank-directed remake in what was the only chance for Fox to show the film off to a SDCC audience before its release next June. However, this weekend did bring us one piece of FF news with an image allegedly showing how Jamie Bell’s Ben Grimm will look as The Thing…
…It was little surpise that Sony’s Spider-Man universe was absent from San Diego, given the recent decision to delay The Amazing Spider-Man 3 to 2018 in favour of a 2016 release for The Sinister Six. Still, we did have some Spider-Man news, with reports that Sony will be sticking with Marc Webb as director for the threequel, despite what will be a four year gap between instalments…
…And finally, it’s been a long time coming, but the concept footage from Blur Studios’ Tim Miller for the long-gestating solo Deadpool movie has finally leaked online, and shows the Merc with the Mouth taking out a few goons, complete with voice work from Ryan Reynolds (X-Men Origins: Wolverine). Watch it here, before it gets taken down.
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.
