In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Deadpool, Deadpool 2, X-Force, X-Men: Apocalypse, Captain America: Civil War, Thor: Ragnarok, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Agent Carter, Dardevil, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham and more…
The Merc with a Mouth kicked off the 2016 superhero season this week as 20th Century Fox unleashed Deadpool into cinemas around the world (well, not China, where it has been banned) and you can take a look at Oliver Davis’ ★★★★ review here and Robert Kojder’s ★★★★★ review here. Defying box office predictions of a $55 million domestic opening weekend, the film pulled in $12.7 million on Thursday previews in the States, a record for an R-rated film, and is looking at a four-day North American weekend of upwards of $90 million [UPDATE: Deadpool actually earned $47.5 million on Friday including previews, and is now potentially looking at a four-day opening weekend of up to $136 million]; here in the UK, Deadpool gave Fox its biggest ever opening day for an R-rated movie with $3.4 million, some 42% higher than X-Men: Days of Future Past, and it’s now being said that the film could earn a worldwide opening weekend of around $170 million in total. Not bad for a $50 million budget – although Fox must have spent an absolute fortune on marketing…
…And speaking of the marketing campaign, this week brought us a Super Bowl TV spot [watch it here], a couple of promos featuring Deadpool saving a cat and wishing his fans a Happy Valentine’s [see here], four Mondo posters including a design from Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld [see here], a preview of Junkie XL’s score [listen here] and a video review from former Golden Girls star Betty White [see here]. Meanwhile, Zavvi has also released details of its upcoming exclusive Blu-ray steelbook [see here], while Ryan Reynolds discussed the film’s place in the X-Men timeline and his hopes for an X-Force movie, and Oli Davis also spoke to screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on the latest Flickering Myth Podcast, where the duo revealed they were unable to get the rights to a particular Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in…
…Ahead of Deadpool’s release, it was announced that Fox is already underway on development on the sequel, with the studio looking to reunite the creative team of Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick and director Tim Miller, as well as introducing the character of Cable. At this point, it’s unclear whether Deadpool 2 will take the release date earmarked for Fantastic Four 2, but should it happen, would the film make fun of Fantastic Four’s failure? Rhett Reese thinks so: “If that were our release date, then probably yes. I don’t know, it’s easier for us to pile on movies that Ryan (Reynolds) was in, and have Ryan making fun of, than it is other folk’s movies. It just feels a little less mean-spirited. So I don’t know. Would we make fun of Fantastic Four? I would say there’s nothing off limits, so you never know…”
…Fox’s marketing department took a quick break from the Deadpool promotional campaign last Sunday, dropping an action-packed TV spot for May’s X-Men: Apocalypse; if you haven’t seen it, or just want to watch it again, we have it for you here…
…Moving on to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Sunday’s Big Game saw the arrival of a rather great TV spot for Captain America: Civil War, which included our first look at Ant-Man from the Phase Three threequel [watch it here], while Ant-Man also featured in another commercial, battling The Incredible Hulk over a Coca-Cola Mini [watch it here]. Meanwhile, Hot Toys also debuted promotional images for its upcoming Civil War products, showcasing its 1/6th scale Iron Man Mark XLVI and War Machine Mark III collectible busts [see here], as well as the 1/6th scale collectible figures for Captain America [see here] and The Winter Soldier [see here]…
…More rumours have been swirling about Thor: Ragnarok, suggesting that one of the God of Thunder’s main supporting characters will be killed in the November 2017 release. It’s a Latino-Rumour, so pinch of salt at the ready, but if you’re interested in the potential details you can find our report here…
…As it nears production, James Gunn has revealed the new logo for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 [take a look here], while the director has been speaking about the upcoming sequel, claiming that the Mad Titan will be absent from the film: “Thanos will not appear in Vol. 2. No. As I’ve said before, Thanos isn’t in this movie. I think he’s gonna have a little bit to do and say when it comes to a certain wars and infinity. We’ve got other fish to fry in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. We’re not really so much about the Infinity Stones in Guardians 2. Is that a spoiler? It’s not really a thing…”
…Marvel’s Agent Carter aired its fifth episode ‘The Atomic Job’ this week, and you can read Amy Richau’s review here, while we also have a promo, images and clip from next week’s double-bill of ‘Life of the Party’ and ‘Monsters’ here, here and here, and a video featurette of the visual effects of the first season here. And, in potentially bad news for fans of Peggy Carter, it’s been reported this week that Hayley Atwell has signed on for a new pilot Conviction at ABC, with rumours suggesting that the network may not renew the Marvel show for a third season…
…Ahead of its arrival next month, Netflix released a new promo for the second season of Daredevil teasing the introduction of The Punisher [watch it here], while some concept art has arrived online showing some unused designs for Matt Murdock’s final costume, including one more in line with the classic comic book design [see here]…
…Click below to continue on for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Gotham and more…
Originally published February 13, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
