In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at Batmam v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Suicide Squad, Batgirl, Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Powerless, Teen Titans Go!, Gotha, Supergirl, The LEGO Batman Movie, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, Justice League Action, X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War, Squirrel Girl, Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Fist, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6 and more…
The extended cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice hit Digital HD in the States this past Tuesday, offering up Zack Snyder’s R-rated Ultimate Edition of the divisive DC blockbuster, complete with an extra 30 minutes of footage. Flickering Myth’s Anghus Houvouras shared a ★★★★ review of the film, stating that: “The Ultimate version doesn’t fix everything. If you’re looking for any clarification about the strange dream sequences (aka the ‘Knightmare’), you’re out of luck. If you found Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor off putting, you’re still going to wince. The bit where Superman says ‘Martha’ and they become best friends: still there. Nothing here helps lighten the overall dark and philosophical tone of the film. If your problem was the direction of the franchise, you’re still going to suffer through these three hours. However, as someone who enjoyed the original, the Ultimate Version is an absolute blast. Muddied plot points are clarified. Scenes are expanded. Characters are given more moments to develop… Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is a movie I will revisit because of the themes and the unconventional approach, and it could very well be the most interesting comic book adaptation ever produced…”
…To promote the release, Warner Bros. debuted a new featurette focussing on Amy Adams’ Lois Lane and Jeremy Irons’ Alfred Pennyworth [watch it here] along with the first ten minutes of the film [watch it here], while the bonus features offered up some behind-the-scenes images of Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman [see here] and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman [see here], as well as a new piece of concept art from Justice League, which features the full team of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash; take a look here…
…With a little over a month to go until the release of Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. has released two new international posters for the DC supervillain team-up [see here], while we also got some new images of Jared Leto’s Joker courtesy of the Batman v Superman special features [see here], along with a promotional image for Funko’s SDCC exclusive Underwater Batman Pop! Vinyl figure [see here]. And, with director David Ayer confirming that he’s completed post-production on the film, it’s been reported this week that Suicide Squad will run for 130 minutes – 13 minutes less than Man of Steel, and 21 minutes shorter than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice…
…The Neon Demon director Nicolas Winding Refn has expressed an interest in going from female-led horror to female-led superheroes, with the Danish filmmaker revealing this week that he’d like to make a Batgirl movie: “God, I would love to make [a superhero movie], it would probably be great fun. I just don’t know when it’s going to happen. I very much enjoy my freedom, creatively, but I also would love to make one of those big Hollywood films that costs a lot of money and has a lot of people running around with cell phones and all that insanity. What ones are left? You know the one I want to do? I want to make Batgirl. Let’s get Warner working on it…”
…In celebration of the digital release of Batman v Superman, Warner Bros. also updated the Digital HD artwork for Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns and Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Take a look at the new artwork here…
…Moving on to the small screen now and we’ve had some new casting additions for the Arrowverse, with Tom Felton (Harry Potter) joining The Flash as series regular and Central City CSI Julian Dorn, and Arrow adding Tyler Ritter (The McCarthys) as Star City Detective Malone and Carly Pope (The Tomorrow People) as Coast City reporter Susan Pope, who comic book fans will recognise as the sister-in-law of Hal Jordan, a.k.a. Green Lantern. And on the DC’s Legends of Tomorrow front, it’s also been revealed that the team will cross paths with Albert Einstein in season 2, where they’ll find the scientist to be “a snarky, brusque skirt-chaser”…
…Warner Bros. has announced its TV plans for this month’s San Diego Comic-Con International, which will include the premiere of the workplace sitcom Powerless along with new episodes of Teen Titans Go! and panels for Lucifer, Gotham, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash and Arrow; check out the full details here…
…Producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller have been discussing the upcoming LEGO Movie spinoff The LEGO Batman Movie, describing it as a love letter to fans of the Caped Crusader. “Chris McKay, the director of the movie, is a real Batman aficionado and knows really arcane stuff that was only in one issue of the comic book in 1972, and that sort of thing. So, it is chock full of stuff for Batman aficionados. It is just a 90-minute Easter egg,” said Miller, with Lord adding that: “It heavily honors the comics, so it covers all the way through to Batman v Superman…”
…Batman is back in brick form this week with the release of the straight-to-video animated feature LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, and you can watch the opening sequence from the movie here…
…The Dark Knight will also be heading to Cartoon Network later this year – complete with Kevin Conroy voice – as part of Justice League Action, and a new poster hit the net this week, which sees Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman joined by Green Arrow, Firestorm, Plastic Man and even Space Cabbie! Take a look at the poster here…
…Click below to continue on for X-Men: Apocalypse, Wolverine 3, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange, Captain America: Civil War, Squirrel Girl, Luke Cage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Iron Fist, Daredevil, Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6 and more…
Originally published July 2, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
