…Turning to the DC Extended Universe now and this week saw the release of a brand new image from Justice League featuring Batman (Ben Affleck), Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) and The Flash (Ezra Miller) [see here], along with official confirmation from Warner Bros. that Jesse Eisenberg and Connie Nielsen will be reprising the roles of Lex Luthor and Queen Hippolyta from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Wonder Woman respectively. They join a cast that also includes Henry Cavill as Superman, Ray Fisher as Cyborg, Jason Mamoa as Aquaman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, J.K. Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Amber Heard as Mera, Willem Dafoe as Vulko, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, Ciaran Hinds as Steppenwolf and Julian Lewis Jones in an as-yet-unrevealed role…
…Before we get to Justice League in November, we have July’s Wonder Woman solo movie to look forward to, and this week gave us three new images, showing Gal Gadot’s Amazon Princess on horseback [see here], retrieving the mythical ‘God Killer’ sword [see here] and dressed to impress as she attends a party in Europe [see here]…
…With production on The Batman expected to get underway in the first half of 2017, Ben Affleck has shared a few more comments about the Dark Knight solo movie, stating that: “I’m still working on the script. I’m not going to write and direct anything that I don’t think is good enough to be made. I’m definitely going to make sure I have something that is special — there’s not enough money in the world to make a mediocre version of Batman worth it…”
…In a couple of other pieces of news from the DCEU, Zack Snyder has shared a new promotional shot of Ben Affleck’s Batman and the Batmobile from Batman v Superman, which looks like it was taken from the same photoshoot that gave us our first glimpse at Batfleck [see here], while stills photographer Clay Enos has also unveiled a new image of Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn on the set of Suicide Squad [see here]…
…Warner Bros. stepped up its promotion for The LEGO Batman Movie this week, debuting two TV spots [watch them here], along with character posters featuring Batman (Will Arnett), Robin (Michael Cera), Batgirl (Rosario Dawson), Alfred (Ralph Fiennes), The Joker (Zach Galifianakis) and Harley Quinn (Jenny Slate) [see here]. Meanwhile, a batch of promo posters also arrived online [see here], as well as an image of a new polybag Batman in the Phantom Zone, which is available now from Target [see here] (on the subject of LEGO, DC Super Hero Girls fans may also be interested in another upcoming polybag featuring Superman’s canine companion, Krypto Saves the Day, which is set for release in January)…
…In other animated DC news, Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for its first DC Universe Animated Original Movies offering Justice League Dark, which you can watch here ahead of its arrival on Digital, DVD and Blu-ray in February…
…The CW has released trailers for the midseason premieres of Supergirl [watch it here], The Flash [watch it here] and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow [watch it here], while Fox has debuted a batch of promotional images for the midseason premiere of Gotham [see here], as well as the following week’s episode ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ [see here]…
…We might see some superhero movie representation at the 89th Academy Awards, with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announcing that both Deadpool and Suicide Squad are on the shortlist for a nomination for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange are also on the shortlist for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, but we’ll have to wait until the nominations are announced on January 24th to see if any of them make the cut…
…Be sure to check out Henry Bevan’s op-ed on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, entitled ‘What Happens to Heroism When You Realise The Joker Wins?‘…
…And on a final note, a Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to all of our readers both of The Week in Spandex and of Flickering Myth. Thank you for supporting the site for another year, and here’s to the 2017 superhero season!
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.
Originally published December 24, 2016. Updated November 30, 2022.
