…Having lost a couple of directors, it now seems that Warner Bros. is starting afresh with its plans for The Flash, bringing in Joby Harold (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) for a page one rewrite. As yet there’s no word on a potential release date shift, but it seems inevitable that the Scarlet Speedster’s solo movie will be pushed back from its 2018 date…
…The 2019 Shazam movie also found itself a screenwriter this week in Henry Gayden (Each to Echo), who confirmed his involvement via Twitter…
…Amie Hammer was asked this week about his rumoured inclusion on the shortlist for the role of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern Corps, stating that: “I saw the reporting too. That’s the first I’ve heard of it…”
…David Ayer took to Twitter this week with a rather honest appraisal of Suicide Squad, where he discussed the critical backlash to the film, admitted its flaws, and revealed what would have done differently given the benefit of hindsight. Ayer also said that “I have to take the good and bad and learn from it… I have to give the characters the stories and plots they deserve next time…”
…”Next time” for Ayer is Gotham City Sirens, and fresh from appearing in Supergirl, Kevin Smith’s daughter Harley Quinn Smith has now thrown her hat into the ring for a role in the film, and she knows exactly what part she wants to play: “Before they even mentioned that [Margot Robbie] was going to make a spinoff, I talked to my agent and I was like, ‘Honestly, I know this isn’t even a project yet, but I just want you to know that when the day comes that they do start putting this into production I need you to make sure, if there is a young Harley Quinn role, that no one other than Harley Quinn plays that role.’ [My agent] was like, ‘Okay…’ [laughs] I don’t even know how long I’ve been waiting for this…”
…Supergirl returned from its midseason break on Monday with the Kevin Smith-directed ‘Supergirl Lives’, and you can read Martin Carr’s review of the episode here. Meanwhile, we’ve also got a trailer, promo clip and images from this coming Monday’s ‘We Can be Heroes’ [see here, here and here], as well as a synopsis for the eleventh episode ‘The Martian Chronicles’ [see here] and a synopsis for the twelfth episode ‘Luthors’ [see here]…
…The CW has announced that Darren Criss will be joining Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin’s Glee reunion in the upcoming musical crossover between Supergirl and The Flash, with Criss nabbing the role of the villain Music Meister. “With our Flash and Supergirl being Glee alums, how could we not have them go up against another Glee favorite like Darren Criss?” states executive producer Andrew Kreisberg. “We’ve been blown away by his talent over the years and we can’t wait to see what he brings to the Music Meister…”
…You can read Jessie Robertson’s review of The Flash’s midseason premiere ‘Borrowing Problems from the Future’ here, and take a look at a trailer, promo and images for Tuesday’s ‘Dead or Alive’ [see here and here], along with the official synopsis for the following week’s ‘Untouchable’ [see here]…
…DC’s Legends of Tomorrow returned from its midseason break in its new Tuesday timeslot this past week; be sure to read Jessie’s review of ‘Raiders of the Lost Art’ here, while e’ve also got a trailer, promo and images for this Tuesday’s ‘The Legion of Doom’ [see here and here], as well as a synopsis for the following week’s eleventh episode ‘Turncoat’ [see here]…
…Jessie also has a review of this week’s midseason premiere of Arrow ‘Who Are You? [read it here], while The CW has released a trailer, promo and images for next week’s ‘Second Chances’ featuring Lexa Doig’s Talia al Ghul [see here and here], along with synopses for the twelfth episode ‘Bratva’ [see here] and thirteenth episode ‘Spectre of the Gun’ [see here]…
…It looks like Greg Berlanti’s latest DC pilot for The CW, Black Lightning, is set to begin production in March, which means we should expect some casting news very soon. Details are sketchy, but apparently Black Lightning won’t connect to the wider ‘Arrowverse’ with Arrow, The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow…
…Turning to Fox and you can read Martin Carr’s review of this past Monday’s episode of Gotham ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ here, and take a look at a promo and images for this Monday’s Winter Finale ‘The Gentle Art of Making Enemies’ [see here], along with a trailer entitled ‘Jerome Reborn’ which focusses on the return of Cameron Monaghan’s Jerome Valeska [watch it here]…
…The DC workplace comedy Powerless premieres this coming Thursday, and we’ve had plenty of new promotional material this week with a new promo entitled ‘Morning Commute’ [watch it here], a behind-the-scenes featurette and video interviews with cast members Vanessa Hudgens, Alan Tudyk, Danny Pudi, Jennie Pierson, Ron Funches and Christina Kirk [watch them here], and a batch of promotional episodes for the second episode ‘Wayne Dream Team’ [see here]…
…There’s less than a fortnight to go until the release of The LEGO Batman Movie, and Warner Bros. has released a ‘Behind the Bricks’ featurette for the animated movie which sees the characters discussing their big screen adventure and their thoughts on each other [see here], along with a new TV spot and a clip of Dick Grayson finding his Robin costume [watch them here]…
…With Justice League Dark available on Digital HD and hitting Blu-ray and DVD in early February, Warner Bros. has released the first seven minutes from the latest DC Universe Animated Original Movie; watch it here…
…It’s been teased since the release of the first movie way back in 2000, and now it seems that Unbreakable 2 is going to become a reality, with M. Night Shyamalan revealing this week that he plans to make it as his next movie. But, after so long, are we still interested in seeing Unbreakable 2? That’s the question Anghus Houvouras is asking in his latest op-ed, which you can read here…
…And finally, the 89th Academy Award nominations were announced this past week; despite receiving plenty of recognition during awards season, Deadpool and Ryan Reynolds came up short, but superhero movies were represented in two categories, with Doctor Strange nominated for Best Visual Effects and Suicide Squad receiving a nomination for Best Makeup & Hairstyling. On the opposite end of the scale, Suicide Squad also picked up a couple of nominations for the 2017 Golden Raspberry Awards, although not quite as many as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which finds itself contesting eight Razzies (the only categories it escaped were Worst Actress and Worst Supporting Actress).
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 January 28, 2017. Updated November 30, 2022.
