…Walt Disney Pictures has dropped a couple of new TV spots and an image featuring the character of Baymax from the upcoming animated feature film Big Hero 6, which is due to open on November 7th in the States and January 30th 2015 in the UK. Check them out here, here and here…
…In other animated Marvel news, it has been revealed that Donald Glover (Community) will lend his voice to the character of Miles Morales in the upcoming ‘Spidey-Verse’ arc of episodes in Ultimate Spider-Man: Web Warriors, the third season of the Disney XD series…
…Over at Fox and this week gave us our first look at Toby Kebbell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Doctor Doom and Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle) as Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four, although the studio’s legal department has demanded removal of the images, so sadly we can’t bring you them. Google it – the images are everywhere, and genuine…
…A couple of weeks ago we saw Scoot McNairy (Argo) walking around the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in a pair of green socks, which bizarrely led to speculation that he was set to portray The Flash in the upcoming DC ensemble. However, a new – and slightly more plausible – report has emerged this week, which claims that McNairy is actually set to appear as Jimmy Olsen, with the character having suffered crushed legs during the battle between Superman (Henry Cavill) and General Zod (Michael Shannon) during the climactic battle in Man of Steel, resulting in him now having prosthetic legs. Of course, take this with a pinch of salt for the time being until we hear something official…
…In other Batman v Superman-related news, we’ve had our first real look at Superman and Lois Lane on the set of the Zack Snyder-directed film, with Henry Cavill and Amy Adams taking the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in full costumes [see here], and Cavill being snapped on set as Clark Kent, complete with glasses [see here]. Meanwhile some fan artwork has arrived online, giving us an idea of how the yet-to-be-officially-confirmed Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones) could appear in the role of Aquaman [see here], and Jesse Eisenberg has spoken briefly about his role as Lex Luthor, stating that: “They asked me if I wanted to play the part before they sent me the script. I’m not sure how it worked, but it’s something I read with the understanding that I could do the role, If I… You know, they don’t just hand the scripts out. But I really liked it on its own terms. I would do it if it was for free and it was tiny… There are some indications of how the character should behave based on the script, and then as actor makes it his or her own. I got to know one of the writers really well, Chris Terrio, and we were able to discuss things at length and figure out who this person is to create a real psychology behind what is, perhaps, in a comic book, a less than totally modern psychology. I can only say I’ve been asked to play an interesting role: a complicated, challenging person…”
…With less than a month to go before its premiere, FOX has released a new TV spot for the Batman prequel series Gotham [see here], while we’ve also had our first look at Carol Kane (Annie Hall) as The Penguin’s mother Gertrud Kapelput [see here]…
…Ahead of its series premiere The Flash has received a new poster, which features Grant Gustin’s Scarlett Speedster racing through the streets of Central City, while Arrow has picked up three new cast members this week, with Rila Fukushima (The Wolverine) replacing Devon Aoki as Katana, Nolan Funk (Glee) signing on for a guest role as Felicity’s former boyfriend Cooper Seldon and Amy Gumenick (Supernatural) set to play Carrie Cutter, a.k.a. Cupid. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting to hear who’ll be playing Ra’s al Ghul in the third season, but Liam Neeson has thrown his hat into the ring to reprise his role from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises, as well as offering some advice for his successor: “No, I haven’t [been approached], I haven’t at all. I would [do it], in a heartbeat, if it came my way, yeah. Very much so. [Whoever gets the role] has to believe in their philosophy. Ra’s al Ghul absolutely believed what he was doing was ultimately saving civilization, and it was quite a good argument he comes up with. Throughout the ages this fraternity, that brought the plague to wipe out a section of mankind because it needed to be regenerated again. Very dangerous, but you have to believe it…”
…On the DC animated front, a series of DC Nation Shorts have been posted online this past week, with two episodes of Doom Patrol joined by a Plastic Man short and a Tales of Metropolis, starring Superman’s pal Jimmy Olsen…
…Mark Millar recently revealed that he’s not had any conversations about Kick-Ass 3 being made into a movie, and now Chloe Grace Moretz has now stated that she doesn’t think we’ll get to see another Kick-Ass movie, blaming piracy for the poor performance of last year’s Kick-Ass 2: “Sadly, I think I’m done with the character. Hit-Girl was a very cool character, but I don’t think there will be any more movies. You make these movies for the fanboys, but nowadays everyone seems to pirate them rather than watch them in the movie theatre. Kick-Ass 2 was one of the number one pirated movies of the year, but that doesn’t help us because we need box office figures. We need to prove to the distributors that we can make money from a third and a fourth movie – but because it didn’t do so well, we can’t make another one. If you want more than one movie, everyone has to go and see movies at the cinema. It’s all about the numbers in the theatre…”
…According to a report, Patrick Warburton has signed on to reprise the role of The Tick, with Amazon reviving the short-lived live-action comedy series for a new run of episodes written and produced by original creator Ben Edlund…
…And finally, another superhero television series looks set for a comeback, with The LEGO Movie and 21 Jump Street directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller set to remake the 1980s cult classic The Greatest American Hero. The new version of the show has a put pilot commitment from FOX, and will “chronicle inner-city teacher Isaac’s adventures after his discovery of a superhero suit that gives him superhuman abilities. Unfortunately for Isaac, he hates wearing the suit and has to learn how to use its powers by trial and error because he quickly misplaces the suit’s instructions. He also has to deal with a government handler who has very different objectives than him and struggles as to whether he should use his newfound gifts to help others or just himself.”
