…Moving on to the DC Cinematic Universe now and Zack Snyder has spoken about shooting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in Detroit, as well as finally confirming the inclusion of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman in the DC ensemble [see here], while some new set photos have hit the web showing the Wayne family crypt [see here], along with a bunch of rumours about Ben Affleck’s Dark Knight, including Batfleck having two Bat-vehicles, and his armored Batsuit being laced with Kryptonite and incorporating missile launchers [see here]…
…Turning to Warner Bros.’ next DC offering and this week has given us a new casting rumour for Suicide Squad, with British model, socialite and actress Cara Delevingne the latest name to be linked to the David Ayer-directed supervillain ensemble. There’s been no word on which role Delevingne could be in the frame for, although speculation has pointed to fan favourite Harley Quinn. Delevingne is the latest name to be linked to the 2016 movie, with Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Ryan Gosling (Only God Forgives) and Will Smith (After Earth) all said to be on Warner’s radar…
…The first potential plot rumours for Gal Gadot’s solo debut in Wonder Woman have reared their head this week, with a report suggesting that the 2017 movie will take place in the 1920s, and will “spend the first half on Paradise Island with warring Amazon factions vying for control. An arrival of a man on the island changes that status quo, as he asks the Amazons for help. Not necessarily Steve Trevor either… Because when Wonder Woman joins him on his return to the world of Man, we all discover that it is the 1920s. And the film will then show Diana exploring that world – a world where women have only just got the vote – from her… unique perspective.” Apparently the as-yet-unannounced sequel would then take place during World War II, before a third movie brings the Amazon Princess into the present day (despite the fact we’d already have seen her in the present day in Batman v Superman, Justice League Part One and Justice League Part Two by that point)…
…Ahead of the release of his next film Interstellar, Christopher Nolan has been reflecting on the superhero genre, and sharing a few thoughts on the future of the DC Cinematic Universe: “I had a great experience with the superhero genre and got to explore a lot of things, but it was a good decade of my life and I find it hard to imagine returning to it. But never say never. I love working in that field and hopefully I’ve added something to it. I know to some extent we encouraged more of it. You don’t want Hollywood to hit saturation point with those things. But then Zack Snyder is now doing his part by bringing Batman and Superman into one film [for 2016’s Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice], so that limits the number. But yes DC Comics have just announced an enormous number of movies. Well, you know, as long as that’s the ride people want, the studios will continue to offer it. I don’t see it as a limited genre. If I did, I never would have worked for almost ten years in that genre. I think like any genre, like the Western, it has limitless opportunities. It’s just about the audience’s appetite. What’s very important is that the studios be open to making other sorts of films at the same time…”
…Nightcrawler director Dan Gilroy has spoken more about his work on the script for Superman Lives, Tim Burton’s aborted 1990 reboot of the Superman franchise: “I came in after Kevin Smith and Wesley Strick had written drafts. I was very much taken by Tim’s approach, which was that Kal-El was not told by Jor-El, before he got put in the little spaceship, who he was or where he came from. So poor little Kal-El, when he winds up on earth, he has no freaking idea where he came from. His biggest fear is that he’s an alien. Our Superman was in therapy at the beginning of the film. He’s in a relationship with Lois Lane and he can’t commit. Or he was maybe in couple’s therapy. But he can’t commit because he doesn’t know who he is or what is going on with him. He’s hoping that he has some physiological condition that gives him these powers but that he’s still human. It becomes very apparent, though, early in the script, when Lex Luthor uncovers the remnants of the spacecraft, he suddenly realizes – ‘Oh my god, I’m an alien.’ It was all about the psychological trauma of it. I loved it. We had Chris Rock as Jimmy Olsen. And unfortunately, while we were working on the script, Warner Bros was hemorrhaging. Every big movie that was coming out was bombing and failing and when it came time to step up and bankroll our script, they didn’t have the financial wherewithal or desire. Which is a shame because Tim would have knocked it out of the park. And Nic Cage, oh my god! I was so ready for that. Tim had a handle on it. Tim understood everything about it. Tim would have created a Superman for the ages. I really feel that…”
…Shifting to the small screen and we’ve got some new promotional material for Gotham with featurettes on Arkham Asylum [see here] and The Cat, The Bat and Gordon [see here], along with a promo for this Monday’s episode ‘The Penguin’s Umbrella’ [see here], a TV spot showcasing the villain Victor Zsasz [see here] and a batch of stills from the eighth episode ‘The Mask’ [see here]. And of course, we’ve also got a review of last Monday’s episode ‘The Spirit of the Goat’, which you can read here…
…Wentworth Miller’s Captain Cold made his debut in Tuesday’s episode of The Flash, ‘Going Rogue’ [read our review here], and the actor has been speaking about his role as the villain in an interview this week [see here], while Danielle Panabaker has also discussed her potential transformation into another icy villain in Killer Frost [see here] and Malese Jow (The Vampire Diaries) has signed on to play Linda Park, a potential love interested for Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen (and the future wife of Wally West in comic book continuity). The Flash takes a week off screens this week and returns on November 11th as Kelly Frye (Rake) makes her debut in ‘Plastique’; check out a trailer, promo and images here…
…Matt Nable’s Ra’s al Ghul made his debut in this week’s episode of Arrow, ‘The Magician’, and if you didn’t get a chance to see it, you can watch his introductory scene here and be sure to read our review here. This week’s episode will turn its attention to ‘The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak’, and we’ve got a trailer and promo here, as well as a batch of stills here which sees Emily Bett Rickards’ fan favourite character sporting a drastically different look…
…And on the subject of Arrow, Stephen Amell has discussed his interest in portraying Oliver Queen on the big screen, as well as sharing his thoughts on Ezra Miller’s casting as The Flash in the DC Cinematic Universe: “First of all, wanting [an Arrow] movie undersells the idea that making 23 episodes a year isn’t a huge achievement…I’d put making 23 hours of interesting content in a TV season up against anything on the film side. It is difficult for me to want or envision an Arrow movie when we are shooting the 10th episode of our third season with 13 more episodes to go and in all likelihood 3 more seasons on the other side of that. I’m interested in keeping that content fresh. Once we get to the end of that road, maybe then I’ll shift my focus. Of course [I’d be interested if asked] …who knows, they might find a fantastic actor to play Oliver Queen on the feature side who has a different take on the character. I’m certainly a departure from the typical Oliver Queen from the comic books. I just think that everybody needs to be patient with the whole thing. The fact that DC and Warner have announced all these comic book features is nothing but good for business. [However] I feel like it should be Grant doing the movie. But the important thing to remember is just because Grant Gustin plays the part of Barry Allen doesn’t mean Ezra Miller can’t also play Barry Allen. There can be different interpretations of the character. Anyone who is a fan of the comics knows the Flash character is one of the forces that leads to parallel universes…”
…Constantine premiered last Friday, with its pilot episode pulling in strong ratings, gaining a 1.4 rating amongst adults 18-49 and 4.3 million viewers overall, which was deemed to be a success seeing as it was going up against the World Series. You can read our review of the first episode here, and we’ve also got a promo [see here] and behind the scenes featurette [see here], as well as images for the next episode ‘The Devil’s Vinyl’ [see here], and a promo giving us our first look at Papa Midnite [see here]
…Over at CBS and the search for Supergirl is on, with the network’s upcoming pilot securing a casting director in David Rapaport (who has worked with executive producer Greg Berlanti on both Arrow and The Flash), while plot details and character breakdowns for Kara Zor-El – who will be going by the Earth name Kara Danvers in the show – and her foster sister Alexandra ‘Alex’ Danvers and a supporting cast that includes Cat Grant, Jimmy Olsen, Cyborg Superman and Toyman have arrived online. According to the report, Supergirl will centre on a 24-year-old Kara, who “at age 12 was sent from her dying home planet of Krypton to Earth, where she was taken in by the Danvers, a foster family who taught her to be careful with her extraordinary powers. After repressing said skills for more than a decade, Kara is forced to bust out her super moves in public during an unexpected disaster. Energized by her heroism for the first time in her life, she begins embracing her abilities in the name of helping the people of her city, earning herself a super moniker along the way…”
…And Kara may be just one of many Kryptonians set to arrive on the small screen if a new rumour from Bleeding Cool is to be believed. The site – which had the scoop on the Supergirl series – is reporting that DC regular David S. Goyer (Man of Steel, Constantine) is in early development on a Krypton series, which will presumably take place before the birth of baby Kal-El and the destruction of Superman’s homeworld…
…And finally, this week threw up the first casting rumour for Warner Bros.’ live-action Static Shock webseries, with reports suggesting that Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid, After Earth) could be in the frame to play the teenage superhero Static. If true, Jaden could find himself joining his mother Jada Pinkett Smith in the DC universe (she of course plays Fish Mooney in Gotham), while Will Smith is also apparently wanted for a role in Suicide Squad.
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.
