In this edition of The Week in Spandex, we look at X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Force, Wolverine 3, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Animated Spider-Man, Thor: Ragnarok, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Blade, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and more…
Having opened in the UK and 74 other international markets last week – grossing a $103.3 million opening weekend – X-Men: Apocalypse made its way across the Pond yesterday, where it is going head-to-head with Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass on Memorial Day weekend. Apocalypse looks set to comfortably come out on top, and is looking at a domestic opening haul of around $85 million over the four-day weekend, which should put it at around the $250 million mark worldwide by Monday. Be sure to check out our reviews of X-Men: Apocalypse here, here, here and here, along with the Flickering Myth Podcast reviews here and here, as well as Tony Black’s article ‘X-Men: The Real Apocalypse is its Continuity’ here; meanwhile Fox has also released a featurette exploring the creation of the Quicksilver scene [watch it here] and a viral video entitled Fables of the Flush & Fabulous, which takes us behind the doors of Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters [watch it here], while Screen Junkies celebrated the film’s release by casting its eye over X-Men: The Animated Series for the latest Honest Trailer [watch it here]…
…Unlike X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer has revealed that there won’t be any kind of director’s or extended cut for X-Men: Apocalypse, although there are of course deleted scenes: “There will be nothing like the Rogue Cut or anything like that. I’m not a big fan of director’s cuts or extended editions, I never have been. In the case of Apocalypse, I removed what would be considered a conventional amount from the movie to protect what we call the collective experience of the feature theatrically. How it feels pace wise and movement wise. We do have a moment where Jubilee uses her powers that you’ll see on the DVD. I wanted more Jubilee. There was also a significant moment that sadly I had to cut. When they’re moving through the mall and Nightcrawler remarks about the other people that ‘they don’t fear us.’ And he thinks the mall is this paradise, and that was my homage to Moscow on the Hudson, when Robin Williams came over to America during the height of the Cold War and saw a Bloomingdales and thought it was a temple. But no, it was just an ‘80s mall..!”
…Fresh from joining the X-Verse in Apocalypse, actress Olivia Munn has expressed her interest in reprising the role of Psylocke for the planned X-Force movie: “That would be a really cool thing to do. What [Ryan Reynolds] did with Deadpool was genius and I’m so excited for him. It would definitely be cool to see Deadpool and some of the other X-Men characters gather for an X-Force movie. I think that’s what the whole world is coming to — everybody unites together, right? It’s never just one character anymore. We all just become one movie.” Of course, given the timeframe of X-Men: Apocalypse and Deadpool, Munn would be playing a rather old Psylocke in X-Force, but as we’ve seen with the twenty year gap between First Class and Apocalypse, characters don’t really age in Fox’s universe so that’s unlikely to be much of a problem…
…We’ve had a lot of casting news on Wolverine 3 lately, so now it’s time for the rumours! A report arrived online this week claiming that Boyd Holbrook’s villain will be an original character, described as the “intense head of security for a global enterprise”, while Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine will also find himself going up against Weapon X and The Reavers, who in the comic books are a team of criminal cyborgs with a particular dislike for Logan…
…Turning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and with Captain America: Civil War still going strong at the box office (with $1.073 billion by close of play on Thursday), some concept art has arrived online showing a couple of alternative, Ultimates-inspired designs for Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye [see here], while on the merchandise front Hot Toys has released promo images for its 1/6th scale Scarlet Witch figure [see here], and LEGO has unveiled a new LEGO Marvel Super Heroes set – 76067 Tanker Truck Takedown – which features Spidey alongside Captain America, Vision and Hawkeye [see here]…
…Having shared the screen with Spidey in Captain America: Civil War, Chris Evans has revealed that he’d like to reunite with Tom Holland and Robert Downey Jr. by making a cameo in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming: “[Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2] would be fun, wouldn’t it?” said Evans when asked where he’d like to see Captain America appearing next. “It’s very outer space-y. Cap’s more of an Earth-bound guy. Maybe the next Spider-Man. Those are going to be fantastic, and I think Tom’s just a great actor, so that might be a fun one to pop up into…”
…Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t the only Spidey film on Sony’s upcoming slate, with an animated movie set to arrive in December 2018, although if Heroic Hollywood is to be believed it won’t be Peter Parker swinging onto the big screen, but rather Miles Morales…
…Following last week’s official cast announcement, both Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk) and Karl Urban (Skurge the Executioner) have been talking about next year’s Thor: Ragnarok. “It’s an intergalactic buddy road movie with Banner and Thor. I think it will be smashing. You’ll see a lot more Hulk. The Hulk gets Hulk-ier. The Hulk Hulks out. Hulk-ier and bigger,” said Ruffalo, with Urban adding: “I read a fantastic script that was action packed and full of great characters. When I heard who was involved, and the opportunity to work with Taika Waititi, who I think is one of the most brilliant directors coming through, I made the decision it was something that I wanted to be a part of. The character is fantastic and he’s got a great arc to him. Obviously I can’t say too much about it but I’m really thrilled to be a part of the Marvel universe and to be working on Thor: Ragnarok…”
…In other Thor-related news, Mel Gibson revealed this week that he was once offered the role of Odin, while he also shared his opinion on the current crop of superhero movies: “[A] long time ago, [I was asked] to play Thor’s dad, but I didn’t do it. Some [superhero movies] are good. Some are kind of funny…Guardians of the Galaxy. Or the first Iron Man. And some of them are just like retreats. I mean you can watch them do Spider-Man five times… There is a slight shift in film. But, then again, I think all films are suffering from people not being able to now open them with their name. It’s a different kind of business these days…I think you used to get more variety of stories, films and performances. You had more of a chance of a profound film experience…”
…Having severed all ties with Marvel after Avengers: Age of Ultron, Joss Whedon has revealed this week that he could be tempted back to the MCU should the opportunity arise for him to helm a female-driven Avengers movie: “Yeah, of course. Although I tend more towards the Jessica Jones-ey kind of stories than the delightful Supergirl stories that my daughter wants.” Whedon did rule out the possibility of him directing Captain Marvel, but did offer some praise for Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige for adding a female-led movie to the MCU slate: “Kevin Feige fought a mighty fight to get her on the schedule. So it’s a start. You could say that should be a middle, but it’s a start…”
…Click below to continue on Black Panther, Blade, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Batman, The Flash, Arrow, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and more…
Originally published May 28, 2016. Updated November 29, 2022.
