It's looking like Warner Bros. is really locking down their directors for their impressive slate of new films. We have Zack Snyder handling Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League Part 1 and Justice League Part 1.
Wonder Woman has Breaking Bad's Michelle MacLaren (Walking Dead, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones) attached to direct while she's currently working out the script with the screenwriter.
I actually wrote about why Warner Bros. should consider her the gig back in January 2014, way before she started showing-up on wish-lists. I'm glad she got the job and we should expect at the very least an entertaining adventure flick.
One of the upcoming films we don't really know about is Aquaman starring Jason Momoa. Last we heard, some of those leaked Sony email exchanges revealed Mud director Jeff Nichols could have been hired by the studio to write and direct the film.
However, a new report via Latino Review suggests that someone with closer ties to Zack Snyder in now in the mix.
They claim that Noam Murro the director of 300: Rise of An Empire is now a candidate, but are not ruling-out Jeff is still in the mix.
Murro stands out mainly because his experience with a large action focused comic book film that took place mostly on the water. It should also be noted he worked very closely with Zack Snyder on the film and that relationship could come into play, since I'm sure he'll want to be heavily involved with the script development and it's casting.
The expectation being that we could be seeing characters from both Aquaman and Justice League films crossing-over. Snyder will likely feel a bit more comfortable with someone like Murro in charge of the project, which is already a huge risk considering how many water-set films have a tendency to tank.
Maybe with Murro attached as director we could be seeing Eva Green considered for a role opposite Jason. I don't think too many people would be upset if Eva took the role of Mera.
It was only a few weeks ago we were talking about when we could be expecting a news about a solo Batman film and we've got our first hint via Forbes. The outlet is known for mostly financial and business stories has started getting into the world of comic book film reporting.
They are now stating the reason Joker is in Suicide Squad isn't just to help setup Harley Quinn's character but also lead into a new Batman film as well. Stating his escape would eventually be tied into the next solo outing which is said to be heavily influenced by The Dark Knight Returns comic by Frank Miller.
The comic is already heavily influencing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice but likely won't have all the material gobbled-up since it needs to include Superman, Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman in major roles. This could mean a lot of the Batman centric stuff could be saved for another film.
Adding that Batman is likely to make an appearance in David Ayer's Suicide Squad to help boost that film's connection to the rest of the DC Comics slate. The assumption being that Joker will indeed be apart of the new Batman film in a bigger way than Suicide Squad.
It's been reported by Latino Review that Joker is less of a leading role and is more a Hannibal Lecter- like figure being more of a cameo than actually a lead. Those two roles are being filled by Will Smith's Deadshot and Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.
Rick Flagg fans might be shocked to learn his role in the film is being greatly scaled back and won't be as large as fans had expected it be.
I wouldn't have given too much thought to this news but it's coming from Forbes who has been getting some pretty big scoops concerning the DC Comics film franchises.
I'd love to see these guys replace The Mutants.
What could this film look like if it's indeed inspired by Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns comic?
First off, I don't think we'll be seeing the comic version of the mutants gang but I could see them being altered to become aligned with The Joker. The mutant angle was sort of used in The Dark Knight Rises with Bane's army of mercenaries and street kids.
However, I could see them changing the punk street gang to be more linked to the Joker and Harley Quinn similar to what we saw in the Arkham games. Using the street gang aspect seems something we really haven't see as a major factor in the recent Batman films. Having them rival other gangs and even put the fear of god into Gotham's crime families could be interesting to explore.
Joker's role will likely be beef-up from what is was in Returns which was just him on a murder spree after escaping at television studio. I would expect him to be a main protagonist of the film, possibly along with Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn.
They didn't hire Oscar winner Jared Leto to only appear in Suicide Squad with a small role, they obviously have bigger plans for the character. While I felt he could be apart of the Justice League films he's too damn unpredictable to work with others. Placing him in a new Batman film post-Suicide Squad honestly makes the most sense to me.
I don't expect to see an adaptation to be so slavishly connected to the source material, which was one of the biggest issues people had with Zack Snyder's Watchmen. Basically, being a shot-for-shot copy of the comic book.
Taking true inspiration and making it's own beast could be way to really make the film stand apart from the comic, but still have those connections to it.
Barbara Gordon is just as likely as Carrie Kelley.
It was confirmed that actress Jena Malone would be taking a role in Batman v Superman but it was never announced who she would be playing. Speculations and rumors have suggested she could be playing Carrie Kelley who is the female Robin in Returns.
Her new red hair seemed to be a bit of give-away, but does that mean she could only be playing Carrie in the film?
We know that Carrie isn't the only redhead in DC Comics and isn't even the most famous redhead in among the Batman characters. I'm not entirely sure it's 100% Jena is Kelley since we've seen Batgirl production art making the rounds online from concept artist Jock (Dredd), so Jena playing a version of Barbara Gordon isn't impossible either.
Why I think Batgirl could equally be an option for Malone is that she hasn't been established in ages but has a strong connection to the Joker and one of his most iconic stories.
I wouldn't be entirely shocked to see Alan Moore's (Watchmen) Joker comic The Killing Joke being used to help increase the Joker's story in the film.The Dark Knight really only focused on his escape and murder spree during a television interview.
In Killing Joke, the Joker escapes Arkham to torment Jim Gordon and paralyses his daughter Barbara. After those events she becomes The Oracle an important and horrific moment for the character's evolution.
Both Returns and Killing Joke share a similar setting of a amusement park, and could easily be combined into one single script.
It's known that Joker famously killed Jason Todd, the second Robin who eventually returns alive as the vigilante The Red Hood. Taking the name of the Joker's original name as his own. Carrie Kelley is begrudgingly given the Robin mantle by Batman who is still grieving for Jason's murder by The Joker. As it's established in Returns that Todd has been killed.
I could also see them combining Carrie Kelley and Barbara Gordon into one character, since the former isn't as well established as Gordon. Perhaps, taking up the Robin mantle only to move on to become Batgirl and go on her own taking cues from Nightwing.
There are many ways this movie could go since there are plenty of solid Joker stories to be used for the script. They might as well fire on all cylinders if this is indeed going to have the Joker as the baddie. We have enough unused Joker stories that could come together to give fans one badass and grim as hell take on the character. I wouldn't even dismiss the idea of it cutting back between present day and flashback scenes.
It's still really early at this point but if I had to take guesses at titles they could go with The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: The Killing Joke or just The Batman. Again, I still believe Warner Bros. could release the film before 2020 but it all depends on Ben Affleck.
BVS is expected to look a lot more like Watchmen visually than Man of Steel, thanks to cinematographer Larry Fong reuniting with Snyder for the film.
I know Zack Snyder is going to be a busy bee with two Justice League films about to shoot back-to-back but I'd love to see him and Larry Fong (Batman v Superman, Watchmen) take a crack at this material. Snyder has hinted for years he'd love to turn The Dark Knight Returns in a film, it could be nice to follow through with adapting the rest of the comic on screen.
I highly recommend picking up those comics along with watching the two-part animated film based on The Dark Knight Returns which is currently on Netflix.
The blogging world seemingly lost it's mind last week when a viral image popped-up and gave the impression that Batman v Superman was going to be split into two films. An aspect that didn't seem impossible at the time as the film's shoot was a lengthly one. Even though the itself image could have been easily faked by anyone on the internet and it's origin should make it automatically suspect.
For a moment let's humor the idea of a secret Batman film coming out in October, why would Warner Bros. hide this from fans?
Warner Bros. is gambling big with Batman v Superman, pitting their developing cinematic franchise against Marvel's established one. A lot of things could go wrong and totally mess-up their plans, as their announced DC Comics movie slate is 100% happening at this point. Some films could get replaced by others or could be place-holders for WB establishing release dates early. A tactic we've seen Marvel Studios use to their advantage recently. Although, Marvel isn't announcing films unless they are sure they're getting made to meet those dates.
Announcing a Batman centric film would greatly help establish this new shared universe. Let's be honest, Wayne is the most important hero in the DC ranks currently. Yet, they decided on making this precursor to Justice League a priority. I highly doubt this split was anything more than a fan's wet-dream.
We had heard that originally a bulk of the shoot would focus around Bruce Wayne and Batman's exploits that didn't involve the other heroes. This was likely from David Goyer's script before it's major overhaul by Argo's Chris Terrio. Frank Miller's comic The Dark Knight Returns is heavily influencing the film which had Batman as the centric character so this wasn't too shocking. The two Batman suits we've seen are also direct designs from Dark Knight Returns. I have assume the rewrites from Mr. Terrio were to include the other three heroes into the Miller inspired story.
It's been confirmed we'll be seeing Batman's origin yet again as Jeffrey Dean Morgan will be playing Thomas Wayne in the film. Director Zack Snyder is indeed putting his stamp on the new Batman franchise. An aged-up Batman is also apart of the film's story having him grizzled and working behind the scenes for a long time. Another call-back to Miller's comic that supports claims the film could lean more towards Batman.
However, Badass Digest being familiar with the film's script pointed-out there wasn't enough in it to suggest a two film split. The mid-point of the film is a fight between Batman and Superman which according to them this isn't big enough to be used as a final act. While the final action scene of the film would likely overshadow that tiff in the middle. This is somewhat more proof that a split isn't going to happen.
If the script wasn't weighted enough why would Warner Bros. would try turning a risky film like this into two parts?.
We've seen big films turned into two parts as a trend with Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Avengers: Infinity War and Justice League. The ones getting split-up are from well established movie franchises and even by the time JL comes out we'll be three films into the new DC cinematic universe.
My biggest issue being that Dawn of Justice is already a risky premise since they're setting-up three other heroes in the film with Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg. There isn't much point to ruin the film by cutting it off and having it become this sprawling two-parter. Since it's actually more or less our introduction to this new shared world Zack Snyder has created.
Superman himself Henry Cavill has just confirmed to Variety that the film indeed will be released as one film and two as the recent rumor suggested. While actors are usually compelled to put up a front to press, this seems a bit more substantial since this is a leading actor from the production and not some random person starting rumors.
This doesn't mean Warner Bros. isn't setting-up a solo Batman film down the road.
Suicide Squad is essentially setting up two major Batman villains in the film. Having the new Joker played by Jared Leto will likely have some sort of key connection to either Justice League or new Batman movie. Deadshot could also be prime candidate to be let lose on Gotham as a hired-gun. Harley Quinn is still a threat for Gotham but will likely be more tied to Suicide Squad, as some claim she could be the film's protagonist. While I believe that role will be shared between Will Smith's Deadshot and Margot Robbie's Quinn.
Basically in 2016, Warner Bros. will have established the new Batman, Gotham City and at least three of Batman's rogues. I have to assume they'll include more of them in Suicide Squad as it opens-the-door for a lot of villain cameos. This allows the studio to move forward with new movies as they'll have rebooted the film franchise without forcing those origin elements into a new installment, I'm sure fans like myself will be grateful for this move. Retelling origin stories aren't my jam and I'm kind of sick of them if they're well known or not re-imagined.
Warner Bros. isn't likely sitting around patiently waiting on this supposed 2019-2020 release date for a new Batman film. The last two films from Christopher Nolan earned a billion dollars each at the worldwide box office. Man of Steel was an improvement from Superman Returns but still only managed to muster $668M worldwide. Well-made Batman films are a license to print money and the studio isn't likely going to wait until 2020 to release the next one.
Yes, Ben Affleck is a busy man and will be going-off to direct his prohibition crime drama Live By Night soon. He's also attached to star in Gavin O'Connor's crime-centric The Accountant as well. At some point he'll have to return for the Justice League shoot expected to be even lengthier than Dawn of Justice as both films will be shot back-to-back.
There is a bit of speculation that Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, The Town, Argo, Gone Baby Gone) could be the one to direct the next Batman film. This hasn't been confirmed but the two-time Oscar winner wouldn't be a terrible choice.
My assumption is that Warner Bros. will likely want a new solo film before 2020. The likelihood of that happening obviously is now dependent on Affleck's busy schedule.
It was recently rumored that Deathstroke will somehow be apart of the character lineup in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. While we still need more solid confirmation, the prospect does make a lot of sense all things considering. What makes me think Warner Bros. would want to include Deathstrokein Suicide Squad?
First-off, it was reported last year by BleedingCool that David Goyer was going to produce a bunch of DC Comics movies which included Suicide Squad and Deathstroke films. We don't know for sure if Goyer is still attached to either project, but it's very likely he was involved with the latter because he was going to write it. Deathstroke feels like a character that Goyer could really make a great script for, I don't think fans would complain about the body-count or gritty tone.
Second, Deathstroke is a current member of the new team in the comics. Harley Quinn only joined the ranks in 2011, but will be the female lead of the film. They could be including anyone slightly affiliated to group that are well known to fans. Warner Bros. might be looking for the most recognizable characters, since this isn't the original lineup from the Justin Marks script (Joker and Harley Quinn were never included in the original script). I'm sure Ayer's rewrites could see a couple of additions or swaps to the final character lineup (could Slade replace Rick Flagg?).
Third, the Marvel model for setting-up future films is a bit more Easter Egg-like, but having a character in the film before their solo adventure sounds about right for the DC Comics model. Remember, we'll see Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Cyborg in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before they get their own movies. Deathstroke is still a relatively obscure character to general audiences, having him tag-along in Suicide Squad could definitely boost international awareness.
That said, what makes me believe that David Goyer would be or should be involved with this project?
Goyer is still in very good favor with Warner Bros., no matter what fans seem to think is going-on behind the scenes. He's still getting a writing and producing credits on Batman v Superman, even with Chris Terrio's rewrites to the original script (which I assume was apart of Affleck's contract, to have script approval). David is also writing-producing their NBC series Constantine and is involved with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sandman film writing the film's story. Godzilla's script had a rewrite from Goyer as well. It's possible that the Justice League script will include elements from the work Goyer contributed before Chris Terrio came onboard.
Last year he signed a three-year deal with the studio according to Deadline. The assumption that he would help godfather lesser known DC Comics film and TV properties for Warner Bros. It's led to him setting-up a Krypton prequel series at SyFy. His previous film development deals like Deathstroke would be alive and well, just not apart of the main release lineup.
Thinking that having Goyer's scripts rewritten is some sort of insult towards, goes to show fandom doesn't understand how the industry works. Many of Goyer's scripts have been rewritten or reworked for the screen, none of this has really effected his work relationships with studios.
Having written films like Blade and Dark Knight Trilogy/Man of Steel, Goyer understands all types of cinematic comic book worlds. Blade becoming the first Marvel success story, it's often forgotten the R-rated film was a hit two years before X-Men. Goyer is never credited for starting this genre, but he should. I could see Goyer doing for DC's Slade, what he did for Marvel's Blade. Turning him into a badass anti-hero, and one we might actually root for. Since, we've only seen him as a straight-up villain. Funny, since New Line Cinema (apart of Warner Bros.) was the home of Blade just until recently.
David also wrote the two Call of Duty: Black Ops games, two of the most successful games ever made. The first one selling 26.2 million copies and it's sequel earning over a billion within the first fifteen days. Those games show he has the chops to explore Slade's world of black ops soldiers and mercenaries. Sony announced him as writing their Metal Gear Solid adaptation, which has the director of Kong: Skull Island attached. Another intense military focused film which is another reason why Goyer staying-on as producer or writing the Deathstroke script might be a good idea.
What do you think? Should Warner Bros. pursue a Deathstroke film and keep David Goyer involved in some capacity?
Jason Momoa is finally free to talk a bit about being cast as Warner Bros' Aquaman, but without really talking about his role in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He dropped a few tidbits at the Brazilian Comic-Con (via Twitter accounts), confirming we'll be seeing him in at least four movies. This could include Batman v Superman, Justice League Part 1, Aquaman and Justice League Part 2.
He was asked who his dream director would be for his solo outing, and that would be Zack Snyder. I'm sure it's a little bit of kissing-up, and a little bit of honesty. We know that Snyder's 300 is one of the more testosterone-fuelled fantasy comic book films, and it's possible that could be a blue-print for this film. Zack is going to one of the DCU brain-trusts and he'll be highly involved with the solo films, so they can fit into his Justice League movies. I'm unsure Snyder will be able to handle another production, considering he just finished Batman v Superman and still has two Justice League installments. Although, we don't know how extensive Snyder's deal with Warner Bros. is and he very well could have a larger workload.
