A new crop of names are being linked for roles in David Ayer's Suicide Squad via JoBlo.
It looks like there is a fifth actor being looked at for the role of Rick Flagg, and it's Dredd himself Karl Urban. You might remember it was only a couple of days ago that Karl was being linked for the villain role in Aquaman. I'm sure we could be hearing even more actors but Karl is an interesting addition to the mix of names.
I have my own thoughts why so many actors are passing on this part.
The role of Flagg was originally alluring to Tom Hardy before the part was scaled back in Ayer's rewrites and the role could be a lot more minor than people are expecting it to be. Basically, they're looking at big names but the part doesn't seem to have enough bite to attract the level of actors they want for it.
Flagg could also be off-putting to a lot of these candidates mostly because it could kill their shot at a leading superhero franchise. Marvel usually avoids casting actors who have been apart of DC films and taking the role could nix franchise potential in the DC side as well.
Again, from what I've been hearing Flagg might not even be in sequels, the role is pretty minor compared to the comics and this could be a tough sell to rising actors like Jake Gyllenhaal (already passed), Jon Bernthal and even Joel Edgerton.
Tom, Jake and Joel had been linked for Marvel Studios franchise leads, so it's unlikely we'd see them taking DC scraps which Flagg is starting to look like.
JoBlo is affirming talk that Deathstroke is indeed in the film but won't be on the actual team.
Joe Manganiello is said to the Ayer's first choice as he previously worked with Ayer on Sabotage.
Aussie Jason Clarke is also being considered for the role.
It's not hard to see why the studio would want to have Clarke play the role having a huge breakout hit with Dawn of the Planet of The Apes last summer. He's also playing the new John Connor this year in Terminator: Genisys opposite Captain Boomerang's Jai Courtney.
The role itself could end-up becoming one of the more important characters moving forward into the DCCU, as there is crossover potential with the Batman films along with a solo film which had been developed and produced by David Goyer (Blade, Batman Begins).
Other actors such as Ed Harris (The Rock, A History of Violence, Enemy At The Gates), Gary Sinise (Forest Gump) and Max Martini (Sabotage, Pacific Rim, The Unit) are linked for roles but those are considered spoilers, feel free to check out the link to have some of the film's plot ruined.
Production is expected to begin in April at Pinewood Studios, Toronto with a release date of August 5th, 2016.
There's a whole heap of casting rumors concerning Suicide Squad coming out online today.
The first one comes from Cinema Blend, who are saying that actors Joel Edgerton (Exodus, Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior, The Great Gatsby) and Jon Bernthal (Fury, Wolf of Wall Street, Walking Dead) are in the mix to replace Tom Hardy as Rick Flagg.
Out of the two I'd say Bernthal is the better fit since he worked with director David Ayer in Fury and co-starred with Margot Robbie in Warner Bros' The Wolf of Wall Street. Plus, he's been a much more consistent actor than Joel and Flagg could be right for him.
Jake Gyllenhaal had been offered the role recently but passed on it, and I don't blame him. It's been said the role has been cutdown a lot from Ayer's rewrites and likely won't have as much screen time as other characters in the film.
Joe almost played Superman and Batman, might as well play Deathstroke.
Another mysterious rumor via The Playlist is suggesting that Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike, True Blood, Sabotage, Spider-Man) is up for the role of Deathstroke, there had been rumors the character was in the film but nothing has been confirmed or reported by major outlets.
Joe is a bit different than the other names mentioned here since the actor did on the recommendation of director Zack Snyder did test for both Superman and Batman roles. He also previously worked with David Ayer on the Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick Sabotage.
We know that David Goyer (Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Blade, Man of Steel, Metal Gear Solid) had penned a Deathstroke movie and had planned on producing the film too, so it would be a role that could turn into it's own franchise.
The last one comes from Latino Review, who wasn't confident enough with this rumor to post it on their site but tweeted-out that Gary Sinise (Forest Gump, Snake Eyes) is said to be in talks for the role of General Eiling.
UNCONFIRMED TWITTER RUMOR: Pending more concrete sourcing, I hear Gary Sinise supposedly in talks to join SUICIDE SQUAD as GENERAL EILING.
— Umberto Gonzalez (@elmayimbe) January 22, 2015
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 Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Tom Hardy has essentially dropped out of David Ayer's Suicide Squad vacating the role of Rick Flagg.
Hardy originally signed onto the role alongside Will Smith as Deadshot, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Jared Leto as The Jocker, Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang and more recently Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. It's expected we could even more DC Comics rogues in the film including Jesse Eisnberg's Lex Luthor.
Jake got ripped for Soutpaw.
Apparently, scheduling has become a bit of an issue as the shoot will conflict with his other project The Revenant.
Along with his promotional press tour for Mad Max Fury Road that would be happening at the same time as the film would be shooting in Toronto.
That is seemingly a bigger priority as it's being directed by Birdman's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and would see Hardy reunite with his Inception co-star Leonardo DiCaprio. Birdman just earned nine Academy Award nominations so any project coming from Inarritu is going to have major heat. I guess you can't blame Hardy for chasing an awards-level movie like Revenant.
The studio has sent out an offer to actor Jake Gyllenhaal and they are interested in him taking over the role of Rick Flagg but it's unknown at this point if he'll take it.
Considering his fan-favorite performance in last year's Nightcrawler and his upcoming boxing pic Southpaw, I'm sure fans would embrace this recasting. Jake also previously worked with Ayer on the L.A. cop drama End of Watch.
Jake also played a convincing serial killer in The Shoes' music video for Time To Dance.
There's been a DC Comics film that's been kicking around for ages at Warner Bros. and with Suicide Squad about to go into production, I'm extremely curious why it's not being made. That would be David S. Goyer (Dark City, Batman Begins, Blade, Dark Knight, Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Metal Gear Solid) and Justin Marks' (Jungle Book, Shadow of The Colossus) script for the prison-break movie Green Arrow: Escape From Super Max. A film that would have vigilante Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) captured by police and thrown into a supermax prison (framed for murder) alongside the likes of The Joker, Lex Luthor and The Riddler. Against his better judgement he needs the help of iconic DC villains to organize a jailbreak, so he can clear his name on the outside. An extremely cool premise to put the hero of the film into the hands of villains right?
It's co-writer Justin Marks talked to MTV back in 2008, giving us a good idea of what that original script had planned on tackling. This interview is also where the revised titled came from.
“It’s a very, very awesome prison. I majored in architecture in college, and design is how I actually started in. For ‘Super Max,’ designing that prison, it had to be the kind of thing that was a character in and of itself,” Marks said. “We’re in a world where instead of just trying to contain a guy who’s really big, you’re trying to contain a guy who can — in the case of Icicle — who can freeze things. What kind of a cell would a guy like that need in order to have his powers neutralized? So to escape from Super Max they have got to go through the most elaborate heist we’ve ever seen, involving superpowers. Because the prison itself kind of has superpowers!”
“What we wanted to do, and I think we’ll continue to do as the studio continues to push the movie forward, is to be able to [put Queen] in the center of a much bigger universe,” Marks said. “In the same way that Marvel is starting to do, when you’re in the [filmed] DC Universe [where] this world and this world and this world — they all exist in an interrelated web. It’s the kind of thing that I think absolutely is about spelling out a couple different roads for a couple different characters.”
“By the time a movie like this comes out, we will all understand origin stories. And mainstream audiences now are willing to suspend their disbelief to the point that we can believe that a world exists where superpowers exist and people dress up in costumes. So now what? Now what do we do? And I call this Superhero 2.0,” Marks said. “We do deal with his origin — he’s got a very interesting origin with a desert island and everything else — but we get to the core of Green Arrow not by showing where he starts but by pushing him into a key moment in his life where everything he has is lost, and he’s got to earn it all back. I think for audiences it’s going to be a great way to get to know a new character.”
“I see him as the Jason Bourne of superheroes, a guy who exists with his own sort of set of tricks. And I think the difference between Ollie Queen and a guy like Bruce Wayne — they’re both rich. They both have their things. But Batman is about his equipment and is about his theatricality and about his detective skills. And Green Arrow is a guy who’s really just the sort of MacGyver type,” Marks said. “In his hand, anything can be a weapon.”
I'm going give a rundown on why this project should be given new life and actually put into production. Along with why this could be the Joker film fans don't know they should be campaigning for.
We're starting to see Warner Bros. warm up to the idea of using villains as main characters, starting with David Ayer's Suicide Squad. That film will include many DC villains including Deadshot, Captain Boomaregan, Rick Flagg, Harley Quinn, Enchantress, Amanda Waller and even a small role for the Joker himself. There's even a rumored cameo from Lex Luthor expected for the film. This could be the first-step for the studio to focus on more villain centred stories. Mainly, placing the Joker in leading role other than just villain to Batman. I have a strong feeling that the Joker is only in the film to help expand on Harley Quinn's origin and establish him being in the new cinematic universe, if just locked-up at Arkham for his scenes.
So why should this be our Green Arrow movie? Well the TV series Arrow is sort of handling his mythology and helping build awareness for the more obscure DC hero. We know that Oliver does have some connections to the Frank Miller comics that are influencing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yet, every other Justice League member (Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and possibly Flash) will be getting their first on screen appearance in that film first. Where does this leave Green Arrow?
Primed for his own introduction into DC Cinematic Universe via a hard-paced action flick like Super Max. Meaning, we don't need an origin tale for Queen and he can be thrown into the fray as an established character that's been active for years. A similar plot device that is being used for Ben Affleck's seasoned Batman. I feel like it would work, but you wouldn't have to age him as much as Zack Snyder is going for with Bruce Wayne.
We heard that Ryan Gosling was up for a roles in Suicide Squad and Marvel's Doctor Strange, two projects he's obviously turned-down. However, I think the roguish nature of Queen and the fact this is a pretty damn crazy genre flick could interest someone like Gosling. Considering he's been playing a lot of criminal type characters recently with films like Drive, The Place Beyond The Pines, Only God Forgives. A vigilante breaking out of a high-tech prison might be something more his style. It should also be noted that Warner Bros. are paying for talent and could end-up making Gosling an offer he'll actually accept.
Sorry to break this to Arrow fans but everyone involved with these films and shows have confirmed you won't be seeing crossovers. When Oliver Queen joins the DCU he'll be played by a different actor. That's not a theory it's bankable fact, which has been echoed by the head of Warner Bros. Studios and down the line to the Arrow showrunners.
How can you help connect Super Max to the rest of Snyder's new DC universe? It's villains, you don't even need to have them shown on screen. The ones we kind of need to have involved are Jared Leto's Joker and Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor since they are main characters of the Goyer script. It will also lend itself to include other villains from the comics (some which might seem out of place against their actual villains) into the group being put together to help breakout. The original idea of the film was to have Queen working with all types of villains (A, B, and C-levels) along with rogue heroes, which is why I feel like Black Canary might be a good fit here.
The rest of the crew could comprise of Black Canary, notorious jailbird Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley (Poison Ivy), Cyrus Gold (Solomon Grundy), Suicide Squad member Louise Lincoln (Killer Frost) and Green Arrow villain Danny Brickwell (Brick). Making things a bit more interesting would be to have Brick secretly planning his own revenge on Oliver during the breakout, who likely put him in there. The popularity of the Arkham video games shouldn't be ignored, and that perspective could work very well here cinematically. Seeing these characters fighting their way out of a high-tech prison against guards and other prisoners. Canary wasn't involved in the original script, but that could easy be fixed/altered with rewrites.
People are already are under the impression that The Joker will have a bigger role in Suicide Squad than he actually does. Why not give fans what they want with a story that makes a lot more sense to how the Joker really works. He uses people to obtain his own goals and then kills them, this makes him unpredictable and beyond dangerous. The Joker is way too psychotic and unstable even for the Suicide Squad, and likely isn't interested in a reduced sentence for his services. However, he would be willing not to kill his peers for a chance to escape. This could be how he returns to the streets of Gotham or get's involved in the Justice League films. Along with his first team-up with fellow supervillain Lex Luthor, and the start of their mutual hate.
Who could be behind the framing Oliver for murder? Plenty of villains could have a grudge against Oliver Queen, but who I imagine it could be is mercenary Slade Wilson (Deathstroke). He could be a fellow inmate or the person actually behind his framing. Deathstroke, is an extremely popular villain and recently best known for his interactions with the hero on Arrow. I could see Slade end-up apart of future Suicide Squad sequels as well. I'd also love to seem some sort of complex plot that has Hugo Strange running this prison and Queen's addition to it apart of a huge bizarre experiment.
Again, the film opens itself introduce a wide variety of villains from the DC Comics stable. The list of secondary villains that could be included in this movie is crazy long, and that's kind of the point here. This has a lot of potential to help the DCU setup a lot of these villains for future films. Similar to Suicide Squad, we don't specifically need the film to centre around a heroic figure. It can go a bit darker and hit levels of greyness with leads. These type of films are what fans should be asking for, as this gives the perfect platform for villains that might not end-up making the cut for a Justice League installment, or the other films announced in the DCU slate.
We're already reeling from the huge casting announcement concerning Suicide Squad, but it's not over yet. There are already rumblings of who the studio wants for the role of Amanda Waller. The ruthless government agent who runs the Suicide Squad program. According to Variety, the first choice is Oscar nominee Oprah Winfrey (Color Purple, Butler, Selma) but Oscar winners Viola Davis (The Help, Ender's Game, Doubt, Prisoners, Blackhat, Knight And Day, Law Abiding Citizen) and Octavia Spencer (Snowpiercer, The Help, Insurgent) are also on their radar.
I would be fine with any of these ladies in the role, but Viola Davis has played more characters like this and could be very convincing as the menacing Waller. Her experience in action films might make her a more suitable casting choice. However, like I've been saying on Twitter this role could end-up being similar to Tyler Perry's oddball casting in David Fincher's Gone Girl, only to become a highlight of the film.
Warner Bros. has made it official and has revealed a majority of the casting for David Ayer's Suicide Squad. Confirming that Oscar winning actor Jared Leto (Fight Club, Lord of War, Panic Room, Requiem For A Dream, Dallas Buyers Club) will indeed be playing our new Joker in the film. Along with Will Smith (Bad Boys, I, Robot, I Am Legend) taking the lead role of Deadshot, which I had been claiming since the first wave of casting news. DC alumni Tom Hardy (Mad Max Fury Road, Inception, Dark Knight Returns, RockNRolla) is playing Rick Flagg and Margot Robbie (Wolf of Wall Street, is indeed playing Harley Quinn.
Some outlets were claiming Aussie meat-head Jai Courtney (Die Hard 5, Terminator 5, Jack Reacher) was taking the lead part of Deadshot, that sounded insane to me considering his terrible acting track record. This announcement confirms he's actually playing volatile Aussie DC villain Harkness aka Captain Boomerang, perfect casting if you ask me.
In an extremely odd move on the part of Warner Bros., they've cast Cara Delevinge as Enchantress. A magic focused villain created in 1996, who shares a name with a famous sorceress Thor baddie who was created back in the 1960s. I'm curious if Warner Bros. can even use the character name since Marvel has been protective of their characters' copyrights. This isn't a case of character sharing like Marvel has done with Fox in the past, since these are two separate comic book companies. You might remember that DC Comics' Shazam! was originally Captain Marvel, but Marvel ended-up forcing DC to change the name. It's also bizarre the DC character design looks a lot like Marvel's Lady Loki, check out the comparison below.
THR is reporting that actors Tom Hardy, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney and Jared Leto are finalizing talks to take roles in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. Margot is expected to play Harley Quinn with Jared Leto likely set for the new Joker. It's bit weird that people are reporting Aussie Jai Courtney is being looked-at for the lead role of Deadshot (leader of the group), while British actor Tom Hardy is linked for Aussie villain Harkness. I'm really hoping meat-head actor Jai Courtney isn't the lead of this film, and he's actually being placed in the secondary role of Harkness. Hardy seems more viable as the face of the franchise, and having actors like Leto, Hardy and Robbie playing second fiddle to Courtney seems just insane to me.
The film will begin pre-production in February with shooting expected to start in April. Production stages will be in my neck of the woods at Pinewood Studios Toronto. Films shot in the city are known having set photos leak in bulk, examples include Total Recall and Robocop. I expect we'll start seeing set images start rolling-out online in April. The release date is set for August 5th, 2016 and will be the first film post-Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
This news oddly has Will Smith's name missing from the lineup, which could mean he's out of the mix. We've been cautious about Smith's participation mainly since he's notorious for entering sequel talks and backing-out last minute. I'm unsure if Will would be willing to commit to sequels this film would likely spawn. It's normal for comic book contracts to include multiple film commitments. Having a feeling these characters will be showing up in other DC Comics films in the future, since most of the characters are Batman villains. Nothing says he won't end-up in the film, it just seems odd he's not apart of this update on the film.
Wow, talk about terrible casting. Variety reports that Warner Bros. is eyeing Aussie Jai Courtney (Die Hard 5, Jack Reacher) for the main role of Deadshot in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. I say terrible because Jai is known for some pretty lousy acting. His addition to the new Terminator film actually made me mad. I won't say that this could ruin the film, but having better actors surrounding him it will be glaring how out of place he'll be in that cast. He's not the leading man type, and this is just really weird lead casting.
Variety is also states that Margot Robbie is indeed looking to play Harley Quinn. They also mention that Tom Hardy is looking to be placed in the Rick Flag role. Not Harkness, which I assume he was since the actor is known for stellar accents. Instead Will Smith is apparently wanted for Harkness. This is sort of bizarre to me since Captain Boomerang is established as an Aussie villain. Smith isn't known for his accents, and hiring Aussie actor Jai Courtney for that role seems like a better move on the part of DC. I'm kind of hoping Variety got these male roles mixed-up, because this sounds ridiculous to me. Placing Will Smith and Tom Hardy in supporting roles seems fishy to me, those two are stronger leads than Courtney.
Jesse Eisenberg is said to be in talks to reprise the role of Lex Luthor in the film. Jared Leto could be our next Joker, and might be an excellent way to introduce the manic villain to this new DCU. David Ayer is directing with a release date set for August 2016, months after Batman v Superman drops. Production is expected to begin sooner than expected.
UPDATE: Deadline is now reporting that Courtney might be cast in another DC movie, which isn't Suicide Squad. There are plenty of films in the works including Wonder Woman, Shazam!, Aquaman, Justice League and The Flash coming-up next.
Collider is stating that Aussie actress Margot Robbie (Tarzan, Wolf of Wall Street) is a lock for Suicide Squad and is indeed playing Harley Quinn in the film. This is the first time a site is actually trying to confirm that the role is indeed Quinn. Actors Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor), Jared Leto (Joker), Will Smith (Deadshot) and Tom Hardy (Harkin) are also in the mix for the film. David Ayer is set to direct with the film set for a August 2016 release date.
While Collider does have a great record of scoops with their wonderful on-the-record interviews. Their "sourced" scoops are touch-and-go. Frosty (face of the site) took to Twitter to proclaim Joaquin Phoenix as confirmed for Doctor Strange. Only moments after this his peers corrected him with their own information, revealing Phoenix was getting cold feet. This turned-out to be true and he exited talks, with Benedict Cumberbatch currently the frontrunner for the role. Giving the impression that they've been going forward on old information, or just rumblings that happen to be circling bloggers' channels. Something that happens regularly with all sites.
The film is likely going to start-up production in the coming months, so locking-down a cast now seems right on schedule. However, Robbie has been in the mix for a bunch of high-profile projects only to exit at the last minute. Examples of this include Ghost In The Shell and Fantastic Four, it's a good role for her. However, Warner Bros' Tarzan might have filled the genre quota for her at the moment. I'm going to wait for better confirmation from other sites and sources. She's also expected to take a co-starring role in Tina Fey's The Taliban Shuffle.
Then again, I would be fine with this casting. As we now know that WB is looking to place Joker in the film, having Robbie play the fast-talking Joker sidekick is actually perfect. It doesn't hurt that she is apparently dating Jared Leto (rumored frontrunner for Joker role).
THR reports that Oscar winner Jared Leto (Fight Club, Requiem For A Dream, Lord of War, Dallas Buyers Club) is circling the role of The Joker in David Ayer's Suicide Squad. It's more likely that Joker would be the actual threat of the film, rather than a member of the team. The Joker was previously used as the real villain in the recent animated film from Warner Bros, which had the Suicide Squad as the focus. A lot of people have been curious when or if we would see the return of The Joker in Zack Snyder's DC universe.
Leto had been linked for being in the running for Doctor Strange, so he's obviously looking for a high-profile project to get involved with. After Heath Ledger's casting, I can't really say I'm against Jared as the iconic Batman villain. Since it all comes down to the on screen performance and we haven't seen Jared play the role to actually judge him.
The Joker's inclusion could also possibly mean Batman might have a cameo, or at the very least referenced through-out the film. It's hard to believe that if the Joker is running-around, we won't see Ben Affleck's Batman show-up for a scene, to give him a good ass-kicking.
We've sort of assumed that there would be a Joker reference in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Considering that Suicide Squad is shooting post-production of Batman v Superman, they could shoot a couple of Joker scenes for that film as well. It's expected that Snyder will spend some of of 2015 editing and completing pick-ups and reshoots. Placing Joker scenes into the mix wouldn't be entirely shocking. The villain has a role within the Frank Miller comics, which the film is inspired by. Waiting till the end of the production or during reshoots to film those scenes, might be a way to keep fan down expectations of his appearance.
The image above was posted on Twitter by cinematographer Larry Fong. This picture sort of teases an intense fight between Batman and The Joker that happens in the Miller comic. Fong actually got in a lot of hot water for it. Leading a lot of fans (including us) to speculate the Joker was on his way. While it's unknown if he'll be apart of Batman v Superman, it's looking like a sure thing he's going to be apart of Suicide Squad.
There is already talk that Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor is very likely involved in the project. I assume he very well could be paying for the whole organization, or could even take the place of Amanda Waller (more likely her boss). A character that might have been ruined because of showing-up in Green Lantern. While Will Smith, Tom Hardy and Margot Robbie are in the mix for leads as well.
THR also mentions that Ryan Gosling (Drive, Only God Forgives, Blue Valentine, Place Beyond The Pines) is another name in the mix for Marvel's Doctor Strange. Placing him alongside other possible candidates such as Matthew McConaughey (True Detective, Interstellar, Dallas Buyers Club) Ewan McGregor (Star Wars, The Island, The Impossible, Trainspotting), Oscar Isaac (Bourne Legacy, Drive, A Most Violent Year), Keanu Reeves, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke and Jake Gyllenhaal. Production is expected to begin soon with a spring start date and a release date of July 8th, 2016.
It looks like Ewan McGregor isn't the only name Marvel is considering for Doctor Strange. Variety has released a studio shortlist of other candidates. The new names include Matthew McConaughey, Oscar Isaac and Jake Gyllenhaal, along with previously mentioned Jared Leto, Ewan, and they are confirming Ethan Hawke was indeed in the mix. There's zero mentions of Tom Hardy or Benedict Cumberbatch, so I assume they're out.
Matthew is obviously a hot-property since True Detective and his Oscar win for Dallas Buyers Club. It's assume his next film Christopher Nolan's Interstellar will be massive. The trade is smart to point-out the actor is extremely busy. It's great to see him on this list, as he was many of my early suggestions when it was revealed Strange was next for Marvel. An actor with an upswing in his career and giving solid performances.
Oscar Isaac (Drive, Robin Hood, Inside Llewyn Davis) is another fan-favorite. Even Devin from BadassDigest has been quietly campaigning for him to take the role. He's already apart of the Disney family with a role in Star Wars Episode VII, and showed-up to the Guardians of the Galaxy red carpet over the summer. He's been trying to land his own franchise for a while now, originally competing with Jeremy Renner for the lead in Bourne Legacy. He'll also be seen co-starring with Jessica Chastain (Marvel has been pursing her for years) in A Most Violent Year. If they can't land Matthew, he's my second favorite of these new names.
Another Disney alumni is mentioned for the running as well. Jake Gyllenhaal has been focusing on his indie career since Prince of Persia bombed. Taking-on roles in thrillers like End of Watch and Nightcrawler might help launch him back into a leading man. Jake almost replaced Tobey McGuire in Spider-Man 2.
TheWrap reports another big name in the running for the role of Stephen Strange in Marvel's next franchise Doctor Strange. Three-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix (Gladiator, Her, The Immigrant, Walk The Line, is being linked for talks. You might remember Phoenix was linked for the role of Bruce Banner, just before Comic-Con 2011. Only, to have Mark Ruffalo announced as the new Banner on stage with his Avengers co-stars. This could be a giant misdirection, or we might actually see Joaquin join the MCU. Other actors linked for the role recently included Jared Leto, Tom Hardy and fan-favorite Benedict Cumberbatch. The latter has stated his engagement for Hamlet on the London stage, might be a giant conflict.
Jeff also believes that Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy won't be taking the gig. This sort of makes sense, since the pair are extremely busy with a steady stream of other fruitful projects. Nothing says they can't take other roles though, or even villainous ones down the line.
Last we heard, before the script rewrites from Jon Spaihts (Prometheus), villains Baron Mordo and Dormammu would be featured in the film. Considering Dormmannu will likely be another CGI motion capture hybrid character, either Hardy or Cumberbatch could end-up voicing the flame-headed baddie during the film's post-production process.
It's expected that Marvel will announce more information concerning Doctor Strange at Comic-Con, including it's release date and possibly it's lead actor as well. Since it's expected to begin shooting next spring, most likely in the UK.
TotalFilm was to speak with Marvel's Kevin Feige about the upcoming production of Doctor Strange. Firstly, Kevin confirmed that Scott Derrickson (Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil) is indeed directing the film and revealed casting will be underway in the next month or two. An actor will be announced soon, we've been expecting said lead to be unveiled during Comic-Con. We've been hearing names like Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Leto and Tom Hardy linked for the role.
"Scott Derrickson has been announced as the director. Doctor Strange is a character that I've been interested in for many, many years and that I've talked about in interviews for probably 14 years, because I believe it's very, very important for us to explore every nook and cranny of the comic-book universe and we've done the street-level heroes, and we've done the billionaire superheroes [on Earth]. We've now done the cosmic side with Thor and Avengers and most obviously with Guardians, but there's a whole other side of the Marvel comics, which is that supernatural side - the interdimensional side of the Marvel universe, and Doctor Strange is, I believe, our entry point into that other realm, which has dozens of characters and storylines all of its own. So Strange is very, very important, not just because it's an amazing character study, and a journey of a man who's gone from this very arrogant surgeon to somebody who is quite zen and literally keeps all of reality together on a daily basis, but it also is going to open up a whole other side of storytelling for our movies. So we're about to hire a writer to redo a draft, and we think we'll be casting probably in the next month or two, and announcing an actor, and then we get into production in the spring of next year."
Feige also went on to confirm that production is set to begin in the spring of next year, I assume this will happen when Captain America 3 wraps. The assumption is that Strange will take the second 2016 spot on July 8th. Other sources say that the release date could be set later in the year. Currently, Jon Spaihts (Prometheus, Black Hole) is doing rewrites to the original script.
Deadline is reporting that Prometheus screenwriter Jon Spaihts is in talks to write Marvel's Doctor Strange, which will be directed by Scott Derrickson (The Day The Earth Stood Still, Sinister, Deliver Us From Evil). Jon was recently tasked to write Disney's Black Hole remake and Universal's Mummy reboot. I have to assume that Disney is very happy with his work on Black Hole and was suggested to Marvel. Jon and Scott are a perfect match as both have a horror background, a strong element of the world of Strange.
Jon confirmed the news himself via his Twitter account.
The words rewrite aren't mentioned as the original script was penned by Thomas Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, the pair are best known for writing the Conan The Barbarian reboot. I doubt it will be a page-one rewrite, but I'm sure they're hiring Jon to overhaul the entire thing. When I first heard Marvel's requirements for directors from my source, they specifically mentioned writer-directors for Strange. The studio wanted extensive rewrites, mainly because of industry leaks and the early script review from LatinoReview.
Casting is still going-on, as recent names such as Jared Leto, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy have been mentioned for being on Marvel's radar/lists.
THR reports that Marvel has decided on Sinister's Scott Derrickson to direct Doctor Strange. Scott was linked with a group of candidates, but seemingly has been chosen to for the director's chair. The director confirmed this news via his Twitter account, with a photo of himself with the comic and stating his next film would be "Strange". A release date hasn't been announced, it's expected more information will be revealed during Comic-Con.
His other credits include The Day The Earth Stood Still and the upcoming thriller Deliver Us From Evil. I had a feeling Derrickson was a front-runner, from the get-go. He's also attached to direct a film based on the video game Deux Ex: Human Revolution, which he is also co-writing. We've been hearing for months that Marvel wanted Strange's director to make rewrites to the existing script.
While we've heard Johnny Depp, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jon Hamm mentioned for the lead role. BadassDigest adds another name into the mix, which is recent Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club). Not so odd, since a lot of people had been suggesting his co-star and fellow Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey for the role. The site is quick to
Jared has been apart of a bunch of solid movies including Requiem For A Dream, Fight Club, Panic Room (messy but still good), American Psycho and Lord of War. His break from acting has paid-off and could be ready for a franchise role. We already know that Marvel loves actors with Oscar backgrounds and recent winners/nominees are courted by the studio. I think he would be great in the role, we just have to remember Marvel contacts a lot of Oscar winners/contenders for roles.
It's been rumored that the Doctor Strange role would be a surrogate for Tony Stark for future phases. Leto could be the next Robert Downey Jr. and this could be a very good move on the part of Marvel. I also wouldn't be shocked if Jared was being considered for the Mordo role as well.
It looks like there is a fifth actor being looked at for the role of Rick Flagg, and it's Dredd himself Karl Urban. You might remember it was only a couple of days ago that Karl was being linked for the villain role in Aquaman. I'm sure we could be hearing even more actors but Karl is an interesting addition to the mix of names.
