Warner Bros. opened the floodgate today on DC Comics movie news. They released dates for nine movies based on DC characters including TWO Justice League movies (both directed by Zack Snyder) and announced the casting of Ezra Miller as The Flash, who will appear in Justice League and his own movie. This puts to rest any rumors that Arrow or The Flash TV series will have anything to do with the DC movie universe.
Justice League will come out in 2017 only one year after Batman v Superman as rumors suggested. Suicide Squad, directed by David Ayer (Fury) is Warner’s second DC movie of 2016 following Batman v Superman. We should hear more about casting for the Squad soon.
There are two DC movies per year starting in 2016 until 2020. Wonder Woman leads the way in 2017 with a June release while Justice League will avoid the summer of 2017 and stake its claim as the biggest movie of the holiday season. The Flash will open in March 2018 which is smart since it is not in the middle of the summer onslaught and should find a good audience. Aquaman with Jason Momoa has a harder task with a July 2018 release especially if audiences aren’t accepting of the character in Justice League.
Shazam starring The Rock as Black Adam starts 2019 with Justice League Part 2 in June. 2020 seems to be the year that has the most questions with a solo Cyborg movie and a rebooted Green Lantern. Hopefully eight years is enough time to get the taste of the first film out of their mouths.
This is certainly a balls out move by Warner, but a necessary one if they are going to compete with Marvel in theaters. They have to stick to their guns, even if some of these movies are only moderate successes.
Check out the schedule below.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – March 25, 2016
Now everyone that writes about this movie for the next two years can stop using the popular “untitled Batman vs. Superman movie” because Zack Snyder’s team-up film that will lead into Justice League has an official title; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Good thing they already announced that Justice League is coming after this, otherwise the internet would be exploding right now because of the subtitle. As far as titles go…it works. Don’t get me wrong I am super ready for this damn movie and I am in the camp that thinks that Ben Affleck is going to own his role, but the title reads like a studio think tank idea.
Of course Justice League 0.5 wouldn’t have worked as well.
The untitled Batm…had to catch myself there.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will release on May 6, 2016.
Warner confirmed what we all suspected, that a Justice League movie is in the works. Not only that, but they announced that Zack Snyder will return to direct the movie.
Snyder is about to begin filming the Man of Steel sequel with Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and the just announced casting of Ray Fisher as Cyborg. All four are returning for Justice League.
After the announcement this past weekend, rumors began circulating that Justice League could be filmed back-to-back after the Man of Steel sequel for a possible 2017 release, only a year between movies. This has not been confirmed and Warner has given no indication of release date.
Now let speculation begin on who will make up the rest of the Justice League. With four members already cast will Warner include Green Lantern, The Flash and Aquaman or any combination of the three? Will the new Flash TV show keep him out of a Justice League movie? These are just a few of the questions that will come up.
I will gladly sacrifice Flash or Green Lantern to finally have a big screen Aquaman.
The untitled Batman/Superman film has added another member of the Justice League.
Ray Fisher has been cast as Cyborg (Victor Stone) in Zack Snyder’s sequel to Man of Steel which is more and more looking like a full-on Justice League movie. Victor is the son of two S.T.A.R. Lab scientists who becomes Cyborg after a terrible accident leaves him disfigured and his father combines him with mechanical parts to save his life.
With Gal Gadot already cast as Wonder Woman and now the inclusion of Cyborg is anyone else wondering that the reason this movie does not have a title yet is that Warner is just waiting to announce that it will actually be Justice League? I still think it will be titled Man of Steel: Enter Subtitle Here, but I would not be surprised with the Justice League title.
When it was announced that Batman vs. Superman had been delayed to May 6, 2016 we knew that was a date that Marvel had already staked out for an unknown film. Through the power of the internet we now know that it will be Captain America who gets to honor to take on DC’s two mightiest heroes.
While superhero battles are great in the comics, it sucks for movie fans. Now, your uber-fans are going to see both in the same weekend, but with theater trips costing your first-born son these days, there will have to be a choice made for most. I hope that one studio backs off and changes dates because both of these movies are large enough that they need to have their own weekend in the spotlight.
If I had to play the guessing game as to who would flinch first, it would be Marvel. Captain America is a big property, of this there is no doubt, yet, he is not on the same level as Iron Man or Avengers (at least in the Marvel cinematic universe).
If these two movies do open against each other I would have to give the edge to Batman and Superman. This will be the third Cap film up against the two biggest comic characters in history. Even with all the bitching about Batfleck (even though I think he will own it), there will be a curiosity by moviegoers to see how the first movie team-up goes with the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight.
If both movies open on the same weekend which one will you be seeing first?
Chris Evans may take a break from acting after his Marvel contract is up.
“I think when I’m done with this Marvel contract, I’ll take a little break from acting,with acting, you’re one piece in a very big puzzle. It’s like you helped buy a gift but you don’t know what the gift is, so you come back and see the movie. Sometimes it’s nice, sometimes it’s tragic. This process [directing], you’re involved in every single decision. If I hadn’t done it, I’d be really kicking myself. At the time, it was a daunting task for a number of reasons, but in hindsight it was the right move.”
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Here is a new poster with Mark Wahlberg holding either a fancy ass gun or a prop sword from the World of Warcraft movie he found laying around and decided “what the hell”.
TV
The Walking Dead
For the first time since the plodding Season 2, an episode of The Walking Dead bored me. The name of the episode should have been a warning; it was titled “Still”.
Rob Zombie
The rocker/director is developing a limited series based on the Charles Manson murders on Fox. The series will “tell converging stories of people and events leading up to and after the murders, from shifting points of view.” Everything about this seems like a win.
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart are the kings of Twitter and they are now the kings of late night after taking over Late Night this past Friday.
http://youtu.be/5J_tk25AYVQ
Games
Mass Effect
Bioware has stated that they have discussed releasing a remastered Mass Effect Trilogy for the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. I approve of this. If they can make it as good as the recently released Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, I will gladly play through them again.
3DS
Nintendo will release a Yoshi-themed 3DS XL on March 14th for $199.99. Yoshi can be manly. I may get it…shut the fuck up.
Toys
Superman
Sideshow Collectibles is making a Premium Format Figure featuring the once and always Superman, Christopher Reeve. Check out the sneak peek.
Besides being the bane of bare feet everywhere, LEGO’s have been a part of our upbringing for over 60 years. Few companies can claim that the height of their popularity began in their second half-century, but with each new franchise Lego associates itself with, they close the cultural and age divide of their fans. This has become apparent in the fact that I was at a video game store buying Lego Batman 2 next to a mother buying it for her child or how I try to justify paying $150 for a Lego Hobbit set being (almost) in my mid-30’s.
Now the inevitable has happened; a full-length movie based on the blocks themselves. The reigns were given to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller who have made a niche for themselves in two very different franchises (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs & 21 Jump Street). They have expertly combined these two vastly different types of comedy and created a very special thing: a movie that is as good to watch as an adult as it is a kid.
The LEGO Movie follows everyman, Emmet (Chris Pratt), a construction worker who gets up, goes to work, buys overpriced coffee, watches the same show as everyone else and basically conforms to the life society has told him to live. The social commentary in the first ten minutes is palpable even through the laughter. It is just the beginning of self-awareness you will watch for 100 minutes.
After work one day Emmet notices a woman snooping around the construction site and as he follows her he accidentally happens upon the Piece of Resistance. It becomes fused to Emmet and he is taken to be interrogated by Bad Cop (Liam Neeson). Soon, the woman, Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks), comes to his rescue and takes Emmet to see Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman) who pronounces Emmet to be the “special”. The one to take the Piece of Resistance and stop Lord Business (Will Ferrell) from unleashing the mysterious “Kragle” destroying the LEGO world as they know it.
Only problem being that Emmet is not a master builder, meaning his ideas appear to be pretty much useless.
Emmet, Wyldstyle and Vitruvius make their way to a secret meeting of master builders including Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Shaquille O’Neal, Michelangelo (the artist), Michelangelo (the Ninja Turtle), Gandalf and Dumbledore to name a few.
Side note: Morgan Freeman’s dialogue with Gandalf and Dumbledore is worth the price of admission alone.
Emmet is scorned for not being the “special” and has to prove to everyone that if they all work together, they can defeat Lord Business. Their journey is a frantic one as they are continually being hunted by Bad Cop over various LEGO sets that give a good history lesson to the little plastic blocks. All the while Emmet pines for the affection of Wyldstyle who is currently dating Batman (Will Arnett), who even writes a song for his girlfriend about being an orphan and dark.
Speaking of Batman’s love song; The LEGO Movie’s soundtrack is expertly handled by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh, who has also done the music to multiple Wes Anderson films as well as Nickelodeon’s Rugrats. The film’s theme song “Everything is Awesome” (written by Shawn Patterson) plays a prominent role throughout. Tegan and Sara teamed up with The Lonely Island (yes, from Jizz in my Pants) to sing what is perhaps the greatest song ever performed in human history. I oversell, but seriously, try and have a bad day listening to this.
The voice casting is as close to perfect as you can get. You already know that Morgan Freeman will be awesome because…Morgan Freeman. We also get the likes of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in a nice bit of back and forth as Superman and Green Lantern, giving fans of 21 Jump Street some fun fan service, Alison Brie, Charlie Day (who goes full-on Sunny in one scene), Will Forte and Nick Offerman. We even get Anthony Daniels and “Sweet” Billy Dee Williams as C-3PO and Lando for God’s sake!
Second side note: Liam Neeson’s Good Cop voice will haunt my dreams forever.
Even as The LEGO movie winds down with an epic battle it does something unexpected; it hits you right in the feels. I will not give anything away, but it is sufficient to say, when it is revealed what is in the abyss and the movie reaches its climax, prepare for a gut punch that only an adult can feel. I almost had a Toy Story 3 moment…almost (don’t make me go there again).
I was expecting good things out of The LEGO Movie and even those expectations were far exceeded. It is increasingly funny the farther along the story goes and will make you feel what it was like to be a kid again, then brings you back to remind you that you are an adult, but it is still never too late to be special.
Everything is awesome, indeed (at least for 100 minutes).
Rumors have become reality as DC announced that John Romita, Jr. is coming over from Marvel to be the artist on Superman. They gave a first look, which you can see above, of Romita’s interpretation of Supes.
The other half of the creative news is the exciting part. Geoff Johns will be taking over writing duties from Scott Lobdell. Johns spent almost ten years crafting the current Green Lantern universe and just recently ended his amazing run on Aquaman. He is still on monthly duties with Justice League as well as leading the current New 52 crossover series Forever Evil.
I am excited about Johns writing Superman. It is the hardest character to keep interesting on a monthly basis. I know Johns is up to the task and I am ready to see what he has planned.
On the flip side, I have never been a fan of Romita, Jr.’s work. Not anything against him or his long career, I just have always felt his art too blocky and sometimes lazy looking.
Of course, this comes from a man without a shred of artistic ability. Take as you will.
Warner dropped a bombshell in casting news for Zack Snyder’s untitled Batman vs. Superman movie.
Jesse Eisenberg has been cast to play Superman’s nemesis Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons will take over the role of Alfred.
First impressions of this massive news? I think Eisenberg will knock it out of the park. I am sure the trolls are already out crapping all over the news but this is a great choice. Why? Go watch The Social Network, for which Eisenberg was nominated for an Oscar.
That’s fu**ing Lex Luthor in his 30’s!!!
I think his Luthor will be similar to a Zuckerberg with a beyond genius I.Q.
The Jeremy Irons casting is just gravy. When you can go from Michael Caine in Nolan’s trilogy to Irons, you have made another winning decision.
The Man of Steel sequel releases on May 6, 2016. Read the official press release below.
Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Jesse Eisenberg has been set to star as Lex Luthor and Jeremy Irons will play Alfred in the upcoming Zack Snyder untitled Superman/Batman film. The dual announcement was made today by Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production, and Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
Snyder stated, “Lex Luthor is often considered the most notorious of Superman’s rivals, his unsavory reputation preceding him since 1940. What’s great about Lex is that he exists beyond the confines of the stereotypical nefarious villain. He’s a complicated and sophisticated character whose intellect, wealth and prominence position him as one of the few mortals able to challenge the incredible might of Superman. Having Jesse in the role allows us to explore that interesting dynamic, and also take the character in some new and unexpected directions.”
The director added, “As everyone knows, Alfred is Bruce Wayne’s most trusted friend, ally and mentor, a noble guardian and father figure. He is an absolutely critical element in the intricate infrastructure that allows Bruce Wayne to transform himself into Batman. It is an honor to have such an amazingly seasoned and gifted actor as Jeremy taking on the important role of the man who mentors and guides the guarded and nearly impervious façade that encapsulates Bruce Wayne.”
