Comicbook Movie Round-Up: April 2019 (Part 2)

In the second part of this comic-book movie round-up, we take a look at what films featuring DC's characters are planned: but apparently the phrase DCEU (DC Extended Universe) is no longer being used. From what I understand, DCEU wasn't ever an official term, and now it's being referred to as Worlds Of DC instead - I think it's got a better ring to it, actually.

JOKER

First off, there's been a first trailer and poster for Todd Phillips' Joker in which Joaquin Phoenix is frankly bloody amazing as the failed stand-up comedian (here named Arthur Fleck) who turns to the dark side.

Now, first off, when the project was announced, I was... less than impressed. An origin story for a character who is the more terrifying because you don't know how he became that way? This was compounded at the casting of Phoenix in the main role, as I haven't particularly taken to him as an actor in the past. But, based on this first trailer, I will hold my hands up and say I'm actually looking forward to seeing it. I love how dark and uncompromising it is- playing more like Taxi Driver than Batman Begins.

Joining Phoenix will be Zazie Beetz (no stranger to comic-book movies as she played Domino in Deadpool 2), Brett Cullen, Frances Conroy, Douglas Hodge, and Robert de Niro as Murray Franklin.

BIRDS OF PREY (AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN)

I'm sorry, but I still can't take the full title seriously. Nonetheless, Harley will be fantabulously emancipated in February 2020, as that's when this film hits cinemas.

Written by Christina Hodson and directed by Cathy Yan (Dead Pigs, Down River), the film sees a Gotham where Batman has disappeared, leaving the city unprotected, and crime is running rife. A young girl, Cassandra Cain, finds a diamond belonging to a dangerous crime lord- so Harley teams up with others to protect the child. Joining Margot Robbie will be Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Helena Bertinell/Huntress), Jurnee Smollett-Bell (Black Canary), Ella Jay Basco (Cassandra Cain), and Rosie Perez (GCPD Detective Renee Montoya). 

Together, this team will take on a double threat as both Black Mask and Victor Zsasz will feature, played by Ewan McGregor and Chris Messina respectively. A shame that they couldn't get Anthony Carrigan who plays Zsasz in Gotham to reprise his role, as he's genuinely one of the (very) few good things about the show. That said, Chris Messina is a fine actor- I very much enjoyed him in Argo, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Six Feet Under- so I'm sure he'll do well. 

There have been rumours that Jared Leto has been seen on set, reprising his role as the Joker. I'll be INCREDIBLY surprised if that turns out to be true, given his role in Morbius (see Part 3 for more details on this). 

Robbie was easily one of the best things about Suicide Squad, and hopefully this film will give her the chance to explore the character further.

WONDER WOMAN 1984

Fans were disappointed to find out that Wonder Woman 1984 was going to be delayed by approximately six months, meaning that we won't get to see Diana Prince kicking ass and taking names until June 2020 (instead of November 2019). The reason for the delay? A pretty good one, actually. 

In an interview, Geoff Johns confirmed the delay was so post-production on the film didn't have to be rushed to make the original release date. It's also a canny move to shift such a marquee film from the end of the year to the start of summer (one criticism that people had about Aquaman).  

As previously announced, Patty Jenkins is back in the director's chair with Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, and Robin Wright all reprising their roles from the original Wonder Woman. New arrivals to the cast include Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva (a.k.a. Cheetah) and Pedro Pascal in an as-yet-unnamed role (but there's been some supposition online that he'll be playing Maxwell Lord). Time will tell...

THE BATMAN

Ah, the saga of The Batman continues (DC are liking the definite article for their films these days, aren't they?). To virtually nobody's surprise, Ben Affleck WON'T be returning to the role for this film, although he's still onboard as a producer. The script focuses on Batman early in his career and apparently has a focus on the detective aspect of his character, a fit for the noir style director Matt Reeves is going for. No casting has been announced, although the film has a scheduled release date of June 2021.

THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Another film with a slightly troubled production history (losing two directors- David Ayer and Gavin O'Connor- then script issues, then cast availability issues) but all that's in the past and the film is on track for an August 2021 release. 

James Gunn (yep, the Guardians Of The Galaxy guy) will direct from his own script. Will Smith will not be reprising his role as Deadshot but Idris Elba won't be replacing him in the role; Elba will be playing a new character, which means Smith can return in the future. 

Aside from Elba, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney and Oscar-winner Viola Davis will be reprising their roles as Rick Flag, Captain Boomerang, and Amanda Waller for this film- as will Margot Robbie, who will come to this production once Birds Of Prey wraps.

THE FLASH

Well, it's certainly one way of keeping yourself in a job: Ezra Miller has been hired to co-write a new draft of the upcoming Flash solo movie (along with Grant Morrison). This is another one that's had a troubled production history- I'm noticing a bit of a theme here- with directors and writers attached then leaving the project since 2014. 

In 2017 it was announced that this would be a movie based on the Flashpoint arc- a highly-regarded story where Barry's attempt to save his mother's life creates an alternate reality where (among other things) Themyscira and Atlantis are at war, Thomas Wayne is Batman, and the Justice League was never established- I'm not sure whether that is still the case. 

At the moment, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein are still attached to direct but- honestly- who knows what'll happen when (if?) production actually starts. It currently has a 2021 release date, but I wouldn't hold your breath. 

AQUAMAN

A sequel to Aquaman was confirmed in January 2019 after the positive reaction the film got- and those all-important ticket sales receipts. Jason Momoa will almost certainly be back as Arthur Curry, although the film won't be released until December 2022. A 'horror-tinged' spin-off called The Trench will come first, although it's unlikely that it will be part of the Aquaman series. 

SHAZAM!

Shazam! has barely had time to get comfy in the multiplex, and a sequel has already been announced. Screenwriter Henry Gayden is returning to pen the sequel; no other cast or crew have been confirmed as yet. The long-gestating Black Adam film- with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in the title role- is due to start principal photography towards the end of 2019, so it might be a Shazam!/Black Adam showdown in Shazam! 2

So, Worlds of DC looks to be in rude health; I think the obsession of having a shared universe has waned and they've decided to focus more on the individual characters. This can only be a good thing.


In the third and final part, we'll be taking a look at Sony's plans for their 'Universe of Marvel Characters' and have a look at exactly what's going on with the X-Men films...

Review: Suicide Squad (UK Cert 15)

SPOILER WARNING! This review discusses and/or mentions a few important plot points. If you would prefer not to have these spoiled, please stop reading now and come back once you've seen the film.

Set after the events of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Suicide Squad tells the tale of Task Force X- a clandestine group of the worst of the worst- brought together to combat any further metahuman attacks. These include sharpshooting sniper Deadshot (Will Smith), Australian criminal Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), the deformed Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Latino firestarter El Diablo (Jay Hernandez), ancient witch Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) and the unhinged Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). However, when a member of their own team turns against them, the squad is forced into action to save Midway City from destruction.

First off, let me say this: I enjoyed Suicide Squad more than I enjoyed Batman V Superman. Suicide Squad has several moments of levity and humour which were sorely lacking from the previous film. The camerawork has improved as well- not so much reliance on kinetic shakycam which is always a plus in my books- and there are a lot of decent performances. That said, there's still a lot that I disliked about the film.

My main gripe? An over-reliance on 'tell, don't show'- a cardinal error in any form of screenwriting- and far too many characters. A lot of characters get stiffed as far as characterisation goes (for instance, the character Slipknot is introduced only to be killed off a few minutes later). We are told about Katana's soul-sucking sword but don't really get to see it in action. We are told about the relationship between Harley and the Joker but only get to see snippets. Aside from one bit at the end where he swims beneath a flooded chamber, Killer Croc has very little to do (and that bit could have been reworked to accommodate a different character). Fewer characters would have meant a bit more time fleshing out the ones we're supposed to care about and empathise with.

The acting is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some superb performances and some pretty wooden ones. Several characters get lumbered with some pretty clunky dialogue, which it's difficult to make sound interesting or natural. The main victim of this is Joel Kinnaman. Rick Flag has a permascowl and major antagonism with Deadshot which tends to revolve around dialogue which goes 'I don't like you', 'Well, I don't like you' and... that's about it. You never once believe in his relationship with Dr. June Moone- Enchantress' alter ego and hands-down the worst archaeologist in the world- which is his primary motivation to be onboard with this crazy scheme (again, I think it doesn't work because it once again falls under 'tell, don't show'.)

Cara Delevingne is frankly miscast as Enchantress; she doesn't have the screen presence or the acting chops to pull off playing the main villain- all she has to do prior to the big showdown is spout some cod philosophy and gyrate on the spot. And whilst we are on the subject of villains, Jared Leto's Joker- who has featured very heavily in pre-release marketing and advertising- is maybe on screen for about 15 minutes, but that's more than enough as his mannered tics started to grate on me a little. Bizarrely, it felt like watching the Joker being played by Johnny Depp in a later Tim Burton movie. Leto's look is quite something- I can see cosplayers having a ball with it- but the substance is not quite there. Leto is reportedly upset with the amount of his material excised from the final cut and has distanced himself from the project somewhat.

But it's not all bad- Will Smith is at his wise-cracking best as Deadshot (it's probably his best performance in years) whilst Jay Hernandez gives a decent turn as a man desperate to keep his powers under control for fear of letting loose and hurting people again. However, my favourite performances come from Margot Robbie- who gets the lion's share of the laughs and is quirky without being annoying- and Viola Davis who is steely and strong as the Squad's boss Amanda Waller, a woman you disobey at your peril.

Stylistically, it's interesting- the introduction to the various members of the squad is done with some funky on-screen visuals. However, it falls foul of Batman V Superman syndrome in shooting the majority of the final scene in poor lighting, making it difficult to see what's going on. There's also some kind of shoddy CG work on the mindless bubble-headed creatures that Enchantress spawns towards the end. The Batman and Flash cameos work without being too intrusive and the mid-credits scene- between Bruce Wayne and Amanda Waller- hints at some interesting things to come. But, just as with Batman V Superman, it does feel as if DCEU are trying too hard to create an ongoing linked cinema franchise. A little more subtlety wouldn't go amiss.

One thing I do want to highlight is the use of music. There's an eclectic soundtrack ranging from 'Sympathy For The Devil' to Eminem's 'Without Me' with pitstops for Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid', The White Stripes' 'Seven Nation Army' and a sadly pared down 'Bohemian Rhapsody'. It's frenetic and constantly chopping and changing but provides an interesting backdrop. But where was 'Ballroom Blitz'?

My gold standard for deciding how much I enjoyed a film is: do I want to see the film again in the cinema and do I want to own it on DVD? Sadly, when it comes to Suicide Squad, the answer is no. There's a lot I enjoyed about it but I don't see me coming back for repeated viewings.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Tez

News From Comic-Con 2016

It's that time of year, folks, when the geek Mecca that is San Diego Comic-Con opens its doors and gives us a rundown of what's coming up in the worlds of film, TV and other entertainment. The dust has barely settled (it ran from July 21st-24th) but it's given us a lot to talk about.

So here's a quick round-up of some of the biggest news.

After the lukewarm reception that Batman V Superman got, DC may have felt like they had a bit of an uphill battle to get people onboard for their next movies. Well, mission well and truly achieved as even the most petulant and hard-to-please fanboys couldn't help but be blown away by what DC had to show.

Whilst Marvel discussed several of their upcoming properties, DC focused on the ones that are closest at hand. DC also made a very canny move by officially releasing the three trailers they showed straight away, ready for public consumption.

The first was a trailer for Suicide Squad, which gives a few good lines to Will Smith and a few laughs for Jai Courteney:



There was also a first-look trailer for Wonder Woman, which was seriously good. Gal Gadot was easily the best thing about Batman V Superman and- if the trailer is anything to go by- her dignified and strong performance will continue. You also get to see Chris Pine as Steve Trevor and the final electric violin sting at the end of the trailer is just sublime.

Finally, and the biggest news, there was a trailer for Justice League. It shows Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) visiting both Arthur Curry/Aquaman and Barry Allen/The Flash to recruit them. There's a brief appearance by Cyborg towards the end but no Superman- not surprising, really. Ezra Miller really impresses as The Flash, and there's some nice little moments of humour which helps to lift things.




Marvel had a lot of information to impart, although- unlike DC- a lot of the footage hasn't been officially released. An enhanced Doctor Strange trailer was one of two videos put out by Marvel but footage from Thor: Ragnarok (a mockumentary over what Thor and Hulk have been doing since Age Of Ultron), Spider-Man: Homecoming and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 still remain (at the moment, at least) Comic-Con exclusives.

The Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 footage confirms a few pieces of rumoured casting - it was announced a while ago that Kurt Russell would be joining the cast and immediately the rumour mill went into overdrive that he'd be playing Star-Lord's father. Well, as usual, the rumour mill was right- Russell is playing Ego (a living planet who took human form and then knocked up Star-Lord's mum). The footage also shows Sylvester Stallone in a small role.

Speaking of the rumour mill being right, it was also confirmed that this year's Best Actress Oscar winner Brie Larson has been cast as Captain Marvel for the 2018 film (although she may appear in an earlier film as Spider-Man and Black Panther have; if that's the case, she'll probably be seen in Infinity War). Rumours of Larson's casting started several months ago, and I think this is a strong piece of casting.

There was some further casting announced for Black Panther, with Creed star Michael B. Jordan, The Walking Dead's Danai Gurira and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o joining Chadwick Boseman for the film, directed by Ryan Coogler. Jordan will play Erik Killmonger, Nyong'o will play Nakia and Gurira will play Okoye.

Finally, concept art from Spider-Man: Homecoming reveals that the main villain for the film will be The Vulture:

Away from the comic book franchises, we were treated to some other top-quality trailers, including one for the surprise sequel to The Blair Witch Project- originally filmed under the generic title of The Woods, but now titled Blair Witch- which goes back to the found-footage format and is genuinely atmospheric and not a little creepy. Directed by Adam Winguard (You're Next, The Guest), the film is due for release very soon.

There were also trailers for Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Kong: Skull Island, Guy Ritchie's new take on King Arthur and the Batman Lego Movie.

There was also a special panel to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Aliens, attended by James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen.

In terms of TV, trailers for Iron Fist, Luke Cage and The Defenders were aired, plus it was announced that Netflix's Daredevil was renewed for a third season. Bryan Fuller's new Star Trek series- now titled Star Trek: Discovery- had a teaser trailer too.

There were also trailers for the seventh season of Game Of Thrones, the fourth series of Sherlock, the Starz adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods (which looks seriously brilliant) and a very interesting piece of casting news that Rihanna will be appearing in the final season of the Psycho prequel Bates Motel... as Marion Crane!

So a lot of good stuff coming our way over the next few years.

Happy New Year From The Watchers!

Happy New Year!

New year, new film schedule and this one's going to be a good one!

2016 is the first year where the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes both have films out so we have the excitement of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, Suicide Squad and Doctor Strange to enjoy.

There's also Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, Star Trek Beyond, Independence Day: Resurgence, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Finding Dory, The BFG and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to enjoy as well as a host of other films.

We'll be giving our opinions on all these films and more in the upcoming year, so keep your eyes on the blog and your ears on the podcast.

Here's hoping 2016 is a cracking year for all!

The Watchers

(Rhys, Matt & Tez)

Comic-Book Round-Up: May 2015

So it's been a while since we did this and there's been a lot of comic book news out recently, so it's only right we have a quick (well, not so quick) round-up of the news.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

A leaked trailer of the hotly-anticipated DC Universe movie precipitated an acceleration of the official version being released. The trailer does a good job of setting the scene whilst telling you virtually nothing about the film's plot. You can make out the voices of Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor) and Jeremy Irons (Alfred) in the trailer:

First look photos of Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Eisenberg as Luthor have also been released:

SUICIDE SQUAD

David Ayer's Suicide Squad movie has had its first readthrough with the director releasing this cast picture:

Alongside previously announced cast members Will Smith, Jai Courtney, Margot Robbie and Cara Delevigne, the film will feature Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (rumoured to be playing Killer Croc), Jim Parrack and Ike Barinholtz. Joel Kinnanan will take the role of Rick Flagg as Tom Hardy has had to withdraw from the movie, whilst Viola Davis is confirmed as Amanda Waller. Rapper Common has also been cast in an unspecified role.

There's one noticeable omission from this cast line-up: Jared Leto (who may have been taking the picture). However, the first picture of Leto in his Joker make-up has been released and it's pretty bloody terrifying:

Ayer has also released a full shot of Task Force X in costume:

From left to right, you have Adam Beach (Slipknot), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Cara Delevingne (Enchantress), Karen Fukuhara (Katana), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flagg), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Will Smith (Deadshot), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc) and Jay Hernandez (El Diablo).

Here's a better look at Will Smith's Deadshot costume:

SPIDER-MAN MOVES TO MARVEL

Sony and Marvel Studios have struck a deal to allow Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony will still finance, distribute, own and have creative control of the films. Spider-Man will appear in an unspecified movie (rumoured to have been Avengers: Age Of Ultron but now likely to now be Captain America: Civil War) whilst he will get his own solo film in 2017. Kevin Feige has confirmed that this solo film will not be another origin story (thankfully) although it does look as if the role will be recast as the character will be in 'the high school years'. This is a shame because Andrew Garfield was pretty good as Spidey. Let feverish speculation over casting commence!

WONDER WOMAN

There's been a change of director for Gal Gadot's solo Wonder Woman film, due in 2017, as Patty Jenkins has replaced Michelle MacLaren. MacLaren left the project in mid-April citing 'creative disagreements'. Jenkins was originally due to direct Thor: The Dark World but withdrew due to 'creative differences' and was replaced by Alan Taylor.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo will be in the driving seat(s) for Avengers: Infinity War. Joss Whedon will not be returning for the third and fourth Avengers movies, handing over the reins to the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. Chris Evans has dropped a hint that he will appear in both films which will be filmed back-to-back over a period of around nine months.

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lana Condor and Ben Turner have all been cast as younger versions of mutants in Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse. Sheridan will play a young version of Cyclops whilst Game Of Thrones' Turner will be Jean Grey. Shipp is Storm, Smit-McPhee is taking on the role of Nightcrawler, Condor is Jubilee, and Eastenders' Turner is Angel. Lucas Till is returning as Havok and Olivia Munn will also join the cast as Psylocke.

Pictures of Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler have been released:

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Evan Peters and Nicholas Hoult will reprise their roles from X-Men: Days Of Future Past whilst Rose Byrne will also appear as Moira MacTaggert.

Producer Simon Kinberg has stated that the events of X-Men: Apocalypse will have an impact on spin-off films Gambit and Deadpool.

ANT-MAN

Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish's contribution to Ant-Man will be recognised as a dispute over screenwriting credits has now been solved. Wright was originally due to direct but left over 'creative differences' to be replaced by Peyton Reed. Adam McKay and Paul Rudd rewrote Wright and Cornish's screenplay and all four will share screenplay credit, with Wright and Cornish also receiving a 'story by' credit.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

It's going to be another star-studded Marvel film as there are several cast members returning from previous films. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo and Scarlett Johansson will star opposite Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans. Elizabeth Olsen will reprise her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch from Avengers: Age Of Ultron while Daniel Bruhl joins the cast as Baron Zemo and Chadwick Boseman makes his first MCU appearance as Black Panther.It is widely expected that Marvel's Spider-Man will make his appearance in this film, with a casting decision due by the end of May.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2

Josh Brolin will return as Thanos and Karen Gillan will return as Nebula, but Lee Pace won't as Ronan is very much dead. James Gunn returns to direct with the main cast- Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista- also returning. The film is due for 2017.

DEADPOOL

Ryan Reynolds has posted a picture of himself in Deadpool's costume:

Reynolds will reprise his role from X-Men Origins: Wolverine alongside Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Morena Baccarin as Copycat, TJ Miller as Weasel, Ed Skrein as Ajax and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead (yes, really!)

The film is expected in early 2016.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Nicole Perlman (Guardians Of The Galaxy) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) have been confirmed as screenwriters for the project which is intriguingly billed as Carol Danvers' 'first solo cinematic appearance' (suggesting she may appear in an earlier Marvel film). Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain have been linked to the lead role of Carol Danvers but no official casting has been announced. 

Interestingly, both Blunt and Chastain have previously been cast in MCU films but had to withdraw. Chastain was due to play Dr. Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3 (but the role was then taken by Rebecca Hall) whilst Blunt was previously offered the roles of Black Widow and then Peggy Carter but had to turn them down due to scheduling.