Warner Bros. (left), Marvel Entertainment (right)
As everyone knows, it’s a good thing to think outside of the box. Unfortunately, it appears not everyone is equally aware that there’s only so far outside of the box you can go before you lose sight of the box entirely and start coming up with ideas that may not necessarily have any relation to the box at all. All of which is to say, this week we learned some movie executives have made some very strange decisions in regards to potential future projects. Here are the highlights (and lowlights) of the week’s superhero news.
SUPER IDEA: The Joker Is Suicidal
We’ve seen Heath Ledger’s Joker and we’ve seen Jack Nicholson’s Joker. Hell, we’ve also seen Cesar Romero’s Joker (now newly available on DVD and Blu-ray, don’t forget). But are you ready for Jared Leto to play Batman’s arch-nemesis? According to the Wrap, that’s a possibility, with Leto apparently up for the role in 2016’s Suicide Squad movie. If he takes it, he might appear alongside Margot Robbie, who is now rumored to be playing Harley Quinn in the film. A Leto/Robbie love scene in the offing, perhaps?
Why this is super: Of all the casting news and rumors we’ve seen in recent years, we confess we’re not sure what to make of this one. On the plus side, Leto and Robbie are fine actors, and we’ve not seen the Joker and Harley in live-action together yet. On the other hand, aren’t we as a people kind of over the Joker? That’s more our personal view, though, so for now we’ll put this one in the “cautiously optimistic” list.
SUPER IDEA: The Wonder Woman Movie May Have a Director Already
The movie isn’t due for release for another three years, but it looks as if we might have found the woman responsible for bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen. According to multiple reports this week, Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones director Michelle MacLaren is the front-runner for the gig, and is currently in negotiations to helm the film. The news came after Punisher: War Zone director Lexi Alexander ruled herself out of the running. “I don’t see at this point why anyone would say yes,” she argued. “If [a female director] does fail, then all of a sudden it’s ‘all women suck at directing.'”
Why this is super: MacLaren’s is a name that appeared on many people’s dream lists for the job of Wonder Woman director. Despite Alexander’s commentary, having the first superhero movie starring a solo female character in more than a decade not only be directed by a woman, but by a director whose work is so beloved, is a sign that this movie won’t turn out to be a hastily-assembled mess.
MEH IDEA: Sony’s Latest Spider-Man Plan Might Involve Aunt May
As if to underscore the now-seemingly-constant rumors that Sony doesn’t really know what it’s doing with the Amazing Spider-Man franchise, Latino Review reported this week the studio is considering the possibility of a prequel to the franchise centering around Peter Parker’s Aunt May. Apparently, such a movie would be “some sort of espionage story in the vein of AMC’s Mad Men,” which is pretty hard to reconcile with Sally Field’s performance in the two Amazing movies to date. (A Sony source, however, told Comic Book Resources that the Aunt May spin-off was nothing but a “silly rumor.”)
Why this is villainy: This isn’t even villainy, this is just weird. Not only does the comic book Aunt May have no such espionage in her history, but who was crying out for a prequel to the Amazing Spider-Man movies in the first place? The only thing we like about those movies is Andrew Garfield now that they’ve killed off Emma Stone. It’s almost enough to make you think that someone is just trolling the Internet with this rumor.
MEH IDEA: Doom Blogs For No Man!
Following on from the Aunt May news, Fox’s Fantastic Four (to be released next summer) suddenly became infinitely more interesting/dumb with the revelation (via Collider) that Doctor Doom is going to be changed from an Eastern European dictator to … well, let’s let Toby Kebbell, who plays the character in director Josh Trank’s reboot, explain. “The Doom in ours—I’m a programmer. Very anti-social programmer,” he says. “And on blogging sites, I’m ‘Doom.'” To make matters worse, he’s not even called Victor Von Doom anymore; he’ll be called “Victor Domashev,” instead.
Why this is villainy: As anyone who’s spent any time reading the comics (or having a relationship with the FF of any sort) knows, Doom is no programmer, not even a very anti-social one. Doom is Doom. Doom doxes no man—especially when he has Doombots to simply destroy them from above instead! Doom cares little for this Internet of yours, and would never deign to visit “blogs”! Who is this pretender to Doom’s throne?!
SUPER IDEA: Getting a Justice League Movie Two Years Early
There is, of course, a catch. Next year’s Justice League movie is a direct-to-DVD animated feature, but once you see the trailer (below), you’ll probably be OK with that (and maybe wishing this is what made it to theaters and set the tone for the DC cinematic universe instead of Man of Steel).
Why this is super: Just look at this Justice League vs. Bizarrow League trailer and you’ll realize why you don’t even need to ask that question. By Rao, it’s well-worth breaking your self-imposed “ao direct-to-DVD movies” rule.
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