Warner Bros. (left, right), Sony Pictures (center)
This week, the man who managed to convince the world that Michael Keaton could fight crime unleashed his verdict on today’s crop of superhero movies, while the gift that is the Sony leak kept on giving in the form of not one, not two, but three superhero stories (including one that won’t happen, to the gratitude of Andrew Garfield’s agent). While the rest of the world starts planning how to deal with the holidays, the machine that is Hollywood churns on. Here are the highlights of this week’s superhero movie news—and one bit about Sandman, which is getting grandfathered in because it’s a comic book movie and just give us this one, please.
SUPER IDEA: Tim Burton Admitting He Can’t Even With These Sad Superheroes
Burton’s original Batman arguably launched the current mode of superhero movies, but talking to Yahoo! Movies, he admitted that he can’t even with the whole thing anymore. “Marvel, they have their thing and there’s a certain formula to it all which seems to still be working,” he said, “but how many times can you say ‘you’re wearing a funny costume’ with the tights and stuff? That’s been going on for 20 years now. Yes, we all know that superheroes are damaged individuals. Maybe we need to see a happy superhero?”
Why this is super: Firstly, yes, yes please, happy superheroes would be awesome, thank you. Secondly, Tim! If you’re going to complain about super-serious movies, it might not be Marvel you want to go after. Guardians of the Galaxy and Iron Man are two of the most lighthearted superhero series out there—which, admittedly, might not be anything other than faint praise considering the competition, but nonetheless. If only more people in Hollywood agreed with this sentiment, then perhaps we’d have a full-on funfest with superpowers before 2019’s Shazam. (No, Big Hero 6 doesn’t count; no more motivational tragedy, please!)
SUPER IDEA: Tony Stark Getting a New Sidekick in Avengers 2
Guess who’s going to be the next Pepper Potts? Let’s ask former Robin Scherbatsky, Cobie Smulders, who told Entertainment Weekly her Avengers: Age of Ultron character Maria Hill is now a Stark Enterprises employee. “I like to think that Maria is at headquarters, trying to keep everything running as smoothly as possible,” she said, describing Hill as one of “many pieces to [the] giant puzzle” that is the next Avengers flick. Working for Stark “is a whole other ballgame,” she went on. “She doesn’t have S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel to back her up at her disposal, so it’s an entirely different vibe for her.”
Why this is super: Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts isn’t listed in the cast for the movie as yet—although neither are Tom Hiddleston (Loki) or Idris Elba (Heimdall), and both are supposed to appear—which means that Stark will need some kind of foil to his comedic smarm. If Smulders could handle the MRA-in-all-but-name that was Ted Mosby for nine years, then Robert Downey Jr.’s armor-plated superhero shouldn’t even make her break a sweat.
SUPER IDEA: Neil Gaiman Wants Tom Hiddleston for The Sandman
While many people believed that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was planning on playing the title role in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series himself, it turns out that might not be the case. In a recent interview, Gaiman suggested some alternatives for the title role. “I think the first time I saw Benedict [Cumberbatch] was as Sherlock Holmes, I thought, ‘wow, that’s incredibly Morpheus,'” Gaiman remembered. Although the actor is off the market because of his Doctor Strange commitments for Marvel, the writer added, “Tom Hiddleston is still out there! And the truth is, as far as I’m concerned, anybody who sounds English with great cheekbones can probably pull it off.”
Why this is super: While Hiddleston is almost as unlikely to play Morpheus in the movie as Cumberbatch—in addition to his own Marvel role as Loki, he’s also playing the lead in the forthcoming King Kong reboot—mentioning those two actors suggests that Gaiman, at least, is on a similar page as most fans when it comes to casting the movie. We can but hope that JGL ends up playing an androgynous Desire (or maybe that’s just me).
MEH IDEA: Marvel Wanted Control of the Spider-Man Movies, and Didn’t Want Andrew Garfield
Amongst the many surprising pieces of information released as part of the Sony leak was that Marvel Studios and Sony were, at one point, discussing Marvel taking over the Spider-Man movie series, with the character to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as of 2016’s Captain America: Civil War. Talks seemingly fell apart, but had things continued, Marvel reportedly wanted to reboot the character for the second time in four years, with an unnamed actor replacing Andrew Garfield under the mask.
Also apparently revealed in various messages and memos dumped on the Internet as a result of the leak: Captain America: The Winter Soldier directors Joe and Anthony Russo will replace Joss Whedon as the people in charge of the Avengers franchise with 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, and indie director Jeff Nichols is likely the man handling Warner Bros.’ Aquaman movie.
Why this is villainy: While Marvel taking control of Spider-Man isn’t a bad idea in and of itself (especially considering the disappointing Amazing Spider-Man 2), getting rid of Garfield feels like a mistake; isn’t he one of the few things from the current version of the franchise that people actually like? Whedon not directing the third Avengers movie, if true, feels like something that will turn into something down the line; if nothing else, it’ll prompt think pieces about the fact that Marvel franchises can’t seem to hold onto directors for more than two movies in a series. (Memo to James Gunn: Start thinking of sprucing up that resume after Guardians of the Galaxy 2.)
SUPER IDEA: Superman Giving Up Neck-Snapping in Next Movie
For those who wanted Superman to act more like Superman in Man of Steel, a report from Badass Digest suggests that you’ll get your wish in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Not only will the movie show him moving away from the killer instincts on display in last year’s Zack Snyder movie, but also coming to terms with being a hero to the world—or, at least a hero to America, with other countries apparently being a bit nervous about the man who can fly and sticks close to his Kansas roots. Can we dare to dream that this could be the brighter, more upbeat superhero that even Tim Burton could embrace?
Why this is super: As much as we liked Man of Steel, the prospect of a cinematic Superman who’s closer to the traditional version of the character is genuinely thrilling, not least of all because it would differentiate him from the many, many other big screen superheroes around these days. Also, given the evidence of Man of Steel, Henry Cavill should be able to play “slightly square” rather winningly.
SUPER IDEA: Suicide Squad Getting Its Amanda Waller
If Latino Review’s anonymous sources are to be trusted, David Ayer’s Suicide Squad has found its Amanda Waller. It’s not the rumored Oprah Winfrey, sadly, but it is Viola Davis, who’ll bring her How to Get Away With Murder steeliness to the DC universe as the no-nonsense head of the Task Force X and woman who sends supervillains to their death without a second thought.
Why this is super: Sure, we can be a little sad that we don’t get to see Oprah Winfrey boss around Tom Hardy, Will Smith, and the rest of the all-star cast in Suicide Squad, but let’s be honest: Davis is almost certainly going to be amazing in this role. And who could complain about getting more of this woman, anyway?
No comments:
Post a Comment