Welcome to the DC Films News and Rumors Weekly Update where we are still holding out hope that the Batgirl solo film is based off her time in Burnside. This week we’ve got several reveals from the 2018 Licensing Expo, potential titles for Wonder Woman 2, Hawkman and Hawkgirl potentially joining the DCEU and even more rumors about Ben Affleck as Batman. Let’s get right to it! Here is the latest update of the announcements and rumors that have released from May 18-24.
Let’s start with some Birds of Prey news. First up is the rumor that Lea Seydoux (SPECTRE) is on the shortlist to play Black Canary in the Harley Quinn-led team-up film. According to Fandom Wire, Seydoux is among ten actresses being tested for multiple roles in the film to see which one they fit best. One role that nobody will be testing for, if rumors are to be believed, is Catwoman. According to The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez, Selina Kyle is not part of the upcoming film. With Batgirl and Harley Quinn being the only truly confirmed members of the team we’re left to theorize who will fill out the ranks, as well as who the team will go up against.
On to Wonder Woman 2 news. Warner Bros. has gone on a domain buying spree, nabbing the following domain names which may point to a title for the sequel. The list includes: wonderwoman1980.com through wonderwoman1989.com, wonderwomanarrives.com, wonderwomancheetah.com, wonderwomanlives.com, wonderwomanminerva.com, wonderwomanpart2.com, wonderwomanpartii.com, wonderwomanreturns.com, wonderwomanrises.com. None of these titles stand out as anything really eye-catching, with a few referencing past Batman films. If anything these are just being bought up to avoid anyone else parking a website at the domain that may sully the Wonder Woman brand.
As for Wonder Woman’s costume in the sequel, the 2018 Licensing Expo brought with it a presentation from Warner Bros. that included a look at the new look via storyboard artwork. According to Daniel Eliesen on Twitter, the armor is “pretty cool.” Along with seeing the armor was a brief look at Cheetah who is said to look how “we think” she should look.
Meanwhile over to the Flash movie. Actress Kiersey Clemons told Conan O’Brien that she’s still going to portray Iris West in the new movie. So at least with all the changes happening with the movie the casting should stay relatively consistent.
Shazam! has finished filming but that doesn’t mean news from the film has stopped flowing. We finally got out first official look at Zachary Levi in costume at the 2018 Licensing Expo. The image shows our hero sipping a rather large soda, hinting that our hero is definitely not going to be even remotely grim or gritty. Speaking of the tone of the movie, director David F. Sandberg took to Twitter recently to answer some questions surrounding the film. Regarding the tone, he said, “I wanted him to feel a bit like an old fashioned super hero from the golden age of comics. Figured it would also make him stand out from the rest.” As for the costume, “He needed to be able to bend his body. You find out that a lot of things that look cool are very impractical and it takes a couple of tries making these suits.” It really seems like Shazam! is going to be a vastly different film from anything we’ve seen so far in the DCEU which should have us excited. I’m sure all will be revealed when a trailer for the film drops.
The Licensing Expo gave us one more bit of superhero goodness in the form of a new poster featuring Aquaman in orange-hued armor that hints at multiple costumes for the hero in his solo movie. Still no word on a trailer though, hopefully, we’ll see more this summer.
Ray Fisher who portrayed Cyborg in Justice League has stated recently that he’s up to reprise the role in a Teen Titans film. In a Q&A at Wizard World Philadelphia, Fisher said:
It’s like, stories with consequence actually really appeal to me, where characters are going through [a] recognizable struggle that I see in everyday life. So if that translates to Titans or a Cyborg standalone or Justice League 2, as long as that’s there, I’m sold, man. I’m good with anything.
With Titans coming to DC Universe and Teen Titans Go! to the Movies coming to theaters, I don’t foresee there being a live-action film version of the team coming anytime soon. Still, it would be nice to see Cyborg pop up in a future DCEU movie, especially since it seems plans for a solo film have been put on hold.
Twitter user @DanielRPK, who has a positive track record of revealing DC film news, recently posted a picture of Hawkman and Hawkgirl which may mean that DC and Warner Bros. may have plans to bring the duo to the big screen. After appearing on Legends of Tomorrow’s first season, the characters have since been missing from the CW series which would hint at bigger plans for the character. With the upcoming DC Universe streaming service coming we may see the duo coming to that platform rather than an actual film. Their previous live-action interpretations didn’t exactly set the world on fire, so a film version doesn’t seem extremely likely.
Andy Serkis has said recently that he would love to be a part of Matt Reeves’ solo Batman film telling JoBlo:
Oh, for sure! I mean, I’d go to the edge of the created universe with Matt [Reeves]. I mean, he’s the most brilliant director. I would work with anything with him again, y’know, I mean, I absolutely adore him and we’re very good friends, close friends, and I think he’s an extraordinary director so for sure.
For a second I thought it would awesome to see Serkis do mocap work as Killer Croc before remembering Croc appeared in Suicide Squad. Maybe Serkis himself could portray Hugo Strange or even the Mad Hatter. Really just spit balling here, guys.
Finally, it’s time to check in with Ben Affleck and find out if he’s in or out as Batman. This week we’re leaning towards “in” as rumors have surfaced that Affleck is signed on for two new Batman films with an option for a third. Now this news comes from Twitter user @GBRIELGRY who isn’t exactly an industry insider who also says that the Matt Reeves directed picture is “legit exciting” which is odd since all there might be is a script floating around. While I fall into the camp of Affleck staying on as Batman for at least the solo film, I’m going to be calling this rumor false, simply because there is absolutely no evidence behind it and I really don’t think Warner Bros. is looking ahead to a second and third Batman film when the first one hasn’t even started production. The studio has, hopefully, learned their lesson on planning too many films at once and then having to scramble to change course when one of the films fails.
That’s all for this week. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
