Welcome once again to the DC Films News and Rumors Weekly Update where we have begun development on our own Joker film. This week we’ve got a bit of Green Lantern casting news, some behind the scenes additions to Aquaman and the Flash, and a rumor of the villain in Batman’s solo film. Here we go! Here is the latest update of the announcements and rumors that have released from May 25-June 7.
Twitter user @DanielRPK has floated a rumor that Warner Bros. is looking for an actor in his late 20’s to early 30’s to take on the role of John Stewart in the Green Lantern Corps movie. This means that actors favored to take the role including Idris Elba are off the table for now.
The casting rumor seems to conflict a bit with a recent rumor that the Green Lantern Corps film will feature Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz on a mission to rescue Hal Jordan. A director is seemingly locked in and will be announced at Comic-Con this summer.
Revenge of the Fans is reporting that Ray Fisher is unhappy with how Cyborg has been handled in the DCEU and might not want to return as the character. The solo Cyborg film seems to be on indefinite hold so I can only imagine how that feels for Fisher who was being primed for several movie appearances and a main role in the Justice League. It would be sad to see him go before really to get to dig into the character, but on the flip-side, it does seem that DC and Warner Bros. is moving away from the character. Maybe he can move over to the Titans streaming show on DC Universe.
Rumor has it the upcoming Birds of Prey film will include The Huntress along with the previously attached Harley Quinn and Batgirl and the rumored Black Canary. Huntress has been a part of the recently canceled Rebirth Batgirl and the Birds of Prey and the Helena Wayne version was the main character of the live action television show from the early 2000’s so it seems logical that the character would be included in the film.
We may have a good idea of when Wonder Woman 2 will be set if recent updates to their Twitter profiles from Geoff Johns and Patty Jenkins are to be believed. The duo shared a logo that includes the letters and numbers “WW84” which may hint that the movie will be set in 1984. Hopefully, they make good use of the setting in much the same way World War I was an integral part of the first film.
Suicide Squad 2 is going to have a Gotham connection as actor Todd Stashwick, who played Richard Sionis on the TV series during its first season, is teaming up with Gavin O’Connor and David Bar Katz to co-write the film. The actor previously worked on the webcomic Devil Inside, but this would be his first movie writing credit.
We previously reported that Peter Jackson was going to either be working on a Lord of the Rings TV series for Amazon or a DCEU film. Now it looks like the director is not involved in either project. In an interview with Allocine, Jackson said of directing a DCEU movie “I had no discussions about that. I’m not a fan of comics, I’ve never read any, so I’m not particularly interested in adapting one for cinema. That’s not true at all.” That’s a pretty solid denial of being involved with DC and Warner Bros. This is why we should always take rumors with a grain of salt until we get confirmation one way or another from those involved.
Diane Nelson, the DC Entertainment president, has officially left Warner Bros after previously being on leave from the company. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nelson was instrumental in developing new talent at DC including Scott Snyder, had a hand in DC Super Hero Girls, and also spearheaded the creation of the DC shows on the CW. “Warner Bros. has been my home for over 20 years with a wide variety of incredible professional experiences,” Nelson said in a statement. “The last nine — rebuilding and managing DC Entertainment — have been a particular highlight and privilege. With the support and talents of our staff and creators, I am proud to leave DC even stronger than when I joined it. I will miss everyone — particularly my executive management team — without whom none of our achievements could have been realized. And I am excited to take on my next professional adventure.” With all Nelson has accomplished it’s a bit sad to see her go, hopefully, her replacement continues her great work with the company.
Whether you love or hate the Shazam suit it went through quite a few iterations before the one they eventually went with. During an interview with Film Riot, director David Sandberg said “Yeah, there were a few iterations. And you sort of have to keep changing stuff even after we started shooting because you realize things… You shoot the first scene and Zach [Levi] is like, ‘You know, I can’t move my hands properly with these gauntlets.’ So we had to redesign that, or like the boots kept falling apart so it’s like, ‘Oh well, I guess we have to do something different there.’ It was sort of a constant process of updating and making it work better.” Personally, I’m a big fan of the costume they eventually went with and can’t wait to see it in action.
When will we see the trailer for Aquaman? *whispering* Soooooon…
When we do see the Aquaman trailer, hopefully, we’ll see some of the finished special effects created by VFX titans Industrial Light and Magic who have added Aquaman to their list of projects. These are the same people behind the Jurassic Park series so I think the underwater world of Aquaman is in really good hands.
Speaking of behind the scenes additions, Mark Digby, who worked on films such as Dredd and Ex Machina has joined the Flash film as production designer, Omega Underground reports. It’s good to see the film, which recently has been reported to have dropped the Flashpoint storyline, is starting to come together. Flash has some pretty big shoes to fill in order to compete with the TV counterpart but hopefully, the film will be a success and lead to more adventures for the speedster both on the big screen and on TV.
ComicBookMovie has posted a flurry of rumors surrounding The Flash film. According to the site, the goal of the movie is to tell a comedic story that doesn’t rely on the same twists and turns as a movie like Batman v Superman. The Rogues will be the primary antagonists of the film and made up of Captain Cold, Mirror Master, and Weather Wizard. Meanwhile, Jay Garrick will take on a mentor role to Barry in the film, which will be cool to see the two speedsters together. Now another rumor the site reported is that Channing Tatum is being eyed for the role of Captain Cold. Obviously, there’s no solid proof of this so take it as just idle speculation.
In New Gods news, it turns out that Ava DuVernay actually went to DC and asked to direct the film. According to the director’s Twitter, “I actually said: ‘Hey Guys, I wanna make a New Gods movie.’ Then someone said ok.” If only every DC film deal was that easy. As for when we’ll actually see the movie, DuVernay also said via Twitter that the film is in early development. This roughly translates as the movie is still a ways off, but, like with Nightwing, it’s nice to have a director passionate about the material.
As of this week, Ben Affleck wants to continue playing Batman in the DCEU. Check back next week when we’ll report on a rumor that he wants out of his contract. Then check back in two weeks when we’ll report that he still wants to portray the character.
If Ben Affleck does continue on as Batman in Matt Reeves’ film, rumor has it he’ll be facing off against the Penguin. Reporter Justin Kroll revealed “Take this with a grain of salt as things are constantly changing in the DCEU but I’m hearing the Penguin is possibly the choice to play the main villain in THE BATMAN. Sources add even if Reeves decide to go another route the studio could then make him the main villain in BOP.” With Danny Devito offering an iconic take on the character in Batman Returns we’ll have to see what director DC goes with the villain. I predict they’ll go more of a crime boss route for the villain with his look and mannerisms closer to the later seasons of Batman: The Animated Series.
Rounding out the news is Cosmic Book News reporting that Comic Con this summer will include an Aquaman panel along with the full trailer, Wonder Woman 2 details, a teaser for Shazam! and an official announcement that Ben Affleck is signed on for the Batman solo film. Obviously, if all these come true we can start moving forward from the constant rumors and speculation surrounding these aspects of the films.
That’s all for this week. Let us know in the comments who you would like to see take on the role of the Penguin and what version of the character you’d want to see in the film.
