Welcome to the DC Films News and Rumors Weekly Update where we’re still patiently awaiting an invitation to Bruce and Selina’s wedding. This week we’ve got character breakdowns and a potential start date for the Joker origin film, our first look at Wonder Woman in costume and a confirmed release window for the Aquaman trailer. Let’s get started! Here is the latest update of the announcements and rumors that have released from June 15-21.
According to Deadline, WB is looking to bring Gal Gadot and Wonder Woman 84 to San Diego Comic Con. While the movie is still early in its filming, this might be a great opportunity to start building hype for arguably WB’s most highly anticipated DCEU film. Wonder Woman would likely join panels around Aquaman and Shazam! at the convention.
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot has shared another image from the upcoming sequel, this one features Diana in full costume and ready for action. The costume looks to be a bit brighter and bolder this time around. I cannot wait to see it in action.
The Joker origin movie is expected to begin filming in New York City this September. The Todd Phillips directed movie is heavily rumored to star Joaquin Phoenix but we’ve yet to receive confirmation of the casting. However, character breakdowns for the film have been revealed courtesy of That Hashtag Show. Among the characters in the film are:
Penny: Supporting Female (60-74) Caucasian. Lower class, very attractive in her younger days, still feels that way about herself. But recently her health has started failing, and she’s nearly bedridden in her Lower East Side apartment which she shares with her grown son who just moved back home. She’s obsessed with her former employer and can’t believe that this is what her life has come to, that she has ended up here, like this…
Sophie Dumond: Supporting female (27-34) to play African American or to play Latina. Not beautiful, has a hardness to her, a single mother living on the Lower East Side, doing the best she can, trying to make ends meet; worn out by the grind of the city. She understands how the system is stacked against her and the people in her community, how unjust it all is for them. She’s just trying to catch a break.
Murray Franklin: Male (65-75) Caucasian
Randall: Supporting Male (40-59)Caucasian. Thinks he’s the wisest and most knowledgeable person in any room he’s in, tries to present himself as a mentor to everybody, but is really just looking out for himself, burly.
Gary: Supporting Male (30-49) any ethnicity to play a dwarf; Randall’s best friend, he’s good-natured and a buddy to his colleagues at work, one of the only decent people in the whole movie.
Hoyt Vaughn: Supporting Male (50-69) any ethnicity the old-school manager of hotel staff. He’s seen it all, and finds it difficult to give a shit about much of anything anymore
Detective Garrity: Supporting Male (50-59) any ethnicity. Police Detective in a city on the brink; a by-the-book cop, worn down by all his years on the force. He doesn’t care about or take into consideration any of the societal or political ramifications of his cases.
Detective Burke: Supporting Male (30-39) any ethnicity. A Police Detective and Garrity’s partner; he’s an asshole, who gets off by being in a position of authority. Being a cop is how he defines himself.
Cue rampant speculation on how each character ties into Joker.
Along with the character breakdowns we’ve also seen a rumor floating around that the Joker origin movie will tie into The Batman, the solo bat-flick being directed by Matt Reeves that may or may not star Ben Affleck. This lends credence to my theory that DC and Warner Bros. is trying to create it’s own Batman Universe of films outside the main DCEU continuity. This would be similar to how the X-Men have their own universe of movies separate from the main Marvel universe, though this would be due to creative reasons rather than an issue of rights to certain characters.
Speaking of the Batman movie universe, Nightwing director Chris McKay offered an update on the state of the DCEU via Twitter. McKay said “No new news. I’m excited by everything Walter Hamada is doing at WB/DC. And as both a fan and a filmmaker I can’t wait to see what @mattreevesLA is creating in Gotham City. If you love DC or Movie Superheroes in general this is a great time to be alive. Patience is a good thing.” It really looks like we’ll be seeing Batman return to the big screen before Nightwing has his shot.
It’s now officially confirmed that we’ll get the first trailer for Aquaman at this year’s SDCC. Director James Wan shared a new logo for the film via his Twitter account. The logo also features the tagline “Trailer Debut: San Diego Comic Con.” As for the logo itself which is bright blue rather than a dull gold, Wan told one fan that the order for a lighter, less grim logo came directly from him. Let this act as proof that the DCEU is really trying to shift its image away from the grim and gritty that came before.
That’s all for this week. Let us know in the comments if you think Batman should spin-off into his own universe of films or would you rather he and his supporting cast of characters remain firmly in the DCEU.
