DC Cinematic Universe Movies Confirmed

In August DC and Warner Brothers released their movie dates for their cinematic universe of superheroes from DC comics. I got none of my guesses right... which goes to show just how much I know!!

Warner Brothers have finally got their act together. When they released their release dates back in August I was happy to see that they actually had formulated a plan that they were willing to execute. Now we have those dates filled with confirmed titles. They are as follows:


2016 - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

2016 - Suicide Squad

2017 - Wonder Woman

2017 - The Justice League: Part 1

2018 - The Flash

2018 - Aquaman

2019 - Shazam

2019 - The Justice League: Part 2

2020 - Cyborg

2020 - Green Lantern


Its important to note that this slate of movies does not contain The Sandman, which is currently in development with Joseph Gordon-Levitt attached to the project, or any stand alone Batman or Superman sequels which are also said to be in development. Also, this universe does not connect with the any of the DC television series airing right now including Arrow, Constantine, Gotham or The Flash.

Obviously I'm super excited for Batman v Superman and I'm eager to see what ramifications that film has for The Justice League movies and the other movies within the universe. But at the moment the film which makes me the most curious as of right now is Suicide Squad. The film is set to be directed by David Ayer and it may involve characters such as Harley Quinn and Deathstroke. If you don't know who they are, Harley is The Joker's bitch and Deathstroke is DC's Deadpool. According to Wikipedia, they are "an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences". I cannot wait to see how they fit this in with the other movies and I'm really looking forward to the casting choices as many A-list actors (Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Tom Hardy etc.) have been linked so far.

Gal Gadot will be Wonder Woman and DC will beat Marvel by putting out a female led superhero movie first. The Justice League movie has been split into 2 yet there are other movies that fit in-between. I'm thinking that they will be 2 separate stories but it could turn out that they feed directly off each other. Either way those 2 films allow DC to show off villains like Braniac and Doomsday so that really is something to be excited about.

 

The Flash film will have no relation to the TV series but will see Ezra Miller become the fastest man alive. I haven't really seen him in much but I do have faith that he can pull of superhero well. I'm not 100% sold on the decision but I'm hoping I will be before 2018, I'm secretly hoping he has a short cameo in Batman v Superman and a large role in Justice League Part 1.

Momoa has finally been confirmed as Aquaman, we'll see The Rock play Black Adam in Shazam and Ray Fisher play Cyborg in his own solo film as well. Finally, Green Lantern will be rebooted in 2020 and I'm hoping, like Flash, we'll see Hal Jordan in Batman v Superman and the 2 Justice League films before this feature. This film is not a sequel to the 2011 Green Lantern, which is not a bad thing at all!

For me this news is pretty darn special and I don't really have any complaints with it at all. However there are still superheroes who haven't been cast and now confirmation on how this overall story will pan out and what villains we will see our favourite superheroes come up against. To see DC assembling their own universe makes me so happy and I'm really anticipating the head-to-head of DC vs. Marvel that's going to develop from 2016 onwards.

So those are my quick thoughts on DC's movie slate. I'm finding it quite hard to think right now as this news has melted my brain a little bit.


Thanks for reading,
Matt

DC Cinematic Universe Release Dates Revealed - My Predictions

A few days ago Warner Brothers announced that between March 2016 and June 2020, we will be treated to 9 DC comic book movies which will expand their cinematic universe. A few titles are expected to be announced soon, and before they are I'm going to try (and probably fail) to guess the film slate.

I've already talked before about how this is a massive financial gamble for DC/Warner Brothers but to me it sounds as if the studio not only has a long, thought-out plan, but confidence in it. We know for sure that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will kick off this slate of movies, but it will be doing it a lot sooner than we all expected. Warner Brother's decided that they did not want to financially compete against Marvel and Captain America 3, thus they moved the release date forward to March 25th 2016 as opposed to May 6th 2016. While that showdown would've been fascinating, both movies would have taken a hit financially and it was only a matter of time before one of them moved.

The other releases are a mystery, and I'm going to try and predict them:


March 25th 2016 - Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

August 8th 2016 - The Sandman

June 23rd 2017 - The Justice League

November 17th 2017 - Shazam

March 23rd 2018 - Wonder Woman

July 27th 2018 - Flash/Green Lantern team up

April 5th 2019 - Man of Steel 2

June 14th 2019 - The Batman

April 3rd 2020 - Sequel to The Batman, Man of Steel 2, Wonder Woman or Flash/Green Lantern (I can't decide)

June 19th 2020 - The Justice League sequel



So I think that the other DC film that'll come out in 2016 will be The Sandman. The project has a writer in David S. Goyer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is involved as well. I believe that Batman v Superman will primarily act as a conflict movie between Batman and Superman before becoming a direct lead in to The Justice League, hence the title "Dawn of Justice". The Sandman will be separate from the Cinematic Universe so I think it would make sense to release it in between Batman v Superman and The Justice League.

For months now Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has teased at a role within a DC movie. Many speculate that to be either Shazam (Captain Marvel) or Black Adam, Shazam's nemesis. I think the Shazam movie will follow The Justice League in 2017 and "The Rock" will definitely be in it.

2018 will see the Wonder Woman solo movie and the Flash/Green Lantern team up movie. I think it would be wise for Warner Brothers to put these movies here because audiences will only want to see these movies if they like them in Batman v Superman or The Justice League.

Moving on to 2019 and we have 2 huge movies. I think it'll open up with the long-awaited Man of Steel 2, an ACTUAL sequel to Man of Steel and that'll be followed up by a solo Batman movie, with Ben Affleck wearing the cape and cowl.

The first release date of 2020 was the only one I couldn't firmly predict. I think The Justice League 2 will come out in 2020 but before that we could see a movie which directly ties into it, like Man of Steel 3 or The Batman 2. Or it could be a Wonder Woman or Flash/Green Lantern sequel, if those movies are financially successful. I have no doubts thought that we will see a sequel to the Justice League in June of 2020.

However those predictions I just made could be absolute crap! We could see 2 more Superman movies and 3 more Batman movies for all I know! I honestly don't know but if the slate turned out like the one I predicted, I would be very happy.

We still don't know what movies they'll be. We don't know the order, the villains, the people who'll play the villains as well as the people who'll play the superheroes. We don't really know who'll direct all of these films. But what we do know is that only time will tell.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Leaked footage for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) at SDCC

Do you remember a month ago when DC's supposed film slate was released online? Well it hasn't been confirmed so I am a little bit disappointed. Then I saw some leaked footage, and told my self to shut up.


http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2014/07/batman-v-superman-dawn-justice-sdcc-footage-leaks-online.html


San Diego Comic Con is seen a fair few announcements already. 2 monsters have been confirmed for Godzilla 2, which Gareth Edwards will direct after he's finished with the Star Wars spinoff, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 has been announced for a July 28th 2017 release date, and we've seen various images from Batman v Superman, including Batfleck's new suit and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. But I just watched the leaked footage for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and wept fan boy tears.

The footage they chose was absolute perfection. Everything about it just made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and it literally gave me goosebumps. Yeah I'm such a nerd if you haven't figured that one out.

The footage begins with some fantastic war drums beating away in the background and it added an incredible amount of tension and set up superbly what was about to come next. The footage is Gotham city at night. There's rain, thunder and lightning. Batman walks up to the bat signal and turns it on. The signal shines in the stormy sky.

The camera then pans up from behind Batman and we see the Bat logo in the sky. A bolt of lightning strikes and it changes to Superman floating in the air. He doesn't look happy! He's literally floating their menacingly and his eyes are glowing red. The camera then cuts back to Batman with his glowing white eyes, he grins a little and it cuts to the Batman v Superman logo.

Say what you like about the film but my word this footage was f*cking awesome! I know it doesn't mean that the movie is going to be amazing but everything about the footage impressed the hell out of me. I love the element of the war drums and the burning tension going on. I love the fantastic imagery. I love the way it sounds, the visual look to it and the tone of unease, tension and conflict which they were going for. It is incredibly reminiscent of The Dark Knight Returns and that is what I want from this movie. I can't wait to see it.


I don't have a question to ask rather a command: watch this footage right now!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Leaked Trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)?

A supposedly leaked trailer for Batman v Superman has been released on the Internet and here is what I have to say about it. To watch the trailer, click down below:

The Batman v Superman movie is honestly one of the reasons I am still alive at this point and is probably the thing I talk about the most. A few days ago this trailer was posted on YouTube and it claims to be a teaser trailer for the film, possibly one DC were planning to show at Comic Con.

First off, it is a 100% fake. It's a well made fake for sure but for 3 things give it away:


1) The Logos - As far as I know I don't think that Syncopy and Legendary are involved in the movie. Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't they Christopher Nolan's companies? And if they are they wouldn't be on the trailer as he isn't involved in the movie. Sure he'll get noted as he helped to write Man of Steel, but he isn't really involved with this movie as far as I'm aware.

2) Batman's breathing - Batman looks a lot like he does in the Arkham games, which leads me to believe that they used the Arkham Batman while animating the trailer. That didn't really bug me at all as I knew it was fake but what did was how heavily Batman was breathing! Has he literally just beaten up a couple criminals, drove home in his Batmobile, ran down to the Batcave and switch on his monitors and at that precise time Zod's message was being broadcasted? I doubt it. He reminds me of when Cristiano Ronaldo prepares to take a free kick. I don't buy it at all!

3) That head turn though - It's pretty quick to say the least. No human being would dramatically turn their head as quickly as Batman does in this trailer!


I actually really like the trailer. I think it's a brilliantly constructed and edited trailer. My favourite thing about it is that it links together this movie and the events of Man of Steel, something I hope they link together well in the actual movie. I also like how it spoils absolutely nothing in terms of other characters and plot details.

So I'm not going to ask if you think the trailer is fake, but I will ask what do you want to see from DC at Comic Con? I want them to confirm their film slate, give us a few images of Wonder Woman and a small teaser trailer, something along the lines of this one.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) Cast Update

The cast for one of my most anticipated movies ever is increasing all the time, and I thought it were time to give my take on a few casting choices they have made since I talked about Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor casting in February.

I'm going to try and hit them all from most recent to least recent so I'm going to start off talking about the casting of Scoot McNairy. Scoot McNairy, if you don't already know, has a pretty impressive filmography for a (fairly) unknown actor. He was most recently in Non Stop with Liam Neeson, and in much more critically successful movies like 12 Years a Slave and Argo, the last 2 Best Picture Academy Award Winners. Scoot McNairy's casting is an interesting one because at the moment the studio are not revealing who they've cast him as, leading to much speculation. Do I think he'll be a Justice League member like Green Lantern or Flash? Potentially, but that isn't what I'm theorising at the moment. The way I see it is that he has worked with Ben Affleck before with Argo and we'll see him and Affleck together in October with David Fincher's Gone Girl (which by the way I'm excited for). They've been in a fair amount of movies together and they've cast Scoot alongside his friend who is playing Batman. You see where I'm going with this? I think he's Robin, or possibly Nightwing. This is literally just me speculating typing away on my laptop at the moment but if Warner Brothers really want to keep his casting a secret, then it must be something pretty big, right? I do have my own opinion Robin being in this movie but it hasn't been confirmed so there'd be no point in my rambling on about it for ages.

However there would be a point in me talking about Aquaman. DC's most unfairly treated and underappreciated JLA member will be introduced in the Batman v Superman movie. He will be played by Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa. I am really behind his casting because to a lot of people Aquaman is just a joke, as in a useless waste of space who can talk to fish. He's the King of Atlantis for Christ's sake and has a tonne of mythology behind him. I really think that with Momoa's casting that as soon as people here that "that guy from Game of Thrones" will play Aquaman, people will start to take the character more seriously. So to sum up: Excellent casting choice.

And finally way back in April Cyborg was cast and Ray Fisher was the lucky man given the role. My issue with this is not the actual casting (I'm sure the guy will do just fine) but rather what they do with the character of Cyborg in this movie. I would have preferred to have seen Cyborg introduced in The Justice League (2017) as opposed to this movie, only because I fear that there will be too many other heroes in the movie that will take away screen time from Batman and Superman. This is unless they just introduce Victor Stone as the football player who exists in the universe and don't actually make him into the superhero Cyborg. Only time will tell with what they decide to do I guess, and I'm interested to see if we get the man Victor Stone or the mechanical superhuman Cyborg.


So that's my take on the casting of Cyborg, Aquaman and the "mystery role" for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016). Question: What do you think of these casting choices?


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Is "The Batman" coming in 2019?

Anything DC, Marvel or Star Wars related these days gives me an unstoppable urge to write one of these posts. The news today concerns a solo Batman movie which may come out in 2019...

 Less than a week ago a rumour surfaced that "The Batman" could it theatres in 2019. This film was not "confirmed" in Nikki Finke's DC film slate scoop but with a large cinematic universe very much on the cards for DC at the moment and with Batman being as popular as he is, people will want to see a solo outing for the caped crusader at some point. This news is merely a rumour and has not been confirmed by the studio so keep that in mind.

Firstly I think I need to mention what I think about Ben Affleck as Batman. I hope he crushes it. The more hate I see towards his casting on the Internet, the more I want him to succeed. If the script treats Batman well in a way which we haven't seen before (as an alternative to Nolan's ultra-realistic Batman) with good guidance from Zach Snyder, he can absolutely kill it at as Batman. So I literally have zero complaints and I'm praying he does a good job in Dawn of Justice (2016).

Secondly, do I think 2019 is a little late for that to be happening? Absolutely not. We have the Christopher Nolan Batman movies to enjoy from now until then plus Batman will definitely be in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (duh!) in 2016 and then The Justice League in 2017. So from my point of view there would be no point of getting impatient about it considering it may come out in 5 years time, and even then that is the absolute earliest.

Finally, who do I think should direct the movie? Well for me it's an absolute no brainer and I would like Batfleck himself to sit in the directors chair and be The Batman at the same time. By then he'll have (I hope) an in depth understanding of the Batman character, plus he's such a talented director. His filmography includes Gone Baby Gone, The Town and Argo; all very good movies which share a similar trait as they are all directed fantastically. Give Ben Affleck the directing job if a solo Batman film were to come out in 2019, it's the obvious choice and the right one for me!

This is where I get creative and make some wildly wrong predictions but I'm going to say what I would do if I was given the job to direct the rumoured Batman movie which may come out in 2019. Baring in mind Dawn of Justice and The Justice League would already have come out by then, I would aim to do something slightly new. I would do a film with The Riddler as the villain. No... not Jim Carrey in green, question mark pyjamas but a really cool, smart and methodical Riddler which can test Batman on a psychological level, you know like the one from The Batman Animated Series. Actually, re cast Lex Luthor and make Jesse Eisenberg the Riddler. To me that would be a casting which makes sense! I'm not the biggest fan of Eisenberg as Lex, but I will say he would make an awesome Riddler, especially the one I'm envisaging.


If this movie were to surface, who would you want to direct and what villain would you want to see in the movie?


Thanks for reading,
Matt

DC Movie Slate Revealed?

 

Before reading, I suggest reading this article which was written by Nikki Finke a couple of days ago. The link is: http://nikkifinke.com/comic-con/. Before reading, I suggest taking everything with a pinch of salt as none of this has been confirmed by the studio, although it could've potentially spoiled the biggest announcement of comic-con history!

This picture is so cool by the way I had to use it!


Nikki Finke may just have revealed the biggest movie news of the entire year by possibly revealing what DC comics and Warner Brothers have up their sleeves for the next couple of years. When I saw this news a few thoughts came to mind. The first was something along the lines of this could be total crap. The second was OMFG this is amazing if this is true! The slate, which sees 7 DC films released within 2 and a bit years goes like this:


Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - May 2016

Shazam - July 2016

Sandman - Christmas 2016

The Justice League - May 2017

Wonder Woman - July 2017

Flash/Green Lantern team up - Christmas 2017

Man of Steel 2 - May 2018


Firstly, this could be total crap. If it isn't then there are both positives and negatives I think people can take from it. Optimists would say something like "Yes! DC and Warner Brothers have a plan and they're going for it!". More cautious people would say "Don't blow your load too quickly, and how on earth are they going to release 3 films a year?".

Some may also say that with this proposed slate of films that the superhero movie genre is becoming too saturated. However because superhero movies are one of my personal favourite genres I have absolutely no complaints. I mean, if this slate is true, I have 3 DC films (including Batman v Superman), 2 Marvel films (Cap 3 being a definite), X: Men Apocalypse and the Sinister Six to see in 2016. That doesn't bother me in the slightest, it sounds awesome!

As for the planned films, for me the chronology of their releases seems pretty good however I would be surprised if they all come out that close together. 3 huge movies coming out in one year would take an incredible amount of resources for the studio and it also does put pressure on the finished products to be good as they'll need to get people in those seats in order to cash in on a decent profit. Yet if this slate is true, we know Warner Bros have a plan, which they've formulated for the last year and is hence the reason why Batman v Superman was delayed...

What also is interesting to me is that DC are taking a different approach to Marvel in how they handle their characters. For example, it is almost a certainty that we will see characters like Flash and Green Lantern in Batman v Superman, or failing that the Justice League, before their stand alone movie. That means that we'll be familiar with who they are as a character before delving deeper into them when their stand alone movie comes out. I like this approach and I'm curious to see how it pans out and whether or not these somewhat unknown super heroes can get their time to shine in the public eye. The only character to date which we don't know if he'll appear in this slate is the Martian Manhunter, as Jason Momoa was confirmed as Aquaman recently and all 7 other core members of the JLA are set to appear in the slate.

After the epicness of Superman and Batman kicking each other's ass we get to see Shazam on the big screen. Shazam is also known as Captain Marvel, and is basically a small boy who turns into a super hero when he shouts "Shazam!" and is struck by lightning. There have been rumours for months that "The Roc"k could be playing Shazam or his nemesis Black Adam. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet however.

Sandman is going to be written by David Goyer and will involve Joseph Gordon Levitt, who I personally hope is directing and starring in it. Sandman is a character which lives in a separate universe from the Justice League (like the Watchmen or Jonah Hex) but I don't know who he is so I'm immediately excited to see the film! Hopefully it can be the superhero movie that is refreshing and puts a different spin on the genre.

2017 sees the Justice League film released which Zach Synder will direct. The film will see possibly 9 DC heroes within it fighting against an unknown foe, those 9 heroes being Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Cyborg, Shazam, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. This line up may be different but that is how I interpret it at the moment. You may think that's a lot, but the Avengers: Age of Ultron is set to have 9 heroes with the 6 from the first film being joined by Quicksilver, Scarlett Witch and possibly The Vision. If that film works, then I don't think we need to worry about an overload of characters!

The Justice League is followed by Wonder Woman, the Flash/Green Lantern team up and Man of Steel 2. Man of Steel will get an actual sequel which doesn't have Batman in it! Well he could make an appearance, but you know what I essentially mean! Again, I think these movies will bring more depth to characters we are already familiar with. Also Ryan Reynolds won't be cast as Green Lantern apparently, which is good as he can finally get the Deadpool movie made that we've been teased with for so long...

So my final thoughts on this proposed slate include various questions. Who will play the superheroes? Who will the villains be? Will we see a standalone Batman movie with Ben Affleck playing the caped crusader? If you have any thoughts on anything I've said or those questions please leave a comment!

Thanks for reading,
Matt