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

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

Gal Gadot will be Wonder Woman in the Man of Steel Sequel (2015)

Its is admittedly a few days old, but I wanted some time to think about this new piece of news concerning the Man of Steel sequel, and the future of Warner Brother's DC adventure into the Justice League movie. Hopefully, this is short but sweet...

Warner Brothers recently announced that Wonder Woman will be appearing in the 2015 Man of Steel sequel, which further adds on to the returning Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Affleck as Batman, forming our superhero ensemble.

Naturally, I have my own opinion on this news so lets delve straight in...

Gal Gadot playing Wonder Woman does not bother me at all. All I am concerned with in terms of her is whether or not she can put in a good performance. Hopefully the script can be well handled enough so that she can play the head strong powerhouse that is Wonder Woman in a way where audience members can care about her and comic book buffs won't be disappointed.

It is well known in the movie industry that actors/actresses can change their bodies on a regular basis determined by the roles they are preparing for. The most drastic, and obvious, example is Christian Bale. Transforming from his dangerously skinny character from the Machinist into the big, bulky Bruce Wayne for Batman Begins shows that with enough determination and commitment, it can be done.

I have no qualms over Gal Gadot in terms of this area. It really is awful that we should judge actors/actresses by their physical appearance for the roles they'll play, but that is the harsh reality of it. Naturally she is a skinny person and will have to bulk up a fair bit to nail down the physical aspect of her much-loved character.

It isn't the casting choice that worries me, rather the casting itself!

Having Wonder Woman in this movie solidifies the fact that DC really want to get this Justice League movie out, and get it out as soon as they can. As a fan of comic book movies and a fan of good movies all together, for heaven's sake do not rush! The source material must be treated with care and if these 2 movies are put out before any real refining is done there could be a lot of trouble!

I have my own opinions on how the movie should be and I pray with all my heart that it is an excellent, memorable summer movie. But, currently I am slightly worried for DC and Warner Brothers. If they're getting these movies out quickly they'll inevitably send out a vibe of "desperation".

The guys at Disney and Marvel have their cinematic universe all planned out plus Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World and The Avengers all made a stupid amount of money at the international box office. They're going along brilliantly.

DC, please take your time!!

However, if Wonder Woman must be in this movie then I would rather they handled it this way. Personally, I'm not really that interested in having a sole Wonder Woman movie. Yes I think that she is a complex and an interesting character who could do it, but I'm not that bothered to be honest.

If Wonder Woman must be put it, put her in it enough so that we can care about her without it becoming the Wonder Woman show. If she isn't in it enough, this'll all seem pointless! If it was my choice, I would have her in a "Black Widow/Iron Man 2" situation. That's probably not a good film to draw a comparison with, but I do want a similar situation with Wonder Woman. It could be that she is slightly involved with the Batman vs. Superman thing, but comes more to the forefront in future movies, which will 99% likely be the Justice League movie.

I hope DC handles this well, and the only way they can is to listen to the fans, respect the source material, take their time and produce a good script where our favourite comic book heroes can shine.

And yet again we have another reason to look forward to this movie and the 2015 year for movies in general. Hopefully we get a Lex Luthor announcement some time soon!


Thanks for reading,
Matt

Man of Steel Movie Review

I am sure that most of you have already seen Zach Snyder's Man of Steel, but if you have not, I'm going to make it my mission to get you to go and see it before it comes out on DVD and Blu-ray. Also, if you want a review which is not spoiler filled like my "Man of Steel 2 News" post then this is the right place.

The pressure was on for this film to not only be good but to be one of the best movies of the year. Well, is it? I think so, definitely in the top 2 films of seen already this year. This film has had mixed reception from various different people but this review is going to be a very positive one. This is mainly because I enjoyed it just as much as I have any other movie.

Man of Steel is more like 2 different movies; 1 half is the origin story and the other half a battle against General Zod and the Kryptonians. Being an origin story we are delightfully treated to an exciting and interesting opening 15 minutes on Superman's home world Krypton. Krypton itself is visually stunning, the special effects here (and in other parts) are incredibly impressive and look absolutely beautiful. Krypton is also interesting as it has it's own culture and social systems, which is very interesting to watch immersing you within the film. I didn't think it dragged on Krypton, I wanted to see the planet and I got what I came for.

The next part is the most fascinating of the entire film. Superman (Clark Kent/Kal El) dealing with his current life. He lives a nomadic lifestyle, jumping from job to job every time someone would suspect anything of his supernatural powers. These are also some of the funniest parts of the film. When a man in a bar tries to push him over and he doesn't budge, I laughed out loud!

What makes a good origin story is being able to relate to the character. His childhood and all of the relevant events are shown to us in flashbacks. This is generally quite a risky thing to do but if it is executed well then it's not a problem. Thankfully, it is executed to perfection. All credit has to go to the editors, directors and producers for making this section of the film the most fascinating and engaging.

In terms of character development, the entirety of it centres around Kal El, as it should be in an origin story like this. As for Cavill as Superman, he owns the role! He looks the part, you really get the sense that although his genetic code is Kryptonian, he is still very much a human being. He is literally all I could have wanted Superman to be. He's genuinely a good guy, but because of his powers he has the right amount of cockiness to go with it, which again provides much needed comic relief in a film like this.

The rest of the cast all do solid jobs. Apart from Cavill, the other stand out performers were Kevin Costner as Jonathon Kent and Russell Crowe as Jor El. Both of these actor's contributions help add to Cavill's character which again add to, what I feel, is the best part of the movie.

As for Amy Adams as Lois Lane, she was good in the role but did not own the role like the 3 above. The romance between her and Superman was believable, but I can't help but feel it to be slightly rushed. There was potential for a romance to blossom in future films but they jumped straight into it. Diane Lane as Martha Kent also did a sound job.

Now we move on to part 2 of the movie, the showdown. The adversary in this film is General Zod, played by Michael Shannon. He did not own the role. Having said that, he was intense when he needed to be and was evil when required also which is what you need from a Superhero movie villain. I can't help but think that Zod seemed less of a great villain because of Faora, played by Antje Traue. She kicked ass, she was evil yet had that efficiency which just made her more of a threat. Faora was great.

I have touched on the characters, acting, the special effects, Romance, Cavill as Superman and editing thus far.



Now I have to talk about part 2, the crazy battle/action sequences. The special effects and audio really bring you into the action and give you thrills and excitement. However, shaky cameras seem to take you out of the experience when you notice it. Also, with the amount of action sequences there was I can't help but feel it was way too much. Too much action devalues the currency of it, making it less enjoyable.


That is my only major gripe. As for the humour I'm split half and half. Some parts were genuinely funny, others seemed to be quite cheesy. However, I liked some of the Easter Eggs in the film, I want to see more from this franchise (which we are getting).

As for the soundtrack, incredible. Zimmer does a good job at accompanying all of the varied scenes and emotions in the film with a varied and pulsating soundtrack.


To summarise, the first half was a well written, well edited and well acted origin story which relates you to Cavill's character and sucks you into the story. The soundtrack, also breath-taking. One of Hans Zimmer's best pieces of work. The second half had enjoyable action scenes, audio and special effects that immerse and excite you into the story but shaky cam and too much action do bring the film down.

I enjoyed the hell out of this movie, I went to see it twice! Go and see it for yourself.

Rating - A

1 sentence summary - The Superman movie we deserve and finally have!


So, have I been too generous? Did you enjoy Man of Steel or did you not? Whatever you may think, please leave a comment.

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Man of Steel 2 News/Ideas

 

So Man of Steel 2 was announced at Comic Con a couple of days ago. I thought, this is the absolute perfect thing to do my first "film" post on. Let's just say that the news in the announcement made me cry a river of fan boy tears. Why? Type "Man of Steel 2" into YouTube and it should become fairly apparent. Apologies for no video clip, but it was causing issues so I had to remove it! Also, be aware that this post may contain Man of Steel spoilers so if you haven't seen it then I advise you do see it and then read on!

 

 



Man of Steel 2 Announcement (Comic Con 2013)

There you have it. Still can't believe it's happening! In Man of Steel 2, 2015, Superman will be accompanied by Batman on the silver screen for the very first time!

What is also quite surprising is that Batman will be squaring off with Superman, he is going to be a villain. This is going to be incredibly interesting to say the least! However, Zach Snyder must be very careful in how he handles this situation unless he wishes to "do an Iron Man 3" and seriously upset the fans of DC comic book lore. But, in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy (particularly in the Dark Knight), Nolan played on the idea that Batman was not a hero, but rather a masked vigilante working above the law in order to stop the Joker. So, making a hero seem less heroic has been done before, but it has to be done with great care to pull it off well.

Lexcorp and Wayne Enterprises logos, both seen in Man of Steel

Before this news was announced we knew that Batman was in this cinematic universe. A "Wayne Enterprises" symbol is located on a satellite where Superman and Zod are having their final showdown. However, this Batman is different to the Christian Bale Batman portrayed in the Dark Knight trilogy which surely must mean that the Dark Knight trilogy is it's own thing. Batman will need a new actor to play him. If they hire George Clooney though I ain't gonna be too pleased! Personally, I'm not sure who should play him but what I am sure of is Zach Snyder will make his choice very carefully indeed.

Another Easter Egg in Man of Steel that many people noticed was a "Lexcorp" truck, again found in Superman and Zod's final showdown. Will he be in Man of Steel 2? Will Kryptonite be in the mix as well? I would like to think so as Kryptonite will inevitably pop up sooner or later. As for Lex, he is a business man like Bruce Wayne, could this see Batman possibly team up with Lex Luthor in an effort to bring down Superman? I could see that happening. Why? Because at the end of Man of Steel, one of the army Generals that Superman helped still questioned Superman's allegiances. Could the rest of Metropolis and the Earth think the same?

Lex Luthor, Superman's arch nemesis

Speaking of Metropolis, it gets annihilated. This must mean the death's of thousands and billions of dollars would be needed to repair all of the catastrophic damages. Bruce Wayne and Lex Luthor are both fairly wealthy, could this be the reason they decided to team up, to rebuild the city?

Ultimately, I have no idea what is going to happen but at last we have a DC cinematic universe to compete alongside Marvel's. Hopefully, Batman and Superman could end the film as friends and Man of Steel 3 could see the addition of Wonderwoman to complete the Justice League Trinity. That movie could also see a cool Riddler as the villain (not Jim Carrey in tights) and then after that we could see a Justice League movie at last!

The 3 figurehead heroes of the Justice League

Those are just random thoughts of mine though. So, Man of Steel 2 is either gonna fail or be an unrivalled success! What do you guys think? What do you also hope for in this DC cinematic universe? Please comment and share your opinions..

Thanks for reading, any constructive criticism is also welcome.
Thanks again,
Matt