Tag Archives: DC

Concrete Camarederie

Ben Affleck will portray the Caped Crusader in Zack Snyder’s Superman vs. Batman.  Though Affleck was Oscar snubbed this year as a director, the film he directed won Best Picture.

And let’s be honest, when it comes to directing films, Snyder is going to need all of the help he can get.

54.6% mean rottentomatoes score

Whereas Ben’s is 94.6%as a director.

“We knew we needed an extraordinary actor to take on one of DC Comics’ most enduringly popular Super Heroes, and Ben Affleck certainly fits that bill, and then some” said Greg Silverman, President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production atWarner Bros. earlier today. “His outstanding career is a testament to his talent and we know he and Zack will bring new dimension to the duality of this character.”

“Ben provides an interesting counter-balance to Henry’s Superman,” added director Snyder. He has the acting chops to create a layered portrayal of a man who is older and wiser than Clark Kent and bears the scars of a seasoned crime fighter, but retain the charm that the world sees in billionaire Bruce Wayne. I can’t wait to work with him.”

“We are so thrilled that Ben is continuing Warner Bros.’ remarkable legacy with the character of Batman,” continued Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution President Sue Kroll. He is a tremendously gifted actor who will make this role his own in this already much-anticipated pairing of these two beloved heroes.”

Warner Bros. has a longstanding relationship with Affleck. His most recent hit for the studio was 2012’s Argo, which won Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. Affleck’s next directorial effort, Live By Night, will also be produced by Warner.

The film will be penned by Snyder and Man of Steel screenwriter David S. Goyer, and is currently slated to open worldwide on July 17, 2015. The sequel will reunite Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill, Laurence Fishburne, Amy Adams and Diane Lane.

Man of Steel has taken in more than $630 million at the worldwide box office to date.

UPDATE:

Superman Vs. Batman will film in Detroit, Michigan.

Superman Vs. Batman 2

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Transcendental Symbiosis

Guardians 3

Marvel’s panel at SDCC primarily showcased an ensemble Guardians of the Galaxy cast including: Zoe Saldana, Benicio Del Toro, Lee Pace, Chris Pratt and Djimon Hounsou.  The Avenger’s 2 will be titled Avengers: Age of Ultron, which let’s be totally honest is multitudes better than Zack Snyder managed to do:

Albert Einstein himself plans on bringing depth and meaning to his Batman/Superman team up-film, so he titled the film:  Superman vs. Batman.  The guy’s clearly a genius.  Why Warner Bros. keeps hiring a man who’s “best film” garnered a 56% on rottentomatoes, is baffling.  As a matter of fact, the guy’s LAST THREE FILMS averaged a blunderous 43% on the oft-referenced meta-critic-website.  Now, I’m no rocket scientist.  To be certain.  But words like fail, and baddie; spring to mind.

UPDATE: Actors Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling are reportedly in front-running for a rebooted Caped Crusader.

UPDATE:

Vin Diesel will voice Groot.

Bradley Cooper may be Rocket Raccoon.

Guardians collage

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Righteous Nobility

Righetous Nobility 3

Man of Steel might literally “set the tone” for a linear cinematic DC Universe, as Empire Magazine reports that Warner Bros. will want Zack Snyder to direct Justice League: given Man of Steel’s success at the box office.

Which quite frankly makes me question if  WB executives even took the time to SEE the film they made with Snyder less than two years ago, entitled: you guessed it, Sucker Punch (23%).  Trololol.

In related superhero arms race” news, Thor: The Dark World released a pretty bossy one-sheet this week along with it’s first trailer:

Continue reading Righteous Nobility

Assembly Required

Assembly Required 1-2-3

Zack Snyder may not be as dumb as I thought he was, as Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov says Man of Steel will “set the tone” for DC characters “moving forward”.  Let’s hope then that it’s better than Snyder’s LAST film.  Entitled Sucker Punch.  Robinov went on to comment that rumors regarding Christian Bale being cast in Justice League were unfounded, and said that Nolan’s Batman films do indeed “standalone”.

MEANWHILE:

Marvel will “keep taking risks” creatively in it’s Phase Two says Marvel studio head honcho Kevin Fiege:

The official slate of Marvel’s Phase Two is: Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Guardians of the Galaxy, culminating in The Avengers 2.  Word on the streets is a key piece of the Marvel villain puzzle is none other than the Mad Titan Thanos.  Who? Let’s take a look.

Continue reading Assembly Required

Concrete Comradery

Concrete Comradery - 2

Shortly after trashing it’s first script, Justice League has been given new life as rumor has it Christian Bale is in talks to reprise his role as The Dark Knight in a JLA film.  Similar rumors dictate that Christopher Nolan has been named “godfather” of the entire DCU at WB Studios.  While both news stories are rumors and should be taken lightly, Justice League is looking a lot better than it was a couple weeks ago.

Meanwhile, a source claiming to have seen an early screening of Man of Steel is claiming that it is “the best movie of the year”.  Which let’s be honest is pretty stupid because it’s only March, and the movie isn’t even out yet.  Nevertheless, many think a Superman/Batman film starring Bale/Cavill is the most effective segway into an ensemble Justice League film.  And they make some pretty good points.  Why do Superman and Batman make such a powerful dynamic duo?  Because an  Artisan/Guardian symbiosis is a powerful thing.  Let’s take a look.

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Symbiotic Justice

Warner Bros. is ramping up their JLA efforts after Ben Affleck recently shot down reports that he might direct the film.  The studio has reportedly reached out to The Matrix Trilogy writers’ and directors’ Andy and Lana Wachowski to take the reigns of a Justice League of America film;

“According to Moviehole, the sibling directors behind the Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer and the upcoming sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas are on the studio’s list of possible contenders to helm JLA, which was scripted by Gangster Squad’s Will Beall. The site claims the studio is “apparently jazzed with Cloud Atlas, and love that it’s as much a spectacle as it is a showcase for the immense ensemble involved, so it makes sense the W’s are under consideration. Justice League needs to be as big on character, as it does bells & whistles, and the Wachowski’s could probably offer that.”

It’s no secret that Joss Whedon put a large emphasis on “character” in The Avengers, and given the films success, it seems WB will be attempting to follow suit.  Given DC’s roster, it seems like they’ll have a good shot at giving Marvel a run for it’s money.  What roster?  You ask?  Let’s take a look.

Continue reading Symbiotic Justice

Marvel's 'Phase Two'

Marvel Entertainment Inc. brought a strong presence to NYCC (New York Comic-Con) this weekend to further promote their beloved and blossoming potential blockbuster movie franchise The Avengers.  The panel showed some never-before-seen footage and did some Q&A.  Marvel head honcho Kevin Fiege then opened up to fans about how happy he was with the direction the studio was going, culminating in an Avengers film.  The Avengers however, as Fiege explained, is certainly not the end of the road for Marvel/Disney.

Fiege hinted at the fact that ‘phase two of the Marvel Movie Universe‘ will include another round of solo films, and then culminate in a second Avengers film.  That however, is not all.  Marvel reportedly has five projects currently in development.  Iron Man 3 is in pre-production for a 2013 release attached to director Shane Black.  Thor 2 will begin pre-production soon and just picked up director Patty Jenkins (Monster).  An Ant-man film is ‘still nebulous but definitely in the works’.  Guardians of the Galaxy and Inhumans films are also reportedly in the works.  With so much success in their mainstream characters it seems a bit risky to put out obscure characters like some mentioned above.  Lucky enough for Marvel it has an insurance policy: The Walt Disney Company.

Disney bought Marvel about two years ago for over $4 billion.  While things indeed seem to be going well for both companies since the acquisition, Marvel has made deals with other studios to distribute some of their movies (spider-man, x-men, daredevil, etc.) making the Avengers and its four superheroes a coveted ‘in-house’ Marvel enterprise.  Without kissing too much Walt-Disney/Marvel ass, let’s take a look at the first avenger to make it to the big screen, and also by far the most box office successful avenger: Iron Man.

Anthony Edward Stark is the son of industrialist and inventor Howard Stark, and demonstrated his mechanical aptitude and extraordinary inventive genius at an early age.  Inheriting his father’s company Stark Industries, Tony blossomed into a billionaire industrialist, and an ingenious engineer.  With a highly ‘innovative attitude‘, an ‘entrepreneurial spirit‘, and a ‘charming capacity‘ to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative: Tony Stark is undoubtedly an Inventor Rational.  Indeed the Inventor‘s tendency to depend on their capability and inventiveness can get them in trouble at times.  Tony took this concept a bit too far when he ignored security concerns and ended up with shrapnel lodged in his chest.  In classic Inventor Rational fashion, Tony used his creative and inventive genius to devise a mechanical suit that saved his life.  And thus, Iron Man was born.  Indeed Tony is constantly searching for new projects, as we will no doubt see in the Avengers, and always tinkering with and improving his mechanical suit.  Indeed given their exceptional propensity to innovate, Inventors have a tendency to live their lives somewhat on the brink of disaster: as evidenced by Tony Stark’s perpetuated struggles with alcoholism.  Tony Stark having a somewhat reckless and at-times irresponsible persona in the comics goes hand-in-hand of course with casting the likes of Robert Downey Jr.  The Armored Avenger can be seen amongst his super squad May 2012, and again by himself May 2013.

Quote1.png My kingdom for a Radio Shack. Quote2.png

Anthony Stark (Earth-616)

While Marvel/Disney seems to have it’s sh*t together, DC/Warner Bros. is still searching for solid cash cows to replace the likes of Harry Potter and The Dark Knight.  While they do have The Hobbit films coming up, they simply cannot afford setbacks like Green Lantern if they actually want to directly compete with The Avengers and it’s four characters with already well-developed fan-bases.

Marvel/Disney seems poised to keep churning out inter-related superhero blockbusters while DC/Warner Bros. still has yet to find solid JLA (Justice League of America) footing.  In the epic battle for Hollywood supremacy that is Marvel/Disney vs. DC/Warner Bros.Marvel/Disney is cleaning house.

Marvel's Super-Squad Assembled

The Avengers Official Trailer was released yesterday online giving us our first glimpse of Marvel Studios‘ purported blockbuster movie franchise.  Given such thoroughly exciting news lets take a look at Marvel’s four flagship superheroes and the steadfast Logistical Administrator that leads them into battle.

Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures have strategically released independent films providing backstory for the Avengers’ four major characters.  Those being Iron Man, the incredible HulkCaptain America, and Thor.  And like any dynamic and complex set of major characters, these four ‘Avengers’ together represent all four basic personality types.  Captain America is of course the stalwart Guardian who defends justice with his iconic shield.  Hulk is likewise the emotional and impulsive Artisan who transforms into a raging beast when angered.  Iron Man is the Rational industrialist and ingenious engineer that utilizes a mechanical suit.  Finally Thor is the championing Idealist God of Thunder who fights ‘for Asgard’ and is constantly learning life’s lessons.  Together, they assemble to fight against threats to humanity.  Much like the four temperaments assemble to do the same.

Captain America is the hard-hitting Guardian who actually leads The Avengers into battle, with his infamous battle-cry ‘Avengers Assemble!‘.  A born leaderdefending  justice with his iconic indestructible shieldThe Sentinel of Liberty is undoubtedly a Supervisor Guardian.  Strongdependable, and hard-working: ‘Cap’ is a poster-boy for the ideals of our nation, a nation that was indeed founded by a Guardian.  Dutiful, commanding, and disciplined Captain America is the vocal leader of the Avengers, and knows like all Supervisors do that one must ‘lead by example‘.  The ‘first avenger‘, Steve Rogers is very much the back-bone of The Avengers, much like Guardians are the back-bone of society.

DC/Warner Bros. has made it known that it has similar aspirations to assemble it’s own superhero team in a similar way and put a Justice League Film together by 2013 in order to directly compete with Marvel’s The Avengers.  One could argue that they are slightly behind schedule, since Chris Nolan’s Batman franchise will not be connected with a JLA (Justice League of America) film, and neither will Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel.  That leaves DC with only one established character in the Justice League Universe that of which being Green Lantern who’s film without being too cynical was quite the thespian blunder.  Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov has made it clear however that a Justice League film in 2013 is the studios top priority despite all evidence to the contrary.  Earth’s Greatest Hero’s assemble in theater near you on May 4, 2012.