Friday, August 29, 2014

Batman v Superman-DOJ: Lex, Set Tweets, And "No Jokes"

Some interesting stories have popped up this week regarding Zack Snyder's upcoming superhero team-up film "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".


DOJ will see the return of Henry Cavill as Superman/Clark Kent, Ben Affleck will play Bruce Wayne/Batman amid lots of fallout--while Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane are set to reprise their roles as Lois Lane, Perry White and Martha Kent. "Fast Five" star Gal Gadot's playing Wonder Woman.

How big Gadot's role as WW is, is unknown at this point. Godot beat out Olga Kurylenko and Elodie Yung for the role. Thor: The Dark World" actress is Jaimie Alexander was also linked.

Some time ago there was noise that the production was seeking is a love interest for the Dark Knight in the film. The Type? A woman in their late 20s of any ethnicity. Adding that she be tall and "possess physicality".

The notice DID NOT give a name for the character, which led to speculation that it was anyone from Vicki Vale to Wonder Woman. A leaked casting call had fanboys thinking that the Amazon warrior was in the pic.

A love interest for Bats suggests that he will have a larger part in the film than expected.

Rumors started that reportedly confirmed that Jason Momoa has been cast as Aquaman for both DOJ and "Justice League".  In response Momoa posted a new photo via Instagram that seemed like a response to the chatter that could go either way (though most likely it's a denial) - The pic sees him  holding a pitchfork like a trident, but he's also holding up his middle finger.

Momoa has been linked to Warner Bros' upcoming DC Entertainment plans for a long time but he's been suggested for numerous other roles like Doomsday or Metallo alien hero Martian Manhunter who also happens to like Oreo Cookies. The imposing actor has been asked about the talk several times but has always denied that he's up for a role.

 Ray Fisher is playing the role of Cyborg in the film. Jeremy Irons has been cast as Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth. Jesse Eisenberg is playing Lex Luthor

There were reports that suggested that the chatter about former "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston was playing Lex in the upcoming movie were true were denied by the actor. In fact he and fellow early frontrunner Mark Strong were never offered the role. Tom Hanks was internally discussed but an offer was never made.

Instead, they stuck with a next generation' mandate. We were told that Joaquin Phoenix came up as a contender for Lex. The trade says that he passed.


Officially Eisenberg isn't allowed to say much, but he does tell Total Film (via CBM) that it was the psychology of the character drew him to the role:

"There are some indications of how the character should behave based on the script, and then as actor makes it his or her own.  I got to know one of the writers, Chris Terrio, and we were able to discuss things at length and figure out who this person is to create a real psychology behind what is, perhaps, in a comic book, a less than totally modern psychology. I can only say I've been asked to play an interesting role. A complicated, challenging person."

Eisenberg also talked about the unusual way he was offered the role:

"I realize how popular comic-book movies are, and now, working on They asked me if I wanted to play the part before they sent me the script. I'm not sure how it worked, but it's something I read with the understanding that I could do the role… You know, they don't just hand the scripts out. But I really liked it on its own terms. I would do it if it was for free and it was tiny."

Eisenberg admits that he hasn't seen many comic book movies (including the recent Batman trilogy), but his research did include watching Gene Hackman's portrayal of Lex as seen in 1978's Superman: The Movie directed by Richard Donner--he's well aware of the current wave of the superhero film genre renaissance:

"I realize how popular comic-book movies are, and now, working on one, I realize why they're popular - the story is really good, the dialogue is really good, the artistry behind every department is high, the acting is really good. So if they're all put together with that level of quality."

 Latino Review reports that four secondary villains are making an appearance in DOJ: Victor Zsasz Morgan Edge Amanda Waller and David Cain.

According to their sources, the serial killer Zsasz will fight with Affleck's Batman in an early Gotham City-set scene. Edge will be the slimy public relations head of LexCorp who goes toe to toe with Lois Lane on a TV talk show. Cain will meet with Luthor's bodyguard Mercy to set up an assassination. There's also another baddie  that is yet to be cast . In this incarnation Waller's a stern, intimidating senator who sees Superman as a threat and comes up with a counter measure to stop him.

Holly Hunter, Callan Mulvey and Tao Okamoto ("The Wolverine") have joined the cast. Specifics about their new characters are being kept under wraps. Australian actor Mulvey ("Zero Dark Thirty) has  been rumored for the role of an (unnamed) villain in the film for quite some time now....Scoot McNairy ("Argo," "The Rover") has joined the film. Nobody at the studio will confirm the news or reveal what the role is.

 Spanish site El Multicine which claims that "Looper"and "Edge Of Tomorrow" actress Emily Blunt is close to inking a deal for an unspecified role.

Batman on Film also suggests that the character of Commissioner Jim Gordon is in the film, however there's no word on potential casting or confirmation at this time. The character is front and center in Fox Broadcasting's fantastic looking new Fall TV Series prequel Gotham starring  , , and

More rumors ran recently that Girls co-star Adam Driver was the frontrunner to play the character of Dick Grayson, the post-Robin Nightwing incarnation in the film. The original story mentioned that two other actors are in the mix for the role. Less than 24 hours later "Gossip Girl" and "Easy A" star Penn Badgley and "The Perks of Being A Wallflower" and "We Need To Talk About Kevin" star Ezra Miller were said to be in mix for the part. Driver denied any such talk...With good reason since he was really up for Lex. He turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. Denzel Washington was also among a list potentials for Lex generated by Thinkmcflythink as were Idris Elba and.

Singer Justin Bieber uploaded a photo on his Instagram account showing him holding up what appeared to be a personalized script for the film with the hashtag "#Robin" but it turned out to be a prop for a Funny or Die skit.

The speedster The Flash is said to be in the script.

Meantime: The star of The CW's popular Arrow TV series Stephen Amell posted a "Justice League" comic image on his official Facebook page.  We already know that Flash (Grant Gustin) showed up there for a few eps before getting his own show this Fall (Watch an extended trailer). Could more of DC Entertainment's "Justice League" be coming to "Arrow"? For now the DC Cinematic Universe will NOT co-exist with the TV heroics...There are rumors about where the films might go as well as the  TV side of things...

"Man Of Steel" writer David S. Goyer was back on the keyboard but now--THR reports that  Chris Terrio, who won an Oscar for writing Affleck's “Argo,” has been hired to write the latest draft of the MOS 2 script. 

Goyer is in the midst of developing several projects including an adaptation of author Neil Gaiman's  popular comic book series Sandman, which he’ll produce with Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Christopher Nolan and Charles Roven return to executive produce the multi-hero film.

Sources say the new movie is going for the tone of the relationship and fight seen in Frank Miller’s 1980s ground-breaking mini-series The Dark Knight Returns.

The DOJ release was delayed a full 10 months for a number of reasons. As a result, the original release date of July 17th 2015 was no longer. The studio then targeted a May 6th 2016 release. They quickly inserted the fantasy Pan into that original slot. The sequel was to go head to head with "Captain America 3" ...Nobody thought that the comic book pics would ultimately share the date--Sure enough DOJ blinked--and will now open on March 25th 2016.

Once DOJ is completed  Snyder will helm the long planned Justice League movie penned by "Argo" scribe Terrio

Some cool location tweets also hit this week:





Lastly in my review of MOS I said this:

"...While I understand that Snyder, Nolan, and Goyer had to stay as far away from the Christopher Reeve era films--I can even understand changing certain aspects of said origin that were once considered sacred...A non spoilery example of what I mean would be the manner in which Jonathan Kent dies. In their effort to give us a more "grounded" or "relatable" Superman" MOS never really soars.  The tone of the film is indeed so serious that even as our hero does his thing you are not given the chance to feel relief or exhilaration--Instead we move on to the next big action crisis

The performances are OK here given what I stated above--Cavill wears the "S" very well--but is barely permitted the chance to smile here. The film is humorless save for two brief moments. I get it.. Realism. But even in the cold real world humor exists. I honestly think I chuckled more during Nolan's Bat-films and 2 of then had the word "Dark" in the title..".

Now  Hitfix reports that according to multiple sources, there is a mandate at Warner Bros. regarding any of the DC superhero films in development: "No jokes."

Wrtier Drew McWeeny says: "Last week was about the fifth time I've heard that there is a mandate at Warner Bros. regarding any of the DC superhero films in development, and it's very simple and direct and to the point. 'No Jokes'."

McWeeny adds that this mandate could be something else though - a reaction to the failure of  2011's "Green Lantern," a DC Comics film that most see as a failure--some of which is attributed to the film's humor . As a result you won't see Warners attempt to duplicate James Gunn's great film adaptation of Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy" style caper movie using a DC hero any time soon.

Sigh. Can't we find a happy medium and meet there? Daniel Craig's James Bond is more serious than any incarnation to come before him--but even he is allowed to crack wise every now and then...No one wants to relive Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin for sure. But there is humor in "real" life too. Just as many "serious" comic books have bits of humor and even satire.

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