Ben Affleck Says ‘Justice League’ Will Be The DCEU’s Rebirth

After Zak Snyder kicked off the DCEU with Man of Steel — which I think is an absolute masterpiece — Warner Bros. hit some major bumps in the road with Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, the latter of which was an ultimate misfire. It came as no surprise when it became public knowledge back in June of last year that WB was going to lighten up the tone in Justice League in response to the negative critical reception of BvS.

While promoting his new film Live by Night, Ben Affleck was asked about the experience of filming the upcoming Justice League and said the film is essentially a rebirth of cinematic universe telling HeyUGuys:

“It was great, and there’s a lot of changes and a lot of new stuff. There was a whole feeling of kind of ‘rebirth’ and there’s an exciting group of actors. You know, Ezra Miller and Jason Momoa and guys like that, so much fun, and Gal Gadot who’s great and Henry Cavill. It was a lot of fun.”

A total rebirth within the cinematic universe seems like going a bit too far and signals to me the committee in charge of executive decisions isn’t confident with their creative direction. After cutting corners and rushing to catch up to Marvel with BvS — rather than building out their universe to earn an experience like The Avengers —, my worry is that WB will now try to essentially mirror Marvels formula with their own films. I greatly appreciated that WB went for a more mature audience with BvS as opposed to the glossy popcorn flicks made for everyone by Marvel. Don’t get me wrong, I love Marvel movies. But what works for Marvel, works for Marvel and isn’t exactly going to work for DC.

Does DC need to lighten things up a bit? Absolutely. But it doesn’t need to dramatically alter the tone of their cinematic universe. Take, for instance, the video game masterpiece The Last of Us by Naughty Dog. The Last of Us was an incredibly heavy, dark, and emotional experience. While at the same time it possessed both hope and humor. That’s exactly what the DCEU needs and it already has the characters in place to achieve that. Superman can be the hope while The Flash can bring the humor. The DCEU can be as dark as it wants to be, WB just has to balance it out properly and rather than base their creative direction off of the response to their films, remain steadfast as they push through the growing pains of establishing a cinematic universe.

SOURCE: HEYUGUYS

Ben Affleck Says Solo Batman Film is Not a Set Thing

Just last month Ben Affleck told Variety he was excited about the script for solo Batman feature which they were finishing up and that things were coming together over at Warner Bros. but that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. In an interview with The Guardian for his prohibition era film Live by Night, Affleck offered a rather alarming update for the solo Batman feature that shakes the very foundation of Warner Bros. current version of the DCEU:

“It’s not a set thing and there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great I’m not going to do it.”

With Affleck on the fritz and Zak Snyder exiting the DCEU after Justice League to take a break direct his passion project The Last Photograph before Justice League: Part Two, it sounds like the entire DCEU first established with Man of Steel is at risk of completely falling apart. It seems Warner Bros. has not learned their lesson after the overstuffed Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the atrocious mess that was Suicide Squad were critically panned last year.

While Wonder Woman looks very promising, I can’t help but be nervous for the film given that the committee calling the shots at WB (who obviously have no idea what they are doing) has ultimate control of what ends up being released. Clearly, the committee is difficult to work with as multiple directors have exited The Flash project in development which is currently in limbo without a director. Last year, David Ayer had his film completely ripped away from him to have Suicide Squad sent over to a trailer house to put together what ultimately became the theatrical release of the film. Some of the Internets top movie pundits have called out Warner Bros. after the recent announcement of the Gotham City Sirens film starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn as being reactionary and without a long term plan for the DCEU and it’s impossible to disagree.

At this point, I think this entire version of the DCEU should be canceled. If Batman was actually a decent detective and hadn’t killed people I might feel differently. I mean he didn’t even know Superman’s Moms name but Lex Luthor did? That movie got so much wrong it’s not even funny and I’d be willing to bet that by this time next year Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman of Warner Bros. Entertainment, will be on his way out if Justice League is received negatively.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

New Look at Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash in ‘Justice League’

Zak Snyder has already begun teasing images from Justice League via social media but now we have a look at Batman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash assembling and ready for action in a new photo released by Entertainment Weekly.

The photo doesn’t do much for me as I think Snyder is overly dependent on the use of green screen. Overall I think it makes the DC universe lack authenticity and feel artificial especially compared to Nolan’s interpretation of the Batman franchise.

“I’m super happy with the chemistry of my league of justice doers,” says Snyder who is currently locked up in the editing bay, readying the film for release next November before he exits the DCEU for a much-deserved break to helm his passion project The Last Photograph.

Justice League hits theaters November 17, 2017.

The film stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, JK Simmons, Diane Lane, Amy Adams, Amber Heard, Jesse Eisenberg, Willem Dafoe, Jeremy Irons, and Ciaran Hinds. Written by Chris Terrio. Directed by Zak Snyder.

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

SOURCE: EW

Ben Affleck is Taking His Time Writing Solo ‘Batman’ Feature

The DCEU had a rough year in 2016. After Man of Steel got the cinematic universe off to a good start, Warner Brothers took a few steps backward when both Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad were met with a negative reception, deservedly so. The reaction to BvS caused some last minute changes being made to Justice League which was going under the lens right as BvS hit theaters. Rather than continuing with the doom and gloom tone crafted in BvS, Justice League was going to opt for a lighter tone, injecting some humor so that the audience could have a little more fun.

When it was recently announced that Zak Snyder would be taking a break from the DCEU to helm his passion project The Last Photograph, making way for Ben Affleck’s solo Batman feature to debut in between Justice League Part One and Two, the pressure seemed on to get the ball rolling on Affleck’s Batman which has been rumored to start shooting in the spring of 2017. But Affleck has revealed he is not phased as the actor, writer, director is more concerned with the quality of the film than he is the release date. While promoting his new film Live by Night, Affleck told The New York Times the movie will happen when and if they get the right script together:

I’m a real believer in not doing, not reverse engineering projects to meet a window or a date, but rather like when you get the right story or you get the right idea or you get the right thing, then you make the movie. And so that’s what we’re doing, and I’m hoping to get that done and spending a lot of time on that, but I’m also working on other stuff. And if I could, if I can find it right then there’s nothing I’d love more than to direct a standalone iconic great Batman movie.

It’s reassuring to hear Affleck is more concerned with having a good story than he is with the numbers at the box office but his words to little to inspire confidence if his attention is in fact divided between Batman and other projects. Warner Bros. has a lot riding on the film, Wonder Woman looks like it will help the cinematic universe get back on track, but Batman is the single most important character in the franchise and if his solo film isn’t up to snuff, which it will no doubt be under heavier scrutiny after BvS, it could significantly dilute the brand and leave the future of this cinematic universe in question.

SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘Justice League: Part Two’ Delayed to Make Room for Solo Batman Flick

Instead of moving right into production on Justice League: Part Two after completing Justice League, THR reports Zack Snyder will instead take a breather from the DCEU to helm The Last Photograph in order to make room for Ben Affleck to direct and star in the solo Batman film that is currently in development. Details on the plot of Ben Affleck’s solo Batman film are scarce. Joseph Manganiello will co-star as the film’s villain in the role the superhuman mercenary Slade Wilson A.K.A. Deathstroke. Whether Affleck’s Batman will take place before or after the events of the first Justice League is unclear.

This move will also give Warner Bros. an opportunity to make some adjustments to Justice League: Part Two if it needs to do so based on the reaction to Justice League when it hits theaters on November 17, 2017.

The Last Photograph follows a war correspondent in Afghanistan who finds himself the sole survivor of an attack on a group of Americans. The correspondent teams up with a special ops soldier searching for his family, hoping to score the story of his life.

SOURCE: THR

Ciaran Hinds Cast as Steppenwolf in ‘Justice League’

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice hinted towards the arrival of Darkseid, Superman’s greatest enemy (D.C.’s equivalent of Thanos), several times. First with Batman’s vision of the post-apocalyptic future and then again when Lex Luthor spoke the words “Ding, ding, ding, ding,” after telling Batman the bell had already been wrong and that ‘He’ was hungry.

In the comic’s, Darkseid used a device known as a Mother box which was a sentient supercomputer that had wondrous abilities including healing, energy manipulation, and even teleportation by opening up a “boom tube” which is a slang term for an extra-dimensional point to point portal. The sound the mother boxes made was actually “Ping, ping, ping” but that’s just a minor nitpick against a film that clearly had no issue taking liberties with the source material (e.g. Batman being a MURDERER).

We actually got our first glimpse at a Mother box in a deleted scene from BvS which was subsequently added back into the Ultimate Edition (a major improvement from the disjunctive theatrical release). The scene featured Lex Luthor in some sort of alien goo bath as he communicated with an alien being which was later confirmed to be Steppenwolf, the uncle of Darkseid.

Back in June, it was confirmed that the main antagonist for the upcoming Justice League — the follow-up to BvS — would not be Darkseid, but Steppenwolf instead. Today, The Wrap has learned that Ciaran Hinds, best known for his role as Mance Rayder, the king beyond the wall in Game of Thrones assumed the motion capture responsibilities for the character.

Justice League hits theaters November 17, 2017.

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy.  Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat.  But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.

SOURCE: THE WRAP

‘The Flash’ Loses Another Director

It seems no director can keep up with DC’s film adaptation of the scarlet speedster, The Flash starring Ezra Miller. According to TheWrap, director Rick Famuyiwa has exited the Warner Bros. production, citing creative differences as the reason for his departure. A source close to the production told TheWrap that the film, originally slated for release on March 16, 2018, will most likely be delayed due to the loss of Famuyiwa.

Famuyiwa broke onto the scene with his indie hit Dope just last year. The director was hired to replace Seth Grahame-Smith who penned the script and also exited the project due to creative differences. Before that, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were attached to direct. Lord and Miller developed the story for the film, however. The pair left to direct the upcoming ‘Untitled Han Solo Star Wars Story’.

Famuyiwa and the rest of the directors exiting the project doesn’t exactly bode well for the outcome of the film but it’s important to remember that films made within the studio system are a shared vision between the studio and the director. No doubt Warner is shifting course after the negative critical response to the grim Batman V. Superman, but all this really means is the studio has not yet found the right director for the project.

Plenty of directors have exited projects before and the films have still come out fantastic in the end. Just two years ago director Edgar Wright left Ant-Man for the same reasons given by Famuyiwa and was replaced by Peyton Reed. We all know how that turned out so don’t lose hope yet. Plus if the movie doesn’t turn out well, we still have an incredible version of The Flash over on The CW.

Fans got a peek at Miller as The Flash in BvS but he will get his official debut in the DCEU in next year’s Justice League. That should be plenty to hold us over until the solo Flash film finally hits theaters.

 

Ezra Miller as The Flash in Justice League. (Warner Bros./DC Entertainment)

 

SOURCE: THEWRAP

Marvel’s Agenda Supports Gender Equality Says Exec VP

Marvel has long presented characters that have pushed the boundaries of all creation, suffered the indignity of discrimination, and fought for their rights on every battle field available, side-by-side, a mighty conglomerate front for change. Now, outside the pages of our beloved comic books, avatars for equality are rallying together. Gender inequality in Hollywood is still a real, live entity, and thankfully (speaking as a woman in the industry, myself) these issues are continuously being brought into the light to be discussed publicly.

Monday, at the Women in Technology luncheon provided by the Hollywood Professional Association’s Women in Post and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Marvel Productions’ Executive Vice President of Physical Production, Victoria Alonso, spoke about Marvel’s role in influencing Hollywood towards gender equality.

“We have had gender inequality for some time. It wasn’t always talked about ….  In the past year, it bubbled up and it’s no longer acceptable to women and some men. …Change is needed and hopefully we can make a balanced Hollywood for the next generation.”

With the recent, strong showing of female presence in the Marvel projects of late including the efforts of its Netflix show, Jessica Jones, which will feature an all women line up of directors for its second season, and Captain Marvel, the first Marvel film to feature a female lead, it seems gender equality is becoming reality sooner than later.

Other studios, such as Warner Bros. are also answering the call to action in Wonder Woman, due out June 2nd, 2017 as well as Justice League due out November 17, 2017.

“I don’t want to be the only [woman]  in the room,” Alonso added. “Our rooms should be 50/50. If any of you — men or women — can lift [women] up, we’ll all be better for it.”

Alonso was also careful to mention the men who were in attendance at the luncheon:

“You are important change makers. When you wonderful men say ‘balance is necessary.’ …You open that door and the product is going to be better [with varied perspectives].”

With continuing discussions revolving around the need for gender equality in the movie industry receiving much deserved attention, and the efforts of Marvel being so warmly received with the many successes of its heroines behind and before the cameras, I’m anticipating the kind of change that will lend an abundance of success for us all to share.

SOURCE: THR

James Wan Teases Swashbuckling Action Adventure in ‘Aquaman’

Warner Brothers and DC Entertainment caught the world’s attention when it was announced that Game of Thrones actor Jason Momoa would be starring in the title role of Aquaman. Add director James Wan (The Conjuring, Furious 7) to the mix and you’ve got something that not even the disappointing Batman V. Superman could stop from making truckloads of money. Even the most vocal of the Batman V. Superman haters are ready to hand over their hard-earned cash to see the former Khal Drago as the first ever on-screen King of the Sea (no, Vinnie Chase doesn’t count).

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Wan teased a swashbuckling action adventure quest story that is very much Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Romancing the Stone.

Wan also commented on what to expect from Aquaman and the recently revealed Amber Heard as Mera in the upcoming Justice League.

I think Amber and Jason Momoa, in their moments in Justice League, are going to give the rest of the world a flavor of what their own standalone movie could be. And that is just scratching the surface of what I plan to do.

It will be another year before we get to see Justice League and an even longer wait for Aquaman.

Justice League hits theaters November 17, 2017 and Aquaman drops the following year on July 27, 2018.

SOURCE: EW

New Look at Wonder Woman in ‘Justice League’

To celebrate the 75^th anniversary of Wonder Woman, Justice League director Zak Snyder has shared a new photo of Gal Gadot looking incredible as usual as Wonder Woman in the upcoming film.

Justice League hits theaters November 17, 2017.

Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy. Together, Batman and Wonder Woman work quickly to find and recruit a team of metahumans to stand against this newly awakened threat. But despite the formation of this unprecedented league of heroes—Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash—it may already be too late to save the planet from an assault of catastrophic proportions.