Batgirl Film to be Directed by Joss Whedon

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Well, call me Captain “I told you so.”  Granted I didn’t predict Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and director of Avengers, would walk into WB and pitch a Batgirl film but on the topic of the DCEU transitioning to more of a Batman shared universe my predictions have been well documented.  Hell, I’m the guy who pitched a Batman-centric shared universe back in June of last year, before Suicide Squad had a chance to come out and thoroughly cement the irredeemable nature of the DCEU.  Even then, the clues were there for anyone to see so long as they were looking. 

Regardless of your own opinions on the DCEU thus far it can’t be denied that Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Suicide Squad have resoundingly failed at their respective tasks of launching a popular new Superman brand, starting the DCEU, and continuing interest in the DCEU.  Given that failure, it makes sense DC/WB would start drawing down the scale and cost in these superhero ventures and low and behold, before Batgirl, of the 5 announced DC films with actual directors 3 of them were Batman-centric.  Now that number’s jumped up to 4 making it 2/3rds of DC’s upcoming projects that are likely to actually happen so let’s dive into this announcement and see what it could add to the blossoming Batmaniverse. 

Justice League Trailer Breakdown

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I don’t think there’s a more inexplicable upcoming blockbuster than Justice League.  Built atop the critically charred bones of the Batman v. Superman, the superhero team-up film looks to be the latest in a long line of brand new starts for the DC entertainment universe, except it’s not even that because that’s Wonder Woman’s job.  The movie seriously seems to have no actual reason to exist.  Maybe a few years ago right Avengers proved that superhero team movies with ensemble casts could be a huge hit, but now it just seems like a late visitor from a bygone age. 

We’ve already seen so many failed attempts to launch the DCEU the entire shared universe concept is tanked, Wonder Woman looks like an infinitely more interesting and thoughtful attempt to course correct the franchise, Zack Snyder’s vision for this property has been consistently underwhelming, and we’ve already seen a slew of garbage superhero team-up movies.  Justice League only seems to be in production because the studio owns some superhero properties and they’ve run out of Lord of the Rings movies to fill the void.  By all accounts, this film should be a rolling dumpster fire…so why does it look kind of fun? 

Film Land - The Future of the DCEU

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Let’s talk about the DC Entertainment Universe or DCEU as it’s known for short.  The last time I ventured into these uncharted waters I emerged with a general sense of optimism that the people being entrusted with DC projects were all good choices who could lead to a good future.  However, in the time since then, 2016 has thoroughly drained away any and all optimism I might’ve had so if you’re expecting a kind summation of how the DCEU might correct itself in days to come you’ve arrived at the wrong article. 

No, we’re going to be looking at the DCEU as it is and was it’s been promised, and that means accepting that forward is not where we’re going, and the future most certainly isn’t bright.  In fact, I’d dare hazard the guess that barring some kind of surprise mega-hit, like Avengers/Dark Knight level hit, I don’t think the DCEU will be following us all into the 2020s- here’s why. 

10 Questions for Man of Steel 2

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Edited by Robert Beach

In the wake of Suicide Squad’s monster success at the August box office, Warner Bros. has officially announced a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel. The sequel makes a certain amount of sense with the WB’s current approach to their superhero fare.  Pretty much from the word go WB has taken a very laissez-faire approach to their films, letting directorial demands fall as they are. And, at this point, accepting box office success as the only measure of quality they care about. 

After three high-profile culture flops, films that failed to make it into the collective psyche of pop culture, I’d be one to count my money as a victory too. I also speculated that this announcement might be more than just capitalizing on Suicide Squad’s moment, but actively trying to pivot from the general disinterest in their Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them.  We may never know for certain, but for now, here’s ten questions and speculations about Man of Steel 2.

5 O'Clock Shuffle - August 8th

Welcome to the latest installment of the site's news broadcast the 5 O'Clock Shuffle, coming to you every Monday with the news you may have missed over the weekend and a look at what's to come, all in just under 10 minutes.

This week I take a look at Suicide Squad's controversy and box office returns, Man of Steel 2, the prospect of new Marvel and Star Wars TV Shows, and a look at all the hot new DC Comics hitting the store this Wednesday.  

1st Justice League Trailer Analyzed

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Edited by Robert Beach 

Well, I can safely say I didn’t see this one coming.  Basically from its announcement WB/DC’s proposed Justice League movie has been the butt of everyone’s joke. It came off as a transparent Avengers rip-off not helped by the lackluster reception to Man of Steel, the distaste for Ben Affleck’s casting as Batman, and the unmitigated disaster that was Batman v. Superman. 

Even fans of this stuff weren’t onboard with Justice League, especially given the only member of the cast that seemed like a real slam dunk was Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman. Then SDCC 2016 happened, and we got our first look at 2017’s Justice League. Out of nowhere, the tables have completely turned.  Suddenly, even the most dedicated cynics have at least moderately relented. Everyone’s starting to wonder if this movie is going to be good? 

Supergirl Adds Superman to Season 2

Edited by Robert Beach

One of the bigger problems with Supergirl season 1 was the presence, or rather lack of presence, of Superman. Due to copyright issues, the show was unable to show Superman on-screen as a fully realized character. Instead, they were forced to keep him always just off-camera and never speaking. That plot device ended up getting very taxing by the end of season 1 and left the show with a big problem to solve going into season 2.

I already proposed some ways they could solve it, but it seems CW, CBS, and WB have hammered out an arrangement to fix the big issue of Superman as an actual character on Supergirl.  This will mark the first time Superman has appeared on TV since the end of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman in 1997 (Smallville doesn’t count as Clark was never really Superman till the very last minute.)  So what does this mean for Supergirl going forward? Let’s find out. 

Film Land - 8 Actors Who Should Play James Bond

Edited by Robert Beach 

At the time of writing, Daniel Craig has done everything outwardly possible to indicate his time as James Bond is at an end.  I say this because it’s Hollywood, and things have a tendency to be false from the start, so it’s still remotely possible Craig will have another film outing, just not terribly likely.  

With Craig now done with 007, ending on the spectacularly bad Spectre, the hunt is on for a new James Bond. As is ever the case with the recasting of one of pop culture’s most enduring fixtures, everyone is throwing out ideas. It seems every hat is ending up in the proverbial ring. As someone who writes about geekery and pop culture on the net, here are my top 8 choices for the next James Bond.

 

Venom Solo Film Announced

At time of writing, Deadpool is the highest grossing film of the year.  This kind of massive success is pretty much assured to have ripple effects, especially given the high number of mitigating factors involved.  Whatever you personally think of the character Deadpool is undoubtedly a novelty act, a C-list hero getting a spin-off dumped in February that no one at the studio level really believed in.  

Remember, this movie had to be WILLED into existence by Ryan Reynolds and Internet pressure and the big reason for that is that everyone assumed Deadpool was too minor a supporting character to sustain a film without some X-Men heavy hitter like Wolverine or Storm backing him up.  What’s more, Deadpool is the first superhero action movie with an R-rating we’ve had since Blade 2 to actually be a smash hit.  Both of these elements have combined for the latest post-Deadpool movie announcement, specifically that Sony is relaunching its Venom movie.

Panel Vision - Suicide Squad Guide

So, Suicide Squad is on the way and we’re starting to get a pretty good idea of what to expect.  After the unmitigated disaster that was Batman v. Superman following up a 2 year silence in the wake of Man of Steel’s soft landing with audiences, DC/WB really need a big hit with Suicide Squad if they’re to remain a solvent business going into the tail end of this decade.  

As such, Suicide Squad seems to be trying to pull off an incredibly tricky double act of existing within/expanding the established DC cinematic universe of Man of Steel/Batman v. Superman while also trying to add serious amounts of personality and levity to one of the grimmest worlds in cinema today. 

We’ll see if it actually pulls that ambitious goal off in the end but for now I figured I’d give you a guide to the various members of this cinematic Suicide Squad, owing to how little we’ve learned about them from the trailers.  The only folks I won’t be covering are Harley Quinn and the Joker as I suspect they’ve been around long enough and visible enough for everyone to already know what their deal is. 

Suicide Squad Trailer 2

This is going to be an odd year for superhero films.  Previous years have been defined by major throwdowns like Dark Knight Rises against Avengers or attempts from smaller studios to reassert dominance like X-Men: Days of Future Past or Amazing Spider-Man 2.  This year, we’ve still got some of that, in particular this is the year Batman v. Superman will go toe-to-toe with Captain America: Civil War, but there’s way more weirdness and offbeat entries this year.  In February we’ll be seeing Fox take a chance on Internet love with Deadpool, a movie that only got made thanks to the positive response to a leaked trailer.  Then in November Marvel will throw its hat into the fantasy arena with Dr. Strange. 

And in August DC makes its first attempt to implement this whole “movie universe” approach with Suicide Squad, about a team of super villains conscripted by the government for high risk missions.  Even amongst all the other weirdness Suicide Squad has been the odd man out, mainly thanks to a very bizarre marketing campaign that followed up the first, and pretty interesting, trailer with a ton of images that made the movie look both gritty and ridiculous.  Now we’ve got a second trailer and the film looks…well it still looks gritty and ridiculous but now in the best way possible.

Suicide Squad Gets Empire Magazine Covers

In case you didn’t know, DC Comics is looking to start up their own shared universe of films and characters to rival that of Marvel studios.  So far this shared universe experiment has been pretty abysmal as the sole entry so far is the terrible Man of Steel and the pretty bad looking upcoming film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  However, DC has one other flick waiting in the wings to make a splash in the DC shared universe pool and that flick is Suicide Squad.  Scheduled for release late next summer with David Ayer directing Suicide Squad is an adaptation of the DC universe team of the same name, a government developed squad of villains designed to be sent out on high risks missions with the thinking being that because all the squad members are villains they’re powerful but also expendable. 

The trailer for that film leaked earlier this summer to a lot of praise though none of it was from me because I actually don’t think Suicide Squad looks very good but we’ll get more into that later.  Anyway, DC seems decidedly desperate to remind everyone this shared universe experiment is going to happen so they’ve started actively promoting Suicide Squad with a series of snazzy Empire Magazine covers featuring tactical team leader Deadshot, played by Will Smith, team wildcard the Joker, played by Jared Leto, Harley Quinn, played by Margot Robbie, and, for some reason, Enchantress, played by Cara Delevingne. 

Zack Snyder Bringing Watchmen to HBO?

One of the great struggles of the modern geek age has been DC Comics continued quest for mainstream interest and relevance.  This battle has been raging more or less continuously since 1986 when The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen hit stands and transformed the comics landscape forever.  Since then DC has been desperately working to claim permanent cultural dominance through movies, TV, games, and all manner of other methods. 

This has come with obvious ups and downs but recently they’ve hit something of a major snag.  While Marvel launches themselves forward with hip new comics that showcase diversity and accessibility DC has floundered in numerous reboots and branding initiatives along with some fairly bad film failures like Green Lantern and Man of Steel. 

The only place DC seems to be winning its cultural battle is on TV as Arrow and Flash have cemented themselves as major superhero hits alongside blossoming success like Gotham and Supergirl and upcoming shows like Lucifer, Preacher, and Legends of Tomorrow.  Even though Marvel has its own successful TV shows and Image has tested the television waters a number of times this is where DC has really planted its flag.  So, I guess it then makes sense that they would try and wed their new success to their old success, by which I mean of course a Watchmen TV show.

Power Rangers 2017 Character Breakdown

Edited by Robert Beach

One of the things I like to yammer on about the most in these articles is the growing cultural force of ‘90s nostalgia. I love ‘90s nostalgia because it’s an actually emerging force that we’re witnessing take shape and dominance over the entertainment medium in real time. Additionally, I grew up in the ‘90s, so a revival of classic ‘90s fair is a lot more appealing to me than all the ‘80s reboots we got during the ‘00s. 

"‘90-stalgia" as I call it has been a cultural force for awhile now but 2015 was really the year it came to dominate our lives in a genuinely meaningful way through the smash hit of Jurassic World. I also wouldn’t be surprised if the Goosebumps film will be another major moneymaker to cement the ‘90s hold on the box office. However, the real crest of this particular wave will most likely be coming in 2017 with a rebooted Power Rangers film. Even though we’re still 2 years out, details are already filtering through with the first major announcement being a character breakdown sheet of the 5 main rangers. 

Batman v. Superman Empire Cover

As we continue the rising tide of build up for the new starting point to DC Comics cinematic universe Empire has devoted their latest cover to Superman and Batman.  This is in conjunction with Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice, one of the dopiest and most misspelled titles this side of Star Trek Into Darkness.  This cover marks the first time any official media has put the two stars side by side in addition to a much better static look at Batman then we’ve seen in any of the promotional stills.  There’s been the occasional trailer moment of clarity but this is different.  This cover is DC and their WB handlers putting their best forward with this film and introducing us to the designs and visuals of the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel.  And they look…kind of dopey and ridiculous, much like this entire production. 

Action Comics #41 Review

 

In my Panel Vision about Ghost Fleet I mentioned how I have a weekly job reviewing comics for Front Towards Gamer.  As such I'll be posting links to all new reviews on this blog as well just to let people know when they come out and what I'm reviewing.  This week I'm taking a look at Action Comics #41, a radical reinvention of Superman that features him being mostly depowered and completely ditching his traditional costume.  Check out the full review here.