Last week, director James Gunn has revealed on Twitter that he is planning on reuniting with cinematographer Henry Braham for Guardians of The Galaxy 3 after he finishes work on The Flash. Adding that he is working with Michael Bonvillian (Cloverfield, Zombieland) for his HBO Max series Peacemaker, a spinoff of The Suicide Squad.
Henry previously worked with Gunn on The Suicide Squad and Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2.
While when production begins in Atlanta is a little uncertain but it’s aiming for a release in 2023. Also, James is expected to complete filming on Peacemaker this June in Vancouver and suggests filming on Guardians 3 could begin later this year.
Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love & Thunder will see a Guardians reunion before the third movie as a bulk of the cast is currently in Sydney, Australia for that shoot.
The Ronin can confirm that production designer Paul Kirby has indeed joined the upcoming production team for David F. Sandberg‘s DC Comics sequel Shazam! Fury of The Gods. Kirby’s credits include Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Old Guard, Jason Bourne, Captain Phillips, and the Hellboy reboot.
Sandberg returns to direct from a script penned by Henry Gayden.
Other DC Comics productions on the horizon include The Flash and Black Adam with TheBatman still shooting in the United Kingdom.
Fury of The Gods is set to be released on June 2nd, 2023.
SHAZAM! – We all have a superhero inside of us — it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In 14-year-old Billy Batson’s case, all he needs to do is shout out one word to transform into the adult superhero Shazam. Still a kid at heart, Shazam revels in the new version of himself by doing what any other teen would do — have fun while testing out his newfound powers. But he’ll need to master them quickly before the evil Dr. Thaddeus Sivana can get his hands on Shazam’s magical abilities.
Before Ben Affleck wore the cowl in Batman v Superman and Justice League, he starred in a Marvel project with 20th Century Fox’s Daredevil feature film which predated the fan-beloved Netflix series starring Charlie Cox. That 2003 film saw Ben Affleck co-star with Jon Favreau, the director of Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Jon became one of the architects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and still plays the role of Happy Hogan in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy.
As a filmmaker and producer, Ben most certainly was watching the success of Marvel Studios, which has led to some praise to Kevin Feige in a new interview. While chatting on The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast Awards Chatter, Affleck gushed about how successful Feige has been.
AFFLECK: “Fucking Kevin Feige is absolutely, you have to say, the greatest producer, most successful producer who ever lived. He’s the only guy in the world who, if he told me, ‘I know what the audience wants! This is what we’re doing!’ I would believe him 100%.”
“That fucker knows his audience like no producer (ever), he’s a genius. Kevin is like a ringmaster at the circus; he knows exactly how much to wink at the audience, exactly when to pull at the heartstrings, exactly when to do the effects, how many jokes, what the sensibility, what the tone is. Because people didn’t know to run away from the pajamas or embrace it or make it serious.”
Affleck is reportedly set to direct a film Disney with an adaptation Keeper of The Lost Cities and his pal Matt Damon has seemingly joined the cast of Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder.
I’m sure fans would enjoy to see Ben Affleck join the MCU in some capacity.
It was announced by WarnerMedia, via press release circulated to trades such as Deadline, that they’ve just hired Joe Barton to become the new showrunner on their Gotham PD-centric series on HBO Max that is produced by The Batman director Matt Reeves, taking place years prior to the events of the upcoming film starring Robert Pattinson.
Barton replaces Boardwalk Empire‘s Terence Winter, who had exited over creative differences and is no stranger to gritty underbellies of crime as he was creator of the Yakuza series Giri/Haji.
Here is what Matt Reeves had to say about the DC Comics series when promoting it over the summer at DC FanDome.
REEVES: “The idea of this story was a story in which Gotham, which has this depth of corruption, and the idea that we could do a series that is going deeper into an aspect of it, which in this case is the corrupt police department, the corrupt inner workings of the city. And the way we’re gonna do this series. Terence Winter is just an incredible writer, so the idea that we got him to do this, just is literally a dream. The idea is, we go back to year one, and year one is the beginning of the first emergence, the first appearance of this masked vigilante that starts to unsettle the city, and you start to see the story through the POV of these corrupt cops, and one in particular. And the story is actually a battle for his soul.”
“He’s a cop over generations and the history of corruption in Gotham is enormous and goes back many years, and the story is like, as you realize that there’s this myth-building in the background, you’re actually in a new place where you’ve never seen these characters before – some of them we’ll touch on that you may have seen in the comics, but others are totally new. Then you can go down an avenue and go into detail that you couldn’t do in a movie, and to go into these rich places and meet entirely new characters that Terence is going to create.”
This was the original press release for the project before Winter’s exit.
HBO Max announced today that it has given a series commitment to an original DC drama set in the Gotham City police department from The Batman filmmaker Matt Reeves, Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter, The Batman producer Dylan Clark, and Warner Bros. Television. The groundbreaking television series to be written by Winter is set in the world Reeves is creating for The Batman feature film and will build upon the motion picture’s examination of the anatomy of corruption in Gotham City, ultimately launching a new Batman universe across multiple platforms. The series provides an unprecedented opportunity to extend the world established in the movie and further explore the myriad of compelling and complex characters of Gotham. This marks the first television project for Reeves under his recently announced overall deal with the Warner Bros. Television Group.
The Batman is reportedly still shooting in the United Kingdom despite new lockdown restrictions due to a new variant of COVID-19 that is rapidly spreading there. Warner Bros. had pushed the film’s release date from October 1st, 2021 to Mach 4th, 2022 because of previous production delays. Pattinson himself had tested positive for the virus at one point.
Reeves has previously stated this would be the first in a new trilogy with the film introducing us to Batman’s rogues gallery which will include The Riddler, Catwoman, Carmine Falcone, and The Penguin.
This version of Batman according to DC Films takes place within Earth 2 and the show takes place during Bruce Wayne’s first year operating as the Caped Crusader.
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes “The Batman,” with director Matt Reeves (the “Planet of the Apes” films) at the helm and with Robert Pattinson (“Tenet,” “The Lighthouse,” “Good Time”) starring as Gotham City’s vigilante detective, Batman, and billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Also in the star-studded ensemble as Gotham’s famous and infamous cast of characters are Zoë Kravitz (“Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” “Mad Max: Fury Road”) as Selina Kyle; Paul Dano (“Love & Mercy,” “12 Years a Slave”) as Edward Nashton; Jeffrey Wright (the “Hunger Games” films) as the GCPD’s James Gordon; John Turturro (the “Transformers” films) as Carmine Falcone; Peter Sarsgaard (“The Magnificent Seven,” “Black Mass”) as Gotham D.A. Gil Colson; Barry Keoghan (“Dunkirk”) as Officer Stanley Merkel; Jayme Lawson (“Farewell Amor”) as mayoral candidate Bella Reál; with Andy Serkis (the “Planet of the Apes” films, “Black Panther”) as Alfred; and Colin Farrell (“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” “Dumbo”) as Oswald Cobblepot.
It’s starting to look like Ray Fisher and his character Cyborg won’t be appearing in TheFlash after all.
The Wrap is supporting a tweet from Forbes writer Mark Hughes that Cyborg’s cameo in the film has been removed and they will not be recasting the part. This news would debunk unreliable online rumors that the studio and director was recasting the Cyborg role specifically for The Flash.
Justice League actor Ray Fisher, who was offered a cameo role last June to appear as Cyborg in The Flash solo movie, has been written out of the screenplay and will not be recast, according to insiders with knowledge of the situation.
The rumors of Cyborg recasting are a lie, Cyborg is not in The Flash and the role is not being recast. I’ve confirmed this with the studio. The rumor is FALSE.
However, we aren’t terribly shocked by this news as the Justice League actor seemed to telegraph this update on his character. Ray Fisher made the following statement on Twitter last month signaling he wouldn’t be working with DC Films or Walter Hamada in the future, possibly getting ahead of the reports of his cameo being nixed by the studio. Essentially announcing his exit from the franchise.
Walter Hamada is the most dangerous kind of enabler.
His lies, and WB PR’s failed Sept 4th hit-piece, sought to undermine the very real issues of the Justice League investigation.
I will not participate in any production associated with him.
DC Films had previously announced a solo Cyborg movie that never materialized as neither a screenwriter or director were ever announced as developing it. The character is also being used in the live-action realm with the series Doom Patrol, played by Jovian Wade.
Andy Muschietti (IT, Mama) is directing from a script penned by Christina Hodson (Batgirl, Birds of Prey) with a cast said to include Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, and Michael Keaton using a different version of The Flashpoint storyline that will usher-in DC Comics’ own Multiverse.
Filming on The Flash is expected to begin this April at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios in Watford, England. The facility is currently being used for Fantastic Beasts 3 as it’s been the homestead production stages for the Harry Potter franchise and was used for previous DC Comics movies such as The Batman, Justice League, and Wonder Woman.
It’s release date has been set for November 4th, 2022.
Variety is reporting that DC Films President Walter Hamada has re-upped with extension that will last through 2023. This means Hamada will be around long enough to execute a heap of projects for both the big screen and WarnerMedia’s domestic streaming service HBO Max that he’s been developing for the last couple of years.
There are plenty of upcoming feature film projects on the horizon including films expected to begin shooting this year such as The Flash, Black Adam, Shazam!: Fury of The Gods, and Aquaman2. James Gunn is also set to begin shooting his Peacemaker series starring John Cena this month in Vancouver, a mature spinoff series of The Suicide Squad exclusively or HBO Max.
Other things in the fire are Wonder Woman 3, Batgirl, Static Shock, The Trench, PlasticMan, a GreenLantern series at HBO Max, and development on a Supergirl movie before things stalled.
Hamada joined DC Films back in 2018 coming from New Line Cinema.
James Gunn‘s The Suicide Squad is expected to be the next big DC release on August 6th, 2021 as Matt Reeves‘ The Batman had been bumped from October 1st, 2021 to March 4th, 2022 giving the production a bit of breathing room as they attempting to complete filming during the pandemic as there is increased strain in the United Kingdom.
In a new article from the New York Times, where they speak with DC Films president Walter Hamada and it’s revealed that they are going to make superhero films that will become HBO Max exclusives.
The outlet speculating that “risker characters” like Batgirl and Static Shock could be some projects that ultimately head to HBO Max. However, it reads more like their opinion rather sourced information.
The most expensive DC movies (up to four a year, starting in 2022) are designed for release in theaters, Mr. Hamada said. Additional superhero films (two annually is the goal, perhaps focused on riskier characters like Batgirl and Static Shock) will arrive exclusively on HBO Max, the fledgling streaming service owned by WarnerMedia.
It’ll be interesting if Warner Bros. and DC Films feels like diverse projects like these would only be viable on streaming rather than theatrical. Only time will tell as this isn’t official news or anything.
There is already some feathers ruffled with WarnerMedia’s day-and-date model coming in 2021 and are signs that future directors are making sure their movies won’t be suddenly thrown on HBO Max. Making sure directors are aware that films are heading to streaming ahead of time is likely a good thing rather than what recently happened to filmmakers.
Despite some wishy-washy comments made by Patty Jenkins during the promotion of Wonder Woman 1984 about possibly not coming back to make a third film, the filmmaker is officially returning for Wonder Woman 3, an announcement that been expected since the success of the first film. The studio adhering to her demand of a traditional theatrical release as well.
The announcement made by the studio hit multiple trade outlets including Variety.
Gal Gadot is also returning with Jenkins writing and directing the third installment of their trilogy.
There is still an expectation this third film will be set in the present as it had been rumored going back to the first film that the first two movies would be period projects with the third film using a contemporary setting. The scale could also be increased. It’ll be interesting to see if they will attempt to make a crossover with other DC Comics heroes since a bunch are running around in modern times and could open the door for Diana to team-up with Jason Momoa’s Aquaman or the film could even have a connection to Ava DuVernay’s New Gods movie via Granny Goodness.
Using the term “fast-tracking” is a little misleading as Jenkins is busy with her Cleopatra film for Paramount Pictures and recently was announced for Disney’s Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. The Star Wars pic is expected to being shooting in 2022 as it has a release date of December 22, 2023 and there could be a year’s worth of prep/development for that project giving it’s scale. Seeing Patty jump into making a massive studio film beforehand like Wonder Woman 3 when the pandemic is expected to continue well into 2021, seems like a fan wish rather than a reality given the logistical nightmare that would end up becoming.
In theory, Warner Bros. may have to wait until Patty has finished-up on Star Wars: RogueSquadron since that deal seemingly was secured first.
However, this news should relieve fans that have caught the wave of comments from Jenkins about taking a pause on the Wonder Woman franchise.
If Patty Jenkins ever decided to tackle other superheroes beyond Wonder Woman, we now have a pretty good idea of who she’d want to use. As a fan on Twitter has asked Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins that very question and her answer consisted of Superman, Spider-Man, and even Black Widow.
JENKINS: “Thank you for the question. Probably Superman, Spiderman, or Black Widow! So much potential with all of them, always.”
Thank you for the question. Probably Superman, Spiderman or Black Widow! So much potential with all of them, always. https://t.co/zDtxgZuwM9
You might remember that Patty Jenkins is currently assigned to direct Star Wars: Rogue Squadron for Lucasfilm making her part of that family of studios under the Disney umbrella. It’s expected to begin production sometime before the end of 2022 as the release date is set for December 22, 2023.
There are a handful of examples of crossovers between Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios with Thor franchise’s Taika Waititi tackling both The Mandalorian and an untitled live-action feature film. Also, Ant-Man trilogy director Peyton Reed ended up directing two episodes in Season 2 even the emotional season finale. We can’t forget that Jon Favreau, who help usher-in the Marvel Cinematic Universe via Iron Man and Iron Man 2, spearheaded The Mandalorian series with Dave Filoni, producing three spinoffs that include The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and Rangers of The New Republic. Jon also continues to play the role of Happy Hogun, most recently appearing in the post-Avengers: Endgame film Spider-Man: Far From Home back in 2019.
Despite rumors, there hasn’t been any official word of how Warner Bros. would like to pursue another Superman film beyond having the character potentially have cameos in other projects. There had been development on a Supergirl film but that seemingly has stalled.
Concerning Spider-Man, we don’t know if Sony/Marvel will extend their production deal despite some signals that could be happening behind closed doors as Olivia Wilde‘s Spider-Woman movie could be Sony/Marvel co-production. With Spider-Man 3 director Jon Watts announced for Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot there is now an expectation he could be moving on to make a trilogy there making it less likely he’d return to make Spider-Man 4 and beyond leaving room for a new director to make a second trilogy, that’s if Sony/Marvel can play nice for another batch of movies.
Having Patty get involved with Black Widow is an interesting proposition as it seems like Florence Pugh may end up taking that mantle as Yelena Belova in future MCU projects. Such as her reported involvement in the upcoming Hawkeye series that will be airing on Disney+ in late 2021. Yelena could lead a Black Widow franchise of films moving forward because of the death of Natasha during the events of Avengers: Endgame.
I think it’ll be a long time before we know for sure if Patty will make Wonder Woman 3 or any other superhero films given the next couple of years will be dedicated to Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.
Filming on The Suicide Squad spinoff series Peacemaker will begin next month in Vancouver and there are bunch of new cast/character announcements from James Gunn on his official Instagram account and HBO Max.
The four new additions include Chukwudi Iwuji as Clemson Murn, Lochlyn Munro as Larry Fitzgibbon, Annie Chang as Sophie Song, and Christopher Heyerdahl as Captain Locke.
They join a cast that already consists of John Cena as Christopher Smith aka Peacemaker, Steve Agee as John Economos, Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, and Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase aka Vigilante.
Oh f*ck, it’s Peacemaker! HBO Max is set to explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, the master of weapons from the highly anticipated upcoming The Suicide Squad film, in the new Max Original action-adventure-comedy series Peacemaker. HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order of eight episodes for the first season of the show. John Cena will reprise his role from The Suicide Squad movie to star in the series, and the film’s acclaimed writer/director James Gunn will write all eight episodes of Peacemaker and will direct multiple episodes, including the first.
While details about “Peacemaker” are being kept under wraps, the series will explore the origins of the character that Cena will play in the upcoming film, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
THE RONIN 