That Girl with the Curls – Episode 61 – DCEU Speculation

 

 

 

That Girl with the Curls – Episode 58 – Wade Wilson and the Hard R Rating

 

 

Intro and Outro music “Deadpool Rap” by Teamheadkick

Suicide Squad and the Emerging DC Cinematic Universe

If you’re a DC Comics fan and you haven’t seen the cast photo of the Suicide Squad released by the film’s director David Ayer a few days ago, then what are we even doing here?!

Sorry, I kid.

Anyway, if you haven’t seen it, then gaze upon the strange glory that is the Suicide Squad/Task Force X!

 

Yeah, soak it all in!

In case you were wondering who the hell all these people are and who they’re playing, starting from the far left: Slipknot (Adam Beach, though the character still isn’t officially confirmed), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Katana (Karen Fukuhara), Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), Col. Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Deadshot (Will Smith), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), and El Diablo (Jay Hernandez).

Missing from the photo is Viola Davis as Amanda “The Wall” Waller, the ruthless taskmaster of the Squad, but I’m sure her official image is a’comin’. The photo dropped on the heels of Ayer releasing an image of Jared Leto’s Joker, who is pretty much one of the antagonists of the film though definitely not the only one. IMDB lists Ike Barinholtz as Dr. Hugo Strange, Raymond Olubawale as King Shark, Scott Eastwood as Steve Trevor, Jim Parrack as Deathstroke, Ben Affleck as Batman, and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor as well. There are also roles yet to be confirmed, notably the casting of Common as…a character. Some of these casting decisions may be wrong even on the site since Fukuhara is listed as Plastique (the villain she was originally rumored to play) instead of Katana, so Lord knows what information is going to start rolling out over the next year.

Yeah, Suicide Squad won’t be out until August 2016, the followup to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice due for release on March 25, 2016 that will supposedly star every DC hero ever as a precursor to the real Justice League movie, parts 1 and 2, out in 2017 and 2019 respectively. So, before we really get to know the heroes, we’ll get to know a whole group of villains/anti-heroes first!

Wait, what?

I’ll be honest, the Warner Bros. strategy of throw everything at the audience is one hell of a gamble. Not that it couldn’t pay off. Suicide Squad has the potential to hit Guardians of the Galaxy status if the story is good and the characters, ya know, have a little fun. Having Harley Quinn on the team certainly ups the percentage of one-liners and nonsensical dialogue, but she’s also the only bright spot in yet another dark, drab photo for a DC movie. You look at that photo and your eyes go to Harley first. I mean, seriously, they couldn’t at least put Enchantress in a brighter outfit? They’re basing a lot of these looks on the New 52 versions of the characters in the comics, so you could at least give Enchantress a slick green hoodie dress. Also, what the hell is she actually wearing? I’m no authority on fashion, but I don’t think crazy-pants-bog-witch-gypsy is the best choice, stylistically, for missions that may involve more than standing in the background looking weird. Besides, Harley’s already got the market cornered on impractical outfits. Booty shorts and high-healed boots? Yup, one teacup short of a china hutch. It’s worth noting, though, that Margot Robbie owns that photo. Amidst all the serious faces because serious, she’s going to smile her way into our hearts…hopefully.

Given the bloated cast and the team with which we’re dealing, it’s all but inevitable that one of them dies before the first act. The Squad, as a means of ensuring compliance with the missions, are surgically implanted with explosives with Waller’s finger always hovering over the button to make them go KABOOM! And Waller is known for her effective “make-an-example-of-disposable-villains” routine, which is all but guaranteed to happen when one of these guys tries to bail during a mission. This is textbook stuff, but it might be fun to see who bites it first. Hint: could be Slipknot, but you didn’t hear it from me.

My biggest concern is that it just feels a little…small. Akinnuoye-Agbaje is playing Killer Croc and yet there’s something disappointing about the fact that he just looks like a regular-sized dude-mutant who could be the cousin of Super Mario’s goombas. I know DC and Warner Bros. are going for the “grounded” versions, but you have a meta human on a team with a woman who wields a sword inhabited by her dead husband’s soul and another woman who uses magic – a concept that’s still on shaky ground since Constantine may not make it to a second season. These are big personalities whose power sets leave a huge impact on the heroes they regularly face. They should physically reflect that as well. Would it be too much to ask for an oversized mallet and hyenas for Harley instead of a Louisville slugger?

But these are just surface responses to one picture. As I’ve learned, nothing about the film industry is set in stone and what we see now could be completely different in a year or so. I guess what I’m saying is I’m at least intrigued by the movie’s prospects. I give Ayer props for the diverse casting, but it all comes down to opening weekend and whether the performances match the hype.

Amanda Waller the Only Hold Out in Suicide Squad Cast – Typical

With the release date of August 5th, 2016 looming on the horizon and an April, 2015 start for shooting already in place, it was about time that a cast was announced for Suicide Squad, the third film in what will be Warner Bros. and DC’s Cinematic Universe following Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Yes, we’ve been bombarded with rumored cameo after rumored appearance of every hero and villain in the DC Universe for Bats vs Supes, but now we have some confirmation for the next film in the franchise and the cast is definitely interesting.

The Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X, is a group of villains in the DCU put together to go on deadly missions for ARGUS under the ever watchful eye of Amanda “The Wall” Waller. Some are in it for the redemption while others just figure it’s exchanging one prison for another. They’re at Waller’s beck and call and if someone should think of breaking ranks and running off, the explosives grafted onto their spines tend to keep them on the straight and narrow…so to speak.

The film will be written and directed by David Ayer, best known for movies like Training Day, End of Watch, The Fast and the Furious, and Fury. Warner Bros. President of Creative Development and Worldwide Production, Greg Silverman, said of Ayer and the cast:

We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.

 

Here’s the official cast thus far:

Will Smith – Deadshot

Margot Robbie – Harley Quinn

Jared Leto – The Joker

Jai Courtney – Captain Boomerang

Cara Delevingne – Enchatress

Tom Hardy – Rick Flagg

So, yeah, Warner Bros. isn’t skimping on the star power, that’s for sure. Rumors still persist that Jesse Eisenberg will reprise his role as Lex Luthor in the film as well, which could make sense if they were setting up the political angle Luthor is often steered towards since it gives him and even more insidious position as a politician draped in the American flag while conducting less than legal operations on the side. For Superman killing purposes, of course.

The inclusion of the Joker gives me reason to believe that the movie might follow a similar narrative to the direct-to-video movie Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014) that featured several of the same heroes in the cast breaking into Arkham Asylum to extract information from the Riddler’s cane. The storyline eventually crosses paths with Batman’s B-plot about getting information about a dirty bomb Joker planted somewhere in Gotham. I could see Ayer taking inspiration from this since I don’t think Joker would ever be an actual member of Suicide Squad. He’s more of a reason to bring Harley into the fold, though it’s worth assuming that he’ll be at least one of the primary antagonists. The other, of course, being the squad’s creator, Amanda Waller.

Waller remains the holdout in terms of the main cast, though it’s rumored that Warner Bros. is looking at Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, and Oprah Winfrey with Winfrey possibly being their first choice. So…I really hope it isn’t Oprah. Unless the idea is to get a lot of free promotion out of Oprah’s name and brand, which I wouldn’t put it past the company, I think her being in the film would be a huge case of stunt casting. I know Oprah has quite a few dramatic roles under her belt, but I just don’t see her pulling off the pragmatic malice of Waller. Although, if she does end up getting cast. I imagine the Book Of The Month reading is going to start looking very different.

For my money’s worth, Spencer or Davis would make a great Waller, but I could also see Alfre Woodard, Angela Bassett who took on the role in Green Lantern, Pam Grier who played her on Smallville, or even the woman who voiced Waller in the DC Animated tv shows and movies, CCH Pounder. All of them are phenomenal actresses and would bring the right amount of badassery needed to pull off the role.

Until then we can only speculate, though I know the question we all have in our minds is whether Jared Leto will be as memorable of a Joker as Caesar Romero?

But what do you think of the casting choices and who do you think would make the best Amanda Waller?

Michelle MacLaren to Develop and Direct Wonder Woman Movie!

In case the title didn’t tell you the big news, allow me to reiterate: Michelle MacLaren will be directing the 2017 solo Wonder Woman movie! But wait, there’s more! MacLaren, most well-known for directing episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Game of Thrones, will also be part of the development stages of the movie, working with the as yet unknown screenwriter(s) to craft the movie from the ground up. And here’s why the news is awesome!

Since WB/DC made the announcement not too long ago that Wonder Woman would indeed be getting a solo film in 2017, following Suicide Squad but prior to Part 1 of the Justice League movie, the question weighing over many a fan-person’s mind was whether or not any women would actually be involved with the movie besides Gal Gadot portraying her on-screen. Not that it was a requirement to have a female director or screenwriter, but given that this would be Wondy’s solo movie, though not her first appearance on the big screen – Zack Snyder, Chris Terrio, and David S. Goyer will be handling that in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – a lot of fans believed the female perspective in filmmaking, still a very underrepresented voice in the action world, would be better suited to DC’s most recognizable and iconic female superhero. And it seemed WB was finally listening. The short list for Wonder Woman directors included MacClaren as well as The Babadook director Jennifer Kent and Leslie Linka Glatter, director and co-producer for Homeland.

When the rumors began that WB was looking for a female director to helm the film, many lists included pretty much every female director who’s done an action movie within the last decade and beyond. Kathryn Bigelow, the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker (2008), was at the top of most lists with Deep Impact‘s (1998) Mimi Leder and Punisher: War Zone‘s (2008) Lexi Alexander showing up as well. There were also mentions of Twilight director Catherine Hardwick, Rachel Talalay (Tank Girl), and even Julie Taymor (The Tempest, Across the Universe). Alexander seemed to be getting quite a lot of attention, but seemed to have no desire to pursue the project, saying:

“Imagine the weight on my shoulders. How many male superhero movies fail? So now, we finally get Wonder Woman with a female director, imagine if it fails. And you have no control over marketing, over budget. So without any control, you carry the fucking weight of gender equality for both characters and women directors. No way.”

[Source: Fast Company]

Alexander isn’t wrong in her summation of how Hollywood’s standards apply to female lead movies and women in the industry. As far as superhero movies go, Wonder Woman is a big deal and anyone tapped to take the reins on the project is going to be under a huge amount of pressure to get the character and the tone right. Even in this world of instant remakes and reboots, especially where the superhero genre is concerned, the Wonder Woman movie has an added layer of expectation weighing it down. We’ve had umpteenth numbers of Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, and X-Men movies, but Wonder Woman’s debut has a finite quality to it, one that is ultimately relying on the solo film to justify the continued existence of the character outside of team-up movies. Granted, a lot of this is pressure we the fans are putting on the project but it’s as much of a reaction to how female lead movies have been perceived by Hollywood and the failure of pretty much every movie starring a superheroine. 

The choice of MacLaren to direct and develop Wonder Woman is one of the best decisions made by WB since finally announcing a Wonder Woman movie. Though her background is entirely in television, MacLaren has experience directing and producing within multiple genres. Her work on The X-Files, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones gives her a wide berth of experience, something that can only benefit a character like Wonder Woman. Diana’s backstory involves Greek gods and goddesses, Amazons, and the human element of the modern world. There’s as much action as there is fantasy in her neck of the DC Universe, which MacClaren is exceedingly qualified to pull off.

And with the addition of MacLaren being involved in the development of the film, working with the writers and producers instead of just directing from someone else’s outline, there’s plenty of room for her to really mold the character. Yes, we’ll be seeing Diana in Batman v Superman, but it’s more than likely a glorified cameo, which means the solo film is really where we’ll get to see Gal Gadot hopefully shine and MacLaren’s vision for the character realized. There’s definitely a lot riding on this movie, but it’s good to know that WB has at least put the film in the hands of someone we can all rally behind.

WB/DC Give Us Their Cinematic Universe Through 2020

Okay, looks like Warner Bros. and DC Comics finally decided to show their hand. While many a DC fan has had to put on a brave face and confidently reassure others that the DC Cinematic Universe will eventually catch up to Marvel, even with the 8-year head start, there’s often a bit of hesitation. DC’s Cinematic foundation started on shaky ground among fans with the divisive Man of Steel and the ever-growing cast of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice still has us scratching our heads over the nature of all the reported cameos. Instead of building their world, Warner Bros. and DC looked like they were trying their damnedest to throw every hero in the DC Universe into one film, reversing Marvel’s formula of solo movies leading to a team up film. It also didn’t help that WB pushed back the release of Dawn of Justice to May of 2016 only to push it up to March in order to avoid direct box office conflict with Captain America 3. And even though WB/DC claimed to have nine movies lined up through 2020, Marvel still trumped them with films scheduled for release through 2028.

Yesterday, however, WB/DC, after sporadic announcements about their films including the casting of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Black Adam for the upcoming Shazam movie, finally gave us a map of their cinematic universe through 2020.

 

Obviously most of these films aren’t surprising. We’ve known about Justice League and Shazam for a while and Suicide Squad was only recently announced. The most surprising part of this lineup is the splitting up of Justice League into two films, something we’ve only seen with the final movies of book adaptation series, and their placement in the order; part one will follow the Wonder Woman solo movie with part two released two years later after solo movies for the Flash, Aquaman, and Shazam. It’s an odd thing to do when one would logically assume the two films would be one continuous story. Breaking them up with three solo films, presumably origin stories, in the middle seems like a bit of a gamble. Of course, the two Justice League movies could technically be standalone movies with the second part acting as an extension of the finished story from part one with the films sandwiched between adding to the build up. Or they could be a bunch of solo origin stories with no connection to the Justice League narrative. Either scenario is likely until plot details are confirmed – the Schrödinger’s cat of fan speculation, if you will.

Oh, and before I forget…

Ahem!

OHMYGODWE’REGETTINGAWONDERWOMANSOLOMOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, Sam, calm down. Deep breaths. In and out. There we go. Now…continue.

So, yeah, we’re actually going to get a Wonder Woman solo film before Justice League! The assumption is it will be some sort of origin story since producer Charles Roven recently let slip that her backstory would be more in line with the New 52 comics where Diana learns she’s a demigod, the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. The solo movie could potentially piggyback off of Diana/Wonder Woman’s cameo (however large the role is) in Batman v Superman, telling her origin in its entirety for the cinematic universe. Or the film could go with what seems to be the most popular narrative structure of WB/DC, non-linear storytelling with more flashbacks than you can shake a stick at. One can only hope that the creative team selected for the project has something better up their sleeve. And, sorry Marvel, but looks like DC’s beating you to the female superhero solo movie. Better get cracking on a Black Widow or a Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel movie STAT.

The announcement also confirmed the casting of Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman and Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash. Momoa’s rumored attachment to playing Aquaman has been around for so long I think we’re all breathing easier now that the cat’s finally out of the bag. The casting of Miller as Barry Allen is definitely an interesting one. While Grant Gustin embodies aspects of the Silver Age Barry, in personality and looks, on television, Miller’s casting appears to be more on point with Zack Snyder’s atypical casting decisions. With the myriad casting rumors going around about every other character, Flash seemed to be one of the furthest from our minds. Though now that Miller is confirmed for the role, I’m genuinely interested to see what he brings to Barry on the big screen.

Momoa’s casting is easily the most inspired choice and yet he’s the most radical departure from his comic book counterpart. Arthur Curry, in the comics, has been Whitey McBlonderson since his inception, but putting Momoa, a man of Pacific Islander heritage, in the role feels almost like a “well duh!” moment of realization. Not only does it further diversify the cast, but it shows that the casting director, Snyder, and hopefully some of the producers are thinking more about what works for the character rather than strictly adhering to the comics. Perhaps Momoa’s casting could affect the comics should he prove likeable enough to audiences.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pumped for the future of comic book movies. In my world, there isn’t a war between Marvel and DC movies. I get to watch all of them, so how could I possibly lose? Okay, there are ways I could lose, but right now I need to live in my delusions of a well crafted universe for the DC Comics characters I love. There are a few things worth noting, though. One, the list doesn’t include planned solo movies for Batman and Superman, which WB is totally gonna do because do I really need to explain it to you? Two, Guillermo Del Toro’s Justice League Dark and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Sandman movies are still in the wings for the time being. Whether WB plans to add them to the lineup or keep them in development hell remains to be seen.

Oh and apparently Green Lantern is getting rebooted. So…Hal Jordan again or can we just skip over to John Stewart?

Elseworld Tales: What if Nightwing Joined Suicide Squad?

So I’m gonna play a little game here mostly because I haven’t written anything for this blog that isn’t some sort of In Memorium or a previous review. I apologize and there’s a perfectly good explanation for it…which I will probably be able to talk about in roughly two weeks. So stay tuned!

Anyway, I thought I’d expand on an idea that came to me while recording DC Confidential over at Word of the Nerd. I don’t know when the episode will drop, but it’ll be linked here once it does. Suffice it to say, mid conversation about one of my favorite topics, Nightwing, I started speculating on one of the possible outcomes that could befall the former Robin in the wake of the Forever Evil crossover at DC Comics where Dick Grayson was unmasked to the world. DC isn’t shy about amping up the “Will Dick Grayson Die?” vibes that are coming off of this event either. It doesn’t help that Nightwing’s solo book was canceled and all advertisements concerning the Bat-family have suspiciously left him out…as far as we know.

So I thought I’d take a page out of DC’s old book and form an Elseworlds Tale of my own. For those who don’t know, the Elseworlds books were DC’s way of telling alternate reality stories about their characters without interfering with continuity. For example, Superman: Red Son is a really great Elseworlds book that I highly recommend. In the spirit of that, I thought I’d take a crack at how I think the aftermath of Forever Evil should play out for Nightwing.

For my money’s worth, I don’t think Dick’s gonna kick the bucket. The most recent issue of Forever Evil that came out today seems to confirm my suspicions, but I’ll leave that to you fine people to read the book. This article is all about the “What if?” scenario and fulfilling my own fangirlish notions of how a story could play out. Cool? Cool.

With this in mind, where could Nightwing possibly end up? Let’s just say, for the purposes of this article, that in the wake of Forever Evil and Dick’s unmasking, he’d more than likely be arrested for vigilantism. He’s been breaking the law since he was 16, so he’d definitely be an easy scapegoat for those looking to reestablish law and order in a world that’s just been overrun with chaos. This would, more than likely, mean Dick gets thrown in Arkham Asylum, one of the many prisons in the DC Universe, or a newly constructed prison created due to how friggin’ easy it seemed to break everyone out of their respective facilities the last time. You could even make it an entire arc, “The Trial of Dick Grayson”, which could expand on justice, heroism, vigilantes, etc.

It would also be a way of diving further into the character of Dick Grayson. He’s always been a performer, going from the Flying Graysons to Robin to Nightwing (and briefly Batman, though don’t ask me where that falls in the five year timeline). Now that the world knows who he is and his alter ego, could he continue fighting crime? Should he continue fighting crime or has he earned a spot in prison alongside the people he put away? And if he’s no longer Nightwing the hero, but Dick Grayson, prisoner of Blackgate or Belle Reve or Arkham Asylum, then what does this mean regarding how he views himself?

For the sake of argument, let’s say Dick is still found guilty and sentenced to prison. Bruce tries to get him a lighter sentence, say house arrest, but the judge isn’t lenient. Remember, law and order, chaos, yadda, yadda, yadda. Dick’s sent to jail and finds himself amongst some familiar faces, but this is Nightwing, so he can adjust, right? Well, even someone as easygoing as Dick Grayson can have his bouts of depression and one could see him having a case of this and just when it really looks bleak, maybe after yet another fight in the cafeteria or the prison yard, someone comes to his cell for a visit.

Amanda Waller.

Let’s be honest, if Dick Grayson was unmasked you’d have to be a complete idiot or extremely dense not to realize that Bruce Wayne is Batman. The fact that Lex Luthor of all people, who looked up who Dick Grayson was after he was unmasked, didn’t put two and two together either means he’s playing dumb or he really thinks 2+Z = chair. Anyway, Waller, armed with this information, offers Dick a deal. She keeps the information buried and promises no one will find out the identities of the rest of the Bat-family if Dick agrees to join Suicide Squad. She could use a guy with his skills to participate, or lead, the new team she’s formed. He gets the same deal as everyone else, one year of missions or whatever arbitrary number of missions Waller decides, then he’s released back into the world a free man. Lacking any real choice, but also seeing an opportunity to protect his family, Dick accepts. Knowing that Bruce would never accept his choice, Dick and Waller agree that the only way this will work is if they stage his “death” in prison. Bruce being Bruce, he’d also investigate the death of his oldest “son”, but Waller promises to keep him busy enough. Or, Bruce is in on it the whole time, but keeps it a secret from the rest of the Bat-Family.

Once the “death” has been staged, Dick takes on a new mantle in Suicide Squad. In fact, part of the story could be that he’s only referenced by this new identity so that the other villains don’t know it’s him. Dick being Dick, he eventually assumes a leadership role and even comes to sympathize and begrudgingly respect some of his other teammates. Or his animosity for some of them could run deeper. All the while, he’s using Waller to keep tabs on Bruce, Barbara, Tim, Jason…possibly Damian when he returns. There would probably be a mission or two that puts him at odds with his family and he has to fight them without hurting them while also not giving away that it’s him, which would mean changing his fighting style completely. It would be yet another opportunity to explore Dick Grayson’s character through the new identity. He’d essentially be trapped behind a new mask, unable to take it off unless he felt safe, which would be difficult considering he doesn’t trust anyone he’s working with. Amanda Waller would be the only person he could talk to who knows the truth and if we went with the angle of Bruce knowing, it would still be dangerous to contact him. But what if Dick starts to like being on Suicide Squad? Then he’d have to deal with the consequences of those feelings contrasting with everything he’s learned as Batman’s former partner and as a hero in his own right.

Like I said, just my version of how things could play out. It probably won’t happen that way, but I like to think a girl can dream…or write fan fiction.

But I’m curious to hear what others think? What do you think will be the fallout of Forever Evil for Nightwing? Will he live, die, or something else?