With so much news to talk about lately, we decided to split the updates up, so if you missed the Marvel Avengers edition you can click here. Still a lot of Marvel to cover, but I think it’s time to talk about some upcoming DC movies. Let’s get this started.
Green Lantern – Opens June 17, 2011
Starting off the Trinity of DC movies hitting us soon is Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan, Mark Strong as Sinestro, Blake Lively as Carol Ferris, and Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond.
Now I think it’s safe to say a lot of people were impressed when we saw the 5 minute WonderCon footage earlier this year. Over at Newsarama they have an interesting read on why they believe this footage rocked fandom.
Next we’ll take a look at the latest TV Spot which doesn’t show a whole lot of footage, but is still pretty effective, as well as being quite revealing regarding story and potential SPOILERS:
They show a whole lot of Parallax is what I’m saying. And now we move on to the picture portion of our program. No joke, get ready for posters, and lots of them.
From SuperHeroHype we get a look at Hal’s CG costume in great detail:
Some character posters for Kilowog (voiced by Michael Clark Duncan) and Sinestro from Splashpage:
And finally a look at all of them together with Tomar Re (voiced by Geoffrey Rush) and…uh… some other guy… Darth Saeris would know who he/it is…
The Dark Knight Rises – Opens July 20th, 2012
Easily one of the most anticipated movies for us at Grizzly Bomb, not to mention the general movie going public. And even with all the secrecy on the set, we still seem to get news daily, even though some of it can be very questionable at times. So we’ll start off with casting… as usual.
The big question over the last few weeks was regarding who Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard will be portraying. We finally have the answer from Splashpage:
According to the studio’s official statement, Cotillard will play “Miranda Tate, a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors for Gotham.” Gordon-Levitt will take the role of John Blake, another character that doesn’t appear to hail from the comics world, described as “a Gotham City beat cop assigned to special duty under the command of Commissioner Gordon.”
So pretty much every casting rumor that had surfaced in the last few months was wrong, (the primary ones being Cotillard playing Talia al Ghul and JGL playing Alberto Falcone) or there’s more to these characters than we know.
Another bit of casting news from THR gives us a bit of detail on the story of the film by revealing some flashback scenes.
Josh Pence, who played opposite Armie Hammer as Tyler Winklevoss in The Social Network (where Hammer’s face was superimposed on his), has been cast as a young Ra’s Al Ghul in Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s new Batman movie.
The movie’s casting has been ultra-secret, although Christian Bale, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are returning to lead a caped crusading cast, which includes Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard.
The story line has also been kept locked up in the Batcave but Pence’s casting throws more than a few crumbs to follow. Ra’s Al Ghul was played by Liam Neeson in Batman Begins, thus paving the way for a possible return of the supposedly dead character.
Sources say Pence will appear in scenes that take place 30 years prior to the present story.
So an interesting look at where this film might be heading while still successfully cloaked in mystery. Also returning for the film will be Nestor Carbonell, who played Mayor Garcia in The Dark Knight. I would say his chances of surviving this time are pretty slim.
And rounding out the cast are three more roles that seem to follow a similar theme. /Film reports:
According to The Tracking Board, Daniel Sunjata is “rumored to play an ‘important character to the story.’” Variety says that his role is that of a “courageous special forces operative” and that also joining the cast are Diego Klattenhoff, as “a rookie cop who is looking to make a difference” and Burn Gorman, in a “supporting role.”
If you don’t recognize Sunjata, you probably don’t watch TV. He was a regular on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, played Reggie Jackson the ESPN show The Bronx Is Burning, was a nurse on Grey’s Anatomy but is best known for playing Franco Rivera on FX’s hit show, Rescue Me.
Klattenhoff was recently cast in Showtime’s upcoming show Homefront while Gorman was in Layer Cake, the popular BBC series Torchwood and will appear in the Johnny English Reborn.
With new cast out of the way we can move on to the old cast, with our first photo of Tom Hardy on set. Hardy will be playing Bane, the beefed up criminal genius who has his sights set on taking over the underworld and breaking the Bat, in the comics at least.
He’s clearly pumping up for the role, but he seems awfully short standing next to this guy.
And finally a couple of cool fan made posters depicting the ‘villains’ of the film, Catwoman and Bane from Geek Tyrant:
Seriously can’t wait for this movie.
Man of Steel – Opens December 2012
Zack Snyder’s upcoming reboot of the Superman franchise has received a title and chosen it’s primary cast. We now have a confirmed villain in General Zod, played by Michael Shannon. Daily Blam reports:
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Michael Shannon will star in the role of General Zod in director Zack Snyder’s new Superman film, titled “Man of Steel.”
Snyder stated, “Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t. Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role.”
Michael Shannon joins Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/ Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent, respectively. Viggo Mortensen had originally been rumored to play Zod, but was unable to citing schedule conflicts.
There’s a video over at Newsarama featuring a panel of experts discuss the casting decisions so far that’s worth checking out.
Diane Lane spoke about her lockdown during reading the script, and how early in life we get to see the Kents. SuperHeroHype reports:
“I read the script under lock and key… I was locked in a room with the script and was only allowed three hours with it. I nailed it into my memory. I’m really excited. I’m really not allowed to talk much about it, I think, but it does cover the entire range of years, from infancy on.”
Amy Adams describes what she loves about the character of Lois Lane:
“[W]hat I love about Lois Lane is that she’s been very consistently strong, successful, independent,” Adams said. “I’m very attracted to that.”
The Academy Award nominated actress acknowledged the major limitations of society when Lois Lane was created, pointing out how women didn’t have the same opportunities as men. She felt that this made Lane an especially important character, because she was strong even in the midst of discrimination.
“I think the role of women in society constantly changes . . . [W]hat I loved about her was that she was able to be smart and be feminine and I think that that’s something I know I’m going to teach my daughter,” Adams said, “that you don’t have to be a man to be powerful. You can be a powerful woman.”
I have to say that I like Amy Adams, and while I don’t really see her as Lois Lane, I think she’ll do a good job. Henry Cavill thinks so as well in this report from Splashpage, where he describes his plans to research the role and his thouthts on Adams:
When it comes to researching his role, Cavill says he’s been doing his homework.
“I’m just picking out as much as I possibly can from the comic book history because obviously it’s plastered across there as to who this man is and whatever part of his life you’re playing; whatever part of his ultimate journey you’re playing, you just need to put in either the building aspects, the building blocks to how he ends up, all those key characteristics that are carried through and so it’s just picking up a general idea of what he is and then working from there,” said Cavill.
As far as his interactions with Adams have gone to date, Cavill confirmed the enthusiasm their initial screen test inspired.
“Yes, there was a screen test and she’s a fantastic actress. Very talented. I’m looking forward to working with her,” Cavill said.
When questioned about whether the actor’s nearly ten year age difference was a factor in the film’s plot, Cavill said it was more a matter of happenstance.
“To be honest, that’s a question for the director. But, happenstance,” explained Cavill, “I don’t think it matters at all.”
Henry Cavill also talks a little about the script and his take on Superman:
Still, he could tell us a few things…
“It’s basically just a re-imagining and modernization of an iconic character,” Cavill described. He said this is important for keeping Superman relevant for a modern audience.
Christopher Reeve was brought up, along with other Superman actors. Will Cavill choose to stick to the same Reeve mold or purposefully go a different route?
“That’s tough to say,” he admitted. “It’s very early days yet. Superman is Superman, after all. There’s only so much of a change you can make to that. It’s certainly, as I say, it’s going to be different, but not so different that it’s unrecognizable. How’s that for an answer?”
And finally, Splashpage asks director Zack Snyder how the new Superman suit compares to the suits of the past:
First up, I presented Snyder with two photos: one of the famous George Reeves costume and the other of the infamous, shiny ensemble briefly worn by Nicolas Cage. I asked Snyder to tell us where his Superman costume might fall on the George-Reeves-to-Nicolas-Cage scale.
After laughing at the idea for a solid minute and calling our scale “awesome,” he indulged me with a response.
“No, no. It’s not on that scale at all,” Snyder said, still chuckling. “Ha. Awesome. It’s a great scale. It’s a great scale because it’s the most abstract scale I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Fine, that’s non-answer #1. Moving on… what are his thoughts on Superman as an alien and whether we’ll see a more cosmic influence in his film?
“Yeah, I can’t say,” he said.
How about his take on whether Clark Kent is a costume, or Clark Kent as a character and Superman as a costume?
“I can’t answer that,” he repeated. “I like that, though — these are really good questions!” (Again, props to Mr. Marshall for supplying them.)
Well, that’s something, I guess. I then emphasized the fact that we ask because we care.
“I know, I appreciate it,” Snyder said. “And I wish I could talk more about it, but it’s a super-secret thing. It’s like I’m building the stealth bomber.”
Wow. He’s a bundle of information. I suppose it’s not that bad as I don’t want to ruin the movie, but I also have to keep tabs to make sure they aren’t ruining it. Not like I could do anything about it, it’s just nice to know.
And that wraps up this edition of the Movie Updates! Still a few more to cover in a later edition, so be sure to check back soon!
What do you think of some of the news we covered here? Are you of changed mind when it comes to Green Lantern? Are you tired of Nolan’s Batman movies? Wishing you could have seen Nic Cage in the wig and latex as Superman?
Sound off in the comments section below!
Grizzly Bomb 
I think that other guy is Stel, Green Lantern of Sector 3009
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oh the robot GL, makes sense
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Awesome Batman posters! Great updates, my fellow fanboy friend!
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