DC Films news: new Robin film “Dynamic Duo” announced

[Metallo]

Oct 27, 2022 2:26:11 GMT -5 crazy_asian_man said:

Oct 26, 2022 12:39:47 GMT -5 Metallo said:

It’s nice to think that might have happened but I think Avi Arad and the studio execs were always going to push for the movie we got out of pure greed. One of those “get the most bang for your buck” kind of things because they may have been worried they wouldn’t get a chance at another sequel.

It ended up being kind of true since the Spider-Man 4 we almost got did fall apart and never got made. Mostly because of Sony and their incompetence.

One special fx guy at a local comicon shared that the real reason Raimi's Spiderman 4 fell apart was the success of Avatar & Sony's greed to insist on Spiderman 4 being 3d - and that Raimi felt that there was no way that a decent conversion could be done on time to film and meet the deadline, so he bowed out.

Could be.... but in any case, sad sad sad especially with word that Raimi wanted to make up for the disappointment on how Spiderman 3 turned out.

Wouldn’t surprise me. We all know Sony’s demands killed it either way. Though I don’t remember The Amazing Spider-Man trying for a big 3D release. It may have had a post conversion release but again I don’t remember a big deal being made about it.

[crazy_asian_man]

Amazing Spiderman with Garfield did have 3d option- but by no means wasn't even close to "Avatar" box office. In looking back, I really wish Raimi still went ahead and just finished his #4, even if the 3d looked horrible, it wouldn't have mattered in the long run if the 2d was good!

[Metallo]

Oct 27, 2022 20:00:47 GMT -5 crazy_asian_man said:

Amazing Spiderman with Garfield did have 3d option- but by no means wasn't even close to "Avatar" box office. In looking back, I really wish Raimi still went ahead and just finished his #4, even if the 3d looked horrible, it wouldn't have mattered in the long run if the 2d was good!

I mean actually properly filmed in 3D during production which is a lot of extra work. I’m pretty sure the 3D version of The Amazing Spider-man was a post conversion job.

[crazy_asian_man]

Oct 28, 2022 15:32:50 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Oct 27, 2022 20:00:47 GMT -5 crazy_asian_man said:

Amazing Spiderman with Garfield did have 3d option- but by no means wasn't even close to "Avatar" box office. In looking back, I really wish Raimi still went ahead and just finished his #4, even if the 3d looked horrible, it wouldn't have mattered in the long run if the 2d was good!

I mean actually properly filmed in 3D during production which is a lot of extra work. I’m pretty sure the 3D version of The Amazing Spider-man was a post conversion job.

Right... that's kind of what I meant. I think the sfx guy meant that Raimi looked at the release date Sony wanted and Raimi figured it couldn't be met with the extra work needed to have the 3d look good.... I remember complaints about Clash of the Titans' sequel being converted at the last minute to 3d and looking terrible.... but I would have been ok with that if everything else turned out right non-3d.

[atp]

Mr Thau could have helped Raimi to create 3D in CGI

[Metallo]

Oct 28, 2022 17:39:21 GMT -5 crazy_asian_man said:

Oct 28, 2022 15:32:50 GMT -5 Metallo said:

I mean actually properly filmed in 3D during production which is a lot of extra work. I’m pretty sure the 3D version of The Amazing Spider-man was a post conversion job.

Right... that's kind of what I meant. I think the sfx guy meant that Raimi looked at the release date Sony wanted and Raimi figured it couldn't be met with the extra work needed to have the 3d look good.... I remember complaints about Clash of the Titans' sequel being converted at the last minute to 3d and looking terrible.... but I would have been ok with that if everything else turned out right non-3d.

I imagine the studio probably wanted the movie filmed in 3D not a post conversion. The full 3D filmed version is probably what Raimi turned down. Properly filming in 3D takes much more planning and more cumbersome specialized equipment.

A post conversion would be some extra effort but not nearly as much. By the time they decided to switch gears to The Amazing Spider-Man it was far too late to mount a true 3D shoot so we got a more cheaply done 3D release.

[Metallo]

www.darkhorizons.com/wonder-woman-3-more-dead-at-dc/

“Wonder Woman 3” & More Dead At DC

By Garth Franklin
Wednesday, December 7th 2022 6:52 pm

As new DC Studios chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran finalise their multi-year plan for DC’s future for the next decade, hard choices are being made.

According to THR, the pair are expected to meet with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav next week to lay out their vision of what’s to come, and the first details have emerged.

Multiple sources tell the trade that Patty Jenkins’ third “Wonder Woman” film is considered ‘dead’ and is not moving forward. Jenkins and co-writer Geoff Johns recently submitted a treatment, and Warners co-CEOs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy broke the news to the filmmaker, saying her project did not fit in with the new plan.

What this means for the future of the character and actress Gal Gadot’s portrayal of the role is unclear.

The rest of DC remains in question, with the shuttering of the Snyder-verse a good possibility. That means everyone from Jason Momoa as Aquaman to Henry Cavill as Superman are out.

Both are set to cameo in “The Flash” next Summer, with Cavill having shot his in September, but there’s reportedly debate within the studio as to whether or not to keep the cameo and if its inclusion promises something that the studio can’t deliver.

No plans have been finalised yet, but the Cavill situation is complicated as he’s talked publicly about his return to the role and already did a cameo in “Black Adam”.

Warners was indeed developing a sequel to 2013’s “Man of Steel” and was actively meeting with writers about it. That changed with the Gunn/Safran hiring, and it is now looking unlikely. The same goes for a “Black Adam” sequel which – even with ancillary revenue – will be lucky to break even. Johnson has been on the offensive against that narrative today with a piece in Deadline talking about the film’s potential for profit.

Momoa meanwhile, could end up surviving the shift in much the same way Chris Evans made the jump from Fox-Marvel to Disney’s MCU. Should his “Aquaman” sequel prove Momoa’s final outing, he could return as foul-mouthed cigar-chomping intergalactic bounty hunter Lobo.

One thing that is expected to be unaffected is Matt Reeves’ “The Batman”-verse which will continue as is with both a sequel and the upcoming “The Penguin” TV series for HBO.

More is expected to be known in the coming weeks.

www.darkhorizons.com/jenkins-declined-wonder-woman-3-re-write/

Jenkins Declined “Wonder Woman 3” Re-Write

By Garth Franklin
Thursday, December 8th 2022 4:26 pm


In the wake of the DC Studios report yesterday, further details have emerged about the biggest revelation of the story – the apparent scrapping of the current incarnation of a third “Wonder Woman” film.

Deadline reports that it was filmmaker Patty Jenkins herself who walked away from the project after receiving notes on the treatment she submitted.

Jenkins made a threequel pitch that reportedly “had character arc problems which rivalled that of Wonder Woman 1984” – the widely panned sequel to the acclaimed first outing.

Warner Bros. Motion Picture chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy had concerns about the treatment even before new DC chiefs Peter Safran, and James Gunn weighed in.

All reportedly provided notes, but Jenkins fought back and defended her vision. She was given the opportunity for another pass but opted to walk.

Now the question is whether star Gal Gadot wants to stay and make another sans Jenkins, with a recent tweet suggesting she might.

www.darkhorizons.com/jenkins-denies-wonder-woman-3-reports/

Jenkins Denies “Wonder Woman 3” Reports

By Garth Franklin
Tuesday, December 13th 2022 5:15 pm

After being the subject of various reports lately, and a lot of speculation, filmmaker Patty Jenkins has gone on the record to clear up reports about her involvement in both the third “Wonder Woman” film and the “Star Wars” spin-off feature “Rogue Squadron”.

In a statement released on Twitter, she says she was going to exit “Rogue Squadron” over scheduling issues as she wanted to get to work on “Wonder Woman 3” after several delays on that sequel.

Lucasfilm then made a new deal with her which is still in effect and will see her return to the project after finishing “Wonder Woman 3”. She says:

“That project has been in active development ever since [our new deal]. I don’t know if it will happen or not. We never do until the development process is complete, but I look forward to its potential ahead.”

She then turned her attention towards recent reports and backlash over a third “Wonder Woman” film not happening and that how the “attractive clickbait false story” was that it was Jenkins who killed it or walked away from the project. She outright denies such claims:

This is simply not true. | never walked away. | was open to considering anything asked of me. It was my understanding there was nothing | could do to move anything forward at this time. DC is obviously buried in changes they are having to make, so | understand these decisions are difficult right now.

Her statement continues praising her time with the character, her leading lady Gal Gadot, and the fans who supported her and the character:

| do not want what has been a beautiful journey with WW to land on a negative note. | have loved and been so honored to be the person who got to make these last two Wonder Woman films… | wish her and her legacy an amazing future ahead, with or without me.”

The comments feel like she is saying goodbye to the character either way, so what this means for the progress of the “Rogue Squadron” film is unclear. DC is in the midst of a complete overhaul of its slate so big questions linger as to the future of those characters and the actors currently playing those roles.

[Metallo]

www.darkhorizons.com/a-keaton-led-batman-beyond-scrapped/

A Keaton-Led “Batman Beyond” Scrapped?

By Garth Franklin
Thursday, December 8th 2022 6:36 pm

Following on from the various DC reports of the past day or so, a new one has emerged saying it wasn’t just a third “Wonder Woman” that had been scrapped.

According to Jeff Sneider on this week’s The Hot Mic episode, a solo “Batman” film starring Michael Keaton was in development at DC until new studio chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran nixed it.

Keaton is returning to the role he played back in 1989 and 1992 in next year’s “The Flash” film in a major role. It was to be the first of a planned series of appearances with the actor also confirmed to have appeared in the now scrapped “Batgirl” movie, and rumored to have shot a nixed cameo in the “Aquaman” sequel.

There had also been talk of Keaton potentially getting his own potential solo film with Christina Hodson (“Birds of Prey”) writing the script, and this report indicates that such a film was in development – but no longer.

Veteran scooper El Mayimbe followed that report up with one of his own, saying the film in question was going to be a live-action “Batman Beyond” film with Keaton as the elderly Bruce Wayne opposite a younger actor in that Batsuit as Terry McGinnis.

www.darkhorizons.com/dc-scrapped-crisis-catwoman-knight/

DC Scrapped “Crisis,” Catwoman & Knight

By Garth Franklin
Friday, December 9th 2022 4:02 pm

Earlier this week, THR put a foot in the hornet’s nest with its story about the scrapping of “Wonder Woman 3” and the discussion of where things stand with “Man of Steel 2,” “Black Adam 2” and other projects at DC Studios and Warner Bros. Discovery.

New chiefs James Gunn and Peter Safran are set to shake things up with their plan for an interconnected DC future, but that has led to understandable questions as to what it means for existing DC properties and actors.

In the wake of that report, some further details cropped up elsewhere, including more about Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” exit, Dwayne Johnson’s awkward defense of the “Black Adam” box-office, and the apparent scrapping of what could have been a Michael Keaton-led “Batman Beyond” adaptation.

Gunn himself even weighed in on the reports, saying some is true, some half-true, some not true, and some not even decided yet. Now, in a Friday newsletter briefing, THR have done a follow-up and revealed a few more details they’ve unearthed.

First up they confirm the “Man of Steel” sequel has “stalled out” and is not going anywhere at this point, even though it was moving before the Gunn-Safran hiring. They add that “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight penned a treatment for the film earlier this Fall, one that failed to excite Warners execs and so it wasn’t moving that much.

Next, they say there’s the former head of DC Films Walter Hamada who apparently had a long-range plan to return Cavill’s Superman to DC with cameos in “The Flash” and “Aquaman” to have teased what would’ve been a “Crisis on Infinite Earth” major tentpole film – one that would’ve seen Cavill fully returned as Superman.

Finally, the report confirms that Christina Hodson was indeed writing a “Batman Beyond” film which would’ve been a spin-off from next year’s “The Flash” (which she also wrote). Hodson reportedly pitched her take, which executives adored, and she got to work writing.

Then, two weeks after the hires of Gunn and Safran, she was told to stop. The real kicker though? That project was looking to resuscitate the romance between Keaton’s Batman and Michecke Pfeiffer’s Catwoman (it’s unclear if Pfeiffer would’ve returned).

For now, everything seems unclear ahead of Gunn and Safran’s presentation to the Warners execs next week of their major plans.

Source: THR

[Metallo]

www.darkhorizons.com/aquaman-sequel-budget-surpasses-205m/

“Aquaman” Sequel Budget Surpasses $205M?

By Garth Franklin
Wednesday, December 14th 2022 5:45 pm

A new report over at Variety about both the future of DC and cost-cutting measures at Warner Bros. Discovery has revealed James Wan’s upcoming sequel “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” has gone past its original budget.

The report says that prior to James Gunn and Peter Safran taking charge at DC Studios, Warner Bros. co-chief Pam Abdy had to tell Wan to reduce his reshoot budget as the film had already gone over the planned $205 million budget outlay.

The film is one of the legacy DC titles that Gunn and Safran have to shepherd to cinemas whilst still creating their own film universe. It indicates that should reshoots and tweaks be required to fit the existing “Aquaman” films into this new universe, it could “easily cost millions more”.

Thus the new “Aquaman” is likely to stand alone from that DC sea change which isn’t expected to show off any potential results until at least 2024 at the absolute earliest.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” was originally intended for release this month, but delays have pushed it back a full year to next Christmas.

[Metallo]

www.darkhorizons.com/gunn-reeves-shoot-down-batman-report/

Gunn, Reeves Shoot Down Batman Report

By Garth Franklin
Wednesday, December 14th 2022 12:53 pm

Filmmakers James Gunn and Matt Reeves have both denied a Variety report that sprang up this morning suggesting DC Studios chiefs Gunn and Peter Safran will work to incorporate the world of Reeves’ “The Batman” into their upcoming DC cinematic universe (DCU).

The report indicated discussions were underway between Gunn, Reeves and Safran about how to incorporate Reeves’ ultra-gritty Robert Pattinson-led take on the Caped Crusader into the larger decade-spanning DCU.

Gunn has now taken to Twitter to deny the report, and has done so in a classy way saying: “There are few reporters I love more than @adambvary – truly a good guy – but in this case he needs to get a new source as this is entirely untrue.” Reeves followed that tweet up, saying “The source I’m really liking on this is Mr. @jamesgunn.”

The shooting down of the original report follows on from Patty Jenkins’ more long-winded denial yesterday of recent trade reports about the nature of her exit from “Wonder Woman 3”. As such, the future of DC remains murky until Gunn and Safran unveil their plans for a new superhero cinematic universe.

[crazy_asian_man]

After seeing how horrible WW84 turned out- with extra time to boot....

I'm split on a rebooted WW- the first one (and the first half) was done so well- that a reboot needs to be just as good or better with the origin story.

Sad that Jenkins is out- but... WW84 was SO bad....

Having the whole DC universe rebooted from the ground up (Pretty much) might be a good idea- but.... have to wait and see.

[Metallo]

Dec 15, 2022 4:16:03 GMT -5 crazy_asian_man said:

After seeing how horrible WW84 turned out- with extra time to boot....

I'm split on a rebooted WW- the first one (and the first half) was done so well- that a reboot needs to be just as good or better with the origin story.

Sad that Jenkins is out- but... WW84 was SO bad....

Having the whole DC universe rebooted from the ground up (Pretty much) might be a good idea- but.... have to wait and see.

I thought most of the first WW movie worked very well. I also thought parts of it were deeply flawed and could have been improved on. Gadot was good but not great and I do think they can do better. If they reboot it I’m fine because it’s connected to a flawed universe. WW84 only strengthened the case to starting over because that film was a major nosedive in quality.

[Metallo]

www.darkhorizons.com/cavill-gadot-the-flash-cameos-scrapped/

Cavill & Gadot “The Flash” Cameos Scrapped

By Garth Franklin
Friday, December 16th 2022 1:57 pm

Almost two months after actor Henry Cavill declared on social media he was back as Superman, the actor had to reveal he won’t be back in the role after all.

The news wasn’t surprising, new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran are overhauling the DC universe and setting a new course for Superman with a younger actor sought for a new take which will be written by Gunn.

That overhaul is expected to have an impact on the previous regime’s DC features. THR today reports that both Cavill and Gal Gadot shot cameos as Superman and Wonder Woman respectively for the upcoming “The Flash” film, but both are now being cut as the studio isn’t going forwards with either “Man of Steel 2” or “Wonder Woman 3”.

The trade says Cavill found himself in a “confluence of different headwinds” at the studio. Dwayne Johnson did indeed push for his return via the “Black Adam” cameo. Cavill reportedly did not have a deal in place to return, only a verbal agreement that the studio would develop future projects.

The soft $389 million worldwide gross of “Black Adam” calls into question any potential sequel plans, with one insider saying: “In the end, he was a pawn in Dwayne’s failed attempt to control a piece of DC.”

Warner Bros. Pictures co-chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy reportedly did want to make a “Man of Steel” sequel and had hired “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight to write the treatment, which would have had Brainiac as the villain.

Gunn and Safran met with Cavill, Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa personally to discuss their plans and have indicated potential new roles (be it acting or, in Affleck’s case, directing).

Gunn himself has been tweeting up a storm in recent days, with tidbits dropping every few hours. He says: “everything with Black Adam happened before I was around,” he confirms the Superman film he’s doing is NOT an origin story, even though it is a younger Superman, and that they will be focusing on the most well-known DC characters and some lesser known characters simultaneously.

He also confirms that while Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is not a part of the DCU, the Batman character will be an essential part of the new universe.

[atp]

The MoS bullies must be upset

[Metallo]

Dec 17, 2022 3:37:13 GMT -5 atp said:

The MoS bullies must be upset

They chose to back the wrong horse. A horse that’s been limping along in misery for nine years. Someone finally decided to be merciful and put it down.

[crazy_asian_man]

Dec 16, 2022 17:23:20 GMT -5 Metallo said:

www.darkhorizons.com/cavill-gadot-the-flash-cameos-scrapped/

Cavill & Gadot “The Flash” Cameos Scrapped

By Garth Franklin
Friday, December 16th 2022 1:57 pm

Almost two months after actor Henry Cavill declared on social media he was back as Superman, the actor had to reveal he won’t be back in the role after all.

The news wasn’t surprising, new DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran are overhauling the DC universe and setting a new course for Superman with a younger actor sought for a new take which will be written by Gunn.

That overhaul is expected to have an impact on the previous regime’s DC features. THR today reports that both Cavill and Gal Gadot shot cameos as Superman and Wonder Woman respectively for the upcoming “The Flash” film, but both are now being cut as the studio isn’t going forwards with either “Man of Steel 2” or “Wonder Woman 3”.

The trade says Cavill found himself in a “confluence of different headwinds” at the studio. Dwayne Johnson did indeed push for his return via the “Black Adam” cameo. Cavill reportedly did not have a deal in place to return, only a verbal agreement that the studio would develop future projects.

The soft $389 million worldwide gross of “Black Adam” calls into question any potential sequel plans, with one insider saying: “In the end, he was a pawn in Dwayne’s failed attempt to control a piece of DC.”

Warner Bros. Pictures co-chiefs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy reportedly did want to make a “Man of Steel” sequel and had hired “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight to write the treatment, which would have had Brainiac as the villain.

Gunn and Safran met with Cavill, Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa personally to discuss their plans and have indicated potential new roles (be it acting or, in Affleck’s case, directing).

Gunn himself has been tweeting up a storm in recent days, with tidbits dropping every few hours. He says: “everything with Black Adam happened before I was around,” he confirms the Superman film he’s doing is NOT an origin story, even though it is a younger Superman, and that they will be focusing on the most well-known DC characters and some lesser known characters simultaneously.

He also confirms that while Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” is not a part of the DCU, the Batman character will be an essential part of the new universe.

Not that it's the end of the world news on it- but I would have enjoyed seeing a lot of the cameos - if they were already filmed, why not include them, even if they reboot the whole universe?

Oh well...

[Metallo]

[crazy_asian_man]

With all the previous hype and the L-L-L-ONG wait for this, I'm trying to lower expectations.

Plus- if the movie didn't have enough of an uphill battle to try to make big $$$ - this comes AFTER Spiderman: No Way Home, Dr. Strange 2.... not to mention it's coming out after (I think) Guardians 3 and Quantumania---

I hope it's good, but definitely need to lower expectations, and not go by the Marvel bar set...

[Metallo]

I feel the same. Those other films had speculation running wild and when certain things didn’t happen people got angry even though those things weren’t promised. I’m more curious about The Flash movie than anything. I’m also keeping my expectations in check.

[crazy_asian_man]

Jan 16, 2023 12:58:56 GMT -5 Metallo said:

I feel the same. Those other films had speculation running wild and when certain things didn’t happen people got angry even though those things weren’t promised. I’m more curious about The Flash movie than anything. I’m also keeping my expectations in check.

Spiderman: No Way Home, I'm glad to say EXCEEDED my expectations.
Dr. Strange 2- I enjoyed, but the title, mixed with tv's Crisis on Infinite Earths and No Way Home had me feeling it was going to be a 'big' film like Avengers Endgame, with a gazillion guest stars and more of a group movie like Civil War was---

Wish Dr. Strange 2 hadn't had 'multiverse' woven into it, nor had the guest stars in the trailer. (Though some argue that prior to the tease, the interest in Dr. Strange 2 wasn't that high).

As it was- I thought it was very good, but could have added 10-15 minutes to go even deeper with character, if it wasn't going to be the big event that I expected.

[Metallo]

[crazy_asian_man]

It looks... good.
I enjoyed the first one- although I do think that the casting and approach to Billy Batson/ Shazam is a bit contradictory-

Love Zach Levi's work.... but the actor playing Billy Batson comes off as a bit hard-edged (nothing wrong with that but)- rather than the Zach Levi character in a younger body.... and conversely, Zach Levi's portrayal doesn't feel like the kid actor in an older body.

But- the movie was decent and a decent enough adaptation. I think this will be entertaining, but it'd be nice if the story aims for other layers as well, if it can.

[Metallo]

[crazy_asian_man]

Interesting, but.... I just wish they released this a LOT earlier so as to avoid all the controversy. Will the long delays, hard not to feel the shadow of real life hanging over the movie.

[Metallo]