Booster Gold (Hi-Fi/DC Comics), Superman (Jim Lee/DC Comics), Damian Wayne (Frank Quitely/DC Comics)Graphic: The A.V. Club
When Warner Bros. tapped James Gunn and Peter Safran to run DC Studios, we expected they’d draw a new roadmap for the turbulent comics-to-film universe. Now that they’ve revealed plans for their upcoming projects, we have our first sense of what the map looks like, at least for the near future. This first chapter, which Gunn and Safran are calling “Gods and Monsters,” will include 10 new film and TV projects. Gunn and Safran have said they intend to focus on screenwriting and allowing other creators to put their stamp on familiar characters as well as more obscure ones from the comics.
These titles will exist in their own corner of the DC universe, distinct from upcoming releases that predate Gunn and Safran’s tenure. Still to come this year are Shazam! Fury Of The Gods on March 17, The Flash on June 16, Blue Beetle on Aug. 18, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on Dec. 25. Once those are cleared from the slate, the pair expect to launch two films and two series per year from 2024 on. The only DC projects that have broad release dates so far are Superman: Legacy and The Batman: Part II, both due in 2025. Read on for a complete list of all the newly announced titles.
Good luck on the minefield of social media today as the post-credits scene of DC’s Black Adamhas leaked, over a week before the film’s October 21 release. As Warner Bros. gets to work scrubbing posts, we imagine the Rock is gearing up to take back his thunder.
If you haven’t yet seen the clip in question already, you may not get a chance: posts have begun to be blocked with takedowns from Warner Bros that read, “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.” They’re on the case! (io9 has reached out to the studio for comment, and will update this post if we hear back.)
If you want to be kept in the dark about what goes down, do not read ahead and be sure to block and filter all Black Adam, DC Comics, and the Rock/Dwayne Johnson-adjacent keywords on all your devices.
And here’s your second warning: if you don’t want to be spoiled for Black Adam’s post-credit scene, don’t read ahead!
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Great deals happening right now Sad that Prime Day is over? Don’t be! Best Buy is picking up the slack with a sales event of its own. From smart TVs to earbuds to laptops, there are plenty of opportunities to save.
Honestly it’s the worst-kept secret; the leaked scene just confirms what we already suspected since it was heavily hinted at by Johnson himself at this summer’s San Diego Comic-Con.
And lest we forget, the post-credits scene of DC’s League of Super-Pets featured the Rock as Cosmo meeting another dog (also voiced by the Rock) owned by Black Adam (voiced by, you guessed it, the Rock).
So truly, it’s been telegraphed that Superman would return and he does at the end of Black Adam. And yes, he’s played by Henry Cavill, confirming the DCEU’s Man of Steel is officially back. In the scene, he appears before Black Adam in a more saturated color suit invoking the hero’s classic look in red, blue, and prominent yellow. The vibe is combative as Supes comes out of a veil of smoke and tells Black Adam, “It’s been a while since anyone’s made the world this nervous,” setting up their eventual confrontation on the big screen.
We’re just wondering if it will be called BAvS: The Fight for the Hierarchy of Power. Expect a lot of debate and speculation over DC’s cinematic future once movie audiences at large check out Black Adam starting October 21.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
WB Studio TourPhoto: Matt Winkelmeyer (Getty Images)
Can DC ever chart a course to navigate out of Marvel’s shadow? That’s been the question for the last 10 years (since the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy). Newly crowned Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav thinks he has the answer, which is… the same thing the guys before him tried to do, basically.
“You look at Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman—these are brands that are known everywhere in the world,” Zaslav said on the infamous WB earnings call (per The Hollywood Reporter). “We have done a reset. We’ve restructured the business where we are going to focus, where there is going to be a team with a ten year plan focusing just on DC. We believe we can build a much more sustainable business.”
Oh, gee, a 10 year plan? Why didn’t anyone think of that before? It’s a strange bit of corporate gaslighting to pretend we weren’t all around for the attempted Zack Snyder-verse. Further, it’s not much of a “reset” when only one film (Batgirl) was canceled and the rest–which are all still tangled up in the Snyderverse to some degree–are going forward (even the dreaded Flash film).
“It’s very similar to the structure Alan Horn, [former Disney CEO] Bob Iger and Kevin Feige put together very effectively at Disney,” said Zaslav, as if copy-pasting from the MCU handbook worked for any of his predecessors. He may want to consider that Feige is someone that directors actually want to work for; the Marvel boss’ compassionate response to Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah after Batgirl was canned only makes Zaslav and DC look even worse in comparison.
But Zaslav is determined to “focus on quality” and not “release any film before it’s ready,” which sounds more like the baseline for the film industry than an innovative new strategy. “The objective is to grow the DC brand. To grow the DC characters,” he said. “But also, our job is to protect the DC brand, and that’s what we’re going to do.” DC fans will surely sleep better knowing this is the guy protecting their beloved heroes.
Leslie Grace, the star of “Batgirl” — the $90 million DC film which was cut by Warner Bros. — has spoken out about the unexpected twist of fate for the first time.
The Post this week revealed the film’s cast and crew were not informed that their multi-million-dollar project was shelved by the studio.
Sharing behind-the-scenes footage from the film, Grace said she was “proud” of the film in her first social media post since the sad news.
“Querida familia! On the heels of the recent news about our movie ‘Batgirl,’ I am proud of the love, hard work, and intention all of our incredible cast and tireless crew put into this film over seven months in Scotland,” she wrote in her Instagram post.
“I feel blessed to have worked among absolute greats and forged relationships for a lifetime in the process!”
The star of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s movie-musical “In The Heights” added, “To every Batgirl fan – THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, ‘my own damn hero!’”
Grace’s post came just hours after directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah released their own statement about the unexpected scrapping of the film.
The pair — who also directed “Bad Boys For Life” — said they were “saddened and shocked” by the fate of the film, which also starred Michael Keaton, JK Simmons, and Brendan Fraser.
The actress was set to star as “Batgirl” in the upcoming DC film.FilmMagicGrace’s post came just hours after directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah released their own statement about the unexpected scrapping of the film.@lesliegraceThe Post this week revealed the film’s cast and crew were not informed that their multi-million-dollar project was shelved by the studio. @lesliegrace
“We still can’t believe it. As directors, it is critical that our work be shown to audiences, and while the film was far from finished, we wish that fans all over the world would have had the opportunity to see and embrace the final film themselves,” they wrote.
“Our amazing cast and crew did a tremendous job and worked so hard to bring Batgirl to life. We are forever grateful to have been part of that team,” they added.
The filmmakers thanked their cast, “especially the great Leslie Grace, who portrayed Batgirl with so much passion, dedication, and humanity.”
“In any case, as huge fans of Batman since we were little kids, it was a privilege and an honor to have been a part of the DCEU, even if it was for a brief moment. Batgirl For Life,” El Arbi and Fallah added.
The nixed movie has become a mess for the studio, with fans online demanding the film be released — and the debacle has been made more egregious by the fact that the film is led by a Latina actress surrounded by a diverse cast and filmmakers.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has debuted a fierce superhero look in the trailer for his upcoming DC Comics film “Black Adam.”
The flick follows the anti-hero of the same name who – after roughly 5,000 years of imprisonment – becomes free to “unleash his unique form of justice on the modern world,” according to the trailer’s description.
Johnson expressed interest in playing the character in 2007 and was set to make his first DC Extended Universe appearance in the 2019 superhero film “Shazam!,” a film about Black Adam’s enemy. Those plans, however, were scrapped in favor of the spinoff film for Johnson’s character.
Watch the trailer for “Black Adam,” set for an October 19 release date, below:
“Black Adam” marks one of two superhero movies expected to feature Johnson in 2022. He is also going to provide the voice of Superman’s dog Krypto in the upcoming film “DC League of Super-Pets.”
“Black Adam” is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who directed “Jungle Cruise” featuring Johnson last year. In an interview with Variety, Collet-Serra called Black Adam the “Dirty Harry of superheroes” in a reference to the 1971 Clint Eastwood thriller.
The CW has released a preview for “Truth and Consequences”, the eleventh episode of Superman & Lois‘ second season. The series returned this week after a several week break and caught viewers up to speed on everything they needed to know about the Inverse World, including Jon El (Jordan Elsass) who showed up at the end of “30 Days and 30 Nights”. And what they needed to know was pretty grim: Ally Alston, having merged with herself, sent Jon to find and merge with Earth-Prime’s Jonathan Kent and if Lois’ scream in the preview — which you check out for yourself below — is any sign, Jonathan Kent may be in real trouble.
Jon El’s plans definitely fit in what Jordan Kent actor Alex Garfin previously teased in terms of major problems that “Bizarro Jonathan” would cause in Smallville.
“Bizarro Jonathan really starts to screw things up,” Garfin said. “Also, you have to remember that he’s their son, but he’s not really their son. It’s a bit of that Natalie syndrome that we had, only this time he seems like he’s a little evil. That’s gonna be an interesting mix of emotions for everyone involved. Also, Jordan Elsass idolizes Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight, so I was really happy to see that he gets to play a villain, because he’s been wanting to do that since day one, so I’m glad they gave that to him.”
The episode will see the return of Arrow star David Ramsey, though this time he’ll be behind the camera directing. Ramsey previously directed Season 1’s “Man of Steel” and Season 2’s “The Ties That Bind” as well. You can check out the episode synopsis for yourself below.
“DAVID RAMSEY (“ARROW”) DIRECTS THE EPISODE – We pick up right where we left off with Jon-El (Jordan Elsass) smirking at Lois (Elizabeth Tulloch), who is still standing on the porch with Jordan (Alex Garfin). Jon-El, catches sight of his doppelganger Jonathan (Jordan Elsass), standing not too far away. He lunges at him, and Jordan tries to intervene but Jon-El appears to be stronger and faster than him. Tyler Hoechlin, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Dylan Walsh, Erik Valdez, Inde Navarrette, Wole Parks, Sofia Hasmik and Taylor Hack also star. The episode was directed by David Ramsey and written by Andrew N. Wong.”
Superman & Lois airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on The CW. “Truth and Consequences” will air on May 3rd.
Henry Cavill in Man Of SteelScreenshot: Warner Bros.
The Suicide Squadintroduced plenty of characters who hadn’t had their chance to shine onscreen, from Peacemaker to Polka-Dot Man. But perhaps the biggest surprise for DC fans was seeing Starro The Conqueror as the villain that the squad battles. James Gunn proved that a giant starfish can actually be pretty intimidating—and his inclusion inadvertently gave the very timely message that if you just cover your damn face, you won’t die (… from having Starro’s face-huggers sucking on your face to mind-control you). However, it turns out Gunn initially wanted a very different “villain” to face off against the squad: Superman.
While on the podcast Script Apart, The Suicide Squad’s writer and director talked about how, before choosing Starro as the villain, he thought the Suicide Squad should fight Superman. He believed that it would be “a very interesting story.” Ultimately, he scrapped the idea when he realized that Starro would make a far better villain to fight. “When I came up with Starro, he’s a character I love from the comics. I think he’s the perfect comic book character, because absolutely ludicrous but he’s also very scary in his own way,” he explained.
Gunn read the comics while growing up and he remembering thinking that Starro and his mind control powers were terrifying back then. “What he does is scary,” Gunn said. “He used to scare the crap out of me when I was a child, putting those face-huggers on Superman and Batman and stuff. So I thought he was one of the major, major DC villains that was probably never going to be put into another movie. And if they did, they would do it like, the black cloud version of Starro. Not a giant walking starfish, a kaiju that is bright pink and cerulean blue, just ridiculously big, bright bad guy.”
Having Superman be the villain wouldn’t be a bad fit; if anything, it’d feel reminiscent of the critically acclaimed Harley Quinn animated series. But Starro forces the squad to prove their abilities, with an intense and very entertaining face-off in the movie’s final moments.
Spanish Captain America comicPhoto: PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images
From Al Jaffe to Jerry Siegel and Joel Schuster, there’s no shortage of comics artists, creators, and writers getting screwed by publishers. Pretty much as soon as the likes of Marvel and D.C. realized that they could cheat creators out of money, they began doing so. And according to a new report by The Guardian, the big two are still playing the hits, preventing creators like Ed Brubaker and Jim Starlin from reaping the benefits of introducing the world to the likes of The Winter Soldier and Thanos through ridiculous contract agreements and pitiful bonuses.
In a recent newsletter, Brubaker, who was already not feeling great about a Winter Soldier TV show, lamented about being so closely related to the world of the Winter Soldier while being left out of the part that puts food on the table: the money. “For the most part, all [co-creator Steve Epting] and I have got for creating the Winter Soldier and his storyline is a ‘thanks’ here or there, and over the years that’s become harder and harder to live with,” Brubaker wrote.
“I have a great life as a writer and much of it is because of Cap and the Winter Soldier bringing so many readers to my other work. But I also can’t deny feeling a bit sick to my stomach sometimes when my inbox fills up with people wanting comments on the show.”
The Guardian goes on to explain that “according to multiple sources, when a writer or artist’s work features prominently in a Marvel film, the company’s practice is to send the creator an invitation to the premiere and a cheque for $5,000.” This is one option. Several sources said that they could also receive nothing or a rare “special character contract,” which allows creators to claim payment when their characters or storylines are used. One anonymous Marvel creator said, “I’ve been offered a [special character contract] that was really, really terrible, but it was that or nothing […] And then instead of honouring it, they send a thank you note and are like, ‘Here’s some money we don’t owe you!’ and it’s five grand. And you’re like, ‘The movie made a billion dollars.’”
Sometimes, even actions that should amount to polite business dealings, such as invitations to premieres, slip through the cracks. The Guardian reports that Brubaker and Epting showed up for the Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film very much indebted to their Captain America run, premiere party in tuxes, only to find out they weren’t on the list. Sebastian Stan, who plays the character they created, had to get them in.
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The Guardian explains how these contracts work:
Comic creators are “work-for-hire”, so the companies they work for owe them nothing beyond a flat fee and royalty payments. But Marvel and DC also incentivise popular creators to stay on with the promise of steady work and what they call “equity”: a tiny share of the profits, should a character they create or a storyline they write become fodder for films, shows or merch. For some creators, work they did decades ago is providing vital income now as films bring their comics to a bigger audience; they reason – and the companies seem to agree – it’s only fair to pay them more. DC has a boilerplate internal contract, which the Guardian has seen, which guarantees payments to creators when their characters are used. Marvel’s contracts are similar, according to two sources with knowledge of them, but harder to find; some Marvel creators did not know they existed.
The whole report is very much worth reading as it breaks down the fraught history between the people who create comic book characters and the companies that profit off those creations. Read the whole article at The Guardian.
We can now add young Kryptonian butt-kicker Supergirl to Warner Media’s ongoing efforts to duplicate (at least!) every single character in their DC Comics film and TV rosters, with Deadline reporting that Sasha Calle will play a new version of the character in Andy Muschietti’s upcoming Flash movie. Calle is best known for her role on The Young And The Restless, where she’s appeared for the last 283 or so episodes. (That’s “since 2018″ in non-soap-opera speak.)
Muschietti posted a video today on his Instagram, showing the moment in which he revealed to Calle that she’d been cast in the part, and it is, you know, exceedingly cute and sweet. Calle was one of reportedly more than 400 performers who auditioned for the part (without, apparently, even knowing what role they were going for for much of the process); among other things, she read with the film’s star, Ezra Miller, as part of the extensive vetting process. Calle is the first Latinx actor to play the character, who’s currently portrayed by Melissa Benoist over on The CW’s Arrowverse of shows.
Meanwhile, there’s still not much known about The Flash, which has been in development for years now without much in the way of forward movement. The biggest news, of course, was the addition of Michael Keaton’s Batman to the cast, making it clear that the film would likely be dipping heavily into the DC Comics multiverse. There’s also the big intended part that won’t be going forward; Ray Fisher’s Cyborg was originally slated to appear in the film, but his high-profile disagreements with DC Films over alleged abusive treatment on the set of Justice League has pretty thoroughly scorched that particular earth by now.
