Thoughts on Recent DC Movie News
Well…safe to say that the month of December has not been a great month for DC fans. There’s been firings and cancellations happening left, right, and center. So what do I think about the news? Am I excited for it? Disappointed? Let’s get started!
What is the news?: So back in October it was confirmed that James Gunn and Peter Safran were hired as the new heads of DC. They were going to be building a new DC Universe and rebooting the already existing DCEU. And with it being rebooted people have been wondering what it's going to look like, who is and isn’t staying in their roles. Beyond that we know at least one of the movies James Gunn is a part of. We know who’s gotten fired and who might be staying.
Henry Cavill is out as Superman: This was probably the biggest news to drop through-out all of this. Cavill’s time as Superman has been very very bizarre. So he was hired to play Superman back in January 2011 for a Superman movie titled Man of Steel released in June 2013. He then appeared again in Batman v Superman and Justice League (2017). But after the release of Justice League it was very unclear as to if we will ever see Henry Cavill dawn the cape again. And during the press tour for Black Adam, Dwayne Johnson basically confirmed and spoiled that Henry Cavill was appearing in the mid-credit scene. And then the Tuesday or Wednesday after Black Adam came out. Cavill confirmed that he was back as Superman and that a Man of Steel 2 was in the works. But in under 2 months after announcing his return. Cavill and James Gunn posted that Cavill was no longer playing Superman. James Gunn said that he loves Henry and his version of the character. But for what Gunn and Safran’s plans for the DCU are, they can’t do it with Cavill’s Superman. So what do I think about this? I’m bummed that we aren’t getting more of Cavill as Superman. Because I really liked him in the role, I thought he fits this version of Superman really really well. But I also think that rebooting the DCEU with a new focus is a good idea. But James Gunn has said that Superman will be a big focus for this new DCEU era…and that will lead us into our next piece of information.
James Gunn’s Superman Movie: So it was confirmed that James Gunn is writing the new Superman movie. He’s currently working on a script for a non origin story Superman film, that is showing a younger version of the character. Therefore if you want to do a young Superman movie, Henry Cavill is not the right guy to be playing that version of Superman. So I’m very curious to see who they get to play this young version of Superman. But what are my thoughts on James Gunn writing a Superman movie? That seems like a weird pick for me. I’ve sung praise to pretty much all of James Gunn’s superhero work with Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker. But those movies all have James Gunn’s style to them, they all have this dark sense of humor or sometimes goofy over the top tones in it. And I don’t know how either one of those fits with the character of Superman. And I don’t want a hard R Superman movie with him swearing and stuff like that. But I also don’t want Guardians of the Galaxy infused Superman either. So I hope that James Gunn finds that sweet spot for Superman, where it’s funny (maybe it’s the funniest of the Superman movies) but also very much does feel like a true Superman story.
Ben Affleck’s DC Directorial Debut: Either the same day or the day after Cavill was announced to be leaving. Reports started coming out saying that Gunn and Affleck had talked about Affleck directing a new DC movie. Now we don't really know anything about the project. We don’t know if he’s directing a Batman movie or whatever. And if this turns out to be true, that could be very exciting. Because Ben Affleck is a double Oscar winner. He won an Oscar 25 years ago for writing Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. And then 10 years ago the movie he directed, Argo won Best Picture. So he’s a world class director that given a DC movie could make a pretty good DC movie. If he’s writing it too, they will guarantee its success. So I need to know more about what this project is, and depending on what it is. My excitement level could go up on this movie.
Who is and isn’t leaving?: One of the big questions surrounding this DCEU reboot, is which of the characters are being re-cast and which aren’t. We know that Cavill is out, Ezra Miller most DEFINITELY out after The Flash. I don’t think that Ray Fisher is returning as Cyborg. So of the Justice League that leaves Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, and Jason Momoa. And rumors have it that Momoa’s swan song is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. That’s not set in stone, Gunn or Momoa haven’t come out and said anything about that. Wonder Woman 3 is canceled, that movie is no longer moving forward. But they never said that Gal Gadot is done, so there’s still a chance she’s coming back. So With Ben Affleck, I have no idea. Him and Momoa are basically wild cards in my mind. I think it’s pretty 50/50 going either direction. James Gunn has said that all of the surviving cast of The Suicide Squad are staying, which means Margot Robbie is going to continue as Harley Quinn. James Gunn said the Peacemaker season 2 is still happening, so John Cena is staying. The other two are Dwayne Johnson and Zachary Levi. Dwayne Johnson put out an Instagram post saying that he and James Gunn have talked. And Black Adam isn’t a part of the first wave of James Gunn’s DC universe. It doesn’t sound like Johnson is out in any way, but we shouldn’t expect to see him anytime soon. Zachary Levi on the other hand is another wild card. I’ve heard rumors that he’s out, but Levi has also said don’t believe everything you see on the internet. Which leads me to think that he and Gunn have had conversations, and maybe he’s still in. But I don’t know what that could mean surrounding the future of Shazam! Another piece in here that nobody is really talking about is that we have Blue Beetle coming out next August. And one of the stars of Cobra Kai is Blue Beetle. So to sum all of this up, who do I think is staying and who isn’t. Cavill, Miller, and Fisher are out and not coming back. Affleck, Momoa, Levi, and Blue Beetle are wild cards, I could go either way on them. And then Gal Gadot and Suicide Squad cast members are staying in the DC universe.
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