News

The saga surrounding Ben Affleck's upcoming The Batman continues. First, the movie seemed all but confirmed, then Affleck made some comments that made it seem like the movie wasn't totally happening yet and after that, Joe Manganiello seemed to confirm shooting dates for next year. It's been messy. Now it appears that the script for The Batman is a total mess, and Warner Bros. doesn't even care.

Recently, The Ringer published a piece called "Movies Aren't Dead, but They'll Never Be the Same" about the current state of the movie industry. In it, American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis revealed that, according to some executives he's talked to, The Batman script currently has some serious issues, but that doesn't really seem to concern the brass at Warner Bros. Here is what he had to say.

"[They] were just telling me that there are serious problems with the script. And that the executives I was having dinner with were complaining about people who work on the Batman movie. And they just said they went to the studio and they said, 'Look, the script is ... Here's 30 things that are wrong with it that we can fix.' And [the executives] said, 'We don't care. We don't really care. The amount of money we're going to make globally, I mean 70 percent of our audience is not going to be seeing this in English. And it doesn't really matter, these things that you're bringing up about the flaws of the script.' So I do think global concerns play a big part in how movies, and what movies, are being made, obviously."

This information may be coming from an unexpected source, but it is still potentially very troubling. Even those DC Expanded Universe fans who loved both Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, of which there are many, can probably acknowledge that there were serious story problems in both movies. It seems like that might almost be by design if Bret Easton Ellis is even halfway correct with his comments. The fact of the matter is both of those movies brought in a ton of money at the box office despite abysmal critical response. Perhaps they are hoping the DCEU will be more akin to the Transformers franchise where people just show up no matter what ends up on the screen.

The difference here is that Ben Affleck has a lot of control over what is happening with The Batman. Not only has he personally been working on the script and insisting that the movie won't get made until it is right, but he is directing the movie as well. The man has an Oscar for screenwriting and his last movie Argo won Best Picture. His track record kind of speaks for itself at this point. He was one of the best parts of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but that was still a Zack Snyder movie. If Ben Affleck doesn't feel like The Batman is ready, it simply won't happen. They can't just hire another director to push around, because Ben Affleck is also playing the Caped Crusader, so it is his movie to save or ruin at this point. Still, it is concerning to think that Warner Bros. really may feel that way about a movie so many fans are looking forward to.

There is no doubt that The Batman (if that does ultimately wind up being the title of the movie) is going to happen at some point, but it seems like the kind of thing that Warner Bros. will want to prioritize. With Joe Manganiello already cast as Deathstroke, it is clear that preparations are being made and if he is to be believed, the movie could be shooting as early as March of 2017, which means we could possibly see the new Batman movie in 2018. It also seems like the movie is going to happen even if Warner Bros. thinks the script is a disaster, but hopefully Ben Affleck can prevent another dumpster fire for the DCEU.

SOURCE : MW

WONDER WOMAN SYNOPSIS

The story will explore the character’s origin, tracking the immortal Princess Diana’s rise as a warrior on the mythic island of Themyscira – and her eventual quest beyond its boundaries to the realm of ordinary men, where she will fight for this outside world amid the backdrop of World War I.

Hints of the movie are foreshadowed in Batman v Superman, and the Wonder Woman film will include a modern framing story set after the events of that clash of heroes, according to producer Charles Roven.

Disney is on a roll at the box office and they just recorded their best year ever. Thanks to several massive hits the studio has now made a total of $5.85 billion so far at the worldwide box office in 2016, besting their 2015 total of $5.84 billion, which was their best year up to that point. The House of Mouse may wind up with the biggest year on record for a studio, as they still have several big movies to come in 2016.

Currently, Disney's total domestic haul is $2.15 billion according to Box Office Mojo, and they very well may be able to cross $3 billion by the end of the year. Earlier this year, Disney became the fastest studio to ever cross $1 billion at the domestic box office, reaching the milestone on May 7. They were helped out quite a bit by Star Wars: The Force Awakens bringing in a large chunk of its massive domestic take after the new year. Universal previously held that record, and Disney was able to beat it by 37 days. Walt Disney chairman Alan Horn addressed the box office success Disney is experiencing in a statement.

"For the second year in a row, the Walt Disney Studios has reached a new high at the box office thanks to an absolutely stellar collection of releases from Disney, Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm. This success is a testament to the refined talent and innovative work the entire studio team puts into making these world-class cinematic experiences."

Universal currently holds the record for annual box office. The studio brought in a tremendous $6.89 billion last year thanks to massive hits like Furious 7 and Jurassic World. That record is very much attainable for Disney this year, because they still have several big movies coming out such as Doctor Strange, Moana and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Doctor Strange has already been raking it in overseas and is looking like it will have a big debut in the U.S. this weekend, so $7 billion in annual box office revenue is something Disney may be able to say when it is all said and done.

Disney has the top four grossing movies of 2016 worldwide so far, with Captain America: Civil War coming out on top with a very impressive $1.15 billion. Zootopia is currently the number two highest grossing movie for 2016, having brought in just over $1 billion, which is especially impressive for a totally original movie. Finding Dory and The Jungle Book took the number three and four spots respectively, with the former bringing in over $1 billion as well and the latter bringing in just shy of $1 billion.

The studio has had a couple of flops this year. Alice Through the Looking Glass earned just $299 million against a $170 million production budget. Granted, the original Tim Burton/Alice In Wonderland grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, so it is understandable that Disney felt like there was money to be made. Disney's biggest bomb, and perhaps the most shocking, was The BFG. It was the first collaboration between Disney and Steven Spielberg, but it only resulted in $242 million in global box office from a $140 million budget. The successes far outweigh the failures for Disney in 2016 and the rest of their releases are poised to do very well, so it is just a matter of how much more cash they bring in over the course of the next two months.

Source : MW

Last night's Comic-Con festivities came to a close with the world premiere screening of Warner Bros.' highly-anticipated animated adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke, which will debut in theaters through Fathom Events on Monday, July 25 before arriving on Blu-ray and DVD August 12. During this panel and screening, Warner Bros. also confirmed the next three DC Universe Original Movies, Justice League: Dark, Teen Titans: The Judas Contract and Batman and Harley Quinn, all slated for release in 2017. No voice cast members have been announced quite yet, but these adaptations will surely be welcomed additions to the DC Universe Original Movies lineup.

We're never getting a Planet Hulk movie. Instead, we're getting Thor: Ragnarok, which will incorporate some of Planet Hulk's iconic comic book storyline. And that continues to be evident as director Taika Waititi confirms the presence of another key Marvel character who played an important role in the Planet Hulk plot.

This past week, shooting wrapped on Thor: Ragnarok. To celebrate, the director conducted a Facebook live video, which you can see in the embed below. Here, he takes fans on a whirlwind tour of the set, which he describes as a 'sci-fi space wasteland'. He also brings in stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson for some fun. But it's the reveal of a previously unannounced character that has Marvel fans' hearts aflutter.

As it stands, Universal Pictures still holds the distribution rights to Hulk, which means Marvel isn't doing a standalone Bruce Banner movie anytime soon. Instead, they are merging the Ragnarok comic arc with that of Planet Hulk for something that will be wholly original. One thing that has been confirmed is that it will see Hulk and Thor in the galactic gladiator ring, with Hulk's armor shown off at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego.

Eleven minutes into the Facebook Live video from earlier this week, Taika Waititi introduces an actor named Steve, then drops the bombshell that Steve is actually playing Miek. Though fans of Planet Hulk will notice one startling difference between this version of the character and the one in the comics. This Miek is human.

In the comic books upon which these Marvel movies are loosely based, Hulk has been banned from Earth by the Illuminati. That accounts for his absence in Civil War. Banner, in his exile, finds himself on the planet Sakaar, where he becomes friends with Miek, and the two fight gladiator battles for Sakaar ruler The Red King. No cast member has been announced as The Red King, so it's believed that this particular Marvel character won't be showing up in a substantial role.

In the comic books, Miek is insectoid in nature, a native of Sakaar. His family and hive have been destroyed by the local army. He was captured by The Red King, enslaved, and forced to become a gladiator. Hulk and Miek team-up for their big escape, with Miek following Banner back to earth, where the pair plan to deal with the Illuminati. No synopsis or plot details have been released forThor 3 yet. It's unclear how this plot from the comics will be changed or altered. Or whether or not Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo, and Miek will show up in Avengers: Infinity War to teach Tony Stark and Stephen Strange a thing or two.

It has previously been teased by both Kevin Feige and Benedict Cumberbatch that the Illuminati will slowly be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Avengers: Infinity War. It's possible that the third Avengers sequel is planning to utilize some of this existing story telling. But we can assure you, it's not going to play out like it does in the comics. Here's the Facebook Live video in case you missed it earlier.

Source : Movieweek

If you’re looking for a break from Negan after last night’s intense episode of “The Walking Dead,” you’re in luck — the series will see the introduction of Ezekiel and his Kingdom in next week’s episode, for which AMC has released a batch of new photos...

The upcoming second episode of Season 7, titled “The Kingdom,” not only promises to introduce some newcomers to the world of the Walkers, but also is said to be a bit lighter. Showrunner Scott Gimple promised that the episode would be “funny” — which might come as music to fans ears after the last two emotionally-draining episodes.

The images showcase some Walkers, Morgan, Ezekiel, and of course Shiva, his pet tiger. In a clever nod to their comic counterparts, the image of Ezekiel and his pet mirror the cover of issue #108 of “The Walking Dead” comic series....

Source : CBR

With the mystery of “Who died at Negan‘s hand?” now resolved, “The Walking Dead” executive producers Gale Anne Hurd, Scott Gimple and Greg Nicotero and more open up about that it means for those who survived their encounter with Lucille, and for the rest of Alexadria’s residents.

“There was a bright future for them,” says series EP and Season 7 premiere director Nicotero. “The learned how to work together, they had threats from outside sources that they dealt with.”

Of course, Negan’s arrival put a violent — even by Rick and company’s standards, end to all of that.

“The over confidence of Rick Grimes and his group led to them finding themselves in a very tenuous situation with a guy named Negan,” Nicotero continued.” The hardest thing RIck had to deal was is that fact that he was completely helpless.”

Check out the full interview segment below, featuring a look at the S7 premiere, and hints of what’s to come as the season unfolds, including the introduction of King Ezekiel, how Negan’s system or survival works, and more.

Airing Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC, “The Walking Dead” stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peleteir, Steven Yeun as Glenn Rhee, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Green, Danai Gurira as Michonne and more...

Source : CBR

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the season seven premiere of “The Walking Dead.

If you watched last night’s season premiere of “The Walking Dead,” then you know the answer to the bloody and brutal question of who Negan killed in the season six finale earlier this year. The episode, titled “The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be,” took out not one but two beloved members of the “Walking Dead” cast, taking out Abraham (Michael Cudlitz) and Glenn (Steven Yeun) with many swings of a barbwire-covered baseball bat.

“Look, for anyone who follows the graphic novel, he’s on borrowed time,” said Cudlitz. “Denise took his death graciously two episodes prior… so I think at that point I had gone beyond where he was in the graphic novel. I know [creator Robert Kirkman] always said he was not happy with how he took Abraham out in the graphic novel, so I was curious to see where we go from there. And yeah, I think in the group, he made it very clear to Negan that if he was going to take somebody, take me if it’s going to help protect the rest of the group.”

Of course Abraham was but the first to die, and Negan took out Glenn in retaliation for Daryl punching the villain.

Back in August, Cudlitz teased his character’s final fate and touched upon his character’s borrowed time. “Now we get to see what a world with Negan and Abraham both in it will be like,” Cudlitz said back in August. “That’s something we don’t see in the graphic novels. So a lot of cool stuff happens. For me, knowing that his potential death had come and gone, it was a moment to go, ‘Oh cool, they really aren’t going to stick with what the graphic novel does.’ As a fan of both the novel and the show, it was cool.”

Airing Sundays at 9 pm ET/PT on AMC, “The Walking Dead” stars Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peleteir, Lauren Cohan as Maggie Green, Danai Gurira as Michonne and more'''

(via Entertainment Weekly)

SPOILER ALERT: The following article contains spoilers for Marvel's Luke Cage series on Netflix. If you have not yet had the chance to watch the show, and don't wish for any details to be ruined beforehand, we suggest clicking away to another one of our wonderful articles.