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We suppose it’s fitting that the cast of Warner Bros. and DC’s Suicide Squad have little to hide, with each passing week bringing set photos – and glimpses into the story along with them. Prior sequences focused on the assembled Squad heading into battle (in full costume), but the latest batch hinge squarely on the most twisted love affair in Batman comics: that of The Joker and Harley Quinn.

The first look at Jared Leto’s villain showed a more crazed criminal than comic fans are used to seeing in live-action, and the appearance of Margot Robbie’s Harley seemed designed to match. Now, the scene featured in set photos looks to offer a glimpse at their origin story, pulling major influences from the comic book mythology. SPOILERS ahead.

While the pair’s relationship has changed over the years, and recent rumors suggest their relationship in Suicide Squad will be even more strained than usual, one thing remains constant: they are a criminal duo that puts Bonnie and Clyde to shame. If the latest set photos show what they appear to, then the pair’s twisted and co-dependent bond is still very much intact.

The new batch of set photos have been collected by JustJared, revealing a scene in which a pre-transformation (read: un-costumed) Harley sees The Joker speed up in a supercar, and the pair engage in an argument… and a kiss. When a passerby steps in Harley shoots him dead before pressing the gun to Joker’s forehead, but the Clown Prince of Crime grabs it and slaps her:

Beyond confirming that Leto’s Joker look and his many tattoos are, in fact, accurate, the appearance of Harley Quinn without her red-and-blue costume and pale skin is telling. In the comics, Harley Quinn began her life as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who found a kindred spirit in The Joker’s many psychoses. In DC’s New 52 continuity, The Joker used his sessions with the doctor to slowly fan the flames of Harley’s frustration and anger until she, too, became a murderer, then forced her through the same chemical transformation that granted him his skin tone and fractured mind.

It’s impossible to say if that same origin story will be adopted for Suicide Squad, or if there is anything more than good old-fashioned homicidal tendencies to blame for The Joker’s criminal career. But the set photos revealing Harley as a civilian, kissing The Joker, then killing an innocent bystander – but unable to kill her green-haired lover – paints a similar picture (even if it is in broad strokes).

Focusing on Leto’s well-dressed (and clearly well-funded) Joker look supports the idea that director David Ayer’s version of the iconic Batman villain will be a street criminal, as opposed to a fantastic comic book mastermind. The neon green hair and red lipstick means Leto will more than look the part, but his wealth and what looks to be celebratory dancing confirms suspicions that he will be a more deranged, malevolent villain than Batman movies have attempted.

That may prove divisive among those who prefer their Joker campy or laughable, but in a film where the ‘heroes’ sport assault rifles, Leto will need to be even more dangerous to come off as anything special. If The Joker’s character will be fleshed out as it relates to his early relationship with Harley Quinn, then it’s even more likely to see the duo appear in other (Batman?) films down the line.

Are you happy to see more evidence of the role Jared Leto will play in Suicide Squad, or does this scene simply raise more questions? Be sure to share your own theories about this scene, and Harley’s origin in the comments.

Next: Suicide Squad: First Official Image of Cast

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice will be in theaters on March 25th, 2016; Suicide Squad on August 5th, 2016; Wonder Woman – June 23rd, 2017; Justice League – November 17th, 2017; The Flash – March 23rd, 2018; Aquaman – July 27th, 2018; Shazam – April 5th, 2019; Justice League 2 – June 14th, 2019; Cyborg – April 3rd, 2020; Green Lantern – June 19th, 2020.

Source: JustJared

Avengers: Age of Ultron has already earned a billion dollars at the worldwide box office; Ant-Man is opening in theaters in a matter of weeks, and Captain America: Civil War has begun production as Marvel Studios narrows its search for a new Spider-Man (and accompanying director). It’s the busiest year yet for Marvel Entertainment’s film division as it nears closer to a production schedule that needs to flex in the near future to squeeze in the making of three movies per year.

Kicking off Marvel’s 2017 plans, the second year of “Phase 3″ of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the first year the studio will have three theatrical releases, will be the sequel to surprise hit Guardians of the Galaxy. Writer and director James Gunn was confirmed to helm GOTG 2 before its predecessor even opened in theaters and he’s already working hard developing the followup.

Over the weekend, Gunn held another live Q&A session via Twitter’s Periscope livestreaming app, and spoke quite a lot about Guardians of the Galaxy 2.  In responding to questions, he explains that he’s been rushing to get the sequel’s script done and has already completed a draft, only now finally taking a breather. He’s aiming to complete it before heading to Columbia next month to shoot his next film, The Belco Experiment, which he is writing and producing.

As we reported in early April, Gunn was very quick to submit a lengthy 70-page story treatment to Marvel’s creative committee, not long after pitching a story for the sequel which Gunn claims is “risky” for Marvel in how different and original it is compared to the comics. The “story about fathers,” as Gunn labels it already has at least one draft of the script done which he’s revising and tweaking. Production begins next February so there’s still a long while before concrete details begin leaking out from him and Marvel Studios.

What we do know from this latest Q&A is that one new main character will be joining the team in GOTG 2 and from our talks with Gunn during the Guardians of the Galaxy press junket, he made it clear that he wants at least two female members on the team in the next film. He also hinted that someone familiar may join the team. If it’s not an Avenger (which Gunn has also hinted at in the past) an easy guess would be Yondu (Michael Rooker) who in the comics is a future member of the team and who we know has a major part in the sequel as well, returning alongside his right-hand man, Kraglin (played by James Gunn’s brother, Sean Gunn).

More: James Gunn Talks ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy 2′ Returning Characters

When asked about casting newcomers for Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Gunn revealed that the process has already sort of begun. He’s already talking with someone about playing the character he has in mind, a new Guardian, as he labels it. We don’t yet know who that is, but in terms of the core Guardians of the Galaxy roster, we’re guessing based on Gunn’s words since the first movie came out, that there will be two additions to the team: someone we’ve met and someone we haven’t who he’s talking to now – even if it’s informal talks at this point.

There’s also of course the mystery of who Star-Lord’s dad is since in the film it won’t be the same character from the comics. Gunn reiterated again during this livestream that he doesn’t like the name or story of J’Son of Spartax (Star-Lord’s father in Marvel Comics) and says if he followed the source material, the plot would be too similar to Star Wars. We suspect the father figure, who will be integral to the story of the sequel, will be another space-based character from the books instead, adapted to fit Gunn’s vision of the story. And while Gunn has listed some personal favorites – promising that his favorite superhero will be introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – we only have speculation to go on as to who it could be. It’s not meant to be a mystery however, or a twist, just a way to service the story.

If there’s one new character (here are 12 suggestions) joining the Guardians in 2017, who do you think it is? And who do you estimate Gunn will cast? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Source: James Gunn

Poster by Matt Ferguson.

With shows like The Walking Dead and its upcoming spin-off series, Fear the Walking Dead, the zombie genre just seems to keep growing. The former has managed to be one of the most popular TV shows of all time, and has garnered a dedicated fan following of both those who read the original comic that the series is based on, and those who only know the onscreen adaptation.

However, considering how “in demand” the genre is right now, it shouldn’t be long before Dead has some more competition on the small screen – and it sounds like one of the more interesting new additions is coming from one of the genre’s original kings.

(A Most Wanted Man, Tusk) announced at the Cannes Film Festival recently that the studio is currently working in development on a TV series adaptation of George A. Romero’s 15-issue Marvel graphic novel, Empire of the Dead. The series will be written by Romero and Peter Grunwald, who will also executive produce the series alongside Sam Englebardt and William D. Johnson.

For those of you who don’t know, Empire of the Dead takes place in New York City years after the zombie outbreak began. What makes this take on the familiar genre interesting is the addition of a race of vampires at war with the zombie horde – pitting two of the most iconic supernatural species in fiction against each other.

Here’s the official synopsis for the first issue:

“Welcome to New York City years after the undead plague has erupted—but just because Manhattan has been quarantined, don’t think that everyone inside is safe! Not only do flesh-eaters roam within Manhattan, but there’s another ancient predator about to take a bite out of the Big Apple!”

When audiences think of zombies, it’s hard not to think of George A. Romero. The filmmaker has had a remarkable impact on the genre ever since his iconic 1968 film, The Night of the Living Dead, and continued to be a champion of the undead on the silver screen for the rest of his career, with films like Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and several more.Romero has played with different types of structure and format in his last few movies (see: 2007’s pseudo-documentary Diary of the Dead), but most would agree: they haven’t been up to par with his earlier work. It sounds like Empire of the Dead may be his most interesting project of the past few years, and Romero’s name alone should still be enough to reel in die-hard fans of the filmmaker.The addition of the vampires should  help the series to stand out amongst its competition; the Walking Dead TV shows are very much grounded in as realistic of a world as possible, whereas Empire of the Dead wholeheartedly embraces the supernatural. That’s something that makes this one zombie series worth looking forward to.Empire of the Dead is currently being developed for television. We’ll bring you more information when we have it.

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice continues to build hype for itself and DC Entertainment’s forthcoming movie universe, which currently includes the Man of Steel launchpad, Batman V Superman followup and a Suicide Squad movie that will open up the villain side of things, thereafter.

With two big comic book titans about to battle it out onscreen, and some iconic villains like Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg), Joker (Jared Leto) Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) – and possibly Doomsday – about to make their presence known, it’s sometimes hard to keep focus on the primary element of this DCMU: the heroes! Besides Ben Affleck’s new take on Batman and new developments with Henry Cavill’s Superman, Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) will be making her debut, as well. And according to rumor, in this new DCMU continuity, Wonder Woman (like Batman) will have been around for awhile.

Source : Screen Rant

World War Z overcame a fair amount of negative pre-release buzz – concerning its deviations from the source material and the fact that its entire original third act had been scrapped and re-shot – to gross over half a billion dollars worldwide in theaters and earn a decent (not great) reception from critics and general moviegoers alike. Paramount Pictures is thus moving ahead with a sequel, and has now settled on a 2017 release date for Brad Pitt’s next zombie fight.

The original cliff-hanger ending to World War Z was ultimately dropped in favor of a climax that gave more closure to the film’s narrative; this might explain why World War Z 2 screenwriter Steven Knight – who has a pretty strong writing track record (Eastern Promises, Locke) with a few exceptions (Seventh Son) – has said the sequel will start with something of a ‘clean slate’. Directing the second WWZ installment is Juan Antonio Bayona, who is well-versed in the art of both horror (The Orphanage, Showtime’s Penny Dreadful) and large-scale disaster stories alike (The Impossible).

World War Z 2, for those reasons, has the potential to be an improvement on its predecessor, and at the same time a solid contender at the box office, when it opens on June 9th, 2017.

Source : Screen Rant

MAYS LANDING, N.J. — A judge on Thursday dismissed domestic violence charges against Ray Rice, who was captured by a surveillance camera knocking his then-fiancee unconscious in a hotel elevator last year.

Judge Michael Donio signed the order after the Atlantic County prosecutor told him the former Baltimore Ravens running back had completed the terms of his pretrial intervention.

Under terms of the program, Rice paid $125 in fines and received anger management counseling.

Rice was charged with third-degree aggravated assault. His attorney described what happened in February 2014 at Atlantic City's Revel Casino Hotel as "little more than a misunderstanding."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell initially suspended Rice for two games, then suspended him indefinitely after a second video revealed the knockout punch.

Rice appealed, and an arbitrator reinstated him. However, Rice has yet to sign with a team.

Rice's admission into the state's pretrial interview program drew criticism.

Source : AP

The Brave and the Bold are returning to DC’s Television Universe this winter and, well, every winter.

As CW President Mark Pedowitz confirmed at today’s Upfront event, The Flash and Arrow will always have a crossover event in the winter months of their respective seasons. While many assumed that this was a given, The CW strayed from confirming the team-up as an annual event—until now.

“The crossover was so successful, we will be making it a special event in fourth quarter every year,” Mark Pedowitz said.

Last year’s Arrow/Flash crossover event, “Flash Vs. Arrow” and “The Brave and The Bold,” did gangbusters for the CW, winning the hearts of many fans and scoring some serious ratings for The CW.

So, here’s to another team-up between the Scarlet Speedster and Emerald Archer. With any luck, maybe The CW will up the ante and throw some superheroes from Legends of Tomorrowin as well.

The Flash returns for its second season (after next week’s finale), and Arrow returns for its fourth season this fall on The CW.

Source : DF

Lady Action: The Sands Of Forever is a thriller prose novel using the Captain Action characters and written by Ron Fortier. Published by Airship 27 with a cover byTed Hammond, it’s a spy thriller in the vein of Clive Cussler/Nelson DeMille/Ian Fleming, it will debut at San Diego Comic Con this year.

As well as Lady Action appearing on the Paul Gulacy cover of this year’s Overstreet Guide.