Category Archives: Comic Book Adaptations

Warner Bros. Pictures Pushes Batman vs. Superman Back to 2016

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Unfortunately we won’t get to see the epic struggle between Batman and Superman until 2016. Warner Bros. Pictures announced last week that the release f Zack Snyder’s untitled Superman/Batman film has been moved from a July 17, 2015 release to May 6, 2016, the same date as a yet-to-be-titled Marvel Studios film.

The studio said,

“the filmmakers time to realize fully their vision, given the complex visual nature of the story. The decision was made following the shift of the start of production to second quarter of this year.”

In the announcement, the studio also set a July 17, 2015, worldwide release date for its as-yet-untitled all-new Peter Pan adventure. Joe Wright will direct the epic live-action film about the boy who would never grow up, created by J.M. Barrie.

The dual date announcement was made by Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President, International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

In making the announcement, Fellman stated,

“We are happy to take advantage of these coveted summer dates, which are perfect for two of our biggest tentpole releases. We share the fans’ excitement to see DC Comics’ most popular figures, Superman and Batman, together on the big screen for the first time, which will now be arriving in theatres in May 2016. Peter Pan has delighted people of every generation for more than a century, so we are thrilled to bring him back to the screen next summer for today’s moviegoers.”

Kwan Vandenberg added,

“We know that there is already great anticipation building for the next Super Hero film from Zack Snyder, and we are equally eager to see what he has in store for Superman and Batman as they share the big screen for the first time ever. The summer release corridor is also perfect for Joe Wright’s ambitious new Peter Pan adventure, reimagining the ageless story of the beloved and forever-young hero for audiences worldwide.”

Zack Snyder’s Superman/Batman film stars Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne. The film will also reunite Man of Steel stars Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane, and also stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.

Snyder will direct the film from a screenplay written by David S. Goyer, from a story co-created by Goyer and Snyder. Charles Roven and Deborah Snyder are producing, with Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan and Wesley Coller serving as executive producers.

The film is based on Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Batman characters created by Bob Kane, and Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, published by DC Entertainment.

Bob Orci Talks Sinister Six and Venom Spin-Offs

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Venom and The Sinister Six are getting their own spinoff films and will be hitting our faces thanks to some of my favorite people in the entertainment industry: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Jeff Pinkner, Ed Solomon and Drew Goddard.

Not much news has been released since the announcement from Sony but Orci recently spoke about the projects during an interview with IGN.

In case you were wondering whether the title characters in “The Sinister Six” would be bad guys or more of traditional anti-heroes, Orci said,

“That’s the discussion we’re having right now; how exactly do you do that, and how do you do it without betraying the audience and making them all mean? Drew Goddard [The Cabin in the Woods] is going to be writing that one, so it’s kind of his problem. [Laughs] I’m kidding. We’re all working on each other’s stuff. So we want to be true to it, but there are some antiheroes in this day and age. There’s been examples of that even on TV — Vic Mackey on The Shield, one of the great antiheroes of all time. There are ways to milk that story. Audiences have seen everything. They’ve seen all the good guys who never do anything wrong. Is there a story in seeing the other side? That’s the challenge, and that’s the fun. I’m not sure how we’re going to do that yet.”

Orci also enigmatically stated that him and Kurtzman and Solomon are planning to surprise audiences.

“I think they’re ready to have things shaken up. I think we’ve all seen everything. You’ve seen everything. You can probably predict the ending of most things even better than a general audience, but a general audience is still pretty good at it. They can see it all coming. So we have to shake it up. You can’t just keep telling the same stories every day.”

Our good friends at Oscorp will also continue to be an important presence in the spinoff projects.

“Oscorp plays an important part in how our villains get created, obviously, in the first one. So because Peter becoming Spider-Man came out of that, rather than saying, “And then this alien came from space,” or whatever, they’re doing human-hybrid, weird stuff at Oscorp. That’s where Gwen Stacy works anyway as well. So the idea of it representing the good and the bad of science, that it can do great things, but it can also mess you up and do weird things and transform people — as all science can be used for good or bad. So it’s nice to have that organizing principal, but it wasn’t like, “We must keep it at Oscorp.” It flowed naturally from the story development.”

Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, and Ed Solomon​ will pen the Venom spin-off, which Kurtzman will direct. Drew Goddard will write and direct The Sinister Six.

Batman 1960’s TV Series to be Officially Released This Year

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Conan O’Brien announced that the complete 1960’s “Batman” television series will be released in 2014. The news was confirmed by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. While details of the release are still scarce, we do know that the entire series will be sold in a complete box set later this year.

The iconic series stars Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Yvonne Craig as Batgirl, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, and Cesar Romero as the Joker. The Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, and Jervis Tetch, the Mad Hatter, all of whom are regular Bat-Villains, appear in the series, which was deliberately villain-driven as well as action-comedy-heavy.

“Batman” was based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968. The show was aired twice weekly for its first two seasons, resulting in the production of a total of 120 episodes.

You can see the tweet from O’Brien below!

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The CW is No Longer Developing the Wonder Woman Series

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Women super heroes just can’t catch a break. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The CW has cancelled its plans to develop the Wonder Woman television series, “Amazon.” The show was planned to follow a young Diana of Themyscira.

“Amazon” was initially put on hold in July before being cancelled this year. The pilot was being scripted by Allan Heinberg. This is the second time a Wonder Woman series has been put on hold at the CW. In 2011, a “Wonder Woman” pilot with Adrianne Palicki in the lead was shot but never aired.

Thankfully, impressionable young ladies and various other superhero fans will still get to see Wonder Woman materialize in the upcoming film, Batman Vs. Superman. 

There are also rumors that a spinoff film is in the works for the heroine and/or a big screen Justice League feature film being planned.

Batman vs. Superman, which also stars Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne, enters production soon for a July 17, 2015 release.

“Gotham” TV Series to Include Classic Batman Villains

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Fox’s upcoming television series “Gotham” will include several classic Batman villains Fox chairman Kevin Reilly (via Deadline) confirmed today.

“Gotham” will focus on Commissioner Gordon before he became “the commissioner.” Young Detective Gordon will also follow the journey of young Bruce Wayne as well.

“The show will track Bruce from a child until he puts on a cape (in the finale).”

Reilly confirmed that fans will see our favorite villains such as The Riddler, The Penguin, Catwoman and more.

“We will see how they get to become what they are as Gotham is teetering on the edge. It is an operatic soap with a larger than life quality.”

“Gotham” has already been greenlit as a pilot with veteran director Danny Cannon behind the camera. Reilly confirmed that the network has the full intention of taking the show to series.

Currently there are no actors attached to the project and there is no word on who the studio is eyeing for the lead role of Detective James Gordon.

Michael Douglas Cast as Ant-Man (And I Feel Conflicted)

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37th AFI Life Achievement Award - Arrivals

Marvel has officially cast Michael Douglas the role of Hank Pym AKA Ant-Man in the upcoming movie. I guess Marvel didn’t listen to my pleas to cast Simon Pegg in the lead role. I feel conflicted.

Douglas will star opposite Paul Rudd (now confirmed to be playing Scott Lang) in the Edgar Wright film, set for release on July 31, 2015.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, said,

“With Hank Pym’s rich history in the Marvel Universe, we knew we needed an actor capable of bringing the weight and stature to the role that the character deserves. We felt incredibly relieved when Michael Douglas agreed to step into the part with the charm and fortitude he brings to every character he inhabits, and couldn’t be more excited to see what he will do to bring Hank Pym to life.”

Ant-Man will begin production soon in Georgia. It will be directed by Wright who also wrote the script with Joe Cornish. The film, which is supposed to launch “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will follow Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s May 1, 2015 release.

Wright also added,

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both… Henry Pym and Scott Lang,” Wright told SuperHeroHype some years ago in an interview that he confirmed this morning via Twitter is still accurate. “So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60’s, in sort of ‘Tales to Astonish’ mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

AMC Debuts Teaser Art For the Return of The Walking Dead

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The second half of the fourth season of “The Walking Dead” has gotten its own teaser art courtesy of AMC. The art features Carl for once in the forefront with Rick behind him. Above the father/son duo is the tagline, “Don’t Look Back.” You can see it above!

“The Walking Dead” will return (finally) on Sunday, February 9th. The mid-season premiere will be followed by a brand new episode of “Talking Dead” at 10pm.

The zombie survival series continues to be the #1 show on all of television among the coveted 18-49 demographic and remains the highest-rated series in the history of cable television. The first eight episodes of its fourth season delivered an average of 13 million viewers and 8.4 million adults 18-49.

It is based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. The series has been well received and has received many award nominations including ones for the Writers Guild of America Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series (Drama). The series has also attained strong Nielsen ratings, surpassing various records for a cable series, including receiving 16.1 million viewers for its season four premiere to become the most-watched drama series telecast in basic cable history.

Argo Screenwriter Chris Terrio to Rewrite Batman vs. Superman

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According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy Award winning screenwriter, Chris Terrio, has been hired to rewrite David Goyer’s screenplay  for Zach Snyder’s upcoming project, tentatively known as Batman Vs. Superman.

Terrio is known for writing the film Argo which also starred Ben Affleck.

Batman vs. Superman will feature the return of Henry Cavill as Superman, facing off against Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne. In addition, the film will mark the big screen debut of Wonder Woman as played by Gal Gadot.

Production on Batman vs. Superman is set to begin early next year at the Michigan Motion Picture Studios in Pontiac where it will occupy all seven sound stages on the lot in addition to several locations around the state.

The film will also starring Amy Adams, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne and is scheduled to hit theaters on July 17, 2015. So far, very few plot details have been revealed for the story however the studio received heavy backlash for the casting of Affleck as Batman.

Showrunner Scott Gimple Talks About What’s Next on The Walking Dead

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Walking Dead

If you haven’t seen the mid-season finale of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” you REALLY should. Like right now. If you don’t, fair warning, there are spoilers below.

Fans who have read the comic book series that the AMC show is based on where probably not surprised by the shocking mid-season finale. The prison has been overrun and the newly born Judith is missing. Things. Are. Rough. According to showrunner, Scott Gimple, things are not going to be looking up anytime soon.

“It’s going to hit [Rick] in a way that we haven’t seen before,” Gimple told TV Guide. “If it’s just the two of them, [Carl is] going to have to step up quite a bit because circumstances are wildly different and a lot will depend on him in terms of them just surviving. They don’t have an awesome, dual-layer fence and brick buildings to hide behind. They’re out in the world.”

“The Walking Dead” Season 4 can not return fast enough. It will return to AMC on February 9, 2014.

Paul Rudd Cast In Lead Role In Ant-Man

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Paul Rudd-Photos

Paul Rudd, my secret BFF, has officially been cast in the leading role for the upcoming Marvel Studios project, Ant-Man. Rudd has been rumored to be the top choice for the titular role since earlier this year but last night, The Wrap reported that Rudd will be playing Hank Pym in the July 31, 2015 release.

Ant-Man will be begin production early next year and is set to be directed by Edgar Wright, who co-wrote the script with Joe Cornish.

It is also rumored that Wright’s original plans for the film called for both Pym and the later Ant-Man of the comics, Scott Lang, to appear in the feature.

“The idea that we have for the adaptation is to actually involve both… Henry Pym and Scott Lang,” Wright told SuperHeroHype some years ago. “So you actually do a prologue where you see Pym as Ant-Man in action in the 60’s, in sort of ‘Tales to Astonish’ mode basically, and then the contemporary, sort of flash-forward, is Scott Lang’s story, and how he comes to acquire the suit, how he crosses paths with Henry Pym, and then, in an interesting sort of Machiavellian way, teams up with him.”

Ant-Man will be the first film in the “Phase Three” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will follow Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s May 1, 2015 release.