Posts Tagged ‘superhero movies’

Sci-fi rumors and news catch up

Friday, February 6th, 2009

Well, here we are with more sci-fi news. This time it’ll be a mix of things old and new. Strap on your propeller hat and hang on, ’cause here we go…

Spider-Man 4 is apparently going to shoot in 2010 for a 2011 release. This is information gleaned from an interview with J.K. Simmons, who plays J. Jonah Jameson in the films. Sam Raimi is on-board as director and Tobey McGuire is set to reprise his title role. Kirsten Dunst was unsigned as of the interview, which was a couple weeks ago.


In really old news, A&E is going to reinterpret the classic 1960’s hit “The Prisoner” with James Caviezel (Frequency, The Passion of the Christ) in the title role and Ian McKellan (The Lord of the Rings, X-Men) as Number Two.

The newer news is that A&E has now released a behind the scenes piece that reveals a bit about the costuming and locations:


Moving up into newer news, Battlestar Galactica’s prequel, Caprica, will see its pilot movie released in an extended, unrated version direct to DVD (and digital download) long before it’s aired on television. The release date is set for April 21, 2009, not long after the March 20th series finale of its parent show.

“Ever since fans first caught wind of the ‘Battlestar Galactica’ prequel Caprica, they have been eagerly following its development,” said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President, Original Programming for SCI FI & Co-Head Original Content, Universal Cable Productions.  “We wanted to give them a chance to see the pilot in its original form and experience the prequel to the BSG story while that series’ finale was still ringing in their ears. It also affords the creative team an unprecedented chance to get viewers feedback before production on the Caprica series begins this summer.”

See the full press release at Slice of Sci-fi.


Finally, some news on Torchwood!

The new 5 episode mini-series, which will be the entire season for 2009, will air simultaneously on BBC and BBC America (though we don’t know exactly what dates it will air). And just in time for the NY Comic-Con, we have a trailer.

Warning: this is not for the kids.

Torchwood: Children of Earth trailer

To be honest, it doesn’t look as intriguing as I’d hoped, but the whole “they’ve been here before” thing is pulling me in.


And here we are at the last bit of news. Warner Brothers has reportedly stalled all of its DC superhero movies (e.g., the Superman sequel and the Justice League). Despite that, plans seem to be progressing on the Green Lantern movie (which rocks!) in the hiring of Martin Campbell as director. With a James Bond movie and the Zorro films under his belt, it’s possible he could pull it off. Still a gamble, though, in my book. The movie is gonna have to hit hard on all cylinders to be satisfying. We’re talking about Iron Man level, not just Incredible Hulk level, sweetness here.

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Superman Returns, but not as expected

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Warner will follow Marvel model to develop new superhero films : Slice of SciFi

Superman Returns darker

Superman Returns darker

Ever since Superman Returns was released, rumors were flying about the sequel. Would it happen? Would Bryan Singer return to helm it? Would anybody watch it?

Not long ago (May 7th, in fact), we were hearing that Bryan Singer would be getting Superman: The Man of Steel to theaters in 2009 with wall-to-wall action in a sequel to Returns. Personally, I was pretty happy with that news. I really think Singer knows how to pull off a movie that’s both intelligent and action-packed, and respects the source material.

But now we hear that in the wake of the success of The Dark Knight, Warner Bros. will be putting a darker focus on all its superhero properties.

For fans, this means that the sequel to “Superman Returns” won’t be happening. Instead, the studio will look to take a page from this year’s “Incredible Hulk” and reboot the franchise. Part of this is a need to freshen the franchise, but part of this can also be attributed to the fact that “Returns” struggled to make back the investment Warner Brothers put into the movie.

[...]

Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as “The Dark Knight.” Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.

That’s disappointing. While I get treating superhero movies as real world and serious is important in creating believability, forcing a dark tone on everything is, I think, a mistake. It’s completely appropriate for Batman, but Superman’s main character traits are hope and optimism, and a bit of naiveté (at least on the surface). It is possible to go darker with him temporarily – and I think it could be done really well – but I really think it has to be in a sequel to be good. The character has to be developed as an incorruptible, “thank God he’s here” kind of character.

Plus, I gotta imagine this new direction means a significant delay before the Boy Scout graces the screen again. So that annoys me, too.

On a side note, the linked article also mentions the other properties under development: Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman. I’m excited about each of them. All could translate very well to the big screen.

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