Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: DC Movies

  • Nicolas Cage Hints That His Superman May Live After All in a Potential Cameo

    Nicolas Cage Hints That His Superman May Live After All in a Potential Cameo

    All the way back in 1997, Tim Burton almost ditched Gotham City to catch some sun over in Metropolis, as he’d begun development on a Superman film titled Superman Lives. The film would’ve featured Nicolas Cage in the titular role of the last son of Krypton but the project was eventually scrapped.

    During a recent segment on GQ’s Actually Me, the actor took some time to answer some burning questions from his fans. One, in particular, focused on Cage‘s role as Superman and asked if they could just make it happen now. The actor’s answer was a bit surprising, as he seemed to hint at a potential return to that role after all.

    “Would it matter how much time I appeared as the character? There might still be a chance.”

    Nicholas Cage

    If Cage was to hypothetically make a cameo as the Man of Steel in any upcoming project, The Flash would seem like the most likely outcome. The multiverse angle of the plot could see Flash traveling through many versions of Earth. One could just so happen to be the one Superman Lives would’ve taken place.

    Superman Lives would’ve been quite the movie as it was set to pit Kal-El up against the likes of Lex Luthor, Brainiac, and Doomsday with a script from Wesley Strick and Dan Gilroy. The project was eventually scrapped due to WB suffering many box office bombs and the film just didn’t make the cut. Maybe one day we could see the story told in some shape or form, or even Cage suiting up just one time.

    Source: Youtube, ScreenRant

  • ‘The Batman’ Crosses $300 Million Domestically

    ‘The Batman’ Crosses $300 Million Domestically

    The Batman is continuing to dominate the box office.

    The Caped Crusader managed to take the top spot for the third weekend in a row, bringing in an additional $36 million this weekend. This helped to push the film past $300 million stateside. More impressively, though, the film only saw a 45% percent dip over the weekend, which, of course, was helped by there being no other major releases to serve as competition.

    Along with hitting $300 million domestically, the film is nearing the $600 million mark at the global box office. The Batman took in $49.1 million from international marks, which includes $12.1 million from China. The Batman should successfully cross $600 million worldwide by Monday.

    The Batman is in theaters now.

    Source: THR.

  • Paul Dano Writing a New ‘The Batman’ Prequel Comic on Riddler

    Paul Dano Writing a New ‘The Batman’ Prequel Comic on Riddler

    The Batman finally released giving us a look at a superhero noir storyline, as Paul Dano‘s Riddler makes Bruce Wayne’s life a living hell. While we do learn quite a bit about the character, there’s a lot of history on how he created his elaborate traps and plans that we haven’t explored. Luckily, it seems that DC Comics had the same thought and revealed a new comic titled Riddler: Year One. Besides the cliché “YEar One” naming, what stands out is that the Riddler himself, Paul Dano, will be writing the storyline of the character he brought to life on the silver screen.

    The idea makes sense, and it seems very unlikely we’d get a spinoff series on HBO Max focused on the Riddler. So, it’s a great way to further explore his character and maybe even drop a few hints about his future in the newly established Batverse from Matt Reeves. As of now, only Colin Farrell‘s Penguin is getting his spinoff, as HBO Max officially announced it shortly after The Batman‘s release. We also know that another series is in development that will focus on Arkham, which originally was going to be about the GCPD but changed throughout production. It was the first series in development but seemingly production has been dragged out quite a bit. We’ll see what the cinematic future has in store for Dano‘s Riddler.

    Source: Twitter

  • Wayne T. Carr Shares First High-Res Look at His Green Lantern for Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’

    Wayne T. Carr Shares First High-Res Look at His Green Lantern for Zack Snyder’s ‘Justice League’

    Back in May of 2021, we got our first look at Wayne T. Carr as the Green Lantern that Zack Snyder originally envisioned for his Justice League film. Sadly, it didn’t even make its way into the HBO Max special he was able to make, as Warner Bros. wouldn’t let him use the character. He only offered a shot of what could’ve been through his phone, but on the one-year anniversary, actor Wayne T. Carr just shared a high-res look at him in the costume offering the best look yet at what could’ve been. Not only that, but he is also continuing the “Restore the SnyderVerse” movement hoping to see the two planned sequels see the light of day, or maybe just the brightest day.

    It’s a nice touch for the first-year anniversary and it really is a shame we didn’t get to see his version of the character. The design looks great, and the symbol floating above the chest piece has been a personal favorite addition to their design. So, it’s great seeing it in live-action. Warner Bros. is still working on a live-action series and film focused on the Green Lantern Corps, but the project has gone cold quite some time ago. For now, we’re still waiting for an official announcement as it’s mostly just been rumored.

    Source: Twitter

  • George Lopez, Adriana Barraza And More Join ‘Blue Beetle’

    George Lopez, Adriana Barraza And More Join ‘Blue Beetle’

    It looks like the cast for Blue Beetle continues to grow with the DC film adding some big names to its cast. The film is eyeing an August 2023 release and has now added George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrilo, and Damián Alcázar to its cast. They join Xolo Maridueña who will take on the leading role of Jaime Reyes, who will end up turning into the interstellar hero Blue Beetle through the help of a strange device attached to his back.

    The cast round out the Reyes family with Lopez as Uncle Rudy, Alcázar taking on the role of Alberto, Barraza‘s Nana, and Carrillo as Rocio. The only other member cast so far was Bellisa Escobedo as Milagro. Director Angel Manuel Soto offered some insight into his approach to ensuring that the Reyes family consisted of Mexican and Mexican-American talent:

    Initially, my goal with finding the family was to be able to have an authentic group of people, not just as authentic on the Latino side, but authentic on the accents and authentic on the experience overall, it was very important for me to have the elders in the family to be from Mexico. And more than just being from Mexico is honoring those amazing beloved actors from Mexico that have paved the way not just in Latin American cinema, but also crossing over to the Anglo Saxon community and Latin American community in the United States

    Angel Manuel Soto

    It’s a great approach to not only keep the family dynamic authentic but also to highlight the characters’ roots. Comic Book films have been becoming the center of more representation in cinema, and it’s great to see the talent reflect that. Bruna Marquezine and Harvey Guillén, who recently also joined another DC series, Harley Quinn, as Nightwing, also round out the cast.

    Source: The Wrap

  • ‘The Batman’ Has Passed $500M Worldwide as it Heads Into a Weak Chinese Opening

    ‘The Batman’ Has Passed $500M Worldwide as it Heads Into a Weak Chinese Opening

    It looks like The Batman is passing milestone after milestone, as it has now finally passed the $500M mark. After pulling in another $5.75M on Wednesday, the film stands at an impressive $258.2M domestically. In addition to $247.5M from the global box office, the film now has earned a total of $505.8M. It has now passed Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s $501M but is trailing behind F9 and No Time To Die, who both benefitted from a Chinese release. Box office in China has been rather subpar sadly, which is making its chances at $1 billion now a bit more unsure, as predictions have it at $10M to $15M from its initial projected $30M due to a rise of COVID cases and closing cinemas.

    Forbes has added a fun aspect about the film’s box office success, as it is now the highest-grossing film featuring a serial killer with Paul Dano‘s Riddler. The comic book genre has become an odd gateway for casual viewers to watch films they’d otherwise avoid due to its genre-specific nature or even more adult-skewed rating. In a way, they have replaced the old genre films at this point, which isn’t an uncommon thing that happens throughout cinema’s life-cycle. For some time, romantic comedies were all the rage before vanishing into thin air.

    The comic book genre has the advantage that it absorbs any time of storytelling, making it the perfect Frankenstein genre to reach wider audiences with stories that are new to them, even if it still remains at this dismay to those believing it is “killing cinema.” Ironically, it is not only keeping the business as stable as possible in very uncertain times but also introduces audiences to new aspects of films they’d otherwise not even blink an eye towards.

    Source: Forbes, ScreenRant, THR

  • ‘The Batman’ Holds Exceptionally Strong in 2nd Weekend as Uncharted Passes $300M

    ‘The Batman’ Holds Exceptionally Strong in 2nd Weekend as Uncharted Passes $300M

    The Batman has had an impressive hold on the box office in its second weekend, as the film managed to stick with a -51% drop with $66M. If you exclude the preview nights, it would stand at -41%, which is even more impressive. It’s now the strongest second-weekend hold, as it passed The Dark Knight’s -53% and even surpasses most of Marvel Studios’ holds which average at around 60%. It’s an impressive feat for a three-hour film as it now stands at $238.5M domestically.

    The film already passed $400M yesterday and it currently looks likely that it’ll pass $500M by the end of the week. Keep in mind, the film has yet to release in China, which will give it another strong boost going into the end of the month. It still seems to be building towards a $1 billion run, especially with that holdover but the coming weeks might paint a better picture. Overall, the film is performing exceptionally and it’ll be exciting to follow.

    Overall, it’s been a strong weekend as Spider-Man: No Way Home also is still building up towards $800M, as it currently now stands at $792.2M with a $4M intake over its 13th weekend. The other Tom Holland-led project Uncharted still held on to the second spot pulling in $9.25M over the weekend and now at $113.3M domestically. The film has now passed $300M worldwide and Sony is definitely happy with its performance. So, a sequel announcement might be in the near future.

    Source: Deadline, Forbes

  • ‘Batgirl’ Would Make the Perfect 2023 Holiday Release

    ‘Batgirl’ Would Make the Perfect 2023 Holiday Release

    In addition to producing live-action streaming series that are a part of the DCEU, Warner Bros has begun development on a few DC films that will be exclusive to the streaming service as well. Batgirl, which will introduce Barbara Gordon to the DCEU, is currently the first of what is presumed to be many HBO Max exclusive DC films, but recent shifts in the DC film release slate may have given it a window of opportunity for a theatrical release.

    Substantial changes to many upcoming DC film release dates were part of a cascade begun by Black Adam being pushed back from its July release date to October 21st, 2022. Shazam: Fury of the Gods jumped forward on the calendar, taking the December 16th, 2022 slot previously held down by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, knocking the sequel into March of next year. Also moving into 2023 is The Flash, streaking to June 23rd, 2023, 7 months later than previously scheduled. Following the release of Blue Beetle on August 18th, 2023 there is nothing set moving forward, meaning Batgirl would have a perfect window to release in late 2023.

    The Flash being delayed means Batgirl’s reported 2022 release is highly unlikely as the events of that film directly lead into the The Flash, reintroducing Keaton as the main Batman of the DC Extended universe. So what should Warner Brothers do with this new opportunity? Move Batgirl to a late 2023 release date and give the film the opportunity for a theatrical release instead of only putting it on HBO Max.

    We’ve seen quite a bit from the set of Batgirl and we know the film is set during the holiday season with the set in Glasgow being covered with a ton of Christmas decorations. Instead of creating another Shazam! situation, where a film centered around one season is released in the opposite, the film could thrive with a a theatrical release during the 2023 holiday season.

    Blue Beetle was originally set to be an HBO Max exclusive film but was moved to a theatrical release, so its possible for Batgirl to get the same treatment. Batgirl is an instantly recognizable character for many people and has had prominent roles in many DC projects. This move seems like a no-brainer for Warner Brothers, who could bring in more money with a more strategic release. It would also give the film additional time during production, as it always seemed a bit risky to shoot and release a film in the same year.

    Batgirl’s release date is still unknown as production on the film continues in Glasgow. The film will be directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah with Leslie Grace in the titular role. Alongside Grace will star J.K. Simmons, Michael Keaton, Brendan Fraser, Ivory Aquino, Jacob Scipio, and Rebecca Front.

  • ‘The Flash’ and ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ Won’t Release Until 2023

    ‘The Flash’ and ‘Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom’ Won’t Release Until 2023

    Not too long ago, we learned that DC has pushed a few of its films back. Black Adam and League of Super-Pets are pushing into the second half of the year, but sadly it seems that The Flash and Aquaman: The Lost Kingdom won’t release until 2023. On the flip side, Shazam: Fury of the Gods has taken the Aquaman sequel’s December slot going up against Avatar‘s long-awaited sequel. The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch was nice enough o share the overview of the new release window, which also includes Wonka and Meg 2.

    It’s a bit depressing that The Flash is getting postponed by almost an entire year again. The film promised some massive changes to the DCEU, but its release also strongly affects projects like Batgirl, which will tie directly into it with the confirmed return of Michael Keaton. Who knows what other DC projects are getting delayed as a result due to this massive shift in their release schedule.

    Still, Shazam making its way to December makes a lot of sense. Avatar’s sequel has been open about its aquatic direction, and it’s a clever way by Warner Bros. to avoid any Aquaman comparisons. Plus, Shazam: Fury of the Gods may also reach an audience that the sequel won’t and the bite out of its box office might be quite a bit smaller.

    Source: Twitter

  • DC’s ‘Black Adam’ and ‘League of Super Pets’ Delayed

    DC’s ‘Black Adam’ and ‘League of Super Pets’ Delayed

    There seem to be some shake-ups happening behind the scenes of DC’s cinematic venture following the release of The Batman. This year will see the release of multiple DCEU films, which include The Flash, Black Adam, Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, and reportedly Batgirl as production on that continues over in Glasgow. It seems after years of development hell on Black Adam, fans are gonna have to wait just a bit longer to witness his arrival.

    Dwayne Johnson took to instagram to announce that League of Super Pets would be taking Black Adam’s July 29th release date with Black Adam now set to release on October 21st, 2022. The actor does not state a reason as to why the films were delayed but wanted to the news to come from him before it hit the trades. It’s possible the ongoing pandemic led to a few bumps in the road and they need some extra time to get things done.

    Oddly Johnson also states that Black Adam will play theatrically throughout November and December, which would contradict Warner Bros. new 45-day theatrically exclusive release window for its films. Either way, Black Adams’ new release date is quite the shake-up to the current DC slate as this would now put Black Adam two weeks ahead of The Flash solo film’s.

    It is highly unlikely that the studio would set those two massive films so close to each other so it wouldn’t be hard to believe that a delay for The Flash is a possible outcome, it’s possible that Flash could take Aquaman’s December release date, however that would pit it against the long-in-development sequel to Avatar. There’s a chance that WB is trying to pull out of that scenario altogether.

    Source: Instagram