While the holidays are a quiet period for Hollywood, we still get some teases here or there to tie us over into the new year. Luckily, DC fans won’t have to wait long until they get their first new property in 2022, as we’ll get a spinoff for The Suicide Squad focused on John Cena‘s Peacemaker. As we’re only 17 days away from its release, director James Gunn took to Twitter to offer a closer look at one of its newest additions, Judo Master.
Nhut Le will take on the role in the HBO Max series, which is taking a lot of inspiration from the original Charlton Comics, which included quite a few iconic characters that would eventually become mainstays in the DC universe. Le‘s upcoming take is quite a departure from the original, especially in the costume department. Instead of his white-red costume, he has one that is fully in green that seems closer to what we saw Nathan Filion‘s TDK was wearing. It’ll be interesting to see how he brings the character to life and how he’ll interact with Peacemaker and Vigilante.
When the calendar turns over to 2022, fans will notice a change in the way WarnerMedia distributes their films. In 2021, films such as The Matrix Resurrections and The Suicide Squad were released on HBO Max the same day they hit theaters through an experiment called “Project Popcorn.” This strategy, while appreciated by fans who weren’t ready to return to theaters during an ongoing pandemic, certainly put a dent in the box office returns for those films. In October, WarnerMedia brass indicated that while there will still be movies that debut on HBO Max (as many as 11), they will be returning to debuting many films in theaters.
One of WarnerMedia’ first big tentpoles to debut exclusively in theaters in 2022 will be Matt Reeves‘ The Batman. Reeves began developing the film in early 2017 after Ben Affleck, who was set to star and direct, hit some creative roadblocks. Reeves’ new take on the Caped Crusader will star Robert Pattinson as a young Bruce Wayne taking on the Riddler as he terrorizes Gotham City. Reeves is a long-time fan of the character and has plans for a trilogy and multiple spinoffs have already gone into development; to that end, The Batman represents a MAJOR investment for WarnerMedia and a successful theatrical run for the film is important.
That does not diminish the importance of HBO Max to the studio’s future success, however, and so while “Project Popcorn” is no more, Warner announced that films that debut theatrically, like The Batman, will have a 45-day run in theaters and will hit HBO Max on Day 46. While speaking with Peter Kafka on the Recode podcast, WarnerMedia CEO, Jason Kilar, confirmed this to be the case for The Batman, indicating it will debut on the streaming service on April 19, 2022. Kilar went on to confirm that the studio intends to follow suit with the releases of Black Adam and The Flash. With Disney, Warner’s chief competition, experimenting with longer windows for some of their bigger budget films, it looks like a new battle of the Streaming Wars in underway.
For a while now there’s been a lot of back and forth regarding just who would be donning the cape and cowl as the main universe Batman. Ben Affleck is set to reprise the role, for what’s believed to be a brief cameo in The Flash, while Michael Keaton will co-star alongside Ezra Miller and Sasha Calle in the film. The big question is just what actor will continue on forward in the DCEU following The Flash and Warner Brothers 2022 press release may have given us the answer we were waiting for.
Warner Brother released a slew of tidbits on upcoming DC projects, including Batgirl. In the press release for the film, Warner Brothers has officially listed Michael Keaton in the cast, seemingly confirming that he will be the Bat to stick around following the events of The Flash. A while back the directors of Batgirl confirmed that Batman would indeed appear in the film, but when asked who would only disclose that it was “The Real Batman.”
Batgirl credits and synopsis from WB’s 2022 Preview press release reveals Michael Keaton will be appearing in the HBO Max film 🦇 #Batgirlpic.twitter.com/ST4fzHNman
The DCEU will definitely be taking an interesting path forward with Keaton reportedly taking on a ‘Nick-fury type’ role following his return in The Flash.
Batgirl currently has no set release but with a Christmas theme in many of the photos, it does seem like it could indeed be a December 2022 release. The film will be direct by Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi with Leslie Grace starring in the titular role.
Warner Bros. shook the market when they decided to go for day-and-date releases of all their 2021 films. While some directors have openly discussed their disappointment in the decision, it made sense given the uncertainty of how long the pandemic would continue to drag on. Now, we’re about to enter the next year, and Warner Bros. CEO, Ann Sarnoff, has opened up on if they had considered also tackling a similar release for 2022 even with the pandemic still an issue for many. When interviewed at a conference by Bloomberg Wednesday, she discussed how they are now committed to theatrical releases in the new year.
Have we thought about going back to day and date? Sure, we thought about it, but we have made our commitments to the theaters to the agents to the talent. Everyone was hoping we would be on the other side of the pandemic by now
The releases would affect projects like The Batman, which they are definitely expecting to fill out theaters once it releases in March. The Secret of Dumbledore, which continues the ever-popular Harry Potter franchise, will follow in April as both kick-offs a strong year for the company. As things are calming down somewhat, it’s great that studios are committing to once again promoting theatrical releases and ensure the media moving forward.
The good balance lies in the new release windows. Those that miss out on a theatrical release will get access to it on HBO Max within a faster time, a similar strategy we’ve seen Disney+ tackle with their releases like Encanto already going out during Christmas. It’ll be interesting to see how this new direction might change our understanding of cinema and streaming moving forward.
It looks like fans of The Last of Us can finally put a name to the face. Yesterday, it was accidentally revealed by former White Lotus star Murray Bartlettthat acclaimed Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman had quietly joined the cast of HBO’s big budget video game adaptation. Now, a report from Variety and a tweet from Naughty Dog have confirmed that Offerman will be portraying Bill in the series.
In the story of The Last of Us, Bill is the sole proprietor of a town called Lincoln in the state of Massachusetts. Following the death of his romantic partner, a man named Frank, Bill chooses to keep entirely to himself and booby traps most of Lincoln to keep the infected away. His only contact with the outside world is dealing weapons to smugglers, Joel and Tess, who will be played by Pedro Pascal and Anna Torv on the show. Bartlettis set to play Frank opposite Offerman, in what will be an expanded role from his character’s minor appearance in the original game. Offerman, who has taken serious roles before in projects like Alex Garland‘s Devs, replaces Con O’Neill in the role. O’Neillhad previously been announced as the character in a report from July, but supposedly had to back out of the live-action series due to scheduling conflicts.
The Last of Us does not currently have an official release date. It is being developed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin alongside Naughty Dog director Neil Druckmann, and will also star Pascal, Torv, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, and Merle Dandridge.
My favorite comic book property this year had to be Netflix’s Sweet Tooth. Jeff Lemire’s original comic is one of my very favorites and was such an interesting read. The series mostly stays true to it’s source material but isn’t afraid to make creative changes that let it stand apart from the comic. It’s a sweet and wholesome story that sees a young hybrid boy and a grizzled survivor of the plague travel what’s left of the world to find the answers to what came first: the plague or the hybrids?
Anthony Canton III
There’s something to be said for a show that continues to get better over each of its three seasons. Doom Patrol does that in spades. There’s a level of self awareness, humor, and introspection that makes it the best live-action comic book adaptation I’ve seen. The casts performances particularly this season have been extraordinary. Nuanced, tragic, and some even angry. Brendan Fraser in particular has been a standout in bringing such a broken character like Robotman to the screen. We’ve had a lot of good to great entries in comic book tv and film this year, but no property quite understands it’s assignment like Doom Patrol.
Nathan Miller
My favorite comic book project of the year is Eternals. I loved how the film made me feel. Through the performances, direction and soundtrack, I felt the weight of human history, the joy of friendships and found family, the terrifying vastness of space, and the drive of needing to pull together to tackle environmental problems. Intellectually I think the film points toward the future of storytelling, in leaving behind The Hero’s Journey and embodying a more collective journey beyond binary perspectives. It’s a shame more people didn’t initially appreciate the film’s complexity, but hopefully that will change over the next few years, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe enriches its appreciation retrospectively. I’m looking forward to Chloe Zhao’s sequel and the Eternals themselves eventually appearing alongside other established MCU characters.
João Pinto
This wasn’t my first choice, but someone with impeccable taste got to that one first (thank you to my friend, JJ!). But in a sense, this show deserves to take the top spot. WandaVision was a pop culture phenomenon. Due to many production delays that affected several projects, it ended up becoming the first Marvel Studios project to be released after the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic and to say audiences were hungry for content is an obvious understatement. The weeks the show was on were some of the best ever to be a comic book fan. The theories ran wild as the show lent itself to the sort of online discourse that drove everyone insane by the sheer magnitude of some of the hot takes. Covering it was a blast as well. I must say that the Murphy’s Multiverse team covered that show as well as any other site, big or small, did. It showed us how much fun we could have while doing something that hopefully everyone enjoyed, and in a way, it became the stepping stone for the work we’ve been doing covering every show ever since. By the enjoyment I got from covering it to following it as a fan it deserves its spot on my favorite comic book adaptations of 2021 list.
Joseph Aberl
I think my favorite comic book adaptation of the year must be Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I have no prior knowledge or history with the character. So, I went in pretty open about the adaptation. I was hoping for at least some fun kung-fu actions inspired by classics from the genre. Yet, the film went above and beyond as I ended up with an incredibly heartfelt story that also manages to open up the MCU in a creative way. I cannot wait to see Simu Liu’s future with the character and what a sequel might offer.
Charles Murphy
This will probably come as a shock to absolutely everyone, most of all JJ, but my favorite comic book-based project of 2021 was not a Marvel property. James Gunn’sThe SuicideSquad takes the top spot for me and it’s not a particularly close race. While I certainly loved Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, The Suicide Squad feels like the most complete story. While the casts of WandaVision, Loki and Black Widow were lights out, the cast of The Suicide Squad was all but perfect. And finally, while Marvel Studios did a great job bringing some less-than-popular characters this past year, Idris Elba’s Bloodsport stands as not only the best reinvention of a little known comic book character in the past year, but also arguably of all time. After a year in which the comic book-based entertainment we all love was painfully absent, we had plenty in 2021 but none of them quite matched the quality of The Suicide Squad.
Hunter Radesi
I’m as surprised as anyone to be writing this, but I think the quirky magic of Loki was my favorite experience with a comic adaptation this year. I was firmly against the idea of this project from the start, and you can probably find old tweets of mine stating the show would be a waste of resources on a character whose story I felt was already over. I couldn’t have been proven more wrong. Michael Waldron and Kate Herron managed to craft a fresh, unique spin on the genre that left me wanting more every week. Absolutely charming performances from every member of the cast, genuinely joyous twists and turns throughout, and constantly beautiful set pieces that begged you to keep your eyes on the screen. I think I finally understand why my friends love Dr. Who so much. Can’t wait for the next season.
The brand new trailer for Peacemaker has finally arrived and gave us a much more in-depth look at the DC Extended Universe’s first TV series. John Cenawill reprise the role of Christopher Smith, the man who will stop at nothing on his quest for peace. James Gunn returns after his work on The Suicide Squad to continue his journey and you can always bet that there’s going to be a ton of Easter eggs when he’s involved with a project. Even the latest trailer offered some great teases. So, let’s dive right into all the secrets the latest trailer offers us.
The Extreme Temperature Helmet
When we first enter what has personally been dubbed “The Peacecave”, we’re greeted by a slew of Peacemaker helmets, which are all seemingly special and unique in their own way. One that’s noticeable for a split second is the helmet Peacemaker developed and donned back in The Peacemaker #5. The helmet was used to fight a molten lava monster and featured his iconic fin as a mohawk. It was styled after Vulcan, the God of Fire.
The Classic Peacemaker Helmet
The Peacemaker we’ve seen so far in both The Suicide Squad and bits of Peacemaker have featured a more modernized take on the character’s look. But if you take a closer look in the Peacecave, you can spot quite a few takes on the character’s original helmet that feature an excessively large fin from one end to the other. While his helmet in The Suicide Squad keeps that base design, it certainly was quite a bit larger at one point.
The Butterflies
Now, for a non-helmet-related Easter egg, we get our first look at something called “the butterflies.” Not much is known about them aside from that they’re small white bugs that are only glimpsed at in the trailer. Perhaps they are connected to the people we see with inhuman strength breaking through the glass. Civilians in the trailer can be seen acting like zombies in an almost mob mentality. We even see a woman who throws Peacemaker through a wall. It’s unknown where the butterflies come from, but they seem to be quite similar to Starro but are an original idea for the series.
The X-Ray Helmet
Another helmet within the lineup is the so-called X-Ray helmet, which is pretty self-explanatory as to what its intended use is for. But It seems like Peacemaker could use the helmet to see who’s been taken over by a butterfly. We see him wear the helmet later on and it might be his best bet to uncover who has or hasn’t been affected by this new threat.
The Privateer
Briefly in the trailer, a poster can be seen for what looks like a movie called “The Privateer.” It may have ties to an existing character within DC Comics. The Privateer was an alias used by Mark Shaw, better known as the Manhunter. It was his heroic alter-ego, joining the Checkmate organization and running it at one point. But the character also joined the Suicide Squad at one point, even going on to work for ARGUS.
Task Force….What Now?
Early on in the trailer, we hear newcomer Leota Adebayo mention that they aren’t an officially sanction Argus Task Force and that they are “on their own”. This is strange considering they have been operating teams with much worse people than that for years now. We also see in the post-credit sequence from The Suicide Squad that they were given the mission to look after Peacemaker. Perhaps the events of the story may have led to them becoming their own splinter team.
Just yesterday, we got our first set photo from the upcoming HBO Max original film, Batgirl. The story about Barbara Gordon’s time in the iconic mantle will explore Gotham in a new way. Director Adil El Arbi shared the photo on his Instagram account, which teased Barbara’s future as a beat cop in the series. production is finally revving up in Glasgow and it looks like they’ll soon be joined by a new GCPD cop that has some musical talents.
Natalie Holt announced back in September that she joined the HBO Max original to compose its soundtrack. After her incredible work on Loki, her addition was an exciting prospect that got many wondering what exactly she may add to this particular story. Of course, it’s too early to get a feeling for exactly that, but she did tease that she is now on set. Her tease might also hint that she’ll have a cameo as a GCPD officer in the series.
We might see others of the production team appear as cops whenever Barbara is going through her job. She likely is working for her father, which will add quite a bit of tension between them. So, who knows how nosy her colleagues are and appear in the background during their discussions. It’ll be interesting to explore her story from the perspective of a police officer, as she’ll definitely be active as Batgirl throughout the story. It could lead to an interesting conflict of interest. Here’s hoping we get more teases or even a look at Leslie Grace in costume from what was teased during DC FanDome.
The DC extended universe seems to finally be set on a consistent path project-wise. for a while there it seemed like films were just randomly getting announced but would never really come to fruition. Thankfully, it seems like things are finally in order, especially with the upcoming Batgirl project. It was another film that struggled to really get going early on, initially picking up Joss Whedon to write and direct, before Warner Bros. cut ties with the director. After a long wait, it has officially begun production.
Director Adil El Arbi shared an Instagram post from the set. We get a look at the office of Barbra Gordon, who has been revealed to be working as a cop, most likely for GCPD. The photo gives us a look at the current logo for the film as well as hints when it may be set. In the background there appears to be some decorative tinsel, possibly hinting at the film being set during the holiday season. It will certainly add a nice visual flair to this film’s version of Gotham.
Some speculation could hint at Barbra beginning the film working as a cop, but something happening, involving her father, leading her to follow her own path and become Batgirl. The film was written by Christina Hodson, who previously worked on Birds of Prey and The Flash. Adil El Arbi will direct the project alongside Bilall Fallah.
It looks like Channing Tatum and Steven Soderbergh are back to continue the story of stripper Mike Lane, the titular Magic Mike. Warner Bros. has greenlit a third entry in the franchise that’ll premiere exclusively on their streaming service, HBO Max. Soderbergh will bring the script to life from Reid Carolin, who is also returning from the previous two entries. Magic Mike XXL‘s director, Gregory Jacobs, also return was the producer on this project alongside, Nick Wechsler, Peter Kiernan, and writer Carolin. Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman, Toby Emmerich, shared his excitement on the third film that’ll be titled Magic Mike’s Last Dance:
Is there anybody on screen more charismatic and appealing than Magic Mike? We’re thrilled to be back in business with Channing, Steven and their creative team to bring back Magic Mike’s wonderful combination of dance, drama, romance and humor.
Toby Emmerich
The title of “Last Dance” seems to imply this might be the final film in the franchise moving forward. Tatum is quite excited to return to the character and highlights that “Thestripperverse will never be the same.” Turns out, the reason they decided to add a third was due to the work on their live show. So, we’ll see what Mike Lang’s future will be like with the new
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