'Arrow' Spinoff starring 'The Atom' Possibly Happening; Vixen gets Animated Series in Same Universe

All CW has to do is look at the ratings for their DC Universe series Arrow and The Flash to know that fans are in love with that world right now. But how far can it possibly extend? With a Supergirl series on the way and Gotham already on the air, is there a limit to how much time audiences will invest? The ceiling has yet to be hit so far, and now CW is apparently considering a second Arrow spinoff, one that would center on Ray Palmer aka The Atom.

The Atom debuted during the third season portrayed by ex-Superman Brandon Routh, and he instantly drew my hatred for mackin' on Felicity Smoak. She's too good for him! But at least if he gets his own show she probably won't be a big part of it. Anyway, here's what CW president Mark Pedowitz had to say about another spinoff during the Television Critics Association tour over the weekend...

Pedowiz: “You’d have to be judicious. Could there be another hour in that universe? Possibly. That’s why we’re in preliminary discussion. [The show] has to stand on its own legs.”

Arrow, Flash, and Supergirl exec-producer Greg Berlanti later followed that up by adding that "very early talks" had begun on an idea for The Atom.

In the meantime, both Arrow and The Flash have been renewed for fourth and second seasons respectively, and it also looks like the universe is growing beyond the live-action realm. The Justice League hero Vixen will be getting her own animated series on CW Seed that will be set in the same universe as Arrow and The Flash. Both characters will appear on the show, which will be exec-produced by Marc Guggenheim and debut this fall.  Check out some promo art for Vixen below. [EW]

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Brandon Routh Joins Third Season of 'Arrow' as Another Major Superhero

So things haven't quite worked out every time Brandon Routh has played a superhero. Everyone remembers how his one shot at playing Superman turned out in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns. In short; not well at all. He also took on the Italian comic book character Dylan Dog in a rather terrible adaptation that nobody saw anyway. But now it looks like Routh is going to get one more shot at playing a major DC universe character and he's got a much better chance at success this time.

Routh has agreed to join WB's Arrow series, taking on the role of Ray Palmer aka the Atom. In the comics, Palmer is a scientist and superhero with the ability to alter his size to the subatomic level and can also simulate flight. He's also been a member of the Justice League. Here's the description given to the character for Arrow...

"An unparalleled scientist and inventor, Ray will play an unexpected role in the lives of Oliver and Felicity as the new owner of Queen Consolidated. Palmer’s plans for Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division will be shrouded in mystery." 

One of those "unexpected" roles will be as a love interest for Felicity (nooooooo!!!!), which if we're following the previously established pattern means we may be seeing an Atom spinoff series at some point. Certainly casting someone like Routh makes that more possible. His deal is said to run for 14-episodes meaning he will be a major factor in the upcoming season.

Routh joins other newcomers to Arrow, Devon Aoki as Katana, Peter Stormare as Count Vertigo, and Karl Yune. [Deadline]

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Zack Snyder's Superman and the Justice League Superman? Totally Different.

It's been a huge couple of days for Warner Brothers and fans of DC Comics superheroes. Jeff Robinov, the new head guy in charge, revealed that plans were underway for a Justice League film to be completed by 2013. That's huge, given how slow WB has been to get their superhero films in any kind of order. But along with that news came supposition of their plan of attack. I, like many other folks, figured that with Green Lantern and Superman basically starting fresh, and Batman soon to be needing the same treatment, we'd likely be seeing Ryan Reynolds, Henry Cavill, and whoever the new Dark Knight is to lead the super-team.  Turns out we were wrong, at least according to Zack Snyder.

While on the red carpet for the UK premier of Sucker Punch, HeyUGuys asked Zack Snyder how his Superman relates to the new Justice League film,  and he said this...

Snyder: It doesn’t. Like what Chris Nolan is doing and what I’m  doing with Superman, what they’ll do with Justice League will be it’s own thing with it’s own Batman and own Superman. We’ll be over here with our movie and they’ll kinda get to do it twice which is kinda cool’


So Warner Brothers won't be following the Marvel mold at all. Robinov tried to say as much by comparing the situation to when Brandon Routh was in Superman Returns while Tom Welling was on Smallville, but that's a terrible comparison really. Smallville was a long established TV show with a focus on a teenage Clark Kent, while Superman Returns was about an adult, established hero. Nobody was going to get confused by that. I think people will hate seeing two versions of the same hero in two different movies set in essentially the same universe.

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Superman vs. Doomsday fan made battle royale!

I've always wanted to see Superman's fatal battle against the monstrous Doomsday is something I've always wanted to see brought to action on the big screen. I didn't start reading Superman until that storyline way back in 1992 captivated not only comic book fans but the entire country. The fight was as epic as you'd expect it to be, encompassing the entire DC Universe but ultimately ending with Supes dying from his wounds.

We've seen a number of fan made trailers, but this battle between Brandon Routh's Superman and Doomsday(a spiced up Hulk) is amazing. Hell, in only 5 minutes it surpasses all of Superman Returns. Be sure you stay til the very end for an ultra cool cameo.

DC. Warner Brothers. Hope you're paying attention.

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Brandon Routh getting another crack at Superman?

Apparently Brandon Routh isn't dead in the water after all. DCwarnerbros.com is reporting that Christopher Nolan is willing to give the Superman Returns actor a screentest to revisit the role in the upcoming reboot of the franchise. The site suggests that Nolan acknowledges Routh's look is perfect for Clark Kent, but is worried that his presence may cause filmgoers to not accept the film as a full on reboot.

So as always, don't quite bite on this one yet. The site doesn't have any direct quotes from Nolan, who is overseeing the film. And even if it is true, I wouldn't expect Routh to get the part.It's pretty clear that Warner Brothers wants to start over completely from scratch, and Routh's presence flies in the face of that goal.

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Superman Update: Jonathan Nolan to Direct?

The Superman rumors are flying faster than a speeding bullet lately, but it's turning out that the most recent ones have more validity than I gave them credit for. Just a few days ago there was a story from Geektyrant that Jonathan Nolan, brother of Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan, was up to direct the Superman reboot. Now Moviehole is reporting that the rumor may indeed be true, sighting an inside source from Warners Brothers who had this to say...

"You know, some of that is true", my very reliable* contact, said ."Jonathan Nolan is not onboard yet, but it looks like he will get the job. Jonah wants to direct, Chris wants to land him that gig, WB doesn't want to upset Chris. That said, it is far from a done deal -- but with Chris and Emma producing, the odds are with Jonah - kind of like Michael Mann producing his daughter's first feature: "How bad could things go?".

Despite my skepticism, it's hard to argue against that logic. Jonathan has written the script, and with Chris's "overseer" role already cemented  it wouldn't be shocking to see him land the gig. I'm just amazed that they'd trust a first time director for such an important job.

The other half of that rumor was that Zachary Levi had auditioned for the role of Clark Kent. I think there's a better chance of Reese Witherspoon donning the red & blue tights, but apparently I'm wrong....

"Also, it is a TV star that they're looking at for the lead - but, despite what that article says, I don't believe anyone has actually tested." (He/She has heard nothing of Zachary Levi being considered).

Warner Brothers has someone in mind already, and they say it's someone nobody's considering but if he gets the gig we'll all be surprised. Oh no. Please don't be Patrick Dempsey! I'll boycott!! Eric Dane? I got no clue who it could be. Kevin Sorbo? He's still alive, right?

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Green Lantern, Superman, and Rorschach All in the Same Film?

Has it been an amazing couple of years for Jackie Earle Haley or what? After so many years basically on the Hollywood Do Not Call List, his epic comeback began with his gut wrenching turn in Little Children. He's gone from playing one effed up dude after another since, taking on the role of Rorschach in Watchmen, and recently we've seen the first images of him as the scarred dreamkiller Freddy Kreuger. Now the rumors are that Haley is being courted to take on the role of yet another demented figure, that of Sinestro in the upcoming Green Lantern film!

For those who haven't boned up on their Green Lantern lore, Sinestro is Hal Jordan's former friend turned bitter rival and arch nemesis. Speculation is that Sinestro will mostly be played up as a teacher to the newly anointed GL, but that his turn to the dark side will be crucial to the story possibly as a springboard to the sequel. Whatever the case may be, the idea of Haley teaming up with Ryan Reynolds has made me far more interested in this film than I already was. The only thing that sucks is the delays caused by their move out of Australia.

There's also been talk that DC possibly might try to work in a cameo by the big blue & red boyscout, Superman, into the film. Nothing has been confirmed other than he's supposedly in one version of the GL script. This is probably stemming from the legal disputes centered around the use of the Superman character. DC/WB need to use the character in some way on screen or face further legal issues with the Siegel Family estate, and this might be part of their plan to do so. That leads to the inevitable question of who would be playing Supes? Brandon Routh? God I hope not. I'd rather see Dean Cain than Routh again. Personally I'm betting that it'll be someone totally new, in order to get as much distance from Superman Returns as possible while also gauging interest in the future health of the franchise.

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No Love for the Man of Steel?

When Diane Nelson took over as head of DC Entertainment, it was assumed that putting together a reboot of the flagging Superman film franchise would be top of their list. Batman's great and all, but Superman's supposed to be their flagship character, so you'd think putting that ship sailing straight would be a priority.

Not so much.

In an interview with MTV, Diane let it be known in no uncertain terms that there ain't nothin' goin' on in that front. The big blue boyscout continues to ride the pine.

We actually don't have any current plans for Superman," said Nelson when asked if the new environment (and the recent legal decision regarding the character) made a "Superman" movie more or less likely in the near future.

You'd think he was part of The Outsiders or the Justice Society or somethin', not the most iconic character in the company's history. The fact remains that WB needs to have a Superman film out there by 2011, otherwise they face a potential lawsuit at the hands of the Siegel and Schuster estates. So something's gotta get done soon. I'm of the firm belief that WB will work out some sort of deal that will give them more time to produce a quality film, probably in 2012 or 2013, but surely 2011 is out of the picture at this point.

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