Warner Bros. Reveals Full Superhero Lineup: Ezra Miller is 'The Flash', Jason Momoa's 'Aquaman' gets Solo Film

Get ready, Marvel, here comes the Justice League. Warner Bros. has taken a slow and steady approach to building their own shared superhero universe, a necessary after Christopher Nolan's Bat-trilogy wrapped and Green Lantern was such a dud. But with Man of Steel and the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice kicking things off, the studio has now revealed a wide and ambitious slate of film all the way through 2019, plus confirmations for Flash and Aquaman.

The biggest surprise is that Suicide Squad, which is led by End of Watch and Fury director David Ayer, is the first film post-Dawn of Justice. The antihero film will open on August 5th 2016. The following year we'll get both a Wonder Woman solo movie on June 23rd 2017, starring Gal Gadot as the Amazonian warrior. That will be followed by Justice League Part One on November 10th, which will be directed by Zak Snyder and star Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

Here's where things get huge. 2018 will see The Flash, who already has his own TV series, moving to the big screen with We Need to Talk about Kevin's Ezra Miller in the title role. Whoa. That film arrives on March 23rd, with Jason Momoa's Aquaman coming July 27th 2018. Shazam, starring Dwayne Johnson as the villain Black Adam, opens on April 5th 2019, trailed by Justice League Part Two on June 19th 2019. Yes, that's how big this Justice League story will be that it will take two movies to tell.

Those will be followed by Cyborg on April 3rd 2020, starring the previously-cast Ray Fisher, and a Green Lantern film on June 19th 2020. Don't expect to see Ryan Reynolds in that one, either.

Hopefully you haven't grown weary of superhero movies yet because they are going to be impossible to avoid for a long time to come.

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Rumors on the 'Justice League' Villain and the 'Suicide Squad' Lineup

Before we knew the plot or cast (or the title) of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, questions were already being asked about Justice League. Who would be part of the team? What villain would force DC's greatest heroes to join forces? Those questions haven't been answered yet but Latino Review claims to know who the villain will be, plus the lineup for the upcoming Suicide Squad movie.

The site, which shoots about 50% on stuff like this, claims Argo screenwriter Chris Terrio will be introducing the villain Brainiac in Justice League. Generally considered a Superman foe, the presence of Brainiac could suggest a tighter connection to the Man of Steel films. It also means we probably won't be seeing much if anything of Darkseid, who has long been rumored to be the Justice League bad guy.

While we wait to find out if Fury and End of Watch director David Ayer will be at the helm for Suicide Squad, speculation has already begun on which of DC's heels will comprise the team of expendable government agents. The seven members are Deadshot, Vixen (also a Justice League member), Harkness aka Captain Boomerang, Blockbuster, Mindboggler, Jaculi, and Multiplex with the first three as the leads. What, no Bronze Tiger? No Rick Flag?

The Suicide Squad film hasn't even been confirmed yet so assuming anything about the storyline is way premature. Justice League has been in development for awhile so the chances of Brainiac appearing are far greater because Terrio, Zack Snyder, and David Goyer are probably working on the story together.

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'Shazam' Won't Be Involved with a 'Justice League' Movie

Warner Bros. had been pursuing Dwayne Johnson for a role in their burgeoning superhero universe for years, and finally he confirmed his role will be as the antihero/villain Black Adam in a Shazam movie. There's still no director attached, nor an actor to play the heroic Captain Marvel, but with a writer on board in Darren Lemke (Jack the Giant Slayer), it seems things have progressed enough that execs are free to talk about their plans. Toby Emmerich, who heads up Warner Bros.' New Line banner handling the film, tells EW that Shazam may be separate from Justice League in more ways than one.

Emmerich: "It feels to me like Shazam will have a tone unto itself. It’s a DC comic, but it’s not a Justice League character, and it’s not a Marvel comic. The tone and the feeling of the movie will be different from the other range of comic book movies."

This comes after some rumors surfaced that Warner Bros. has a "no jokes" policy when it comes to their superhero movies. Basically it sounds like Shazam will be more adventurous and fun than what Man of Steel had to offer, and different than the grim 'n gritty Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice appears to be. 

Emmerich: [Shazam] "will have a sense of fun and a sense of humor. But the stakes have to be real. … Black Adam is a complex character. The villain in superhero movies is often, I think, what makes the movie. And I thought Dwayne’s take on the character, and the way that he saw Black Adam, was really compelling and fun."

It would also be a chance to see Johnson play the bad guy for the first time in a long while. His character Luke Hobbs in Fast Five was the antagonist but was ultimately on the side of the law, and that may be the sweet spot he goes for in portraying Black Adam. Overall it sounds like we won't be seeing Shazam as part of any Justice League movie, and may not be a part of that universe at all. I think the temptation to have Johnson cross over into other movies will prove too great.

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WB Explains Shifting 'Batman v Superman'; Zack Snyder Rushes to Defend Aquaman

This week has pretty much belonged to Warner Bros. as the studio finally laid out an ambitious superhero movie plan that could put them on even keel with Marvel. But first they had to take a little heat by moving Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice up a couple of months to March 25th 2016, avoiding a showdown with Captain America 3. While many sites clowned them "chickening out", others (like yours truly) saw this is a sign of confidence in Zack Snyder, the man at the center of the growing franchise. But really, this was a business decision first and foremost, and Warner Bros.’ president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman tells EW exactly why the move necessary...

Fellman: "The reality now is there really isn’t a bad week to open a movie. If you look at the summer box office this year, you can see that there were so many movies, one after the other. You can start with 'Spider-Man,' two weeks later 'Godzilla,' and then 'Maleficent,' and then 'Edge of Tomorrow,' and then 'Jump Street' and 'Transformers.' And the one thing they all had in common, not one of them did over $250 million. We’ll be the first one up [in 2016], which is very important, and we’ll have six weeks before 'Captain America' comes in.”

It's clear that Warner Bros. and Fellman are feeling pretty bold right now and by moving ahead of Marvel they may have made a key move in the genre war. Those who have been following the film's production may remember Batman v Superman was initially slated to arrive in 2015, and in explaining why it was ever moved to 2016 Fellman was quick to throw some shade Marvel's way....

Fellman:  “In terms of going back and reviewing the situation, it looked to us—and maybe our reconnaissance wasn’t great—that they were not going to have a movie [ready] on that date. Just that they held onto it and they might not be able to deliver. But they took another position.”

Rumors have been that Snyder will begin filming Justice League immediately following completion of Batman v Superman, and Fellman teased that we may get an official announcement sooner rather than later. He also said we may start learning the titles of the other nine DC Universe films by the end of the month.

That means Snyder is going to be keeping busy for awhile, but not so busy that he can't take time out to defend a certain aquatic superhero. When CBS Detroit started making fun of Aquaman, who is rumored to be appearing in Batman v Superman possibly played by Jason Momoa, Snyder (who is filming in Detroit right now) heard it and called in to tell the hosts just how wrong they were...

Snyder: "You guys were disparaging, a little bit, Aquaman…I don’t want to give anything away about the movie or anything like that but Aquaman has some cool abilities. People are like, “Oh what? Does he talk to animals? Cause that seems like what he does. Or fish?” The cool thing with Aquaman is he’s Triton so you have to realize that could cut the flesh of Superman if they came in contact. That’s a thing that’s in the canon. He’s super strong cause of course he can exist at these super deep depths so when he comes up here he’s crazy strong. Anyway, not to say he’s in my movie or anything like that but he has the potential to be bad ass, that’s all I’m saying."

So can we count that as a confirmation? Even if it isn't, you have to admit this is pretty cool.  Best to watch what you say folks, especially if you say it in public. You never know who might be listening.

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'Batman v Superman' Moved Up Two Months; DC Universe Dates Revealed Through 2020

The battle between Marvel and DC is a very real thing, and while it was always pretty heated in the comics realm it has become a scorcher in Hollywood. But there's no debate Marvel has the upper hand in this war, which is why many expected Warner Bros. would eventually shift Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice off its May 6th 2016 date when it was scheduled to open opposite Captain America 3. While both sides played chicken for awhile, Warner Bros. has buckled and made the move, but at the same time they've managed to spin this into something positive and attention-grabbing.

Batman v Superman has been moved up two months to March 25th 2016, getting a jump on Marvel's third entry in their star-spangled superhero franchise. It's probably the smartest move they could make, especially with Captain America: The Winter Soldier ranking as one of the year's top-grossing films.

But the big news is that it won't be the only DC Universe film to open in 2016 as Warner Bros. has revealed their entire slate of dates all the way through 2010. Here's the rundown:

- August 5, 2016
- June 23, 2017
- November 17, 2017
- March 23, 2018
- July 27, 2018
-Untitled WB Event Film- November 16, 2018
- April 5, 2019
- June 14, 2019
- April 3, 2020
- June 19, 2020
-Untitled WB Event Film- November 20, 2020

This completely contradicts the proposed plan rumored a few weeks ago, which means we can probably count out the movies associated with it. Sorry, those of you who were hoping for that Green Lantern/Flash crossover.

An interesting thing to note are the two "Event" films set for 2018 and 2020. It's unclear if these are meant to be part of the DC Universe but they seem like a good spot for Guillermo Del Toro's Justice League Dark, which is meant to be independent of the regular continuity.

What all of this means is Zack Snyder has progressed pretty far on Batman v Superman, enough that he's comfortable losing a few weeks of post-production. It could also bode well for Justice League, which he's expected to shoot immediately following.

Meanwhile, WarnerBros. has also bumped Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar's Kingsman: The Secret Service to February 13th 2015 where it will face Fifty Shades of Grey. 

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'Argo' Screenwriter Chris Terrio Brought On to Write 'Justice League'

The build up to Warner Bros.' eventual Justice League has taken many twists and turns, but the pieces finally seem to be coming together. Zack Snyder is steering everything up to this point, helping to get the momentum going with Man of Steel and Batman v Superman. Will Beall had been the guy who wrote the first Justice League script, it got thrown out with David Goyer coming on to give it a go. But more works needs to be done, and a good way to do that is by bringing on Chris Terrio, the Oscar-winning writer of Argo.

So having Terrio come aboard has its privileges, namely his familiarity with Ben Affleck. But Terrio is already getting his feet wet in the DC universe as the Batman v Superman scribe, which should make things easier as this new cinematic universe is constructed.

Justice League is rumored to be arriving in 2017 but nothing is confirmed just yet. [Deadline]

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Jason Momoa is Aquaman in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice'; Martian Manhunter in 'Justice League'

With one news story Warner Bros. got all the attention on their superhero movies they had been seeking for some time. Upon release of the apparent schedule for their lineup, which included Wonder Woman, Shazam, and a Green Lantern/The Flash movie, along with Justice League in 2017, all eyes are on what the studio plans to do next. And now according to HitFix we're getting confirmation on Jason Momoa's long-rumored involvement in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and beyond.

According to their report, Momoa is definitely on board to play Aquaman in 'Dawn of Justice", as had been rumored some months back.  Conflicting stories have emerged since then saying he might actually play Martian Manhunter (more on him in a moment), but that's not the case and probably wouldn't have been a good fit anyway. Aquaman's role would be small yet pivotal in setting up the Justice League movie, as the king of Atlantis will be one upset over the devastation to the world's oceans caused by the World Engine in Man of Steel. His anger will carry over into Justice League where presumably he and Superman will have a real confrontation.

It's worth noting Aquaman's presence in the film runs counter to Nikki Finke's earlier story that claimed Aquaman wouldn't be in 'Dawn of Justice' at all. So does that mean we should totally discount everything including Warner Bros.' proposed lineup?

Adding more fuel to the fire is a tweet from Jeff Sneider at The Wrap which lists Martian Manhunter, former Justice League ally-turned-villain Max Lord, and the much bigger villain Darkseid as Justice League characters. No actors are attached to those roles yet but Henry Cavill and Gal Gadot are penciled in as Superman and Wonder Woman.

With only a month to go until Comic-Con we probably won't hear any real confirmations but expect the rumors to keep swirling until then.

No Martian Manhunter in JUSTICE LEAGUE? Not according to this agency grid, which lists DARKSEID as the villain... pic.twitter.com/lLwFwkXLkv
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 12, 2014

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'Justice League', 'Wonder Woman', GL/The Flash Crossover in 2017; Shazam, 'Man of Steel 2' In the Works

The big news going around Hollywood today wasn't the latest tidbit of info about Star Wars: Episode VII or some new Marvel film, it was the launch of legendary news hound Nikki Finke's website, and let's just say things kicked off with a bang. After an extended screed about her time away after Deadline ran her out on a rocket sled, the site kicked off proper with what could be huge news regarding Warner Bros.' plans for the DC universe.

We already know to expect Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice on May 16th 2016, but Finke reveals there will also be the forever-developing Shazam film in July of that same year, along with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Sandman during Christmas. Dwayne Johnson has long been rumored for Shazam, possibly as the villain Black Adam, and one has to wonder if this is what he was talking to the studio about some months back.

The reason given for the delay in Batman v Superman is for the reason we all suspected: to give more time to develop cameos in the build for a Justice League movie, which Finke says will arrive in May 2017, followed by a Wonder Woman solo in July. But what will really have fans pumped is a crossover film starring pals The Flash and Green Lantern, arriving during the holiday season. Not that it will come as a surprise but Warner Bros. is putting Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern out to pasture and bringing in a new actor. All of this will culminate with a proper Man of Steelsequel in 2018. The oft-rumored Suicide Squad and Metal Men projects were bumped off the schedule but presumably could return at a later time.

If true this is a schedule that would have DC's heroes on screen more often than Marvel's, but Finke makes sure to note all of this is still being sorted out with hard announcements coming at Comic-Con. There's an awful lot of ambition here and if Warner Bros. gets their act together and can implement most of this, we could finally see Marvel face some real competition.

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Cinema Royale #64- Maleficent; A Million Ways to Die In the West

On this week's Cinema Royale, Angelina Jolie shows her villainous side in Disney's Maleficent! Leslie "The Cinema Siren" Combemale will join us to talk about Jolie's performance as the infamous Disney villain. Also, we'll take a look at Seth MacFarlane's comedy-western, A Million Ways to Die in the West, starring Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried.

On the indie front, Jason Ritter calls in to discuss his new ensemble dramedy, The Big Ask, starring David Krumholtz and Melanie Lynskey.

All this plus news on Marvel's Ant-Man, Daredevil, Justice League, and much more!

Cinema Royale is part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network and brings you movie reviews and news straight from the Nation's Capital! Go to www.cinemaroyaleshow.com and subscribe, and while there consider signing up for the premium service for more content and to be entered in our monthly prize drawing!

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Kevin Smith Teases 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' As Start of Massive Justice League Story

Warner Bros. made it pretty damned obvious they were building towards a Justice League movie by titling the Man of Steel follow-up Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Hey, at least it won't be months of mystery, right? But with that title comes a real concern the film will be less of a Superman-centric story, as evidenced by the mere fact that Superman's name is bracketed by 'Batman' and 'Dawn of Justice'. That goes against what Snyder had been promising before, and according to the ever-chatty Kevin Smith it's all being done for a reason.

Smith, who appears to be a fountain of information when it comes to DC Comics movies for some unknown reason, spilled the details on his podcast that 'Dawn of Justice' is just the first of "five or six" films leading up to "one massive" Justice League story...

Smith: "But look, they’re obviously beginning something, and there’s a stretch of these flick. And so this is the beginning of the Justice League, as we all suspected as they were announcing that cast. We were like, ‘This is the beginning of a Justice League movie.’ From what I understand now, it’s no longer like, ‘This is Superman 2.’ They’re not doing these things. They’re doing like, ‘Here’s Man of Steel. Here’s Batman/Superman: Dawn of Justice.’ The next one is not like a sequel to one of the characters. They’re just going to keep building their universe for about five or six movies.. But all of them… it’s supposed to tell one massive story, which is all Justice League oriented."

The big point there is that Warner Bros. isn't planning to do traditional sequels for these movies at all, choosing to follow specific characters in an interconnected storyline. It's an interesting approach that combines some elements of the Marvel style without completely aping it.  Whatever it turns out to be, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is expected to open May 6th 2016. Now, can we get a different spokesman for these movies other than Kevin Smith? Maybe someone actually involved with them? [Comicbook.com]

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Cinema Royale #60- The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The summer blockbuster season kicks into gear with one of the year's most anticipated films, The Amazing Spider-Man 2! Will it quiet the critics who less than impressed with the first film? Does it set up the Sinister Six and Venom for their own movies? And does Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy survive to see the sequel? Well, neither I or guest +Jeffrey Lyles are going to answer that one!

Plus, we'll take a look at the biggest news of the week: the reveal of the Star Wars: Episode VII cast and the confirmation of Zack Snyder's Justice League! Told you the blockbuster season was in full swing! We'll also have a review of the real-time thriller, Locke, starring the one and only Tom Hardy!

Cinema Royale is part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network and brings you movie reviews and news straight from the Nation's Capital! Go to www.cinemaroyaleshow.com and subscribe, and while there consider signing up for the premium service to get even more content!

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Cinema Royale #59- Brick Mansions; The Other Woman

On this week's Cinema Royale, +Leslie Combemale "The Cinema Siren" joins us to take a look at Brick Mansions, the final completed film by the late Paul Walker. Plus, we'll review revenge comedy The Other Woman, starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Upton's cleavage.

This past weekend Johnny Depp suffered his fourth box office flop in a row with Transcendence, a big-budget spectacle nobody thought would fail. We'll take a look at the reasons why it bombed, and what this means for Depp as a bankable Hollywood star.

Plus, huge news on Warner Bros. Justice League movie! Cinema Royale is part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network and brings you movie reviews and news straight from the Nation's Capital! Go to www.cinemaroyaleshow.com and subscribe, and while there consider signing up for the premium service to get even more content!

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It's Official: Zack Snyder to Direct 'Justice League' After 'Batman vs. Superman'

The open secret around the comic book movie circle has been that Warner Bros. is planning a Justice League movie directed by Zack Snyder, and if they were trying to keep that secret they more than gave it away with Batman vs. Superman's casting. The rumors really kicked into overdrive last summer, but the studio has never officially said anything concrete about it until now, and along with it come some new details.

Warner Bros. has made it official to The Wall Street Journal that Justice League is indeed happening, and that Snyder is the guy who will be at the helm. Not really a surprise there since it has been his singular vision driving these films, and it will be interesting to see where that goes in the future. As the Batman vs. Superman casting has pretty much given away, the 2016 film will bridge right into Justice League....

“It will be a further expansion of this universe,” said Greg Silverman, president of worldwide production for WB. “’Superman vs Batman’ will lead into ‘Justice League.’”

The script, initially undertaken by Will Beall (Gangster Squad) before David Goyer took over, is still unfinished. There also seems to be some question on the release date. The WSJ report says 2018 is the target, but THR is saying 2017. Latino Review narrows it down to May 5th 2017, and since they were apparently correct in predicting Snyder would direct it back-to-back with Batman vs. Superman it may be a good idea to trust in their sources.

Whether it turns out to be '17 or '18, that should leave time for another film to be squeezed in. Around the time of last year's Comic-Con word spread that a Flash movie was on the way. Dwayne Johnson has been boasting about a DC project he's got coming up, which is presumed to be a Lobo film.

Also of note in WSJ's story is this about other DC Comics movies in development...

Warner Bros. has several other movies in development unconnected to the Justice League that are based on DC superheroes and fantasy and crime titles from its Vertigo line of genre comics, said Mr. Silverman and Toby Emmerich, president of Warner’s New Line Cinema label. They include “Shazam,” “Metal Men,” “100 Bullets,” and “Fables.”

Fables has been in development for years, and was once going to be a TV series until Once Upon a Time stole its thunder. Shazam has also been a rumored project, which at one time had none other than Dwayne Johnson pegged for the role of villain, Black Adam.  We'll see where any of these films go, but I'd be surprised if Shazam is truly "unconnected" from the Justice League.

Thoughts? Are you hyped for a Justice League movie directed by Snyder?

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DC Comics "Film Series" to be Revealed Soon

Warner Bros. Pictures CEO Kevin Tsujihara was apparently quite the fountain of information to The New York Times, spilling the beans on J.K. Rowling's 'Fantastic Beasts' trilogy, and now talking about the future of DC-based movies. In NYT's assessment of Tsujihara's comments, it appears that an announcement on new superhero movies is coming soon...

"As for DC Entertainment, cross-studio collaboration to make better use of its comic book characters appears to have accelerated considerably since Mr. Tsujihara took over, in part because he eliminated some management layers. (He has not named a chief operating officer and did not replace Mr. Rosenblum and Mr. Robinov, choosing instead to divide up their duties and assume some himself.) Two new television shows are coming to the CW and Fox, including one based on the Flash and another on a young Batman, and a film series will be announced in the near future, Mr. Tsujihara said. It is expected to include a "Justice League" movie.

Justice League is the one we were all expecting, but who else might that include? Probably Wonder Woman, since she's certain to appear in Man of Steel 2 played by Gal Gadot. A new Green Lantern movie, maybe? Perhaps Lobo with Dwayne Johnson in the lead? And what about Guillermo Del Toro's Justice League Dark?

All are possibilities, and chances are we won't learn anything concrete until July when they can make a big splashy Hall H announcement at Comic-Con.

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Dwayne Johnson Says His DC Universe Character Has "Superman Level of Power"

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Warner Bros. have been dancing around his casting in a DC Comics movie for quite some time. At one time he was rumored to be playing the villain Black Adam in a Shazam movie, and then he was briefly set to play Lobo in a Brad Peyton-directed film. Neither came to be, and recently rumors surfaced (aided by some conveniently-timed tweets by Johnson) that he could play John Stewart Green Lantern in Justice League.

At this point nothing has been confirmed, but Johnson spoke to CBR about finding the right character who has a very specific set of attributes.

Johnson: "So, you know, there’s been mutual interest with myself and DC for many years to find the right character. I, like everyone here in the room, love superheroes. So there’s been mutual interest with us for years, and we’ve been having ongoing discussions, myself and DC, for years about the right character, what the right character would be. That’s another thing, too: It had to be right."

While that leaves a lot of questions unanswered, Johnson's next comments certainly seem to suggest he has already agreed to the role as he goes into the character's qualities that attracted him....

Johnson: "The first quality we were looking for was that he had to be extremely complex and have a lot going on. What that does for me as an actor and the studio is it gives us space that we can explore; his complexities. The other quality was that he had to – the character we were looking for had to be well-known but never brought to life. Then what that does again as an actor, it gives me a little bit of space, and we talked about personality. It just gives me a chance to put an imprint into his personality, with the set of tools that I could bring to the table and put a very unique twist on his personality, but still pay homage to who he is. The third thing – and most important – is he had to be a badass mother[frick]er, OK, and on a Superman level of power, where [he] could throw down. In those three qualities, I’m happy we’ve found that character." 

Honestly, that could be just about anybody in the DC Comics universe, but it doesn't sound like Green Lantern. Perhaps they've decided to go back to the Black Adam or Lobo idea? Or, if the goal really is to provide a "unique twist" to the character, maybe he will play Captain Marvel aka Shazam, a character whose abilities certainly qualify as "Superman level". Or maybe he'll be the all-powerful villain, Darkseid? Lots of possibilities out there and hopefully we'll get some answers soon. 

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Dwayne Johnson Rumored for 'Justice League', Filmed Back-to-Back with 'Batman vs. Superman'

"We just had a big meeting w/ Warner Bros CEO re: @DCComics 2014 we will partner up and create the cool bad assery."

Last year came to a close with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson dropping that bombshell, that he had been meeting with Warner Bros. about a potential project in 2014. And of course, rumors began to spring up immediately, including one that pegged him as the next Green Lantern. Unlike most stories with no firm basis in reality, it was never really disputed, and perhaps the reason is that there was a lot more to it than we knew.

The guys over at Latino Review, so gauge everything accordingly, say the film Johnson is up for is Justice League, which the studio plans to shoot later this year back-to-back with Batman vs. Superman. The reasons make sense on paper, mostly revolving around the tight schedules of all of their powerhouse talent. Another factor is that the Batman vs. Superman story ends on a major cliffhanger that leads directly into the formation of the Justice League.

The rumor notes that this explains why we've heard so many potential characters tossed around as appearing in the next film, such as the Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman. All of them, including Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman, could make a massive that sets up Justice League, which Warner Bros. hopes to have ready by 2016.

If this is indeed the plan it would be a major shift from what we'd previously heard, which had a Flash movie racing into theaters in 2016, followed by Justice League in 2017. Perhaps everything is a little more fluid than we thought. What isn't confirmed is whether Johnson would be up for Green Lantern or some other hero....or villain.

And what about Zack Snyder? Is he really such a tireless workhorse that he could jump into another project of Justice League's size so quickly after Batman vs. Superman? He barely stopped to take a breath after Man of Steel. The same goes for writer David Goyer, who is already busy with numerous other projects. Lots of questions, but it's important to remember this is all just rumor for now.

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First Trailer for Animated 'Justice League: War'

As Warner Bros. continues to build their live-action DC superhero franchise thanks to the success of Man of Steel, their animated division is about to release its 18th film centered on Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the rest of the Justice League. One of the big announcements to emerge at Comic-Con was for Justice League: War, based on the popular Justice League: Origin storyline by superstar the superstar duo of artist Jim Lee and writer Geoff Johns, and now we're getting a peek at the trailer.

Justice League: War features the voices of Alan Tudyk as Superman, Michelle Monaghan as Wonder Woman, Jason O'Mara as Batman, Sean Astin as Shazam, and more in a story that has an early version of the Justice League pulled together to battle the threat of Darkseid. The film is directed by Jay Oliva, who worked on Man of Steel and directed the two-part animated adaptation of The Dark Night Returns, so he knows his stuff. The animation is somewhat different than in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, but they're all still way too bulky.

Justice League: War will hit DVD and Blu-Ray next year.

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David Goyer Says Superman Should Be Able to Kill; Teases 'Justice League' Gig

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel was just what Warner Bros. hoped it would be as the springboard to their future superhero films. Earning over $660M worldwide, the film still had its share of detractors, mostly in regards to the conclusion. The "controversial" ending *SPOILER* saw Henry Cavill's Superman forced to kill his nemesis General Zod when put in a life-or-death situation. The act caused quite an uproar amongst those who believe Superman never kills under any circumstance, and those who feel the opposite. The conversation spread to those within the comic book industry, and it only picked up when it was revealed that Christopher Nolan wasn't a fan of it at first. While speaking at the BAFTA and BFI Screenwriters’ Lecture, screenwriter David Goyer defended this decision, and I'll be honest he pretty much echoes my thoughts on the issue.

"We were pretty sure that was going to be controversial. It’s not like we were deluding ourselves, and we weren’t just doing it to be cool. We felt, in the case of Zod, we wanted to put the character in an impossible situation and make an impossible choice.

This is one area, and I’ve written comic books as well and this is where I disagree with some of my fellow comic book writers – ‘Superman doesn’t kill’. It’s a rule that exists outside of the narrative and I just don’t believe in rules like that. I believe when you’re writing film or television, you can’t rely on a crutch or rule that exists outside of the narrative of the film.

So the situation was, Zod says ‘I’m not going to stop until you kill me or I kill you.’ The reality is no prison on the planet could hold him and in our film Superman can’t fly to the moon, and we didn’t want to come up with that crutch."

Ignoring the fact that Superman has killed before, Goyer's point is extremely clear and makes perfect sense. Why should he be subject to an arbitrary rule that has nothing to do with his film? People seem to think that this Superman must be identical to the one we've been reading for decades, but this isn't that Superman. This is Clark Kent as he's becoming Superman, still figuring out who he wants to be and how far he'll go when pushed to the brink. And there seems to be some sort of confusion that just because Superman was forced to kill this time that it somehow means he wanted to kill. As if he's suddenly now this bloodthirsty Superman who will probably snap Batman's neck in the first five minutes of the sequel. I would say those people are playing a game of "Missing the Point Entirely", and don't seem to understand how this makes him a richer, more complex character.

Anyway, Goyer was also asked by THR about Justice League, and if he would be writing the script, as was the rumor some months ago. His response was "Might be, can't say.", meaning he probably won't say anything until Superman vs. Batman is all wrapped up.

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Ben Affleck Will Be Batman for "Multiple Movies"

We've begun to see some of the ramifications of Ben Affleck signing on to play Batman in the Man of Steel sequel, and no it has nothing to do with that silly petition. Yesterday saw Affleck jettison a couple of his upcoming Warner Bros. projects, The Stand and Tell No One. The implication was that he would be playing Bruce Wayne for quite some time, although this wasn't made clear in the studio's press release. Given the actor's directorial ambitions, it seemed unlikely he'd be sticking around for the long haul, even if that was what the studio wanted.

According to THR, Affleck has indeed signed on for "multiple movies", and the story is quick to note that they mean sequels, not Batman spinoffs. In fact there's nothing mentioned about Affleck carrying a franchise on his own, instead focusing on how this could be a smart move taking on a major tentpole without all of the blockbuster risk. He's certainly not in a Daredevil position, where much of its failure was laid at his feet (rather than the shoddy direction), and if somehow Man of Steel 2 doesn't succeed there will be plenty of blame to go around. What they won't be able to blame is Affleck's physique, as US Weekly was nice enough to inform us that he's putting in a couple of hours a day at the gym to get ready. Nobody wants a pudgy bitch Batman.

There's also the casual suggestion that this deal puts Affleck in the pole position to direct Justice League when it finally gears up. WB wanted him to do it before only to have him turn it down. He'd have to pull double-duty, which seems daunting for a film of that magnitude, but it's way too early to start speculating. Man of Steel 2 is set to arrive on July 17th 2015. 

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Comic-Con: 'Flash' Movie Coming in 2016; 'Justice League' in 2017

It looks like Marvel is no longer going to have an iron grip on the superhero movie market, as Warner Bros. is taking some major steps to take advantage of Man of Steel's success. With the news that a Superman/Batman team-up film possibly titled World's Finest will be announced today for 2015, we're now expecting word on a Flash film and a firm date for Justice League.

According to THR, Flash is being eyed for 2016, with Justice League tentatively set for 2017. Both films have been in various stages of development for awhile, and the Flash script has been tackled numerous times, including by Man of Steel scribe David Goyer. We've even heard rumors of Charlie Hunnam possibly being the model for the character.

Justice League also has Goyer's involvement, as he took on the script after Will Beal's attempted draft. So it sounds as if Goyer is going to be the mastermind of much of what WB has coming up in the future.

More on this soon.

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