News D.C. DEVELOPMENT HELL: Where Super-Powered Ideas Go to Die

Although I've heard that Gotham is extremely good, I'm just not particularly interested in a superhero show that's pre-superhero. Fortunately in the current TV world I'm pretty spoiled for choice so its good to see that producers are willing to explore superhero worlds from different perspectives, providing something for everyone.

Gavin said:

a superhero show that's pre-superhero

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Yeah, am sick of this "prequel-mode" of programming and storytelling myself.

STAR TREK, STAR WARS, DC...

They're all at it - and it's really getting old, in my opinion.

I don't mind prequels, in and of themselves, but it has gotten out of hand. The main reason I haven't delved into Gotham yet is because I wanted to see a show about young Bruce Wayne. In Gotham, pretty much his entire Rogue's Gallery is already there. A reference here or there, fine, but we have all of his villains before we have Batman. Seems kind of...dumb,

Doctor Omega said:

Set in the wondrous and awe-inspiring City of Tomorrow before the arrival of Superman, Metropolis follows Lois Lane and Lex Luthor as they investigate the world of fringe science and expose the city’s dark secrets.

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Nope. I'm out. This sounds like a terrible set up.

Doctor Omega said:

Danny Cannon

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"Fear me.... Just fear me....." he is reported to have said to the production crew on the first day of filming Judge Dredd (1995).

His name is, I think, another reason not to watch this nonsense.

Joss Whedon Off The “Batgirl” Movie





Filmmaker Joss Whedon has stepped away from his attachment to pen and direct the “Batgirl” film at Warner Bros. Pictures.

It had previously been confirmed the film would be a part of the DC Extended Universe, though the project’s fate was uncertain as the studio has been overhauling personnel in charge of their DC projects following the disappointment of “Justice League”.

Whedon, who has been developing the project for nearly a year, said in a statement:

“Batgirl is such an exciting project, and Warners/DC such collaborative and supportive partners, that it took me months to realize I really didn’t have a story. I’m grateful to Geoff and Toby and everyone who was so welcoming when I arrived, and so understanding when I… uh, is there a sexier word for ‘failed’?”

No other producers are attached at present though Toby Emmerich, Jon Berg and Geoff Johns were overseeing it.

The news comes in the wake of a brief report at Batman News which indicated the next DCEU film, “Aquaman,” was tested recently at the studio with unfinished effects. Even in its early state though: “So far two different sources told me they loved #Aquaman! There’s tons of action but it’s a very emotional movie as well.” That film opens around year’s end.

I really didn’t have a story.

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Nothing to do with this then......?


https://www.imdforums.com/threads/joss-whedon.3167/

McQuarrie Sought For “Green Lantern Corps”?





“Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” and “Jack Reacher” director Christopher McQuarrie is reportedly being sought to take the helm of the “Green Lantern Corps” film at Warner Bros. Pictures.

That Hashtag Show published the report saying the studio is interested in the writer/director taking on the studio’s second attempt at an adaptation of the DC Comics title following the widely derided Martin Campbell-directed film from 2011. That film starred Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard, Angela Bassett, Tim Robbins and Taika Waititi.

The new film’s writer David S. Goyer recently confirmed that the movie was still moving forward, even in the wake of the disappointing box-office for “Justice League”. At last report “Rise of the Planet of The Apes” director Rupert Wyatt was linked as a potential helmer for the film which is expected to be more of a buddy action-comedy than the previous film – one with Hal Jordan mentoring a young John Stewart with an actor in their forties being sought for the Jordan role.

No release date for the film has been set.

The New Gods are a fictional race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in New Gods #1.

Ava DuVernay To Direct DC’s “New Gods”





Following on from “A Wrinkle in Time,” filmmaker Ava DuVernay is heading to Warner Bros. Pictures and has lined up a film adaptation of Jack Kirby’s iconic DC Comics “The New Gods” work as her next directorial effort.

Mixing social commentary, mythology and science fiction, the story sees a war between two alien planets – New Genesis and Apokolips – arrive on Earth when the ruler of the dystopian Apokolips, Darkseid, discovers humanity holds the key to the Anti-Life Equation which allows its user to control all living beings in existence.

Kirby, co-creator of Captain America, X-Men and other iconic heroes, created the work which was one of his ‘Fourth World Saga’ – four interconnected comic book series in the early 1970s. The Fourth World Saga has continued through a number of DC comic book series across the past four decades, with Darkseid serving as a major galactic villain across the DC universe.

ORION - A Fan Short Film (DC Comics)

3D Animation Fan-short film based on DC Comics characters "New Gods", created by Jack Kirby. facebook.com/orionshort?fref=ts This shortfilm is in no way affiliated with DC Comics or Warner Bros. Orion Shortfilm is a non-profit film for the private use only, and is not intended for sale of any sort

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“Batgirl” Film Still Alive With New Scribe





Warner Bros. Pictures’ proposed “Batgirl” solo film is still alive with news today that the studio is moving ahead on developing a new film based on the DC Entertainment heroine.

Christina Hodson, who penned the 2017 thriller “Unforgettable” and the upcoming “Transformers” spin-off “Bumblebee,” has been tapped to pen a new script which will follow the Barbra Gordon, daughter of Gotham City police commissioner James Gordon, version of the character.

Hodson also helped develop a feature project based on the all-female group “Birds of Prey” which included Batgirl. Joss Whedon was previously writing the script for the project but left it two months ago after admitting he had failed to come up with a story.

Whedon Explains His “Batgirl” Departure


“It had been a year since I had first pitched the story, and a lot happened in that year, and I felt some of the elements might not work as well and the story kinda just crumbled in my hands. There were elements that I just hadn’t mastered, that after a long time, felt like I wasn’t going to… I told people I didn’t have an idea, which isn’t the exact truth. I had an idea but it just sort of didn’t fit in the space that was left for it.”

DC Universe Re-Develops “Metropolis” Series





While Syfy has its own live-action “Superman” prequel series with “Krypton,” the producers of FOX’s “Gotham” have also been developing their own version “Metropolis”.

Today though comes word from Deadline that the project, which originally scored a straight-to-series order for DC’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service DC Universe, is headed back into re-development.

“Metropolis” follows Lois Lane and Lex Luthor as they investigate the world of fringe science and expose the city’s dark and bizarre secrets before the arrival of the Man of Steel.

Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment will retool the project, the second time it has done so following the first that came after FOX declined on picking up the project as a companion series for “Gotham”.

After that pass, “Metropolis” was then intended to follow the currently filming “Titans” on the new streaming service. That’s no longer the case with plans to shoot later this year for a 2019 launch now in the air.

John Stephens and Danny Cannon remain attached as executive producers. DC Universe is slated to launch later this year with two live-action series – “Titans” and “Swamp Thing” – and the animated series “Harley Quinn” and “Young Justice: Outsiders”.

Geoff Johns Steps Down & Pens “Lantern”





Over six months on from the disappointment of “Justice League” at the global box-office, Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that DC Entertainment president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns is stepping down from the company.

Johns isn’t leaving DC entirely, the filmmaker is instead forming the production company Mad Ghost Productions which intends to produce a variety of DC comics, television series, and films which Johns will write.

According to THR, the first major film project for Johns will be as writer and producer of the upcoming “Green Lantern Corps” film. Johns had a credit on “Aquaman” and is said to be helping write the “Wonder Woman” sequel.

The announcement comes on the heels of the news Diane Nelson, head of DC and WB Consumer Products, will not be coming back after she took a leave of absence in March.

“Cyborg” Film Would Cost $200 Million





With “Justice League” a failure, plans for the future of film adaptations of DC Comics titles seem to be on hold. While Warners has four DC films scheduled between now and the end of 2019 on the way, other proposed films like “The Flash,” ‘Green Lantern Corps.” and “Cyborg” are stuck in development.

That’s a shame for actor Ray Fisher who scored some of the least harsh notices out of “Justice League” for his character work as the half-man/half-robot Cyborg. Fisher hoped he’d get a shot at a solo movie, but in a new interview at Heroes & Villains FanFest (via Comicbook.com) he says another reason the “Cyborg” film isn’t progressing is basic economics:

“I can’t comment on that [the status of ‘Cyborg’] specifically because they don’t tell me anything until the very last minute. There’s a ton of people making those kinds of decisions behind the scenes. And it would be a very, very costly movie to make because it is so CGI heavy with Cyborg, because I’m the only member of the League that’s not in a practical costume. You’re going to be looking at $200 million just to make it. So it’s one of those things you have to take into consideration. It’s a numbers game for some people at the end of the day. If we keep making noise, it can happen. It’s about what the people want. And that’s what people understand, that’s what they recognize.”

At that price a “Cyborg” film would have to make around the same as “Justice League,” just over $600 million, just to break even. That’s a tall order considering the character is arguably the most unknown of the team. The character will next be seen in the DC Universe series “Doom Patrol” with a different actor taking over the role.

Rumours and mutterings.....

DC Universe Planning A “Batgirl” Series?





It turns out Batgirl may not just be coming to the cinemas as a new report at Fandom Wire suggests a “Batgirl” TV series is in the works.

Said series would be a thirteen-episode live-action series which is targeting a February start of production for an early 2020 airing. It would be a part of the just-launched DC Universe streaming service and would join the series like “Titans,” “Doom Patrol,” “Swamp Thing,” “Stargirl” and “Metropolis” which are all in development or production at this point.

The report says as of right now, no one is attached to take charge of the project. The “Batgirl” film has essentially been dropped at Warners following Joss Whedon’s exit, but the Barbara Gordon character is rumored to be a part of the Cathy Yan-directed “Harley Quinn” film starring Margot Robbie should that go into production next year as has been rumored.

Hodson On “Batgirl, “Birds of Prey” Scripts





The recent “Transformers” spin-off “Bumblebee” has been receiving very strong reviews, and while the box-office has been soft comparatively – creatively it’s seen as a big improvement on what came before.

This week the film’s screenwriter Christina Hodson spoke with CBM about the project and talked about two of her upcoming projects – the “Batgirl” and “Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn)” films at Warner Bros. Pictures. The “Birds of Prey” project begins filming in January and of it Hodson says:

“Yeah, January. Super excited. Our cast is awesome. Most of it has leaked, so you already know who’s playing who. I’m super excited about the cast, about the characters. And it’s really fun and different and honestly, I think aside from the fact that, obviously, the studio would like me to not say anything, I think it’s fun not to say anything yet because that means there’s going to be whole bunch of fun little surprises for fans and for new people to the DC universe to discover.”

Asked about how the Batgirl script is progressing, she says it’s still very much in the writing phase: “Not something I can speak to. But, yeah, I’m loving writing it, I can say that, it’s a total joy to work on. I love the character. And everyday I’m finding new things to love and get excited about.”