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Superhero Stories Assemble! 'Man of Steel' Gets a Jor El, 'Dark Knight Rises' Spoilers
"And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when several superhero stories found themselves united in a single article. On that day, 'Superhero Stories' was born - to contain the film and TV news no single blog post could withstand! Heed the call, then - for now...
Superhero Stories Assemble!"
Source: Variety
Australian actor and telephone archer extraordinaire Russell Crowe is in active negotiations with Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. Pictures to star as Superman's biological father Jor El in Zach Snyder's 'Man of Steel'. Played by Marlon Brando in the previous film incarnations, Crowe could definitely bring a new tone to Jor El's typical stern speeches if cast. The studio is still searching for someone to play Superman's biological mother in the film, which is set to begin production next month.
I can't help but feel that they missed an opportunity however, as another actor they were actively interested in playing the role was 'Children of Men' star Clive Owen. Somehow the thought of him giving one of Jor El's somber monologues in typical Kryptonian garb and the family spitcurl just seems a better fit for the role. However, this is WB's show and with 'Green Lantern' receiving such horrendous early reviews, they are most likely looking for as high-caliber of actor as they can find.
Meanwhile, out in the web-o-sphere the following picture has surfaced, rumored to be the first look at the new film:
However, this is what happens when you have an entire world full of people who own photoshop and internet sites that don't bother to check their sources, because the picture is (insert trumpets) FAKE! Originally reported as a still from the new film (in which Lois was rumored to be more of a geeky glass-wearing type), is actually just a rather decent edit of this scene from the CW's 'Smallville':
Poor Tom Welling... first Henry Cavill takes over his role, and now he's taking his body as well!
Source: Variety
Nearly three months after the departure of Darren Aronofsky from Fox's 'The Wolverine', the studio has finally landed themselves a replacement: director James Mangold. While this puts the film back into active production, their choice of director couldn't be more hit-and-miss. Sure, he's been around the block a few times so it's unlikely he'll get pushed around by the studio like Gavin Hood was on 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine', but if you look at his film history there are some disturbing missteps.
Yes, he helmed the brilliant '3:10 to Yuma' so we know he can make a good showdown. But, he also made the mindless action dud 'Knight and Day' with Tom Cruise so we know he's capable of sleeping his way through overdone tripe. He's capable of dark introspective character pieces like 'Walk the Line', but the last time he worked with Hugh Jackman we got the time-traveling romcom 'Kate and Leopold' (you know, the one where Liev Schreiber accidentally sleeps with his great-great-grandmother?). Whichever way you look at it, this could either end up great or terrible. Only time will tell.
Thanks to our buddy Drew McWeeny over at HitFix we have what could possibly be a major bombshell/spoiler for WB's upcoming film 'The Dark Knight Rises'. As per his request, we're going to do something that we almost never do here on Spill: we're going to use spoiler text. If you want to read the spoiler, simply highlight the invisible text in the box below:
So there you have it: possibly a massive reveal for the plot of 'The Dark Knight Rises'. For more info, definitely check out the full article over on HitFix.
Another downside to 'Green Lantern' currently being bashed by critics worldwide is that now there's even more pressure on Joe Johnston's 'Captain America: The First Avenger' to succeed. Had it directly followed the tide of goodwill that 'Thor' created with audiences, it would be a much easier sell. Today we have a brand new TV spot for the film which shows a little more of Cap fighting and some of the recently finished special effects:
We also have this (extremely poorly filmed) video of exclusive scenes created for the DisneyXD channel, which has a lot of scenes we've seen before, but enough new footage and dialog to make it worth a look:
And last but not least, we have some costume news that is sure to rile up a certain site animator (you know who you are). We have our very first look at Cap's "USO suit" from the film. As we learned from Chris Evans, after the scientist responsible for Steve Rogers' transformation is killed, Rogers is deemed to important to lose and is placed in the USO to do song-and-dance numbers for the troops and to sell war bonds. As a nod to the original costume design and to explain why Cap would want to leave the USO to go out and fight, the team tried to make it look as ridiculous as possible. Mission accomplished:
But, we also have what could be the very first look at Captain America's redesigned suit for 'The Avengers':
(click for full-size)
Premiering at this year's Licensing International Expo, the poster depicts Hawkeye (also our first look), The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Captain America, and Iron Man. While the artwork is a commissioned piece for Marvel, the final design of the costumes may be slightly changed in the course of production (for instance, I doubt Iron Man would go back to a circular chest beam after Iron Man 2's triangular upgrade), much like the first images of Cap's WWII suit were added upon before filming (the mask had wings painted onto the sides, etc). For now, this is our best bet for how the beloved character will be adapted for the modern day superhero team.
Until next time!
Comment
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Comment by FilmKiller on August 26, 2011 at 11:51am
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Coin toss saved the hispanic female cop.
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Comment by Gift of the Magi on June 22, 2011 at 10:08pm -
Since the blog has moved on, I thought I'd post my answer to your question here instead (about the TDK ending and Dent losing his shit). Yeah, my nerd rage overtook my typing skills...that did come out a bit ugly.
Basically, after Dent killing a bunch of dirty cops and mobsters but NOT killing the Joker (the guy responsible for his disfigurement and the death of his fiance'), He dies after a short fall (roughly 15 by the look of the film) and Batman decides to take the rap from all his crimes for two reasons:
1.) Because he thinks the system will let the crooks he put away go because Dent went nuts AFTER being horribly disfigured and having to listen to his girl being blown apart.
2.) To save his reputation as a 'white knight'.
To that I say BULLSHIT. Batman was already a bit more popular than Dent as the film shows with his ninja groupie squad. Add in the fact that while I MIGHT buy into the random coin-toss saving Joker, it saved NO ONE ELSE. No one. As such, the only reason it existed was to allow Joker to escape to get beaten up later by Batman. Kinda cheap...it would have been better if it also saved someone else...like the crooked cop at the bar.
Also, I have done some checking and asked the cops in my family now. The likely outcome of revealing Dent's rampage against dirty cops and crooks after what happened would NOT affect the convictions he did prior. Reason? No history and a completely believable story of why he should suddenly lose his shit.
Finally...why? Taking the blame does not help him in the least, nor does it help Gotham or anyone else. Superheroes are also about truth...maintaining a lie just to save the face of one man is both silly and not very heroic.
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Comment by Ha-Ra on June 21, 2011 at 9:56am -
@Magi: Yeah, I know the plausability of the convictions are a little stretched, though I will give you that Dent's rampage against the footsoldiers and not the man responsible for all of it was problematic. I still bought it because I just saw it as Dent too far gone to make any rational decicision. He let Joker go based on a coin flip, the icon of his character, because the man only sees random chance as the only fair law in the world. The ordered laws he fought so hard to protect with Batman and Gordon failed him and cost him his fiancee. So then he turned to laws of probability as the fair judge, something he continuously used to joke about before his facial scarring. As his first defendant, the laws of probability allowed Joker to live. But probability wasn't merciful to everyone else.
I bought Dent's actions in the climax of the film as plausible because he was driven to insanity, the end goal for the Joker. Batman took the rap for everything to preserve Dent's reputation to avoid any political fallout that may have happened for people discovering what he had done. Regardless, Batman's decision to take the rap was more for his development, as the decision now cements forever his campaign against crime. Furthermore, he'll be more of a threat to criminals since now they figure he may snap at any moment and murder them or anyone surrounding them.
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Comment by Happy Birthday Roboto on June 21, 2011 at 4:08am -
@Fungusmonkey
Yeah really! The way that ‘innocent until proven guilty’ works is that the defendant, in this case Dent, wouldn’t have to prove his innocence, the only one who has to prove anything is the prosecution. It’s taken for granted that Dent was innocent until he was proven guilty.
Anyway as QbanKnight has pointed out the problem isn’t legal as much as it is political. You see the defense of the mobsters would bring up Dent’s insanity but the REAL problem would be the public outrage and finding a judge to sit on the toxic case. Now we know that the judge from The Dark Knight was willing to do this, so it's not that much of a stretch to find another, the second problem is the public outcry, well seeing as to how Dent is a hero of the people, I don’t think this is something we have to worry about.
As for the other matter I stand by what I said earlier, Batman took the blame on himself to save Harvey’s reputation, because Harvey was the hero who gave Gotham hope and a city can survive without it’s hero but not without it’s hope making Batman a true hero and the man the city really deserved.
@Einrick
Magi didn’t get that from the plot he’s expressing his opinion where he disagrees with the plot logic of the writer Chris Nolan.
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Comment by Einrick Quiznos on June 20, 2011 at 11:26pm -
" I found the idea of Dent losing his shit, NOT KILLING THE MAN RESPONSIBLE AND INSTEAD GOING AFTER THE FOOT SOLDIERS, kidnapping Gordon's kid, and after all that BATMAN decides to take the rap simply because he's after to tarnish the image of his friend...oh and let the criminals out again so he'd have more work to do...and THAT somehow makes him a stronger hero? No, sorry but no. I call bullshit. "
I didn't quite gather that from the end...care to elaborate where you got that from the plot?
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Comment by Gift of the Magi on June 20, 2011 at 10:27pm
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You know, this is what I love about this site...discussions about film that bring out even deeper appreciation of the art.
Anyhoo, back to this. We are assuming that what Dent will be charged with is long-term insanity, because as comic geeks we KNOW Two-Face is a nutter. However, we are in the Nolan-verse where everything is as real as it can get. Being caught drinking on the job can easily be traced to a continuing issue. Killing the people that just blew up your fiance, possibly helped in the attempted assassination of Gordon and the mayor...oh and had you horribly scarred (to the point of exposed bone! YEOUCH!)...folks, I'm willing to bet after all that, the general people of Gotham (a violent city to start with) would be more "FUCK YEAH!" than "I don't trust him".
You already have a city with hero worship (note the Bat-clones at the beginning of the film) and even though many turned on him when the Joker made his demands, that's not to say they hated him...more likely they just didn't want to die themselves. With Dent dead, the city still has it's first hero...they never really lost him in the first place...except now he's a murderer...worse, a cop killer...so Batman is now a criminal and if reality is to be served, possibly a federal fugitive. The FBI should be involved right now, making any crime fighting EXTREMELY difficult and anyone he stops and capture immune to prosecution thanks to being tainted by association. Batman by taking on these crimes has pretty much ended his ability to be a crime fighter.
Now for Dent...if they had allowed Dent to take the blame for what he did, my guess is that the reason given would be temporary insanity due to extreme trauma. ONE photo of his face after the explosion and a little song about his dead fiancee, ESPECIALLY if he was so beloved by the city as the film proposes, would likely not only silence any nay-sayers in a jury, but even convince all but the most cold-hearted judges (likely, I admit in Gotham) to let the convictions stand.
But in the end, despite whatever COULD happen...the real test is, do I buy the Nolan story? Sorry, but no. I found the idea of Dent losing his shit, NOT KILLING THE MAN RESPONSIBLE AND INSTEAD GOING AFTER THE FOOT SOLDIERS, kidnapping Gordon's kid, and after all that BATMAN decides to take the rap simply because he's after to tarnish the image of his friend...oh and let the criminals out again so he'd have more work to do...and THAT somehow makes him a stronger hero? No, sorry but no. I call bullshit.
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Comment by Wes Garrett on June 20, 2011 at 10:25pm -
Happy I heard Green lantern was good then heard it was bad so not sure. I guess I'll just have to wait and judge for myself.
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Comment by Ha-Ra on June 20, 2011 at 5:29pm
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@Roboto: Actually, Dent's prosecution of ALL the criminals wouldn't be null and void because of the discovery of him losing his shit. There are no statutes and very little case law that would prevent someone from prosecuting a case or having someone else handle the prosecution of those criminals. But that's the THEORY of the situation, whereas the ACTUALITY of the situation can be a harsh fucking mistress.
Fungusmonkey's story is entirely plausible and, while rare, does happen elsewhere. A defense attorney wouldn't have to show that the officer was drunk on duty, but he could try to raise the fact that the officer was tagged for drinking on the job once. Now, under the rules of evidence (also after quickly looking Texas' rules of evidence specifically), a defendant can be the first to bring up character evidence while the prosecution can only rebut character evidence with character evidence of their own (the government isn't allowed to bring up character evidence first). A defendant can use character witness to support himself or to discredit a victim or even a witness (namely an officer arresting defendant). So Fungusmonkey's situation can and does happen.
Now on to the Harvey Dent scenario, I would find it very difficult to bring character evidence against a DA. On the other hand, this particular District Attorney was heavily involved in facilitating the arrests of all these mobsters. The prosecution after Dent could argue till there blue in the face that Dent was not insane at the time of the arrests, but that wouldn't stop the defense from bringing it up. Maybe not in a courtroom, but to the public and the media at large. The media would have a field day with the story: "Insane DA throws people in jail." Dent's actions in the warehouse, the murder of a cop and a few mobsters would be enough for public outrage to boil. A judge, whether elected or not, would not want to be part of a trial that would lead to the convictions of several hundred people whose trials all began because an insane man. It just wouldn't do well for their careers.
So, in short, yeah the cases could be thrown out just like Gordon said. There may be a chance that they would not get thrown out, but given how panic-induced the people of Gotham were and how quickly their opinion of Batman degenerated, it would not surprise me that they would not be behind Dent's career after his insanity
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Staff Comment by Fungusmonkey on June 20, 2011 at 5:24pm -
@Happy Birthday Roboto - Really? And how hard would it really be to prove that Harvey hadn't been insane for years, seeing as how he's dead and couldn't defend himself? Just like with every legal case in the world, it's not about what you can prove, it's about what you can make the jury believe. All you have to do is point to his record (which they said a few times came down hard on the "crooked" police officers and the mob) to show that he had a vendetta against these people and that he was "Two Face Harvey" for years.
Beyond that, he took the blame because it was the only way to beat the Joker. If he had pinned it on Harvey, Gotham would have lost faith in it's one champion. If he had pinned it on the Joker, he would have proved the Joker right that Batman was just like him and given the Joker what he wanted - a city in fear of him. He took the blame because he could - that's the whole theme of the film. He took that burden on himself (even though it brought the cops down on him hard) because he's the only one who could take the blame and not let the bad guys win.
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Comment by Happy Birthday Roboto on June 20, 2011 at 5:13pm
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@Wes
OK cool, I'm with you now, yeah I see what you mean, in that case I think you'll like Green Lantern, it looks like an exact comic book to screen translation!
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