State Champ Radio DCEU
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Joaquin Phoenix’s iteration of the Joker in Todd Phillips’ 2019 film centered around the iconic Batman villain was arguably the greatest version of the Clown Prince of Crime moviegoers had seen to date (Heath Ledger is up there too). And though the film was originally said to be a one-off affair, fans of the film demanded more. Now, we’re getting a sneak peak of what to expect in the follow-up to the cult classic that captivated a comic book nation just a few years ago.
After months of anticipation, Warner Bros. has just released the first trailer for the upcoming JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX, which once again stars Phoenix as the titular character and Lady Gaga as the new Harley Quinn of the DCEU. Breaking ground as the first musical live-action comic book film made, the film will pick up where Joker left off as he was institutionalized at Arkham Asylum where he ultimately meets his counterpart in Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) who feeds off his crazy as he does hers.
Though plot details aren’t really known, it seems like the film will be a sort of Natural Born Killers affair as the two ultimately break out of Arkham Asylum and wreck havoc on the streets of Gotham City while singing show tunes and dancing away the pain of their past as they evade the law.
Seems like a hit to us.
Check out the trailer for JOKER: FOLIE À DEUX below, and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it hits theaters Oct. 4.
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When James Gunn took over the DCEU over at Warner Bros., he immediately began to clean house much to the dismay of many DCEU fans and now we’re getting word that his upcoming version of the Justice League will feature a brand new cast which many felt was inevitable given the choices he’s been making.
In a new article in Variety which delves into just how toxic Jason Momoa was to Amber Heard on the set of Aquaman 2 (the hell you doing, Jason!?), it’s being reported that none of the OG Justice League members will be reprising their roles in future DCU films in any capacity. Whether it’s Henry Cavill’s beloved version of Superman or Gal Gadot’s impressive iteration of Wonder Woman, everyone is being shown the door to make room for newer, younger and fresher faces that can carry the franchise for the next decade and possibly beyond.
The final straw seems to be that the test screenings of Aquaman 2 kept on falling flat with studio executives, and that was all the push that Gunn and company needed to give the Justice League a complete overhaul.
Variety reports:
Still, the “Aquaman” sequel held promise considering that the character’s first outing earned $1.15 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing DC movie ever. But sources say the sequel has endured challenges outside of the Heard saga and was testing in the 60s before being recut in the summer of 2022. Despite the overhaul, the film continued to test in the 60s, prompting a new cut. “The movie is like this echo of regimes,” says one insider. “It’s the last remnant of the Snyderverse, and no one really wants to take ownership of it.” Reshoots took place right up until this year’s WGA strike in May. The on-set source disputes the idea that “Aquaman 2” is troubled, noting that the film was on time, under budget and needed only about a week of reshoots.
Like “Flash,” “Aquaman” can’t shake its lame duck trappings, with the DC universe getting overhauled under new leadership, marking Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s top priority.
Reportedly, all the stars of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017) will not be resuming their roles. That means Momoa, Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Ezra Miller are all out. However, there is a possibility Momoa will portray DC character and anti-hero Lobo while Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller is still a go.
Looks like John Cena won this battle over Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who’s Black Adam doesn’t seem like it’s going to survive James Gunn’s overhaul of the DCEU either.
Though we’ve already gotten reports on who James Gunn’s Superman will be for his DCEU, there’s still no word on who’ll be taking on the roles of Batman, Wonder Woman or Aquaman for his revamped Justice League squad. Should be an interesting to see who he goes with in the coming years.
What do y’all think of James Gunn completely recasting the Justice League? Sound off in the comments section below.
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After weeks of disappointing and straight up infuriating fans of Warner Bros. DCU, James Gunn might’ve gotten himself some leeway with his direction of the film franchises he’s taken over. He’s finally laid out a pretty interesting roadmap as to where he plans on taking the beloved cinematic universe that’s been struggling for quite some time now.
Deadline is reporting that James Gunn and his partner-in-crime, Peter Safran, have revealed that the first portion of their DCU run will be titled Gods and Monsters and will kickoff in 2025 with five films. These include a rebooted Man of Steel dubbed Superman: Legacy, Batman and Robin: The Brave and The Bold, Swamp Thing, a new Supergirl and an introduction film for fan favorite DC rogue superhero squad, The Authority. Keep in mind those are just the feature films planned to release between 2025 and 2027.
On the HBO Max side, Gunn and Safran plan on producing a Peacemaker spinoff series, Waller, starring Viola Davis as your favorite ruthless government official, Amanda Waller, a new Lantern series, an animated Creature Commando’s show and a Booster Gold series amongst other shows.
Though James Gunn revealed that he is penning Superman: Legacy, he hasn’t committed to directing the highly-anticipated superhero film. That being said, he also didn’t reveal who might be approached to take on the mantle of the Man of Steel. We surely know who it won’t be though and that still kinda sucks. Still, Gunn seems to have a pretty ambitious plan going forward with the DCU. And truth be told, we’re interested to see how things play out. Certainly can’t be any worse than what we’ve been getting post-Man of Steel.
“One of our strategies is that we take our diamond characters — Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman– and we use that to help prop up other characters that people don’t know. Like what happened with the Guardians (of the Galaxy) in some way. Like taking teams like The Authority, which is I know is just as spectacular idea for a film that is completely different take on superheroes. Because it’s really connected to Superman. It’s about to use those well-known properties to help lead into lesser known properties,” says Gunn.
“We’re going to promise that everything from our first project forward is going to be unified,” said Gunn.
“But we’ve gotten very lucky for the next four projects,” added the filmmaker on the slate that was previously shepherded by former DC boss Walter Hamada.
Those being Shazam! Fury of the Gods (March 17), The Flash (June 16) the latter which Gunn says “resets everything.”
“I will say here that Flash is probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made,” Gunn added.
As for movies like Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie a Deux, Matt Reeves’ sequel to The Batman and J.J. Abrams’ Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Superman, those projects are still a go but will be operating outside of the main DC Universe Gunn is creating and will be considered part of DC-Elseworlds.
“The bar is going to be very high for projects outside of the DCU,” asserted Safran.
Y’all know Wonder Woman fans are tight that Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins couldn’t get the same courtesy as the aforementioned films.
What do y’all think of James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plan for the DCU going forward? Do y’all have faith that they’ll right the ship that’s been seemingly sinking since Batman V. Superman happened in 2016 or nah? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Since taking up duties as head of the DC Universe over at Warner Bros., James Gunn has ruffled many fans’ feathers with the way he’s been shaking things up. That includes moves such as canceling Wonder Woman 3 and putting the kibosh on Henry Cavill’s return as Superman just weeks after Cavill announced he’d be returning as the Man of Steel.
Interestingly enough, former wrestler turned actor, David Bautista saw an opportunity in the chaos. According to The Insider, the actor largely known as Drax The Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pitched Gunn on the idea of taking on the mask of Bane in his rebooted DC Universe.
With word that Bautista’s iteration of Drax will be coming to an end in James Gunn’s upcoming Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3, it would leave David Bautista with some time on his hands for the foreseeable future. And Bane is a character he’s had his eyes on playing for quite some time now.
However, it doesn’t seem like becoming the iconic Batman villain is in the cards for Bautista. As it stands, Gunn is looking to inject some young blood into his revamped DC film franchises. And that’s a big strike against the 54-year-old actor.
“I have had conversations with James about that but I think the direction he’s leaning in, completely rebooting that whole universe, he’s starting from scratch and starting younger and fresher and I think you need to do that,” the actor told Insider over the weekend while doing press for his upcoming movie, “Knock at the Cabin.”
It would’ve been cool to see a Bautista Bane go up against Robert Pattinson’s Batman. The difference in their physical sizes alone would’ve made for some interesting cinematic fight scenes. But alas, it is not meant to be. Being the stand-up guy that he is, Bautista understands why it wouldn’t work out for him. And he acknowledges it’s too late for him to take on the role of another comic book character for the long haul.
“I think for the DC Universe to be revived, you need to start from scratch, and I think you need to start with younger actors,” Bautista, 54, continued. “You need to start to plan for the next 15 years, and I just don’t think you can do that with me. And I understand that. And, also, I have to say that I appreciate that because I don’t want to play a character that I can’t bring justice to it. I don’t think at this point in my career that I can bring justice to Bane anymore. I just don’t know if I could handle the physical part, and I don’t think I would have the longevity to plan ahead for films. So, I just don’t know if I’d be that guy.”
We have faith that he could be Bane for at least two films. But at the end of the day, we ain’t calling the shots. We’re sure Bautista will eventually pop up somewhere in the DC Universe. Probably for a one-shot affair or something.
What do y’all think? Is David Bautista too old to play Bane in the DC Universe or should James Gunn have given him a chance? Let us know in the comments section below.
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James Gunn has only been running Warner Bros. DCEU for a few seconds but has already managed to infuriate and even alienate some of their hardcore fanbase with the decisions he’s been making as of late.
From canceling Wonder Woman 3 to pulling the plug on Henry Cavill’s highly anticipated return as Superman, James Gunn has quickly become a villain in the world of DC comic book fans. Naturally, he’s heard all the outrage that’s been pouring out on social media and decided to address all the hate he’s been getting for his decisions (mostly for benching Henry Cavill).
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Taking to Twitter, James Gunn wrote a short thread to explain the reasoning behind his seemingly rash decision making and acknowledged the he actually expected a “certain minority of people online that could be, well, uproarious & unkind, to say the least.” Ya think?! We’re low key surprised the death threats haven’t started, but then again he’s not exactly dealing with the far-right MAGA crowd that’s known for such menacing tactics.
Gunn continued, “Our choices for the DCU are based upon what we believe is best for the story & best for the DC characters who have been around for nearly 85 years. Perhaps these choices are great, perhaps not, but they are made with sincere hearts & integrity & always with the story in mind.”
Still, even though Gunn acknowledged that he and his partner-in-crime, Peter Safran aren’t too fond of the name calling and harassment, he says “we’ve been through significantly worse.” So all of this is just another day at the office for them.
While Gunn has said that Superman would be priority number one (something Henry Cavill was never considered during his time as the Man of Steel), there’s no word on who the new Clark Kent/Superman might be. The only thing we know is that Jason Momoa is said to be turning in his Aquaman attire for that of the fan favorite interstellar mercenary/bounty hunter known as Lobo.
There’s also talk of integrating Robert Pattinson’s Batman into Gunn’s new DCEU once the reboot is officially underway. As for everything else, guess we’ll have to wait and see as Gunn knows he has his work cut out for him going forward.
If he can lock down a good iteration of Superman, it should be smoother sailing from there.
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