Laurence Fishburne Not Returning for Justice League

Rounding out our trio of DCEU stories is a soundbite from Laurence Fishburne, who appeared in Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice as Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White. Fishburne, who recently sat down to chat with the LA Times about his latest movie, John Wick 2, revealed that he is not coming back for Justice League. The veteran actor chalked it up to scheduling conflicts, but the next words out of his mouth had some people raising their eyebrows. While talking about how DC has handled portraying its greatest heroes on the silver screen, Fishburne didn’t mince words: “What were they doing over there? Marvel has been kicking their [butt]” He did not say butt, though. He would go on to defend Zack Snyder and swear that he loved Dawn of Justice’s most baffling moment, the infamous “Martha Scene,” but the damage had already been done. I can hear the blogs and message boards lighting up with comments now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fishburne gets a cushy cameo in Avengers: Infinity War for his little commentary.

Mel Gibson Considered for Suicide Squad 2

We have sequel news for Raspberry Award darling Suicide Squad. In a recent article by The Hollywood Reporter, it was revealed that none other than Mel Gibson is in talks to helm the sequel to last year’s multi-million dollar trash fire. Gibson shared the news during a Q&A for his most recent film, the WWII drama starring Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge. Although he had struggled to repair his image following a string of drunken incidents over a decade ago, Gibson has seen a recent resurgence in popularity with the release of Hacksaw Ridge. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $164 million to date and netting him six Oscar nominations. This is still an odd move for Warner Bros to make, especially considering the number of big name auteurs they already have in their wheelhouse. Gibson himself has acknowledged that he is no fan of comic books, admitting that he “is familiarizing himself with the material” before progressing any further, not to mention the fact that an Oscar-nominated director’s unique style may not match with the tone and look that the DCEU is going for. Other directors are in the mix as well, including Safe House’s Daniel Espinosa, Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer, and Warm Bodies’ Jonathan Levine, but none are generating the same level of buzz. Case in point, listeners, if you want everyone to forget about the horrible things you’ve done and said, all you have to do is make one award-winning film.

Ben Affleck Wants Out of Batman (Allegedly)

In a recent appearance on Collider’s Movie Talk Youtube series, entertainment reporter John Campea shared that he had spoken to multiple sources connected to the film, all of whom confirmed that Ben Affleck was in talks to walk away from the role of the Caped Crusader. Apparently, these sources claim that Affleck is no longer satisfied with life under the cowl, and, if released from his contract, the Batman film would be his last appearance as the character. As with all rumors and hearsay, these claims should be taken with more than a grain of salt. All official communication from both Warner Bros and Affleck himself have been mostly positive, with the studio swearing up and down that they are happy with the latest rewrite of the script and Affleck assuring interviewers that he’s glad to play such a widely known character. But as anyone in Hollywood can tell you, the official word is fickle as all get out and can change at a moment’s notice. It would make sense for Affleck to be souring on the prospect of playing the Dark Knight a bit. Neither of the films he’s appeared in so far, Dawn of Justice or Suicide Squad, has been a huge hit with critics. To further complicate matters, his gangster flick pet project Live by Night floundered in theaters, only making back $20 million of its $65 million budget since its release. Throw in the fact that things have continued to go south in his home life as well, and it’s not hard to see why he would want to take a break from everything. No official word has been given, but we may be seeing a new face under the bat ears before too long.

Movie Review: Lego Batman

This week I’ll be reviewing Warner Bros’ follow-up to 2014’s hugely successful Lego Movie: the Lego Batman Movie. Set in the same universe made entirely of plastic bricks, the film follows its titular character, originally introduced in the first movie, as he embarks on an emotionally fulfilling journey of his own. Much like its predecessor the Lego Batman Movie is a whip-smart parody, brimming with tongue-in-cheek references to pop culture, clever fourth wall breaks, and a simple but emotionally resonant message that viewers of all ages will find satisfying.

Plus lobster thermidor. So much lobster thermidor.

The film opens in true comic book fashion, with our hero’s internal monologue setting the scene. Lego Gotham is under attack from the Joker, who has gathered a who’s-who of Batman villains - both familiar and impressively obscure - to bomb the city. The Caped Crusader appears on the scene and manages to single-handedly defeat every bad guy and briefly capture the Joker, only to realize that he still has to diffuse the bomb that would destroy the city. Joker mocks him for having no one to help him save the city, but Batman stubbornly asserts that he doesn’t need anybody, releasing Joker and stopping the bomb on his own.

Joker took it well.

After receiving the city’s thanks and flying home, however, it’s clear that the Joker had a point. Aside from Alfred, Batman lives alone in his hilltop mansion, microwaving lobster thermidor and watching sappy romantic comedies in his massive home theater. Alfred himself has noticed this and encourages his master to let someone into his life for a change, but his pleas fall on deaf pointy bat-ears. The Caped Crusader’s life is turned upside down nonetheless when he attends Commissioner Gordon’s retirement party as Bruce Wayne. He unknowingly adopts orphan Dick Grayson, distracted by the arrival of Gordon’s replacement - his daughter Barbara. To complicate matters further, Barbara introduces an initiative encouraging Batman to work with the police, and Joker shows up to...surrender, helpfully delivering all the city’s other villains as well. Suddenly, Batman has a young charge, no support from the people of Gotham, and no crime to fight.

Certain that his not-archenemy is up to something, the Dark Knight springs into action, ignoring Barbara’s requests to work together and dragging along his adopted son in a harebrained scheme to banish Joker to another dimension of criminals. I won’t spoil the plan here, but suffice to say it involves a trip to Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and a hilariously depressing cameo by the Justice League. When his strategy backfires, Batman finds himself in such pinch that even he will need a little help getting out of it. Clocking in at just over 100 minutes, the film never drags or feels boring. Much like its predecessor, there’s no shortage of silly jokes and product placement, but thanks to a heartfelt message of dealing with loss and opening up to other people, it never comes off as a cynical cash grab. If all movies based on popular children’s toy properties were this fun, I’d never leave the theater again.

Ben Affleck No Longer Directing Batman, Script Being Rewritten by Chris Terrio, Everythin Awful

Sad Affleck is sad

This week in the DC Extended Universe being a hot mess, Variety is reporting that Ben Affleck will no longer direct the upcoming solo Batman film. The announcement comes after a series of soundbites from Affleck where he appeared uncertain that the project would come together. The latest development came earlier this week, with Warner Bros announcing that Affleck would step aside and focus on starring in the lead role, while an as-yet-undecided replacement takes over directing duties. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves is allegedly at the top of that list. Deadline has also reported that Batman v Superman scribe Chris Terrio has already turned in a rewrite of the script Affleck and DCEU Creative Director Geoff Johns had originally written. It’s no secret that I am often left scratching my head when it comes to DC movies and how they are being made, but this one has actually caused me to throw up my hands. Fans and critics have been split on the look and tone of these films, but nobody but nobody has had anything nice to say about the story in any of them. As I watched Batman and Superman growl and grimace their way through Dawn of Justice’s two and a half-hour runtime, I had little to no idea why they were doing so. Suicide Squad subjected audiences to around 20 minutes of character introductions before convincing them to care about maybe the most fleshed out of the two. So when I first heard the Batman solo film was having troubles getting started, I suspected narrative issues were to blame. In an interview with the Guardian, which I quoted a few weeks ago, Affleck said verbatim “...there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great I’m not going to do it,” all but confirming my suspicions. And now this week, lo and behold, he’s not doing it. This is not to say Chris Terrio is a bad writer; I don’t think you can win an Oscar for anything, especially writing Argo, and be considered bad at that thing. But I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he’s good at writing a particular genre of film; his track record with superhero films is short and spotty. I’d trust Quentin Tarantino to write a hyperviolent crime drama, but I’m not going to have him write a children’s book (although that would be interesting). I could be wrong. The film has yet to even receive a title, let alone a release date. But given the brief, turbulent history of this cinematic universe, I’m not filled with an abundance of hope. Is Wonder Woman here yet?

Ben Affleck May Not Direct Solo Batman Film

Our first story of the year is picking up pretty much where 2016 left off - the DC Extended Universe being a hot mess! After thinly veiled shots by Flash actor Ezra Miller and Alien Covenant director Ridley Scott, the latest person to cast doubt on nobody’s favorite cinematic superhero universe is Batman himself. In a recent interview with British outlet The Guardian, Ben Affleck gave a lukewarm at best update on his upcoming batman film. When asked about the movie’s progress, Affleck acknowledged that there was still a project in existence but was pretty mum on when audiences would be seeing it, or even if he’d be in the director’s chair. The problem is fairly clear from this quote: “...it’s not a set thing and there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great then I’m not going to do it.” This is not the first time Affleck is on the record about the story lacking punch. Earlier reports covered how he pressured the studio to push the film’s release date back, unwilling to move forward with a story that didn’t work. Can’t really argue with his logic here; the DCEU’s movies haven’t exactly been praised for their storytelling up to this point, with critics slamming both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad for confusing character choices, villains with questionable motives, and gaping plot holes. A lot has already been written about the chaotic writing process for these films, particularly Suicide Squad and its expensive reshoots, so I won’t rehash that here. The bottom line is Warner Bros. has a decision to make: stop rushing these movies out to make the exhausting release schedule, or resign themselves to telling half-baked stories with second- and third-choice directors.