Miles Morales Replaces Peter Parker as Spider-Man
Yesterday, news broke that Miles Morales will replace Peter Parker as Marvel Comics' official Spider-Man following the end of their current Secret Wars event in the adjective-less Spider-Man written by Miles co-creators Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli. This comes four years after Morales' debut alongside vocal communities calling for Miles to become the de facto Spider-Man across the board. However, this doesn't mean Peter will disappear entirely. While he'll be hanging up the webs for the foreseeable future, he'll still be a supporting character in the books, serving a mentor role to young Miles.
The importance of Miles, a bi-racial character with an African-American father and Puerto Rican mother, being elevated as THE Spider-Man in the Marvel Comics comes after a purported leak over the weekend that detailed film depictions of Peter Parker must maintain the status quo of him being a heterosexual caucasian male. However, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Comics have shared elements in their respective media, the Marvel Comics world has grown more and more diverse, as I detailed last summer following Sam Wilson being named Captain America. Bendis himself has praised the importance of having a person of color take the mantle of Marvel's most famous and popular character, telling the New York Daily News:
Our message has to be it’s not Spider-Man with an asterisk [...] It’s the real Spider-Man for kids of color, for adults of color and everybody else.
Before long, the long-standing image of superheroes as white, strong-jawed males will be replaced by people of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and Marvel's move to cement Miles as THE Spider-Man is just the next step towards accomplishing this goal. The decision also increases the chances of Miles Morales appearing in future Spider-Man films (assumedly not until after the next wave of Spider-Man films run their course).
[This Week In TV] The Flash; Supergirl; Late Show With David Letterman
This Week in TV is a weekly feature reviewing the best, worst and most interesting episodes of television from the past seven days. The plan is to cover a wide variety of shows, but not always the same ones each week, so let us know in the comments which ones you’d particularly like to read about. This week sees Barry Allen travel back in time to save his mother in the Flash finale; our review of CBS' leaked Supergirl pilot; and David Letterman's final appearance as host of the Late Show.
Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin on rumored shortlist to play Batman in Batman vs. Superman
Pre-production on the unofficially titled Batman vs. Superman film hasn't even begun yet (pre-pre-production?), yet rumors are flying out over which actors Warner Bros. want to portray Batman in the upcoming film. Earlier in the weekend, a report came out that WB was looking for an older actor to portray the Dark Knight, preferably somebody in their 30s or 40s. A day later, a shortlist of actors has popped up including a few interesting names.
Josh Brolin (Oldboy) and Ryan Gosling (Only God Forgives) are the two biggest names on the list, which also includes Joe Manganiello (Magic Mike), Richard Armitage (The Hobbit), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), and Max Martini (Pacific Rim). Obviously, with such a high-calibre film as Batman vs. Superman, Warner Bros. will want to grab an equally attractive actor to fill theaters. However, they'll also want a young enough actor who could possibly be willing to portray the superhero in future films, as well. Brolin could make for an interesting Batman, but I don't really think he'd be interested in the role. Gosling, meanwhile, doesn't fit the Bruce Wayne/Batman archetype, either; the same goes for Goode. Armitage could be a good fit, though. Martini and Manganiello, I'm not too familiar with.
Personally, I think Jon Hamm (Mad Men) would be the greatest Batman of all time. Granted, I don't really care much for Batman as a character, but Hamm is one of my favorite actors, and his Don Draper character basically is Bruce Wayne minus the mass wealth and superhero persona. Original reports had him on the shortlist, as well, but his name mysteriously dropped from the updated version. If WB and DC seriously want to get to the same level Marvel's on, they're going to have to nab a big name actor, and Hamm would be the perfect first step for that plan.
[via Collider]
The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition revealed
While Christian Bale won't be coming back as Batman anytime soon (if at all), DC and Warner Bros. have a special little sump'm sump'm to make sure his legacy as The Dark Knight won't be forgotten any time soon (as if that would happen in the first place). This fall, the "The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition" blu-ray boxset will be released, collecting the entire Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale Batman trilogy on blu-ray. The collection will also include two exclusive featurettes, "The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy" and Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation, as an incentive for those who may already own the films on blu-ray. Also included are a 48-page hardcover book featuring art from the films, collectable Hot Wheels toys of the vehicles seen in each film, and art cards created by Mondo. The full list of features is included at the botom of this post. The Dark Knight Trilogy: Ultimate Collector's Edition will retail for $100.
Are any of you interested in buying the set, or are the added features and memorabilia not enough to supplant the copies you may already own?
[via Collider]
About the Ultimate Collector’s Edition (UCE):
*Disc 1 – Batman Begins Feature and Special Features
*Disc 2 – The Dark Knight Feature
*Disc 3 – The Dark Knight Special Features
*Disc 4 – The Dark Knight Rises Feature
*Disc 5 – The Dark Knight Rises Special Features
*Disc 6 – Bonus Disc of New Special Features (details follow)
NEW Special Features:
- The Fire Rises: The Creation and Impact of The Dark Knight Trilogy - The inside perspective on the fascinating story behind the creation of one of the most celebrated franchises and how it changed the scope of movie making….forever. Full of never-before-seen footage, rare moments, and exclusive interviews with Guillermo Del Toro, Damon Lindelof, Michael Mann, Richard Roeper, Zack Snyder and others.
· Christopher Nolan & Richard Donner: A Conversation - For the first time, Directors Christopher Nolan (The Dark KnightTrilogy) and Richard Donner (Superman) sit down to discuss the trials and triumphs involved in bringing the two most iconic superheroes of all time to the big screen, and how Superman influenced Nolan when developing Batman Begins.
· IMAX® Sequences: The Dark Knight; The Dark Knight Rises - See your favorite scenes as they were intended in the original IMAX© aspect ratio
Exclusive NEW Memorabilia:
· Premium Mattel Hot Wheels Vehicles: Batmobile, Batpod and Tumbler
· Newly commissioned collectible art cards by Mondo featuring Scarecrow, Joker, Bane, Harvey Dent, and Ra’s al Ghul
· 48-page hardcover book featuring production stills and behind the scenes images from all three movies
Christian Bale is done with Batman
While Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Rises) and Christopher Nolan (Inception) have previously said they wouldn't return to the Batman universe, many people still held out hope that Bale would take up the cowl in the proposed Justice League film DC and Warner Bros. have tried to get off the ground for awhile now. However, Bale recently refuted the notion that he would put on the Batman suit in the superhero ensemble, stating:
”I have no information, no knowledge about anything. I’ve literally not had a conversation with a living soul. I understand that they may be making a Justice League movie, that’s it. It’s a torch that should be handed from one actor to another. So I enjoy looking forward to what somebody else will come up with.”
Of course, with the way The Dark Knight Rises ended, it would be easy to conclude that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would become the next Batman. After all, The Dark Knight Rises was really a film made to pass the torch to the next generation. Of course, there's been no word about another Batman film, let alone one set in the same universe that Nolan and Bale populated for the Dark Knight trilogy. With rumors that the universe seen in Man of Steel is separate from that of the Dark Knight universe and the Justice League portrayal won't be the same Batman character we have grown to love over the past decade, this news comes as a pretty obvious statement. Still, with the way WB has handled the DC film properties lately (Man of Steel only barely serving as an exception to this), it just seems like Bale was necessitated to clear the air to at least help make sense of their attempt to create a unified universe the way Marvel has done with their film properties.
[via Collider]
[Trailer 2] Man of Steel
http://youtu.be/dwYatpwrs8s
With Man of Steel out next week, one final look has been released exclusively by Nokia. If you haven't already been bombarded by the ample coverage and trailers for the next Superman film, this trailer should bring you up to speed. Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch) is attempting to do for Clark Kent what Christopher Nolan, who's also producing Man of Steel, did for Batman. Henry Cavill (The Tudors) will be donning the cape withRussell Crowe (Gladiator), Amy Adams (The Muppets), Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), and Kevin Costner (The Bodyguard) are supporting.
Remember, Man of Steel will be setting out to flight in theaters next week.