Who Will
have
the last
laugh?
DC has, frankly,
a mind-boggling
number of films in
development, but
one that’s definitely
moving forwards is
Todd Phillips’ Joker
origin movie, which
has signed Joaquin
Phoenix on to play the Joker before
he became a homicidal clown.
It is said to be a ‘gritty character
study’ and a ‘cautionary tale’, and
it will feel more like a crime drama
than a superhero film. It’s set to
start shooting in September.
This film will reportedly be
released under a separate banner
to DC’s shared cinematic universe,
where the likes of the Justice League
and the Suicide Squad sit. Warner
Bros is hedging its bets, and this
new banner will allow other creative
teams to explore iconic characters
without treading on the toes of the
main DCU films.
There are still plans for Jared
Leto’s Joker to get his own movie
within that original universe, and
Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn will
be back in her R-rated Birds Of
Prey movie, which is set to go into
production in January.
There’s also a good chance both
Leto and Robbie will be in Suicide
Squad 2 when that finally starts
shooting. Elsewhere in the DCU,
Aquaman is coming to screens in
December, with Shazam! due in
April, and Wonder Woman 1984
is currently shooting, and due to
be released in 2019. Other DCU
films – including Cyborg and
Flash movies, a Man Of
Steel sequel, Green Lantern
Corps and the Batgirl film –
are all still in development.guess
who’s back
WORDS ABIGAIL CHAnDLERw w w.sci fi n ow.co.u k |^011
RetuRning to
a galaxy faR,
faR aWay
Having lost its three major
original trilogy stars, Star
Wars found itself sadly lacking
as JJ Abrams went to work
on Episode IX. The film was
supposed to be Leia’s chance to
shine, but Carrie Fisher’s tragic
death means that the character
will be given an off-screen send
off instead.
Which is why it’s so lovely to
hear that Billy Dee Williams will
be returning as Lando Calrissian
in Episode IX. In Rian Johnson’s
early versions of The Last Jedi, he
toyed with putting Calrissian in the
role that eventually went to Benicio
Del Toro’s DJ, selling out Finn and
Rose to the First Order. now that
Williams is the last remaining
original trilogy (human) character,
will he get a more heroic return to
the franchise?
Episode IX is set to begin
shooting this summer.Justice is back
Good news, fans of
part-man, part-machine
police officers – the
poorly-received 2014 film
didn’t kill off the RoboCop
franchise. It’s back, and
this time District 9’s neill
Blomkamp is directing.
The film will be based
on a sequel script from
the writers of the original
Paul Verhoeven film,
which never made it
to screens back in the
Eighties. Blomkamp has
spoken of his fondness for
the original RoboCop and
how it has influenced his
own work, so this could
be a perfect marriage of
material and director.From supervillains to cyborgs, we’ve got a lot of
classic characters heading back to our screensJoaquin Phoenix is
taking on the Joker.
© Diana Ringo© Florida Supercon