Over the last few years, comic book culture has taken the film and television industry by storm. From Wolverine and Ironman to Batman and Superman, some of the most beloved creations of Marvel and DC Comics have punched their way onto our screens. Given the tremendous commercial success of these projects, it should come as no surprise that the trend is roaring along at full steam, as a number of our favourite heroes—and villains—are set to hit the screen in the near future.
Over the last few days, a pile of new information about some of the most anticipated comic-based movies and TV shows has emerged. Here are some of the highlights!
Suicide Squad Comes To Life In New Photo
Director David Ayer’s big-screen imagining of DC’s Suicide Squad resides amongst the most anticipated comic-based movies on the horizon.
Starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn (front left), Karen Fukuhara as Katana (front middle) Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang (front right), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc (back left), Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg (back middle) and Will Smith as Dead Shot (back right), the film’s protagonists look poised for a showdown in the newly released photo above.
The Joker, who will be played by Jared Leto, is nowhere to be seen. The same can be said of Batman, played by Ben Affleck, who was recently confirmed for at least one scuffle in the anticipated anti-hero blockbuster.
The film is scheduled for release on August 5 of this year.
Gambit Movie Starts Production In March
Gambit, one of the most popular characters to appear in the X-Men comics, has already appeared on the silver screen. He was played by Taylor Kitsch in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which came out back in 2009. That said, the card-throwing mutant is easily a compelling enough character to warrant his own origin story, and thankfully, we’ll be getting just that, when he is brought back to life by Channing Tatum in a film directed by Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).
Scheduled for release on October 7 of this year, it’s now been announced that production for the film will kick off this March in New Orleans. That means we can start expecting images of Tatum as Gambit, and plenty of new information about the film to surface in the not-too-distant future.
Kevin Smith To Direct An Episode Of The Flash
The CW’s The Flash is currently gearing up for its second season. At the 2016 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, it was announced that one episode of the show’s sophomore effort would be directed by legendary comic book lover Kevin Smith (via Collider).
The show’s executive producer, Andrew Kreisberg, announced the news, stating:
“I literally got a phone call from his agent saying that Kevin Smith’s favorite show is The Flash, and if there was an episode for him, and the answer was ‘yes’. It was really that simple. I didn’t know him personally; I’ve just been such a huge fan of his work.”
How the episode will turn out with the comic book guru at the helm remains to be seen, but his aligning with the show is bound to boost viewership—not that it’s suffering in that regard.
Marvel Universe to Unite in Part 1 of Avengers: Infinity War
Unfortunately, comic book fans have a long time to wait for Avengers: Infinity War, which is not scheduled for release until May of 2018. That said, buzz is already starting to build, as more and more information about the film is released.
The latest tidbit of information comes courtesy of the film’s directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, who have recently shed some light as to how many Marvel characters will appear between the credits. In an interview with ComicBook.com the sibling directors hinted at appearances by the Guardians of the Galaxy. At Wizard World New Orleans, they went so far as to suggest an actual number of appearing characters. That number? A whopping 67.
At this stage, it’s hard to say which of our favourite Marvel heroes will appear through this two-part cinematic event. As Joe Russo said at Wizard World New Orleans, however, “The concept of Infinity War is that the Marvel universe unites to battle the greatest threat to the world and universe that you’ve ever seen, and we’re going to honor that concept.”
