Comic Strip: Updates on ‘Avengers 2,’ ‘Deadpool,’ ‘Suicide Squad’ and More
ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie/TV news items. From Marvel to DC and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, Kevin Feige discusses the future of the MCU, Deadpool meets Colossus, and Suicide Squad reveals a big plot point.
All the Marvel News That’s Fit to Print
We’re still riding high on the news that Spider-Man will get to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige has been stoking our enthusiasm accordingly. While doing the press rounds for Avengers: Age of Ultron, he’s been doing what he does best: getting us excited for future films, especially the new Spider-Man, who will be Peter Parker, will be in high school (for as long as possible) and whose costume will be incredibly faithful to his comic book counterpart. All of that sounds really swell.
Meanwhile, Feige also offered quick updates on the rest of Marvel’s upcoming slate. First up, Thor: Ragnarok:
Thor 3 is being scripted right now and I think we get a draft soon. Particularly [Chris] Hemsworth is hounding me during this junket so I’m going to push the writers [Craig Kyle and Christopher Yost] to hurry.
Next up is Black Panther. We don’t know about you people, but this sounds like the most mild and minor way imaginable of lending credence to those Ernie Hudson rumors:
Black Panther same thing. I have some director meetings set in the next few weeks once [Avengers: Age of Ultron] gets out the door. And casting is already underway in many ways. Some of which you know about, some of which you don’t.
And finally, Captain Marvel:
Captain Marvel, we’re ready to announce writers hopefully in the next week or two.
But let’s jump into the present. Our own Mike Sampson has seen Avengers: Age of Ultron. Grrr. We know. We hate him too. But for those of us who have to wait a few more weeks, here’s an interesting non-spoiler to keep us talking. Remember that mysterious woman who was glimpsed in the trailer? Of course you do. Everyone spent ages debating her identity. But you know what? Don’t worry about it. She’s been cut from the movie. However, she apparently had some kind of tie to Thor, so she was probably intended to help set up an element of Thor: Ragnarok but had to hit the cutting room floor.
Oh, and Avengers: Age of Ultron has been officially rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of sci-fi action, violence and destruction, and for some suggestive comments.” Oh, boy! Suggestive comments!
And because we couldn’t fit it anywhere else, here’s our first glimpse at David Tennant as the villainous “Purple Man” in AKA Jessica Jones. The duds are right, but his skin doesn’t look, well, purple. Maybe he’s being shot before he hits the make-up trailer. Or maybe his complexion changes throughout the series. We shall see.
All the Deadpool Photos That Are Fit to Print (And Other Fox Stuff)
Not even Ryan Reynolds getting hit by a car driven by paparazzi can slow down Deadpool! Thankfully, Mr. Reynolds is unharmed and production can continue as planned. Shooting continues and the seemingly constant pictures of the set keep on rolling in.
In addition to this costume being the spitting image of its comic book counterpart (it may be the most accurate translation of a superhero’s look we’ve seen yet), note the markers around the eyes. This will allow the visual effects geniuses to manipulate Deadpool’s facial expressions in post. After all, this guy is pretty much a cartoon character. His mask has got to emote.
We used performance capture to get the essence of it. Obviously I'm not made of rocks and obviously I'm not 6 foot 8! It's about capturing the essence of a human being inside of that character when he is transformed and you do that through motion capture. It's a technique that my friend Andy Serkis has very much spearheaded -- he is the guru of performance capture. I've been lucky to work with him 3 or 4 times actually, so I very much consider him my mentor.
Still, it’s strange that we know more about Deadpool (which isn’t even done filming) than we do about Fantastic Four, which is only a few months away.
All the DC News That’s Fit to Print
We had previously heard that the Batcave in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would feature a display case for Robin’s uniform, which set off all kinds of alarm bells for comic book fans. Yes, the implication here is that the infamous events of the “A Death in the Family” comic storyline, where the Joker killed Jason Todd with a crowbar, have occurred in the new DC universe. In fact, according to Latino Review, the death of Batman’s young partner plays a major role in Suicide Squad. It’s actually the reason why the Joker and Harley Quinn are estranged:
Jason Todd's uniform is in a display case inside the Batcave! In fact, The Joker & Harley Quinn are estranged in SUICIDE SQUAD because she feels guilt over the death of Todd. I'm also told that the RED HOOD is now a priority character for DC.
Because no one can ever stay dead in comic books, Jason Todd did eventually come back to life as the Red Hood, a gun-wielding anti-hero with a stylish costume and the ability to kill a lot of people. Of course Warner Bros. wants him in the new movies. Of course.
Speaking of Suicide Squad, it looks like we finally have some semi-official confirmation that True Blood veteran Jim Parrack is playing the lethal mercenary known as Deathstroke. Although Parrack is certainly not unknown, he’s an interesting choice. This is a character who could have attracted a big movie star name and they’ve gone with a lesser-known actor. In any case, good luck Mr. Parrack. In a movie filled with B-list DC villains, you are playing one of the coolest:
Meanwhile, it looks like Adam Beach is playing the villain Slipknot, which is essentially the total opposite of Deathstroke because no one cares about Slipknot. His power is ropes. He probably won’t live to see the end credits.
Let’s spend a moment with someone who will live through multiple DC superhero movies. There still isn’t official confirmation that Scott Eastwood is playing future Wonder Woman beau Steve Trevor in Suicide Squad, but c‘mon. Everyone knows it. Still, watch him dodge all of these questions:
Eastwood’s Trevor probably won’t show up in the first Wonder Woman movie (which is rumored to take place during the 1920s and shows off the title heroine’s immortality), but we have a piece of information so important that it makes all other superhero movie news sound trivial.
Drumroll, please.
We now have a rough idea of how many different outfits Gal Gadot wears in the film. Six.
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