Comic Strip: ‘Guardians’ Reveals New Footage, ‘Constantine’ Loses a Lead and Superman May Face Doomsday

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, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' reveals a new trailer, 'Batman vs. Superman' may feature an iconic villain, and 'Ant-Man' hires new writers.

The Latest and Greatest From 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

If you're a regular reader of Comic Strip, you know the deal by now: let's get on with all of the new 'Guardians of the Galaxy' stuff!

We managed to make it our to a 17-minute IMAX preview of the film last week and rounded up all of the necessary details right over here. If you didn't make it to the theater or got shut out at the door, don't fret. A new trailer arrived on the heels of the preview and it'll certainly whet your appetite.

And if that's not enough for you, a new TV spot also popped up:

But if you're still greedy for new footage, there's always this featurette on Zoe Saldana's Gamora, which gives us our best look yet at the green-skinned warrior:

Meanwhile, Empire debuted a bunch of new images from the film...

...but USA Today got the real steal, giving us our first official look at Michael Rooker as the alien bounty hunter Yondu. Now just imagine Rooker's voice coming out of that make-up. It's going to be uh-may-zing.

Still, EW may win them all because it managed to sneak a baby raccoon onto its new cover with Chris Pratt.

And finally, director James Gunn took to Twitter to declare that he had officially finished the film. Now all we have left is the all-too-long wait until August 1...

Batman vs Superman vs Doomsday?

In terms of quantity, this was a light week for 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' news. However, in terms of potentially earth-shattering-holy-crap news, it was biggie.

According to a (completely unconfirmed) report at Bleeding Cool, iconic Superman baddie Doomsday may appear in the film. For those of you who aren't quite up to speed on your DC comics lore, Doomsday is a hulking alien beastie who famously killed Superman in back in the '90s, instantly securing his place among the heaviest hitters in superhero comics. He has since popped up now and again to menace Kal-El and his allies. Considering that recent set pictures have suggested that 'Batman v Superman' will touch on the famous "Death of Superman" storyline, there's a strong chance that Doomsday will not only show up, he'll put Clark Kent in the ground ... until a sudden and miraculous resurrection, of course.

Oh, and Kevin Smith denies that he wrote that fake 'Batman v Superman' script, but who knows? We'd lie if Warner Bros. was writing us big fat checks.

Out With the Old and in with the New?

At some point, the current superhero infrastructure is going to crumble and these movies are either going to change with the times or die. The first signs came with the lousy box office for 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' and it continues with the news that co-screenwriter Roberto Orci is fleeing the franchise earlier than expected. Although we knew he was breaking it off with longtime writing partner Alex Kurtzman, the early word suggested that he's hang on for at least one more Spidey adventure. But nope, it looks like he's leaping off this sinking ship ... and to be fair, he won't be missed. If the Spider-Man movies are going to survive, they need writers with more imagination than these guys.

So with a franchsie this big stumbling, what happens next? No, you don't put Andrew Garfield in 'The Avengers: Age of Ultron.' You've got to try something new. After all, we've got to something since we're living in the darkest timeline where 'Hellboy 3' is officially dead.

That something new could be 'Big Hero 6,' which remains mysterious despite its quickly approaching release date. By making an animated movie out of a c-list Marvel comic, Disney is actually doing something with superhero cinema that feels fresh. The possibilities with animation are endless and there is no shortage of Marvel concepts that would work great in the CG (or even hand drawn) realm. The film's official cast was announced and while the names aren't too big, there are enough talented people involved to make us optimistic. In any case, we're just happy that we're getting a movie where Scott Adsit voices a pudgy robot.

Speaking of Fresh! and New!, a rumor over at AICN says that an adaptation of Valiant Comics' 'Archer and Armstrong' is in the works. And why we'll hold onto a grain of salt or two, it makes perfect sense: DC and Marvel are already pretty heavily mined and the Valiant characters are currently going through a very popular resurgence on the comic stands. Cross your fingers.

'Ant-Man' on the Homestretch

Just when you thought the 'Ant-Man' drama was over, one more tiny bump appears in the road. With filming set to begin very soon, Marvel has hired two new writers to give the script one final polish before acting as on-set script doctors for whatever problems arise. Although we're unfamiliar with the work of Gabriel Ferrari and Andrew Barrer, the general consensus seems to be that they're solid writers who are a good match for the material.

On the outside, all of these last-minute rewrites and the necessity for on-set writers looks disastrous, but it's actually fairly common for big films like this. 'Ant-Man' is simply in the lousy position of having built up a lot of ill will over the past weeks. All of the dirty laundry that's hidden in most major productions is out in the open here.

Turmoil and Triumph on the Small Screen

We've yet to see anything official from Marvel's upcoming 'Daredevil' Netflix series, but Latino Review managed to get close enough to the set to snap some photos and take some video. Apparently, the young man in the clip below is a young Matt Murdock, which means that the series will either begin with Daredevil's origin story or contain flashbacks. Considering the character's complicated relationship with his father and his neighborhood, neither would surprise us. Daredevil's past really is that important.

Jumping toward traditional television, it was announced this past week that the second season of 'Arrow' will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray on September 16. Here's the cover art:

And here are the special features:

• Three new featurettes:
• “From Vigilante to Hero” – Documentary highlighting Oliver Queen’s journey from fighting injustices to becoming Starling City’s resident savior.
• “How Did They Do That?! The Visual Effects of Arrow” – Explores how Season 2 has raised the bar for action and effects, showing how the creators can make anything the writers dream up come to life.
• “Wirework: The Impossible Moves of Arrow” – See how the intense and elaborate fight sequences are shot for maximum realism!
• “Arrow 2013″ Comic Con Panel
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel

If you can't enough of 'Arrow' and can't wait for the premiere of 'The Flash,' know that you'll soon be able to get your fix in comic book form. Yes! Comic book versions of these comic book characters are in the works! Snark aside, 'Arrow Season 2.5' will take place between the show's second and third season and 'The Flash Season 0' will fill in the gaps before the series begins.

Oh, and The CW continued to expand its small screen DC universe by casting Robbie Amell as the superhero Firestorm, who will appear on 'The Flash.' Like Brandon Routh's Atom, we wouldn't be surprised if the spin-off talk starts happening soon.

Elsewhere, Fox announced that 'Gotham' will premiere on September 22 before releasing a new TV spot. We're still not 100% sold on a Batman show without Batman, but everything we've seen ensures that we'll be there for the first episode at the very least.

Finally, let's close out this section with some potentially troubling news. Actress Lucy Griffiths has left NBC's 'Constantine' despite being the co-lead of the show. The exact reason for her departure remains unknown, but the official word is that the show's writing team “opted to move in a different direction.” Granted, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Maybe Giffiths' character wasn't working out? Maybe the writers had a last-minute revelation and found a way to make the show better? Anyway, it always stinks when someone loses a gig as potentially cool as the female lead on 'Constantine.'

However, comic fans will be pleased to know that her character will be replaced by Zed, a character from the 'Hellblazer' comic series, who will be played by Angela Celaya. But temper your enthusiasm, comic fans: the same report doubles down on the fact that TV John Constantine won't be a smoker and he certainly won't be bisexual.

Fun Stuff at Comic Con

If you're going to Comic-Con this year, do yourself a favor and look into picking up some of DC's exclusive new toys. They've got something for everyone. Video game fans will flock to the Batman: Arkham City figures. TV fans will want the stuff from 'Arrow.' Comic fans won't want to go home without the Wonder Woman designed to replicate the work of artist Cliff Chiang. Here are but a few of the exclusives that will be available: