Comic Strip: ‘Batman vs. Superman’ Sounds Grimmer Than Anyone Expected

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, a few Batman v Superman scenes get described, Deadpool graces the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and Kevin Feige explains where the Marvel One-Shots went.

Batman v Superman Scenes...Described!

A few days ago, we wrote about a trio of scenes from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that were unveiled in an upcoming issue of Entertainment Weekly. Here they are again, for reference:

• Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and his loyal butler, Alfred (Jeremy Irons), are gravely intoning their lines into a burned-out fireplace, as Bruce prepares for his Valley of Elah moment with Superman. The billionaire vigilante appears weary but determined, not unlike the actor portraying him.
• In his editing suite in Pasadena last month, Snyder showed off early passes of the money sequence, a rainy rooftop battle between the two capes. There’s an undeniable thrill to watching these pop culture icons go at it–throwing each other through walls and skylights.
• Snyder also reveals a scene in the Batcave where Bruce Wayne outlines his motivations to a skeptical Alfred, a bit of realpolitik reasoning that weighs the morality of a preemptive strike on Superman against even the minimal chance of humanity’s destruction.

So yes, these scenes confirm what we have long expected: this movie will be dark. Really dark. Like Christopher Nolan dark, just without that slight sense of grounding that made that darkness function within The Dark Knight trilogy. What we’re looking at here is essentially the cinematic adaptation of a ‘90s superhero comic. And the results could be interesting! We still haven’t seen a movie that takes itself this seriously while also featuring an immortal alien, a billionaire vigilante and an Amazonian warrior. For better or worse, Batman v Superman is going to be unlike anything we have seen before. Hopefully, it will also find time to be fun.

The Marvel Orphans

While Marvel does their thing and the DC movie universe prepares to truly kick off, we mustn’t forget the superheroes who are trapped under other corporate umbrellas. Namely, let‘s check in with the “Marvel orphans,” the characters who are are Marvel on the page, but 20th Century Fox on film.

First up, we have the first real footage from the X-Men: Days of Future Past “Rogue Cut,” the extended version that director Bryan Singer has been teasing for ages. This version of the film includes many scenes that were sliced out of the theatrical version, most notably, everything having to do with Anna Paquin’s Rogue. Singer insists that this cut is a far more different film and that fans should get excited, but there’s very little in this teaser video that truly grabs our interest. Sure, it will be an interesting curiosity, but will anyone outside of the super-faithful be interested in this?

And then, right on cue, a full scene from the Rogue Cut was revealed, and it features Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence making out while in their blue Mutant forms. So, you know, there’s probably an audience for this.

But enough about X-Men. How about some Fantastic Four? Hey! Did you realize that the new Fantastic Four movie is only a month away? We didn’t either. 30 days out and we still can’t make heads or tails of what this movie is supposed to be and whether or not we should be cautiously optimistic or full of dread. Despite all of the reported behind-the-scenes issues, Josh Trank has been making the press rounds as of late and he’s finally promising what all of the previews have lacked — big superhero action. In fact, he’s finally done talking about the intimate scale of the film and has moved onto talking up a massive climax with equally massive stakes:

The audience should expect an epic, massive, huge, multipower slugfest. This movie is big. A lot of stakes.

Oh, and remember how Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman graced the Comic-Con cover of Entertainment Weekly? It looks like Deadpool gets his very own close-up on the special bonus issue that will be exclusively available at at Comic-Con itself.

Where Did the One-Shots Go? (And Other Quick Marvel Updates)

Just how much of a comedy is Ant-Man going to be? Watch this new clip and see for yourself. After all, what’s the point in hiring Paul Rudd if you’re just going to transform him into a bland hero-type? Let him repeatedly run into doors like the comedian he is! His jawline will take care of the hero moments all by itself.

With all of our attention currently focused on Ant-Man, we have barely noticed that we have heard absolutely nothing about Marvel’s Netflix adaptation of Iron Fist. But Birth Movies Death is on the case and they’ve revealed that the show is facing some speed bumps in development, mainly over whether or not the series should fully embrace the mystical origin of the character’s powers:

What I'm hearing is that Marvel still hasn't decided what the direction of the show will be. They've brought in a lot of people to pitch, and have been having a lot of discussions, but so far nothing has stuck. My understanding is that one of the big hold-ups is the mystical element, with lots of different opinions on just how much weird wuxia to bring in to the show. I don't know if there are other arguments about the race of the character, although I do hope they're considering how to best proceed with that.

Finally, Collider sat down with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and asked a question that many of us have had in the back of our minds: where did the Marvel One-Shots go? His answer is vague, but you may be able to read through the lines:

I’m disappointed too! Frankly, and I think it would be great to see more one-shots. We’ll see… You look at me as if I’m the only person who controls that decision; I wish that were the case. But I think when the opportunity arises we would do it, we would jump on it. There is a backlog of ideas for one-shots that we haven’t done yet.

The One-Shots were the frequently fun short films that would fill in little gaps in the MCU, giving characters like Peggy Carter, Agent Coulson and Trevor Slattery a moment in the spotlight. However, it’s probably hard to monetize short films that are made simply to exist as Blu-ray special features. If Feige had his way, we’d probably still be seeing them. But Marvel’s accountants? Let’s just say that certain people near the top of the Marvel food chain have their hands on the purse strings and have a reputation for being stingy.

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