Comic Strip: ‘X-Men’ Reshoots, ‘Spider-Man 2’ Footage and Christian Bale’s Bizarre Advice For Batfleck

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie 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, Sony holds a blowout event for ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ might have revealed its start date, and Christian Bale talks about the San Francisco Batkid.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’

Elsewhere, a dangling plot thread from Webb’s first ‘Spider-Man’ movie has been resolved. The Daily Bugle, the official Tumblr for Sony’s sequel, reports that a corpse found in the sewers beneath the city is Dr. Rajit Ratha (played by Irrfan Khan).

Footage Khan shot for Webb’s first film ended up on the cutting room floor, leading me to believe the actor might be back for ‘Spidey 2.’ Apparently not.

‘Thor: The Dark World’

Alan Taylor’s ‘Thor: The Dark World’ is fast approaching the $500 million mark at the global box office. Worldwide, it is the fifth-highest-ranking movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what happened AFTER the events of ‘The Dark World’? Fans can find out Tuesday night when ABC and Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’ airs "The Well," which the network teases with this four-minute clip:

And now that ‘Thor’ has been in theaters for weeks, Taylor’s finally able to open up about the process of picking his mid-credits sequences – a Marvel tradition. During an interview with /Film, the director talked about the need to bring some closure to Thor and Jane’s storyline. He explains:

We thought the movie was about whether they got together or not. I think it came down, shockingly late in the process, that it felt sort of implicit that they were going to be together. …

Who you have on the throne … was such a jarring thing that you couldn’t follow anything else. So just that process, the finishing of Jane and Thor, wound up being a feel-good moment, but not a big story moment. The feeling was that instead of explaining why they were together, we just left them be together and then the final, final shot was one of my favorites. It was very late in the game, too.

It’s interesting, the notion that this was a rushed conclusion. Do you feel Thor and Jane were short changed as ‘The Dark World’ resolved?

‘Fantastic Four’

We reported last week that 20th Century Fox bumped back the release date for Josh Trank’s ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot. Now we might know when the director plans to shoot … and where.

A Reddit user revealed that their apartment in Baton Rogue, LA, is being scouted for the upcoming production. They posted a letter, but commenters started attacking the validity of the notice.

If it is to be believed, Trank will begin filming in March 2014. It makes sense, seeing as how they now have to reach a June 19, 2015 release date. But Trank’s going to need a cast. That usually helps. More ‘FF’ news is on the horizon. It just has to be. But for now, that’s what we know.

‘Batman vs. Superman’

Don’t go measuring ‘Girls’ star Adam Driver for a Nightwing costume just yet. The actor addressed rumors that he might be playing Batman’s sidekick in Zack Snyder’s 'Man of Steel' sequel, throwing cold water on the hopes and dreams of DC fanboys around the globe (via Collider).

No. Not that I know of, no. If you find out, let me know, then I'll know ... That's like intensely flattering as you can imagine. I mean, it's Batman and Superman, who doesn't want to be involved in something not only of that scale but of who those characters are. That's an incredible world to be able to be in for a bit. Like who wouldn't want to do that?

But he claims he isn’t. Kind of like Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t playing Khan, don’t believe it until you see it.

We know Ben Affleck will be in the Batman costume when cameras roll. So what was Christian Bale’s advice for the next actor about to step into the iconic cape and cowl? Naturally, it involved taking a leak in the Bat costume (via Access Hollywood):

‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’

Don’t panic, or jump to any conclusions. But the Calgary Herald confirms that Bryan Singer is heading back to the Great White North for ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ reshoots.

Quebec film commissioner Hans Fraikin admitted to the paper that “a couple of weeks is a big reshoot,” but quickly tried to calm the waters by explaining that “it happens all the time, especially with big pictures.”