The road to Suicide Squad 2 has been a bumpy one, to say the least, but DC and Warner Bros. are determined for this sequel to see the light of day. After numerous director rumors, a few director exits (most recently Jaume Collet-Serra) the film has been searching diligently for someone to take the reins. Today, they found a pretty promising choice: Gavin O‘Connor, director of The Accountant, Miracle, and Warrior.
Tom Hardy’s not taking it easy on himself these days. He’s currently appearing in Dunkirk, where he spends the entire film stuffed into a cramped cockpit while frantically evading instant death from above. And today brings the news of a new major project for the esteemed actor, one that will test his mettle with even more extreme conditions. If you thought one perilous beachside aerial attack was intense, then just you wait.
It’s the Hollywood circle of life: one of the greatest working filmmakers can’t keep it together on set, you’re brought in to complete her production after she’s ousted, it flops, you lick your wounds and release an action potboiler later that same year, the critics roast it but the picture makes a beautiful dollar anyway, you proceed to GO to collect your next, even more handsomely budgeted project.
You’d be forgiven for already forgetting (or intentionally erasing from your memory) the Green Hornet movie from 2011 — it’s hard to blame director Michel Gondry and star / screenwriter Seth Rogen for the underwhelming revival of the classic hero, as neither were well-equipped to handle the pressures of making a big-budget studio film at the time. But it looks like The Green Hornet is getting another chance, this time with director Gavin O’Connor and words like “edgy” and “badass” being tossed around.
After suffering delays, director changes, casting changes, more delays and a studio bankruptcy, Jane Got a Gun is finally coming to theaters. Natalie Portman stars in the new western as a desperate woman who seeks the aid of an old boyfriend to help defend her homestead from the men who previously held her captive. The latest trailer for the film doesn’t do it much favors, between the generic heavy rock music and the generic DTV action flick font — but the actual footage still looks enticing, at the very least.
Jane Got a Gun has had a very, very troubled production — from the departure of director Lynn Ramsay to cast changes and release delays, the film started to feel like one long, unfortunate practical joke, and it was unclear if we’d actually ever see this film hit theaters. With the recent collapse of Relativity Media, the uncertainty only grew, but The Weinstein Co. has swept in to save Natalie Portman’s western and given it a 2016 release date…for now.
Ben Affleck knows a thing or two about playing comic-book characters onscreen. Ten years ago, he played Daredevil for Fox; next spring, he’ll tackle the role of Batman for Warner Bros. in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Before he’s seen as Bruce Wayne though, Affleck will first be seen in the Warner Bros. thriller The Accountant, as “a mild-mannered accountant who moonlights as a lethal assassin.” It’s not based on a comic book (it’s from an original script by Bill Dubuque) but it sort of sounds like one, right? Apparently the folks at Warners agreed, and as revealed at a panel this morning at Comic-Con, it’s going to become one.