First look at ‘Aquaman,’ praised by WB, ‘Wonder Woman 1984, Geoff Johns to write ‘Green Lantern Corps,’ Affleck rumored out as Batman
The shakeup at Warner Bros/DC Comics continues as they attempt to deliver commercial and critically successful adaptations of the legendary DC characters. President and Chief Creative Officer of DC Entertainment, Geoff Johns, has stepped down to be tasked with rebooting the Green Lantern projects, titled Green Lantern Corps.
Johns’ Mad Ghost Productions, which has signed an exclusive deal with Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment, will have Johns write, produce and develop movies, TV and comics. Johns will be involved with current DC properties as well as new and re-imagined creations.
“I took on a role at DCE because I love the characters and this universe more than anything. But, I want to spend my days writing and on set. I’m thrilled to get back to a more hands-on creative role. It’s a dream job on dream projects, reaching even deeper into DC’s vast pantheon of characters,” Johns said in a statement.
Wonder Woman 2 has Johns writing and producing, he has credits on December’s Aquaman as a co-writer and executive producer, and on Shazam! as EP.
“Geoff is a super talented writer and truly embedded in the DC Universe and its characters,” said Toby Emmerich, Chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group. “We’re thrilled that he’s returning to his passion and his roots as a writer and producer. And, it’s even better that he’s staying in our Warner Bros. family. We look forward to working with him on ‘Green Lantern’ and other projects going forward.”
Aquaman praised as fans get their first look
Warner Bros. executives and producers are beginning to voice their approval of James Wan’s Aquaman.
“James has done an incredible job with his team,” Warner Bros. President Toby Emmerich told Entertainment Weekly. “The film is taking you to a different place and imagining the underwater world in a way you haven’t seen before.”
“[The film has] got the great action you expect, it’s got a lot of great humor, it works on so many levels,” continued Aquaman producer Peter Safran. “It’s a testament to James’ unique vision. I think it’s an extraordinary step in DC Universe that sets it on the right path.”
“The underwater stuff has never been executed like this before,” explained Johns. “The visual effects shots coming in are just beautiful. James can switch modes from horror to big bright colorful action to really emotional scenes. He’s so able to hit all these different genres.”
Jason Momoa’s Aquaman first briefly appeared in a silent cameo in 2016’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice before reprising his role in last year’s Justice League.
EW has also released several new images from the movie, including our first look at Arthur’s ambitious brother King Orm (Patrick Wilson), who wants to wage war on the surface world, Aquaman’s mentor Vulko (Willem Dafoe), and Queen Atlanna (Nicole Kidman), shown protecting a young Arthur. Plus, we have new images of Meera (Amber Heard) and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the villainous Black Manta.
Check out all the new photos at the bottom.
Ben Affleck out as Batman?
A THR write-up that recaps the recent executive shake-ups at DC Entertainment and looks ahead to Warner Bros.’ DC movie plans, The Batman appeared as a side note to the whole thing.
There’s no official confirmation yet, but if Reeves’ focus on a younger version of Batman is the direction that the film is going, it’s unlikely that Ben Affleck would step in to revisit the role he played in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
Casting a younger Batman seemed to be tied into earlier rumors that the Flash film would be Flashpoint, but now that’s not certain.
Woman Woman 2 titled Wonder Woman 1984, Chris Pine back
The Wonder Woman sequel officially has a title. And plenty of big hair and sweatsuits. The sequel to the best DCEU movie is leaning into its ’80s setting with a very fitting title: Wonder Woman 1984.
But along with that title comes an even greater reveal — Chris Pine is back as Steve Trevor! And he’s wearing a sweatsuit and looking as confused as the fans are.
Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot dropped two surprise Wonder Woman 1984 first looks, sending Twitter into a tizzy over the shoulder pads and big hair of Hollywood’s current favorite era.
Directed by Jenkins, Wonder Woman 1984 sees Diana facing off against one of her greatest comic book foes, Cheetah, played by Kristen Wiig. Pedro Pascal also stars in the comic book sequel. Production has begun in Washington, D.C., and Alexandria, Virginia., and will continue in the U.K., Spain and the Canary Islands.
Wonder Woman 1984 is set to open in theaters on November 1, 2019.
Aquaman
