The huge commercial success of Man of Steel has reportedly made Warner Bros. excited to build its universe. Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer discuss what's next for Superman. Joss Whedon drops a ton of Avengers 2 hints. Plus the latest from the sets of Amazing Spider-Man 2, Transformers 4, and Ninja Turtles. Spoilers!
Top image from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Composer Henry Jackman, who previously did the music for X-Men: First Class and Kick-Ass, revealed he will provide the score for the Captain America sequel. He also provides these intriguing impressions of the film, based on his reading of the script:
"What's interesting about the new Captain America movie is that he's now a fish out of water in a completely contemporary society. You know, the origin of Captain America is a superhero who can unquestioningly believe that the American government could be a democracy, and freedom could be spread without fear of contradiction; of course, the world correcting the ills of other evil and hideous regimes. If you would have done Captain America in 2013, it's a more politically confused landscape. And that comes through in the story; Steve Rogers is at odds with the society he lives in, he's at odds with some of the things he's being asked to do. He's more questioning, and there's a whole back story, which I can't give too much away, but it's emotionally haunting him. So, there's many more aspects which make [the film] more psychologically explorative, and darker and more morally ambiguous."
The Avengers 2
Writer-director Joss Whedon offered this update on the status of the script, during an appearance on the Empire Podcast:
I've turned in a first draft, the story is very set, everybody [at Marvel's] on board with the exact movie I'm trying to make which is what worked the first time. [When making The Avengers] I said 'I want to make this movie, a Marvel version of this move' and they said 'Yay' and never looked back. Well they [actually] said 'Maybe the tone' or 'Maybe this structure' but once we had it, we had it. And I feel like we're there with [Avengers 2] which is really important... There's still 'very fine tuning' to do on the script. There are many thing that can be 'plussed' (sic) and be better and also, there's some science in it, which means I have scenes where someone says 'Science the sciency science'. So I'm like 'I'll fix that later.'"
He also confirms that despite the character's inclusion in X-Men: Days of Future Past, Quicksilver will still be in this film alongside Scarlet Witch:
"He's in our movie and he's going to be dope.' Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, very close to my heart because they were Avengers the whole time I was reading the book as a kid... Oh, and sometimes they were 'EVIL' but sometimes they were good. They're very textured, they're very different from everybody else in the mix. They're not there to make things easier on The Avengers but what we do with the group once we've got them is 'squeeze.' The fun I'm having doing that is probably unseemly."
When asked whether another rude old-timey word like "quim" would appear in the sequel, Whedon used that as an opportunity to pretty much confirm that Tom Hiddleston won't be back as Loki:
"Everyone is going to be looking for the Loki-Hulk smash moment and you'll be looking for 'quim.' No, first of all, imitating what I did before is the surest way to do it not as well. Second of all, Loki's not there to say those terrible things. Although I do think we should bring the word back, not as an insult, it's just a nice word."
Elsewhere, Whedon says that he won't be taking too many cues from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight for his superhero sequel, even though he has promised the requisite amount of death:
"No, Nolan has this thing and of it he is the master — [I'm] Tony Stark desperately trying to be Steve Rogers... I do not have Nolan’s thing. I can’t stop making jokes. In my vernacular there are two gold standards for sequels: The Godfather Part II and The Empire Strikes Back. They are darker films but they are not suddenly pretentious and losing the mission. The joy of the thing is important: the exaltation, the nobility, the humour and the humanity. But you do need to bleed with these people a little bit or you won’t want to spend another day with them."
[Metro]
Guardians of the Galaxy
Despite some initial confusion that suggested he was actually playing Ronan the Accuser, Walk Hard and Boogie Nights star John C. Reilly has now been confirmed as key supporting ally Rhomann Dey. [Deadline]
Man of Steel 2
It's definitely best to take this rumor with a generous heaping of salt, but some supposed insider reports claim that Warner Bros. isn't just trying to get the now confirmed Man of Steel sequel out by 2015; it's also trying to release a Wonder Woman movie that year as well in preparation for Justice League and a Batman reboot in 2016 or 2017. Indeed, there's even a report that Man of Steel 2 could be so ridiculously fast-tracked that it comes out in 2014, but I don't really think that's possible with modern production schedules.
There isn't too much to say about all that at this juncture, except that you should take all of the above with a massive grain of salt. Also, there was a report floating around over the weekend suggesting that David S. Goyer had hinted Batman and/or Wonder Woman could appear in Man of Steel 2, but that was based on this interview with Hey U Guys, in which he merely says that he and Snyder have had vague discussions about how to approach Wonder Woman and Batman, and you might see them as Warners creates "the beginning of a shared universe" in some other upcoming movies, including but not limited to Man of Steel sequels. [Comic Book]
Screenwriter David S. Goyer says he's at least thinking about how Superman might fit into larger geopolitical issues as he starts work on the sequel:
The challenge for us moving forward is how to depict Superman in a world like this, in a world where Twitter exists, in a world with social media. To me, the interesting challenge is “Could he solve hunger in the horn of Africa? What would he do with the Arab Spring? What would he do in Syria?” Partly you could argue “How could he not intervene in something like the situation in Syria?” but the other argument is “Is it a hornet’s nest if her intervenes? Does he have the wherewithal or the knowledge to intervene in something like this?” To me, that’s the interesting challenge. It’s easier for Batman because he just exists in this little pocket of the world, he’s not violating sovereign airspace every day.
He also discusses how subsequent films might deal with Superman's secret identity:
In our minds there are people in Smallville who know Superman’s secret as well [as Lois], Pete Ross seems to know, there’s probably a couple dozen people who know and we thought it would be interesting if they’re protective of him. We were able to sidestep the issue of the ludicrous glasses disguise in this film but going forwards, we’re going to find ourselves in a sticky wicket. Zack and I have definitely talked about “Okay, hmm, this will be interesting.” Clearly Perry White and Steve Lombard see Lois kissing Superman at the end of the film. Perry’s not an idiot. Moving forward, he’s probably going to say to Lois “What’s up with that?” We’re definitely going to have to go through some story gymnastics.
Director Zack Snyder also discusses Superman's more global responsibilities:
Yeah. 100%… that was always a thing that would be in the evolution of Superman. He has no choice but to become global.
That would be the sequel.
Knock on wood. That literally has to happen. But for me I was really interested in – and maybe it’s because Barack Obama’s president now – it’s okay for Superman to be American. He’s quintessentially an American creature and creation. I wanted to pay homage to the superhero as coming from the heartland of America, and the “Why?” of that. I was really interested in just how American he was, and I think in the best possible way, the Kevin Costner cornfield kind of way. Which is why I really wanted Kevin and Diane Lane to play those parts [Ma and Pa Kent] because they really represent a believable America but an America that is also… we do it in the most realistic way we can but still all of the icons are very much represented in a way that I don’t know exists for real. But you want it to. Like a Norman Rockwell documentary… handheld Norman Rockwell.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Anna Paquin talks briefly about returning to the role of Rogue:
It was really fun. My scripts, however, came with a letter attached to it saying that when I'm not reading it, I had to lock it up in a safe and give it back when I was done with it. I had a really great time, but that's about as much as I'm allowed to say. [Laughs] It was nice to see my old friends, but anything other than that, look on Bryan Singer's Twitter page. He seems to be in charge of what information goes out there.
[TV Guide]
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Here are some set photos featuring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, and Sally Field. Check out more at the link. [Just Jared]
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Here's a behind-the-scenes video focusing on the movie's New Zealand locations.
Transformers 4
Here's a set video from the filming in Austin. You can check out some accompanying set photos at the link. [TFLAMB]
R.I.P.D.
Here's a TV spot.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Courtesy of WENN.com, here's a trio of set photos that feature some good looks at non-turtle stars Will Arnett and Megan Fox, plus a guy referred to as "Radio Man."
Despicable Me 2
Here are some high-resolution stills from the upcoming sequel. Check out a ton more right here
True Blood
Star Anna Paquin discusses what Sookie thinks of the new, Lilith-infused Bill:
He's this creature that we didn't really know much about and he's very dangerous. Who he is, what he is, what his powers are exactly are things that unfold over the season. There are a lot of questions even after the first few episodes.
Sookie gets a new love interest in Rob Kazinsky's Ben this season, but is she open to love yet?
Sookie usually starts out every season saying, "I'm not getting involved with anyone. I'm going to be my own person and stay away from trouble." But that doesn't make interesting television. [Laughs] She ends up in these situations with guys that usually end up being very complicated. Needless to say, it always gets more complicated than it should be. She always intends for things to be more simpler than they turn out.Given that Louisiana has declared war on vampires, and Warlow is coming after her, how will she be handling that this season?
The world, as usual, is a very dangerous place for her. What's interesting this season is that she's a lot less naïve and wide-eyed about it all. She goes in with a — cynical is the wrong word — but she's not quite expecting the world to be a beautiful place, which, how could you be after all these odd and traumatizing things have happened to her? She's more mature and realistic about her situation.
[TV Guide]
The Walking Dead
Here are a few tidbits for season four, courtesy of SpoilerTV:
Episode 4.06 of The Walking Dead is called "Rise." There are 2 recurring roles currently being cast: a single mother and former nurse named Laura and a tough and funny woman named Melody. The guest star role of Don is also being cast; he's 50-70 years old, is kind but sometimes grumpy, and has a granddaughter.
Under the Dome
Here's a preview for the upcoming summer series. [Film School Rejects]
And here's an interview with author Stephen King, who wrote the novel that forms the basis for the series. [Buddy TV]
Arrow
The series is reportedly casting a major new series regular or recurring player. The character is named Lisa and described as "a mysterious woman with a tragic past [who] will wreak havoc on Oliver's heart and is equal to Oliver in every way." [SpoilerTV]
Additional reporting by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders.