It really is an exciting time in superherodom at the moment with filming now underway on two of 2012’s big summer offerings, The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers. This week’s column provides an update on all the gossip coming out of both camps so it’s probably a good time to say that there may be a few potential spoilers ahead. But only minor though, I promise. Meanwhile there’s still plenty going on this year with Thor (finally) hitting North American cinemas and X-Men: First Class and Green Lantern set to arrive next month, and we’ll also be touching upon The Amazing Spider-Man, The Wolverine, Ant-Man and more…
We'll start things off with Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, which started filming in India's Mehrangarh Fort yesterday and continues today. Despite the fact that Christian Bale was the only actor thought to feature in this part of the shoot, the Hindustan Times reported that Bale would not be in attendance and suggested that the scene may include antagonists from the League of Shadows. Then, late yesterday, some set photos emerged showing a pool filled with green liquid that seems very likely to transform into the Lazarus Pit in post-production, especially when locals have reported that Josh Pence has been seen around the area. So how will this fit into the plot? Well, my guess - if it does turn out to be the Lazarus Pit - is that we'll see Ra's using the pit in a flashback and Bruce will use it later on to heal himself from the injuries he sustains at the hands of Tom Hardy's Bane.In other Dark Knight news, Batman-on-Film posted a few further details about the shoot from a reliable source who states that filming in Pittsburgh will only last around three weeks before the production heads to the UK and New York City. Meanwhile the majority of the work is expected to take place in Los Angeles and it's also thought that an official synopsis will arrive soon. Elsewhere, a casting call on ActingAuditions points to Juno Temple's character being that of Holly Robinson, a juvenile prostitute and associate of Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle who first appeared in Frank Miller's classic comic series Batman: Year One, while the LA Times posted an article with further speculation that Marion Cotillard's 'Miranda Tate' is not all that she would appear.
Moving on and as with Nolan, director Joss Whedon has done a pretty good job of keeping a tight lid on The Avengers, although of course it seems that someone forgot to send Samuel L. Jackson the memo. The fallout from the alleged script leak continued this past week as FilmFanReview reported that production had shut down until rewrites could be completed. The story was pretty much debunked immediately by Marvel, but FilmFanReview soon posted an update stating that their sources say it’s legit and Marvel are just covering their tracks. Now I could be wrong, but you have to expect the major Hollywood media to be all over such a story if it were true and let’s be honest, even if the pages that hit the net are real, why would they bother rewriting it?? I mean, it hardly gives anything away – Bruce Banner transforms into the Hulk. Well, no shit. According to our sources, Tony Stark puts on the Iron Man suit, Captain America chucks his shield and at one point, Thor even finds himself in Asgard…While we’re on the subject of The Avengers, Marvel Studios supreme Kevin Feige has confirmed that there’s absolutely no chance of Hank Pym / Ant-Man making an appearance in the superhero ensemble, which could add fuel to the possibility of a solo flick in the near future. Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish have recently turned in a new draft and if it does become a reality then I wouldn’t put it past Marvel to pull one of their last-minute post-credits acts come summer 2012. Feige has also been talking further potential instalments in the Cinematic Universe, discussing spin-offs for Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and S.H.I.E.L.D. with The Playlist, and updating everything from Iron Man 3 and Doctor Strange to potential Disney-backed animations in an interview over at Collider.
Sticking with Marvel for the moment and after banking over $100m internationally to date, Kenneth Branagh's Thor finally arrived in North American cinemas yesterday (read our reviews here, here and here). Marvel legend Stan Lee has been tweeting his approval of the film, while Kevin Feige has been talking up a sequel and explaining that screenwriter Don Payne is already working on developing the story. As for a director, it seems Branagh is open to a return: "I am not sure I am done with Thor's universe, or if it is done with me. I guess it will likely depend on how massive it is and how the reviews are, and then schedules and all that nonsense."Wrapping up the best of the rest...
...The Amazing Spider-Man is close to wrapping principal photography after a lengthy six-month shoot and The Daily Mail has posted a few photos which confirm that Andrew Garfield's Spidey will be swinging his way around New York via the traditional wire method as opposed to the CGI work used in Sam Raimi's earlier trilogy. Meanwhile the article also contains an image of a heavily disguised Rhys Ifans, who seems to be going to some lengths to keep his appearance as The Lizard under wraps (check out those green eyebrows!)...
...Warner Bros. released a new trailer for their upcoming DC Comics adaptation Green Lantern earlier this week that features a host of new footage including glimpse of Peter Sarsgaard's villainous Hector Hammond. While the buzz seems to be picking up for the Ryan Reynolds-starrer, some of the CGI still seems a bit iffy and the studio must be hoping that the recent increase in the VFX budget will pay off come the film's opening on June 17th...
...X-Men star Hugh Jackman took part in an interview to promote his new live theatre show and talk shifted to The Wolverine, with Jackman stating that he hopes to get underway with production this October. The Wolverine is currently without a director following the departure of Darren Aronofsky earlier this year, while the likes of David Slade (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and Duncan Jones (Source Code) have been mentioned as possible replacements...
...In other X-Men news, Matthew Vaughn's mutant prequel X-Men: First Class arrives here in the UK in less than four weeks time and the promotional machine continues to roll on with the release of a new international poster and a character banner featuring stars Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Alex Gonzalez, January Jones, Kevin Bacon and Jason Flemyng. There’s also been some new character videos, while Fox have also released details of the special edition box set for the film's Blu-ray release, and you can check out all the new images over at ScreenRant...
...A piece of original art from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns featuring Batman and Carrie Kelley's Robin has been sold for a whopping $448,125 at auction, making it the single most valuable piece of American comic art ever sold...
...And finally we end with the sad news that the Academy Award nominated actor Jackie Cooper has died aged 88. Cooper, who as a child star was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his leading role in Skippy (1931), was best known to comic book fans as Perry White, Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Planet, having appeared in all four of Christopher Reeve's Superman movies.
Gary Collinson
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