And that's nothing compared to how many times Ben Affleck might appear as Batman, if the latest rumors are correct. Joss Whedon wonders if he could kill one of the actual, non-Coulson Avengers. Kevin Feige reveals key Guardians of the Galaxy details. And why are Captain America and Black Widow getting closer? Spoilers now!
Top image from Thor: The Dark World.
Man of Steel 2
This rumor hasn’t hit critical mass quite yet, but it’s definitely getting there, as dozens of major outlets are treating it as a done deal that Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston will play Lex Luthor. It appears all these reports are sourced back to an original story from Cosmic Book News; so far, there doesn’t appear to be any further corroboration of the rumor, though that could change shortly.
Anyway, the additional details of the story indicate that Cranston could sign on to play Luthor in anywhere between six and a whopping ten films, and that’s actually only the third craziest detail of the report – the gold and silver medals go to the suggestions that Ben Affleck is signing on to play Batman in as many as 13 movies and that Matt Damon is now in contention to play either Aquaman or the Martian Manhunter. We’ll leave it to you to judge the plausibility of any of this, though it should probably be pointed out that not all of these appearances would be major turns; the apparent idea is to go even further with Marvel Studios’ notion of having major characters appear in cameos in other franchises. [Cosmic Book Movies]
Avengers: The Age of Ultron
Joss Whedon discusses whether he would consider killing off a major character:
I’m always joking about that. Um…maybe? But I’d have to have a really good reason, a really great sequence for [Marvel execs] to go, ‘We’ll cut off a potential franchise, that’s fine!’ They know as any good studio does, that without some stakes, some real danger, how involved can we get? We don’t just rule it out across the board, but neither is the mission statement ‘Who can we kill?’ We try to build the story organically and go, ‘How hard can we make it on these people?’ You go to the movies to see people you love suffer-that’s why you go to the movies.”
Honestly, it seems like there's pretty much no way Marvel would let Whedon kill off one of the actual superheroes on the team — even Hawkeye is probably safe, even if his presence outside of the Avengers movies is close to nil. Although I suppose I wouldn't rule out Nick Fury as a possible death candidate, depending on just where Samuel L. Jackson is up to in his contract. [Comic Book]
Thor: The Dark World
Director Alan Taylor promises, “You know, we are killing Asgardians in this movie. It turns out immortality isn't all that it was cracked up to be.” What’s more, producer Craig Kyle sets the stage for war in Asgard:
"Asgard at the beginning of the first film was at a time of peace. Now our guys have been fighting for over a year, constantly. It's a time of war. When the Bifrost was broken at the end of the first film, Odin had to conjure a lot of dark energy and go through a lot of personal sacrifice to try and get his son back to Earth. And it was a one-shot deal. If Thor didn't succeed, without the Tesseract he couldn't have got back again. And in our film, finally the Bifrost has been rebuilt, but during that time, when the cops were largely cut off from the rest of the universe, you had miscreants that came in from outside the Nine Realms, pillaging and destroying and causing havoc. So that's what our guys have been doing now - trying to put all these fires out across the Nine Realms."
[Empire Magazine via Comic Book Movie]
Erstwhile Doctor Who star Christopher Eccleston discusses his first day on set as Malekith the Accursed:
“It was when the Ark crashes into Asgard. I come off the ship, blow up the throne and then stride through to have my confrontation with Odin. Pretty good first day, destroying Asgard. That’s what it says in Malekith The Accursed’s diary: ‘Tuesday. Destroyed Asgard… [Alan Taylor is] a magician with performance and with actors…For a film which is so beholden to the technicalities, that’s a magical thing to bring… There is a kind of tragic quality to [Malekith’s] quest. Because he’s lost his wife, he’s lost his children. He’s lost everything. And he returns for revenge. And the agent for his revenge is the Aether. If he gets hold of that, he is omnipotent.”
[Empire Magazine via Comic Book Movie]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Stars Scarlett Johannson and Chris Evans discuss the growing relationship between their characters Black Widow and Captain America:
Johannson: They now find themselves in a position where their working relationship is more of an intimate relationship. There are some unexpected similarities between them. They both have trust issues and they've both been working for The Man for their entire careers. So through this friendship they start to question what they want, and their own identities.
Evans:Today, it's a little bit harder to know where you come down and who you're serving. Where's the line? What are we willing to compromise in terms of civil liberties to ensure liberty? I think that's why his relationship with Black Widow is interesting because she's someone who's always had the ability to compromise her morals and Cap is so black and white.
[Total Film via XPose Entertainment]
Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige describes the composition of the team, in the process revealing that Zoe Saldana's Gamora doesn't start out as a hero:
"They are an unlikely band. It's pure circumstance that brings them all together throughout the course of the movie. Rocket has been genetically and mechanically altered, he's an experiment from one part of the galaxy. Groot is a species that happens to look like trees look, and is quite communicative if you can understand the different inflections in the way he says, "I am Groot." Peter Quill left Earth in the mid '80s, but when we meet back up with him he's very much a citizen of the universe. Drax has one goal and one goal only, which is to kill Ronan because of a past tragedy. When we meet Gamora, she's a bad guy working with Ronan and Nebula and Korath, and by extension for Thanos. Gamora doesn't necessarily like doing that anymore, and tries to find a new path for herself. But she has a reputation as the deadliest woman in the galaxy that people aren't greeting her with open arms."
He also confirms the movie's contemporary setting and reveals that Ronan the Accuser is indeed the movie's primary villain:
"The general answer is yes. It's not exactly revealed what year or month it is in relation to the other Phase Two films. But yes, it's the same time… [It’s] certainly more [connected to the larger Marvel universe] than the others. We've already said that Thanos plays a part in it and is a character in it. That in and of itself should tell you it's connected to the other worlds. Ronan The Accuser is very much the main bad guy. And Thanos is lurking above it all. You will learn more about Thanos in Guardians, for sure. Certainly you'll get more than the one turn around and smirk. You'll get much more than that!"
[Empire Magazine via Comic Book Movie]
Interstellar
Here’s the first set video from Okotoks, Alberta, as director Christopher Nolan and star Matthew McConaughey begin work on their space travel epic. [/Film]
Riddick
Here’s the latest TV spot.
Transformers 4
Here are some set videos from Chicago’s McCormick Place, albeit made over to look like Hong Kong. [Comic Book Movie]
Game of Thrones
Joseph Gatt, who previously played a Frost Giant in Thor, has been cast in an undisclosed role in the fourth season that requires him to travel to Iceland; the current speculation is that he will play the wildling Styr, Magnar of Thenn. [TV Equals]
True Blood
Amelia Rose Blaire, who plays Willa Burrell, has reportedly been promoted to a series regular for next season. [Deadline]
Person of Interest
The sixth episode of season three will reportedly be called “Mors Prematura.” [SpoilerTV]
Episodes costar Kathleen Rose Perkins has been cast in the guest role of Vanessa, a former prosecutor who “outwitted and outworked everyone before she quit her job… [and who is] intelligent, intense, and always three steps ahead…vulnerable, unpredictable, but never without purpose, we don’t know whether to sympathize with Vanessa… or fear her.” [Give Me My Remote]
Under the Dome
Here’s a promo for episode ten, “Let the Games Begin.”
Revolution
Here’s an interview with creator Eric Kripke.
Grimm
Onetime Angel costar Alexis Denisof has joined his old showrunner David Greenwalt’s latest show, as Denisof will reportedly take on the recurring role of “Viktor Albert Wilhelm George Beckendorf, a cunning man who also happens to be first cousin of Eric Renard (James Frain).” [EW]
Arrow
The fifth episode is reportedly called “League of Assassins.” It will feature a character called Dr. Anthony Ivo — whose DC Comics namesake is one of the world’s most notorious mad scientists — who “will be seen in flashbacks helping Lisa on the pirate ship that rescued her” and is supposedly trying to save the human race. [SpoilerTV]
Supernatural
Here’s an interview with star Jensen Ackles. [BuddyTV]
The seventh episode of season nine is reportedly called “Heaven Can’t Wait.” [SpoilerTV]
The Tomorrow People
Here’s a promo for the series premiere of the new CW show.
Falling Skies
Here’s the description of a new recurring character that will be introduced in the fourth season premiere, courtesy of E! Online:
Mira, a young East Indian girl who is being brain-washed with Espheni propaganda, but has a bit of a rebellious streak in her. Expect to see her team up with Matt and a few other kids in order to fight back.
Haven
Kate Kelton reveals what’s going on with her character, waitress Jordan McKee, as the show heads into its fourth season:
She’s a bit of a bad ass now. Let’s just say the last six months have been a little rough. She’s probably showing those edges a bit. I’d say that from last season, she’s a bit darker and there are some surprises coming.
Would you say that Jordon is thinking clearly? Is maybe revenge or just anger driving her actions?
It’s a very adept combo of all of the above I would say. That’s pretty much nailing it right there. She’s not thinking very clearly, she is driven by revenge and anger is absolutely eaten up her soul. She’s on a tear, let’s just say.
I would say some of it is justified, right?
Certainly. Certainly. Certainly. She’s definitely, definitely got good reasons. She doesn’t watch Haven so, she doesn't know how beloved all these people are so she’s going to blame them. I'm reminded of the cliché that feminists are often disparaged as being 'angry' and then I remember Ani DiFranco's brilliant observation that the completely natural response to injustice IS anger. It is most certainly NOT apathy! So if Jordan is reacting to an unjust situation, anger seems like a perfectly justifiable reaction, no?
Teen Wolf
Creator Jeff Davis offers this teaser for what monsters might show up in the second half of the season:
"You may see others, but it revolves around the Kitsune myth. You'll see, but we have some great new bad guys this season that we're excited about."
Beauty and the Beast
Here’s a pair of sneak peeks at the second season premiere, “Who Am I?”
Additional reporting by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders.