Deadpool fills out its cast. Marc Guggenheim reveals his hopes for incorporating the Justice League into Arrow. The Flash adds another villain to the line-up. Plus new looks at Terminator Genysis, Jurassic World, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Spoilers now!
Top image: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Deadpool
Now that we're actually getting Deadpool, The Wrap reports that the production's in talks with T.J. Miller (Big Hero 6) and Ed Skrein (The Transporter Legacy) to play unspecified roles. The Wrap also says that, of the two deals, Skrein's is the further along. [The Wrap]
Marvel
Jeremy Renner posted this cryptic message to WhoSay:
So, we can rampantly speculate about what's putting Renner back in the Hawkeye costume now. It could be for Age of Ultron reshoots, which were rumored to be taking place early this year. It could be for Agents of SHIELD, which both Clark Gregg and Renner have teased before. And there's still the chance he's filming a cameo for any number of Marvel projects, from Ant-Man to the Netflix shows. On the way outside is the chance that it's a standalone Hawkeye project. [Comic Book Resources]
Ant-Man
Marvel continues to put emphasis on "Ant-Man is really small" in their marketing, with this new poster. [Super Hero Hype]
And here's a closer look at the hero from the cover of this week's Entertainment Weekly. [Entertainment Weekly]
Assassin's Creed
The film's release date has been set as December 21, 2016,. [The Wrap]
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Here's a new photo from the film. [USA Today]
Terminator Genysis
And here's a still from the new Terminator, which rocks a very original film vibe. [USA Today]
Jurassic World
And here's one from Jurassic World. [USA Today]
Insidious Chapter 3
Here's a still from the third Insidious film, which shows the demonic forces at work. [Shock Till You Drop]
Agent Carter
Marc Guggenheim (Arrow) had a sort of mutual interview with Tara Butters and her writing partner Michele Fazekas (Agent Carter). The two talked about only having eight episodes for the first season and the chance for more:
Butters: It's a blessing. Having eight episodes where it's not eight with the possibility of more, you know there's only going to be those eight and you're not going to have to hedge your bets and say, "Well, maybe we'll have a few more episodes that we'll have to fill out." You know the beginning and end of the season and can plot it out in a smart way. As long as you stick with it, and you're not a slave to it, you can move things around — and things do move around or better ideas come up but that makes it a process where you're not scrambling to come up with, "What's the next show?" You can actually spend time making it better and getting into the thematic, character stuff as opposed to just churning out a script because production is breathing down your neck.
Guggenheim: Because Tara and I have been married 10 years now and that entitles me to a larger share of her earnings, I feel compelled to ask you guys to make clear: This isn't eight and done; there is still the potential for a second season, right?
Fazekas and Butters: Yes!
They also answered the question about whether or not the show would incorporate superpowers into their show:
Butters: Our show is a lot more grounded than Agents of SHIELD in some ways. Right now, where Marvel comes from [with Carter] is more in the technology. You've got Stark technology, or even SSR technology that did not exist in 1946, but because we have Howard Stark and because we have this secret spy organization, they have things that are special and they have things that approach the fantastic. But I don't necessarily need super powers to tell this story. It's not like I'm against it or we've been forbidden to use them, but we haven't needed to tell that story. We keep saying Peggy's super power is that people underestimate her.
Pilot writers and executive producers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely say that, while the season will be a satisfying single season, it will also plant seeds for another season. As for how Peggy Carter will change over the season, the two said:
McFeely: There's a toll to being an agent. I think you'll see the cost it takes on her. She's a Brit in America. She's a woman in a man's world. She is a feminist in a time where it wasn't popular. And, she keeps secrets, which is maybe the biggest thing. That takes a toll on you. There's a reason Jarvis is the only person she can talk to. He's the guy who knows the Howard Stark mission. That's clearly the first scene in the pilot. This is a woman who doesn't have too many people close to her, and the one person Peggy has thinks she works at a phone company. That weighs on her, eventually.
Initially, it's Peggy and Jarvis against the world. Is Peggy going to be forced to depend on her fellow agents? Will we see S.H.I.E.L.D. come together?
Markus: You will not see S.H.I.E.L.D. come together because that's a ways off. You will see the S.S.R. [Strategic Scientific Reserve] gradually come away from this combative stance they have in the first few episodes and unite against a common goal. You'll see more of Agent Thompson [Chad Michael Murray] and Agent Sousa [Enver Gjokaj] in the field doing agent work. And you'll see some faces you don't know yet.
Arrow/Supergirl
In Guggenheim/Butters/Fazekas interview, Guggenheim talked about the show's relationship with DC and Warner Bros.:
We have these semi-regular meetings where throughout the season we'll take them through the next chunks of episodes and say, "These are the big 10 pulls, here are the big moves that we're making." We plan the season out all in advance, so at the beginning of the season they know where the midseason finale is going to be, who's going to die and who's going to become a superhero. That's usually when we discuss which characters from the DC universe we want to bring in and which ones we can bring in. Obviously DC has a lot of different projects both in TV and film and we want to make sure that we're not stealing characters slotted for other avenues. Episode by episode, they're on all the studio notes calls and the calls for the cut. The only time we actually get notes are in the script stage. They actually produce a handy little document for us that is usually no more than two pages long with notes and thoughts. It's very democratic and offered for our consideration. We always say we'll take a good note from anywhere, and usually their notes are really quite good.
He also talked about incorporating the new Supergirl show into the Arrow/Flash universe:
Fazekas: Marc, CBS is doing Supergirl. What is the possibility of a crossover?
Guggenheim: It's possible.
THR: I actually heard it's in Greg's deal, that Supergirl can cross over with Flash and/or Arrow.
Butters: How many members of the Justice League would you like to get all together?
Guggenheim: On Arrow or in general?
Butters: On Arrow.
Guggenheim: At the end of the day it'd be so awesome to have Batman on the show. That'd be really cool. I don't think that will be happening anytime soon, but you never know…one day. One thing we're always saying…we never expected to have had the Huntress [Jessica De Gouw], Deathstroke [Manu Bennett] or Deadshot [Michael Rowe]; we ended up with a lot more DC Comics characters becoming part of the show than we had ever planned. It wasn't initially part of the pitch or the conception of the show. Now here we are in our third season and we've Flash [Grant Gustin] and the Suicide Squad and we're going to have Katana and we have Ray Palmer [Brandon Routh], and it seems like you could field an entire show off the characters that we have introduced on Arrow. That's so beyond anything we expected. That's a long-winded way of saying I've learned not to expect anything or make any predictions because the reality has far exceeded any of our initial predictions or initial conceptions.
Game of Thrones
Den of Geek has a primer on everything we know about season five so far. [Den of Geek]
The Flash
YVR Shoots caught a photo of Liam McIntyre (Spartacus), with PUNKD Images saying that McIntyre's on set as the Weather Wizard, making him the brother of the one we saw in the pilot. [Comic Book Movie]
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Gotham
Showrunner Bruno Heller talked about the relationship between Bruce (David Mazouz) and Selina (Camren Bicondova):
Their relationship grows, develops and changes; they have their ups and downs. They have such a wonderful contrast to each other. Camren is full of such wonderful light and energy, and has this cocky arrogance about her. She's incredibly compelling to watch. David is thoughtful, interior, intense and passionate, and the two of them together — you could make a great movie just with the two of them.
He also previewed the rest of the season, including Edward Nygma's growing role:
You're going to see Nygma take a giant step forward into becoming the man he becomes. You're going to see Fish Mooney placed in a situation where it's almost unimaginable how she'll get out of it. Her relationship with Butch and Penguin are going to be pushed to the limit. Selina Kyle's going to do something incredibly shocking — also, so's Fish, come to that. One of the things about the second half of the season is that all the story we've set up so far comes to fruition. Some people come to an end, other people are triumphant. Gordon is…no, I can't go there. I almost told you the story, and I can't. But I guarantee that, if you liked the first half of the season, you'll love the second half.
The 100
Henry Ian Cusick (Kane) talked about what the fall-out from the midseason finale will be:
Clarke and Raven are probably the biggest ones affected by Finn's passing, but for the group there are also repercussions for how we deal with the Grounders. I don't want to give anything away but, of course we've now done what the Grounders asked, we gave them Finn – well he volunteered to sacrifice himself – so we're now in a position to have dialogue with the Grounders and hopefully peace will ensue and we can move ahead.
And that's what we've always wanted, we've wanted to live in peace with the Grounders. That hopefully will happen, but you'll just have to wait and see whether it does.
He also talked about what they've filmed so far and what the rest of the season looks like:
So, we've shot up until episode fourteen, I think they're filming fifteen at the moment and sixteen is the finale. So when you come back, it's fast and furious and we're going to pick up exactly where we left off. Things move at such a pace of such a lick that it's pretty much just non-stop excitement, and it just gets better and stronger and more riveting, and it's just going to build up to a big crescendo at the end.
The show is very strong for its female characters, with all the leaders, and it has a lot of strong, powerful women in it. So it's interesting for the men to see where their place lies in the show. I'm watching at the moment to see how that works out.
Constantine
Mark Margolis (Breaking Bad) will play Felix Faust in an upcoming episode. [Entertainment Weekly]
Agents of SHIELD
Sources tell io9 that a call sheet for episode 2.14 includes a scene where Agent 33 has gotten her hands on a working camouflage mask — but instead of Melinda May's face, she's got Skye's. Grant Ward is "displeased" by this turn of events.
The CW
Here's the sizzle reel for 2015:
The Whispers
Here's the synopsis for ABC's new show:
We love to play games with our children. But what happens when someone else starts to play with them, too? Someone we don't know. Can't see. Can't hear. In "The Whispers," someone - or something - is manipulating the ones we love most to commit the unthinkable.
In the country's center of political power, Washington D.C., several kids have been talking about their imaginary friend, Drill. What the parents don't know is that this friend is not as imaginary as they think. And when the mysterious games Drill convinces them to play turn dangerous, FBI child specialist Claire Bennigan is called in to investigate. Claire is still grieving over the death of her husband, Sean, who was killed when his military jet mysteriously crashed. And she's still getting used to being a single parent to her son, Henry, whose hearing was lost due to an illness. But what she doesn't know is that Henry has also been secretly speaking with Drill.
Is this just a case of children being led down the wrong path? Or is there something far more unsettling as Claire searches for the answer?
Defense Department operative Wes Lawrence's life, as well as the lives of his wife Lena and daughter Minx, has been turned upside-down ever since Lena discovered that her loving husband had been having an affair with Claire. But life as they knew it will never be the same when Wes travels halfway across the world, to the middle of the Sahara Desert, and unearths a strange, haunting geological phenomenon; unlike anything he has ever seen. Are these mysteries connected?
The answer will force everyone to face their greatest fear. That perhaps the enemy is already in their homes. Minx, too, has begun to secretly communicate with Drill. What is it that Drill wants, and why does he – or it – only communicate with children? As the clock counts down, a suspenseful race will begin to save not only their families, but the world. Before it's too late.
"The Whispers" stars Lily Rabe as Claire Bennigan, Barry Sloane as Wes Lawrence, Milo Ventimiglia as John Doe/Sean Bennigan, Derek Webster as Jessup Rollins, Kristen Connolly as Lena Lawrence, Kylie Rogers as Minx Lawrence and Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Henry Bennigan.
"The Whispers" is executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Zack Estrin. The pilot was written and co-executive produced by Soo Hugh, who also created the series. "The Whispers" is produced by ABC Studios, with Amblin TV as co-producer.
For cast photos, go here. [SpoilerTV]
Galavant
Here's the press release for the season finale:
SEASON FINALE
FIRST SEASON'S LAST TWO NEW EPISODES OF "GALAVANT" AIRING SUNDAY, JAN. 25
RUTGER HAUER AND SOPHIE McSHERA ("DOWNTON ABBEY") GUEST STAR
"Death After Brunch" – Thinking about being in a relationship, Isabella wants Galavant to try to impress her parents with attentive small talk, but he's confident that breaking everyone out of prison will impress them and save them from certain death. Galavant gets his opportunity for a hero moment when King Richard challenges his brother to a duel and needs a champion to fight for him, on "Galavant," airing SUNDAY, JANUARY 25 (8:00-8:30 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
"It's All In the Executions" – Galavant enlists King Richard in a plot to kill Kingsley before the duel… but ends with a drunken whimper. Will Gareth kill King Richard in the duel? Will Galavant rescue everyone? Will Madalena find a new "boy toy?" The answers are very different from what you expect, on "Galavant," airing SUNDAY, JANUARY 25 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
"Galavant" stars Joshua Sasse as Galavant, Timothy Omundson as King Richard, Vinnie Jones as Gareth, Mallory Jansen as Madalena, Karen David as Isabella and Luke Youngblood as Sid.
Guest starring on "Death After Brunch" are Sophie McShera as Gwynne, Ben Presley as Jester, Darren Evans as Chef, Stanley Townsend as King of Valencia, Genevieve Allenbury as Queen of Valencia, Rutger Hauer as Kingsley, Anthony Head as Galavant's father, Harry Collett as Young Galavant, Kemaal Deen-Ellis as Prince Harry and Andrew Sweet as Guard Bueller. "Death After Brunch" was written by Scott Weinger and directed by Chris Koch.
Guest starring on "It's All In the Executions" are Sophie McShera as Gwynne, Ben Presley as Jester, Darren Evans as Chef, Stanley Townsend as King of Valencia, Genevieve Allenbury as Queen of Valencia, Rutger Hauer as Kingsley, Kemaal Deen-Ellis as Prince Harry, Tim Plester as Executioner, Daniel Hoffmann-Gill as Pirate #1, Martin Collins as Pirate #2 and Adam Loxley as Pirate #3. "It's All In the Executions" was written by Kristin Newman and directed by Chris Koch.
Additional reporting by Charlie Jane Anders and Diana Biller