Jack Black as Green Lantern? No, no, no, no, no. Bryan Singer’s team on Superman Returns sounds like a step in the right direction for DC, although I’m annoyed that it means they’re off X3.
Category: X-Men
Stormy Weather.
In comic film news, Halle Berry drops out of X3, because, as her agent puts it, Berry’s “an Oscar winner and she wants roles that test her.” Yeah, like Catwoman. She may be replaced by former FF contender Christina Milian. Speaking of which, the same article also announces the current short list for FF casting: Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot of King Arthur) as Mr. Fantastic (maybe…seems a little too young), Rachel McAdams (The Notebook and Mean Girls, y’all) as Sue Storm (that definitely could work), Chris Evans (Not Another Teen Movie) as the Human Torch (ok, whatever, this could be any young actor), and Michael Chiklis (The Shield) as The Thing (depends on the makeup.) Update: Apparently, 3 of these 4 are now signed, with only Invisible Girl left to cast, and Jessica Alba’s making a run for it.
Also regarding X3, will Jessica Simpson play Dazzler? Well, it might work as a Colossus-type cameo. I can think of at least two dozen other muties I’d prefer to see as leads, though.
Dubya and the Hellfire Club.
“It seems a pretty sunny and conservative and confident moment, despite a hangover of vulnerability from 9/11 and the recently stalled economy…That’s precisely the time when antiheroes are needed and comprehensible.” How the Dubya era paved the way for Marvel’s movie ascendance. A bit goofy, but ok.
To Me, My X-Men.
I’m not sure how it’ll play to people who didn’t grow up on the comic, but last night’s midnight showing of X2 was much better than I had anticipated. Offhand, I can think of three setpieces (Nightcrawler at the White House, the assault on the mansion, and Magneto’s escape) that were the closest thing to fanboy pr0n I’ve seen in ages (LOTR notwithstanding), and that’s not counting all the great little flourishes and knowing winks throughout. In fact, to a person, everyone returning from X-Men (which I was lukewarm about) seemed more comfortable this time around — even Halle Berry, although she’s still miscast. And both Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) and Brian Cox (Striker, the bad guy) fit in nicely. Sure, the film drags a bit in the last twenty-five minutes or so (as they set up X3), but overall Singer & co. hit this one out of the park…a very auspicious way to kick off the summer of Hulk and the Matrices. (Of course, the crowd helped too – when in the first five minutes Wolvie is backpacking in Canada, and the guy at the end of the row said something like, “Why doesn’t he call in Sasquatch or Puck for back-up?,” I knew I was with my people.)
Mein Leiben!
A whole slew of new X2 pics arrive online, including this shot at right of Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (who looks an order of magnitude better than he did here and here six months ago.) A few spoilers scattered throughout.
To me, my X-Men.
Probably the biggest thrill of the Daredevil experience, the X2 trailer is now online. I’m not sure how they’re going to introduce all these characters enough for a layperson’s liking, but it looks like great fun for fans of the comic. Update: Faster than a Wolverine-Colossus fastball special and brighter than a Dazzler stage show, it’s now officially online in Quicktime.
If I ruled the world.
Former Authority scribe Mark Millar offers his vision for revamping Detective Comics. (Via Neilalien.) What with Marvel finally feeling the movie mojo (Daredevil notwithstanding), it’s kinda sad to see DC languish these days. I remember the days when DC/Vertigo were pretty much firing on every cylinder while the X-Men were dinking around the Australian outback and Marvel was trying to garner new readers by having the Secret Wars Beyonder traipsing around dressed like Phillip Michael Thomas. How the mighty have fallen.
Mutie Go Home.
The new X2 teaser is available for download…this doesn’t have to be very good to be better than the last Patrick Stewart film I saw…Still, I wonder why it is that as soon as you take away Ian McKellen’s putty nose he gets to be as hammy as Stanley Tucci or Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
Hyde Smash!
More pics of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen have surfaced online, including Jason Flemyng with some big ole arms. (Scroll past the X2 stuff, unless you’re interested.)
Mein Gott!
If the Civil War ain’t your bag, another X2 pic of Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler bamffed into Newsweek recently. Still hard to say how this is going to look until we see him move.
