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Wonder Woman 3 Cut at Warner Bros. Discovery as New DC Studios Heads James Gunn and Peter Safran Lay the Groundwork for a New Cinematic Universe

Published

12 months ago

December 7, 2022

It hasn’t been long that James Gunn and Peter Safran have been in charge of the newly monikered DCU, however, they sure know how to shake things up in a hurry. According to an exclusive report via The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn and Safran are prepping for a meeting next week with the Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav in which they will officially lay the groundwork and blueprint for DC Studios moving forward. Within that, it appears the duo will look to start with a clean slate as they aim to tear down the original cinematic universe that was set by Zack Snyder, all the way back in 2013 with Man of Steel and beyond.

Within this includes the cancellation of some projects in development such as Wonder Woman 3 with Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins, a potential Black Adam 2 starring Dwayne Johnson and another Superman film starring Henry Cavill. The report details that director Patty Jenkins, who previously helmed the first two comic book movies starring the Amazonian warrior played by Gadot, handed in her treatment to Gunn and Safran as well as the heads of the Warner Bros. film division and was told that they would not be moving forward with her vision of the character. Suspiciously, Gal Gadot took to Twitter this past Tuesday issuing a thank you to the fans for their support in her casting of the iconic DC Comics character possibly signaling an end for her version of the character. While the latter move is shocking for all involved and fans alike, the move could hypothetically save the cash strapped studio funds as Gadot was set to make $20 million to return as Wonder Woman. Patty Jenkins rate to direct also was set to move to $12 million even amidst coming off of the disappointing sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.

Additionally, Dwayne Johnson’s character of Black Adam isn’t expected to receive a sequel film revolving around his character with mixed reports whether or not the film actually produced a profit. Black Adam grossed $384 million on a budget that was reported around $200 million. If you also figure the marketing costs for the movie, based on those numbers, it’s highly possible the film did not receive much of a profit despite being led by a box-office draw such as Dwayne Johnson. Additionally, despite much fanfare before and afterwards the release of Black Adam, Henry Cavill’s Superman did show up in a post-credit scene looking toward a return for the character in the DC Universe. Now, the report from THR speaks on Gunn and Safran eyeing a new version of the character, no longer having Cavill in their sights despite the actor going on social media in October speaking to his return as the Kryptonian hero.

Despite all of this, the additional original heroes left from the Justice League created by Snyder would be the controversial Ezra Miller and the beloved Jason Momoa. The studio is looking to keep Momoa in the fold, though not as the sea-dwelling hero but rather as the antihero, Lobo. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is set to release in December 2023 and by all accounts will wrap up Momoa’s duties as Aquaman before possibly transitioning to the intergalactic, cigar-chomping biker. Miller is still set to star in The Flash, which is based on the famous multi-versal comic run known as, Flashpoint. The film has not officially picture locked, leaving room for possibly more reshoots re-setting the DC Cinematic Universe marking an end for Momoa, Cavill, Gadot, Affleck and Miller under the new leadership.

All of this news aims towards the inevitable that many thought would come with the hiring of Gunn and Safran as the new DC heads: a complete clean slate. While other films such as Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Blue Beetle are upcoming, their lack of interconnectivity leave them on the periphery of what the bigger picture is for the comic book movie landscape being laid out from Warner Bros. Discovery. It’s clear that there are big plans in the works for DC and now with this news, it appears we have to prepare for some goodbyes for some beloved characters.

FILM RATING

Action

Godzilla Minus One | Official Trailer #2

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb

Published

3 weeks ago

November 6, 2023

Staff

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Drama

Release Date:

December 1, 2023

Director:

Takashi Yamazaki

Cast:

Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada

Plot Summary:

Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb

FILM RATING

Action

The Continental Review: Not The Prequel We Needed

Published

2 months ago

October 4, 2023

Kevin Verma

Ever since Lionsgate greenlit this series in early 2017, fans of the franchise have been eagerly anticipating to see how the John Wick universe expands. 4 movies in, the John Wick franchise is widely known as one of the greatest action movie franchises of all time with our titular character (a.k.a Baba Yaga) becoming one of the most iconic and bad-ass figures ever in Hollywood. The Continental: From The World of John Wick is a prequel series that tells the story of Winston Scott and how he became the manager of New York’s The Continental branch.

The miniseries was developed by Greg Coolidge, Kirk Ward and Shawn Simmons. It is executive produced by Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, Derek Kolstad, David Leitch and Chad Stahelski, the director of all four John Wick movies. It is structured as a 3-night event told through three 90-minute episodes. The series was originally supposed to air on Starz, but the network sold it to Peacock in 2022. After 6 years in development, it finally aired on Peacock this September.

A lot has been made of the subtitle of the project ever since it was announced. The fact that the makers needed to include it says a lot about the show. It almost felt like the prime marketing asset for it many times as the other promotional material didn’t necessarily create a lot of hype for the show. Albert Hughes directed the first and third episodes, while Charlotte Branstrom directed the second, and disappointingly both directors do not bring the same novelty or creative prowess that Chad Stahelski managed to bring in the John Wick movies.

The show also surprisingly lacks any real star power. This franchise is one of Lionsgate’s most prized assets, so you would imagine that they would make sure to get a big cast and crew for this prequel miniseries, but they didn’t. Colin Woodell as Winston Scott is the clear standout among the cast despite delivering only a decent performance, which says a lot about the acting standards in this 3-episode miniseries. Many have criticized the casting of Mel Gibson in the series, but I personally had no issue with his performance and he’s also the most recognizable member of the cast despite having no real audience pull anymore.

The writing doesn’t offer too much to ponder upon or any seriously shocking turns in the story as most of the focus is on making the product as epic, badass and action-packed as possible. Some of the characters had some interesting layers to them, especially Charon (Ayomide Adegun) and Lou (Jessica Allain). Lemmy (Adam Shapiro) provides some much-needed comic relief with his witty dialogues. The structuring of the story works really well as a 3-night event which sets the high stakes and sets a standard of intensity for the narrative.

But the thing that people were most looking forward to, was the action and how it fared against John Wick. Unfortunately, that department was inconsistent as well. Ben Robson’s fight sequence in the early part of the first episode was great and it makes you optimistic that the action would get better from here on, but it never does. Most of the action blocks here involve explosions and guns rather than the hand-to-hand combat John Wick franchise is known for. Some of the action was awesome and some of it sadly wasn’t.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick brings a lot of glamour as it tries to expand its world but fails to engage with its paper-thin plot. The characters are mostly dull with a formulaic villain and misses the presence of a magnetic protagonist like Wick. A prequel about Wick’s backstory would’ve been much more interesting than this inconsistent prequel event saved by its style and some great action. It has almost enough to be its own thing but doesn’t quite have enough to match its parent movies.

The Continental: From the World of John Wick premieres on Peacock in the US and Prime Video in the UK and Australia on 22 September, with new episodes weekly.