Your 2021 Geek Movie & TV Calendar

 
Once again, the new year brings us closer to The Films and TV Shows You've Been Dying to See for, Like, Forever.  If you enjoy sci-fi, fantasy and comic book based entertainment as I do, you already have several must-see flicks and television programs in the pipeline for 2021.  With that in mind, I thought I'd go ahead and give a helpful chronological rundown of which geek movie and TV goodness arrives when.  Some of these TV shows and films will be worth the long wait, others you wouldn't watch even if they were on Disney+ or HBO Max, but each have their audiences and key target demographics.  Start planning your work vacation/sick/personal days accordingly.

Oh, and of course, most of these dates are subject to rescheduling due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.  Fingers crossed that your favorites are released as currently planned...

JANUARY

1 - Doctor Who: "Revolution of the Daleks" (TV)

3 - The Watch (TV)

10 - American Gods (TV)

15 - WandaVision (TV)

FEBRUARY

February 2021? - Last Week Tonight

8 - Black Lightning (TV)

11 - Clarice (TV)

23 - The Flash, Superman & Lois (TV)

28 - The Walking Dead (TV)

MARCH

March 2021? - Zack Snyder's Justice League (TV)

19 - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV), Morbius (Movie)

APRIL

April 2021? - Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, What We Do in the Shadows (TV)

2 - No Time to Die (Movie)

16 - Mortal Kombat (Movie)

MAY

May 2021? - Loki (TV)

7 - Black Widow (Movie)

21 - Free Guy, Godzilla vs. Kong (Movie)

JUNE

June 2021? - What If...? (TV)

11 - Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Movie)

25 - Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Movie)

JULY

9 - Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings (Movie)

16 - Space Jam: A New Legacy (Movie)

23 - The Tomorrow War (Movie)

AUGUST

6 - The Suicide Squad (Movie)

SEPTEMBER

September 2021? - Hawkeye, The Simpsons (TV)

OCTOBER

1 - Dune (Movie)

NOVEMBER

November 2021? - Ms. Marvel (TV)

5 - Eternals (Movie)

DECEMBER

December 2021? - The Book of Boba Fett (TV)

17 - Spider-Man: Untitled Home Film 3 (Movie)

22 - The Matrix 4 (Movie)

SOMETIME IN 2021 - Archer, The Boys, Doctor Who, Doom Patrol, Dune: The Sisterhood, Harley Quinn, Invincible, Jupiter's Legacy, Justice League Dark, Locke & Key, Lord of the Rings, Lucifer, The Sandman, Secret Invasion, Stargirl, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Strange Adventures, Stranger Things, Titans, The Umbrella Academy, Westworld, Wynonna Earp (TV)

PEACEMAKER Casts Chris Conrad as The Vigilante

 
Peacemaker is about to have a vigilante problem.

Deadline is reporting that Peacemaker, the upcoming HBO Max series spinning off from the upcoming film The Suicide Squad, has cast Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase, better known to DC Comics fans as The Vigilante.

Peacemaker will explore the origins of the character in the James Gunn movie, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.

Conrad is probably best known as Johnny Cage in the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and as Young Jason in the TV series Young Hercules and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.  He's also appeared in the movie The Next Karate Kid and in episodes of Patriot, Life, Criminal Minds, Bones, and JAG.

According to the article, Conrad joins John Cena as Peacemaker/Christopher Smith, Steve Agee as John Economos, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, and Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo.

Created in 1983 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Adrian Chase first appeared in New Teen Titans (vol.1) Annual #2 as a Manhattan District Attorney who worked tirelessly within the system to dismantle the city's Mafia infrastructure.  He frequently worked with the city's resident superhero team, the New Teen Titans, but when Chase's wife Doris, son Adam, and daughter Drew were killed by a bomb planted by the Scarapelli mob family, Chase sought his own justice as the Vigilante.  

He underwent an extremely vigorous training program taught by a number of mystical spirits seeking revenge, and came back to the city perfectly synchronized between mind and body. As the Vigilante, he dispensed justice harshly, and although he inspired many heroes to attempt to make tougher choices, his career was also riddled with many defeats.  Eventually Chase abandoned his identity as Vigilante, believing that he could be both more effective and also happier as a judge.  However, during his absence the identity of Vigilante was assumed, in succession, by two of his friends without his knowledge.

The first of these was fellow judge Alan Welles, who operated in a much more violent manner, even executing petty thieves.  Chase eventually tracked down and killed this incarnation of Vigilante, without realizing it was his friend.  The incident led to increased guilt on Chase's part and also increased scrutiny from a law enforcement task force headed by Harry Stein, as he attempted to cover up Alan Welles' role as Vigilante.

Dave Winston, Adrian Chase's bailiff, soon assumed the Vigilante identity.  Refusing to kill, Winston traded on the fierce reputation of Vigilante to intimidate information out of thugs. He was murdered by Peacemaker while attempting to stop the hijacking of a plane which Chase was on.  In the wake of Winston's death, Chase once again assumed the role of Vigilante, feeling that it was the only way to protect those he loved.  Seeking revenge on Peacemaker, the out of shape Chase was beaten in a fight and unmasked on live TV, thereby ending his secret identity and forcing him even further into the role of the Vigilante.

As the series progressed Chase became ever more conflicted over his role as Vigilante, the violence he engaged in, and the harm he caused to those around him.  He also became increasingly mentally unstable—alternating between bouts of enraged violence, paranoia, and terrible remorse for his actions.  Near the end, he even resorted to murdering innocent police officers who got in his way.  His mounting guilt culminated in the final issue of his series (#50) where, after contemplating the course of his life, Chase committed suicide.

Conrad will be the second actor to portray The Vigilante in live-action, after Josh Segarra on the CW series Arrow.

Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021.

HBO Max Gives Series Order to THE SUICIDE SQUAD TV Spinoff PEACEMAKER

John Cena loves peace so much, he's willing to kill again for it.

According to DC Comics, HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order for Peacemaker, an action-adventure/comedy TV series spinning off from James Gunn's upcoming DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad.

The press release states that John Cena will reprise his character Peacemaker/Christopher Smith in an eight-episode first season, with Gunn writing all eight episodes and directing the first and others as well.  Gunn and The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran, who also produces the Aquaman and Shazam! films, will serve as Peacemaker’s executive producers with Cena as co-executive producer.  Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, before Gunn begins working on the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

There are no details at the moment if the upcoming TV series is set before or after the events of The Suicide Squad, but "the series will explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, a man who believes in maintaining peace at all costs—no matter how many people he needs to kill to do it."

"Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag," Gunn remarked.  "I’m excited to expand The Suicide Squad and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series.  And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake."

Cena added, "I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of The Suicide Squad and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie.  I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for Peacemaker.  We can’t wait for fans to see this."

Created in 1966 by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette, Peacemaker first appeared in Fightin' 5 #40 as Christopher Smith, a pacifist diplomat so committed to peace that he was willing to use force as a superhero to advance the cause.  He used an array of special non-lethal weapons, and also founded the Pax Institute. 

Fighting an assortment of dictators and warlords, Smith later learned that his peace-through-violence efforts were the result of a serious mental illness brought on by the shame of having a Nazi death camp commandant for a father.  He believed his father's spirit haunted him continually and criticized his every move, even as he tried to live down his past.

Becoming a particularly deadly vigilante who would kill at the slightest notice, he started to believe that the ghosts of the people he killed, or who were killed in his vicinity, were collected inside his helmet and could offer him advice and commentary.

For a time, Peacemaker served as a U.S. government agent under Checkmate, a special-forces unit, hunting down terrorists until his own behavior became too extreme.  He eventually crashed a helicopter to destroy tanks controlled by the supervillain Eclipso and was reported dead.

Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021.

James Gunn Reveals THE SUICIDE SQUAD Cast at DC FanDome

At last, we finally know the people who will put their lives on the line for our country.

During today's DC FanDome online event, James Gunn, director of the upcoming Warner Bros./DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad, revealed the main cast for his standalone sequel to the 2016 movie Suicide Squad.

The list, which comprises several cast members returning from Suicide Squad, also features a number of surprising (and, let's face it, extremely obscure) additions from DC Comics' long history.  Here's the rundown...

Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag
Michael Rooker as Savant
Flula Borg as Javelin
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man
Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2
Idris Elba as Bloodsport
Steve Agee as King Shark
Mayling Ng as Mongal
Peter Capaldi as The Thinker
Pete Davidson as Blackguard
Nathan Fillion as T.D.K.
Sean Gunn as Weasel
Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang
John Cena as Peacemaker
Alice Braga as Sol Soria
Storm Reid as Bloodsport's daughter, Tyla DuBois
Taika Waititi as TBD/Undisclosed

The cast was revealed in a special "Roll Call" video, which debuted during the panel, and you can view it below along with a special "Behind the Scenes" video, giving us our first look at the film:




The Suicide Squad is currently expected to arrive in theaters on August 6, 2021.

James Gunn to Write & Possibly Direct SUICIDE SQUAD 2

Looks like Marvel's loss is DC's gain.

Deadline has revealed that Warner Bros. has hired James Gunn to write and possibly direct the sequel to the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad. 

According to the article, Warner Bros. had director Gavin O’Connor lined up, but he's now directing Ben Affleck in the drama Torrance, which is also at the studio.  Reportedly, Warner Bros. has been in talks with Gunn to step in and develop Suicide Squad 2, and the deal was made after he settled out of Disney/Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.  

Disney let him go in July, following a series of old, controversial tweets compiled by alt-right journalists and sent to Disney.  Fans and various Guardians actors lobbied Disney to have Gunn reinstated as the director for Vol. 3, but Disney remained adamant in their position.

Gunn, 52, is best known as the director of the hit Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which made $773 million and $863 million worldwide, respectively.  In addition, he's directed the films Super and Slither, and has also written these four films, along with Dawn of the Dead (2004), Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Specials, and Tromeo and Juliet.

The first Suicide Squad film, written and directed by David Ayer, made over $746 million worldwide with a reported budget of $175 million, so a sequel was inevitable.  However, the film was critically panned, receiving a 28% approval rating based on 341 reviews.

In the meantime, Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie will be reprising her character of Harley Quinn in a film adaptation of DC Comics' Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan.

SUICIDE SQUAD: HELL TO PAY Animated Film Cast Announced

If you're a Suicide Squad fan, there's going to be hell to pay. 

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the voice cast for Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, the upcoming Warner Bros. Animation film based on the DC Comics antihero superteam. 

According to the article, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay "sees Amanda Waller's secret team Task Force X (consisting of Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn and Copperhead) sent to retrieve a powerful mystical object that they will risk their lives to steal. Unfortunately for the Suicide Squad, there are other villains who want the prize, and they must win a race to get it, in order to stay alive."

And here's the full cast list:

Deadshot - Christian Slater
Bronze Tiger - Billy Brown
Captain Boomerang - Liam McIntyre
Killer Frost - Kristin Bauer van Straten
Copperhead - Gideon Emery
Harley Quinn - Tara Strong
Amanda Waller - Vanessa Williams
Zoom - C. Thomas Howell
Scandal Savage - Dania Ramirez
Professor Pyg - James Urbaniak
Silver Banshee - Julie Nathanson
Vandal Savage and (Count) Vertigo - Jim Pirri
Maxum Steel - Greg Grunberg
Blockbuster and Tobias Whale - Dave Fennoy
Knockout - Cissy Jones
Dharma - Natalie Lander
Punch - Trevor Devall
Two-Face - Dave Boat

 This will be the third time the Suicide Squad will appear in an animated project, after the Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X" and the animated film Batman: Assault on Arkham.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is expected to be released on blu-ray, DVD, and digital sometime in Spring 2018.

Warner Bros. Reveals THE FLASH: FLASHPOINT & DC Films at SDCC 2017

It looks like Flashpoint is hitting the big screen.

During the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, a new title for the upcoming movie based on The Flash was announced -- The Flash: Flashpoint.  The title seems rather important, considering the DC Comics mini-series event was used to lead into DC's big The New 52 relaunch.

According to Comic Book Resources, the panel began with a sizzle reel of footage, accompanied by the words, "Where wonder awaits, where justice prevails, where good battles evil, from Gotham to Atlantis, Metropolis to Apokolips, Krypton to Themyscira and beyond, welcome to the worlds of DC."

This followed with the reveal of multiple logos for upcoming DC Comics films including Shazam, Suicide Squad 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps (showing comic book art of Hal Jordan and John Stewart), The Flash (followed by a Flashpoint logo), and Wonder Woman II.

The five-issue limited series Flashpoint was released in 2011, written by DC Films Co-Chairman Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert.  In the series, Barry Allen wakes up to discover everything and everyone around him has changed.  He's not the Flash, nor does he have powers, his mother Nora Allen (deceased in his own timeline) is alive, while his father, Henry Allen, died of a heart attack three years ago.  Captain Cold is Central City's greatest hero, the Justice League is never established, and even Superman is seemingly nonexistent.

Barry Allen drives to the Batcave, where Batman attacks him.  Batman is revealed to be Thomas Wayne, who in this timeline, lost his son, Bruce, along with his wife.  At Wayne Manor, Barry tries to explain to Thomas about his secret identity as the Flash and his relationship to Bruce Wayne.  Barry's memory begins to spontaneously realign itself to the altered timeline and Barry realizes that the world of Flashpoint is not a parallel dimension, but an alternate reality.  Barry's ring ejects Eobard Thawne's Reverse-Flash costume and causes Barry to believe that his enemy is responsible for changing history.  Barry decides to recreate the accident that gave him his powers in a bid to undo the damage caused by Thawne, but his initial attempt fails and leaves him badly burned.

A second attempt at recreating Allen's accident restores his powers and health.  He concludes that the Reverse-Flash changed history to prevent the formation of the Justice League.  He also learns that Kal-El was taken by Project: Superman.  Flash, Batman and Cyborg join the cause to stop Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who are on opposite sides of the Atlantean-Amazon war.  The Marvel Family transform into Captain Thunder, also transforming Tawky Tawny. Captain Thunder attacks Wonder Woman and appears to be winning until Enchantress reveals herself as the Amazon spy in the Resistance and uses her magic to restore the Marvel Family to their mortal forms. Penthesilea (who was secretly one of the conspirators of the Atlanteans-Amazons war, along with Orm) kills Billy Batson, causing a massive explosion that cripples the opposing forces.

In the wake of the devastation, Thawne appears in front of the Flash.  The Reverse-Flash reveals that Flash himself created the Flashpoint timeline by traveling back in time to stop him from killing Barry's mother.  Barry pulled the entire Speed Force into himself to stop Thawne, transforming the timeline by shattering the history of his allies.  Thawne resets Barry's internal vibrations, enabling him to remember this.  According to Thawne, these actions transformed him into a living paradox, no longer requiring Barry to exist and allowing him to kill the Flash without erasing his own existence.  Thawne continues to taunt Barry with this knowledge until Batman kills him with an Amazonian sword.  Thomas insists that Barry puts history back to normal to undo the millions of deaths.  Now knowing the point of divergence, the Flash restores the timeline.  As he enters the timestream, a dying Thomas thanks him for giving his son a second chance and gives Barry a letter addressed to Bruce. Barry then meets with his mother and bids a tearful farewell to her.

Traveling back in time, Barry merges with his earlier self during the attempt to stop Thawne. While traveling through time, Barry realizes he can see three different timelines — DC (New Earth), Vertigo (Earth-13), and WildStorm (Earth-50).  A mysterious hooded figure (later revealed to be a cursed immortal Pandora) tells him that the world was split into three to weaken them for an impending threat, and must now be reunited to combat it.  The DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm universes are then merged, creating a brand new DC Universe. Barry then wakes up in a similar manner to the beginning of Flashpoint, also retaining all his memories from the alternate timeline.  Believing that everything is over, Barry remembers Thomas' letter and gives it to Bruce, who is still the Batman in this timeline.  Bruce, deeply touched by his father's sacrifice to ensure his son's life, cries and expresses his gratitude to Barry for informing him of the events that transpired before the timeline was reset.

This will be the third time Flashpoint has been adapted, after the 2013 animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and the Season 2 finale and Season 3 of The CW series The Flash.  

The Flash: Flashpoint is now expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2020.

DC Rebirth: One Year Later

It's been one year since DC Comics relaunched their fictional universe with all-new number one issues in what they called "DC Rebirth."  After looking at the Top 300 Comics sales list for May 2017, I thought it might be interesting to see how well the latest DC Universe relaunch is performing in the long term.

As expected, the big winner of the DC Rebirth relaunch is Batman.  As one of DC's biweekly titles, Batman had the unenviable task of following an incredible run by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo during The New 52 era, but writer Tom King and rotating artists David Finch and Mikel Janin have more than proven themselves.  Issues #22 and #23 charted at #3 and #7 respectively in the Top 300, although #22 was part of "The Button" crossover storyline with The Flash that featured an lenticular cover.  

And speaking of The Flash, that series is definitely the surprise winner of DC Rebirth. Issues #22 and #23 chart at #4 and #23 respectively, with The Flash #22 featuring "The Button" crossover with Batman and a lenticular cover.  The creative team of Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico have been positively killing it, a welcome improvement from The New 52, where the title languished around the Top 50 mark.

All-Star Batman, from Scott Snyder and various artists, has also been strong and charts at #15, an impressive feat considering the book costs $4.99 a month.  Unfortunately, the title is ending with issue #14 this September, presumably because Snyder is moving on to New Challengers later this year, which means DC will lose one of its strongest sellers.

Detective Comics also does well, proving fans can't get enough of Batman books as long as they're done decently.  Issues #956 and #957 come in at #19 and #20 on the Top 300, showing that the idea to feature Batman and a team of Batman-related heroes was a good one.  It's a shame though, that Batwoman does well as a team member here but her solo series only comes in at #81.

After the main Batman titles, Justice League turns up in the #21 and #22 position, apparently showing a little fatigue after spending most of Rebirth's first year around the Top 10 spot. Writer Bryan Hitch has received considerable criticism online from fans tired of the rather dull and lifeless storylines without recognizable villains, so perhaps some of them are finally giving up on the series.  #21 and #22 is still nothing to sneeze at though, so I wouldn't expect a creative change any time soon.

Thankfully, Superman is close behind, with issues #22 and #23 charting at #25 and #28 on the Top 300.  Writer Peter Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason continue performing as a solid creative team after their terrific work on Batman and Robin as part of The New 52.  DC Rebirth has been wonderful to Superman fans, restoring the Pre-Flashpoint Superman with Lois as his wife and the addition of Jon Kent, a.k.a. Superboy.  Who knew that making Superman a cool dad was exactly what the character needed?

Another big surprise is Titans, which charts at #31 for issue #11.  Dan Abnett seems to be the first writer since Geoff Johns to really "get" the Titans, as he successfully balances the superteam heroics with the awareness that the team's close friendship with one another feels like family.  The art by Brett Booth could be better, especially with his rather cartoonish facial depictions, but as with Justice League, DC isn't about to mess with the creative team as long as the sales hold up.

As for the rest, there are only a few standouts of note.  Wonder Woman got a creative boost from Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp, but the creators' final issue arrived this week and replacement writer James Robinson won't arrive for another six issues.  Dan Jurgens has been telling solid Superman stories once again in Action Comics, while Dan Abnett has been doing some serious worldbuilding in Aquaman although sales haven't been kind. Hopefully, that will change with the stunning work from new artist Stjepan Šejić.

For anyone wondering, here are the DC Rebirth titles I started off with one year ago:

Action Comics                                                Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps
All-Star Batman                                              Harley Quinn
Aquaman                                                        Hellblazer
Batgirl                                                             Justice League
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey                           Nightwing                          
Batman                                                           Suicide Squad
Cyborg                                                            Supergirl
Deathstroke                                                    Superman
Detective Comics                                            Superwoman
The Flash                                                        Teen Titans
Green Arrow                                                    Titans
Green Lanterns                                               Wonder Woman

And now, here are the DC Rebirth titles I'm currently getting, with new additions in bolded italics:

Action Comics                                                 Hellblazer
All-Star Batman                                              Justice League
Aquaman                                                        Justice League of America
Batman                                                           Nightwing
Batwoman                                                     Suicide Squad                     
Batman                                                           Supergirl
Cyborg                                                            Superman
Deathstroke                                                    Teen Titans
Detective Comics                                            Titans
The Flash                                                        Wonder Woman                                                

An overall net loss of four books, but pretty much consistent.  The most noticeable losses here are both Green Lantern titles, which continue being unable to meet the high bar set by Geoff Johns before Flashpoint, and both Batgirl titles, which aren't as strong as Gail Simone's or even Cameron Stewart and Brent Fletcher's runs in The New 52.  Harley Quinn is exactly the same book I ended up dropping during The New 52 and the lower sales are beginning to reflect that I'm not the only one who wants a change.  

The good news about DC Rebirth is that one year later, none of the original books have been cancelled.  (Okay, All-Star Batman is ending, but that seems more of a creative decision rather than sales.)  However, the bad news is that a number of titles emphasizing diversity have failed to catch on and probably won't make it to 2018, such as Cyborg, Blue Beetle, New Super-Man, and Superwoman.  Also, DC still hasn't figured out that the only Hellblazer we want to read involves top-notch British creators telling stories of true horror that aren't watered down with "swearing" using skull symbols.  It seems odd though, that DC doesn't have anything lined up to replace these books yet, unless you count their upcoming Dark Matter line with the aforementioned New Challengers and Jim Lee's The Immortal Men.

Oh, and I should mention that the main reason DC Rebirth is performing so well is probably due to the superb initial offering of DC Universe: Rebirth #1, followed by more of DC recapturing what their readers enjoyed prior to The New 52.  Unlike Marvel, which remains clueless about what its core readership actually wants, DC learned from the mistakes of The New 52 and addressed those mistakes with an engaging mystery woven throughout the Rebirth era.  Even better, there's still more to come, with Geoff Johns wrapping up that mystery in Doomsday Clock, Snyder and Capullo returning for the Metal event, and teasing hints that the Justice Society of America and the Legion of Super-Heroes will finally be back in play relatively soon.

Once again, it's a great time to be a DC Comics fan.  On to Year Two!

Margot Robbie Signs Deal to Co-Produce HARLEY QUINN Spinoff Movie

Warner Bros. is going all in on Harley Quinn.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday that Australian actress Margot Robbie has signed a first-look deal with Warner Bros. that includes a Suicide Squad spinoff for her character Harley Quinn (and other DC Comics heroines).

The project was originally reported in May, with claims that Robbie was the driving force for the project.  Apparently, when she landed the part for Suicide Squad, she heavily researched the comics to learn as much as possible about the character.  In the process, she reportedly became a fan of DC’s female characters.  Robbie brought on the female writer to help develop the project and brought it to Warner Bros.

Robbie will develop and produce feature films through her LuckyChap Entertainment banner.  Producing and developing with Robbie will be her LuckyChap partners Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr.

According to the article, Robbie and LuckyChap are in postproduction on their first movie as producers, a neo noir thriller called Terminal.  In addition, LuckyChap is developing and producing a Tonya Harding biopic, I, Tonya, where Robbie will play the disgraced figure skater, and is developing an adaptation of Bad Monkeys, a novel by Matt Ruff, along with Bluegrass Films’ Scott Stuber and Dylan Clark for Universal Pictures.

Robbie, 26, best known as Naomi Lapaglia in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street and as Laura Cameron on the short-lived ABC television series Pan Am.  Her other films include The Big Short, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and The Legend of Tarzan.

Created in 1992 by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harley Quinn first appeared in the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Joker's Favor," voiced by Arleen Sorkin.  Initially intended as a female sidekick for The Joker, Harley quickly became popular with fans and the character was developed further.  In the 1994 DC Comics graphic novel The Batman Adventures: Mad Love, Quinn received her origin story, revealing her as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum who fell in love with the Joker and turned to a life of crime in order to be with him.

The character's first comic book appearance was in 1993's The Batman Adventures #12, but Harley's growing popularity encouraged DC Comics to bring her into official Batman canon starting with Batman (vol.1) #570 in 1999.  She soon received her first ongoing series in 2001 that ran for 38 issues and was made a member of the Suicide Squad starting with 2011's Suicide Squad (vol.4) #1.  Harley received her second ongoing series in 2013 and her third in 2016 as part of DC Comics' relaunch known as Rebirth.

DAMN Good Movies -- SUICIDE SQUAD

You guessed it, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Suicide Squad, based on the DC Comics antihero superteam.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now.  If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...welcome to Belle Reve.

Although Warner Bros. started developing Suicide Squad in 2009, the project never really took off until David Ayer signed on to write and direct the film in 2014.  The third installment of the DC Extended Universe had a lot riding on it, after Zack Snyder's poorly-received Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and as the first DCEU film starring characters other than DC's Big Two.  

The movie opens in the aftermath of Superman's (temporary) death at the end of Batman v Superman, with Amanda Waller assembling her team of "bad people to do something good." We get a lengthy series of introductions to the main supervillains comprising the team, with each member getting a Tarantinoesque rundown of their resume and their specific theme song -- The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun" for Belle Reve Penitentiary, Lesley Gore's "You Don't Own Me" for Harley Quinn, AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" for Captain Boomerang, and so on.  Unfortunately, as fun as these intros are, they run on a bit long and you find yourself yelling "Get on with it!" inside your brain.

The expendable villains are placed under the command of Colonel Rick Flag and implanted with a microbomb inside their necks on the likelihood of anyone turning on Flag during the mission or trying to escape.  As for the mission itself, the team is sent to retrieve someone important from Midway City because another of Waller's recruits -- Dr. June Moone, an archaeologist now inhabited by the spirit of a witch-goddess known as the Enchantress -- has taken over the city with help from a bunch of monster minions and the Enchantress' brother Incubus (actually Nightshade's brother from the comics).  Oh, and just to complicate things, Dr. Moone is Rick Flag's girlfriend.

Just before heading out, Katana joins the Squad as Flag's bodyguard, while The Joker finds out just what kind of a mess Harley is in and promises to make things even more FUBAR at some point later in the film.  As they arrive in Midway City, the Enchantress takes out their helicopter, forcing a crash landing and turning the movie into Escape from New York with supervillains.  The Squad proceeds on foot toward their target's located position, giving Ayer the opportunity to adapt the great sequence from Suicide Squad (vol.1) #9 where Captain Boomerang convinces disposable Squad member Slipknot that the microbombs are just for show and they can easily escape, just so Boomerang can find out if the microbomb in his neck is actually legit.  Sure enough, Slipknot makes his move, but instead of losing just an arm in the comics, here he loses his entire head.

After fending off some of the Enchantress' monster minions, the Squad locates their target, who turns out to be -- What a twist! -- Amanda Waller.  Everyone heads to the roof of the John F. Ostrander Federal Building, a nice nod to the former writer of the first Suicide Squad comic series, but of course things go FUBAR (as promised) when the Joker and his hired goons show up in the hijacked helicopter.  Harley is thrilled to be reunited with the Joker, only to lose him when Waller's men shoot down their helicopter, leaving her with the Squad once again.

As the film enters the Third Act, it ends up shifting from Escape from New York into the climactic confrontation with that nimble little minx Gozer from Ghostbusters.  The Squad battles the Enchantress, but even though they aren't asked if they're a god, they still get their collective asses kicked.  Harley pretends to flip over to Team Enchantress, just long enough to remove the Enchantress' heart and toss it over to RIck Flag so he can smoosh it on the floor.  

June is freed from the Enchantress, while the surviving Squad members are returned to Belle Reve with ten years reduced from their sentences.  Deadshot gets some special daddy privileges, Harley gets a cappuchino machine, Killer Croc gets a pimped out sewer crib, and Captain Boomerang naturally gets no respect and is thrown into solitary confinement.  Ah, but just when you think it's over, the Joker and his hired goons show up at Belle Reve looking for Harley, teasing a potential sequel with even more great classic rock that doesn't make it onto the movie's official soundtrack.

So yeah, some things worked here, some things didn't, but there was still some great characters to enjoy, especially if you're a DC Comics fan.  Here are some of the things that stood out:

AMANDA WALLER -- The role of The Wall is key to a successful Suicide Squad film, so I was so glad that Viola Davis was cast.  The scene where Waller coldly guns down her own Ostrander Building support staff to cover up her involvement was so true to the character, although I would've liked to see her getting up in more people's grills as only The Wall can.

DEADSHOT/FLOYD LAWTON -- Yet again, Will Smith is really great at playing Will Smith as someone else.  He's not Deadshot, though -- not even close -- lacking the character's emotional detachment and his complete lack of caring if he lies or dies.  The decision to play up Deadshot's relationship with his daughter here was a poor one, making a dangerous assassin for hire sympathetic when he really shouldn't be.  Not in the first film, anyway.

HARLEY QUINN/DR. HARLEEN QUINZEL -- Thankfully, unlike Smith, Margot Robbie completely embraced her character.  Even with the ugly and totally unnecessary tattoos, Robbie grinned and flirted her way though the movie, totally winning this longtime Harley Quinn fan over in the process.  We even got to see Harley's origin, albeit an abbreviated one, that blended the original version established in The Batman Adventures: Mad Love with the current New 52 one from Suicide Squad (vol.4) #6 and 7.  There was also a very welcome easter egg with Robbie in Harley's traditional harlequin jester costume, so here's hoping we get to see more of it in a Harley Quinn spinoff movie.

RICK FLAG -- Joel Kinnaman landed the role that was originally Tom Hardy's and almost Jake Gyllenhaal's.  I liked Kinnaman in the 2014 RoboCop reboot, so I felt confident he would do well as Flag and I wasn't disappointed.  Flag is essentially the team's straight man, reacting to the craziness around him, but ultimately falls into the no-nonsense leader role when he's not asked to be upset about his girlfriend.

ENCHANTRESS/JUNE MOONE -- And speaking of said girlfriend, Cara Delevingne doesn't quite work as a believable archaeologist at just 23 years old, 13 years younger than Kinnaman.  Oh, she does a nice job as Gozer The Enchantress, but is essentially a waifish supermodel with serious eyebrows that's caked with dirt for a good chunk of the film.  

CAPTAIN BOOMERANG -- Jai Courtney is one of those actors with an extremely punchable, smarmy face, which finally works to his advantage here after his horrific outing as John McClane, Jr. in A Good Day to Die Hard.  Just as he does in the Ostrander comics, Boomerang makes wonderful comic relief as an obnoxious lout, and Courtney plays that up well, but he isn't given nearly enough to do.  And he isn't nearly enough of a true coward.

KATANA /TATSU YAMASHIRO -- As a big Katana fan, I was excited that Karen Fukuhara was playing the character in this movie.  She does okay, but is also horribly underwritten, with a lot of the character's potential completely ignored.  It also doesn't help that the few times Katana is actually given lines, they're in Japanese, which only distances her from the other characters.

EL DIABLO/CHATO SANTANA -- Jay Hernandez plays the modern version of El Diablo from the comics, and is one of the few Squad members to get any actual character development.  Initially resistant to using his pyrokinetic powers, El Diablo comes into his own for the big climactic battle and pays the ultimate price for his past sins.

KILLER CROC/WAYLON JONES -- After being wasted as Kurse in Thor: The Dark World, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje gets a little more to do here as Killer Croc, although he's completely unrecognizable under tons of prosthetic makeup.  Killer Croc could've been a fun strongman similar to Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, but apart from a couple of laughs, he's also terribly underwritten.

THE JOKER -- Jared Leto is the latest actor to take on the classic role of The Joker, and to his credit, he tries hard to make it his own.  Leto's Joker is basically a twisted crimelord, also covered in pointless tattoos along with a ridiculous mouth grill that already looks dated. There's an interesting twist on his relationship with Harley, however, with the Joker seemingly in actual love with Harley instead of cruelly abusing her and taking advantage of obsession with him.  I can't see Leto's Joker as the central villain in a Batfleck film, but here in small doses, he works much better.

SLIPKNOT/CHRISTOPHER WEISS -- As soon as Adam Beach's character was announced, I hoped we would seem Captain Boomerang manipulate him as described above and I wasn't disappointed.  Slipknot is arguably the most expendable Suicide Squad member ever, so if you were let down that they didn't do much with his character, you really shouldn't be.

BATMAN CAMEO -- Ben Affleck continues to be a major linchpin of the DC Extended Universe as Batman, and I enjoyed him a lot more here than I did as Grumpy Frank Miller Batman in Batman v Superman.  The flashback with Batman chasing the Joker and Harley through the streets of Gotham was a fun ride, and the mid-credits bonus scene where Bruce Wayne agrees to provide cover for Amanda Waller in exchange for A.R.G.U.S.' files on metahumans was welcome universe-building.

THE FLASH CAMEO -- The blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by Ezra Miller as The Flash continues to make me worried about Justice League and the solo Flash film.  As we see a flashback of The Flash confronting Captain Boomerang, Miller delivers one line and it's instantly forgettable because all you can do is roll your eyes at the Flash's clunky armored costume. 

All in all, Suicide Squad is a small step in the right direction for the DC Extended Universe, but not nearly as big as it needed to be after Batman v Superman.  No, the movie isn't as bad as critics made it out to be on Rotten Tomatoes (27%?  Really?), and yeah, it's not as good as some diehard comics fans want it to be.  It really should've been DC's version of Guardians of the Galaxy, with snappier dialogue and a non-stop rollercoaster feeling that leaves you exhausted, but in a good way.  With Suicide Squad having a huge opening weekend, chances are good for the sequel, but here's hoping someone besides Ayer gets to write the script.  Is Geoff Johns too busy at the moment? 

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

4. The Avengers (2012)
5. Batman Begins (2005)

6. Man of Steel (2013)
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

8. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
9. Spider-Man (2002)
10. Iron Man (2008)
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
12. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
13. Watchmen (2009)
14. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
15. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

16. X-Men: First Class (2011)
17. Suicide Squad (2016)

18. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

19. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
20. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Wizard World Columbus 2016: Day Two Photos

Wizard World Comic Con Columbus 2016 was all kinds of busy today at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, with James Marsters, Nicholas Brendon, Robert Patrick, Mitch Pileggi, Kevin Sorbo and a few others signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans.

Even with another pretty embarrassing celebrity guest roster and the lack of major comics creators, Saturday attendance was still pretty heavy.  I did some more bargain hunting, picked up a great copy of Doctor Strange (vol.1) #1, and of course, got a lot of great cosplay photos.

Here are some of my photos from Day Two...

Out of the 21 Suicide Squad Harley Quinns I spotted this year, this one was my favorite.

James Marsters, a.k.a. Spike, Brainiac and Captain John Hart

The Fourth Doctor takes K-9 out for walkies

My favorite pic from Day Two -- Darth Vader and his grandson Kylo Ren on vacation

Furiosa from Mad Max: Fury Road.  Nope, there's no way I'm gonna mess with her.

Unfortunately, there's not enough comic dealers or celebrity guests to justify attending Day Three this year, but if you'd like to see more pics from Wizard World Columbus, I've set up an album on my Facebook page HERE.  See you next year!

Geoff Johns & Jon Berg to Run DC Films as DC Extended Universe Fix

Move over, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios...Here comes Geoff Johns, Jon Berg and DC Films.

The Hollywood Reporter has word that Warner Bros. is changing how it handles its DC Comics-based films, giving oversight to two executives and creating a specific division for the films.  In an attempt to replicate the way Marvel Studios has produced its films under the supervision of Kevin Feige, executive vice president Jon Berg will be teaming with Geoff Johns, DC's chief creative officer, to co-run the newly created DC Films and oversee the DC Extended Universe.

According to the article, the move is "part of a broader refinement of executive roles at Warners, which has suffered a disappointing run of movies and has vexed producers and filmmakers, some of whom complain about a murky greenlight process.  Now, instead of a broad range of movies to oversee, executives will be charged with managing 'genre streams' while reporting to Warner Bros. Pictures president Greg Silverman."

Berg has already been a part of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League Part One.  He also serves as a liaison to Ben Affleck, after working with him on Argo and Live by Night, a crime thriller that Affleck recently wrapped as director, writer and star for the studio.

Johns, of course, has been working with showrunner Greg Berlanti on superhero TV shows such as Arrow, The Flash and Supergirl, and is overseeing DC's upcoming creative relaunch known as Rebirth.  The article states he's not leaving DC, but adding film to his portfolio, since he was already co-writing the next Batman solo film with Affleck

Berg and Johns will become producers on the Justice League movies.  Johns will still report to DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson, while Berg will report to Silverman.

The article also claims, as most would expect, that the disappointing box office and critical reaction to Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is the basis for the move. The studio had high hopes for the movie, which cost at least $300 million to make, but grossed less than $870 million worldwide since its March 25 release.  Critics and fans slammed Snyder, citing the two heroes' unheroic behavior and the overly dark tone, especially in comparison to Marvel's successful films.

This news follows on other recent changes to upcoming DC Extended Universe films, including Affleck being made executive producer on Justice League, increasing his creative involvement in all things Batman.  Warner Bros. also parted ways with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith, who was to have made his directorial debut with The Flash, under the often-cited "creative differences."  The article states "the studio didn’t feel confident in a first-time helmer and is now looking for a more seasoned filmmaker who can not only handle a large $150 million-plus movie but who can also have an authoritative stamp."

And Warner Bros. has been tinkering with the third act of Suicide Squad, the adaptation from director David Ayer which comes out in August.  After the trailers received a positive reaction, the studio reportedly "wants to make sure audiences’ expectations are not only met but exceeded."  The film recently went under major additional photography to clear up the issues, which apparently were not to add humor.  The article claims it was Suicide Squad that escalated Johns’ involvement in DC movies and he's involved in the film’s post-production.