DCEU Blog - Movie Lineup Changed, Spin-Offs Ahoy And Oscar Love?

Well, this has undoubtedly been one of the most chaotic months for DC fans and that's putting it mildly. A roundup of things that have happened this month.

First of all, we've got movies being shifted around the place. Black Adam will now be released October 21st and Shazam! Fury Of The Gods has been brought forward to December 16th.

For 2023, Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom will now open March 17th, The Flash on June 23rd while Blue Beetle will still open on August 18th and Batgirl to be confirmed on HBO Max.

The Flash has also had a test screening so there are rumours surfacing about certain characters fates. Take everything with a pinch of salt until a verified trade confirms anything.

Zack Snyder's Justice League won the Oscar for Fan Favourite moment for The Flash scene.

At this point in time, The Batman is nearing 700 million at the box office while US audiences can watch the movie again on HBO Max from April 19th.

Matt Reeves released a deleted scene featuring Robert Pattinson's Batman talking to Barry Keoghan's Joker at Arkham. 

Colin Farrell has officially signed on for his character's HBO Max spin-off, titled The Penguin.

Paul Dano will be releasing a six part Riddler: Year One comic from October, serving as a prequel to the events of the movie.

Sharon Stone will play Victoria Kord, the main antagonost of Blue Beetle with Raoul Max Trujillo as Carapax The Indestructible Man.

Rounding off the cast for this movie are George Lopez, Adriana Barraza, Elpidia Carrillo, Damian Alcazar, Belissa Escobedo, Bruna Marquezine and Harvey Guillen. Filming begins in April for the movie.

Meanwhile Batgirl is currently in it's final week of filming in Glasgow.

Rachel Zegler may have also hinted that a certain character will be appearing in Shazam! Fury Of The Gods.

Gotham Knights for the CW has it's main cast which includes Fallon Smythe (Harper Row), Tyler DiChiara (Cullen Row), Olivia Keegan-Rose (Duela), Oscar Morgan (Turner Hayes), Nadia Zaraili Robinson (Carrie Kelly), Anna Lore (Stephanie Brown) and Misha Collins (Harvey Dent).

The CW have renewed both The Flash and Superman And Lois for next season. The fates of their other DC shows will be revealed likely in May if not sooner.

James Gunn will play a version of himself directing a Thomas Wayne movie for the upcoming season of Harley Quinn with Harvey Guillen also voicing Nightwing. 

The current seasons of Peacemaker, The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow are on Sky Showcase/Max for UK viewers. DMZ was also recently released on HBO Max.

That's it for this month. Let's see what the next one will bring.

My Review of Superman And Lois 2x09: "30 Days And 30 Nights"

 

Written by Katie Aldrin And Jai Jamison

Directed by Ian Samoil

Lois (to Jordan): "That's not our Jonathan."

This episode certainly changed up the format, didn't it? You had an opening scene that felt like the cliff-hanger to a mid season finale and then the title of the episode really did become appropriate. Is Superman really gone for good?

The smart answer would be not very likely but whatever has happened in Bizarro World certainly seems to be dealing him from coming back to our one and as a result, it's taken both John Henry Irons as Steel and a vigilante Jordan to fill the Superman shaped void. So far, both are doing an excellent job, evening there's been some personal fallout for both.

For Jordan, playing hero naturally brought conflict between himself and Lois with Sam trying to remind the latter of her son being capable of handling himself. Lois's concerns for Jordan do make sense but at the same time, if it wasn't for Jordan's intervention, both her and Sam would've been killed this week as well. Another plus side also seems to be the possible end of the X-Kryptonite plot as well for.

However while Jordan managed to get Lois on side, he wasn't as fortunate with Sarah. I've bee expecting the pair to break up and I thought it would be Jordan doing the dumping but Sarah did it instead. The relationship was doomed the moment they added the Aubrey story into the mix, so this seemed very inevitable nonetheless.

Anyways breaks up to one side, let's talk about Jonathan. He suffered from public fallout over getting the football season cancelled but he did get Candice to help Lois and Sam deal with the X-Kryptonite problem. However the arrival of his Bizarro world counterpart at the end definitely meant the we are finally going to get some proper Bizarro world action in the next episode.

Meanwhile and getting back to the personal consequences bit, we did have conflict between John and Natalie over the former forgetting about the anniversary of other Lois's death but we did have some nice scenes where they watched an old scene as well as Natalie and Sarah hanging out again. 

As for the Cushings segment of the episode, when Sarah wasn't breaking up with Jordan, she was quite harsh in telling Kyle that he might not get back with Lana so easily. Speaking of Lana, she won the election and now has become the Mayor of Smallville. I wonder how long that will last.

- I didn't really see John and Lana flirting as such but if the latter doesn't get back with Kyle, I could see the show pairing up the characters.

- Ally Allston sprung out of the DOD and went through that portal rather effortlessly. It'll be interesting to see how she gets on with her other self.

- While we had Steel and Jordan stepping into Superman's shoes, it does make you wonder why the show doesn't mention another Kryptonian.

- Chronology: Exactly as the title says lol. The show will be back on April 26th.

30 Days And 30 Nights certainly mixed things up in an interesting way. The lack of Superman definitely isn't something I want to see often with this show for obvious reasons but it did work here, considering the strength of the storylines we got this week. It's gonna be a long month waiting for the next episode.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Finding Religion, Then Losing It

As I head towards the end of the month, a look at some of the shows I watched recently.

911: Seven episodes into this current season and it's been one of the strongest we've had so far. In the space of these episodes, we've had a chaotic blackout, an old enemy of Athena's taking her son captive, Buck settling  into a relationship with Taylor, Eddie ending a relationship as well as a temporary exits for Maddie and Chinmey with Ravi also getting more screen time and a prison riot to boot. Oh and some zoo animals on the loose.

Batwoman: Although a fourth season has yet to be confirmed, it's safe to say one will come. As for the last few episodes of the season that just aired, they were decent enough. Marquis might not have been a convincing Joker successor but it does seem like he'll be around next season for him and Ryan to actual'y build a family dynamic along with Jada. Ryan basically got her family, friends and a girlfriend in Sophie while Alice might get some form of redemption or not. It really could go either way.

Killing Eve: A part me is definitely glad this is the last season because half way in, I'm finding myself increasingly bored with it. I know the main plot seems to be about taking down the Twelve but even with that in mind, it just feels rudderless. Villanelle's religious awakening hasn't added to much and Eve's pursuit of Helene has been mildly entertaining at best. Hopefully the second half of the season can get inject a bit more excitement into it.

Pam And Tommy: Overall I did enjoy this limited series and there's no denying that Lily James, Sebastian Stan and Seth Rogen all did a fantastic job in their respective roles. The second half of the series did explore the fallout of the sex tape pretty well along with the Pam and Tommy relationship beginning to fall part, not to mention Rand's own epiphany of sorts. I hope this series does bag a few Emmy nods for itself.

The Flash: The more the CW keep renewing this show, the more I'm reminded that it's best days are definitely behind it. Armageddon wad a decent crossover event and the Bart/Nora episode was entertaining but the last two episodes were back to the mediocrity of the last two seasons. It's been obvious for a while that the show has been running on fumes and I'm somewhat tempted to drop the show if it doesn't pick itself back up.

The Gilded Age: It took me a while to get into this show but for now, I'm glad I stuck with it. While it doesn't quite have the same excitement factor that another show from Julian Fellowes had in it's heyday or even a certain Netflix counterpart, the second half of the season did move things along a bit. We learned more about the characters, saw new relationships develop and bloom and while the gay storyline is absolutely horrible to watch, at least everything seems to have mostly improved, so I'll tune into the next season.

• The Teen Wolf movie for Paramount+ will lead into a new spin off called Wolf Pack. Most of the original cast members are back for the movie.
• The second season of Only Murders In The Building will premiere on Hulu from June 28th.
• The final series of Derry Girls will air on Channel 4 from April.
• Star Trek: Picard will end after three seasons. Paul Wesley has been cast Captain Kirk for Strange New Worlds.
• And Just Like That has been renewed for a second season.
• The second season of The Flight Attendant will premiere on HBO Max from April 21st and premiere on SkyMax from May.
• Riverdale  has been renewed for a seventh season.
• Charlotte Ritchie has joined the cast of You for it's fourth season, currently filming in the UK.
• Angela Bassett will appear in an upcoming episode of 911: Lone Star as Athena.
• Denis O'Hare will appear in the first episode of American Horror Stories. He's rumoured to be playing a character connected to a past season of the parent series.

My Review of Superman And Lois 2x08: "Into Oblivion"

 

Written by Juliana James And Kristi Korzec

Directed by Sudz Sutherland And Gregory Smith

Ally (to Chrissy): "The greatest story in human history."

Well, kind of. I mean we did see a bit of the Inverse world but again, not quite as much as I thought we would do. Ally nearly got everything she wanted but she gravely underestimated Anderson having his own agenda. On the other hand, there was also Lucy.

Lucy being revealed as Ally's Plan B was hardly a shocker. She was missing during the big event at the mines, had sent both Lois and Sam cryptic texts, appeared randomly at the farm and then drugged her own father to get his DOD card to free Ally. All of it was thoroughly predictable. At this point, I'm wondering what it will actually take to snap Lucy out of Ally's grip.

Ally herself had been far too smug in that interrogation scene with Sam that her having another trick up her sleeve made total sense. Ally definitely knew how to play on Sam's insecurities and she definitely got the better out of him during their scenes together. She continues to shape up as one of the most dangerous foes though we have yet to see her and Superman go head to head.

Outside of the Inverse plot this week, there was plenty of other personal drama. Clark really couldn't contain his disappointment with Jonathan and the latter's need to protect Candice even put him at odds with Jordan when the latter had to step in protect the two from a drug dealer. Maybe Candice does have genuine feelings for Jonathan but this story has definitely started to drag now.

Speaking of things in danger of dragging, we all know that Sarah and Jordan are heading for splitsvillle, right? The fact that she's now trying to stay in contact with Aubrey should be the sign for Jordan that their relationship will not last much longer. Then there's the Lana and Kyle subplot. I think they will reunite but it seems for now that Lana will not forgive Kyle just yet, even if they were communicating better  in this episode.

Last but not least, this episode also delved into Natalie's issues with Clark. I get that like her father, Natalie would have the same issue with accepting that this version of Clark isn't a homicidal maniac and I did like that Clark came up with a way to make things easier and earn Natalie's trust. As for John, it really show how much things have changed for him over the space of a season given that he defended Clark a lot here.

- Anderson told the other Ally about killing Superman during his own trip to the other side. 

- Jonathan's actions have caused the football season to be cancelled ans he hot a job in the same story owned by Sarah's friend's father.

- Sam has assumed his old job back on a temporary basis until they can get a replacement.

- Chronology: About a week has passed since the events of the fifth episode.

Into Oblivion had it's moments but it wasn't quite as strong as previous episodes. As much as I liked seeing more of the Inverse World, I still feel like there's more that needs to be done with the idea. Also some of the subplots need to wrap up and other characters need to get more involved in the main story.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 2x07: "Anti-Hero"

 

Written by Max Cunningham And Michael Narducci

Directed by Elizabeth Henstridge

Anderson (re pendant): "Can you tell me what this is?"

Ally: "That is a way to change the worlds."

Oh, Anderson. The bar was incredibly low for you as a character and now that we've gotten tot he halfway point of the season, I suppose I should've seen this coming. Of course he was going to end up being a bad guy this season. It probably would've more shocking if he wasn't.

He took way too ,much pleasure in locking Superman up this week and accusing him of being a traitor and then seemed only too happy to have Tal-Rho tortured for good measure. Then there was taking the X-Kryptonite and killing Bizarro. Yup, he better not be making it out of this season alive.

Also with Anderson's career in ruins over his overzealous stupidity, his only other option was to throw in his lot with Ally Allston. Those two together definitely should be a dangerous combination, especially now that Ally has both pendants that she can use to her own advantage. I'm hoping though she doesn't keep Anderson around for too long and that he outlives his usefulness to her sooner than later.

As for Bizarro, it was a shame that he was killed off so quickly bur he had great scenes with Superman, Tal-Rho and Lara in this episode. Tal-Rho in particular was a highlight this week too as some traces for potential redemption seem to be creeping into the character. It also might have helped that Superman stepped in to save him when the chips were down too. I'm liking what the show has done with  Tal-Rho this season in his appearances so far.

Outside of the main plots, the B plots also had some good focus too. Jonathan paid the price for protecting Candice and both Lois and Clark gave him both barrels for it. I did feel a bit sorry for Jonathan in this episode but I also thought he was being extremely stupid as well. 

As for the Cushings plot this week, it was interesting to see Sarah reach out to Aubrey to talk about her parents split before reaching out to Kyle while Lana managed to put Dean in his place over his own cowardly attacks on her family values. Also points for that nice conversation that both Lana and Lois had about parenting as well. 

- We now know that Inverse Lana is the wife of Inverse Tal-Rho. I get the impression we'll be seeing her again very soon.

- Another episode in a row not to feature Chrissy, John and Natalie. The latter two are back in the next one though.

- Sarah confiding in Aubrey instead of Jordan though. I think they're showing the seed for Sarah and Jordan to break up later in the season.

- Chronology: The day after the previous episode.

Anti-Hero was another success. Former Agents Of SHIELD actor Elizabeth Henstridge did a fantastic job here and while the episode had plenty of highlights, for me, it was Tal-Rho who stole the show. It's a shame that Bizarro was killed off but at least the story continued to move at a good pace.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Batman (2022)

 

Written by Matt Reeves And Peter Craig

Directed by Matt Reeves

Batman: "Our scars can destroy us, even after the physical wounds have healed. But if we survive them, they can transform us. They can give us the power to endure, and the strength to fight."

It's felt like an eternity since this movie was announced and even since the first DCFanDome event debuted the first trailer. It's been a long time but now that the movie has finally arrived, the obvious question has to be asked - does it live up to the hype? Yes, and then some.

With a new Batman film and a new actor in the role, you'd be forgiven for thinking this movie would rethread familiar territory but this movie has Batman (Robert Pattinson) in his second year as the Caped Crusader and while there are reminders of the Wayne family murders, there are no particular flashbacks to that particular key moment. Saying that though, the legacy of the Wayne family does play a large part in the motivations of the main villain in question.

The main villain of course being the Riddler (Paul Dano) aka forensic accountant Edward Nashton. Going down a clearly inspired Zodiac killer route, this might be the most ruthless live action version of the Riddler we've had as Nashton has taken it upon himself to expose the true corruption of Gotham City while using his famed riddle motif to great effect.

The Riddler's victims are not the most sympathetic of people but their deaths certainly leave an opening for power grabs. Mayor Don Mitchell, Jr (Rupert Penry-Jones) got the ball rolling but his demise resulted in at least bright hope for Gotham City with Bella Real (Jayme Lawson) genuinely wanting to make Gotham into a better place. The way she also stepped up during the Riddler's final act of terror also spoke volumes of her sincerity to succeed where her predecessor failed.

As for the Riddler's other victims, there was Commissioner Pete Savage (Alex Ferns), who we barely knew and the limited screen time he had did not present the character in a positive light. DA Gil Colson (Peter Sarsgaard) certainly got the most explosive exit while Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis) almost paid the price for Thomas Wayne's (Luke Roberts) past connection with Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). The Riddler definitely had a list that he was crossing off with no mercy.

The most interesting part was that while Riddler was determined to make the reclusive Bruce Wayne pay for his family's sins, the former also felt a connection to the Batman and even believed they made a great team together. Paul Dano will definitely lap up the acclaim that Heath Ledger did as the Joker for The Dark Knight and he definitely deserves it. His Riddler truly delivered in this movie.

Of course while the Riddler might be the main villain of the movie, he's not the only rogue member causing havoc in Gotham. The movie goes to great lengths to show how much power Falcone has moved the city and due to that, both Catwoman (Zoe Kravitz) and Penguin  (Colin Farrell) have their motivations, largely driven by Falcone throughout this movie as well.

Zoe Kravitz takes on the mantle of Selina Kyle in the beginning of her Catwoman journey very well. She plays off Robert Pattinson's Batman extremely well and her determination to get justice for her friend, Annika along with her past with Falcone all help to cement her in a sympathetic light. Not to mention this movie also helped to lay the ground work for a potential Catwoman spin off that the WB would be crazy not do.

As for Colin Farrell's Penguin, it's the start of his career, he's given fantastic scenes with both Batman and Lt James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) and his hunger for power will be something that we know will get explored as this franchise continues. Farrell's a highlight throughout the movie and I definitely want to see more of him.

Last but not least, there's Batman's emotional journey from criminal bogeyman to full blown hero during the Riddler's final act. It's a beautiful character that Robert Pattinson acted the hell out and it was great to see this Batman not only working with the likes of James Gordon (their rapport was fantastic), Alfred and Selina but also to see him move past the need for vengeance and to truly step into the light as a hero.  

- Officer Martinez (Gil Perez-Abraham) went from being hostile towards Batman to willing to help him during the third act. I found it funny that he seemed to be a bit of a Bruce Wayne fanboy.

- This movie brought some more recent comic lore into the mix with Martha Wayne also being a member of the Arkham family and having her own history of mental illness.

- The influences for this movie do seem to be The Long Halloween, Ego and a certain element of Year One, despite being set during Batman's second year.

- As for Barry Keoghan's character, I won't spoil it here but trust me, you won't be shocked by the reveal either. A brief post credit scene does feature one last message from the Riddler.

- Standout music: Michael Giacchino's score for the whole movie, the chilling use of Ave Maria as well as Nirvana's Something In The Way.

- Chronology: October 31st to November 6th. The Riddler's spree almost lasted a week before he was sent to Arkham.

The Batman could've collapsed under the weight of the enormous expectations that it had but it didn't. In fact Matt Reeves has managed to give audiences one of the best Batman movies with a gripping story, drenched in comic book goodness and noir delight. Robert Pattinson easily proves everyone wrong and delivered immensely in the title role. I don't want to bandy the term 'masterpiece' but this movie certainly deserves it though. 

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review Of Legends Of Tomorrow's 7x13: "Knocked Down, Knocked Up"

 

Written by Phil Klemmer And Keto Shimizu

Directed by Kevin Mock

Booster Gold (to the Legends): "I hope you don't have any plans for the near future because we're about to spend a lot of time together .... in jail."

Seven seasons. 110 episodes. More cast members that you can shale a stick at and least multiple versions of certain characters and it finally happened. Yup, Booster Gold has entered the Waverider and he's our hook for this show very likely getting renewed for an eighth season and I will genuinely be surprised if the CW don't announce it at once.

When I say entered the Waverider, I mean he stole the damn thing after reneging on his promise to help the Legends with their Alun dilemma and then setting everyone (including Alun) to get arrested for time crimes. Mike, you certainly know how to make a first impression.

Former Scrubs actor Donald Faison was originally meant to be a regular cast member of the CW's Powerpuff Girls live action series but with that looking less likely to happen, it's safe to assume he'll be a regular next season. So far, he's off to an interesting start as Booster Gold and I can't wait to see what the show intends to with the character.

As for Alun, we know that his death was a fixed point but we also know that both Gwyn and the Legends had their own plan. It worked and as a result while we've gained Alun as a regular for next season, we've sadly lost Nate as a character. Nate's exit was a tad rushed but at least he'll get to live in the town with Zari Tomaz even if he's lost his steel powers.

As for Sara and Ava, their pregnancy plans took a hell of a turn in this episode. I didn't have Sara actually being the one to get pregnant but Gary did manage to fill in the gaps of the logistics of her pregnancy as well as her now being vulnerable as a result of it. A good plot for the Avalance fans but something I would've left for a series finale, which this episode isn't intended to be.

Last but not least and before Mile decided to steal the Waverider, there was the Evil Gideon plot to do away with. Getting our Gideon into tricking her evil self into self destructing was a nice move. I've enjoyed Evil Gideon as a baddie but it was time for that storyline to come to an end and it was dealt with swiftly here.

- Even though he didn't wear the classic suit and likely won't next season, Mile certainly had other ways of telling us who he was before actually revealing his identity.

- Outside of Sara/Ava, the rest of the Legends seemed eager to avoid talking about the fates that evil Gideon had shown them.

- Standout music: Booster Gold certainly had fun with Here Comes The Hotstepper by Ini Kamoze.

- Chronology: 1916 Mametz Wood, France for the main action of the episode as well as 30,000 year B.C. for a brief Gary subplot. Of course Gary survived lol.

Knocked Down, Knocked Up loses points a little for Nate's lowkey exit even though this season was heavily hinting at his departure but everything else was spot on though. Like I said earlier in the review, I'd be genuinely surprised if the CW don't renew this show for at least one more season, especially given that they've finally added Booster Gold into the mix.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 2x06: "Tried And True"

 

Written by Max Kronick And Patrick Barton Leahy

Directed by Amy Jo Johnson

Sergeant (re Superman): "Where are they taking him, sir?"

Anderson: "To be with his brother."

Six episodes into this second season and the worst character can definitely go to Lt Mitch Anderson. Last season when Sam was n charge, there was at least an attempt to male the character sympathetic even when he didn't agree with Superman. The same hasn't been done with Anderson and as a result, the character has been fairly intolerable to watch.

His refusal to take accountability for the young lives his SOA project endangered was one thing but even when Superman tried to reach out to him to help destroy the pendant Bizarro, Anderson thought it would be a better idea to have Superman arrested for treason instead. The only slight plus side to this development means that we'll at least see Tal-Rho for another episode.

Prior to Superman being arrested for treason, Bizarro had actually provided both the former and Lara information on the dangers of people merging with their other selves. The idea of someone as dangerous as Ally Allston becoming a god like being upon being whole certainly makes Bizarro's need to kill her all the more understandable.

Speaking of Ally, she might not have had a  major role in this episode, outside of an opening flashback for Bizarro but her influence on Lucy remained ever present. Sam got close enough to getting both Lois and Lucy to reconnect, only for them to fall out yet again over the fact that Lucy won't see the danger that Ally possesses.

As for Jonathan, this week saw him turn on Jordan after the latter realised that his powers were the result of X-Kryptonite and even his own victory during the game wasn't as enjoyable as he hopes it would be. It did seem that Jonathan was seeing the error of his ways so hopefully this plot will be ending soon.

Last but not least, the Lana and Kyle segment of the episode. The fallout of Kyle's adultery was mostly textbook stuff. We had Sophie wondering of Kyle was coming home while Sarah was mad at him. Then we had Lana talking to Tonya about the affair before deciding that she wanted Kyle out of the house. There was also a good scene between Lana and Clark as well, highlighting the strength of their friendship and we need more scenes like that with the two of them.

- In Bizarro's world, he confronted but didn't kill Ally Allston. Lana also has powers in that world and could hold her own against Bizarro.

- Lucy still hasn't referenced anything that would indicate she was previously in Supergirl. At this point, I don't think she will.

- We had a scene where Superman saved a Russian village from an avalanche, which didn't please Anderson one bit.

- Chronology: A day from where the previous episode left off.

Tried And True continued the strong path we've had this season with more information coming out about Bizarro's world and Allston's overall scheming. The subplots had their moments too and former Power Rangers actor Amy Jo Johnson did a great job directing too.

Rating: 8 out of 10