The nice thing about the DC Cinematic Universe (or “Extended Universe,” if you wish to use the company’s parlance) is there are so many films planned for it that even if you were left cold by Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad, there’s gotta be at least one upcoming DC movie more your speed. Anyway, the one superhero whom no one cared to see on the big screen, Aquaman, will soon be getting his own entry in the mega-franchise. (Presumably because some Warner Bros. exec remembered watching Super Friends as a kid.) And today’s Movie Morsels has director James Wan talking all about his take on the character. Plus, we have news on Guillermo del Toro‘s latest, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and more!
Aquaman
According to filmmaker James Wan, a large part of what will make Aquaman work in movies is the actor who’s playing him, Jason Momoa…
“I actually think it’s a brilliant move on Zack [Snyder] and co. to cast someone like Jason,” says the Aquaman director. “Immediately, the whole joke aspect of Aquaman goes out the window. You have such a muscular, superhero-y character and one that is almost, to me, in some ways… I look at him, he’s kind of the Wolverine in some respect. He’s the outsider who gets pulled into this world and he kind of doesn’t want to belong and he was doing his own thing. And he prided freedom above everything else. That kind of plays nicely into who his character is. He’s like a reluctant superhero, right? He’s the reluctant king, basically, or would-be king.”
[IGN]
Mary Poppins Returns
The latest actor in talks to join the cast of Disney’s Mary Poppins film sequel is SPECTRE star Ben Whishaw (a.k.a. Q), who would play a grown-up Michael Banks. Rob Marshall is directing Mary Poppins Returns, which will star Emily Blunt as the “practically perfect in every way” nanny, as well as Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda. Meryl Streep has reportedly also been in talks to co-star.
The Shape of Water
Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, The Shape of Water, has just started production, according to the director’s longtime collaborator Doug Jones. The actor shared the news on Facebook…
And Del Toro himself broke the news via Twitter…
Here we go! Starting at 4 PM Toronto time… https://t.co/YTTU9imXyR
— Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) August 15, 2016
[Facebook]
After revealing at last month’s Comic-Con that his Guardians of the Galaxy sequel’s soundtrack would feature Jay and the Americans’ “Come a Little Bit Closer,” director James Gunn has also confirmed in a Q&A on his Facebook page that the second “Awesome Mix” will also contain the song heard in the film’s Comic-Con teaser trailer — Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”.
Benicio del Toro sports shocking white hair as he films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 in LA https://t.co/MyMxhobwvb pic.twitter.com/cPI41ll2Sk — Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) August 13, 2016
Hidden Figures
Finally today, we have the official one-sheet for Hidden Figures, the new biopic that at long last gives the brilliant African-American women who worked on the U.S. space program—specifically astronaut John Glenn’s historic orbital flight—their due. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe star in the January 13, 2017 release.
What do you think of today’s top stories? Let us know below!
Featured Image: Warner Bros.
Images: Warner Bros., MGM/Columbia, 20th Century Fox
