So much film news, so little time. It can be difficult to keep up with the billion casting rumors, teaser trailers, and random tidbits of movie news that drop during a given day, so we’re going to make your life a little bit easier and round up some of the day’s hottest stories in our new daily round-up feature, Movie Morsels. Today, we’ve got a metric ton of Marvel Cinematic Universe news, a look at Ben Affleck in Gone Girl, some bad news about Kick-Ass 3, and much more.
Daredevil
According an interview with Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Marvel’s Daredevil Netflix series will be darker in tone than its big screen counterparts.
“The series will not be afraid to go darker than the film did. What we love about this particular set of heroes is that they’re a little more down to Earth. Costume wise and also in that these are gritty crime stories, more in the streets than in the clouds.” [Slashfilm]
Doctor Strange
Marvel might be making a Harrow-ing decision for Doctor Strange casting. Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston is reportedly being eyed to play the Sorcerer Supreme.
Black Widow
Director Neil Marshall loves the dragons of Westeros, but he also wants to helm a Black Widow movie. Who’s to say Natasha Romanov isn’t just a Faceless Man?
“I would love to do a Black Widow movie. That’s perfect, I would love to do that. That character is really interesting, she doesn’t have any superpowers, she just has extraordinary skills, and the world that she comes from, being this ex-K.G.B. assassin, I find that really fascinating, yeah.” [Vanity Fair]
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
Don’t worry — we’re not announcing yet another DC Universe character trying to shoehorn their way into the increasingly stuffed Man of Steel sequel. We are however giving you a look at the Kryptonian ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which Superman and Lois Lane readily accepted. Posted to Vimeo by Cruel Films, the video features Amy Adams and Henry Cavill getting doused in not one, not two, not three, but six buckets of ice water. And Henry Cavill doesn’t flinch once. Guess he really is the Man of Steel… [Cruel Films]
Kick-Ass 3
Hoping that you’ll see Chloe Grace Moretz don the purple pleather again for Kick-Ass 3? Keep dreaming. According to Moretz, piracy of the last film killed any hope of a threequel.
“Kick-Ass 2 was one of the number one pirated movies of the year, but that doesn’t help us because we need box office figures. We need to prove to the distributors that we can make money from a third and a fourth movie – but because it didn’t do so well, we can’t make another one.” [Digital Spy]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Whether or not you liked this summer’s Michael Bay-produced reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or not, you can thank your lucky stars that they didn’t use this concept art.
Designer Anthony Francisco shared the alternate designs to his Facebook page; they were originally created in 2011 as part of a bid to help the company he worked for, Illusion Industries, snag the coveted TMNT project. As you can see, they did not wind up going with the designs, but it’s a fascinating look into what might have been. [Anthony Francisco]
Gone Girl
During the Emmys, we got a brand new Gone Girl TV spot. I don’t know, you guys. Batfleck is looking guiltier and guiltier…
Richard Pryor
Lee Daniels’ long-rumored Richard Pry-o-pic has finally landed a lead to play the legendary comedian: Mike Epps. After a lengthy audition process and rumors swirling about everyone from Nick Cannon to Michael B. Jordan playing the part, Oprah and Daniels took to Instagram to celebrate the casting. [CinemaBlend]
Ghostbusters
While there are no Ghostbusters 3 rumors, only Zuul, there is a Honest Trailer for Ghostbusters from the cinematic cynics over at Screen Junkies. [Indiewire]
Star Wars
You’ll be greener than Yoda with envy after taking a look at this custom Star Wars-themed home theater designed by Seattle-based DillonWorks. [Geekologie]
Exists
Found footage isn’t dead yet (ugh). Eduardo Sanchez, director of The Blair Witch Project, is back with yet another teens-lost-in-the-forest spookfest, and this time he’s bringing Bigfoot along with him. I would love nothing more than if this turned out to be an elaborate Jack Links commercial. [ScreenCrush]
A Tale of Love and Darkness
Princess Padme Amidala. Jane Foster. Harvard graduate. These are but a few words that describe Natalie Portman, and now she can add “director” to her ever-expanding resume. Portman wrote, directed, and starred in A Tale of Love and Darkness, an adaptation of Amos Oz’s memoir about growing up in Jerusalem in the 1940s during the foundational years of the Israeli state. Now, the poster for her directorial debut is here and Portman seems to be in dire need of an umbrella. [Collider]
—
What do you make of today’s top stories? Sound off in the comments below.
I used to think that a Black Widow movie would be boring in the same way I thought Cap 1 was boring. However, now that the Russos made the best Marvel movie to date (and yes, I saw Guardians, which is my #2 fav), I have high hopes that a kickass Black Widow movie is possible with the right director(s).
The Daredevil news opens the door to Netflix getting ‘The Punisher’ running as a series. This would allow the show to be as dark, violent, graphic, and explicit as it needs to be.
Please, for the love of GOD, let Netflix put Thomas Jane back in that role. His youtube video “Dirty Laundry” is the Punisher that the world needs
Portman is looking a little like Winona Ryder in the picture.