It’s an exciting day here at Movie Morsels! Two of our favorite actresses are competing for the coveted lead role in the very first Star Wars spin-off film, and we’ve got a report on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s long-awaited mano a mano duel between the Dark Knight and the Man of Tomorrow! Plus, news on Bruce Willis’ latest, Snow White and the Huntsman‘s sequel may have a new director, and Salma Hayek wreaks vengeance in the latest trailer for Everly!

Untitled Star Wars Spin-Off

Director Gareth Edwards has several contenders for what looks like the female lead in his Star Wars standalone film, the first to be generated by the thirty-seven-year-old film franchise. Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo‘s Rooney Mara are the two current frontrunners, both of them testing for the role. While The Theory of Everything‘s Felicity Jones (pictured above) is also being considered, it’s reported that her work on Ron Howard’s next Da Vinci Code sequel Inferno this spring and summer may prohibit her from flying off to a galaxy far, far away. Meanwhile, the production is still searching for a screenwriter after first-draft writer Gary Whitta departed the project. We’ll see what Edwards and co. hath wrought when the spin-off opens on December 16, 2016.

[The Hollywood Reporter]

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Zack Snyder’s fight choreographer Guillermo Grispo is teasing Batman v Superman‘s titular battle. If the 300 vet is too be believed, it sounds like the film will offer the finest Batman combat we’ve yet seen in a live-action movie, miles beyond anything offered in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy…

“It’s one of the most important sequences and I was actively involved in the design of the fight: the exchange of punches and the physical movement were put together with my partner Ryan Watson. There’s a thought that Batman has no chance, that the other [Superman] will squash him like a bug. But when you see the movie, and how it all comes out, there’s a very intelligent explanation as to why they would have a firsthand confrontation though it seems to be totally to Batman’s disadvantage… Now Batman [is] going to fight the way I’ve always dreamed seeing him fight… he’s a character so prepared in martial arts that you can do a lot of things with him, but filmmakers usually don’t go all the way with it. Even in the last Nolan movies the action scenes aren’t very good from a technical, martial arts point of view to things like choreography, filming, bad camera movements… But hey, don’t get me wrong, Nolan is great, my hats off to him. He makes fascinating stories, but I think that he did not pay too much attention to the fights. Those are the kind of details that Zack, being so physical himself, loves preparing. I think there’s going to be a big difference when you see these Batman fights in comparison to the previous ones.”

Thanks to Slashfilm for tippping us off to this interview.

[Batman-news]

The Huntsman

On Monday we reported that Frank Darabont had left The Huntsman — Universal’s Snow White and the Hunstman sequel, for which he provided the script — and that Emily Blunt was in talks to co-star in the film. Today we learn that Universal is already talking to a replacement for Darabont, the original film’s VFX supervisor, Cedric Nicolas-Troyan. Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth are set to return to their roles. Nicolas-Troyan is also developing a Highlander reboot for Summit and Bethlehem for Universal.

[Variety]

Extraction

Bruce Willis will not go gently into that good night… At fifty-nine years of age, the star has just signed on for yet another thriller, Lionsgate/Grindstone’s Extraction, to be directed by Steven C. Miller (Submerged). The film, which starts shooting next month in Alabama, finds Willis (pictured above in G.I. Joe: Retaliation) playing a former CIA operative haunted by his wife’s murder. When he’s kidnapped by terrorists, his son, a young CIA operative, is forced to come to his rescue… Well, at least it’ll be nice to see someone else save Willis for a change.

[Deadline]

Everly

Salma Hayek has one thing on her mind in the new trailer for Everly: bloody satisfaction. Director Joe Lynch’s R-rated revenge thriller — due out on RADiUS-TWC on iTunes on January 23rd and in theaters on February 27th — finds the star targeting a mob boss and his squadron of death-dealing mercenaries. Everly co-stars Togo Igawa, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Laura Cepeda and Akie Kotabe.

[Coming Soon]

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