Maybe it's the post-Avengers: Age of Ultron hangover, but things have been quiet on the superhero movie front over the past few days. Perhaps it's because everyone's busy filming things (Suicide Squad, Captain America: Civil War, and X-Men: Apocalypse are all currently in production), or perhaps the superhero movie business has finally run out of things to annou—no, we can't even finish that sentence without laughing. Whatever the reason, here's the pick of a relatively slow news week for superhero movies.
According to The Wrap, Marvel Studios is considering Ava DuVernay as a director for either Black Panther or Captain Marvel, both due in 2018. There is, apparently, "mutual interest" in having the Selma director team up with Marvel, according to the report.
Why this is super: Should she sign up, DuVernay would be Marvel's first director who's not a white guy, and that would be a great change to see. However, the fact that she's reportedly only being considered for Marvel's first lead of color and first female lead does smack just a little of tokenism. That said, she'd be a great choice for either project, and we can but hope the deal gets closed sooner rather than later.
As part of a chat on Reddit, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reportedly said that "there will be no giant dark turns in the MCU where it then continues to head in that direction." The humor in the movies, he said, was part of the Marvel DNA and there are no plans to change that anytime soon.
Why this is super: While it's good to see that Marvel isn't intending to go overly grim in the near future, you have to wonder if those responsible for next year's Captain America: Civil War—in which the heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe turn on each other for reasons TBD!—are shaking their heads and going, "Man, you couldn't even pretend we're the dark turn? Not even slightly?" or not.
Speaking of next year's Captain America movie that's an Avengers movie in all but name, set pics from the movie's Atlanta shoot have revealed that part of the movie takes place in London, and part in what appears to be Wakanda, the fictional African nation that debuted in Avengers: Age of Ultron and is the home country for the Black Panther. (FYI, Black Panther makes his debut in Civil War.) Do the London scenes mean that we might one day see Captain Britain on the big screen? We can but hope.
Why this is super: We already knew that the movie wasn't going to be a straight adaptation of the comic book of same name, but given that the original comic never really left the US for any appreciable length of time, consider these pictures a reminder that comics should at best be considered an unreliable guide for what lies ahead for pop culture's favorite superheroes.
Continuing his apparently never-ending social media teases from the set of X-Men: Apocalypse, director Bryan Singer has shared proof that James McAvoy's Charles Xavier will be close to achieving full Patrick Stewart in next year's 1980s-set follow-up to Days of Future Past:
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Why this is super: It's taken long enough for Young Xavier to lose his hair, let's be honest. Seeing this tease of the "new look" Xavier just makes us hope that we'll get to see him in the bright yellow and blue costume he oh-so-briefly wore in the comics way back when. You know you want to, Bryan.
Some people might not think that Jem is a superhero concept, but think about it: She has a secret identity, arch-nemeses, and is pretty much the hologram pop star equivalent of Iron Man. Or, at least, that's one version of Jem. The new movie version? Not so much, judging by this trailer:
Why this is villainy: Way to go, removing all the wonder, magic, and agency from the original concept, Hollywood. And where are the Misfits? Or the Stingers, even?!? Is it too late to start a JINO (Jem In Name Only) movement?
