Have you heard the news? There's a new Spider-Man and he's... just like the other Spider-Men. Except he's British! No, wait, Andrew Garfield was British as well. Well, he's... younger? I guess? It turns out, though, that Marvel has very specific ideas about what makes a man a Spider-Man, which might explain a lot. Meanwhile, Europe gets a jump on San Diego, and a long-lost super heroine might not be lost after all. Here are the highlights of the last week's superhero movie news.
Yes, we have a new Spider-Man (and a new Spider-Man director, too). While Tom Holland's casting has raised more apathy than excitement—understandably, because, hey, it's someone no one is really familiar with, playing the third version of the superhero in the last 10 years—more attention should be paid to Jon Watts as director for the Sony movie. Anyone who's directed that many Onion News Network segments has to be a good choice for a superhero whose powers include cracking wise at the worst possible time.
Why this is super: Third time's... the charm? We can only hope. The Hollywood Reporter story about how Holland and Watts got their gigs is well worth a read, for those interested.
Here's something that might make you feel a little less excited about the prospect of an on-screen Spider-Man, however: Late last week Gawker posted guidelines delivered to Sony by Marvel in 2011 about what Spider-Man would, and wouldn't, be when it came to his movie portrayal, as uncovered in last year's Sony hack. The upshot: Spidey has to be the way he is in the comics, which means, if he's Peter Parker, he has to be white, straight, and middle class. Oddly enough, Marvel had no problem with non-Peter Parker versions of the character, although it did clarify that Spider-Man was definitely heterosexual unless the comics had said otherwise first.
Why this is villainy: On the one hand, no one should be surprised that Marvel—the studio that has continually stayed closest to its comic book roots—wants to keep everything faithful to the comic book source. On the other, man, everything feels very conservative (in multiple meanings of the word) when put down in cold type.
Hugh Jackman might have said that he's going to retire as Wolverine, but he's not quite there just yet. Reports have started to appear, citing a now-deleted Instagram post, that Jackman will show up in next year's X-Men: Apocalypse. The fan site that originally noticed the post is now saying it passed on "inaccurate information and [it] has been removed at the request of the studio," which might mean that the story was inaccurate, or that someone at Fox got really upset because a secret cameo had been spoiled. We'll find out May 27, 2016.
Why this is villainy: Personally, we're hoping that Apocalypse will be the first Wolverine-free X-Men movie, but it wouldn't be too surprising if it turns out that Jackman pops up for a cameo at some point in proceedings. Just think, though; one day, our long international nightmare will be over.
If fans believed that San Diego's Comic-Con International would feature the world premiere of footage from next year's big DC Entertainment movies Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, turns out they were wrong; Warner Bros. debuted sizzle reels for the DC movies at the CineEurope conference. No one is talking about what was actually shown just yet, but considering the timing it wouldn't be entirely unexpected if it's the same footage that will appear at next month's massive pop culture event. Next year, watch the early adopters go transatlantic to ensure they're the first to see what's on offer.
Why this is super: So this means that there will be footage from both movies at Comic-Con, right? While it's too early to know if said footage will show up online anytime soon—theoretically, the SDCC footage from last year's Batman v Superman announcement still hasn't been officially released, even though it's in the teaser trailer in slightly-altered form—at least you can be assured that recreations, descriptions, and cameraphone footage will be available in a couple of weeks. That's something, right?
Well, that was unexpected. After the online complaints and protests last year, it turns out Marvel's Ant-Man will, in fact, feature Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp. She'll show up in "a number of spoiler-ish ways," according to Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, with the movie showing her "in action in this film, and sort of what happened to her." Another retro-era heroine for the Marvel mythology, perhaps?
Why this is super: Well, it's better than nothing. And if the Wasp does end up having an Agent Carter-esque afterlife, there are far worse fates—although, really, why can't we have more active heroines in the contemporary Marvel Cinematic Universe?
