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Which side are you on? With Marvel's Captain America: Civil War ramping up its promotion weeks ahead of the release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, one thing's becoming clear: Studios want fans to pledge allegiance to just one movie where two superheroes beat each other up for ideological reasons that could most likely be solved with a sensible conversation. While you work out if you're Team Batman, Team Cap, Team Superman, or Team Iron Man, here are the highlights of the last week's superhero movie news.
Want to know more about Wonder Woman ahead of her cinematic debut in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice? Gal Gadot spilled some beans in an interview with Glamour. "It was important for me that we show how independent she is," she explained about the character's role in BvS. "She is not relying on a man, and she’s not there because of a love story. She’s not there to serve someone else." Gadot also said that, although Wonder Woman has "so many strength and powers," her greatest strength is her heart.
Why this is super: Could this be a Wonder Woman that lives up to the comic character? Can we feel excited about this? We're nervous at the prospect. Don't let us down, Warner Bros.
Speaking of the Warner Bros. plan for DC's cinematic universe, another actor got signed for a major role this week with the news that J.K. Simmons will play Commissioner Gordon in The Justice League Part 1 and presumably other movies in the greater DCU. So much for the speculation that Gordon was dead in Batman v Superman. Unless, of course, his Justice League role is a flashback...
Why this is super: As much as we all want to keep the dream of J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson alive, is there anyone who doesn't think that he'll make a great Jim Gordon? The world-weariness at having to deal with the Dark Knight is palpable already!
Thanks to some theater chain postings, it's been revealed that Captain America: Civil War will be Marvel's longest movie yet, at 2 hours and 27 minutes, four minutes longer than its closest contender, the first Avengers. That's just part of the Civil War-related media blitz from the last few days, which has also included character posters for Team Cap and Team Iron Man, set visit reports that included the revelation that Robert Downey Jr. thinks the movie is the Godfather of the superhero genre, and the screenwriters talking about why it's not called Avengers: Ciivl War. (Short version: It's about the tone of the movie, which matches The Winter Soldier, apparently.)
Why this is super: There's no way that calling the movie the Godfather of superhero movies isn't a brilliant boast, even if it makes us wonder if Rocket Raccoon's head is going to show up in someone's bed before the end of the movie.
Speaking of Marvel-adjacent movies, Sony has cast Disney-affiliated singer and actress Zendaya in the new Spider-Man reboot as a new mystery character called Michelle who may or may not be Peter Parker's love interest. Interestingly enough, a later report suggested that whoever Michelle is, she won't be a major player in the first movie, but will have an increased role in sequels. Place your bets now, Spider-Man faithful; we got nothing when it comes to who she could turn out to be.
Why this is super: The latter report is particularly interesting, as it suggests that Sony is planning ahead this time around. Although they were also doing that with the Amazing Spider-Man movies, leading to an unfinished trilogy that never quite reached the point of all those flashbacks to Peter's parents. Instead of "super," maybe this is just kind of promising for now?
More proof that Sony has plans for the Spider-franchise comes thanks to the news that the studio has re-activated the long-dormant Venom spin-off, with Dante Harper being hired to write a new script. It's unclear which version of Venom the movie will feature—the psychopathic killing machine, or the more heroic government agent of recent years—but apparently the studio sees it as a standalone franchise, separate of the Spider-Man movies.
Why this is super: If Harper's name seems familiar, it's probably because you saw Edge of Tomorrow, the Tom Cruise/Emily Blunt time travel action movie from 2014; he was behind a rewrite for that one, which bodes well for whatever Venom ends up being. The very idea of a standalone Venom movie that doesn't interact with Spider-Man seems unlikely, but the proof will be in the alien symbiotic pudding, it seems.
