Grant Gustin & ARROW Producers Discuss The Flash's Future

Pretty good midseason finale for Arrow, wasn't it?

At the end of last night's episode of the CW series, "Three Ghosts," fans of DC Comics superhero The Flash got to geek out a little when Grant Gustin's character Barry Allen returned home to Central City, only to be struck by lightning and sent crashing into a rack of chemicals.  This, of course, is the fateful event that gives Barry his powers of super-speed, but in our last glimpse of him, he's left unconscious in his lab and crackling with small discharges of electrical energy.

So what happens next?

In a new article by Comic Book Resources, Arrow executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg, DC Comics' chief creative officer Geoff Johns, and Gustin discussed the episode and the Flash's future with reporters during a press event at the CW headquarters in Burbank, California.

Gustin was asked what he's looking forward to most in the upcoming pilot for The Flash spinoff series, which was originally slated to be episode 20 of Arrow's second season.  "I'm mostly looking forward to getting the pilot script and seeing how Barry's going to handle this happening to him," said Gustin.  "He's not just excited.  It's scary.  That's what I loved about the character in the audition process -- it's not just he loves superheroes, and he's a fanboy, and all of a sudden he's like, 'I'm going to be one, I'm really stoked about it.'  It's kind of like, 'This is terrifying. This is really happening to me.'  I'm really excited to play more of that."

Meanwhile, Kreisberg commented on The Flash introducing more characters from the DC Universe the way Arrow has.  "In the same way that Arrow was conducive to bringing on characters like Deadshot and the Huntress and some of the more grounded people," said Kreisberg, "hopefully with The Flash, there's a way to bring on some of the more fantastical characters, that will probably still go through the grounding lens with which we view everything.  But we could tackle some of the bigger villains, and possibly heroes.  There's a hint of a major character in the pilot.

"But it's always important to remember -- like with Arrow, everybody wants Batman to come on and whatnot, but Arrow has to be the coolest person on Arrow.  The same thing with The Flash -- Barry has to be the coolest person.  If we're lucky enough to get to do more past the pilot, it'll really be about making sure that the audience loves The Flash, and Barry Allen, and Grant Gustin, as much as we do."

That "major character" could possibly be Barry's archnemesis The Reverse-Flash, who murdered Barry's mother Nora Allen and framed Barry's father in the process.  Barry hinted at the Reverse-Flash in the Arrow episode "The Scientist," telling Felicity Smoak of seeing a strange blur that resembled a person when his mother was killed.  Johns remarked on this, saying "We're using a lot of mythology, a lot of characters from the comics in the development of the Flash show.  I don't want to get too specific yet, but you'll see a lot of characters, a lot of elements from that.  It's very much The Flash."

Bryan Singer Returning to Direct X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

Hey, you know that spiffy new X-Men: Days of Future Past movie coming out next year? They're already working on the sequel.

Director Bryan Singer surprised everyone last week on Twitter by announcing the next X-Men movie even though Days of Future Past doesn't arrive in theaters until May.  Singer tweeted the words "#Xmen #Apocalypse 2016!", which apparently means there's going to be a movie called X-Men: Apocalypse coming out in 2016.

Vulture has confirmed that Singer will indeed helm X-Men: Apocalypse after finishing work on Days of Future Past, making this his fourth X-Men movie.  According to the article, Apocalypse will be a direct sequel to story elements set up in the end of Days of Future Past.  Also, the 2016 film will continue with the younger cast of actors introduced in 2011's X-Men: First Class, which includes James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magento and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique.

The move is a considerable showing of 20th Century Fox's faith in Singer, even though the production cost of Days of Future Past has reportedly grown to become the second most expensive movie the studio has ever made after James Cameron's Avatar.

As for Apocalypse's story, presumably the movie centers around the X-villain Apocalypse, who was created by Louise Simonson and Jackson Guice and first introduced in X-Factor (vol.1) #6 in 1986.  First Showing claimed to have spoilers of the Days of Future Past post-credits bonus scene that sets up Apocalypse, but Singer debunked at least one unsettling element of the supposed spoilers in another Twitter posting yesterday -- "#Apocalypse is not an alien. :) #XMenApocalypse"  So far, there's been no confirmation if the rest of the information from First Showing is actually legit.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 23, 2014.  X-Men: Apocalypse is currently slated to arrive on May 27, 2016.

Young Bruce Wayne to be Regular on Fox Series GOTHAM

Okay, this series just became a lot more interesting.

Over two months ago, a new Fox TV series called Gotham was announced that will center around the DC Comics character of Commissioner James Gordon in the days before he first encounters Batman.  But now, Television Show Auditions has posted a casting call for the series that reveals one of the series' regular roles will be a 10-year-old Bruce Wayne.  Here's the description posted on the site:
 
A 10-year-old Bruce Wayne is among the roles that are now being cast as series regulars on the upcoming Fox TV series "Gotham" which explores the origin stories of Commissioner James Gordon and the villains that made Gotham City famous. Under development for over a year, the project has now been given a direct-to-series order by the network, which won an intense bidding war for the Warner Bros. Television rights to the show. Shooting on the pilot episode will get underway in March, 2014 and will center on Gotham City PD rookie homicide detective James Gordon who investigates the double murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

BAFTA TV Award nominee Bruno Heller will serve as executive producer, head writer, and showrunner on "Gotham". Heller is an English screenwriter who came into prominence when he co-created the HBO series "Rome" in 2005. After executive producing the short lived NBC series "Bionic Woman" in 2007, he then created the popular CBS series "The Mentalist" which is now in its sixth and final season. Heller is writing "Gotham" based on characters written by the late DC Comics comic strip and comic book writers Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Although the "Gotham" central figure of James Gordon first appears in Detective Comics #27 when Bruce Wayne is Batman, Heller begins the series re-creating the characters pre-#27. No "Gotham" roles have been cast as of December 6, 2013.

The production companies behind "Gotham" are Primrose Hill Productions and Bonanza Productions. Bruno Heller is founder of Primrose Hill. Bonanza Productions is a Warner Brothers Subsidiary. Primetime Emmy Award nominee Geoff Johns will oversee production for DC Entertainment. "Gotham" will premiere on Fox Network in 2014.

And of course, if young Bruce Wayne is a regular, it stands to reason that his faithful legal guardian Alfred Pennyworth will also be a regular on the series.

The decision to feature Bruce Wayne on Gotham is a surprise, considering Warner Bros.' past protectiveness of the character and not wanting TV versions conflicting with the various Batman films.  A series called Bruce Wayne was in development in 1999, but was shelved and redeveloped as the Superman-based series Smallville instead.  After Smallville became a success for the WB network, the producers then attempted to do Bruce Wayne as a companion series, but were denied and the Batman-related series Birds of Prey was produced as a replacement.  Smallville also attempted to feature Bruce Wayne on the series, but were forbidden and a replacement character called Adam Knight (played by Ian Somerhalder) was featured for seven episodes in season 3.

Moriarty Returns to ELEMENTARY in January

The world's greatest detective's greatest adversary is about to return.

Last May, the CBS series Elementary did the unthinkable by revealing that Irene Adler, the love of Sherlock Holmes' life, was actually his diabolical and mysterious arch-nemesis Jamie Moriarty.  Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer became the first woman to portray the famous literary villain on screen, completely changing the dynamic between Holmes and Moriarty in a bold, fresh way.

When last we saw Moriarty in the season one finale "Heroine," she was taken into federal custody after Holmes faked a drug overdose and lured Moriarty into a trap when she visited his hospital room.  The recent episode "We Are Everyone" revealed that Moriarty has been writing letters to Holmes from prison.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, series executive producer Rob Doherty discusses Moriarty's return in the episode scheduled for January 2, 2014.  Doherty describes the episode as "A young girl is kidnapped in New York City, and Sherlock and Joan come to believe that Moriarty may have orchestrated the abduction, which is a tad confusing since she’s been in federal custody for several months now.  So in the episode, they seek her out and she becomes something of a participant into the investigation into the kidnapping."

"We’re going to learn a lot more about Moriarty," he continues.  "We’re going to reveal some secrets regarding her past and where she comes from and what she’s done to get where she is.  You know, it’s definitely an episode with some major twists and we’re excited for it to air."

When asked about how Moriarty's return complicates things for Holmes, Doherty replies, "People who have enjoyed the complicated relationship will not be disappointed.  It remains as complicated as ever.  It’s very interesting for Sherlock to see her and be around her again.  And it’s, of course, not just about how it lands on Sherlock but Joan as well, given that Joan played such a major role in Moriarty’s takedown at the end of the first season.  There’s plenty of unfinished business between those, so we single those two out for a little alone time over the course of the episode."

As for how Moriarty feels about all this, Doherty remarks, "She recognizes that she was defeated but she hasn’t quite figured it out yet.  I think she’s certainly one to point out that she has a lot in common with Sherlock, but unlike him, she has remained independent to her detriment and ultimately, that’s really what led to her downfall last year.  She doesn’t have a Watson in her life, and she could probably benefit from one.  Sherlock and Joan as a unit tend to be stronger than Moriarity as a solo."

Elementary airs on CBS on Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 Trailer Teases the Sinister Six

Not one, not two, not three...but six villains? 

The first full trailer for Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released this morning, showcasing the return of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Emma Stone as his love interest Gwen Stacy.  In addition to Jamie Foxx as Electro, we get some brief glimpses of Paul Giamatti as The Rhino and someone -- perhaps Dane DeHaan, perhaps Chris Cooper -- as (presumably) the Green Goblin.

The trailer opens with Spider-Man plummeting downward toward the streets of New York City, only to pull up into a familiar web swing.  "Every day I wake up knowing the more people I try to save," says Peter Parker in a voiceover, "the more enemies I will make."  A shot of The Rhino follows, depicted in the film as a man wearing large mechanical armor with a rhinoesque horn, along with the back of the Green Goblin.  "And it's just a matter of time..." continues Peter as we see Electro unleashing blasts of electricity, "...before I face those with more power than I can overcome."

Peter is introduced to Harry Osborn (DeHaan), who reveals that his father's company OsCorp had Peter under surveillance.  When Peter asks why, Harry smiles and replies "Isn't that the question of the day."  Peter discusses the matter with Aunt May, played once again by Sally Field, who says to Peter "I once told you that secrets have a cost.  The truth does, too." 

More intrigue surrounding the mystery of the death of Peter's parents follows, with a Peter watching a video recording of his father (Campbell Scott).  "My name is Richard Parker," begins the recording, "I have discovered what OsCorp what going to use my research for. I have a responsibility to protect the world from what I know they're capable of."  A man in a hat and coat walks by very familiar sets of mechanical wings and arms, teasing that additional villains The Vulture and Doctor Octopus are also in play.  And of course, this could mean Peter's real threat in this movie is actually the supervillain group The Sinister Six.

Harry confronts his father Norman (Chris Cooper), asking what all of OsCorp's secret equipment is.  "The future," replies Norman. 

"We -- literally -- can change the world," says Harry.  "What about Peter?"

"Not everyone has a happy ending," answers Norman ominously.

Various scenes of destruction caused by The Rhino and Electro follow, with Gwen warning, "This is bigger than you, Peter."  "I made a choice," replies Peter as we briefly glimpse Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin.  "This is my path."

Electro then gets a voiceover, proclaiming "Soon, everyone in the city will know how it feels to live in a world without power, without mercy...without Spider-Man!"  A small taste of a battle between the two follows, apparently taking place in a series of electrical transformer towers.

If you'd like to see the trailer, you can view it below thanks to Sony Pictures' official YouTube account...



The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 2, 2014.

Gal Gadot Cast as Wonder Woman in BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN

At long last, we have a new Wonder Woman...just not the one we were expecting.

Deadline reports that 28-year-old Israeli actress and model Gal Gadot has been cast as Wonder Woman/Princess Diana in the still untitled Man of Steel sequel referred to commonly as Batman vs. Superman.  Gadot joins Henry Cavill, reprising his role as Superman/Clark Kent, and Ben Affleck as Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 2015 film directed by Zack Snyder.  With the trinity of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman now complete, this paves the way for a probable Justice League movie after Batman vs. Superman.

Gadot is best known as Gisele Harrabo in the Fast and the Furious movie series and has also appeared in the movie Knight & Day and the television series Entourage.  Various actresses were under consideration for the role of Wonder Woman, with Thor's Jaimie Alexander a popular choice.  According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gadot also beat out Quantum of Solace's Olga Kurylenko and G.I. Joe: Retaliation's Elodie Yung. 

Snyder commented on the casting, saying "Wonder Woman is arguably one of the most powerful female characters of all time and a fan favorite in the DC Universe.  Not only is Gal an amazing actress, but she also has that magical quality that makes her perfect for the role. We look forward to audiences discovering Gal in the first feature film incarnation of this beloved character."

Grant Gustin & ARROW Producers Discuss Barry Allen

It's almost time for The (soon to be) Fastest Man Alive.

Barry Allen, who becomes the DC Comics superhero The Flash, finally makes his 21st century television debut tomorrow night on the CW series Arrow.  In the episode "The Scientist," Barry arrives in Starling City to help investigate an unexplained robbery at Oliver Queen's company, Queen Consolidated.

The Hollywood Reporter and KSiteTV provided details on Barry Allen's introduction during a Q&A press conference on Monday, which included actor Grant Gustin and Arrow executive producers Greg Berlanti and Andrew Kreisberg.

Gustin was the first actor to read for Barry Allen and found the character "funny and endearing."  "I hadn't done anything like that," said Gustin.  "I had a lot of fun with that throughout the audition process.  [The producers] started steering me in that direction immediately as soon as I first met them.  They said to just have fun with it and I kind of took it from there."  Gustin also found Barry's likability appealing, which he hasn't had in his career so far. "I would be his friend," he said.  "I hadn't had the opportunity to play a character I would actually enjoy spending time with, so that's nice."

Gustin, now 23, was born in 1990, the same year The Flash television series starring John Wesley Shipp debuted on CBS.  However, Gustin claims he "wasn't trying to be any Flash that I knew about or had seen."

The subject of Gustin's youth has drawn considerable concern from some Flash fans, who feel Gustin is too young to be taken credibly as a police scientist.  "It's an elephant in the room, so we addressed it," said Kreisberg, mentioning Berlanti's suggestion that lines of dialogue should be added about Gustin's young appearance.  "The thing that was important to us was that he really should be a contrast to Oliver and to Stephen [Amell].  Stephen is the traditional square-jawed, muscle-bound hero.  That works really well, because he needs all that.  One of the things about Flash is he's a random guy who gets struck by lightning.  He needs the bolt of lightning to be a hero in a way Stephen doesn't."

Berlanti remarked that it was more important for the producers to find someone that embodied "the essence of the character" and also "someone who can fit into the Arrow universe we have, but still can potentially have the promise of their own universe and their own show."  Gustin's casting was crucial, with Berlanti adding, "Had we not found Grant, I'm not sure we would've done the character."

Barry Allen will also appear in the next episode "Three Ghosts," but it's not certain whether he will return to Arrow this season in addition to the spinoff pilot for The Flash.  "We're still trying to figure that out," said Kreisberg, mentioning that the original backdoor pilot plan created complications a normal pilot order wouldn't have.  "In some ways, this has freed us to take the Flash and just do the Flash separately and stay on a straight line."

However, Berlanti added that Barry's presence will still be felt throughout the season, but we'll find out "about what happened to him in the way that you’re hearing now about S.T.A.R. Labs on the periphery" and "in terms of Felicity, since she has a connection with him."

While Barry in helping with the investigation, he immediately bonds with Emily Bett Rickards' character Felicity Smoak, which affects how Felicity interacts with Oliver.  "Especially with the way the season has been going," said Kreisberg, "with Oliver and Felicity and their growing relationship or feelings for each other, the fact that Barry and Felicity are so similar, and they're both sort of uncomfortable in their own skins, and they're both very likable and personable, they just seem like they would instantly hit it off, which would just complicate things for Oliver even more.  It felt like the right way to go."  Rickards and Gustin apparently had a "chemistry test," which helped finalize the decision to cast Gustin.

"The Scientist" airs tomorrow night on The CW at 8 p.m. EST, with "Three Ghosts" airing the following week.