First PEACEMAKER Season 2 Trailer Teases Hawkgirl, Guy Gardner, and Maxwell Lord

Do you really wanna taste it again?

Max has released the first teaser trailer for the second season of Peacemaker, James Gunn's TV series adaptation of the DC Comics superhero. The season continues the story of jingoistic mercenary Peacemaker/Christopher Smith, played once again by John Cena, and places the series into Gunn's new DC Universe, which launches with his upcoming film Superman (2025).

The two-minute teaser trailer opens with Peacemaker being driven by his friend Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks) to a job interview with the Justice Gang, a DCU superhero team to be introduced in Superman. Abebayo tells Peacemaker, "They'll be doing backflips to get you to join" and gives him an encouraging fist bump of support.

Going inside, Peacemaker sits down and is welcomed by Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), asking him if he prefers going by Peacemaker or Chris. Inside a booth with Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Lord toggles a switch that presumably allows private conversation if needed. "Either's fine," replies Peacemaker.

"Can you tell us a little about your skills?" asks Lord.

"I'm considered the finest marksman in the world."

"The mic is off?" asks Hawkgirl. Lord replies that it is, even though it obviously isn't.

Thrown a bit, Peacemaker continues, "I am also proficient in hand-to-hand combat..."

Still thinking the Justice Gang is having a private conversation, Lord asks the others, "How many more of these do we have today?"

"Is that popcorn still here?" asks Hawkgirl.

"You loooooove popcorn," responds Guy Gardner.

"My butt is getting really big lately," adds Hawkgirl, still not realizing the mic isn't off.

Peacemaker continues again, "I have a variety of helmets..."

"This guy sucks," groans Lord.

"Excuse me?" interjects Peacemaker. "Am I supposed to be able to hear you guys?"

"Excuse me?" asks Lord, toggling the switch again.

"You were talking about your butt and stuff. And also, you said that I suck."

Maxwell Lord winces awkwardly, while Guy Gardner starts laughing and Hawkgirl begins munching on popcorn. "It is not funny," exclaims Lord.

Peacemaker storms out of the meeting and gets back in the car with Adebayo. They drive off and she states, "I don't get it. We saved the world," referencing the events of Season One.

On his cell phone, Adrian Chase (Freddie Stroma), better known as Vigilante, remarks, "I thought everyone would finally treat us like heroes."

In a separate scene, Adebayo remarks, "I don't need anybody else. I just forge my own path."

John Economos (Steve Agee) replies, "You're living in the worst level of Grand Theft Auto."

Next, we see Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) getting into a bar fight, followed by a scene with her therapist telling her, "I've come to the conclusion you suffer from a particularly severe form of toxic masculinity."

Emilia is stunned by the diagnosis, then goes out to her car and rage-punches the dashboard.

In another scene, Economos tells Team Peacemaker that "A.R.G.U.S. has been monitoring Peacemaker ever since Rick Flag, Sr. was named director."

Later, Chris asks Abebayo, "Does he know that I--"

"Have killed his son?" interjects Adebayo. "Yeah."

In still another scene, Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo) tells someone, "Bring me Peacemaker."

Later in the trailer, Chris tells the others during a backyard hangout, "We haven't always been great people, but we are the 11th Street Kids. No one will ever break us apart."

A montage of clips from the season are shown, followed by Peacemaker asking Eagly, his pet eagle, "You ready for the next adventure, pal?"

Lastly, we see Chris, in his tighty-whities, open a door in his father's lab that takes him to an alternate Earth, where there's a poster of the band Hanoi Rocks, spelled Roxx instead. Suddenly, a gun clicks behind him, and we see another Peacemaker (also played by Cena) with a more stylish, streamlined helmet. "Who the fuck are you?" asks the other Peacemaker.

If you'd like to check out the Peacemaker Season 2 teaser trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Max account on YouTube...

Peacemaker Season 2 is scheduled to debut August 21st on Max.

DC Studios Announces "Chapter One" Slate of DC Universe Film & TV Projects

 
A time of gods and monsters is about to begin.

Earlier today, DC Studios officially announced its first slate of ten interconnected projects, comprising five movies and five HBO Max TV series. Filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran, now serving as Co-Chairmen and CEOs of DC Studios, stated that all ten of them are set within the same shared universe and will frequently share characters. However, there will be films set outside the shared continuity—such as the previously announced Joker: Folie à Deux from director Todd Phillips and Matt Reeves’ upcoming The Batman Part II.

"The DCU’s a multiverse," explained Safran, "but we’re going to be focusing on one universe from that multiverse. And if something isn’t DCU, we’re going to make that very clear. So, strictly adult fare like Todd Phillips’ Joker, or kids animation like Teen Titans Go!, we’re going to make it very clear that those are DC Elseworlds, just the same way that they do it in the comic books."

While all ten projects are in active development, some are further along than others and both Gunn and Safran emphasize that plans may change. "What we’re starting with today is the first part of the first chapter of our universe," Safran remarked. "That first chapter’s called ‘Gods and Monsters.’ Many of the following projects are already being worked on, but we’re remaining flexible and we’re going to adjust because we’re never going to put a project into production before the script is right. This is a general timeline, but there will be flexibility within it."

And here are the first ten projects from DC Studios...

Creature Commandos -- Based on the team of military superhumans that first appeared in Weird War Tales #93 in 1980, this will be the first TV series from DC Studios, an animated project written by Gunn that will consist of seven episodes. In the image above (from left to right), the team will feature Rick Flag, Sr., Nina Mazursky. Doctor Phosphorus, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, G.I. Robot, and Weasel (from Gunn's DC film The Suicide Squad).

Waller -- Set between Seasons One and Two of HBO Max's Peacemaker series, Waller will feature the return of Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, who was last seen watching a broadcast of her daughter Leota Adebayo exposing Task Force X and Project Butterfly to the public, as well as Waller's involvement in both programs.

According to Gunn, Waller is "also going to have some of the Peacemaker team in it as regulars on the show." The series has tapped Jeremy Carver, creator of the acclaimed TV adaptation of DC's Doom Patrol, along with Watchmen limited series writer Christal Henry.

Superman: Legacy -- Safran stated this new Superman feature film will be the launch of the DCU and is being written by Gunn, with hopes that he will also direct it. "It’s not an origin story," he remarked. "It focuses on Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned."

Superman: Legacy is slated to arrive in theaters on July 11, 2025.

Lanterns -- This HBO Max series replaces the previous Green Lantern TV series developed by Greg Berlanti and will feature DC Comics characters Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Safran stated the series will be "more of a True Detective-type mystery with our two Lanterns. A terrestrial-based mystery—"

"-- that leads into the overall story that we’re telling throughout the different movies and television shows," finished Gunn. "We find this ancient horror on Earth, and these guys are basically supercops on 'Precinct Earth.'" The series will weave back and forth between DCU films and television shows, similar to Peacemaker.

The Authority -- Based on the superhero team from DC's WildStorm imprint that debuted in 1999's The Authority (vol.1) #1, the live-action film is a passion project for Gunn and will be a "very different kind of superhero story. They are basically good-intentioned, but they think that the world is completely broken and the only way to fix it is to take things into their own hands, whether that means killing people, destroying heads of state, changing governments—basically, whatever they want to do to make the world better. We’ll see how that journey goes for them."

Paradise Lost -- According to Safran, this HBO Max series is set before the birth of Wonder Woman and will be "a Game of Thrones-type story about Themyscira/Paradise Island, home of the Amazons and the birthplace of Wonder Woman. This involves all of the darkness, drama and political intrigue behind this society of only women."

Gunn added, "It’s an origin story of how this society of women came about. What does it mean? What are their politics like? What are their rules? Who’s in charge? What are the games that they play with each other to get to the top? I think it’s really exciting."

The Brave and the Bold -- This live-action film will be the introduction of the DCU's Batman, who will be played by someone other than Robert Pattinson and Ben Affleck.

Gunn remarked the film will be "a story of Damian Wayne, who’s Batman’s actual son that he didn’t know existed for the first eight to ten years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin. He’s my favorite Robin. It’s based on the Grant Morrison comic run, which is one of my favorite Batman runs."

Safran added, "This is going to feature other members of the extended Bat-Family. Just because we feel like they’ve been left out of the Batman stories in the theater for far too long."

Booster Gold -- The glory-seeking superhero that debuted in 1986's Booster Gold (vol.1) #1 will get his own HBO Max Tv series and is described by Safran as "a loser from the future who uses his basic future technology to come back to today to pretend to be a superhero."

Gunn added, "I think of it as basically the story of a superhero’s imposter syndrome. How do you deal with that? (It’s about) how he tries to use this future technology to be loved by the people of today and what is really at the base of that. It’s a character story that’s going to be a very different type of show, and we’re talking to an actor about it now."

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow -- Based on the 2021 limited series by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, this live-action film has had input from King along with four or five other writers.

Gunn remarked, "In our story, we have Superman who was sent to Earth and raised by incredibly loving parents. Kara was on Krypton. She was on a piece of Krypton that drifted away from the planet and she lived there for the first fourteen years of her life in a horrible situation where she watched everyone around her die. So, she’s a much harsher and more fucked-up Supergirl than you’ve been used to thus far."

Swamp Thing -- The final project announced for "Chapter One" will be a live-action film that will investigate the dark origins of DC's plant elemental Swamp Thing in the character's first film since 1989's The Return of Swamp Thing.

Although low on details, Safran commented, "We bring it up because it’s important to point out that in these stories, although they’re interconnected, they’re not all tonally the same. Each set of filmmakers bring their own aesthetic to these films, and the fun is seeing how these tonally different works mash up in the future."

GHOSTWOOD 109: "The Suicide Squad" Is Up!

 
"I'm a superhero! I'm a motherfucking superhero!"
-- The Polka-Dot Man, The Suicide Squad

It is happening again...My co-host with the most Xan Sprouse and I are back with a new episode of Ghostwood: The Twin Peaks Podcast!  This time, we continue our retrospective of Twin Peaks Actors in Other Films by discussing The Suicide Squad, the 2021 superhero film directed by James Gunn, starring David Dastmalchian as the Polka-Dot Man, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Idris Elba as Bloodsport, and John Cena as Peacemaker!

LET'S ROCK!

In this episode, Xan and I discuss things like Xan and I geeking out about The Batman, looking at The Suicide Squad differently after watching Season One of the Peacemaker spinoff TV series, Xan and her Pez collection being a package deal, Peacemaker's racist father making racist comments, David Dastmalchian identifying with the Polka-Dot Man role because he has vitiligo, hating Joss Whedon on so many levels, wanting to see Dastmalchian in a Polka-Dot Man prequel TV series, the Midnight Bomber what bombs at midnight, more "Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies, John "Dyebeard" Economos not being good under pressure, the Polka-Dot Man wanting to die because of the suffering from his superpowers, The Suicide Squad finally getting Margot Robbie's take on Harley Quinn right, my not being a music snob or comic book snob, the Joker targeting Harley Quinn, the Thinker giving zero effs about his appearance, Michael Rooker and David Dastmalchian being in both the DC and Marvel cinematic universes, Amanda Waller's plan to distract the Corto Maltese army with an expendable Suicide Squad team while the real team does its mission, Troma Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, James Gunn being hired by Warner Bros. to direct The Suicide Squad after being fired from Disney's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Idris Elba on The Office, the one reason why Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is better than Batman & Robin, which one of us likes celery, Bloodsport's daughter telling him he's a horrible father, comic books being real storytelling, Milton being a nod to Batman and Polka-Dot Man co-creator Bill Finger, Xan and I discussing 28 Days Later on Drunk Cinema, and more!

If you'd like to check out our latest episode, you can find us on...

Apple Podcasts -- RIGHT HERE

Google Podcasts -- RIGHT HERE

Direct MP3 downloads/Libsyn -- RIGHT HERE
Spotify -- RIGHT HERE

Stitcher -- RIGHT HERE

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Ghostwood's Twitter account

Be sure to come back in two weeks, as Xan and I continue our retrospective of Twin Peaks Actors in Other Films by discussing The Addams Family, the 1991 supernatural dark comedy directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Carel Struycken as Lurch, Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams, Raul Julia as Gomez Addams, and Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Fester Addams!

Your 2021 Geek Movie & TV Calendar

 
Once again, the new year brings us closer to The Films and TV Shows You've Been Dying to See for, Like, Forever.  If you enjoy sci-fi, fantasy and comic book based entertainment as I do, you already have several must-see flicks and television programs in the pipeline for 2021.  With that in mind, I thought I'd go ahead and give a helpful chronological rundown of which geek movie and TV goodness arrives when.  Some of these TV shows and films will be worth the long wait, others you wouldn't watch even if they were on Disney+ or HBO Max, but each have their audiences and key target demographics.  Start planning your work vacation/sick/personal days accordingly.

Oh, and of course, most of these dates are subject to rescheduling due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.  Fingers crossed that your favorites are released as currently planned...

JANUARY

1 - Doctor Who: "Revolution of the Daleks" (TV)

3 - The Watch (TV)

10 - American Gods (TV)

15 - WandaVision (TV)

FEBRUARY

February 2021? - Last Week Tonight

8 - Black Lightning (TV)

11 - Clarice (TV)

23 - The Flash, Superman & Lois (TV)

28 - The Walking Dead (TV)

MARCH

March 2021? - Zack Snyder's Justice League (TV)

19 - The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV), Morbius (Movie)

APRIL

April 2021? - Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, What We Do in the Shadows (TV)

2 - No Time to Die (Movie)

16 - Mortal Kombat (Movie)

MAY

May 2021? - Loki (TV)

7 - Black Widow (Movie)

21 - Free Guy, Godzilla vs. Kong (Movie)

JUNE

June 2021? - What If...? (TV)

11 - Ghostbusters: Afterlife (Movie)

25 - Venom: Let There Be Carnage (Movie)

JULY

9 - Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings (Movie)

16 - Space Jam: A New Legacy (Movie)

23 - The Tomorrow War (Movie)

AUGUST

6 - The Suicide Squad (Movie)

SEPTEMBER

September 2021? - Hawkeye, The Simpsons (TV)

OCTOBER

1 - Dune (Movie)

NOVEMBER

November 2021? - Ms. Marvel (TV)

5 - Eternals (Movie)

DECEMBER

December 2021? - The Book of Boba Fett (TV)

17 - Spider-Man: Untitled Home Film 3 (Movie)

22 - The Matrix 4 (Movie)

SOMETIME IN 2021 - Archer, The Boys, Doctor Who, Doom Patrol, Dune: The Sisterhood, Harley Quinn, Invincible, Jupiter's Legacy, Justice League Dark, Locke & Key, Lord of the Rings, Lucifer, The Sandman, Secret Invasion, Stargirl, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Strange Adventures, Stranger Things, Titans, The Umbrella Academy, Westworld, Wynonna Earp (TV)

PEACEMAKER Casts Chris Conrad as The Vigilante

 
Peacemaker is about to have a vigilante problem.

Deadline is reporting that Peacemaker, the upcoming HBO Max series spinning off from the upcoming film The Suicide Squad, has cast Chris Conrad as Adrian Chase, better known to DC Comics fans as The Vigilante.

Peacemaker will explore the origins of the character in the James Gunn movie, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.

Conrad is probably best known as Johnny Cage in the movie Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and as Young Jason in the TV series Young Hercules and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.  He's also appeared in the movie The Next Karate Kid and in episodes of Patriot, Life, Criminal Minds, Bones, and JAG.

According to the article, Conrad joins John Cena as Peacemaker/Christopher Smith, Steve Agee as John Economos, Jennifer Holland as Emilia Harcourt, Robert Patrick as Auggie Smith, and Danielle Brooks as Leota Adebayo.

Created in 1983 by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, Adrian Chase first appeared in New Teen Titans (vol.1) Annual #2 as a Manhattan District Attorney who worked tirelessly within the system to dismantle the city's Mafia infrastructure.  He frequently worked with the city's resident superhero team, the New Teen Titans, but when Chase's wife Doris, son Adam, and daughter Drew were killed by a bomb planted by the Scarapelli mob family, Chase sought his own justice as the Vigilante.  

He underwent an extremely vigorous training program taught by a number of mystical spirits seeking revenge, and came back to the city perfectly synchronized between mind and body. As the Vigilante, he dispensed justice harshly, and although he inspired many heroes to attempt to make tougher choices, his career was also riddled with many defeats.  Eventually Chase abandoned his identity as Vigilante, believing that he could be both more effective and also happier as a judge.  However, during his absence the identity of Vigilante was assumed, in succession, by two of his friends without his knowledge.

The first of these was fellow judge Alan Welles, who operated in a much more violent manner, even executing petty thieves.  Chase eventually tracked down and killed this incarnation of Vigilante, without realizing it was his friend.  The incident led to increased guilt on Chase's part and also increased scrutiny from a law enforcement task force headed by Harry Stein, as he attempted to cover up Alan Welles' role as Vigilante.

Dave Winston, Adrian Chase's bailiff, soon assumed the Vigilante identity.  Refusing to kill, Winston traded on the fierce reputation of Vigilante to intimidate information out of thugs. He was murdered by Peacemaker while attempting to stop the hijacking of a plane which Chase was on.  In the wake of Winston's death, Chase once again assumed the role of Vigilante, feeling that it was the only way to protect those he loved.  Seeking revenge on Peacemaker, the out of shape Chase was beaten in a fight and unmasked on live TV, thereby ending his secret identity and forcing him even further into the role of the Vigilante.

As the series progressed Chase became ever more conflicted over his role as Vigilante, the violence he engaged in, and the harm he caused to those around him.  He also became increasingly mentally unstable—alternating between bouts of enraged violence, paranoia, and terrible remorse for his actions.  Near the end, he even resorted to murdering innocent police officers who got in his way.  His mounting guilt culminated in the final issue of his series (#50) where, after contemplating the course of his life, Chase committed suicide.

Conrad will be the second actor to portray The Vigilante in live-action, after Josh Segarra on the CW series Arrow.

Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021.

HBO Max Gives Series Order to THE SUICIDE SQUAD TV Spinoff PEACEMAKER

John Cena loves peace so much, he's willing to kill again for it.

According to DC Comics, HBO Max has given a straight-to-series order for Peacemaker, an action-adventure/comedy TV series spinning off from James Gunn's upcoming DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad.

The press release states that John Cena will reprise his character Peacemaker/Christopher Smith in an eight-episode first season, with Gunn writing all eight episodes and directing the first and others as well.  Gunn and The Suicide Squad producer Peter Safran, who also produces the Aquaman and Shazam! films, will serve as Peacemaker’s executive producers with Cena as co-executive producer.  Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, before Gunn begins working on the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

There are no details at the moment if the upcoming TV series is set before or after the events of The Suicide Squad, but "the series will explore the origins of the Peacemaker character, a man who believes in maintaining peace at all costs—no matter how many people he needs to kill to do it."

"Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag," Gunn remarked.  "I’m excited to expand The Suicide Squad and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series.  And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake."

Cena added, "I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of The Suicide Squad and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie.  I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for Peacemaker.  We can’t wait for fans to see this."

Created in 1966 by Joe Gill and Pat Boyette, Peacemaker first appeared in Fightin' 5 #40 as Christopher Smith, a pacifist diplomat so committed to peace that he was willing to use force as a superhero to advance the cause.  He used an array of special non-lethal weapons, and also founded the Pax Institute. 

Fighting an assortment of dictators and warlords, Smith later learned that his peace-through-violence efforts were the result of a serious mental illness brought on by the shame of having a Nazi death camp commandant for a father.  He believed his father's spirit haunted him continually and criticized his every move, even as he tried to live down his past.

Becoming a particularly deadly vigilante who would kill at the slightest notice, he started to believe that the ghosts of the people he killed, or who were killed in his vicinity, were collected inside his helmet and could offer him advice and commentary.

For a time, Peacemaker served as a U.S. government agent under Checkmate, a special-forces unit, hunting down terrorists until his own behavior became too extreme.  He eventually crashed a helicopter to destroy tanks controlled by the supervillain Eclipso and was reported dead.

Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021.

James Gunn Reveals THE SUICIDE SQUAD Cast at DC FanDome

At last, we finally know the people who will put their lives on the line for our country.

During today's DC FanDome online event, James Gunn, director of the upcoming Warner Bros./DC Extended Universe film The Suicide Squad, revealed the main cast for his standalone sequel to the 2016 movie Suicide Squad.

The list, which comprises several cast members returning from Suicide Squad, also features a number of surprising (and, let's face it, extremely obscure) additions from DC Comics' long history.  Here's the rundown...

Viola Davis as Amanda Waller
Joel Kinnaman as Colonel Rick Flag
Michael Rooker as Savant
Flula Borg as Javelin
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
David Dastmalchian as Polka-Dot Man
Daniela Melchior as Ratcatcher 2
Idris Elba as Bloodsport
Steve Agee as King Shark
Mayling Ng as Mongal
Peter Capaldi as The Thinker
Pete Davidson as Blackguard
Nathan Fillion as T.D.K.
Sean Gunn as Weasel
Jai Courtney as Captain Boomerang
John Cena as Peacemaker
Alice Braga as Sol Soria
Storm Reid as Bloodsport's daughter, Tyla DuBois
Taika Waititi as TBD/Undisclosed

The cast was revealed in a special "Roll Call" video, which debuted during the panel, and you can view it below along with a special "Behind the Scenes" video, giving us our first look at the film:




The Suicide Squad is currently expected to arrive in theaters on August 6, 2021.

James Gunn to Write & Possibly Direct SUICIDE SQUAD 2

Looks like Marvel's loss is DC's gain.

Deadline has revealed that Warner Bros. has hired James Gunn to write and possibly direct the sequel to the 2016 DC Extended Universe film Suicide Squad. 

According to the article, Warner Bros. had director Gavin O’Connor lined up, but he's now directing Ben Affleck in the drama Torrance, which is also at the studio.  Reportedly, Warner Bros. has been in talks with Gunn to step in and develop Suicide Squad 2, and the deal was made after he settled out of Disney/Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.  

Disney let him go in July, following a series of old, controversial tweets compiled by alt-right journalists and sent to Disney.  Fans and various Guardians actors lobbied Disney to have Gunn reinstated as the director for Vol. 3, but Disney remained adamant in their position.

Gunn, 52, is best known as the director of the hit Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which made $773 million and $863 million worldwide, respectively.  In addition, he's directed the films Super and Slither, and has also written these four films, along with Dawn of the Dead (2004), Scooby-Doo and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, The Specials, and Tromeo and Juliet.

The first Suicide Squad film, written and directed by David Ayer, made over $746 million worldwide with a reported budget of $175 million, so a sequel was inevitable.  However, the film was critically panned, receiving a 28% approval rating based on 341 reviews.

In the meantime, Suicide Squad star Margot Robbie will be reprising her character of Harley Quinn in a film adaptation of DC Comics' Birds of Prey, directed by Cathy Yan.

SUICIDE SQUAD: HELL TO PAY Animated Film Cast Announced

If you're a Suicide Squad fan, there's going to be hell to pay. 

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the voice cast for Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, the upcoming Warner Bros. Animation film based on the DC Comics antihero superteam. 

According to the article, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay "sees Amanda Waller's secret team Task Force X (consisting of Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Killer Frost, Captain Boomerang, Harley Quinn and Copperhead) sent to retrieve a powerful mystical object that they will risk their lives to steal. Unfortunately for the Suicide Squad, there are other villains who want the prize, and they must win a race to get it, in order to stay alive."

And here's the full cast list:

Deadshot - Christian Slater
Bronze Tiger - Billy Brown
Captain Boomerang - Liam McIntyre
Killer Frost - Kristin Bauer van Straten
Copperhead - Gideon Emery
Harley Quinn - Tara Strong
Amanda Waller - Vanessa Williams
Zoom - C. Thomas Howell
Scandal Savage - Dania Ramirez
Professor Pyg - James Urbaniak
Silver Banshee - Julie Nathanson
Vandal Savage and (Count) Vertigo - Jim Pirri
Maxum Steel - Greg Grunberg
Blockbuster and Tobias Whale - Dave Fennoy
Knockout - Cissy Jones
Dharma - Natalie Lander
Punch - Trevor Devall
Two-Face - Dave Boat

 This will be the third time the Suicide Squad will appear in an animated project, after the Justice League Unlimited episode "Task Force X" and the animated film Batman: Assault on Arkham.

Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay is expected to be released on blu-ray, DVD, and digital sometime in Spring 2018.

Warner Bros. Reveals THE FLASH: FLASHPOINT & DC Films at SDCC 2017

It looks like Flashpoint is hitting the big screen.

During the Warner Bros. panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, a new title for the upcoming movie based on The Flash was announced -- The Flash: Flashpoint.  The title seems rather important, considering the DC Comics mini-series event was used to lead into DC's big The New 52 relaunch.

According to Comic Book Resources, the panel began with a sizzle reel of footage, accompanied by the words, "Where wonder awaits, where justice prevails, where good battles evil, from Gotham to Atlantis, Metropolis to Apokolips, Krypton to Themyscira and beyond, welcome to the worlds of DC."

This followed with the reveal of multiple logos for upcoming DC Comics films including Shazam, Suicide Squad 2, The Batman, Justice League Dark, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps (showing comic book art of Hal Jordan and John Stewart), The Flash (followed by a Flashpoint logo), and Wonder Woman II.

The five-issue limited series Flashpoint was released in 2011, written by DC Films Co-Chairman Geoff Johns and drawn by Andy Kubert.  In the series, Barry Allen wakes up to discover everything and everyone around him has changed.  He's not the Flash, nor does he have powers, his mother Nora Allen (deceased in his own timeline) is alive, while his father, Henry Allen, died of a heart attack three years ago.  Captain Cold is Central City's greatest hero, the Justice League is never established, and even Superman is seemingly nonexistent.

Barry Allen drives to the Batcave, where Batman attacks him.  Batman is revealed to be Thomas Wayne, who in this timeline, lost his son, Bruce, along with his wife.  At Wayne Manor, Barry tries to explain to Thomas about his secret identity as the Flash and his relationship to Bruce Wayne.  Barry's memory begins to spontaneously realign itself to the altered timeline and Barry realizes that the world of Flashpoint is not a parallel dimension, but an alternate reality.  Barry's ring ejects Eobard Thawne's Reverse-Flash costume and causes Barry to believe that his enemy is responsible for changing history.  Barry decides to recreate the accident that gave him his powers in a bid to undo the damage caused by Thawne, but his initial attempt fails and leaves him badly burned.

A second attempt at recreating Allen's accident restores his powers and health.  He concludes that the Reverse-Flash changed history to prevent the formation of the Justice League.  He also learns that Kal-El was taken by Project: Superman.  Flash, Batman and Cyborg join the cause to stop Wonder Woman and Aquaman, who are on opposite sides of the Atlantean-Amazon war.  The Marvel Family transform into Captain Thunder, also transforming Tawky Tawny. Captain Thunder attacks Wonder Woman and appears to be winning until Enchantress reveals herself as the Amazon spy in the Resistance and uses her magic to restore the Marvel Family to their mortal forms. Penthesilea (who was secretly one of the conspirators of the Atlanteans-Amazons war, along with Orm) kills Billy Batson, causing a massive explosion that cripples the opposing forces.

In the wake of the devastation, Thawne appears in front of the Flash.  The Reverse-Flash reveals that Flash himself created the Flashpoint timeline by traveling back in time to stop him from killing Barry's mother.  Barry pulled the entire Speed Force into himself to stop Thawne, transforming the timeline by shattering the history of his allies.  Thawne resets Barry's internal vibrations, enabling him to remember this.  According to Thawne, these actions transformed him into a living paradox, no longer requiring Barry to exist and allowing him to kill the Flash without erasing his own existence.  Thawne continues to taunt Barry with this knowledge until Batman kills him with an Amazonian sword.  Thomas insists that Barry puts history back to normal to undo the millions of deaths.  Now knowing the point of divergence, the Flash restores the timeline.  As he enters the timestream, a dying Thomas thanks him for giving his son a second chance and gives Barry a letter addressed to Bruce. Barry then meets with his mother and bids a tearful farewell to her.

Traveling back in time, Barry merges with his earlier self during the attempt to stop Thawne. While traveling through time, Barry realizes he can see three different timelines — DC (New Earth), Vertigo (Earth-13), and WildStorm (Earth-50).  A mysterious hooded figure (later revealed to be a cursed immortal Pandora) tells him that the world was split into three to weaken them for an impending threat, and must now be reunited to combat it.  The DC, Vertigo, and Wildstorm universes are then merged, creating a brand new DC Universe. Barry then wakes up in a similar manner to the beginning of Flashpoint, also retaining all his memories from the alternate timeline.  Believing that everything is over, Barry remembers Thomas' letter and gives it to Bruce, who is still the Batman in this timeline.  Bruce, deeply touched by his father's sacrifice to ensure his son's life, cries and expresses his gratitude to Barry for informing him of the events that transpired before the timeline was reset.

This will be the third time Flashpoint has been adapted, after the 2013 animated film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, and the Season 2 finale and Season 3 of The CW series The Flash.  

The Flash: Flashpoint is now expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2020.

DC Rebirth: One Year Later

It's been one year since DC Comics relaunched their fictional universe with all-new number one issues in what they called "DC Rebirth."  After looking at the Top 300 Comics sales list for May 2017, I thought it might be interesting to see how well the latest DC Universe relaunch is performing in the long term.

As expected, the big winner of the DC Rebirth relaunch is Batman.  As one of DC's biweekly titles, Batman had the unenviable task of following an incredible run by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo during The New 52 era, but writer Tom King and rotating artists David Finch and Mikel Janin have more than proven themselves.  Issues #22 and #23 charted at #3 and #7 respectively in the Top 300, although #22 was part of "The Button" crossover storyline with The Flash that featured an lenticular cover.  

And speaking of The Flash, that series is definitely the surprise winner of DC Rebirth. Issues #22 and #23 chart at #4 and #23 respectively, with The Flash #22 featuring "The Button" crossover with Batman and a lenticular cover.  The creative team of Joshua Williamson and Carmine Di Giandomenico have been positively killing it, a welcome improvement from The New 52, where the title languished around the Top 50 mark.

All-Star Batman, from Scott Snyder and various artists, has also been strong and charts at #15, an impressive feat considering the book costs $4.99 a month.  Unfortunately, the title is ending with issue #14 this September, presumably because Snyder is moving on to New Challengers later this year, which means DC will lose one of its strongest sellers.

Detective Comics also does well, proving fans can't get enough of Batman books as long as they're done decently.  Issues #956 and #957 come in at #19 and #20 on the Top 300, showing that the idea to feature Batman and a team of Batman-related heroes was a good one.  It's a shame though, that Batwoman does well as a team member here but her solo series only comes in at #81.

After the main Batman titles, Justice League turns up in the #21 and #22 position, apparently showing a little fatigue after spending most of Rebirth's first year around the Top 10 spot. Writer Bryan Hitch has received considerable criticism online from fans tired of the rather dull and lifeless storylines without recognizable villains, so perhaps some of them are finally giving up on the series.  #21 and #22 is still nothing to sneeze at though, so I wouldn't expect a creative change any time soon.

Thankfully, Superman is close behind, with issues #22 and #23 charting at #25 and #28 on the Top 300.  Writer Peter Tomasi and artist Patrick Gleason continue performing as a solid creative team after their terrific work on Batman and Robin as part of The New 52.  DC Rebirth has been wonderful to Superman fans, restoring the Pre-Flashpoint Superman with Lois as his wife and the addition of Jon Kent, a.k.a. Superboy.  Who knew that making Superman a cool dad was exactly what the character needed?

Another big surprise is Titans, which charts at #31 for issue #11.  Dan Abnett seems to be the first writer since Geoff Johns to really "get" the Titans, as he successfully balances the superteam heroics with the awareness that the team's close friendship with one another feels like family.  The art by Brett Booth could be better, especially with his rather cartoonish facial depictions, but as with Justice League, DC isn't about to mess with the creative team as long as the sales hold up.

As for the rest, there are only a few standouts of note.  Wonder Woman got a creative boost from Greg Rucka and Liam Sharp, but the creators' final issue arrived this week and replacement writer James Robinson won't arrive for another six issues.  Dan Jurgens has been telling solid Superman stories once again in Action Comics, while Dan Abnett has been doing some serious worldbuilding in Aquaman although sales haven't been kind. Hopefully, that will change with the stunning work from new artist Stjepan Šejić.

For anyone wondering, here are the DC Rebirth titles I started off with one year ago:

Action Comics                                                Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps
All-Star Batman                                              Harley Quinn
Aquaman                                                        Hellblazer
Batgirl                                                             Justice League
Batgirl and the Birds of Prey                           Nightwing                          
Batman                                                           Suicide Squad
Cyborg                                                            Supergirl
Deathstroke                                                    Superman
Detective Comics                                            Superwoman
The Flash                                                        Teen Titans
Green Arrow                                                    Titans
Green Lanterns                                               Wonder Woman

And now, here are the DC Rebirth titles I'm currently getting, with new additions in bolded italics:

Action Comics                                                 Hellblazer
All-Star Batman                                              Justice League
Aquaman                                                        Justice League of America
Batman                                                           Nightwing
Batwoman                                                     Suicide Squad                     
Batman                                                           Supergirl
Cyborg                                                            Superman
Deathstroke                                                    Teen Titans
Detective Comics                                            Titans
The Flash                                                        Wonder Woman                                                

An overall net loss of four books, but pretty much consistent.  The most noticeable losses here are both Green Lantern titles, which continue being unable to meet the high bar set by Geoff Johns before Flashpoint, and both Batgirl titles, which aren't as strong as Gail Simone's or even Cameron Stewart and Brent Fletcher's runs in The New 52.  Harley Quinn is exactly the same book I ended up dropping during The New 52 and the lower sales are beginning to reflect that I'm not the only one who wants a change.  

The good news about DC Rebirth is that one year later, none of the original books have been cancelled.  (Okay, All-Star Batman is ending, but that seems more of a creative decision rather than sales.)  However, the bad news is that a number of titles emphasizing diversity have failed to catch on and probably won't make it to 2018, such as Cyborg, Blue Beetle, New Super-Man, and Superwoman.  Also, DC still hasn't figured out that the only Hellblazer we want to read involves top-notch British creators telling stories of true horror that aren't watered down with "swearing" using skull symbols.  It seems odd though, that DC doesn't have anything lined up to replace these books yet, unless you count their upcoming Dark Matter line with the aforementioned New Challengers and Jim Lee's The Immortal Men.

Oh, and I should mention that the main reason DC Rebirth is performing so well is probably due to the superb initial offering of DC Universe: Rebirth #1, followed by more of DC recapturing what their readers enjoyed prior to The New 52.  Unlike Marvel, which remains clueless about what its core readership actually wants, DC learned from the mistakes of The New 52 and addressed those mistakes with an engaging mystery woven throughout the Rebirth era.  Even better, there's still more to come, with Geoff Johns wrapping up that mystery in Doomsday Clock, Snyder and Capullo returning for the Metal event, and teasing hints that the Justice Society of America and the Legion of Super-Heroes will finally be back in play relatively soon.

Once again, it's a great time to be a DC Comics fan.  On to Year Two!