Casting News/Rumors Galore!

Take a moment to get away from your 24 hr. Deflategate coverage to check out all the castings + rumors that happened yesterday in the comic movie/TV realm. Seriously was yesterday was like Christmas for comic junkies. So let's take a look at what went down in no particular order.

1. CBS casts Melissa Benoist (Whiplash) as Supergirl
Source: ComicBookMovie

Like/Love/Hate/Don't Care: Last time I had doubts about a Glee actor becoming a superhero, Grant Gustin made me look like a fool. The guy is a fantastic Flash. So with the same casting company from Arrow and Flash, David Rappaport, and people behind the scenes such as Greg Bertani from those shows onboard, I have confidence in Melissa Benoist being an awesome version of Kara Zor-El. I liked Melissa in Whiplash and I like this casting.

2. Rumor: Gary Sinise (CSI:NY) will play Gen. Eiling in Suicide Squad

Source: ComicBookMovie

Like/Love/Hate/Don't Care: Gary Sinise would be a solid grab for WB/DC, but I don't think the role of Gen. Wade Eiling merits much hype. He will probably serve a similar purpose to what Christopher Meloni's General did in Man Of Steel which will amount to minimal screen time. So I like Sinise yet don't really give a shit whether or not he ends up being Eiling.

3. Jon Bernthal (Fury) or Joel Edgerton (Warrior) for Rick Flagg?
Source: CimenaBlend

Who You Taking?: Shane "Worst Best Friend Ever" Walsh is getting the nod here. Personally I'm not a huge fan of Edgerton, he really sucked in Exodus: Gods Among Us. So if it comes down to these two, I would rather see the superior actor, Bernthal, lead the Suicide Squad as Rick Flagg Jr.

4. Rumor: Joe Manganiello (True Blood) will be Deathstroke

Source: ComicBookMovie

Like/Love/Hate/Don't Care: Love isn't a strong enough word for how I feel about this rumor. I'm a HUGE Joe Manganiello fan. The guy loves comics and has one of the best beards in the business, nuff said. So if Joe steps into the greatest assassin in the DC universe's shoes, it would be a dream come true.

5. Karl Urban (Dredd) Wanted For a Role in Aquaman

Source: ComicBookMovie

Who Should He Play?: First off, Karl Urban is a beast. That is a fact. Anyone who has seen Dredd will concur with this. So who better to step into the shoes' of Aquaman dickhead half brother/ nemesis Ocean Master? He could be plotting in secret in the first solo film. Then unleash chaos for Arthur in the sequel.

6. Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) Eyed For a Role in Doctor Strange

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Who Should He Play?: Chiwetel would have made an excellent Black Panther, but Marvel decided to go with Chadwick Boseman instead. With a chance to still be in the MCU, I see him potentially being the Ancient One. The mentor to Doctor Strange.

7. Younger Jean Grey, Cyclops, And Storm Casted For X-Men: Apocalypse

Source: ComicBookMovie

Like/Love/Hate/Don't Care: I mean I do like Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, but the best actors of this franchise are already place, so I'm saying I don't care. Cyclops, Storm, and Jean are all great characters, but Singer has never given them their due and I don't see it happening for their younger counterparts either.

Bonus: Who Should Direct Aquaman? Nichols (MUD) or Murro (300: Rise Of An Empire)? No question, Nichols. He is an original film maker and not a Zack Snyder ripoff like Murro. I want different styles of filmmaking across the DCU, especially for displaying Atlantis.

Thanks for reading and make sure to follow us on twitter @Caped_Informers or follow me @cstrand73 for all your comic related news.

Weekly Poll Analysis: Face of the X-Men Edition (5/22/14)

For this week's poll I asked "After Hugh Jackman's Wolverine Leaves in 2017, Who should be the face of the X-Men Franchise?" The winner by a large margin was everyone's favorite X-villain Magneto. He took in 36% of the votes.

The results went as follows:

Magneto (Fassbender): 36%

Prof. X (McAvoy): 18%

Cyclops (New Actor): 15%

Mystique (Lawrence): 10%

Gambit (Tatum): 8%

Nightcrawler (New Actor): 5%

Deadpool (New Actor): 5%

Beast (Hoult): 3%

Analysis: Since I posted this poll, Hugh Jackman has stated that he would like to continue playing Wolverine past 2017. This is great news, but at the same time make my poll a little invalid.  So I will just interpret our results as possibilities to fill Jackman's shoes eventually once he hangs up his claws.

Magneto: No surprise here. I expected Magneto or Prof. X to win this poll. Fassbender is a hot actor in Hollywood and Magneto is defintly a popular enough character to anchor the franchise. The question remains though "How long will Fassbender play Magneto?" Jackman has played Wolverine for the last 15 years. I do not see a scenario with FOX retaining Michael's services for that long. His massive junk is in high demand. Although he does seem to enjoy playing the character. I believe that Michael will be around for one more X-Men film after X-Men: Apocalypse in 2016. Hopefully we get a few more bar murders from him before he leaves.

Cyclops: I recently re-watched X-Men and X2. Cyclops is barely in either of those films. That poor bastard James Marsden (Enchanted) never caught a break. He was only around to be part of a love triangle between himself, Wolvie, and Jean. It is about time Prof. X's favorite student got his due. FOX should cast a young up-n-comer to play Scott. If Fassbender or McAvoy were to leave, this new Cyclops could be the future focus of the franchise.

Deadpool: He is perhaps not the character to anchor the franchise, but goodamnit does he deserve his own spin off film. An R-rated Deadpool film would redefine the genre of superhero films. R- rated action-comedies like 21 Jump St. make millions of dollars at the box office. Imagine what an R-rated action-comedy-superhero film led by the Merc with the Mouth could make? BILLIONS. Not really, but definitely a cool 500 mill.

Short and sweet this week due to Mr. Jackman's flip-flopping. Who do you think should be the anchor of the X-Franchise? Who should play Deadpool? Sound off in the comments.

Weekly Poll Analysis: X-Men Spinoff Edition (4/24/14)

This week on the poll, I asked "What X-Men Spinoff Do You Want?" The surprise winner of the poll was Mystique. She took in 41% of the votes cast.

The results went as follows:

Mystique: 41%

Gambit: 25%

Magneto: 25%

Beast: 8%

Cyclops: 0%

Analysis: Wow. What I really found surprising was that Scott Summers received no love whatsoever. Cyclops from the comics is perhaps the most popular mutant, but according to our poll that poor sun-glassed bastard will continue to be obscure within the X-Men movie universe. Brian Singer made the decision back in 2001 to focus in on Wolverine rather than Cyclops. And because of that Hugh Jackman has become a superstar for playing Wolvie, while most people cannot even recall who played Cyclops in the original trilogy. That actor's name is James Marsden. Have you heard that name lately? Probably not. He is not in much. I just like to wonder sometimes if Cyclops was given a more proper and prominent treatment in the original X-Men films, could his popularity have been rivaled that of Wolverine's within the general audience. I think it was possible.
          Now to talk about something not so depressing. Mystique won our poll, which means people on this site are reacting positively to the rumors of her potential spinoff. Last week, FOX producer Lauren Shuler Donner spoke about how the studio is mulling over spinoff films featuring X-Men. The character she mentioned in particular was Mystique. Now the internet had mixed reactions over the news. Some were delighted to see the shapeshifting mutant get a chance for her own story. Others were angered by the rumor. They claimed Mystique does not have the popularity to warrant a spinoff and that this film is only a possibility because the studio is looking to capitalize off their casting of mega-star Jennifer Lawrence in the role.
          While I do agree that Mystique's popularity alone should not earn her a film, I disagree that it is a bad idea entirely. Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique can find an audience in a movie landscape that has begun to embrace strong heroines in titular roles. Her Katniss Everdeen led Catching Fire to commercial and critical success. Earlier this year Shailene Woodley emerged as a fan favorite as Tris in Divergent. Audiences have clearly connected with these female heroes and you can bet your ass Lawrence's has the chops to carry her own X-Men film into the public's good graces.
          Lawrence's Mystique could be the first female lead character in the new wave of villain-centric comic book movies. Sony has started this new wave by setting up their Sinister Six and Venom films. Mystique could be FOX's first villain-centric spinoff. Then maybe a Magneto film or Sabretooth film could be made. Everyone loves a good villain. Hell, I hope that villains take over the comic book genre and 6 years from now I am sitting in the theater watching Joker vs. Lex rather than Batman vs. Superman. Well anyway, I believe if the story is right and Jen is ready to blue up, this spinoff could be a critical and commercial success. Check out Mystique and all the other X-Men in X-men:Days of Future Past in theaters May 23rd.

Thanks for reading and make sure to vote in our polls each week. Make your voice heard. What do you think of a potential Mystique spinoff? Sound off in the comments.