San Diego Comic Con is in full swing and Ben Affleck has already dropped a bomb for fans to chew on for DC’s upcoming Hall H panel! Affleck will work with Geoff Johns to co-write the future stand-alone Batman film for DC’s film universe. Johns is no slouch in the comic department; he’s written series for DC such as Superman, Green Lantern, and Aquaman. Johns is also currently working on various DC TV shows, like CW’s Arrow, and The Flash. In the fall of this year, Johns will also be working with Greg Berlanti on CBS’ Supergirl. Affleck has racked up an impressive resume as a director, winning the Oscar for Best Picture for Argo in 2013, and a Golden Globe for Best Director – Argo – in 2012.
There’s been a lot of speculation over how ‘Batfleck’ will fare in comparison to the other Batmans of past. Especially since Affleck can’t seem to shake the stain of Daredevil from fans minds. However, there appears to be more confidence in Affleck’s directorial and scripting skills than his acting. I, for one, am excited about this news. Affleck’s strongest attributes are in his writing and directing, so curiosity is brimming in what kind of take Affleck will have on the classic character. Hopefully we’ll get a less grim Batman than what Christopher Nolan presented us with in his trilogy, but a more realistic one than what Tim Burton presented in the early 90s.
Currently DC is focusing on other movies, so Batman doesn’t have an official release date yet. Which is good news. The recent ire towards the newest white Peter Parker and new Spider-Man solo film in such close conjunction to the last white Spidey reboot proves fans can get burnt out over the same story and character. Saving Batman — or at least saving his own individual solo film — to present other characters first, such as like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, allows some breathing room for fans. It’s only been three years since Nolan’s trilogy ended with The Dark Knight Rises. Another solo Batman film so soon would just be encouraging fan burn out.
Sculptor Nathan Sawaya is at SDCC this year and he’s bringing with him some fantastic sculptures of classic DC characters. Not just any sculptures though, oh no, LEGO ones. The DC sculptures feature the Trinity of Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman, as well as the Joker and classic DC comic covers. The exhibit at SDCC is merely a preview for Sawaya’s upcoming show at Sydner’s Powerhouse Museum in Australia.
Dan Didio, co-publisher at DC Entertainment, stated earlier this week that there “doesn’t seem to really be a proper representation of ethnic characters across the entire industry.” Didio went on to say that the lack of diverse representation is something they’ve been aware of at DC for a while, and have begun to take steps to further diversify their product to reflect the growing need from fans.
“What we’ve done is we’ve introduced new characters as well as re-introduce characters with names that people might recognize from earlier incarnations, such as Firestorm, and introduced them as African-American or with the Adam as Asian in order to help diversify our line.”
The sentiment is nice, and fans can see more strides being made in DC’s current DC You product line. However there’s still a lot of work to be done. Recently Justice League 3000 came under fire for transphobia, and then Frank Miller’s questionably named sequel to his The Dark Knight series, The Dark Knight III: The Master Race. The acknowledgement is nice, but until we can see the changes, words are just words.
Aja Romano, a fandom reporter from Daily Dot, reported early yesterday morning that Didio and Jim Lee were emphasizing diversity at the DC press breakfast at SDCC. Hopefully we’ll see the fruits of those supposed labors both in print and behind the scenes. Lets cross our fingers for some exciting news this weekend from DC!
At the DC press breakfast, Dan Didio and Jim Lee are emphasizing diversity, diversity, diversity.
— Aja Romano (@ajaromano) July 9, 2015
DC also released an exclusive look at their upcoming collectibles line for 2016 at SDCC this past Thursday. The collectibles include specialty designs from Batman vs Superman, Arrow, Batman: The Animated Series, and more.
DC also held an exhibit showing off some of the props and costumes for the upcoming Batman vs Superman. A highlight was no doubt the Trinity life size statures at the exhibit. Much thanks to one fan in particular for their hard work at answering the real question in the Batman vs Superman battle.
https://twitter.com/abrahamjoseph/status/618947327831638017
In non-SDCC news, DC released their first official images of their upcoming DC Superhero Girls series. The official website has gone live, and we’re getting our first look inside this alternative version of famous DC heroines and villains. The line includes staple characters such as Wonder Woman, Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl, Supergirl, and villains Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. What’s really exciting is the inclusive of lesser known characters such as Bumblebee and Katana, two women of color, to the line. The character designs are fresh, cute, and in line with each characters original comic book design.
That’s it for this weeks DC news roundup! Though there’s sure to be more to come with DC’s big panel this SDCC weekend. Be on the lookout here for anything exciting, out own Kate Tanski will be attending and she’s sure to be bringing back some goodies! In short, Affleck is going to write and direct the next Batman movie, Didio and Lee are pushing diversity for DC Comics, new DC collectibles are coming out in 2016, Batman’s bulge is bigger than Superman, and the DC Superhero Girls are live and ready! See you next week!
