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The Batman is coming and I couldn’t be more excited. Robert Pattinson will be taking the cowl in Matt Reeves’ more down to earth gritty version of the character. And with a new take on Bruce Wayne/Batman, that also means that we’ll get an all new supporting cast of characters. Some awesome actors were already announced and in the teaser trailer, including Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot, but Batman has such a rich cast of supporting characters so I’,m hoping we will see a lot more familiar faces from the comics. And with rumors that The Batman is the first movie in a new trilogy, Reeves’ will have time to flesh out Gotham City and all of its supporting players.

It is time to see Vicky Vale again! She was portrayed memorably by Kim Basinger in Batman ’89, but sadly was underused when she didn’t return for any of the sequels. With Batman rumored to be in his second year, it would make sense for one of Gotham City’s best journalists to be on the case. I like the idea of Vale being older than Bruce, so Naomi Watts would add a new layer to the character while still being able to have a great chemistry and back and forth with Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne.

A gritty reinvention also offers the chance to bring new life into Dick Greyson/Robin/Nightwing. Zac Efron looks the part, and I’m shocked that he hasn’t been a superhero yet. Sure, Pattinson is only a year older than Efron, but I don’t think Bruce being a kid’s ward and endangering him by training him to be Robin works in a more realistic take on the characters. So why not make them partners? Both are forged by tragedy, but Wayne has the resources that Greyson needs. I really hope that we see some of the Batman Family in the new movies. 

And the same goes for Stephanie Brown. Emma Stone looks the part and showed in Cruella that she can hold her own. Carmine Falcone, portrayed by John Turturro, has been confirmed for The Batman, so we know the mob ties into whatever story is unfolding. So adding a vengeful Brown as Spoiler would fit right in. Is she a friend or a foe? Does she take things too far causing her to come face to face with Batman and/or Nightwing? 

Another way to expand the family would be to introduce Luke Fox, aka Batwing. Derek Luke looks the part and is a fantastic actor. I’m honestly tired of the same supporting casts and characters series to series, so I think I’d just replace Lucius Fox with Luke. Morgan Freeman was brilliant as Fox, so why rehash the character or arc. Luke Fox could be Bruce’s right hand at Wayne Corp, maybe he is in on Bruce’s secret and makes sure he is well equipped and has backup ready in the form of Batwing.  

With Andy Serkis as Alfred, maybe it is a good time to introduce his daughter, special agent Penny Pennyworth, and would would be better to portray her than Imogen Poots? This vibes well with a younger Batman Family and gives Alfred a little more to do. Not only is the man he loves as a son putting his life in danger every night, but his estranged daughter is as well.  

What supporting characters would you like to see in The Batman and it’s sequels?

Avengers 2 Ironman Poster

Marvel Studios is setting the bar ridiculously high for superhero movi- scratch that, Marvel Studios is setting the bar ridiculously high for movies in general. Robert Downey Jr, aka Tony Stark, aka Ironman, tweeted this all new solo poster for Avengers: Age of Ultron (hot on the heels of a team shot). He has also stated that a “big announcement” will be coming in 8 days. Ironman 4? Has Downey Jr extended his contract with Marvel further into the future? Will they confirm that Spiderman will be featured in Captain America: Civil War? It can be so many things, which is very exciting.

In other Avengers 2 news, we just got confirmation that Anthony Mackie (the Falcon), Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) and Idris Elba (Asgardian Heimdall) will all be appearing in the gigantic sequel. They join an already stellar cast of heroes including Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Cobie Smulders (ex-SHIELD Agent Maria Hill), and Paul Bettany (Vision), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch), rumored villain Andy Serkis, and James Spader’s title character of Ultron. Hopefully they fit in some of our Agents of Shield, like Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May), and Chloe Bennet’s now “Inhuman” Daisy “Skye” Johnson.

Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters on May 1st, 2015 and I’ll be in the first screening with a huge bucket of popcorn!

Marvel Studios has released a new poster and teaser trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Check out the new poster, which is a very cool variation of the original Avengers poster.

Poster for Avengers Age of Ultron

You can check out the teaser trailer here. Directed by Joss Whedon, the action sequel teams up the original Avengers with a crop of new heroes from other Marvel solo movies (the Falcone from Captain America: Winter Soldier, War Machine from Ironman 2 & 3) to take on a much worse evil entity (the title character Ultron). The movie will star Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Cobie Smulders, and Paul Bettany, with newcomers to the Marvel Universe Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Andy Serkis, and James Spader as Ultron.  We have a long wait as it does not come out until May 1, 2015.

This weekend brings us a man who can bring characters from a book to life, along with the continued fight between vampires and werewolves, and an epic showdown of vikings verse aliens verse monsters.

Inkheart from director Iain Softley (The Skeleton Key) is based on a novel by Cornelia Funke, and stars Brendan Fraser as a man who can bring characters from a book to life by reading aloud.  When he is taken hostage by the evil Capricorn (Andy Serkis), his daughter (Eliza Bennett) must rally her friends, both real and imaginary, to rescue him. The great Helen Mirren co-stars.

If you are in the mood for supernaural action instead, there is Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. Rise is the  third entry into the Underworld series and is an origin story that uncovers the cause of the centuries-old feud between the vampires and werewolves (aka the Death Dealers and the Lycans). Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen, and Bill Nighy star in the film.

Also opening today, but in a limited release, is Outlander.  The films stars James Caviezel, John Hurt, Sophia Myles, and Ron Perlman with direction by Howard McCain.  Outlander’s plot is really difficult to explain, but in a nutshell it is Vikings teaming up with an alien (Caviezel) to fight a monster.  Oh, and did I mention they fight with futuristic Iron Age weaponry.

I think I’ll be staying in this weekend, how about you?