In Part 2 we took a look at possible Casting Choices for the Big Three, so now we are going to take a moment and make some suggestions for possible Casting Choices for the Supporting Heroes. Lets jump right in!

Green Lantern/Hal Jordan/John Stewart
The “Not Nathan Fillion” Choice: Warner Brothers are really in an interesting situation over this choice. Do they stick with Ryan Reynolds or do they write off the Green Lantern film and start afresh with a new Hal Jordan or even make the switch to John Stewart. Personally, I think they should stick with Reynolds. He was a decent Hal Jordan and Green Lantern. The film itself suffered from poor direction and a lack of a credible villain as well as other story problems. Give the character a better look in the film with an actual costume rather than the stupid CGI suit and I think it will be fine. If the WB does recast, you’ll see a lot of fanboys out there are screaming for the role to be given to Nathan Fillion. I think the time has come and gone for Fillion, and he said it himself that he is very busy now and I think Fillion has aged out of the role.

Another idea would be to move away from Hal Jordan and go to the John Stewart character, making him like he was in the animated series which worked so well. As far as casting I would love to see Idris Elba take the role. I know he’s part of the Marvel verse in Thor and Ghost Rider, but Reynolds was in the third Blade, Wolverine: Origins and still may play Deadpool in his own film. So it’s not a stretch to see someone portray characters in both Marvel and DC movies. Elba is just a phenomenal actor and I think he would be brilliant as John Stewart. One thing they could do is make the origin of Green Lantern an integral part of the film. He could even possibly help take charge of the league when they need it with his military background. If they decide to scrap Reynolds then I hope they consider this as an alternative.

The Flash/Barry Allen
The Breakout Choice: I think The Flash/Barry Allen character has the potential to be the breakout character of the film, just like HULK was in The Avengers. He could be the character where you could cast someone like Bradley Cooper in the role and by the time it comes to theatres, The audience would be so looking forward to seeing the big three that it’s actually The Flash that stands out the most. I would love that to happen because The Flash is a very undervalued character in the DC universe, but to me I love the character. I was always more of a Barry Allen fan than I was Wally West, but that never really mattered because they were always great stories to read. Warner Brothers seem to love Bradley Cooper so it would seem logical that they would want to get him into what will be one of their biggest productions to date. I think Cooper would be a great choice, as a lot of the new writing on The Flash has been really good. If they keep the Ryan Reynolds Hal Jordan, I could imagine seeing the pair of them stealing scenes and bringing a well needed light hearted tone to the action.

Another choice I could see Warner Brothers going for would be Armie Hammer. His stock is pretty high at the moment thanks to his breakout role in The Social Network and getting cast as the title character in The Lone Ranger opposite Johnny Depp. The same logic applies with Cooper that Warners would want to get him in the film. He has the look of Barry Allen and could do the job easily. Either way I would be happy if one of these guys were given the role.

Aquaman/Arthur Curry
The Surprising Bad Ass Choice: I think Aquaman here has the potential to change everyone’s perception of him. A lot of people underestimate his value and see him as just the guy who can talk to his fish. The potential for an Aquaman film series could be something similar to an underwater Star Wars. Along with the Flash, Aquaman could be another one of the breakout stars of the Justice League movie. As far as casting I could see them going with a semi unknown in the role which would be great. Someone like Twilight‘s Kellan Lutz would do well in the role. He could be similar to Cavill in the fact that he would essentially be stepping up to leading man status with this role. I don’t think that would happen here, but if it leads to his own franchise then certainly there.

If the powers that be at Warner Brothers go with someone more well known then I could picture Alexander Skarsgard getting the role. He has the right look and can easily play the bad ass role of the team. He is the breakout star from True Blood and has been getting some big screen exposure with his roles in Battleship, Disconnect, and the upcoming flick The East.

Well there you have it folks, my top picks for the heroes in the Justice League movie. Let’s hope we get some good news soon as to who will direct and who will be playing the various heroes. Let’s also hope that this is good news for DC Comics fans. Maybe they will finally be able to catch up to the huge head start that Marvel got on them. In two or three years time we’ll find out.

In the comics right now The Avengers are facing off with the X-Men, but come 2015 they might be facing off with the Justice League as both Marvel Studios and Warner Brothers are gearing up new film versions of the beloved superheroes. Fresh news has broken this past week on both properties.  Lets start with Marvel…

It is official! Joss Whedon will be returning to write and direct The Avengers 2 for Marvel Studios for release in the summer of 2015. In addition to this very large duty, the fan favorite director will also be developing a television series ele Marvel and ABC that takes place in the Marvel movie universe. All of this is part of an exclusive deal that Whedon signed with Marvel that will extend their working relationship through 2015. Deals like this are very common with comic book writers/artists with publishers and used to be the norm in Hollywood, but these days it is very rare. Who might the television series focus on? Could it be the long in development Hulk show? Or how about Cloak and Dagger? Maybe a series that Whedon took a crack at writing in comic form, like The Runaways? Black Panter, Doctor Strange, Heroes for Hire with Luke Cage and Iron Fist… the possibilities are endless. And if they can get a big screen Avenger to appear during sweeps, you better believe record setting ratings will follow.

Rumors are also swirling that Marvel Studios is negotiating with Fox in regards to the rights of Daredevil and Fantastic Four characters. Fox is looking to extend their rights to make another Daredevil movie, and Marvel is willing to play ball as long as Fox reverts the rights to a few cosmic characters from the Fantastic Four, including Galactus and the Silver Surfer (both of which were butchered in Fox’s awful FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer). We’ll have to wait and see if this is legit. Worse case is that it is not, but in the very least it looks like Marvel will be getting the rights to Daredevil back soon enough.

Over at Warner Brothers, with Man of Steel heading into theaters next summer, the studio is trying push forward to a Justice League film sooner rather than later. Hopefully it will tie into Man of Steel and also connect to the Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern. A script has already been written by Will Beall (writer of Gangster Squad and a handful of Castle epsiodes) and Variety reports that the WB is sending it out to Ben Affleck to consider directing and co-starring in it. Deadline Hollywood denies that Affleck has any interest in the project, but this will be a wait and see type of deal. Affleck, who starred in Daredevil and was one of the actors at the top of the list to play Superman for the aborted Tim Burton Superman Lives, could have interest in the genre and Justice League would be the ultimate superhero film. As for which role he’d take? I have no idea…

Is the Merc with a Mouth finally getting his own spinoff film? Maybe. Total Film talked with X-Men movie producer Lauren Shuler Donner and she told them that the Deadpool solo movie is back on track with Ryan Reynolds set to star in it. Donner went on to say that they are hoping “redeem him” after the crapfest that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While I loathed the horrible prequel, Reynolds still shined as the wisecracking Wade Wilson — even though they otherwise wrecked the character when he finally became “Deadpool”, if you want to call that thing at the end of Origins Deadpool. With a stylistic director, an upbeat comedic tone, and a R rating due to a bloody good time I could see the film being pretty awesome. Just please let it be its own thing and not a cameo fest like Origins.

While making the press rounds for her latest film, Johnny English Reborn, Scully herself Gillian Anderson is reigniting rumors of a third X-Files film being made. She told an Australian TV program that she hopes that the movie moves forward and that a script is being written. 2008’s The X-Files:  I Want to Believe wasn’t a huge blockbuster but it did pretty well and was made for a relatively low budget of 30 million dollars. Keeping the costs down and doing a new film focusing on Agents Scully and Mulder (David Duchovny) would be a smart move for 20th Century Fox. We are far enough removed from the series that they could do pretty much anything storywise. And I hope that they would reach for the stars (pun intended).

Check out these Deadpool related products…

So, I’ve said a lot of negative things about the upcoming Green Lantern movie in the past. The early footage and the awful looking costume have had me worried. Now, I like Ryan Reynolds and a LOVE that the movie is really spotlighting the GL Corps. I could easily see a studio wanting to eliminate the Corps and cosmic elements of the comic and just focus on GL as a normal hero. The last trailer gives me a lot more hope, in the very least we’ll have a different kind of superhero movie. And I really dig this new poster…

DC relaunches their superhero universe on June 17th. How long until Justice League?

Check out these Green Lantern related products…

MONSTERS
A beautifully shot and acted film. The budgetary limitations did cause noticeable problems particularly in the story of the film, which is a bit of a  disappointment.

[rate 3.5]

BURIED
A great little claustrophobic film. The film succeeds as one of the best thrillers of the last decade as the writing and directing were phenomenal. Ryan Reynolds proves that he is more than a one bit actor. As Paul Conroy, this is the film that Reynolds has been searching for to truly show is dramatic chops. A must see.

[rate 4.5]

SAW: THE FINAL CHAPTER
Easily one of the worst in the series. This is a poor way to close the world’s highest grossing horror franchise. It’s a shame the series has gone so far downhill since the first movie came out. A disappointment all around, even the film series’ one redeeming quality – the traps – sucked here.

[rate 1]

Thankfully Fox’s Lone Star was canceled in the blink of an eye, otherwise the lovely Adrianne Palicki would have not been available to be the new Wonder Woman for David E. Kelly and NBC.  You might remember Palicki from the first couple seasons of one of the best shows to grace the small screen, Friday Night Lights. There is played a bit of a selfish bitch, but a little bit of that spice might be good for the amazon princess turned superhero.

The new series is said to be a serious take on the character where Wonder Woman is a billionaire CEO who moonlights as a vigilante in Los Angeles. Very Batman-ish if you ask me.  I just hope they keep her amazon backstory in place and maybe include some other DC Comics heroes into the mix down the line, as Smallville has very successfully done. It would be really cool if they connected the show somehow to Smallville or the new DC film universe with Ryan Reynold’s Green Lantern and Henry Cavill’s Superman.

Casting sheets have revealed that the only other familiar character in the series at this point is long time WW love interest Steve Trevor. He is described as an Army vet who now works with the Justice department. We’ll have to wait and see if anyone else (villains perhaps?) from WW’s history makes it into the mix.

Well, here it is, the official trailer for DC Comics and the WB’s upcoming Green Lantern adaptation.  I actually haven’t watched it yet, I’m not sure if I’m waiting because how worried I am that it will suck or… no, that is exactly why I’m waiting. Anyhow, click here to give it a view.