Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman spoke with Collider about an abandoned Batman Vs. Superman movie, which would’ve featured Jude Law as Superman facing off against Colin Farrell as Batman.

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The film would’ve been released in the early 2000s and directed by Wolfgang Petersen.

“We were in prep and it was the darkest thing you’ve ever seen,” Goldsman says. “It started with Alfred’s funeral and Bruce has fallen in love and renounced being Batman, the Joker kills his wife, and then you discover it was all a lie. Just that the love itself was constructed by the Joker to break [Bruce]. It was a time where you would be able to get these sort of stories together in script form but they couldn’t quite land in the world. Somehow, the expectations of the object — whether they be audience or corporate or directorial — it wasn’t landing quite in the way I think we imagined when we put them on the page.”

A similarly premised film, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, was released in 2016  to mixed reviews and was directed by Zach Snyder.

Colin Ferrell is set to make his DC Comics debut, appearing as Penguin in the upcoming Matt Reeves Batman film.

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Suicide Squad writer and director, David Ayer, took the time to interact with some fans over Twitter earlier this week about how misunderstood the character of the Joker, portrayed by Jared Leto, was in the 2016 DCEU film. Despite the immense hype that surrounded the super-villain centred movie prior to its release, Suicide Squad proved to be a widespread disappointment, with many diehard fans and newcomers alike regarding Jared's depiction of the Joker as particularly awful. Although he did have some large shoes to fill—most notably the late Heath Ledger's in 2008's The Dark Knight—his performance was still less than impressive, with some even deeming it the worst onscreen portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime in history.

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However, Ayer certainly doesn't feel that way. In fact, he sympathizes with Jared to this day due to how much work he put into the character, only for it to be criticized so heavily. The filmmaker responded to a fan's explanation of why the Joker's notoriously mocked "Damaged" tattoo across his forehead was actually "ingenious" given the back story.

James Gunn, director of both The Suicide Squad and The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, revealed on Twitter, Sunday, that neither film should be affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

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"Right now there’s no reason for #TheSuicideSquad release date to move. We are on or ahead of schedule. We were extremely fortunate to wrap shooting & set up editing from our homes (due to a post-production team & studio with foresight) before quarantine," Gunn said on Twitter.

Playing Catwoman is a legendary role. Many classic ladies have donned the outfit, including Eartha Kitt, Michelle Pfeiffer, Halle Berry, and Anne Hathaway. Now, Zoe Kravitz is getting her turn at the feline villain. Zoe will be starring alongside Robert Robinson in The Batman, which is Matt Reeves’ reboot of the franchise. Ben Affleck stepped away from the film and Reeves decided to take it in a new direction, scaling back the years to make it a 90s flick. The young Batman will be a contrast to Affleck’s old one, and Zoe’s Selina Kyle will undoubtedly bring a new twist to the character. 

During an interview on the Questlove Supreme podcast, Zoe opened up about training for the iconic role. “It’s pretty intense. We started shooting two weeks ago, but before that I was in London for two months, just getting in shape, training, learning fights,” she stated. Back when she was cast in the role, Zoe spoke to Variety about the pressure she feels from fans.  “I was excited when I got the role, and usually when you get a job the people who are excited about it are you, your parents, your agent, your friends and that’s kind of it,” she explained. “But when the press release came, I got more text messages and calls than I’ve gotten on my birthday, on my wedding day. All of a sudden, the reality began to sink in about what this means not only to me, but to everybody else culturally — and the fans of this universe are so dedicated and opinionated.”

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Ben Affleck is not ready to jump back into the Batsuit. The veteran actor played The Dark Knight in three films, Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and Suicide Squad. He quit after having a mental break and headed to rehab for alcohol once again. Sober and happy, Affleck is on the road promoting his new film The Way Back. The plot of the film follows a widowed alcoholic trying to redeem himself as a basketball coach for youth. In a recent interview DeWayne Hamby, Affleck is asked whether he would dawn the cape and cowl ever again. 

He stumbles over his words at first before stating, “I had an opportunity to write and direct and kind of star in a standalone Batman, and it just happened at a point in my life where I kind of lost interest in those stories.” Sometimes, it looks like he is trying to convince himself more than he is trying to convince that interviewer. “I’ll go see Robert’s,” he continued, “I think it’s going to be great, he’s great.” When Hamby suggests that Affleck plays Batman 20 years from now in an adaptation of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns he seems willing. Maybe we will see Affleck back in the Batcave in the future. 

Jared Leto and Margot Robbie starred alongside Will Smith in Suicide Squad. It was a box office hit although it was heavily criticized by fans and critics alike. It was like people just went to see it for Robbie, who is perfect as Harley Quinn. She took her role as the sexy criminal even further with last month’s Birds of Prey film, which had a rough opening week but recovered down the line. DC is still chugging along with its cinematic universe, which is splintered and uninviting at this point. Their films that exist outside of their connected universe (such as Joker and the new Batman film) look to be pushing DC back in the right direction though. The company hopes that The Suicide Squad, a spiritual sequel to the previous film, will help that push. 

James Gunn, who was famously fired then re-hired by Disney, joined the DC ranks before he returned to Marvel for Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Gunn took to Instagram to announce the end of filming for The Suicide Squad, and got pretty candid about his experience making the film. “And that’s a wrap on #TheSuicideSquad,” he wrote as a caption. “My father died two weeks before we started filming and my dog died two weeks before the end. It was a hard, hard time in my life and yet the most fulfilling time I’ve ever had making a movie. The professionalism, talent, compassion and kindness of this cast and crew inspired me every day.” The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Idris Elba, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, John Cena, Pete Davidson, and more. It is slated for release next Summer.

"The Batman"'s new batsuit was revealed by director Matt Reeves on Thursday, when he shared a camera test of Robert Pattinson as the title character on social media. In the brief clip, fans get a glimpse of Pattinson as Batman donning the latest version of the DC superhero's famous costume.

Reeves also revealed that the score playing during the red-tinted clip was crafted by his frequent collaborator and Academy Award-winning composer, Michael Giacchino. In October, Reeves orchestrated a mock proposal to Giacchino in order to lock down the composer for the project. The Batman will mark Reeves' and Giacchino's fifth time working together.

It looks like Birds of Prey will not be soaring as high as expected at the box office. The DC Extended Universe film is projected to bank only $12.6 million on Friday, which puts it on track for a $33.5 million opening weekend. This falls short of previous estimates, as noted by Deadline, which had the film performing within the $50 million to $55 million range. While Warner Brothers anticipated an opening weekend closer to $45 million, the film would still fail to meet these expectations. Thursday night previews were a bust as well, raking in a measly $4 million which is actually included in Friday’s $12.6 million estimate. As Birds of Prey had a budget of $80 million, these Friday night estimates present the possibility that the female-led film will ultimately cost the studio money. 

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The international box office projections for Birds of Prey were also a lot higher than the ultimate opening weekend results, with an estimate of $60 million to $70 million. These estimates appear to have been wishful thinking, as Birds of Prey only grossed $7.8 million between Wednesday and Thursday from 51 international markets. The Margot Robbie lead film’s lowering score on Rotten Tomatoes may be a reflection of these disparities. When the previews were released, the film had a high score of 92%, but it has dropped 10% since the film premiered to 82%. Birds of Prey stars Margot Robbie reprising her role as Harley Quinn from 2016’s Suicide Squad. Alongside Margot are Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Huntress, Jurnee Smollett-Bell as Black Canary, Rosie Perez as Renee Montoya, and Ewan McGregor as Black Mask.

Following the lackluster reception of Suicide Squad (2016) upon its release, Warner Bros. needed a film to help reenergize the movie franchise which is set to release its second installment in 2021. The DC Universe team went to work curating a Suicide Squad spin-off centered around the Joker's accomplice and lover, Harley Quinn, entitled, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) which is set to hit theaters around the globe next week. Now, with press screenings and Warner Bros. in full promo mode for their latest creation, viewers of the early screenings are claiming that Birds of Prey is some of the best work to come out of the DC Universe in recent history. 

It's official, Ben Affleck's reign as The Bat has officially come to an end as production for The Batman (2021) starring Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne began Monday (Jan. 27). This shouldn't come as a surprise for comic book-themed music fans as Warner Bros. and company had revealed that the former Twilight star would be donning the infamous black suit early last year. However, suiting up as one of the world's most coveted superheroes comes an extreme amount of criticism.