#1 – Elseworlds Joker movie, plus Shazam!, Aquaman, and Birds of Prey

On the first episode of the DC Drop podcast, we break down all the big movie and TV news from the week in DC.

Joker

Joker origin film officially moving forward at WB – The Hollywood Reporter

Will be set outside the DCEU and under a new banner of DC films
Joaquin Phoenix has finalized a contract to star as the Joker
Todd Phillips to direct (Road Trip, Old School, The Hangover Trilogy, War Dogs)
Phillips and Scott Silver (8 Mile, The Fighter) co-wrote the script
Emma Tillinger Koskoff will produce and Richard Baratta will executive produce; no mention of Martin Scorsese
Described by studio as an “exploration of a man disregarded by society [that] is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.”
Will begin filming in New York this September with a budget in the $55 million range
No release date, could release in late 2019

Joaquin Phoenix talks about the role with Collider

Is very picky choosing roles – was excited talking to Todd Phillips and that the movie “scares” him
Told his agent years ago the idea of lower-budget character pieces for big characters

Shazam! and Black Adam

First officially official look at Shazam! – Entertainment Weekly

Larger photo here
Shows Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Shazam! (Zachary Levi) sipping Cola (not Soder) outside of a convenience store
Very similar to a scene in the New 52 Shazam!

Djimon Hounsou cast in Shazam! as the Wizard – Entertainment Weekly

“Scheduling conflict” made Ron Cephas Jones unavailable for the part
Hounsou is known for In America and Blood Diamond (Academy Award nominated for Best Supporting Actor in both)
Also in Alias, Constantine (2005 as Papa Midnite), Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel as Korath

Dwayne Johnson tells Syfy that Black Adam will not cameo in Shazam!, but hopes they meet up in the future

Dwayne Johnson talks Black Adam with FilmStarts (translated from German)

Is filming Jumanji and Red Notice in 2019 first, “possibly” with Black Adam later in the year
“It’s coming along great, the script is coming along great. I’m very happy with it. I think it’s a really interesting time right now with Warner Bros. and DC as they revamp and kind of re-strategize and re-organize internally and their vision and I think it’s an exciting time for those guys and to be a part of that is exciting. So, with Black Adam, you really want to take your time.”
“The goal is the universe all collides. That’s the great thing with DC and Black Adam. So, without giving anything away, there might be – maybe a cameo or two from other DC super heroes, we’ll see. That’s been the beauty of Black Adam as we’ve been developing it. We could make a movie that just stood on its own as well.”
Shazam, Superman, Wonder Woman?

Aquaman

First look at the royal palace of the Fisherman King – Entertainment Weekly

Larger photo here
Shows the king, queen, princess, and a royal guard
Djimon Hounsou will also play the Fisherman King
Have tails instead of legs
Producer Peter Safran – “After the fall of Atlantis, some of the kingdoms evolved and some devolved. This is one that evolved. This is a kingdom that’s primarily artistic and cerebral, with poets and philosophers.”

Birds of Prey

Margot Robbie talks about upcoming Birds of Prey film – Flickering Myth

R-rated with lower-budget, confirmed that it will start filming in January 2019
(Flickering Myth on YouTube) – Calls it Birds of Prey, which she is producing; isn’t involved with development of other Harley Quinn films
Yahoo Movies – will have lots of characters for Harley to interact with, will have a new costume
Fandom on YouTube – Margot Robbie talks about the characters she wants, unexplored DC female characters, “The ones that excite me the most don’t have powers.”
The Wrap’s Umberto Gonzalez on Twitter (Tweet 2) – “BATGIRL is NOT in #BIRDSOFPREY. They didn’t say that on the record, rather Justin tweeted. Profound difference. Was decided recently no Batgirl. Attention to detail, I didn’t say Barbara Gordon, I said Batgirl.”

Warner Archive announces they will be releasing Supergirl (1984) on blu-ray for the first time on July 24th

Will include 125 minute “international cut” on blu-ray and 138 minute “director’s cut” (not exactly) on DVD; does not include 105 minute U.S. theatrical cut
Bonus features include Director’s commentary, Making of featurette and theatrical trailer
Steel (1997) is only live-action DC Comics film not yet released on blu-ray

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Sarah Vickers join the cast of HBO’s Watchmen pilot – Deadline

Cast of FX’s Y: The Last Man pilot announced- (The Hollywood Reporter)

Barry Keoghan (Dunkirk) will play Yorick Brown, the last man on Earth
Diane Lane (Man of Steel) will play Senator Jennifer Brown, Yorick’s mother
Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield and Marin Ireland will also star
Description from FX – “Y traverses a post-apocalyptic world in which a cataclysmic event has decimated every male mammal save for one lone human. The new world order of women will explore gender, race, class and survival.”

Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe to the podcast to never miss a new episode.