A member of the Justice League has a secret tie to Darkseid. The live-action Aladdin makes its best decision yet. Plus, The Magicians producers talk about the latest shocking episode, and Barry’s behind bars in new Flash images. Read ahead, because in this instalment, one of these spoilers die!
Aladdin
In an interview with Collider, producer Dan Lin confirmed the upcoming live-action remake of Disney’s Aladdin will actually hire actors of Middle Eastern descent, rather than whitewashing the characters. In Lin’s own words:
…when I came in to make the movie, I wanted to make a diverse version of the movie. Luckily for me Guy Ritchie has the same vision and Disney has the same vision, so we’re not here to make Prince of Persia.
Aladdin and Jasmine may also be portrayed by relative unknowns, Lin added:
We’re gonna be discovering new people because it’s a real challenge, because not only does an actor have to act, but they really have to have singing chops.
Justice League
In the new issue of Total Film, director Zack Snyder revealed the events that turned Victor Stone into Cyborg in Batman vs Superman actually turned him into a living, breathing Mother Box — the third to be revealed so far in the DCEU, although the same article hints at there just being three in entirety of the universe.
In the comics, the Mother Boxes are devices that open portals to the two realms that comprise Jack Kirby’s famous “Fourth World” comic books. There’s the mostly respectable New Genesis, and its evil counterpart, Apokolips, ruled by the notorious despot, Darkseid. One of Darkseid’s henchmen, Steppenwolf, is rumoured to be the main villain of Justice League, so roping the erstwhile Teen Titan in as a narrative device is a pretty smart choice.
Meanwhile, Gal Gadot recently consoled an anxious fan on Facebook, promising a new trailer is coming “soon”.
World War Z II
Despite being removed from Paramount’s release schedule, The Hollywood Reporter claims the sequel’s rumoured director, David Fincher, is still “very creatively interested in directing the movie”. If Fincher is indeed on board and passionate about the project, this is probably its best chance at finally getting the green light.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Josh Gad has now roped Dame Judi Dench into pestering the long-suffering Daisy Ridley for spoilers. True to her non-disclosure agreement with Disney — which is probably written in blood and bound in human flesh — she remains tight-lipped.
Stranger Things
And Eleven’s major change is… her hair! Check out Millie Bobby Brown’s new Colin Baker-ish ‘do on the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Actually, it’s probably more of an homage to Ellen Ripley in Aliens, but still.
Cloak & Dagger
Marvel and Freeform have decided to film the series in New Orleans. Jeph Loeb confirmed the decision in a press release:
Louisiana delivers the perfect creative landscape for Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger as well as providing exceptional resources for production talent and a business-friendly environment.
[KNOE]
The OA
Good news: Netflix has renewed the series for a second season — or “Part II”, as they’re calling it.
[TV Line]
Travellers
Likewise, Netflix has renewed the Canadian time travel series for a second season. [Spoiler TV]
The Magicians
Executive Producer Sera Gamble confirms that following the events of the latest episode, Alice is really and truly dead:
Her death is really what propels the characters, especially Quentin, from that point. And while we don’t feel beholden to the story exactly as it lays out in the books, we did want to tell our iteration of that story.
However, series regular Olivia Taylor Dudley is not leaving the show. Co-producer John McNamara that he and Gamble are “very much” looking for ways to keep her around:
Oh yeah, people can be really dead on the show. Some of them are, and some of them aren’t. Later in the season, we explore pretty fully the architecture of the afterlife.
[TV Line]
Sleepy Hollow
Ichabod goes up against Molly’s not-so imaginary friend in the official synopsis for episode nine of the season, “Child’s Play”.
When a monster appears that resembles Molly’s childhood imaginary friend, Diana realises her daughter’s life as a Witness will be anything but normal. Meanwhile, Molly gets her chance to see the vault for the first time
The Flash
Preview images from “Welcome to Gorilla City” show the cast behind bars, presumably within the titular city of gorillas. There’s more at the link. [Coming Soon]
Legends of Tomorrow
A new gallery of images from the next episode, “Camelot 3000”, have been released. Neal McDonough in all black medieval armour is delightful. Once again, click through to see more. [Coming Soon]
The Expanse
New pictures and a very brief official synopsis for episode five of the second season, “Home”, have been released:
The Rocinate chases an asteroid as it hurtles toward Earth.
Once Upon a Time
It might be a work in progress, but the rumoured musical episode of the season might just simply be titled “The Musical Episode”. Rather literal, don’t you think?
#INFO #PHOTO #SPOILERS #Season6
6×20 aka “The Muscial Episode”via Paul Becker’s Instagram Story. pic.twitter.com/Pi4nb9LZbh
— Source OUAT FR (@OUAT_Source_FR) February 8, 2017
The Vampire Diaries
Finally, here’s some heartfelt goodbyes from the cast on their last day of filming the show.
And that’s a wrap on Bonnie Bennett! Thank you to all the amazing fans for all your love ❤️ https://t.co/mqM9PmYQAA
— Kat Graham (@KatGraham) February 9, 2017
Additional reporting by Gordon Jackson. Banner design by Jim Cooke.