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Comic Movies Update
By Avi Weinryb
November 1, 2007 - 01:45

Wolverine is one of the many comic properties with a film in production

Some filmed adaptations of comic books are horrendous, while others are not too shabby. This past week has been a trying time for comic fans as a bunch of announcements have been made regarding numerous properties and their shifting production statuses. What follows is a breakdown of some of the more popular comic properties in development and production. Plus one that seems to be going nowhere:

Wonder Woman

The movie is currently dead. According to Sci-Fi Wire , the film is no longer in Joel Silver’s production schedule. It looks like the Justice League of America movie will come first.

Justice League of America

This property seems to have new life. George Miller has been announced as director, and auditions are currently underway. From what has been leaked so far, it does not seem that Brandon Routh or Christian Bale will reprise their respective roles from the current Superman and Batman films. Ain’t It Cool News has been performing an exemplary job in the spoiler/rumour department.

Hellboy II : The Golden Army

The elaborate sets have been described as gorgeous. With a majority of the original film’s cast and crew returning for another round of mayhem, this film promises to be an explosive experience. And word has it that there will be a lot more action on display when this sequel is released in 2008.

The Flash

It looks like there may be a Flash movie after all. After David S. Goyer dropped out of the project a while back, it did not look like it was headed anywhere. Now MTV’s Movie Blog is revealing that director David Dobkins is going to helm a post-JLA movie that will star the scarlet speedster. Dobkins has experience making comedies such as Wedding Crashers and the upcoming Fred Claus . Should fans be concerned? Give it a couple years and we’ll see.

Green Lantern

With Flash and Green Lantern always side by side within the DC Comics mythos, it comes as no surprise that their movie announcements fell within a few days of each other. Variety has reported that Greg Berlanti will direct from a script written by himself

and Marc Guggenheim and Michael Green. Some fans are still trying to figure out why comic writer Geoff Johns has not been given the opportunity, after having proven that he knows how to pen cinematic, epic tales featuring the ring slinging hero.

Some readers will recall the rumours of a comedy GL film, with Jack Black attached to star. You can all breathe a sigh of relief now. Also, word has it that the Green Lantern film will feature classic hero Hal Jordan as the star, rather than John Stewart, the Lantern in the upcoming JLA movie.

Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. will be flying through the sky in May when Iron Man is released. The trailer has been a big hit with fans, and the recently released teaser poster looks fantastic. With a good filmmaker and a strong cast, could this be the next big franchise for Marvel Entertainment?

Spider-Man 4

James Vanderbilt is the latest hire for screenwriting duties, according to Entertainment Weekly . If the Writer’s Guild strike interferes, what will Vanderbilt do with his time? Review the gaping flaws in the script for Spider-Man 3 ? It could help.

Watchmen

Man, this film is really under wraps. No fresh news on this front.

The Dark Knight

This sequel to Batman Begins will soon be revealed in a follow-up to the recent teaser trailer. Apparently there are some scenes that take place in Hong Kong. A slew of photos leaked onto the net a while back. The July 2008 release seems so far away!

The Incredible Hulk

The film came to shoot in Toronto for the last few months, and some members of the Comic Book Bin’s Toronto team (myself included) managed to crash the set. It was

Say hello to Bruce Banner

kind of surreal seeing New York cabs and buses in Toronto – especially when one of said cabs was embedded into the side of a burnt out bus! In between long bouts of setups for the future CGI effects, cars were blown up and extras ran around screaming.

One of the film’s many action sequences will include tons of exploding cars, smashed buses, and a lot of soldiers. And I mean a lot. The casting team did plenty of scouring for some of the Toronto sets, and some army base sequences were shot just outside the city… at an actual army base near Trenton, Ontario. While actor Edward Norton was in town filming, Eric Bana, the star of the previous Hulk incarnation, was also in the neighborhood. No word on whether they got together for some green tea.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Our pals at Variety recently reported that the Wolverine flick will be hitting theatres on May 1^st , 2009. Shooting is expected to take place in Australia, New Zealand, and New Orleans. Will New Zealand’s snowy mountain tops be a stand-in for the title character’s home in Canada? It’s too early to tell. After a lot of success filming the X-Men franchise in Canada, it’s sad to see crews head elsewhere. This change is likely being caused by a combination of the strengthened Canadian dollar and the new tax breaks being implemented by the Aussie government. Adamantium isn’t cheap, you know.

Elektra II: Elektra Boogaloo

Just kidding.

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Avi is an editor and feature writer at the Comic Book Bin.