Over the past few years Nicolas Winding Refn has steadily worked his way up from directing indie’s such as Bronson with Tom Hardy, to much larger indie fare such as Drive, which is currently getting high praise from critics.

His next project is a remake of Logan’s Run for Warner Bros. which re-teams him with Ryan Gosling. It will be his most high-profile movie to date, and if he nails it he could get an offer to enter the world of superheroes. More specifically, Wonder Woman.

Refn recently told The Playlist:

“I would love to make ‘Wonder Woman.’ And I also think that Christina Hendricks would be the perfect Wonder Woman, but Warner Bros haven’t called yet. But I’m getting closer with ‘Logan’s Run.’ I think someone said to me in a meeting that if I get ‘Logan’s Run’ right, then I’ll get ‘Wonder Woman.’”

In the past there have been a number of starts and stops with Wonder Woman on-screen. Megan Gale was set to play the character in Justice League: Mortal back in 2008, however Warner Bros. (thankfully) scrapped that movie. NBC recently shot a pilot for a Wonder Woman TV series starring Adrianne Palicki as the titular heroine, but NBC announced that it would not be picking up the series.

A Nicolas Winding Refn-directed Wonder Woman movie could be interesting. He’s obviously passionate about it, which is a good thing, and he’s also a good director, which Wonder Woman will need. In the past studios haven’t taken female superheroes seriously. While Warner Bros. were courting Christopher Nolan for Batman Begins they had a visual effects supervisor in charge of Catwoman. A female-driven superhero film could easily compete with the likes of Iron Man and Superman if studios hire the right people.

You can read Refn’s ideas for his potential Wonder Woman movie here.

Read similar posts to Nicolas Winding Refn could take on Wonder Woman after Logan’s Run at Filmonic

Christopher Nolan’s decision to draw his Batman trilogy to a close next year is a problem for Warner Bros. The studio is already losing Harry Potter this summer, and with their only proven DC franchise on its final stretch they need to plan ahead for 2013 and beyond.

Warner Bros. President Alan Horn is retiring this week, and will be replaced by Jeff Robinov. In a new interview on the future of the studio Robinov said he plans to fill the void with more DC characters, including a Justice Leage movie, and he also intends to reboot the Batman franchise.

From Hero Complex:

“We have the third Batman, but then we’ll have to reinvent Batman…Chris Nolan and [producing partner and wife] Emma Thomas will be producing it, so it will be a conversation with them about what the next phase is.”

The world was given Batman movies before Batman Begins, so it is was inevitable that we would get more after The Dark Knight Rises. Nolan staying on as producer will be encouraging to some fans, but I think they should leave it a few years before giving us another Batman with a new director and new actor in the role.

There is a possibility that the Batman reboot could have connections to other plans by the studio:

Robinov said a new Justice League script is in the works. Also being written for Warner are scripts featuring the Flash and Wonder Woman, who could be spun off into their own movies after Justice League.

Warner Bros. tried making a Justice League movie in 2007/08 but it was hindered by the Writers Guild of America strike, tax credit issues in Australia, and concerns about having a new incarnation of Batman running alongside Nolan’s. Perhaps the end of Christian Bale’s run will allow Warner Bros. to introduce a new Batman that has connections with the Justice League.

What do you think about Warner Bros’ plans for a Batman reboot with Nolan involved, and the possibility of a Justice League movie?

Read similar posts to Batman reboot already planned at Warner Bros. at Filmonic

Over the next few years we will once again see Batman and Superman on the big screen, but for those waiting for a Justice League movie this DC Universe Online game may keep you occupied while Warner Bros. gets the ball rolling with Green Lantern, The Flash and Wonder Woman.

A six minute cinematic trailer for the MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) has been released, and it’s quite excellent (although the game itself will look normal).

You can pre-order DC Universe Online, which will be released in November, via these links:

PlayStation 3 | PC

I’ve often wondered why we haven’t seen a computer animated superhero movie. Obviously we have The Incredibles from Pixar, but we have yet to see an animated feature based on a well known superhero. There are a few advantages to this, one being you can do practically anything with a computer. Action scenes deemed too expensive for a normal movie can be added significantly cheap and easier with CGI, however there can be an emotional disconnect from audiences who prefer to see real human faces.

Read similar posts to DC Universe Online trailer at Filmonic

Nicolas Winding Refn, the Danish director behind the excellent Pusher trilogy and last year’s Bronson, was rumored to be in the running for directing duties on a Wonder Woman film for DC Entertainment. Movieline scored an exclusive interview with Refn, and asked him specifically about his potential take on how he would handle the mythical Princess Diana in a big budget film.

Wonder Woman, I really want to make. That, I’m hoping, will be my $200 million extravaganza — if I even get close to it. That’s why I say, “Well, let me go make Drive [a thriller shooting soon with Ryan Gosling]. Let me start the ball rolling within the system…The real origin of Wonder Woman is: What if women were more powerful than men? What would the world be like? That’s a subliminal theme…And where Wonder Woman on one hand is a great female character who can be included in many great fight scenes, she doesn’t have great villains against her. OK, so you create some. She doesn’t have a Joker or those classic Batmankinds of guys. But she does have her whole world that she comes from, which is fascinating. The whole idea of a woman who is basically more powerful than any man — and who will always be that, and comes from a society of women who are more powerful than men — is an interesting theme that I think can be very contemporary.

(Head over to Movieline for the full interview.)

Sounds like the director has a solid handle on his vision for the film. I think Refn would make a great addition to the superhero directors club; he could certainly add something to the genre we’ve never seen before. With the recent formation of DC Entertainment and the shifts in positions over there, I know the execs want to see a Wonder Woman film on the big screen. But will Refn be the one to direct it, or could this turn into another Joss Whedon fiasco? (Whedon famously wrote a script for the film and fought to get it made, but the project kept falling apart.)

Are you interested in a Wonder Woman movie directed by Nicolas Winding Refn? Sound off in the comments below. (And seriously – check out the Pusher trilogy if you haven’t seen it.)

Read similar posts to Nicolas Winding Refn talks about his potential Wonder Woman movie at Filmonic

In just over a years time the Harry Potter franchise will be coming to an end with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II in July (Part I this November). Over the past 10 years each Harry Potter film has provided Warner Bros. with over $900 million per outing, and thats without taking into account DVD/Blu-ray sales, merchandise etc. They will need to find another event franchise if they want to keep bringing in the $$$.

The only franchise they have at the moment that makes ridiculous amounts of money is Christoper Nolan’s Batman franchise, with The Dark Knight making just over $1 billion worldwide. Batman 3 is currently in development and should do rather well upon its release (2012?), however that is only one film. What tentpole movies will Warner Bros. be filling the summers of 2013 and beyond with?

Superheroes.

According to Collider, who attended a Warner Bros. presentation at the South by Southwest Film Festival, head honcho Alan Horn confirmed that Warner Bros. will be looking to make use of its DC comics library in order to fill the gapping hole left by Harry Potter. This means that over the upcoming year or so we could be hearing developments on movies such as The Flash, Wonder Woman and eventually a Justice League movie. We’ve heard hints of this before as Warner Bros. are planning to emulate Marvel by making solo movies, and then joining everyone up for a big team movie.

I’m not sure a single Wonder Woman or Flash movie will generate a Harry Potter-type box office return, but if they release two superhero movies a year they should end up making similar numbers. It’ll make fanboys happy too.

Read similar posts to DC superheroes to replace Harry Potter as Warner Bros’ big tentpole movies at Filmonic

Warner Bros. may have one of the most successful comic book franchises in Batman, and it may be about to launch a potential new one with Green Lantern, however Marvel are leaps ahead in the movie department. As we already know, they’ve got plans up until 2012 and beyond with The Avengers and possible sequels to Thor, Iron Man and Captain America.

DC, on the other hand, cancelled production Justice League: Mortal (for a number of reasons) and the rights to Superman are currently in a bit of a legal mess. However, things may be about to change. Time Warner announced today that Networks and Film businesses posted record profits this quarter, and a few hints as to where the DC films are headed were dropped in their conference call.

Tuna Amobi – Standard & Poor’s Equity Group

“…on the DC comics initiative it seems like you have a bunch of paddles in the [works] right now can you talk a little bit about the upcoming release strategy there I know you are working on Green Lantern then The Flash, Wonder, Justice League those titles any time frame and how you see the economics of the overall comics really this kind of affect in the studio margins as a whole and any multi platform implication would also be helpful for that area.”

Jeff Bewkes – Chairman & CEO

“If you go to your question on DC, we are going to have a fairly interesting set of announcements and presentations pretty soon like in a matter of weeks I think. About our plans for DC and basically if you look across the title of the whole band of hits whether its Batman, The Dark Knight, Green Lantern coming up, Superman, there have been a huge number of franchised films that have been part of the Warner [tent pole] strategy that’s been the reason for Warner’s unparallel high and consistent earnings advantage over the other studios and DC has already been a part of that and we are now going to outline an even more expansive plan for that in the coming months.”

It will be interesting to hear what they have to say in their big announcement, but it seems they are taking a leaf out of Marvel’s book and are working their way towards a big team movie with the Justice League. The next decade should be a good one for comic book movie lovers!

Read similar posts to DC films announcement in the upcoming weeks? at Filmonic

We have been getting lots of superhero movie news recently. Iron Man 2 and Green Lantern are edging closer to filming, and Marvel are starting to line up the dots for the big Avengers movie in 2012. However, if you look close enough you will realise one thing. It’s a cockfest. After the bad apples such as Catwoman, Elektra and Aeon Flux, studios have steered clear of female driven superhero movies. However now according to IESB the Wonder Woman movie is picking up speed at Warner Bros.

There was a regime change late last year over at Silver Pictures, Andrew Roma is now the man in charge and will be the man spearheading the live action Wonder Woman project along with mega producer Joel Silver.

Sources in the Burbank studios have confirmed there is quite a bit of movement on the WW front. With Green Lantern going into production this year, it looks like Princess Diana may finally get the go ahead from WB.

WB and Silver Pictures are in the early stages but they are eager to get started on the movie. Sources tell IESB that WB is looking for new writers on the project and have been taking pitches the last few weeks.

In the past there have been a number of starts and stops with the Wonder Woman movie. Megan Gale was set to play the character in Justice League: Mortal, however Warner Bros. have put the movie on told for the time being. They have made it clear that they want to follow Marvel’s lead by introducing the characters in solo movies and then joining them together in a movie further down the line. Green Lantern will be Warner Bros. first outing, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were planning on Wonder Woman to follow him.

Read similar posts to Wonder Woman film gaining momentum? at Filmonic

Usually when actors/celebrities/musicians drop hints at what role they want to play in interviews I don’t post it because that’s all they are, hints. However, in this case there is more than just hinting, meetings have taken place!

In an interview with the LA Times Beyoncé Knowles said she was interested in playing Wonder Woman, and has already spoke to DC and Warner Brothers.

“I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It’s time for that, right?”

Beyoncé says that she has met with representatives of DC Comics and Warner Bros. to express her interest in a major role in one of the many comic-book adaptations now in the pipeline.

Beyonce has been getting more involved with the acting world recently, after her role in Dreamgirls and two more movies being released by summer next year. Whether or not anything comes of these meetings is yet to be seen. It could just be the case that Beyonce is letting people know she is interested.

Read similar posts to Beyonce As Wonder Woman? at Filmonic

Justice League isn’t happening, Superman is getting a darker reboot and Batman is expected to make a third outing…so where does that leave Wonder Woman? Well producer Leonard Goldberg, who has been trying to make a Wonder Woman movie since the 70′s, gave an update to Splash Page:

“We’re waiting for the script to come in,” says producer Leonard Goldberg (”Charlie’s Angels”), who’s working on the film alongside Joel Silver.

One rumored possibility: the Wachowski brothers (”The Matrix,” “Speed Racer”). “At one time, Joel [Silver] said they might have an idea. But they got diverted to another project [and] never followed through,” he said, before adding, “There may come a time when they will be focused on ‘Wonder Woman’ and may come up with whatever their take on it was. They’re certainly very talented guys. Their vision for movies — whether they’re successful or not — is always singular.”

Goldberg claims he and Silver haven’t started discussing the lucky lass who’ll play the super-powered Amazon royal, but notes, “I would go with a right unknown. People are not, in my opinion, going to come [to the theater] for the actress. They’re going to come for Wonder Woman.”

Actress Megan Gale had been cast as Wonder Woman in the now dead Justice League movie, and I think she would be a great choice. I expect we could get a Wonder Woman movie within the next 7 years, as Warner Bros are working their way towards a Justice League movie where we already know the characters, unlike their previous plan which was to throw them at us in one giant mess of a movie.

Wonder Woman image from Overlander

Read similar posts to Wonder Woman Talk at Filmonic

A few days ago it was reported that Man of Steel, the sequel to Superman Returns, was not going anywhere over at Warner Bros. Today we have a new development. Warner Bros. Pictures Group President Jeff Robinov told The Wall Street Journal that the studio is going to be reintroducing Superman.

Warner Bros. also put on hold plans for another movie starring multiple superheroes — known as “Batman vs. Superman” — after the $215 million “Superman Returns,” which had disappointing box-office returns, didn’t please executives. “‘Superman’ didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to,” says Mr. Robinov. “It didn’t position the character the way he needed to be positioned.” “Had ‘Superman’ worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009,” he adds. “But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”

The article goes on to talk about other DC properties Warner Bros will be developing.

With “Batman vs. Superman” and “Justice League” stalled, Warner Bros. has quietly adopted Marvel’s model of releasing a single film for each character, and then using those movies and their sequels to build up to a multicharacter film. “Along those lines, we have been developing every DC character that we own,” Mr. Robinov says.

Like the recent Batman sequel — which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far — Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as “The Dark Knight.” Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.’ DC properties. “We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he says. That goes for the company’s Superman franchise as well.

The studio is set to announce its plans for future DC movies in the next month. For now, though, it is focused on releasing four comic-book films in the next three years, including a third Batman film, a new film reintroducing Superman, and two movies focusing on other DC Comics characters. Movies featuring Green Lantern, Flash, Green Arrow, and Wonder Woman are all in active development.

I didn’t see Superman Returns because it didn’t appeal to me, so I am up for Warner Bros rebooting Superman and making him darker, as that seems to be the way forward with comic book movies. The announcement that Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the rest will also be dark is good news, although when I first read it I was rather disturbed that they are aiming for darkness with all of them. Does a comic book movie need to be dark, serious and depressing to be considered good?

(PS. It’s a good job Brandon Routh has managed to get other acting gigs, otherwise he would have been screwed)

(Cool Superman image from JPRart)

Read similar posts to Superman Reboot Confirmed. DC Getting Darker! at Filmonic