News Of The Week: 'The Batman' DP Offers Updates & Black Widow Passes The Torch

Hollywood was on temporary pause but productions are gearing back up, new releases are soon to hit theaters, and things are slowly starting to return to normal – or at least, our temporary new normal. Entertainment news has once again begun to drop with regularity. In case you missed it, here’s all the best news and tidbits from the last week.

Let’s hop to it.

‘The Invisible Man’ Director Leigh Whannell To Direct Ryan Gosling In ‘Wolfman’

After his legit success with The Invisible Man earlier this year, Universal is returning to Leigh Whannell to direct its next Universal Classic Monster movie in development. He’s been tapped to direct Wolfman with Ryan Gosling already set to star. The script, written by Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo, is reportedly a tense horror-thriller with a tone that’s a cross between Network and Nightcrawler. Seeing what Whannell has done with The Invisible Man and Upgrade has us excited to see what he and Gosling will do together with Wolfman.

Jude Law Set To Play Captain Hook In Disney’s Live-Action ‘Peter Pan’ Movie

Jude Law is reportedly set to carry on the long and honored tradition of sexy Captain Hooks. He’s been cast as Captain Hook in Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Peter Pan, titled Peter Pan & Wendy. David Lowery, who previously directed the Pete’s Dragon remake for Disney, is on board to direct. This could be a really fun role for Law, who excels at balancing charm, and menace in equal measure. If he really leans into the campy villain aspect, it could be wildly entertaining.

‘The Batman’ Cinematographer Greig Fraser Says It Will Be A Story About Alfred And Bruce Wayne

We don’t know much about the story of The Batman so far, other than that it’s not an origin story but takes place in Bruce Wayne’s early years of being Batman. But director of photography Greig Fraser offered some interesting updates in a recent interview. Notably, he indicated that the story will be as much about Alfred Pennyworth’s character as Bruce Wayne/Batman. If that’s the case, it could offer us one of our most interesting and in-depth exploration of Batman’s character yet and the chance to see how he’s viewed through Alfred’s eyes.

‘Black Widow’ Will Be The Sendoff For Natasha Romanoff We Didn’t Get In ‘Endgame’

Though Avengers: Endgame was universally beloved, plenty of fans have a bone to pick with it. Specifically, that Natasha Romanoff never got a funeral or a proper goodbye after her sacrifice to save the world. But Black Widow director Cate Shortland assures us that Nat’s solo movie will offer the character the proper sendoff she deserves and fans proper closure. What’s more, it will find Natasha potentially passing the torch to a new Marvel female hero in the form of Yelena Belova, played by Florence Pugh. In the comics, after Natasha’s death, Yelena takes up the Black Widow mantle as a means to honor her friend. Could we see the same in the MCU?

Henry Cavill Pumps The Brakes On The Reports Of Him Returning As Superman

Womp womp. Just as it seemed as though things were looking up in regard to getting Henry Cavill back in the DCEU as Superman, the man himself pumped the brakes. Recently, reports have said that he’s in talks to reprise his role in multiple DC movies, but Cavill shot those rumors down. It was then revealed that it’s not quite as easy as it seems because contract negotiations have been complicated. Hopefully, Warner Bros. and Cavill’s camp can work something out because it would be great to see him back in the big, red cape again.

An Animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Is On The Way From Seth Rogen

Here’s a neat project: Seth Rogen’s production company, Point Grey Pictures, is teaming up with Nickelodeon Animation for an animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. Neighbors screenwriter Brendan O’Brian is writing the script and Jeff Rowe, who is currently co-directing the Chris Miller& Phil Lord animated movie, Connected, is set to direct. The movie, set to be released by Paramount, is the first theatrical release from Nickelodeon Animation. The animation studio has a long and successful history with TMNT, reviving the franchise with a CG-animated series in 2012, as well as a 2D series, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, that launched in 2018. Currently, they’re developing a film for Netflix based on that series. It will be interesting to see their take on this new Rogen-produced movie.

The Russos Made Tom Holland Watch The OG Star Wars When They Learned He’d Never Seen It

It’s easy to forget how young Tom Holland is. Like…really, really young. So young that he’d never seen the original Star Wars trilogy prior to shooting his first Marvel scenes in Captain America: Civil War. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo were blown away by what a blank slate he was, and made him watch the OG trilogy. In case you’re wondering, yes, Spider-Man’s Empire Strikes Back reference during the airport battle scene in Civil War was inspired by Holland’s youth and him having never seen it before.

Zoë Kravitz Explains Why Robert Pattinson Is A Perfect Batman For Our Time

Some doubters (I am not one of them) are still on the fence about Robert Pattinson playing Batman, still thinking of him as “that Twilight guy.” But costar Zoë Kravitz, who is playing Catwoman in The Batman, brought up an excellent point as to why Pattinson is basically born to play a modern Batman in Matt Reeves’ take on the character. “He started out as this kind of teen pop sensation, and then I think we all kind of saw through his work that there was a lot more going on,” she explained. “He’s a really interesting artist, and that is very much Batman in a way. We have the illusion of Bruce Wayne, and then we have Batman in the shadows that has a lot more complicated things going on. So just in that, I think he’s perfect for this role. He can relate in that way.”

Elizabeth Banks Will Play Ms. Frizzle In Live-Action Adaptation Of ‘The Magic School Bus’

Actor-writer-director-producer powerhouse Elizabeth Banks is set for a role that seems tailor-made for her. She’ll be playing Ms. Frizzle in a live-action adaptation of The Magic School Bus, based on the Scholastic children’s book series that became a popular animated TV series in the 90s. The story of TMSB follows the adventures of the intrepid Ms. Frizzle and her students as they went on field trips in their magic bus that could turn into plane, a submarine, a spaceship, or even a surfboard as they learned about history, science, and different locations. We’re picturing some Effie Trinket hair for the role.

Margot Robbie Is Set To Lead New ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Movie For Disney

Margot Robbie has proven herself to be one of the most powerful and influential new Hollywood A-listers. With a number of high-profile projects under her belt, she’s soon to work with Disney for the first time. Robbie has been cast as the lead in a new spinoff set in the world of Pirates of the Caribbean with a script to be penned by her frequent collaborator, Christina Hodson. That movie is separate from the franchise reboot currently in development from Craig Mazin and Ted Elliott. Margot Robbie as a swashbuckling pirate? Yes, please!

A ‘Twister’ Reboot Is In The Works At Universal

Break out your rock soundtracks, everyone, because the ’90s disaster genre is officially being resurrected. Right on the heels of the announcement of Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall, Universal has announced they’re setting up their own disaster flick with a reboot of Twister. Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski is in talks to direct. The original 1996 Twister, which followed a storm-chasing couple on the brink of divorce, was a monster hit thanks in large part to the groundbreaking special effects of the time. Will Universal be able to capture lightning in a bottle again with special effects no longer being new or surprising? We’ll see!

Last but not least, check out our new Quick Hits column, which rounds up all the bits and bobs of news that don’t quite make the cut for a full article but are still interesting updates: