Welcome back to Collider’s “This Week in Superhero News”! The place to go to find the latest news of each week regarding the various superhero projects in movies, television, and other mediums. Trying to keep up with all of the superhero news that drop daily can be a daunting task, so we make it easier for you by compiling them in one place. The superhero news of this week includes the Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey spinoff finding a screenwriter, theX-Menfranchise being “reconfigured”,Deadpool 3reportedly already being in the works,Elodie Yungreturning as Elektra forThe Defenders, and the newestLoganimage. Get caught up below.
Harley Quinn/Birds of Prey Spinoff Movie Lands Screenwriter
After seeingSuicide Squad, the move to give standout character Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) her own standalone film made plenty of sense, more so that Warner Bros./DC are making the spinoff movie a priority. We got a sign of that urgency this week with the news that the project has set up-and-coming screenwriterChristina Hodsonto pen the script. According to reports, Hodson is set to write the screenplay for the untitled Harley Quinn spinoff, which will also reportedly include DC’s female team-up the Birds of Prey. Hodson’s work includes the recently released thrillerShut In, starringNaomi WattsandJacob Tremblay, and she’s also penned theBumblebeespinoff for Paramount. A release date or any other timeline information about the female-centric film is yet to be revealed.
‘X-Men’: Franchise Being “Reconfigured”; Bryan Singer Not Returning
TheX-Menfranchise has come a long way since its debut withBryan Singer’sX-Menback in 2000, but after the performance of this year’sX-Men: Apocalypseit looks like the mutant franchise willundergo some changes moving forward. It’s being reported that the mainX-Menfranchise is being “reconfigured” over at Fox, with Singer not returning for a sequel since he has moved on to other projects. Also to be noted is that the contracts forJennifer Lawrence,Michael Fassbender, andJames McAvoyhave come to a close, but writer/producerSimon Kinbergis writing a new screenplay with the optimism that the trio would return to reprise their roles. It’s looking like Fox has quite a lot of planning to do and time will tell us where they decide to take their X-Men universe.
‘Deadpool 3’ in the Works, Will Reportedly Feature X-Force
The sequel to this year’s successful R-rated superhero filmDeadpoolhit a few bumps recently when it was revealed that directorTim Millerand composerJunkie XLhad dropped out, but it looks like those setbacks haven’t shaken the studio too much with the reveal that Fox isalready working onDeadpool 3. According to the same report on the status of theX-Menfranchise, Fox has plenty of faith in Deadpool and even with the recent obstacles, the studio is already developingDeadpool 3. The third installment featuring the Merc with a Mouth is also reportedly featuring X-Force, the mutant team led by popular X-Men character Cable. With the retirement ofHugh Jackmanas Wolverine inLogan,Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool seems to be the character Fox is looking to take the torch, and at this point it’s the most suitable choice, so plans forDeadpool 3don’t come as much of a surprise.
‘The Defenders’: Elodie Yung to Return as Elektra
Netflix’s upcoming Marvel miniseriesThe Defendershas already been announced to have plenty of characters fromDaredevil,Jessica Jones,Luke Cage, andIron Fist, and this week we got the announcement of the newest player being added withElodie Yungreturning as Elektra. A social media announcement confirmed the addition of Yung toThe Defenders, and if you remember where we left her character inDaredevilSeason 2, this announcement presents a lot of questions. Elektra was a big part of the second season ofDaredeviland the character stood out along with Yung’s performance, so her addition has to be seen as a plus. What still intrigues me the most is how all these characters will mix together and what exactly will make the team up in the first place.
‘Logan’: Wolverine Bathes in the Moonlight in New Image
At this point we should get up each week expecting to see a new image fromLogan, but you’ll see no complains here. If anything, these images are making me wish we get a black-and-white version of this film at some point. Thelatest imagecoming out of theLogancamp features Wolverine standing in the moonlight outside of a house beside the body of someone we can only assume is no longer breathing, a Reaver perhaps. By itself the picture is very pleasing to the eye, but like other images, the most interesting aspects are the questions it poses. Who is on the ground? Is that Logan’s house and he was attacked there? Is Logan hunting someone in that house? The image also calls back moments of the amazing trailer we recently got, so there might be bits of context there.
