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Every frame of The People’s Joker, the debut feature from Vera Drew, drips with an anarchist spirit. In theaters now, the film began as a lark during the COVID-19 lockdown, a gag that poked fun at the endlessly rebooted Batman franchise and its iconic lead villain the Joker. It eventually grew into a feature-length film with Drew as its lead Joker and enlisted dozens of friends and collaborators to create the dynamic, varied visual style.

Joker, its highly anticipated sequel is coming soon, with the first trailer having just been dropped.Warner Bros. have just released the first look at Joker: Folie à Deux, which will premiere in UK cinemas from 4 October.

Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker – which was pulled from TIFF in 2022 over “rights issues” — starts a theatrical debut today at the IFC Center, moving to LA’s Landmark’s Nuart next weekend and expanding thereafter with about 85 booking so far — a nice outcome for the mixed-media coming-of-age dark superhero parody that “had gone into into hibernation mode” until Outfest LA Film Festival, said Frank Jaffe, whose distribution company Altered Innocence acquired it then. It’s U.S premiere garnered a Special Mention in the North American Narrative Feature Competition.

The Batman’s first spin-off series The Penguin is set to debut later this year.Created by Lauren LeFranc (Impulse), the series sees Colin Farrell reprise his role as Oswald Cobblepot aka the Penguin, and follows the character’s rise to power in Gotham City’s criminal underworld.The show takes place one week after events in 2022’s The Batman directed by Matt Reeves, who serves as a producer on the spin-off series.Other confirmed cast members include Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone, Clancy Brown as Salvatore Maroni, Michael Zegen as Alberto Falcone and Michael Kelly as Johnny Vitti.While nothing has been confirmed, there’s every possibility that Batman will make an appearance in the series.As a continuation from The Batman, it’s likely this series will tee up events for the upcoming sequel, The Batman Part 2 – which is scheduled to be released on October 2, 2026. As such, it makes sense for Robert Pattinson to make some kind of fleeting appearance to drive excitement, whether as Batman or as Bruce Wayne.There’s a chance other characters from the original film could make guest appearances too, including Zoe Kravitz’ Catwoman and Jeffrey Wright’s James Gordon.Max released a trailer for the series in March – check it out above.This isn’t the only spin-off show in the pipeline, with a series about Arkham Asylum also in development from The Staircase showrunner Antonio Campos.In a four-star review of The Batman, NME wrote: “Director Matt Reeves has mixed up gritty mob drama with film-noir detective thriller – and thanks to Dano’s ultra-creepy villain, some psychological horror too.

didn’t steal the plot for its 2022 blockbuster “The Batman” from a writer who created a story about the Caped Crusader three decades earlier, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday.US District Judge Paul Engelmayer also said the writer Christopher Wozniak infringed copyrights belonging to DC Comics, which employed him as a freelance artist in 1990 when he wrote “The Ultimate Riddle,” later retitled “The Blind Man’s Hat.”“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and are considering our next steps,” Wozniak’s lawyer, Terry Parker, said in an email.Wozniak claimed he was “stunned” to learn that “The Batman” was a near copy of “The Ultimate Riddle,” with the Riddler terrorizing a Gotham City beset by crime and controlled by a corrupt banking cartel.But in a 45-page decision, Engelmayer said Wozniak intentionally and without consent lifted material from DC Comics’ works to create his story, which “liberally exploits –indeed, is rife with” Batman characters and plot elements.“The story’s use of the Batman character and the surrounding protected elements is an act of clear and blatant copyright infringement,” the judge wrote.Engelmayer also said key similarities between the works — serial killers who are loners bent on destroying society, villains who taunt pursuers with “clues and riddles,” and moments of “clarity or epiphany” that propel villains to crime — were too commonplace to support Wozniak’s copyright claim.For the latter, the judge in a footnote cited movies including “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith,” where Anakin Skywalker succumbs to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader.Engelmayer also rejected Wozniak’s “wholly speculative” claim for how Warner Bros might have gotten

Colin Farrell is teasing The Batman spinoff Max series The Penguin and is calling it “incredibly violent.”

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Before Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” opened in theaters in March 2022, there was a lot of discussion online surrounding the movie’s rating. Many comic book fans were hoping to get the first Dark Knight movie with an R rating, but the film earned a PG-13 nonetheless. The universe of “The Batman” is expanding with the upcoming Max series “The Penguin,” starring Colin Farrell as Gotham City gangster Oswald Cobblepot.

Expansion of Matt Reeves’ take on Batman and Gotham City finally begins later this year with the long-awaited “The Penguin.” A new Max series, “The Penguin,” centers on Colin Farrell’s Batman rogue Oz Cobb, aka Oswald Cobblepot, who takes his place within the criminal underworld following the death of mob boss Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro in “The Batman”).

Caroline Brew editor Colin Farrell returns to Gotham City as Oz Cobb, aka Oswald Cobblepot, in the trailer for “The Penguin,” a spinoff series of “The Batman” coming this fall to Max. “The Penguin” takes place immediately following the events of DC’s 2022 blockbuster, tracing Cobblepot’s rise to power in the Gotham underworld as he becomes one of the most prominent villains in the “Batman” universe. Farrell gives a classic gangster monologue throughout the trailer, which slowly ramps up the violence and gunfights in Gotham City’s seedy underground.

Though many critics thought another Batman reboot would be overkill, filmmaker Matt Reeves largely silenced early detractors with his moody and atmospheric “The Batman” (2022), which starred Robert Pattinson. As we eagerly await “The Batman—Part II,” Reeves willflesh out his vision for Gotham City with “The Batman” spinoff series “The Penguin.” Focusing on the crime villain Oswald Copplepot, aka The Penguin (played by Colin Farrell), the series is set in the aftermath of a power vacuum in the crime-ridden megalopolis of Gotham created by the death of crime boss Carmine Falcone (played by John Turturro in Reeves’ first film).

The People’s Joker, the transgender Joker parody film that was banned by Warner Bros.Directed by American filmmaker Vera Drew, the film was first screened at the Toronto Film Festival back in 2022. Immediately after its premiere, a “media conglomerate” (which Dew did not disclose) filed a cease-and-desist order against the film, causing all screenings to be shut down and leaving the future of the movie uncertain.The film has now received a US release date set for April 5.

Having worked in Pandora, Gotham City and the North Atlantic, Joyce Cox is getting a career honor from the Visual Effects Society. The veteran VFX producer who worked on the billion-dollar pics Avatar, The Dark Knight and Titanic will receive the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award next month.

Daniel Waters, the screenwriter behind 1992’s Batman Returns, said the proposed “Catwoman” spinoff from that film had two very different takes.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Batman Returns” screenwriter Daniel Waters participated in a recent discussion about the Tim Burton-directed sequel (via IndieWire) and revealed the collaborators’ clashing visions for a spinoff project centered on Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. Waters was envisioning a satirical take on the comic book movie genre, something he says was more akin to Prime Video’s “The Boys” these days, but Burton had something far more risky up his sleeve.

After seeing her DC-inspired debut feature The People’s Joker pulled from TIFF 2022 over what the fest described as “right’s issues,” Vera Drew has secured a North American release for the film via L.A.-based indie distributor Altered Innocence.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The People’s Joker,” a queer comic book parody that garnered headlines after getting axed from the Toronto Film Festival lineup, is heading to the big screen. Los Angeles-based distributor Altered Innocence acquired the film, which will open in theaters on April 5. Vera Drew directed “The People’s Joker,” which was slated to play in 2022 at TIFF.

Rocksteady Studios has released a twenty-minute Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League video which delves into the story and mechanics of the long-delayed title.The video confirms that Metropolis will be “twice the size” of Gotham City in the studio’s Batman: Arkham Knight game, meaning each of the Squad has a unique traversal method for getting around. Harley Quinn has a glider and grappling hook, Deadshot has a jetpack, King Shark can jump incredibly high and Captain Boomerang has a type of super speed.Rocksteady also confirmed that Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is a “third-person action shooter”.

Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah were the directors behind Batgirl, the DC film at Warner Bros. with Leslie Grace in the titled role. The superhero movie would end up being axed by the studio and with the release of The Flash earlier this year, the filmmakers are reflecting on their film.

Batgirl film abruptly shelved by Warner Bros. last year have shared their reaction to fellow DC title The Flash, describing their experience watching the film as “sad.” Filmmakers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, who co-directed Batgirl prior to its shock cancellation last August, spoke of The Flash in a recent interview with Insider. “We watched it and we were sad,” El Arbi said.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “Batgirl” directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah told Insider while promoting their new Syrian war drama “Rebel” that watching Warner Bros.’ most recent DC tentpole, “The Flash,” was a sad experience for them. They claim they were told by studio executives that “Batgirl” would release after “The Flash,” thus continuing Michael Keaton’s revived run as Batman/Bruce Wayne. But that never panned out after Warner Bros.

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Blue Beetle,” now playing in theaters. Warner Bros.’ “Blue Beetle” has arrived, and it marks another in-between point for the DC Universe, which is in the middle of being rebooted by James Gunn and Peter Safran, the new co-CEOs of DC Studios.

The Batman legacy lives on.

Robert Pattinson’s The Batman and The Lady Of Heaven, a controversial film about the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, were the subject of the most complaints lodged with the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) in 2022, according to the body’s annual report.

Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy are some of the most beloved superhero movies of all time, but does he intend to return to the genre?

John Ridley is the Oscar-winning 12 Years A Slave writer, writer/director of Five Days At Memorial, and the Eisner-nominated writer of the DC Graphic novel series GCPD: The Blue Wall, which premieres in September about systemic injustice in the Gotham City PD. He’s been working in Hollywood long enough to witness the the ebbs and flows of diversity initiatives, and he fears the inclusion momentum that came after the death of George Floyd and opened opportunities to new filmmakers, could well turn into a forgotten fad as the urgency fades.

trilogy, writer-director Christopher Nolan has explored the farthest reaches of earth and space. From Gotham City to inside other people’s dreams, one might think that Nolan has left few territories uncharted, but his upcoming “Oppenheimer” will see his actors going where few Nolan characters have gone before: the bedroom.Out July 21 and starring Cillian Murphy, Nolan’s biopic of the man who invented the atomic bomb during World War II is one of this summer’s most anticipated blockbusters alongside “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie.”Murphy, a six-time Nolan alum best known for his work in BBC’s “Peaky Blinders,” will take on the titular role — and take off his pants, according to reports.

With curved doorways, white-washed walls and arches, this unusual Airbnb aims to spirit guests away to the iconic cave properties of the Greek Island - while you are actually in a converted mill in Ancoats.

The Batman spinoff series The Penguin has been given an adult rating.The Max crime drama series, which is expected to premiere in 2024, stars Colin Farrell as the titular character (aka Oswald Cobblepot), Gotham City’s crime kingpin and one of Batman’s key enemies. The series will pick up after the events of The Batman.According to LADbible, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) has given the upcoming DC miniseries an R-rating.

Last week was a good one for the NHL’s Golden Knights, who won the Stanley Cup, but not for The CW’s Gotham Knights, which was canceled after its freshman season. Today Misha Collins, also starred as the dashing, idealistic District Attorney and Gotham City mayoral candidate Harvey Dent, took to social media to reflect on the superhero series and that its Bat Brat fans.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director SPOILER ALERT: This story contains minor spoilers from “The Flash,” now playing in theaters nationwide. Reviews for Warner Bros.’ long-in-the-works “The Flash” movie have been largely favorable to mixed, but most critics agree the film is the latest comic book tentpole to suffer from unappealing visual effects. Leaked scenes on social media have also led to fan bafflement over the film’s VFX, especially an opening sequence in which Ezra Miller’s superhero speeds to Gotham City to save a bunch of falling babies from a collapsing hospital. To say the VFX babies in “The Flash” opening scene are rendered in a hugely un-human way would be an understatement. The same goes for all of the human characters who appear during the movie’s many time travel sequences. Suffice to say, none of them look human at all.

“The Flash” races into theaters this weekend, and it’s a lot of movie.The superhero film promises to be a landmark in the genre by not only being something of a send-off for the “DC Extended Universe” of films but also serving as a reboot that makes way for the new “DC Universe” of films and TV shows. As if that wasn’t enough, “The Flash” is also bringing back some long-time fan favorites and providing a unique revisionist spin on the entire DC universe as we know it by bringing back Michael Keaton as Batman and retelling the events of “Man of Steel”.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic In comic-book movies, when it comes to a hero’s superpowers — flying, lifting objects, repelling bullets, the indomitability of a shield or hammer — the audience is almost always on the outside looking in. But in “The Flash,” when the title character throttles forward at the speed of the hot-singe lightning streaks at his back, or floats through the air in slowed-down motion so beyond bullet-time that a mere second appears to last forever, the movie makes us part of the experience. We know just what he’s going through, which is why the scene gives you a jolt.     Early on, Barry Allen (Ezra Miller), a forensic chemist in the Central City Police Department, receives a call from Alfred (Jeremy Irons) — yes, that Alfred — letting him know that there’s an attack underway, and that none of the other Justice League members, notably Batman, is around to help. So Barry, in his form-fitting red thermal crystal helmet and suit, zoom-runs all the way to Gotham City, where he confronts a high-rise hospital whose east wing is collapsing, leaving a nursery full of newborns falling through the air. The extended sequence in which he saves them, grabbing energy bites of candy and burrito in between, has the feel of an underwater comedy ballet. It’s life-or-death but cheeky as hell. Just like our cracked hero.

Three new DC animated projects have been acquired by Prime Video including the film Merry Little Batman ordered with a spinoff series, Bat-Family, and a two-season order for Batman: Caped Crusader, from executive producers Bruce Timm, J.J. Abrams, and Matt Reeves.

McKinley Franklin editor Amazon has acquired the animated film “Merry Little Batman” after it was previously scrapped at HBO Max. “Merry Little Batman” has been picked up alongside the spinoff series, “Bat-Family.” The acquisitions follow the previously announced two-season order for “Batman: Caped Crusader,” which was similarly axed at HBO Max in 2022. “We are excited to partner with Amazon to begin an all-new animated chapter of ‘Batman.’ From the cinematic noir storytelling of ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ to the comedic adventures of ‘Merry Little Batman’ and ‘Bat-Family,’ these new projects ensure that there will be an animated Batman story ready to excite fans of all ages,” said Sam Register, president of Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios.

saving ‘Batman: Caped Crusader’ from HBO’s chopping block in March, Prime Video has announced that it will be adding the family-friendly movie ‘Merry Little Batman’ as well as the series spinoff ‘Bat-Family’ to its library. Both projects come from Warner Bros.

Colin Farrell has been lapping up the New York sunshine on the set of The Penguin. An eight-episode spin-off from last year's DC blockbuster The Batman, which unleashed Robert Pattinson's brooding Dark Knight for the very first time, this story takes place exactly one week after its events and charts the rise of Farrell's disfigured brute Oswald Cobblepot through Gotham City's criminal underbelly. Distancing himself from Danny DeVito's grotesque Batman Returns incarnation, the 46 year old Irishman opted for a more Tony Soprano-esque approach, which is there for all to see in new pictures.