1. ARROW
Arrow Casts Peter Stormare as the New Count Vertigo? (ScreenCrush)
Earlier this week I passed on the speculation that a villainous season 3 character code-named “Seth” was most likely going to be adapted from one of DC’s many snake-themed villains. According to TV Guide, the character in question is actually going to be a new Count Vertigo.
Named Werner Zytle and played by Peter Stormare (the guy who put Steve Buscemi in a wood chipper in Fargo), this new character, simply calling himself “Vertigo,” will take over the Vertigo drug line left behind by Seth Gabel’s Count last season. Gabel was rather open that he was just doing an impression of Heather Ledger’s Joker for his Count. We’ll see what Stormare does with it when his character pops up in the season 3 premiere.
Arrow Season 3 Adds Karl Yune as Oliver’s Hong Kong Handler (ScreenCrush)
Oliver’s Hong Kong-based season 3 flashbacks will feature two new characters: a mentor/handler and his wife, the latter played by Devin Aoki and based on the comic book character Katana. Now we know her husband, named Maseo Yamashira, is being played by Real Steel star Karl Yune. He’s also from the comics, though there isn’t much to him other than being “Katana’s husband.” Let’s hope Stephen Amell saying the name “Maseo Yamashira” will be as oddly funny as it was whenever he’d say Yao Fei.
Stephen Amell Denies Batman Vs. Superman Role (ScreenRant)
Short version: Amell used his Facebook page to promise that he was going to “win” Comic-Con due to multiple secret events he’ll be a part of beyond just the Arrow panel, everyone went bat-shit crazy with thinking this obviously meant he’s going to be announced as an addition to Batman Vs. Superman and/or the Justice League movie, he had to respond and basically say, “Thanks for saying that, guys, but I’m not in Batman Vs. Superman,” to which everyone says, “He didn’t say he wasn’t in Justice League“
Seriously, people. Comic-Con is less than a month away. Just let whatever’s going to happen there happen.
2. THE FLASH
The Flash Featurette Introduces Detective Eddie “Pretty Boy” Thawne (Collider)
Eventually you get to a point where when you know for certain that you are going to watch something you just tune out all of the promotion because why the hell do you need the hard sell anymore; you already know you’re going to watch. As a result, I’ve been ignoring all of these little character featurettes the CW has been releasing this summer to hype The Flash. However, I actually had to give this one a look because Eddie Thawne is a pretty huge character in the comics, and there was very little of Rick Cosnett as that character in the epic 5-minute trailer for the pilot.
3. BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN
Here’s Superman In ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice;’ Plus Zack Snyder Talks Plot, Batman and Title (SlashFilm)
First revealed by USA Today yesterday morning, we’ve all probably seen it by now. Heck, people started mocking and photo-shopping it so instantly it may have already switched back around to being hacky to mock this picture. Either way, here’s Henry Cavill looking sad while standing in the rain in his new (basically unchanged) Dawn of Justice Superman costume:
Similar to the first photo of Ben Affleck in the Dawn of Justice Batsuit, my main reaction is to notice just how ripped Cavill looks here. His torso was a patented panty-dropper in Man of Steel, but his arms look almost doubly big this time around. 100% Cavill? Or padding/digitally enhanced?
Snyder told USA Today he only took on Batman so soon after Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy because he saw an opportuntity to do his version of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns, he has yet to shoot Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and the title uses “v” instead of “vs” “to keep it from being a straight ‘versus’ movie, even in the most subtle way.”
BATMAN V SUPERMAN Rumored to Have Four Villains in Addition to Lex Luthor (Collider)
Those rumored villains are: Victor Zsazs (a serial killer Batman will fight at the beginning of the film), Morgan Edge (a Luthor spokesperson who buds heads with Lois Lane), David Cain (an assassin hired by Luthor’s assistant Mercy Graves), and Amanda Waller (a Senator who considers Superman a “serious threat”). The rumor originates from usually trustworthy Latino Review.
4. NETFLIX
An analyst looked at Netflix, Amazon, Hulu Plus, and Redbox Instant to “compare in their offerings of top 50 movies available for streaming over the past three years and top 75 TV shows available from the past four years.” Not surprisingly since it is the one owned by the actual broadcast networks, Hulu Plus has the highest percentage (51%) of current hit TV shows. Netflix is sitting at 32%, off a percentage point from last year, while Amazon is on the rise, up to 12%, compared to 7% last year.
Amazon is going the opposite direction with its selection of current hit movies, dropping from 12% to 6%. Netflix leads the pack in that category with 12%, down 2 percentage points though, while Hulu is in last with a meager 1%. So, if you signed up for Hulu Plus to watch movies then just go cancel that subscription right now.
