Bale, Carell, Gosling and Pitt in The Big Short trailer

With a change of release date, Paramount’s The Big Short may now be entering the Oscar race. Adam McKay – writer of Anchorman, Step Brothers, The Other Guys and Ant-Man – is stepping up with a high-stakes drama about the men who made millions from the global meltdown.

Starring Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Hustle), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher, Crazy Stupid Love), Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March), Melissa Leo (The Fighter, Prisoners), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, The Lincoln Lawyer), Karen Gillan (Oculus, Guardians of the Galaxy), Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, Prometheus) and Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club) – a cast with 14 Oscar nominations.

The Big Short – December 15th

Han Solo spin-off to be directed by Lord and Miller – casting: Aaron Paul? Miles Teller? Chris Pratt?

The development problems of the second Star Wars spin-off began with the quitting of Josh Trank (Chronicle, Fantastic Four) but the latest report states that replacements have been found in the form of Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the duo behind The Lego Movie and the Jump Street movies) and writers Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and his son Jon (The First Time). This confirms that Simon Kinberg (X-Men: Days of Future Past) has been given the boot. Additionally, we now know that it’ll be a prequel centred on legendary smuggler Han Solo.

Here’s a list of actors who’ll make awesome Hans.

Name: Aaron Paul
Age: 35
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Breaking Bad (2008-2013), Need for Speed (2014), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), Bojack Horseman (2014-)

Name: Chris Pratt
Age: 36
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Parks and Recreation (2009-2015), The Lego Movie (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Jurassic World (2015)

Name: Jamie Bell
Age: 29
Nationality: UK
Previous works: Billy Elliot (2000), King Kong (2005), The Adventures of Tintin (2011), Fantastic Four (2015)

Name: Nick Robinson
Age: 20
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Broadwalk Empire (2012), The Kings of Summer (2013), Jurassic World (2015), Being Charlie (2015)

Name: Dave Franco
Age: 30
Nationality: USA
Previous works: 21 Jump Street (2012), Warm Bodies (2013), Now You See Me (2013), Bad Neighbours (2014)

Name: Michael B Jordan
Age: 28
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Chronicle (2012), Fruitvale Station (2013), That Awkward Moment (2014), Fantastic Four (2015)

Name: Shia LaBeaouf
Age: 29
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Transformers (2007), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Lawless (2012), Fury (2014)

Name: Ellen Page
Age: 28
Nationality: Canada
Previous works: Hard Candy (2005), Juno (2007), Inception (2010), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) (*played Han Solo in an Empire Strikes Back script read)

Name: Miles Teller
Age: 28
Nationality: USA
Previous work: The Spectacular Now (2013), Divergent (2014), Whiplash (2014), Fantastic Four (2015)

Name: Jack O’Connell
Age: 24
Nationality: UK
Previous work: Skins (2009-2013), Starred Up (2014), ’71 (2014), Unbroken (2014)

Name: Taron Egerton
Age: 25
Nationality: UK
Previous works: Testament of Youth (2015), Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), Legend (2015), Eddie the Eagle (2016)

Name: Bradley Cooper
Age: 40
Nationality: USA
Previous works: The Hangover (2009), American Hustle (2013), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), American Sniper (2014)

Name: Michael Fassbender
Age: 38
Nationality: Germany
Previous works: X-Men: First Class (2011), Prometheus (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Steve Jobs (2015)

Name: Ryan Gosling
Age: 34
Nationality: Canada
Previous works: Drive (2011), Crazy Stupid Love (2011), The Ides of March (2011), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

Name: Harrison Ford
Age: 72
Nationality: USA
Previous works: Star Wars (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Blade Runner (1982), The Fugitive (1993)

Star Wars Anthology: Han Solo – May 2018

Gosling, Pitt and more confirmed for Big Short and first look at Johnny Depp in Black Mass

Writer director Adam McKay is well renowned for his excellent comedy work with Step Brothers, The Other Guys and the cult classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy but he’s moving into a different phase of his career with a Marvel film in the works and now the new political drama The Big Short. It has already assembled one of the finest casts of any upcoming film.

The cast of the film will feature Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March, The Notebook, The Place Beyond the Pines, Drive), Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Burn After Reading, Moneyball, Seven), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher, The 40 Year Old Virgin, The Office, Despicable Me), Melissa Leo (Frozen River, Prisoners, Oblivion, The Fighter), Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler, My Cousin Vinny, In the Bedroom, The Lincoln Lawyer), Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, Prometheus, What If, Hot Fuzz) and Christian Bale (The Dark Knight, American Psycho, American Hustle, The Prestige).

Following a chilling turn as The Wolf in Into the Woods, we can now see the latest transformation of Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Neverland, Public Enemies, Edward Scissorhands) as the gangster Whitey Bulger in the new thriller Black Mass. Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) directs while Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Joel Edgerton (Warrior), Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Adam Scott (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty), Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad), Julianne Nicholson (August: Osage County), Peter Sarsgaard (An Education) and Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13) also star.

Black Mass – September 25th

The Big Short – 2016

Jenkins is Wonder Woman director, Gosling in Blade Runner and Cannes lineup revealed: Woody Allen! Pixar! Mad Max?

Warner Bros suffered a major setback on their highly anticipated fantasy reboot of the DC hero Winder Woman. Director Michelle MacLaren, behind some of the best episodes of Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones, pulled out of the film leaving a gap to fill but the replacement has been announced as Patty Jenkins (Monster) is hired. Jenkins was in fact connected to Marvel’s superhero sequel Thor: The Dark World, long before the Edgar Wright/Ant–Man split, and left based on creative differences. Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious) is the Israeli star who’ll bring the new Wonder Woman to the screen.

Gladiator’s Ridley Scott sadly passed on the new Blade Runner sequel but BAFTA nominated director Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, Incendies, Prisoners) is taking his place. Harrison Ford (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, The Fugitive) is confirmed to be reprising his role as the futuristic detective Rick Deckard but some new castings are now poised to be made. The latest report shows that Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Ides of March, Crazy Stupid Love, Blue Valentine, The Place Beyond the Pines) is in talks for a a so far unspecified role but you can’t deny some likeness to the original’s Rutger Hauer.

Festivals like Cannes are now major platforms for indie films to get the platform they need to campaign their way to the Oscars and the following list might show some early awards favourites, considering last year the films included Foxcatcher, Mr Turner, Two Days One Night, Maps to the Stars, Leviathan, The Homesman, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Force Majeure but also included the massive flop Grace of Monaco. Here’s this years selection, which’ll each be scrutinised by the jury (led by Fargo and No Country For Old Men directors Joel and Ethan Cohen) for the prestigious prize of Palme D’Or.

Film: Dheepan
Director: Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust and Bone)
Starring: Vincent Rottiers, Marc Zinga
Premise: The story of a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris.
Nation: France

Film: Marguerite et Julien
Director: Valerie Donzelli (Declaration of War)
Starring: Anais Demoustier, Frederic Pierrot
Nation: France

Film: The Tale of Tales
Director: Matteo Garrone (Gamorra)
Starring: Salma Hayek (Frida), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)
Nation: Italy

Film: Carol
Director: Todd Haynes (Far From Heaven, I’m Not There)
Starring: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine), Rooney Mara (The Social Network), Kyle Chandler (Super 8), Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story), Cory Michael Smith (Gotham)
Premise: Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Nation: United States

Film: Nie yin niang (The Assassin)
Director: Hsiao Hsien Hou (Three Times)
Starring: Qi Shu, Chen Chang, Satoshi Tsumbuki
Nation: Taiwan

Film: Shan He Gu Ren (Mountains May Depart
Director: Zhangke Jia (Still Life, A Touch of Sin)
Starring: Tao Zhao
Nation: China

Film: Out Little Sister
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows, Still Walking)
Starring: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa
Nation: Japan

Film: Macbeth
Director: Justin Kurzel (Snowtown)
Starring: Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), Marion Cotillard (Inception), David Thewlis (The Theory of Everything), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby), Sean Harris (Prometheus), Jack Reynor (What Richard Did), Paddy Considine (The World’s End)
Premise: Macbeth, a duke of Scotland, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
Nation: United Kingdom, France, United States

Film: The Lobster
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth)
Starring: Colin Farrell (Minority Report), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas), John C Reilly (The Aviator), Olivia Colman (Tyranasour)
Premise: In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods.
Nation: Greece

Film: Mon Roi
Director: Maiwenn (Polisse)
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Louis Garrel
Nation: France

Film: Mia Madre
Director: Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room)
Starring: Margherita Buy (The Caiman), John Turturro (Barton Fink)
Nation: Italy

Film: La giovinezza (The Early Years)
Director: Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place)
Starring: Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener), Michael Caine (Batman Begins), Jane Fonda (Coming Home), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Harvey Keitel (Reservoir Dogs)
Premise: Fred and Mick, two old friends, are on vacation in an elegant hotel at the foot of the Alps.
Nation: Italy

Film: Louder Than Bombs
Director: Joaquim Trier (Oslo August 31st)
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), Amy Ryan (Birdman), Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards), David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck)
Nation: Norway, France, Denmark, United States

Film: The Sea of Trees
Director: Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting)
Starring: Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Naomi Watts (King Kong), Ken Watanabe (Letters Form Iwo Jima)
Premise: A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.
Nation: United States

Film: Sicario
Director: Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Incendies)
Starring: Emily Blunt (Looper), Josh Brolin (No Country For Old Men), Jon Beranthal (Fury), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic)
Premise: A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss, a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit.
Nation: United States

Films not competing:

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller (The Road Warrior)
Starring: Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises), Charlize Theron (Prometheus), Nicholas Hoult (X-Men: First Class)
Premise: In a post-apocalyptic world, in which people fight to the death, Max teams up with a mysterious woman, Furiousa, to try and survive.
Nation: Australian, United States

Film: Irrational Man
Director: Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Midnight in Paris, Vicky Cristina Barcelona)
Starring: Emma Stone (The Help), Joaquin Phoenix (Her)
Premise: On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student.
Nation: United States

Film: The Little Prince
Director: Mark Osborne (Kung Fu Panda)
Starring: Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes), Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar), Paul Giamatti (Saving Mr Banks), James Franco (127 Hours), Marion Cotillard (Inception), Jeff Bridges (True Grit), Benicio Del Toro (Traffic), Albert Brooks (Finding Nemo), Ricky Gervais (The Office)
Premise: A pilot crashes in the desert and meets a little boy from a distant planet.
Nation: France

Review of the year – The Five Biggest News Stories of 2014, including Spectre, Doctor Strange, The Interview and more

5) The Force awakens for Star Wars

It was mysterious and secretive right up until it didn’t want to be and JJ Abrams’ (Super 8, Lost, Star Trek) new Star Wars sequel has become the year’s biggest hype monster. We new nothing until the entire cast were announced in one swoop. Newcomers to the series Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), John Boyega (Attack the Block), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave), Adam Driver (Tracks), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Max Von Sydow (Minority Report) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings) will rub shoulders with the original crew of Mark Hamill (The Big Red One), Carrie Fisher (The Blues Brothers), Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis (Willow) and Harrison Ford (Blade Runner, The Witness, Raiders of Lost Ark).

The Force Awakens was revealed as the title and this phenomenon of a trailer was released.

4) The Interview – when Hollywood enters world politics

We continue proceedings with the most recent and easily the most controversial scoop of the year. The Interview began harmlessly as a Sony comedy project poised to be the directorial follow up for This Is the End Team Evan Goldberg (Superbad) and Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, 50/50) with regular collaborator James Franco (Spider-Man, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, 127 Hours). Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, Masters of Sex) was recruited to star but things kicked off when the film’s full extent was revealed.

The Interview would see extravagant broadcaster Dave Skylark (Franco) and producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) are enlisted by the FBI to infiltrate North Korea, via an interview with their real-life leader Kim Jung-Un (here played by Randall Park), and assassinate him. Production went swimmingly but the release is where trouble was aroused. To provide some political context, Kim Jung-Un is the successor of Kim Jung-Il. This dynasty, responsible for the atrocities or just the face of the oppression, are allegedly conducting massacres of their own people but the (and I know this is a woeful understatement) tightly regulated press cannot confirm any story of the like.

North Korea’s potential response was always dreaded but it was only in the past month that events spiralled. The country seemed placid enough until declaring it an act of war. The first aggressive move was made when Sony were mysteriously hacked and numerous stories (a clean slate for Spider-Man?) and entire films, including The Interview, were leaked online. North Korea denied responsibility for the hack but the methods bared great similarity to another attack on the South Korean government. The nation then made the grave threats of 9\11 style attacks on all cinemas showing the film – not even Team America prompted this sort of retaliation.

And so Sony had to pull the release. It’s still unclear if they plan to postpone or entirely cancel the film, if the latter Sony will have suffered losses of $40 million on budget, $30 million on marketing as well as whatever money they claimed from the box office. You can see why Sony would be keen to negotiate some form of release. If so cult stardom awaits.

Not only this film was pulled (Oscar hopeful Foxcatcher, starring Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum, has suffered delays) due to the attack and this isn’t the only film of this year to have caused major political impact; action sci-fi sequel The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 was forced to scrap its Taiwan release, worried that the rebellious themes would stir public unrest.

Many of Hollywood’s elite, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty star Ben Stiller, criticized Sony’s response for caving in and not exercising freedom of speech. US President Barack Obama himself condemned Sony but I doubt he’d have been so critical if a matter so trivial as a farcical comedy film were to bring harm to others.

3) Marvel’s Third Phase – difficulty casting Strange and creative power struggle for Ant-Man

Four films based upon Marvel comics dominated the financial skyline of this year: Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($708 million – 6th highest grossing film of the year), Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past ($746 million – 4th) and the official Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million – 5th) and Guardians of the Galaxy ($772 million – 2nd). After next year’s Avengers sequel Age of Ultron, the MCU are advancing with its third phase. It was confirmed all in one massive, mid-week presentation.

Captain America (starring Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr) and Thor (starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston) are receiving their third films (Civil War and Ragnarok respectively; Guardians of the Galaxy is getting the sequel treatment; the Avengers will return in a two part event titled Infinity War and the new properties of Black Panther (starring Chadwick Boseman), Captain Marvel and Inhumans will be put into production.

One of Marvel’s most promising projects was Ant-Man, a sci-fi that Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim VS The World) had been developing for years. The casting of Paul Rudd (Anchorman), Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Michael Pena (American Hustle) and Michael Douglas (The Game) went swimmingly but Wright’s departure sent the film spiralling. There was a scramble for a replacement saw comedy veterans Rawson Marshall Thurber (We’re the Millers) and Adam McKay (Anchorman) in consideration but Peyton Reed, still best known for Yes Man, got the job. Annoyingly the decision has all the signs of a last minute filler job.

Doctor Strange had an easier time picking its helmer in the form of Sinister’s Scott Derickson. Casting was far trickier. Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) and Benedict Cumberbatch were the first to be rumoured for the role in a long chain of names featuring Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Jack Huston (Broadwalk Empire), Edgar Ramirez (Deliver Us From Evil) and Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) with the persisting, if far fetched, claims of Adrien Brody (The Pianist) and Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean). In the summer Joaquin Phoenix (Her, Walk the Line, Inherent Vice) was revealed to be in talks but didn’t immediately sign on and he seemed reluctant to be joining.

Indeed he was and his departure left the casting process at square one. After this a host of actors were mentioned in connection: Matthew MacConaughey (Interstellar), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Ethan Hawke (Before Sunrise), Ewan MacGregor (Transpotting), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) and Ryan Gosling (The Ides of March). Eventually Marvel circled back to Golden Globe nominee Cumberbatch (Sherlock, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 12 Years a Slave, The Imitation Game). Despite these delays the franchise is interlocking into place.

2) Homegrown talent triumphs at Oscars

Besides Spike Jonze’s awful robo-romance Her, 2014’s Academy Awards Best Picture selection was phenomenal. The strong contenders were American Hustle (’70s set hustler drama starring Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence), Captain Phillips (hijacking thriller with Tom Hanks), Gravity (spaceship disaster action with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney), Philomena (Steve Coogan written comedy/drama starring Coogan and Judi Dench) and Scorcese’s modern crime flick The Wolf of Wall Street.

Unsurprisingly it was the thoroughly acclaimed period drama 12 Years a Slave that triumphed. While it is a largely American production, the film, depicted a harrowing account of slavery through the story of Solomon Northup, but has an immense amount of British. The film’s grand ensemble (including Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Sarah Paulson, Scoot McNairy, Quvenzhane Wallis, Paul Giamatti and Brad Pitt) picked up three acting nominations: Brit Chiwetel Ejiofor for Best Leading Actors; Irish-Germanic star Michael Fassbender for Best Supporting Actor; Mexican-born unknown Lupita Nyong’o won for Best Supporting Actress.

The ceremony’s most important victor was Steve McQueen. Although the Brit lost out on Best Director to Gravity’s Alfonso Cuaron his work became the first Best Picture winner to have been directed and produced by a black filmmaker. This year, 12 Years a Slave made film history.

1) Spectre-falls

Spectre triumphs as our most exciting news story of 2014. The mega-announcement revealed the title of the twenty fourth Bond instalment as well as the cast and some plot details. Sam Mendes’ (Road to Perdition, Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) follow up to the billion dollar success of Skyfall sees James Bond tracking down a mysterious signal that leads him to uncovering a hidden organisation. The cast includes Daniel Craig (Munich), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Colour), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Andrew Scott (Sherlock), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy), Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Jesper Christiansen (Melancholia), Rory Kinnear (The Imitation Game) and Ben Whishaw (Cloud Atlas).

Wonder Woman director in line and Jai Courtney to play DC villain

DC’s new shared universe of films is likely to be not as successful as Marvel’s but two projects that I do have interest in released some interesting news. The first is Wonder Woman, the only one of the new films that feels necessary. Fast and Furious’ Gal Gadot is confirmed to be playing the Amazonian princess but hiring a director seems to be a more strenuous challenge seeing as DC hoped that this’d be the first major comic book movie with a female at the helm. The last candidate was Penny Marshall who bailed on Thor: The Dark World.

Michelle MacLaren is now set to direct the film. Although yet to release a feature film, MacLaren has directed numerous episodes of Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad, three of TV’s biggest crazes. The hiring makes logical sense I just hope she wasn’t hired purely based on gender.

The other genuinely exciting prospect is Suicide Squad, a film depicting a team of classic DC supervillains. Among them is Deadshot, a pinpoint accurate gunman and Gotham’s top hitman for hire. DC have opted in favour of the casting of Divergent and A Good Day to Die Hard star Jai Courtney, who can next be seen in sci-fi reboot Terminator: Genisys.

David Ayer, director of acclaimed police drama End of Watch and the recent tank thriller Fury, is looking for the castings of Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club, Panic Room) as The Joker, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, About Time) as Harley Quinn and Will Smith (Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness) as Captain Boomerang. Tom Hardy (Inception, Locke) and Ryan Gosling (Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines) are also rumoured to joining team leader Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network, Zombieland, Now You See Me).

Suicide Squad – August 5th 2016

Jared Leto and Margot Robbie set for lead villains in new DC films

DC’s new film slate, building on the foundations of Man of Steel and 2016’s Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, will feature the likes of Vin Diesel as Shazam, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Ray Fisher as Cyborg in their own spin offs while Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams will star as Batman, Superman and Lois Lane in recurring roles through Justice League parts 1 and 2 (both directed by Zack “300” Snyder).

Standing out form their ten planned films is Suicide Squad as it depicts a team of villains. David Ayer (Fury, End of Watch) directs this flick and casting rumours circulated around the likes of Will Smith (I am Legend, Men in Black, The Pursuit of Happyness), Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines) and Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Locke) but more recent reports point towards specific roles.

Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, About Time) is going to Harley Quinn. This particularly is a point of interest as the character hasn’t been played a single time on screen (despite there being seven Batman films). Quinn will be accompanied by a new iteration of The Joker, DC’s most iconic villain. Here he’s likely to get played by Oscar winner Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club, Panic Room, Requiem For a Dream), succeeding the likes of Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger who in fact won an Oscar for the role. Robbie’s casting is an intelligent one but Leto may struggle between Ledger’s portrayal of a tortured soul or the more extravagant Nicholson/Mark Hamill versions. Leto did play borderline insane back in Panic Room but then he was more obviously channelling Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys.

Suicide Squad – August 5th 2016