Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy.
The Batman Casts Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman
In the first of several breaking stories Variety reported this week that X-Men: First Class actor Zoe Kravitz would be playing Catwoman opposite Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne in the upcoming The Batman feature film.
Kravitz joins Eartha Kitt and Halle Berry in the proud tradition of women of colour taking on the role of Selena Kyle.
Kravitz is obviously no stranger to the genre movie world and she even received an official congratulations from Justice League star and Aquaman, himself, Jason Mamoa:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3nsaIggSJk/?utm_source=ig_embed
From everything we know of The Batman’s casting it would seem Warner Bros is curating a much younger cast than the last time they introduced a cinematic Batman to the world.
The Batman Eyes Paul Dano for The Riddler
Yesterday the news broke that The Batman is also eyeing Little Miss Sunshine actor Paul Dano to play their 
universe’s version of the Riddler – the first that has been seen in live action on the big screen since Jim Carrey’s iconic rendition.
While warner Bros has yet to confirm Dano’s addition to the cast, Variety points out:
Dano’s casting comes on the heels of Jonah Hill turning down an offer to join the cast. Given how long negotiations went on between the studio and Hill’s team, insiders believe WB already had an offer ready to go out to Dano once Hill passed on the role.
Look out for more on a future Dano-Riddler on next week’s installment of Did You Hear?
The Batman hits cinemas worldwide on June 25th, 2021.
Kevin Feige Named Chief Creative Officer at Marvel
If you are a regular listener to the Major Spoilers podcast you know we got into this subject a little bit during this week’s episode. Deadline broke the news earlier this week that Feige has just become more powerful than ever on the heels of his success as the mastermind of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Per the Deadline title, Feige will now “Oversee all creative and story initiatives”.
Many fans believed that Feige was already operating in this capacity and now it appears to be official.
… What that means for the brand is that all of the company’s key creative executives across film and TV now will report to him, sources said. Already master of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Feige’s oversight will extend to the overall creative direction of Marvel’s storytelling and content creation platforms. As part of this, Marvel TV and animation generator Marvel Family Entertainment will move under Feige’s Marvel Studios banner.
Feige’s influence now extends to all things branded “Marvel” coming to fruition under the Disney banner. With Disney+ about to hit screens with a handful of Marvel content already announced it makes sense for Feige to step up like this. In the past, Marvel television/streaming forrays have had little-to-nothing to do with the movie universe. Now that Marvel Studios is about to take their third swing at the tv game Feige’s presence cements that the shows will have some impact on the movie continuity and vice versa.
We’ll dodge the question of whether or not movies and television ought to tie into each other or whether each individual offering should stand on its own and bring up Stephen’s theory from the podcast: does this promotion herald Feige’s positioning himself as a possible future head of Disney Studios?
Would you want to see Star Wars and Pixar fall under Feige’s purview? We would love to read your thoughts on the future of Feige at Disney down in the comments!
Rogue One Scribe Joins Cassian Andor Spinoff
Variety exclusively broke this week that Rogue One writer Tony Gilroy has joined the staff of Disney+ spinoff series focusing around Cassian Andor.
Gilroy is set to write the pilot for the series in addition to directing multiple episodes. He will work alongside Stephen Schiff, who remains onboard as showrunner. No official premiere date has been set, but Disney had previously indicated the show would debut in 2021.
Reports Variety.
Having one of the creators of Cassian Andor being in charge of his Disney+ streaming debut is a powerful move. It endears fans to the show before it even debuts and heightens excitement for the series. We already know The Mandalorian has a murderers’ row of creatives behind it and with Gilroy being announced as part of Cassian Andor’s ongoing adventures Disney is cementing the level of talent they are willing to employ for their original streaming content.
Disney+ launches November 12th, 2019.
