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!
She-Hulks Casts Jameela Jamil
On Tuesday this week Variety confirmed The Good Place star Jameela Jamil had been cast as the series villain. She will be starring opposite Tatiana Maslany (Perry Mason, Orphan Black), who has been previously announced as Jennifer Walters.
Per Variety:
Jamil will reportedly play Titania, a Marvel supervillain with incredible strength and a frequent rival of She-Hulk.
Ironically, Jamil is probably closer in height to the way most comic book readers imagine She-Hulk than Maslany.
For those unfamiliar with Titania, she’s a Jim Shooter villain who made her debut in Secret Wars. Given her cosmic nature there’s always a chance Jamil might cross over and be referenced in an upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, Eternals.
Jamil joins previously announced cast members: Tim Roth, Mark Ruffalo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, and Ginger Gonzaga.
Batman’s Scandal
Earlier this week Variety also broke some news on the DC Comics side of the table and this wound up feeling much less uplifting than the She-Hulk news above:
“It’s incredibly gratifying and free to be using characters that are considered villains because you just have so much more leeway,” says Halpern. “A perfect example of that is in this third season of ‘Harley’ [when]we had a moment where Batman was going down on Catwoman. And DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that.’ They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’ So, we said, ‘Are you saying heroes are just selfish lovers?’ They were like, ‘No, it’s that we sell consumer toys for heroes. It’s hard to sell a toy if Batman is also going down on someone.’”
(the above mentioned “Halpern” being series creator Justin Halpern)
This story immediately went viral across social media with fans lauding Harley Quinn for its progressive, feminist stance, even in the face of executives not being ready to face the reality of the way their consenting adult characters may behave.
I would also like to echo Variety in adding that Halpern and his partner, Patrick Schumaker, went on to add:
(In fairness to DC, both Halpern and Schumacker went on to say that the company has been remarkably supportive of their series and has allowed them to push the envelope numerous times. Still, it remains to be seen if Batman and Catwoman will be shown engaging in some bedroom antics in Season 3 or if it will simply be implied via cunning linguistics.)
The third season of Harley Quinn has yet to have a release date announced and, while this story could be considered bad news, I actually think it’s going to drive more eyes toward the latest season.
Titans Season 3 Trailer Drops
In additional DC Comics news, yesterday HBO Max dropped the trailer for the third season of what was previously a DC Universe show – Titans:
Titans Season 3 | Official Teaser | HBO Max
Have no fear, the #Titans Season 3 teaser is here.Stream Season 3 of Titans on August 12, only on HBO Max: http://itsh.bo/hbo-maxThis gritty take on the Teen…
As an avowed fan of all things [Teen] Titans, this might be the most exciting piece of news to drop for me this week!
Jason Todd’s tenure as Robin appears to be drawing to a close with a lot of Joker, and Joker-adjacent, imagery prevalent throughout the trailer. Jay Lycurgo (The Batman), was cast earlier this year as Tim Drake – AND Jason’s Red Hood costume designs were also revealed – so it’s pretty safe to assume most of the footage of Curran Walters is from the premier episode.
Titans season 3 debuts on HBO Max August 12th, 2021.