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07/08/16 @ 3:25 am EST
Ben Fisher, best known for writing Grumpy Cat, is now shifting gears and working on a post-apocalyptic drama series called The Great Divide. He talks with Byron Brewerabout the first issue that will be on sale from Dynamite in September. Cover A by Mike Henderson, Cover B by Adam Markiewicz, Cover C by Kyle Strahm.  BYRON BREWER: Ben, Dynamite readers may know you best as a writer on the tremendously popular Grumpy Cat title, but this is something worlds away. Tell us how you came to create The Great Divide as a concept and how it came to Dynamite.BEN FISHER: As a writer, I’m always interested in exploring how people with different backgrounds and viewpoints interact – particularly if they’re forced to come together under unusual circumstances. That concept holds true whether the premise is comedy or (in this case) post-apocalyptic drama.One day I was standing on an overcrowded bus heading into downtown Portland, uncomfortable and claustrophobic, and the thought occurred to me: how would the world operate if physical contact was literally a death sentence? Could personal relationships exist if just being in the same room as someone else was a potential risk?So I reached out to Adam Markiewicz, who really has a gift for letting human emotion shine through his panels, and together we brought the concept to Dynamite. They were immediately enthusiastic about the idea, and we really couldn’t have asked for better partners. BB: How closely have you Adam collaborated on the look and design for this book? I would imagine atmosphere is important in this type of series.BF: Atmosphere is essential, absolutely. Adam and I had many discussions about how people completely lacking human contact might express themselves in art, and the post-Divide world is filled with examples of that. We also wanted to capture a society at the beginning stages of admitting defeat – of recognizing that its extinction is a foregone conclusion.As a matter of pure aesthetics, Adam (along with Adam Guzowski, the book’s colorist) put a ton of consideration into conveying loneliness in their depiction of the landscape. BB: Tell us, if you will, about the world in which this series takes place.BF: The series is set in the near future, where all of humanity suffers from a mysterious affliction that causes any skin contact to result in agonizing death. But things only get stranger from there: when two people touch, only one dies, and the victim’s memories transfer to the survivor – usually with devastating effects (such as mental instability and the complete loss of the ability to read and write). To make matters worse, the entire planet periodically enters a temporary sleepwalking trance.And nobody has any idea why all of this is happening. (Well, okay, Adam and I might have an idea.)  BB: Simply, what is the “Divide” that occurs?BF: The “Divide” refers to the exact moment when every person simultaneously contracted “dermadik” – a condition that results in instant death upon skin contact. It also refers to the time when “walkabouts” (the unconscious, uncontrollable bouts of migration) first started.It speaks to the gap in genuine human connection that plagues so many of us in real life, only in this world it has become literalized.Wait, was that “simply?” Sorry, I’m terrible at following directions. BB: A post-apocalyptic environment is very popular in today’s comics, it seems. How will The Great Divide set itself apart from those other series?BF: The concept itself is a bit of a departure from traditional post-apocalyptic stories. We’ve created a fairly unique world and populated it with some very non-traditional characters.But truthfully, almost every action/adventure/horror story is “pre-apocalyptic,” with the protagonists valiantly struggling to stop the Really Bad Thing. A “post-apocalyptic” story just happens to take place after the Really Bad Thing has already happened. I think there’s a lot of headroom for both. BB: Who are the protagonists for this horror-fueled sci-fi drama?BF: At the heart of the story are two people who connect in traditional Hollywood romantic fashion: Paul is an aimless wanderer content to run out the clock on his life. At least, until he meets Maria, who immediately beats him unconscious, robs him, and leaves him for dead.During their journey, we’ll be introducing a strange and diverse cast, including a former solider who often serves as the group’s moral compass, a sociopath who collects memories, and a “baredevil” who thrives on the adrenaline rush of over-exposure.  BB: From what I understand, this is a very character-driven story. Was there any particular inspiration for the challenges our pair face?BF: That’s exactly right, and the post-Divide world allows us to focus a spotlight on the fears of intimacy and human connection that we all share. That’s the real inspiration for Paul and Maria’s relationship. Getting too close to another person is – literally – dangerous. And all the voices from your past encounters echo around your head until you aren’t sure if your own thoughts and emotions can be trusted.So it’s the same issues we all face – just with deadlier consequences and the occasional roving marauder. BB: I understand each issue of The Great Divide will also contain unique bonus content. In fact, #1 includes a download code for “Teowawki,” a doomsday-oriented song written and performed by … Ben Fisher! Tell us about it, and some of the other bonus content which may be coming.BF: Adam and I wanted to include additional digital content with each issue as our way of thanking readers who choose to spend time with us. The first issue will include a tongue-in-cheek song I wrote about a doomsday prepper on a first date. It felt like a thematically appropriate choice. The second issue will have downloadable pages to a post-apocalyptic adult coloring book drawn by Adam.We’ve got a lot of fun stuff planned and, as I hope is evident, we’re not letting the dark tone of the book suck all the fun out of the room. The story is filled with bits of humor and lighter moments to offset humanity’s grim situation, and the bonus content will certainly reflect that.In addition to the digital content, our enthusiasm for The Great Divide has spilled over into our other passions. We’re both musicians (Adam in particular has an ear for ambient soundtracks) and we’ve written a full original score for the series, which we’ll make available online (for free!) to help set the mood.
06/13/26 @ 2:25 pm EST
We’re just weeks away from the release of the first Supergirl movie in over 40 years and with ticket presales well underway, experts are making their projects on opening weekend. After the initial sales started happening, most sites were predicting anywhere from $45 to $55 million domestically, but after a few days of higher-than-expected numbers, some sites have adjusted up to as high as $60 to $77 million. This would put the Milly Alcock lead film right in line with the last few Marvel Studios films (except Deadpool and Wolverine). While there has been some debate, Deadline claims the film’s budget is $175 million and the breakeven point would be around $315 million. Other sites claim it’s as high as $425 million globally to call it a success. Only DC Studios and its co-heads James Gunn and Peter Safran know what would make this film a success for them, but with trying to rebuild a franchise that had been pretty much run into the ground with underperforming films like The Flash, Aquaman 2 and Shazam 2, having a film that makes most of its money back and is a critical and audience success could be more valuable. Coming off the success of last year’s Superman film, DC is hoping that Craig Gillespie’s vision will continue to excite fans and keep building the new DCU to higher and higher heights. The success of this film and this universe may be driven more on word-of-mouth than box office numbers and the studio appear to be confident enough in the film that they have already had media screenings over two weeks before the film’s release. Yes, there is still an embargo so they can have those reviews come out closer to when the film is in theaters, but you can probably tell the way the project is being covered whether or not it was well received.  ... 06/13/26 @ 2:01 pm EST
A new rumor is shaking up what fans are expecting from The Batman Part 2. On the same day that writer/director Matt Reeves posted that filming had begun, insider Jeff Schnieder posted about how everything we knew about Sebastian Stan’s role in the project was wrong. Sites had been reporting that Stan would be playing Harvey Dent/Two-Face and while that had never been confirmed by Reeves or DC Studios, people took comments from Stan as confirmation such as how he would be playing, “multiple roles” as a hint at him playing the split-personality of the Batman villain. But the new report claims that Stan is not Dent but rather the serial killer Victor Zsasz and actor Bryan Tyree Henry would be playing Dent. Other insiders have some out since and claim to have collaborating information. Zsasz is an interesting character, a killer who notches a mark on his skin for every kill. He’s been portrayed in live action a couple of times including on Gotham and in the Birds of Prey movie but has never been the main focus of a story. This would match up to Reeves saying that the film would be exploring a story never done in film before. It doesn’t really match up to Stan’s comment about “multiple roles” or reports that he was already working with make-up to figure out the look. Reeves is not confined by what is in the comics so he could make major changes to characters, even to the point of making Zsasz a divergent personality of Harvey Dent that manifested prior to the acid attack causing Two-Face to emerge. It’s also possible that Schneider’s information is slightly off and instead of playing the serial killer, Stan could be playing Charles Victor Szasz who is also known as Victor Sage or The Question. How’s that for a twist? The bottom line here is that Schnieder is hearing this from an insider, and it has not been confirmed by any official source and I wouldn’t put it past film studios to start leaking false information to protect a movie that is just starting to film. I think this one stays in the, “take with a grain of salt” category and we wait to find out more.  ... 06/06/26 @ 2:40 pm EST
DC Studios and their co-head James Gunn have talked about a lot of potential series and films with some of them being mentioned and then sort of forgotten about. One of those seemed to be Paradise Lost, a Wonder Woman prequel series showing life on Themyscira before the birth of Diana. Though after its initial mention, the project hadn’t been talked about in a while and someone asked Gunn its fate. Gunn insisted the project was still in the works and now we are seeing some possible confirmation. Back in 2024, two names were attached as writers on the series Kira Snyder and Janet Lin and now, according to the WGA website, both are set to work on Paradise Lost for 2027-2028. Snyder is known for writing and producing on The Handmaid’s Tale and The 100 while Lin has credits on Bridgerton, Cursed, and Bones. There has been talks recently about trying to fast track a new Wonder Woman film and while there is no confirmation, rumors persist that the character may debut in Man of Tomorrow, so seeing Paradise Lost finally moving forward would make a lot of sense.  05/30/26 @ 2:41 pm EST
Sony’s new Spider-Noir series has out done the MCU when it comes to fans. According to Forbes, the new Nicholas Cage lead series with him playing a 1930s variant of Spider-Man has garnered the highest audience score of all Marvel related television projects on Rotten Tomatoes. In the new series, Cage plays detective Ben Reilly who used to be the web-swinging hero called The Spider but hung up his mask after the death of his fiancée. Audience have really taken to the series that is available in both color and B&W, giving it a 93% (a point higher than when Forbes did their article) and even scored well with the critics at 92%. While the critic score is impressive, other Marvel projects have done better such as X-Men ’97 with a 99% score and Ms. Marvel with a 98% among critics. But on the audience side, 93% is tops beating out shows like Agents of SHIELD, Daredevil (Netflix) and WandaVision. While there has been no word on a second season, it would be hard for Amazon and Sony to ignore results like this.  05/30/26 @ 2:08 pm EST
James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios and writer/director of the upcoming Man of Tomorrow film, was back on social media this week answering questions and one in particular stood out. A Threads user named “boyturizmo” asked, “Will we ever see General Zod, Doomsday, Dr. Fate, Black Adam, Ultraman (with his Crime Syndicate) or Darkseid?” Gunn replied, “Two of them in not too long…” This of course led to a ton of speculation on which two and where? Now the obvious one is Darkseid, and while Gunn has said his DCU isn’t building toward a big Thanos like battle with Darkseid, the character is going to be appearing in the upcoming animated series Mr. Miracle. The series is in production with comic writer Tom King onboard as the showrunner and he recently showed off a clip to interviewer Brandon Davis, who did not share what he saw. Mr. Miracle is an escape artist raised on Darkseid’s planet Apokolips who falls in love with a warrior woman named Big Barda and they escape to Earth. Though no casting has been announced for the series, Gunn has stated that the animated series are cannon to the DCU and actors cast in the animated shows, like Frank Grillo as Rick Flag Sr., would carry over into live action like Grillo did in both Peacemaker and Superman. As for the second character we will see soon, it is possible that Gunn could bring back more characters from the DCEU and have Dwayne Johnson return as Black Adam or Pierce Brosnan don the helmet of Dr Fate once more. And Ultraman could return from the black hole he was sucked into… but I think the most likely possibility will be in flashbacks to Krypton, possibly in Supergirl, where we could see General Zod cameo in a scene with Jor-El ( Bradley Cooper) and Zor-El ( David Krumholtz) discussing the fate of the planet and how to handle it. This would be a great scene for world-building… though part of me really wants Brosnan back as Fate.  ...
05/24/26 @ 1:45 pm EST
With The Batman Part 2 going into early production, fans are eager for news, information and confirmations and we may just have one thanks to one of the newcomers to the franchise, Sebastian Stan. It’s been rumored for months that the actor who has played everything from Bucky Barnes to Donald Trump to Tommy Lee was moving to Gotham in the role of District Attorney Harvey Dent aka coin-flipping villain Two-Face, and while his casting was confirmed by director Matt Reeves a few days back, we have not had an official announcement on the part he will be playing. While speaking to Deadline about his film Fjord, Stan spoke a bit about his summer plans which include a trip to London to work with Reeves where he says he will be playing “many roles in this one”. The article states that he’s talking about the role of Dent and how the character transforms from D.A. to villain when acid is thrown in his face by mobster Salvadore Maroni. Stan goes on to say, ”I’m excited, I’m nervous and trying to keep surprising myself.” He also he has been working with hair and make-up already trying to figure out how his disfigurement will look. Stan doesn’t come out and say in the quotes that he’s playing Two-Face, but Deadline strongly implies it and are one of the sites that had been reporting that he had been cast in the role early on. The Batman Epic Crime Saga, as Reeves calls it, does have one hitch to overcome. During The Penguin series on HBO Max, Maroni was played by Clancy Brown and does not make it through the series. So, either the attack on Dent takes place prior to the events we’ve already seen portrayed or Reeves is going to change up who throws the acid. Not a huge problem but it will be interesting to see how the moment will be handled if we end up seeing it at all. The Batman Part 2 is beginning to film and is on track for an October 2027 release. ... 05/16/26 @ 2:01 pm EST
Winter is coming to Gotham and Matt Reeves is heating up the internet with his social media posts. He started it off with a couple camera tests showing the Batmobile in the snow, letting us know that production had begun on the long-awaited sequel. Then he began letting fans know the cast for the upcoming The Batman Part II starting with a gif of Robert Pattinson as the caped crusader with the quote, “We meet again, my friend.” This led into a series of posts that welcomed back the Dark Knight’s to main allies, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth and Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon. Then we got the two sides of the city fighting for control represented by Jayme Lawson as newly elected Mayor Bella Real and Colin Farrell as crime boss Oz Cobb aka The Penguin. Then he welcomed back the true hero of the film, Gil Perez-Abraham as Officer Martinez. Martinez is the representation of how the GCPD views The Batman as he appears multiple times in the first film, each time becoming more comfortable with working with the vigilante. Reeves would return to posting the next day and introduce the new characters to the film, but through gifs from their previous projects and not officially naming characters. This would include three MCU veterans starting with Scarlett Johansson and Sebastian Stan. Then Game of Thrones patriarch Charles Dance, from A Good Day to Die Hard, Sebastian Koch and from Atlanta and the Eternals, Bryan Tyree Henry. Stan has been heavily linked to the role of Harvey Dent aka Two-Face with Dance likely playing his father Christopher. Johansson is believed to be playing Dent’s wife Gilda but that has never been confirmed and there had been no rumors at all about Koch and Henry, though Koch’s management posted a tweet about him helping rid Gotham of evil. Many on-line are speculating that Henry could be playing Detective Harvey Bullock. What is interesting are the names not mentioned in posts such as Con O’Neil as Chief Mackenzie Bock, Barry Keoghan as the Joker and Paul Dano as the Riddler. I wouldn’t assume that not being mentioned doesn’t mean they don’t show up in the film, just that the character may not have a lot of screen time. The assumption is that the film will focus on Dent working with Gordon and Batman to clean up Gotham, so there will be lots of room for other characters in this film. The film has started production and is on track to premiere in October of 2027.  ... 05/09/26 @ 3:03 pm EST
We are in the age of Matthew Lillard and everyone except Quentin Tarantino seems to be happy about it. The Scream and Scooby-Doo actor has been having a bit of a resurgence lately coming shortly after Tarantino made some disparaging comments about the actor with no provocation. Many in the industry stood up for Lillard and now the actor seems to be popping up everywhere including the latest Scream film, the second season of Cross and the second season of Daredevil: Born Again. The latest news reported by multiple sites has the actor joining the cast of Man of Tomorrow, the next DC Studios film written and directed by James Gunn. Gunn, who is good friends with Lillard and has worked with him previously on both Scooby-Doo movies, posted the below image of the pair together, commenting on the news reports as “pure speculation” and saying that they are just “casually hanging out”. Most took the posts to be sarcasm and assume that Lillard is now in the film as that is where Gunn is right now, filming the project. Fans on-line have begun even more speculation as to who Lillard could be playing including various heroes and characters with the most notable being Jim Gordon from Gotham and Plastic Man, a character that Gunn and Lillard once tried to pitch as a project to DC/Warner Bros. It’s my belief that he will be a more Superman centric character such as STAR Labs Professor Emil Hamilton or police detective Dan Turpin. But that also would be pure speculation.  05/09/26 @ 2:44 pm EST
Fans of Matt Reeves’ film The Batman got excited this week because of driving in the snow. The director posted images to his social media showing test footage of the Batmobile driving in winter conditions, which were the first signs that the long-awaited sequel had begun production. Though it has been postponed many times, it is set to be released in October of 2027 and will make the first time live-action Batman and Superman films will be released in the same year. The cold weather setting has long been assumed for the film based on the timeline created in both the first movie starting on Halloween and ending on Election Day and then The Penguin series on HBO Max which took place over a week or so immediately after the flooding of Gotham. The new film will pick up right after the award-winning series which places the time frame squarely in December. The plot for the film is still under wraps, but along with returning stars Robert Pattinson, Andy Serkis, Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Jeffrey Wright, the project has reportedly added Scarlett Johannson, Sebastian Stan and Charles Dance. Stan is reported to be playing Gotham DA Harvey Dent aka Two-Face while Dance is said to be his father, Christopher. These castings have been reported by multiple reputable outlets but not confirmed by DC Studios or Reeves. With production having begun, the film is on track to keep its release date of October 2027.  05/02/26 @ 1:59 pm EST
James Gunn, co-head of DC Studios, has addressed the strange “partial reboot” of the DCEU and why he didn’t just start completely fresh. With the new DCU starting with the animated Creature Commandos series and the new Superman movie, certain elements from the previous regime carried over like Viola Davis as Amanda Waller and there were some questions about more recent projects like Gunn’s own The Suicide Squad and Blue Beetle. And Gunn’s first DC movie also had elements from previous films including Margot Robbie as Harley Qiunn. So why not just start over? Turns out a lot of it has to do with the John Cena lead Peacemaker series on HBO Max. According to a social media post by Gunn, “Peacemaker Season 2 deals were all in place when I became head of DC. It was either break everyone's contracts and pay out all that money and take away HBO Max's biggest show at the time or find a way to make it work. I chose the latter. Mostly tho because I love the character and the show and thought he/they could be an important part of the DCU.” Now, this has left quite a mess trying to figure out what is and isn’t cannon, and Gunn realizes this. He posted, “I've been thinking about this a lot in regards to The Suicide Squad & Blue Beetle and I've been meaning to rewatch both with an eye towards that knowing what I know now almost three years into the DCU (with a couple more years of scripts being actively filmed or created). Maybe after MoT Jenn & Steve & I can get together for a special couple podcasts to discuss. What do you guys think is potentially or definitely NOT canon from TSS & BB?” He is referring to Jennifer Holland, his wife and actress who plays Harcourt and Steve Agee who plays Economos. The three of them did the post-episode podcasts for Peacemaker season two. Doing The Suicide Squad film makes sense with its ties to Peacemaker, but the reason for the Blue Beetle is that there are talks of an animated Blue Beetle series based on the 2023 film with Xolo Maridueña continuing in the role of Jaime Reyes. The fact it’s included here confirms the animated series is still happening.  ...
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