UPDATE: NPN's report has since been amended to say that Milly Alcock's Supergirl will still appear in Man of Tomorrow.
As DC fans anxiously await some clarification on what Skydance's (or should that be Slydance?) David Ellison and his new DC Studios chief, Jeremy Latcham, have in store for the DCU in the wake of James Gunn and Peter Safran's firing, Nexus Point News has shared some very interesting updates.
Writer Demet K. stresses that these details have not been verified, but NPN's sources have proven to be rock solid in the past.
The biggest question to emerge from this whole situation is whether Ellison and Latcham will start from scratch, jettisoning every character, actor, and storyline Gunn and Safran had established over the past four years, or keep certain elements of the DCU intact while taking the franchise in a different direction.
According to NPN, David Corenswet will stay on as Superman following the release of Man of Tomorrow, but other supporting characters (only Blue Beetle and Supergirl are mentioned, but something tells us they won't be the only ones) will be axed.
"Sources suggest that several of the cameos originally planned for the movie are expected to be removed. Several sources mentioned that reshoots are happening soon. Blue Beetle and Supergirl are two characters who may not make the final cut. It is said that the characters who aren’t expected to have a place in the new direction of the DCU will be removed rather than carried over into future projects. Sources indicate David Corenswet is expected to remain as Superman under the new leadership, even as the film’s supporting cast is reworked. Wonder Woman is another particularly interesting situation.
Sources say Adria Arjona is indeed playing Wonder Woman, but there is still a decision to be made about her future. The studio could decide to keep her as Wonder Woman or remove her scenes entirely and recast the character without any damage since the character has not been officially confirmed. A decision is yet to be made."
One would assume that Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) and Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) will also be safe, but we'll just have to wait and see.
While some are excited about the shakeup, others -- many who didn't necessarily like what Gunn was doing, included -- have balked at the prospect of yet another reboot. According to a separate report from The Playlist's Gregory Ellwood, Ellison and co. were not expecting the level of backlash the announcement was met with.
"What Skydance, Ellison, Kreiz, Goldberg and Greenstein clearly didn’t anticipate was just how strong the fan backlash would be. There are DC fans who didn’t even like Gunn’s films who are mad about the changeover. There are crazy Snyderverse diehards who think it makes no sense. And it hasn’t helped that some publications have leaked that Skydance is going to pull editorial control of Man of Tomorrow from Gunn (the DGA would like a word) and scuttle every other project in the works.
Latcham’s radio silence has only made matters worse and is somewhat eyebrow-raising. Plus, no one of note has publicly stood up for him for this new position. If he has a vision beyond making movies 'Grandma' would like, he needs to share it sooner rather than later."
This is a fair point. If Ellison and Latcham want DC fans to back this decision, they should consider giving us at least a vague idea of what they have planned before the end of the year.