Movies
Rumor is that Henry Cavill won’t be returning to the role of Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El he’s been playing in films since 2013. While Cavill’s been portraying the character for five years, he’s only had one movie of his own, the first Man of Steel, but has also played him in Batman vs Superman and Justice League. Fans are reacting with the news with a bit of shock, but let’s face it, Cavill was never going to play Superman forever. So far five guys have played the character in the movies; Kirk Alyn, George Reeves, Christopher Reeves, Brandon Routh and Cavill and a few more on TV; George Reeves again, Tom Welling and Dean Cain.
And when it comes to the cartoons I’m not even sure how many have voiced Superman. There are many as diverse as Bud Collyer who voiced him on screen in the early 1940s to Jerry O’Connell who played him this year in The Death of Superman.
And that’s not counting Nicolas Cage who very nearly played Superman in a 1990s production that would have been titled Superman Lives that would’ve been written by Kevin Smith and directed by Tim Burton.
So, in many ways Cavill is in good company. Sooner or later his tenure would end and I think it’s best for these actors to leave on good terms with roles like this. He’s played the character for a few years, and whether or not you liked his version/take on the strange visitor from another planet, I think he played him well.
In the short-term there’s been rumors that the new Shazam (Zachary Levi) or the upcoming Supergirl will be filling in for the last son of Krypton whenever a villain needs to be punched in the face really hard. But fear not, eventually some other actor will be brought in to fill the man of tomorrow’s boots.
Lost movies
I’ve always been interested in versions of movies that almost were. One example of this is the recent Solo: A Star Wars Story. That movie was originally going to be directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller who were three weeks away from being finished with their version before being fired for “creative differences” and director Ron Howard was brought in to complete the film/reshoot scenes.
While I really dig Howard’s version of the movie, I wonder what Lord and Miller’s version would’ve been like? Here are a few other movies that started out one way but ended another.
Enemy Mine
Originally begun by director Richard Loncraine, this sci fi flick starring Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. was halted and Loncraine fired when the studio didn’t like what he was delivering. Wolfgang Petersen was brought in and threw out Loncraine’s footage, redid everything from the special effects to the sets, reshot the script from the first page and delivered the finished film of what we now know of as Enemy Mine.
Galaxy Quest
While there’s not another version of Galaxy Quest floating out there like there might with Solo: A Star Wars Story or Enemy Mine, the tone of Galaxy Quest did change after the film was completed. Originally, the movie was rated R and scenes were cut and objectionable language changed in order to secure a PG–13 rating. But if you pay close attention, there’s still a hint of this rated R version hiding in the PG–13 version of the movie that was released. When Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver’s characters are climbing through the innards of their ship the NSEA Protector, there’s a part where they have to crawl through a Rube Goldberg inspired section where it looks like everything inside is meant to cut, squash or burn the two to death. Weaver’s character takes one look at the setup and says, “Well, screw that!” But if you watch her mouth, what she’s really saying, and what was dubbed over, was “Well, f@#k that!”
Today that line might have survived the cut and made it into the PG–13 version of the movie, but back in 1999 when the movie was released that was a no-go.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web trailer
Captain Marvel trailer
TV
The Haunting of Hill House TV spot
What To Watch This Week
Monday
Mainfest
This new series that looks absolutely not at all like a sequel to Lost mixed with This is Us premiers on NBC this week.
Tuesday
Doctor Who
Beginning Tuesday morning with episodes of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood, BBC America will be airing 13 days straight of Doctor Who.
Thursday
Murphy Brown
The old sitcom reboot train continues with Murphy Brown, a new show that picks up more than 20 years after the series ended back in 1998. And to be honest, I can’t believe Murphy Brown ran all the way ’til 1998.
The Good Place
The third season of the oh-so-good The Good Place returns to NBC this week.
The Reading & Watch List
- An Oral History of Apple’s Infinite Loop
- Chevy Chase can’t change
- Benjamin DuBay vs Stephen King: Jim Warren’s Deposition
- Going All In: An Oral History of ‘Rounders’
- Bomb squad warning over magnet fishing
- Jodie Whittaker Brings ‘Doctor Who’ Its Biggest Change in 55 Years
Cool Movie & TV Posters of the Week
Captain Marvel 
Daredevil
