Laurence Fishburne, who starred in both “Man of Steel” and “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” as Perry White, reveals that he was unable to be part of “Justice League” and isn’t sure if he’ll ever return to the role of the Daily Planet editor-in-chief.
“I don’t think I’m still on call,” he reveals. “I was unfortunately unable to go do some work on what turned out to be the Justice League movie. I don’t know that I need to go back or if they’ll have me back or not, but I was grateful to have been a part of it. I loved working with Zack (Snyder), I think he makes an incredible superhero movie.”
As for whether he known anything about more Superman movies in the works…
“I don’t. I don’t. I haven’t heard anything about it,” he explains. “They just fell behind the eight-ball. I really wish they had started 20 years ago. But that’s all right, they’re where they are.”
Fishburne, one of only a handful of actors to work on both DC and Marvel superhero films, plays Dr. Bill Foster, a rival scientist of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) in “Ant-Man and the Wasp”.
Read the full interview at DenofGeek.com.
I really enjoyed his Perry in MOS, but found the lines they gave him in BvS were like what a kid thinks an editor would say at a newspaper… ‘kent, youre on sports today’ what newspaper works like that? That being said, I’ll be upset if he doesn’t come back because he’s a great actor who just needs better writers. He was also good as Goliath in Ant-Man for what it’s worth. DC really dragging their feet here and i keep hearing about high profile directors publicly stating they’re going to stay away from franchises because of the toxic fandoms.… Read more »
Dang! Well, can’t say I blame him – I just saw Ant-man and the Wasp and if there is a possibility of seeing him again in the MCU, then yeah I can see why he won’t be coming back.
Maybe they’ll replace him with Franklin Stern, only just as they changed Perry to fit their version, maybe Franklin will be tough old white guy who played Nixon like some other Perry Whites were.
Never cared for his version of the character. Perry White should be tough, but likable, and Fisburne’s portrayal was severely lacking in likability imo. Hopefully if he’s not on call, that means everyone else from the cast isn’t on call, either, and the next time we see Superman on screen will be a reboot.
His Perry really never got to do anything besides being cynical.
Wouldn’t say this means it’s “unlikely” he’ll return, just that there’s nothing happening right now. If someone ever decides to make another Superman movie in this continuity, and a part is written for Perry, I’m sure they’ll ask him back.
Well, I hope he manages to make it back for another round of Perry White after all, but if not, he was in two movies with a clear artistic vision, regardless of public reception, and he seems to have enjoyed them, so I’m glad we got what we got, at least.
IF….we get another Superman movie there’s a lot of explaining to do unless they’re going to ignore the Justice League. PerryW’s role has never been an over whelming character to begin with. Whether he’s back or not they haven’t even touched on how Clark Kent is back from the dead. PerryW’s missing in the next movie can be excused away but Kent back from the dead is going to be an interesting concept.
I’d be okay if they just to do a time jump and bypass the whole issue. I don’t want the next director and writer to have to be hankered down by the previous events. I’ve been a big advocate for incorporating a version of the ‘death of Clark kent’ storyline from the 90’s to kind of help explain away the disappearance though. I feel that the next one should be a stand alone with a more personal storyline, threat and a strong focus on Superman’s character. Make a good version of Kenny Braverman or Maybe even Metallo. That’s the way… Read more »
Five bucks says we’re going to see a “re-tooling” of the DCEU, and either through contractual buyouts, the studio finding a force majeur, or just waiting for them to expire, we’ve seen the last of Henry Cavill and Co as the Superman Family.
That’s certainly what I’m hoping for. Way too much baggage with Cavill’s Superman. Wipe the slate clean, and start fresh.
If they decide to start over, you’re not going to see superman for a very long time because WB does not believe that he brings in money. If they believed in him there would have been a straight up sequel and none of this lip service about a 5-movie arc that was supposedly occuring.
Not necessarily; it has to make sense financially, but in no small part that will be getting a production crew who can knock out a film on time and on budget. If the “magic number” for Hollywood Accounting (probably lower, but let’s go with it here) is 225% of the production costs, and Superman can be reasonably assumed to bring in roughly $300 million (US) worldwide. Someone who could bring in a film for around $120 million (US) is going to get the job. They’ll have to film in Canada or Australia (or at least outside of California) where the… Read more »
Whether it’s a sequel or reboot, they’re not going to let the character sit around collecting dust. He’ll be on the big screen again sooner, rather then later.
I hope you guys are right, but I just have no faith in the people making the decisions. There is obviously some hesitation on their part regarding Superman because they’ve had no problem fast tracking other characters films. They’ve basically cast him off to the side in the last two movies while everyone else is getting a front and center showcase in either a sequel (ww84, suicide squad), stand alone film (Matt reeves’ Batman, Shazam and aquaman) or developing something with writers and directors (the flash, green lantern and birds of prey). If all they announce at comic con is… Read more »
Just remember; if they haven’t actually rolled film (and in a few cases, even if they have), it doesn’t necessarily mean that the announced film is set in stone. Just ask Tim Burton, McG, or George Miller if you don’t want to search too far abroad.
Do you start over from scratch every time you make a mistake???? No good business succeeds by starting over after EVERY mistake…ROTFLMAO.
10 bucks says you are wrong….not to mention I doubt the Shareholders would not want to gamble on rebooting/starting from scratch and end up worse than before ala fantastic 4….LOL)
Apples and oranges; Fant4stic was made to retain the rights to the characters. WB doesn’t have that problem. The “shareholders” don’t usually vote on creative decisions. And since you ask; in the creative realms of writing, painting, or woodworking, if I make a mistake severe enough, yes I will start over. We’re not talking about brain surgery.
Amateurs have panic attacks and only think about starting over, not solving the actual problem..otherwise you are just making the same mistakes over after starting over…..Professionals know how to work around problems without starting over In The Superman movies case it is not severe enough. You & a few may think that but the overall general audience does not.
I hope this isn’t the end of Cavill as Superman. I thought he nailed it, even when he wasn’t given much to work with. But I won’t miss Fishbourne as Perry White. They never gave him that much to work with, and in BvS they just made the character a cranky jerk. I’m hoping for some Superman news at Comic Con, but we’ll see next week…
Don’t worry, they won’t reboot or recast Superman anytime soon. The general audience has already accepted him in the role of Superman & to do so would be financial suicide for WB/DC & hurt them even worse than previous mistakes. (regardless of what certain members may say about starting fresh…because is not always the answer, but the cheesy way out)
By that logic, we should getting the eighth Lois & Clark-based film or the third Smallville film. There’s no shortage of fictional characters who’ve had a veritable revolving door of casting. Was it “suicide” every time they recast Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, or close to home, Superman? The “cheesy” way out would to just make another poor film. WB will do what they think will rake in the most cash, if they think it’ll bring in an extra $50 million, they’ll cast a chimp in a cape.
Yeah…there is a difference, Bond actors aged & were too old to play Bond anymore. (hence why they should have nabbed Pierce Brosnan during his Remington Steele days & Craig is looking way too old now. Besides Craig’s Bond…the Bond movies were stand alones & were not part of a continuous storyline/arc .(not to mention each actor had almost a decade or more on their run as Bond with 4 or more movies…excluding Lazenby …and your comparing THAT to Cavil’s ONE Superman movie???? (plus 2 partial appearances if you count BvS & JL) LOL. Cavil is here to stay. Cavil… Read more »
They recast Superheroes all the time. Fant4stic was a cluster*beep* start to finish, you’ll get no argument from me there, but… 1. Its sole purpose was to maintain the rights to the characters. Much like the infamous 1994 film, if the studio didn’t start production by certain dates, the rights reverted to Marvel. 2. “Recasting” was the least of its problems. And if we’re going to disagree hyperbolically, yeah Henry Cavill is part of the problem. He comes off as a nice guy in interviews, but his Superman leaves a lot to be desired. He looks the part, but he… Read more »
That is hilarious. I will use your own words against you:: He looks the part, but he doesn’t have the ability to rise above mediocre (at best) writing” Okaaay, So you would have a studio waste more money by rebooting completely and recasting for bad writing??…which would take 100’s of auditions, time & god know how much money..then once they find all new actors..they have to spend even more money & time tailor making all new wardrobes to fit each new actor. (when they can save a ton of money with the current actors as their costumes have all been… Read more »
It’s only a “waste” if it doesn’t pay off. And since you brought it up: 1. We’ve seen all the “shine” we’re going to out of this cast. Fair play to them, they gave it their all from what I’ve seen, but [Cavill and Adams in particular] have hit their limits together. Honestly, I think the (obvious) Whedon written and directed scenes are the better parts of Justice League, but even with a leg up like that, they just fall flat. 2. Can’t say I disagree. But, simply hiring a new writer or director is NOT itself a guarantee of… Read more »
Replacing a screenwriter & director is still less costly than a total reboot. A total reboot would damage WB reputation & consumer confidence even more..than it already is…that is not a pay off if you ask me. It could work..but the financial risk is too high. I doubt anyone in the studio would be so careless as too risk that. Work smarter not harder.
I agree with you on this point. From a business POV and logical strategies, and logistics costs, that’s the way you do it.
LOL…LOVE the down votes by the way, because I actually use real world logic (& not just social media “keyboard warrior” logic) and make sense for my valid points.. As if I my feelings are hurt, & 3 people don’t want to hear it straight up & call it how it how I see it.
Guess they should have recast Harry Potter then after The Prisoner of Azkaban (since that was the lowest grossing film of the franchise)…yea…that would have done WONDERS for the financial success of the movies……pffft….gimme a break
Per box office mojo, that film grossed just shy of $800 million on a $130 million budget. Rule of thumb is it varies with the territory, but the studio can expect to pocket about 55cents of every dollar. Even if they spent $100 million on P&A, they were in the black on that one.
That is irrelevant to my point. Recast Radcliffe’s Potter character and the rest of the franchise would have bombed. No different with Superman (which was a mild success & not a financial bomb)
Uuhhh… It’s quite apt. Had the film been a failure, the studio would have sent everyone packing without hesitation. There’s no shortage of still born (or cut short) film franchises based on popular books/comics/toys/whatever.
Wrong. Just because 1 film does not meet expectations does not mean the ONLY viable solution is to reboot. Rebooting everything is the cancer of today’s Hollywood. Many businesses in and out of movies have collapsed doing JUST that,,,LOL
Did they reboot Star Trek TNG after season 1 did not do so well? No, they continued & ironed out the flaws. My solution is still the better business tactic with the least amount of risk involved
The DCEU is well past “one film” under performing. The measure of success for a first-run syndicated show and a tent pole feature is pretty different. If you have actual numbers showing otherwise, by all means present them, but I’d bet any amount of money I could reasonably acquire that by the end of its first season TNG had enough stations buying in to put it in the black.
Underperforming is different than bombing….interesting you should say that though since the DCEU’s first 5 films have outgrossed MCU’s first 5. (regardless of what character they are about…since it all comes down to money) Sure there is flaws to fix but hey…they could have been much worse. Give credit were credit is due & realize the flaws where there are flaws. Personally I love both franchises as they are polar opposites. If all comic movies were the same & had the same approach..they would be stagnant & boring…& the comic book movie genre would fade the way of the old… Read more »
For whatever it’s worth, that’s not my down vote (at least on that one ). Yes, DC’s first five did gross more than Marvel’s first five, but: 1. They all had lower negative costs, so at worst they’re equally profitable. Also the costs of production and distribution were spread between multiple studios (Marvel/Disney, Paramount, and Universal), WB is on the hook for pretty much everything. 2. Phase 1’s completion precedes the DCEU by a year, how much ticket inflation has there been? Since it opened in 2008, the price of a matinee at my local mega- super- dynamoplex has gone… Read more »
If that’s the case then it’s really unfortunate. He did his best to stay in the role and worked what was handed to him on the table. Maybe further news about his role will pop up sometime and he stays. But I think otherwise. He’s got other plans and roles lined up and it all depends on his schedule.
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