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Weekly Movie Highlights: Deathstroke in Justice League? First look at The Rock in Jumanji

This week has been a somewhat interesting week for movie news. We had the big reveal from Ben Affleck on the set of Justice League, first looks of films like Jumanji and Beauty and the Beast have been released and one of Hollywood's great comedic actors tragically passed away. So there have been ups and downs this past week, and we'll be diving into them.

1. Ben Affleck reveals Deathstroke
Perhaps the most unexpected, and slightly cryptic, reveal of the week was Ben Affleck's Facebook video of Deathstroke being filmed on a monitor on a set. The set is most likely Justice League, as I believe that is the only DC movie being filmed at the moment. Many believe that he's the villain for the new Batman movie, directed by Ben Affleck, but so far as I can tell that movie is still in the script-writing stage. As for Deathstroke himself. He looks fantastic! It seems the filmmakers are taking inspiration from the video game Arkham Origins, which is a great idea as Deathstroke looked great in that game. There's also been a few theories as to who's playing Deathstroke. Many believe it to be Joe Manganiello, as he has recently started following both Zack Snyder (Justice League's Director) and David Ayer (Suicide Squad's Director) on Twitter and is now in London, where they are now shooting Justice League. Seems like pretty strong evidence. However, I really hope it's not the case. Whilst Manganiello would look good in the role I must question his acting ability. I don't really know any role he's been in that stands out to me. Perhaps, if he is Deathstroke, he could prove me wrong. But overall Deathstroke looks fantastic and I can't wait to see how he does in the DCEU!

2. Gene Wilder (1933-2016)
Perhaps the most unfortunate movie news of the week is the passing of comedic actor Gene Wilder. The actor had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the past three years, which he kept hidden from the public as to not disappoint fans and so the character of Willy Wonka wouldn't be linked to such a terrible disease. A very admirable decision from the actor. Making sure children were still happy with the childhood classic. The actor is most well known for playing the chocolate maker in the 1971 movie. He was also well known for his work with Mel Brookes. With movies such as Blazing Saddles, where he played an outlaw Gunman. The Producers, a film about two men who try to make a terrible play but end making a success. And Young Frankenstein, a spoof of the Mary Shelley classic. Gene Wilder was indeed a great comedic actor whose work brought a lot of joy to audiences. He will indeed be missed.

3. Cogsworth and Lumiere revealed for Beauty And The Beast
This week Disney released a 25th Anniversary Blu Ray edition of Beauty And The Beast. On the Blu Ray was a featurette for the live action version coming out in 2017. I am very excited for this film. I think Disney has improved significantly with their Live-Action versions of their animated films, especially after Cinderella and The Jungle Book. However, on the featurette they showed Concept Art for Lumiere (Ewan McGregor) and Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), and it doesn't look good. Whilst the animated versions kept to more simplistic designs for the characters these versions look far too complicated. Hopefully this isn't the concept art that they're going with. But I'd be a bit disappointed if they did.

4. Terminator 2 to get 3D re-release
The famous 1991 Sci-Fi movie is set to be re-released in 3D for 2017. James Cameron himself is behind it, making sure that it transitions to the medium well. Personally, I do not like this idea. After both Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park had the same treatment and it brought almost nothing new to both movies. I expect T-2 to be no different. It's perhaps the best Terminator film out of all of them, as the franchise just went downhill with it's sequels. Maybe this is just a method to remind everyone that there are good terminator movies.

5. First Look at Dwayne Johnson in Jumanji
Not many actors can utilize Instagram as a marketing tool the way Dwayne Johnson can. He's using it to promote the movie adaptation of the TV show Baywatch, a film that he is producing, and now he's using it to promote his remake/sequel of Jumanji. Johnson posted concept art of himself as "The Smoldering Dr. Bravestone" Which looks like a cross between Indianna Jones and Nathan Drake. The use of the word "Smoldering" kind of suggests that Johnson will play something of a dashing character. Perhaps the masculine, ladies-man stereotype. Making Kevin Hart and Jack Black's characters feel a little insecure. Hopefully that's not the complete case as I feel that's been done a lot in films. There might be more to it. But Johnson looks good in this concept art and it's gotten me to look forward to the new Jumanji movie.

And that's this week's five Weekly Movie Highlights. I hope you've enjoyed reading it. If there are any stories that you'd want me to cover then please comment. Thank you for reading :)

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