What’s one way Warner Bros. and DC Comics can get the delayed “Justice League” movie to compete with Marvel’s established “The Avengers” franchise? By getting Christian Bale to play Batman again. It once seemed impossible, considering the ending of “The Dark Knight Rises,” but reports have surfaced that Christopher Nolan and David Goyer will help guide “Justice League” to the big screen, and that Bale may be coming along for the ride. Considering that the development of the potential tentpole “JL” has seen nothing but fits and starts so far, any concrete news would surely be welcomed.
As for the rest of this week’s list…
March 10, 2013
1. “Justice League” (Last week: not ranked)
Will we really see a “Justice League” produced by Christopher Nolan and featuring the return of Christian Bale as Batman? Or is this some sort of villainous trick?
2. “Anchorman: The Legend Continues” (Last week: No. 7)
By the beard of Zeus, this cast is looking better and better. The latest addition? Han Solo himself, Harrison Ford. We want this movie now.
3. “Oz the Great and Powerful” (Last week: Not ranked)
Sam Raimi’s take on L. Frank Baum’s beloved book series is making a huge splash at the box office this weekend. There’s no place like the bank.
4. “Amazing Spider-Man 2” (Last week: No. 3)
The great Chris Cooper has signed on to play Norman Osborn, which could mean he’ll try on the Green Goblin costume. Of course, ol’ webhead will already have his hands full with Electro (Jamie Foxx) and The Rhino (Paul Giamatti).
5. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (Last week: Not ranked)
Franchise vet Halle Berry revealed that a Storm front is heading to the set of Bryan Singer’s “First Class” follow-up. Now, where’s Cyclops?
6. “Prometheus 2” (Last week: not ranked)
Noomi Rapace and director Ridley Scott have been meeting to discuss the sequel, and she says a script is being worked on. Will it actually happen? Will it actually make sense?
7. Academy Awards (Last week: No. 1)
Tina Fey doesn’t want to host next year. Does that mean we don’t have to watch it?
8. Cannes Film Festival (Last week: not ranked)
Steven Spielberg was named president of this year”s Cannes jury, which must feel like a pretty nifty consolation prize after failing to pick up an Oscar for directing “Lincoln.” The festival takes place May 15-25.
9. “Hulk” (Last week: not ranked)
We all want to see Mark Ruffalo play the Hulk in a solo film, but it looks like it won’t happen anytime soon, according to “Avengers” director Joss Whedon. Summer 2015 isn’t that far away though, if you think about it.
10. ”The Hobbit: There and Back Again” (Last week: Not ranked)
The third film in Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” trilogy has been pushed back to December 2014 in order to avoid going head-to-head with “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Now we’ll never get to see who would win in a fight between Bilbo and Wolverine.
Check out last week’s Movie Power Rankings here. What do you think of this week’s rankings? Share your thoughts below. Or tweet your thoughts with the hashtag #moviepowerrankings and tell us who you want to see in next week’s edition.