Cape Watch: Wonder Woman Gets a Director and Jared Leto Gets Coy About the Joker

With the holidays just around the corner, Cape Watch has arrived on the scene just a little earlier than usual to ensure that you have something to distract you while you try and sit and patiently wait for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. We've got a couple of announcements about movies you won't see for at least a couple of years, tales of a female director for Wonder Woman, and Jared Leto's best attempt at distraction from the topic at hand. Here are the highlights of the week's superhero news.
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Warner Bros. (left), Marvel Entertainment (right)

Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ... Oh, it is a plane, actually. It's carrying everyone off to their Thanksgiving destinations. With the holidays just around the corner, Cape Watch has arrived on the scene just a little earlier than usual to ensure that you have something to distract you while you try and sit and patiently wait for the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer (yes, we know that's what you're all really thinking about).

Whether it's turkey, tofurky, or Millennium Falcons on your mind, there are still some superhero stories you ought to read, though. We've got a couple of announcements about movies you won't see for at least a couple of years, tales of a female director for Wonder Woman, and Jared Leto's best attempt at distraction from the topic at hand. Here are the highlights of the week's superhero news.

SUPER IDEA: Michelle MacLaren Is the Woman Behind Wonder Woman

After having been rumored for a while, news broke earlier this week that Breaking Bad and Walking Dead director Michelle MacLaren had signed on to develop and direct 2017's Wonder Woman movie for Warner Bros. Gal Gadot, of course, will play the lead following her debut as the character in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Why this is super: As we said back when MacLaren was first linked to the gig, she's a great director and it's good to see Warners make choices for its superhero movies that are both unexpected and smart. Plus, you know, it’s not uncool that a woman is responsible for bringing the first female-led superhero movie in over a decade to the screen.

SUPER IDEA: The X-Men's New Bad Guy Looks A Little Familiar

Oscar Isaac is going to be a busy man over the next few years. In addition to being part of next year's Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Variety broke the news this week that he's also signed on to play the villainous Apocalypse in 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse. Just think: We all knew him back when he was a nameless bad guy in The Bourne Legacy. (No, really, he was.)
Why this is super: Isaac's star has been on the rise for awhile—definitely since his appearance in Inside Llewyn Davis—and the fact that he's now juggling a couple of franchises is proof of that. Of course, this means we also have to start wondering if his signing on to this movie means that he won't be making an appearance in Star Wars: Episode VIII, or whether there's simply no schedule conflict between the two projects. Wait, was this story an unintentional, unknowing and accidental spoiler?

SUPER IDEA: Nebula as the Boba Fett of the Marvel Universe

For those who felt that Karen Gillan's blue-skinned cyborg assassin got a little bit lost in this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy, it looks like director James Gunn might agree with you. Talking to Yahoo! Movies, Gunn said that he has "so many plans" for the character, adding that "she's the Boba Fett of the movie, she's the one that you really dig, she's the cool one that we need to get more of."
Why this is super: First of all, let's be honest: Nebula was kind of wasted in Guardians (with the arguable exception of her fight with Gamora), so actually managing to do something with her in future movies is definitely a good thing. But comparing her to Boba Fett, James? Really? Are you telling us that she's going to end up getting hit in the back and flying into a hole in the ground, making all her fans wonder what in the name of hell just happened? Because that wouldn't be a good idea. (Yes, we are still bitter about what happened to Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi, why do you ask?)

SUPER IDEA: Jared Leto Playing Coy About Those Joker Rumors

What happens when you ask Jared Leto about the persistent rumors that he's going to play the Joker in David Ayer's 2016 movie Suicide Squad? Apparently, the answer is: "He tries to distract you by making you think of movies from the last century." (See video below) Please note, of course, that he doesn’t say no.
Why this is super: Is this super? Is it villainy? We honestly don't even know. But suddenly we've got this unexpected desire to see Brad Pitt play the Joker instead, and we're pretty sure that's not what anyone intended.

SUPER IDEA: Captain America: Civil War Might Get Another Bad Guy

It feels like it was just last week that we learned that Daniel Bruhl had signed on to the third Captain America movie to play a mysterious villain (Oh, wait; it was). Now Frank Grillo is hinting that he's going to reprise his Captain America: The Winter Soldier heavy in the movie as well, teasing Entertainment Weekly by saying "it sounds like this Civil War is going to be pretty interesting."
Why this is super: For fans of Cap's comic book mythology, the combination of the Civil War storyline and a return for Grillo's "Crossbones" adds up to one clear outcome: the death of Steve Rogers. It was, after all, Crossbones who did the deed in the comics immediately after the end of the Civil War series—but does Marvel Studios really want to get rid of Chris Evans so quickly?