DC Comics

Actions speak louder than words, as the saying goes -- so, while "Arrow" star Stephen Amell said he wasn't down with actors going on strike, his actions say the exact opposite.

Stephen had a picket sign in hand as he marched Friday with his fellow actors in NYC, which is interesting coming on the heels of his appearance on "TMZ Live."

He told us he supports his union, SAG-AFTRA, but totally disagreed with the union leadership's decision to go on strike, believing there are better ways to negotiate a good deal with the studios.

Stephen also told us he had a meeting scheduled with SAG honchos, and based on these images of him picketing with his wife and fellow actress Cassandra Jean ... it would seem the union brass convinced him to publicly get on board with the strike.

Some of Stephen's former cast members were also busy supporting the actors' strike on the left coast -- Katie Cassidy, Katrina Law, Willa Holland, Caity Lotz, Kirk Acevedo and Juliana Harkavy were all on the picket lines in the L.A. area. Even the show's executive producers came to show their support.

Stephen's shift is pretty dramatic ... last week he told us he wanted to see the union get back to the negotiating table, rather than continue the work stoppage.

He also claimed that although he's one of the only actors speaking out against striking, many of his colleagues secretly contacted him to express their support for his view.

Stephen Amell is a bit of a walking contradiction -- on the one hand, he says he backs his union amid the ongoing strike, but on the other ... he doesn't approve of them actually striking.

The "Arrow" star made the controversial comments during a recent promotional appearance in North Carolina, where he was plugging a new season of his Starz show 'Heels' ... and breaking with SAG-AFTRA's strike protocol in doing so.

Actors aren't supposed to be promoting projects during the strike, but there was Stephen plugging away, and not holding back his opinion on the work stoppage ... calling it unproductive and unnecessary.

Take a listen for yourself ... his disdain for how SAG is handling things is clear, although he does say he supports them as an org. What he doesn't condone is its decision to shut down the industry to get what they want.

He calls it a "reductive negotiating tactic" ... but doesn't really elaborate much more beyond that. Amell also said he found the entire ordeal incredibly frustrating and myopic.

Of course, his remarks here are not sitting well with other actors in the biz ... and Amell is getting dragged on social media right now as a would-be traitor and scab. A lot of folks are pointing out his sentiment doesn't actually make sense -- arguing it's all or nothing.

Amell appears to have responded ... taking to IG to shout out everyone who came to see him, and promising to keep going during a workout. Seems he's telegraphing something.

This year's Comic-Con is in full gear down in San Diego, and tons of folks look ready for the big screen ... dressing up as characters from some of 2023's biggest movies and TV shows.

The convention kicked off Thursday and the cosplay is on point yet again ... there's lots of folks going as Barbie and Ken, plus a family who went all Indiana Jones, and Mario and Peach's mushroom kingdom is getting a strong showing.

There's also some Oppenheimer looks ... with some folks even going up against their Barbie counterparts ... plus super heroes from all different universes.

Naturally, Star Wars is well represented too ... there's Mandalorians galore and even some Grogus.

The classic comic book characters are getting some love too ... because Batman and Robin never get old.

David Corenswet has been anointed the new Superman, and judging from these pics, he's got more than just bulging biceps.

Folks on the bird app are goin' gaga over the new man of steel ... DC is now dubbed, "Big D*** Superman."

The pics were shot last October in San Pedro, CA. when David was filming the upcoming flick, "The Greatest Hits," with Lucy Boynton.

There's a new Superman in town, but a lot of people are experiencing déjà vu after giving him a once-over ... 'cause the dude looks a hell of a lot like Henry Cavill.

29-year-old David Corenswet was tapped Tuesday to portray the Man of Steel in James Gunn's forthcoming "Superman: Legacy" ... which is a complete reboot of the franchise, and clearly a pivot toward a younger Clark Kent. Rachel Brosnahan's playing the new Lois Lane.

Corenswet and Brosnahan's casting got a lot of positive feedback -- especially for him. Frankly, folks seem to think he channels Superman quite well, not just in look but in height too. The guy's 6'4", and is the tallest actor to play Supes since the late Christopher Reeve.

And yes, based on his work in other stuff he's done in showbiz thus far -- "Hollywood," "Pearl," "We Own This City," etc. -- he definitely emanates Kal-El energy. Just look at him!

However, there's also a fair amount of fans who are pointing out the obvious ... namely, his passing resemblance to the last guy who played Superman -- one Mr. Cavill. Sure, he's not necessarily a dead ringer for Henry ... but some feel he's close enough, and they're questioning why Gunn went with someone so similar looking if he wanted a true change.

Of course, with that comparison ... there are gripes, especially from diehards who really wanted Henry back in the tights (AKA, Snyderverse devotees). But, as others have pointed out in the pushback to the "outrage" ... all the Superman actors kinda look like each other.

It's a good point, and not just that ... but Corenswet did seem to be a fan fave in the lead-up to the announcement. Other actors in the running included Tom Brittney and Nicholas Hoult -- but in the end, it seems DC won James and co. over with his audition/screen tests.

Henry himself certainly appears to be over the Superman drama -- this after he was dramatically dropped after briefly being assured he'd be coming back ... but he hasn't commented on Dave taking up the mantle just yet.

Corenswet might look a bit like Cavill, but time will tell if his performance is any different. It's a bird, it's a plane -- it's a new day in comic book movies. Out with the old, as they say.

Henry Cavill apparently might've had the role of James Bond locked up in the 2000s -- and he would've gotten away with it too ... if it wasn't for that meddling Daniel Craig.

This revelation was made courtesy of Martin Campbell -- the director of "Casino Royale," which was the first new Bond movie to feature DC post-Pierce Brosnan. According to him, not only did Henry throw his hat in the ring for the coveted role ... but he was a real contender.

Here's what Campbell had to say about HC's audition way back when ... "He looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous. And look, if Daniel didn’t exist Henry would have made an excellent Bond."

Campbell adds, "He looked terrific, he was in great physical shape … very handsome, very chiseled. He just looked a little young at that time back then."

Now, while Campbell notes that Henry wasn't his personal favorite at the time out of the final group being considered -- he still concedes ... the dude certainly could've done it. Unfortunately, Craig rolled through and gave it a shot -- and ended up landing the gig.

Now on the prospect of Henry potentially circling back and snagging the role of 007 now, Campbell addresses what most everyone else has said about HC at this point ... namely, he's kinda considered a geyser by Hollywood standards, especially for a multi-year commitment.

He explains that Craig spent a good decade-plus playing Bond -- and that sort of time could start to become noticeable on an actor like Henry, who's already in his 40s. MC continues ... "Henry’s 40, so by the time he’s done the third one he’s going to be 50 and anything beyond that’s two, three years per Bond. He’s in good shape Henry, he’s a good guy."

Henry Cavill was nowhere to be seen in the new 'Flash' movie -- a strategic move courtesy of James Gunn and co. -- but strangely ... Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot got the green light.

THR dropped this news, reporting on what went into the final cameo that teased a new Batman. According to them, there were a lot of moving pieces/re-shoots that went on right down to the wire ... with the final scene being reshot in January to include the character people see at the end as the "new Bruce Wayne." Spoiler ... it ain't BA or Michael Keaton.

Apparently, the ending underwent 3 different iterations before landing on what people saw in theaters. First -- when Warner Bros. was still part of AT&T -- the final scene was going to feature Ezra Miller's Barry Allen seeing Keaton's Batman and Sasha Calle's Supergirl.

After WB merged with Discovery, however, a couple of new lieutenants tweaked that a bit ... to include Cavill's Superman and Gadot's Wonder Woman -- in addition to Keaton and Calle.

This 2nd iteration came together when WB still thought Cavill had a shot of reprising the iconic role -- which was spearheaded and somewhat cemented by The Rock/'Black Adam' last year -- but got completely undone when Gunn came onboard as the new DC chief.

When Gunn was hired, THR says he completely scrapped the new ending which featured Gadot, Cavill, Keaton and Calle -- and, instead, opted to insert a former Batman actor as a little nod to the canon ... George Clooney.

The reported rationale for this is that Gunn and co-DC chief Peter Safran didn't wanna give fans of the Snyder-verse any false hope about these characters returning in their new revamped universe ... so they got rid of the two cameos at the end and went another way.

Here's what's strange about this ... while Gunn and Safran might've nixed Gadot from the final scene -- they still allowed her to make a cameo earlier in the movie. And ditto for Affleck, obviously, as it'd been well-known for quite a while that he'd be in this flick.

So what we're getting at is this ... it appears there was selective casting for 'The Flash.' Gunn and Safran were ultimately cool with Gadot and Affleck getting some screentime (if not for the last time) but for whatever reason ... they don't seem to have been okay with HC getting a final bow as the Man of Steel. This looks to be backed by their huge about-face with him.

Now, the question ... what might Gunn and Safran have against Cavill, who really appears to have been screwed out of the DCEU in this transition? In reality, probably nothing, but what's become evident in the past few months is that Gunn has his sights on a new Supes.

The new DC head has already said he's starting his new universe with 'Superman: Legacy' ... and due to that, it tracks that he'd wanna lose any trace of Cavill's Superman as soon as possible. In fact, if he'd been hired pre-'Black Adam' -- you could argue he likely would've nixed that whole post-credit cameo ... which, in the end, amounted to just fan service.

Ezra Miller's "The Flash" has been getting hailed as the greatest comic book movie of all time -- but it seems audiences don't really care ... 'cause, so far, they're hardly going to see it.

The 1st-day box office numbers are in ... and they're not very hot. Between Thursday's previews and Friday's haul, "The Flash" has only grossed $24.5 million domestically -- which means this flick isn't even close to hitting the original estimates of $70 mil+.

At this point, 'Flash' is pegged to hit between $55-$59 million through the 3-day weekend -- which is a huge disappointment considering how much good word of mouth it'd generated. BTW, The Rock's "Black Adam" performed slightly better last year on opening day ... and that film was largely considered a flop big picture. With that in mind, this is truly a disaster.

You might've heard about the buzz over the past several months -- tons of screenings were held by Warner Bros., and some were walking away calling it one of the best DC installments to date. There was even an anecdote about Tom Cruise recently seeing it ... and calling the director to praise him and the film. Like we said, it's been the talk of the town for a while.

Despite all this favorable publicity -- outside of Ezra's personal scandals -- it would appear your average moviegoer doesn't give a rip ... but it's hard to say why at this point.

Some might attribute it to Ezra themself ... who's been mired in controversies for about 2 years now. It might also be the lack of a traditional press run the studio opted for -- there were hardly any interviews in the lead-up -- but others are pointing to James Gunn.

Of course, Gunn is at the helm of DC now ... and he's strongly suggested he's going to be rebooting the entire DCU, and sorta doing away with whatever Zack Snyder established.

"The Flash" is one of the last few leftovers pre-Gunn ... so, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't seem like anything that happens in this movie really matters -- seeing how JG is going to start from scratch anyway. In other words, little to no stakes seem to be at play.

It's gotta be a bummer for the studio heads who were hoping cameos and reprisals would drum up excitement for "The Flash." Remember, Michael Keaton came to play Batman again ... and there's been word of lots of other Batman actors making an appearance as well.

In the end, though ... it doesn't seem like people were all that into it. Plus, if you watch the movie itself (which we have) then you'll come to realize -- there's a lot of time-jumping and universe rebooting ... and it's somewhat hard to follow what the hell is really going on.

For instance, the final question of who's Batman gets teased (and left as a cliffhanger). If you thought it'd be Keaton, Ben Affleck, or even Christian Bale ... you're dead wrong.

!!!SPOILER ALERT ... WE'RE ABOUT TO SPOIL "THE FLASH" ... SO LOOK AWAY NOW!!!

Anyone 'memba this guy??? Yeah, he's back too ... but again, to what end is anyone's guess.

Superman has officially landed in Sin City, Dean Cain has scooped up a super stunning home outside Las Vegas ... after he swore off living in California.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Dean closed the deal on his new pad on May 26, dropping just under $4M in the deal.

The 5-bedroom, 7-bathroom home comes with all your high-profile entertainment needs like a a movie theater, glass wine cellar and game room. It's even got an elevator if you don't feel like walking up or downstairs and wanna save some energy for the nearby Vegas Strip.

Speaking of The Strip, the master suite comes with a spa bath, and steam shower ... and incredible views of some of the world's most famous casinos.

If Dean feels like taking things outdoors, there's an infinity edge pool, spa, built-in outdoor bar and kitchen ... as well as fire bowls and a waterfall. And get this ... the home has a walk-on-water entrance and a 360 degree roof deck to take in even more views.

As we reported, Dean unloaded his Malibu home last month for a whopping $6.25M. Earlier this week, he told Fox News he was forced to leave the Golden State because of the homeless crisis and what he calls, "soft-on-crime policies."

Ezra Miller may actually be back as The Flash soon enough, 'cause there's already a script for a would-be sequel ... which will presumably be activated based on how the 1st one does.

Variety reports that 'The Flash 2' is signed, sealed and delivered -- and on standby -- courtesy of "Aquaman" screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick ... noting Warner is inclined to use it if a sequel is greenlit, which we won't know until after "The Flash" debuts.

The outlet also goes on to say that Johnson-McGoldrick's script features continued cameos from Michael Keaton's Batman and Sasha Calle's Supergirl ... who are both in the upcoming flick. The word of mouth for 'Flash,' which is coming out in a couple weeks, is at peak levels right now ... with many hyping it as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.

As for Ezra ... well, the director of "The Flash," Andy Muschietti, has already gone on the record to say he would recast them if a sequel was in the cards ... praising Ezra's work as Barry Allen as a one-of-a-kind performance that's made for them in any future installments.

The problem -- at least from some fans' POV -- is that Ezra is very problematic ... on account of all the crimes/misdeeds they've been alleged of carrying out over the past few years.

Just to name a few ... alleged assault, alleged grooming, alleged breaking and entering, alleged harassment ... among other things. Several of these incidents have resulted in arrests -- and wild police body cam footage too -- as well as a plea deal for at least one of these.

Of course, Ezra has also apologized for their erratic behavior ... and went on to cite mental health issues, as well as saying they'd seek the professional help they need to get better.

That ended up being good enough for Warner, which opted not to recast Ezra and move forward with the release of "The Flash" as is. Interestingly, Variety also reports that Ezra is going to skip all of the press ahead of the movie ... and will only make a brief appearance at the Los Angeles premiere the week of. Press for this movie, in general, has been virtually non-existent and it seems Warner will continue with that strategy ... opting instead for a bunch of ad buys and other promo, like screenings ... of which there's been several now.

Despite Ezra ducking their head and laying low ahead of "The Flash," the movie is projected to do pretty well at the box office -- at the moment, it's on track for a $75 mil opening.

Some are crying foul over Ezra getting this pass -- not to mention an almost guaranteed sequel -- and feel like they're being afforded an opportunity others who've been accused of wrongdoing, like Jonathan Majors, aren't enjoying. Granted, JM is with a different studio and hasn't lost his Marvel job just yet ... plus, his case is a bit different than Ezra's sitch.

Dean Cain has finally unloaded his super Malibu home ... and while the sale went below his OG asking price, it's still gonna net Cain millions.

Real estate sources tell TMZ Dean's pad sold Wednesday for $6.25M, going for $1 mil under his original asking price. We're told $7.25M was a bit of an overreach, but everything worked out and Dean is stoked with the deal.

TMZ broke the story, the "Superman" star listed the beautiful property in March -- and the 4-bed, 5-bath home has an incredible pool, waterfall spa, and a lush garden full of fruit plants.

The place also had a pretty fun sea creature-themed bedroom with a window that has ocean views ... which, by the way, are absolutely breathtaking.

DC may have found its next Man of Steel -- or at the least, a few options to consider ... and it sounds like the studio is looking toward a much younger Clark Kent than ever before.

THR reported Saturday that the casting search is on for "Superman: Legacy," and so far ... a few names have surfaced as top contenders to play both Superman and Lois Lane ... and maybe even supervillain Lex Luthor, depending on which trade you wanna believe.

For starters, we have 29-year-old David Corenswet -- who isn't really a very known name in the industry thus far ... but who apparently impressed James Gunn and co. enough to move on to the screen-testing stage ... which THR says will likely happen post-Memorial Day.

His biggest role to date was in 2022's "Pearl" -- where he plays a projectionist who falls in love with Mia Goth's serial killer protagonist. As you can see ... he's got the Supe-y vibe.

Other guys that are under consideration for Superman ... Tom Brittney and Andrew Richardson, a couple of British actors. Jacob Elordi was also apparently considered, but word is ... he never submitted an audition tape, so it seems he isn't interested in the role.

Now, as for Lois ... there's a handful of buzzy actresses who are reportedly in the mix -- including 27-year-old Emma Mackey ("Sex Education") ... who's said to be a front-runner. Other gals who are said to be in the running ... Emmy-winning Rachel Brosnahan, who's the star of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Bridgerton" star Phoebe Dynevor and Samara Weaving.

While Mackey's name is swirling as choice #1 it seems, THR says Brosnahan churned out an epic audition -- although, apparently WB thinks she might be too old for the part. RB is 32 ... and Gunn is shooting for his characters to look like straight-up 20-somethings.

There's one other name that is being floated ... one Nicholas Hoult, who was just recently in the "Renfield" Dracula movie opposite Nicolas Cage. He was also in the 2015 'Mad Max' reboot, and it's his work there that left Warner impressed. THR says he's under consideration to play Luthor ... but Deadline's reporting he's actually a Superman contender too.

Either way ... it's clear WB's running with a youthful spirit here, very much in the vein of "Smallville," we suppose -- which chronicled young Clark Kent in his fictional hometown.

Another obvious telltale sign from all this news -- Gunn is definitely pivoting off of Henry Cavill and anything Zack Snyder-related. Time for some new blood ... that's the feeling here.

"Smallville" star Erica Durance is leaving her Clark Kent ... because she and her husband, actor David Palffy, have split.

A rep for Erica, who played Lois Lane on the superhero TV show, tells TMZ ... "David and Erica have decided to amicably separate."

The date of separation is unclear ... ditto for the reason behind the split ... but it doesn't appear Erica or David have filed divorce docs, at least not yet.

In a joint statement, Erica and David say ... "Out of respect for our children that's all that will be conveyed at this time. Thank you in advance for your understanding as we navigate the next chapter in our lives."

The relationship has been the subject of fan speculation recently ... it's been a while since Erica's posted with David on social media, and she was spotted not wearing her wedding ring last week at the Canadian Screen Awards, all while making cryptic posts online.

Erica and David started dating way back in 2001, and in 2005 they tied the knot. They have two sons together, an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old.

Before, Erica was married to Wesley Parker from 1996 to 1999 ... but it ended in divorce.

A Connecticut man turned into a real-life version of Superman as he heroically fought off a group of violent carjackers trying to steal his car ... and the savage brawl was all caught on video.

Check out Ring camera footage showing one of the suspects sneaking up to a red Infiniti parked in a driveway while chatting on a cell phone in Rocky Hill, CT, on April 10.

He opened the unlocked driver's side door and jumped behind the wheel of the car, but he didn't get very far because a homeowner who lived nearby ran up to him and ripped him out of the seat.

The two started going at it, throwing punches at one another and wrestling on the ground. Two more assailants then entered the picture and continued beating the homeowner.

One of the attackers lost his shoe while kicking the homeowner, who kept defending himself. The aggressor scooped up his sneaker and proceeded to whack the homeowner in the head with it.

Then a fourth attacker joined in the melee and got in a few licks before the entire crew could no longer trade blows with the homeowner and decided to flee in a getaway car.

Investigators were still looking for the perpetrators as of this morning.

As for the homeowner, he was not seriously injured by the assault. It wasn't clear if he was also the owner of the car that was almost jacked.

Here's a close-up look at Lady Gaga's take on Harley Quinn for the upcoming 'Joker 2' movie ... and this version looks dark and sinister.

Director Todd Phillips shared the in-your-face photo Wednesday on social media, announcing filming has wrapped and it's time for him to hunker down and transform hours of footage into a movie.

Lady Gaga's hair and makeup seem to match up with a scene she filmed earlier this week ... when she was singing and dancing on the very same outdoor Bronx staircase Joaquin Phoenix danced on in the first "Joker" film.

Remember ... we previously saw Lady Gaga in full costume as Harley Quinn last month, but she was sporting a different look than this grimy version.

Before, LG was looking pretty clownish as HQ ... and both versions seem darker than Margot Robbie's take on Harley Quinn, which has been well-received in several different flicks.

Bianca Belair could be the next John Cena, Rock or Dave Bautista -- at least, that's what wrestling legend X-Pac thinks ... 'cause he tells TMZ Sports he sees the current WWE RAW Women's champ moving from the squared circle to the silver screen!!

We spoke with the 50-year-old great out at LAX this week ... and asked the two-time Hall of Fame inductee who he believes could transition into Hollywood post-wrestling career.

After going through of list of WWE stars in his head, Pac finally figured it out ... it's Bianca.

"She's great at everything," Pac told us. "She's a good talker ... she makes her own outfits, bro."

"She's great in the ring. I'm a huge fan. That's who I'm picking."

Of course, Pac (real name Sean Waltman) doesn't see the 33-year-old starting an acting career any time soon -- Belair just made her wrestling debut in 2016 and recently became the longest-reigning Black singles champion in WWE history.

"She's still on her run," Pac added. "When she's done with her run, I think that's available for her. If she wants to."

A WWE star turned actor/actress isn't far-fetched obviously ... The Rock -- who wrestled from 1996 to 2019 -- is one of the highest-paid actors in the nation and his films have grossed over $10.5 billion worldwide.

Cena -- who still wrestles in the WWE -- has been featured in several movies and TV shows, including "Peacemaker." He also won the Action Star of the Year award at CinemaCon.

As for Dave Bautista, he solidified his spot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his part in "Guardians of the Galaxy" ... and has since taken on some wide-ranging roles.