The DC Extended Universe: To Thanagar and Beyond!

[JessePinkman]

With DC certain to make a new Batman movie starring Batfleck, do you think they'll cast Catwoman and dare to make her age appropriate? I'd love to see her but I worry that they'll cast someone on the cusp of 30.

[GHScorpiosRule]

With DC certain to make a new Batman movie starring Batfleck, do you think they'll cast Catwoman and dare to make her age appropriate? I'd love to see her but I worry that they'll cast someone on the cusp of 30.

 

 

I don't have a source to cite, but I heard on my local radio station that Affleck will be writing and directing the next Batman movie, so...who knows?

[katha]

I don't have a source to cite, but I heard on my local radio station that Affleck will be writing and directing the next Batman movie, so...who knows?

I mean, he can't be worse than Snyder, right? The movies he's done so far as a director have been decently entertaining and his individual reviews for Batman/Bruce Wayne weren't bad. Watch, it's probably just a rumour and they'll bring in Michael Bay instead...(-;

[GHScorpiosRule]

I mean, he can't be worse than Snyder, right? The movies he's done so far as a director have been decently entertaining and his individual reviews for Batman/Bruce Wayne weren't bad. Watch, it's probably just a rumour and they'll bring in Michael Bay instead...(-;

 

I will concede that Affleck is a very good director. But he leaves me cold as an actor. So any movies he's in, I won't pay money to watch.

[JessePinkman]

I don't have a source to cite, but I heard on my local radio station that Affleck will be writing and directing the next Batman movie, so...who knows?

Oh no...this is the man that hired Blake Lively for The Town.

[scarynikki12]

I think Affleck is an excellent writer and director but he's never done a traditional action movie.  That said, if he wants (and is allowed) to approach a Bat-flick in the same way he's approached his previous movies (primarily drama that include significant character focus and some action scenes) then it could be excellent. 

[Bruinsfan]

I have plenty of critical things to say about Snyder, but he is actually surprisingly good when it comes to the casting and treatment of women in his films. Amy Adams as the first live-action Lois Lane who's smart, hyper-competent, and has real agency (and is also the older woman love interest to Clark); Diane Lane as the Martha Kent who's responsible for her son's desire to help people despite his father's isolationist childrearing; Antje Traue as Faora-Ul, the one GOOD villain he's come up with in a DC movie; Lena Heady as a Queen Gorgo who grabs the reins of power herself and puts her enemy down rather than depending on the protection of her absent husband; Sarah Polley as the quick-thinking, capable protagonist of Dawn of the Dead. And in the most recent movie, both Holly Hunter as the no-nonsense Senator Finch and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (the best part of the movie, IMHO).

[MarkHB]

Warner Bros. moves Wonder Woman, adds two new DC film dates.

 

Warner Bros. has shifted the release dates for its upcoming films Wonder Woman and Jungle Book, plus it has dated three more currently untitled films.

Jungle Book, which will be directed by Andy Serkis, is moving back an entire year, from Oct. 6, 2017, to Oct. 19, 2018....

 

In DC cinematic universe news, Wonder Woman, which will star Gal Gadot (who made her debut in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), is moving up from June 23, 2017, to June 2, 2017.

 

Warner Bros. also set dates for two of its now-untitled DC films: Oct. 5, 2018, and Nov. 1, 2019. These new dates are set for yet-to-be announced films and are in addition to the already set DC films....

[Perfect Xero]

I have plenty of critical things to say about Snyder, but he is actually surprisingly good when it comes to the casting and treatment of women in his films. Amy Adams as the first live-action Lois Lane who's smart, hyper-competent, and has real agency (and is also the older woman love interest to Clark); Diane Lane as the Martha Kent who's responsible for her son's desire to help people despite his father's isolationist childrearing; Antje Traue as Faora-Ul, the one GOOD villain he's come up with in a DC movie; Lena Heady as a Queen Gorgo who grabs the reins of power herself and puts her enemy down rather than depending on the protection of her absent husband; Sarah Polley as the quick-thinking, capable protagonist of Dawn of the Dead. And in the most recent movie, both Holly Hunter as the no-nonsense Senator Finch and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (the best part of the movie, IMHO).

 

I didn't think much of Snyder's Lois Lane. Yeah she was Action!Reporter in her first scene in MOS, but that was kind of it for her. She has one job to do in the big climactic battle, which she fails to accomplish until science guy has to step in and do it for her. Yay? It was almost like they wrote that scene in specifically to make Lois look useless without the assistance of a man.

[MarkHB]

I don't know if there's a clip online yet, but during tonight's MTV Movie Awards Kevin Hart and The Rock did a Batman/Superman sketch in the first hour... with Dwayne Johnson in a Superman costume calling out "Marvel bitches" like the three Chris's and SLJ, and finishing by slipping in "Black Adam is coming!"  I think he's actually pretty excited to play that part.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Oh YUCK! (for me)  I heard on my local music radio station that it's official: Ben Affleck will be writing, directing and starring in the next STAND ALONE Batman movie. Like, there aren't OTHER SUPER HEROES in the DC Franchise?

 

Look, I love Bats (except for the Ben, Val, George ones), He's my No. 1 Hero.  But GOOD GRIEF. There are so many other heroes within DC that deserve movies. Just don't let Zack Snyder get his hands on them.

[Rick Kitchen]

The next 35 super hero movies opening between now and the end of 2020:

 

http://moviepilot.com/posts/3869610?utm_source=fb-stream-post&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=all-35-upcoming-superhero-movies-til-2020

[Demented Daisy]

Green Lantern Corps rumored to have 3 Earth lanterns.

[lion10]

Oh YUCK! (for me)  I heard on my local music radio station that it's official: Ben Affleck will be writing, directing and starring in the next STAND ALONE Batman movie. Like, there aren't OTHER SUPER HEROES in the DC Franchise?

 

Look, I love Bats (except for the Ben, Val, George ones), He's my No. 1 Hero.  But GOOD GRIEF. There are so many other heroes within DC that deserve movies. Just don't let Zack Snyder get his hands on them.

 

Ben Affleck is a pretty good actor and director so I'm not opposed to this happening, though imo they should've had a solo Batman movie before BvS and then BvS to allow for more development and stop BvS from being too stuffed.  But WB is really leaning on Batman too much.

[BetterButter]

‘The Flash’ Movie Loses Director Seth Grahame-Smith

[AimingforYoko]

Get your effing act together, Warners.

[Bruinsfan]

Why couldn't it have been the Justice League movies that lost their director? Basically anyone but Josh Trank or Michael Bay would be an improvement.

[Kromm]

A OpEd piece that's a total burn on the entire Snyderverse.

 Observer.com: DC Universe Stinks and Will Never Catch Up to Marvel

Quote

OPINION

DC Universe Stinks and Will Never Catch Up to Marvel

Dear Warner Bros: Kindly stop producing giant, bloated messes
By Pete Ross • 05/05/16 9:00am

As a fan of DC Comics, I’ve been dismayed to see many of their greatest characters completely butchered as of late. I’ve loved almost all of the Marvel movies that have come out (with the exception of Ant-Man—ugh!), which is why Warner Bros’ efforts to bring the DC Universe to life have me all the more disappointed. If Marvel could make such an incredible franchise using mid-tier characters like Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, how is it that DC can screw up Batman and Superman of all things?

For me, it boils down to this: The writers, producers and/or executives don’t have respect for the source material. All they care about is making a shit ton of money.

Most anyone interested in the DC Universe would consider it a disaster so far in comparison to Marvel, starting with Green Lantern. As soon as I heard Ryan Reynolds (and I quite like his other work) was cast, my first thought was, “Did they even read the freaking comics or watch any of the animated series?” Now, I’m the last person to criticize a casting choice just because it isn’t who I envisioned, but when an actor’s entire catalogue is playing characters who are the exact opposite of the role, I start to take issue. Far worse than the casting, however, was the ridiculous plot, crappy villains and of course, the superhero movie cliches.

Warner Bros had all that was needed for a great live action movie in the animated film Green Lantern: First Flight. Everything from the cast to the plot was excellent, and it actually gave a credible reason for Sinestro to betray the corps and become a yellow lantern. Unfortunately, what Warner Bros delivered was a tired, downright eye roll inducing film that was clearly written to a formula the execs expected would make money. Good movies—yes, even comic book movies—don’t need a formula. They need a story.

Jesse Eisenberg’s performance of Lex Luthor is nothing short of hideous.

When The Dark Knight Rises followed, it should have been the climactic end of the trilogy—only a villain like Bane could top Heath Ledger’s Joker. Here was Batman’s equal not just in intelligence, but in brute physical strength. Indeed in the movie, he comes across every bit Batman’s equal, but I found myself disgusted when I was force-fed the standard Hollywood need for a “twist.” Why did he need to be a mere lackey for Talia al’Ghul? Who came up with such a convoluted, nonsensical script when the perfect one already existed in the DC Comics story Knightfall?

Next up: Man of Steel. I actually liked this a lot and feel the critics savaged it needlessly, just because they have this idea in their mind that every Superman movie has to be like the Christopher Reeve versions. Having said that, it was far too depressing. In the DC Universe, Superman is the juxtaposition of hope and light (with bold primary colors!) to the fear and darkness of Batman. In short, they balance each other. The writers of DC understood this but, as usual, studio execs went with a “more is better” approach. So, instead of getting the Superman we’re supposed to, we got a gritty remake in line with the Dark Knight trilogy.

And finally, we finish with Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. Jesse Eisenberg’s performance of Lex Luthor is nothing short of hideous. Instead of a real Lex, we get Jesse Eisenberg doing a horrid mashup of Heath Ledger’s Joker and Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network. Again, the source material is all there. Check out the animated series of Superman or the more recent Justice League: Unlimitedanimated series, and you’ll find a perfectly executed and well-written Lex Luthor, ready to be lifted to the silver screen. Kevin Spacey is the closest we’ve come so far, but he’s unfortunately too old to be playing the part now. If only he hadn’t been wasted in Superman Returns.

We also get not one, but three dream sequences foreshadowing events to come. A computer screen with other Justice League heroes. Why? To set up future movies of course! Here’s a wild idea: How about concentrating on producing a really great story instead of trying to shoehorn in other characters and plot lines in such a ridiculous manner? If you really want to put them in, do what Marvel does and leave them until the credits roll so they don’t distract from the movie we’re watching. Seriously, you studio execs are already going to make a truckload of money, so instead of providing writers with your dubious formula and looking three years into the future, focus on the here and now of what you’re making. Because in any art form the most important thing is this: The story.

When a director makes you over a billion dollars, it’s a good idea to leave him alone and let him do his thing.

You need only look at the Star Wars universe to see the truth. The original films are universally beloved, whereas everyone is trying to pretend the prequels didn’t happen. The original films had a strong story, whereas the prequels had a convoluted, boring and often times nonsensical plot that left people wondering what the hell had happened to George Lucas. By the end of Episode III, Anakin getting chopped to bits wasn’t tragic, it was cathartic because we were over the whole tired mess. Marvel proved it themselves with Avengers: Age of Ultron. The first Avengers was loved by the public and the critics… but the studio continued to annoy Joss Whedon with so many conditions and requests that he up and left. As a result,Age of Ultron stank because it rammed in too many characters, tried to set up future storylines and wound up a bloated mess. When a director makes you over a billion dollars, it’s a good idea to leave him alone and let him do his thing. 

So why don’t those involved in the DC Universe movies focus on the story? Why, instead of trying to make up their own terrible plot lines based on what they think audiences want, don’t they use the source material and make small changes to adapt it to the big screen? I believe they probably look at many of the recent animated movies or series and consider them to be nothing more than cartoons. They’ve developed a pretension that their writing is more sophisticated and in line with what a cinema audience expects, and animation is just for kids.

Here’s a hot tip to those calling the shots, writing, producing and directing the upcoming DC Universe movies: Most of the animated stuff is far better than what you’ve managed to deliver. Off the top of my head, here are some of the animated DC movies/comics you should have used the source material from, because yours stinks in comparison and has ruined characters like Green Lantern for a long time:

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Justice League: War

Green Lantern: First Flight

Knightfall

All Star Superman

That’s five without googling or racking my brain. All adult movies with adult themes. Perfectly suited for the big screen.

I’m begging all of you at Warner Bros to please, please start concentrating on producing really great stories instead of just thinking about setting up a universe like Marvel so you can milk the public for all they’re worth. If you get the stories right and make great movies, the public will spend their money. But from where I’m sitting right now, your audience isn’t so much anticipating your movies as waiting with a sense of dread. It’s like when you know something bad is about to happen in a horror movie, so you put your hands over your eyes not wanting to watch, but you leave a small gap in your fingers because you have to find out what happens. That was how I felt when I heard about Batman vs Superman. I didn’t want to, but I had very little hope that it would be a decent movie. 

I love the DC Universe and its characters. Please don’t make me cover my eyes. 

Edited May 5, 2016 by Kromm

[Trini]

People are free to dislike and criticize, but making everything about 'DC vs. Marvel' is unnecessary and overdone. (And it's really Warner Bros. vs. Disney, anyway.)

[MarkHB]

Potential new film coming down the pike...

 

Quote

Months ahead of the opening of Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. is already contemplating a spinoff for the DC Entertainment anti-heroine, Harley Quinn. 

Margot Robbie, who stars as the villainess in Suicide Squad, is attached to reprise the character and would also produce the untitled spinoff, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. 

But in an interesting twist, the project is not a Quinn solo movie. Rather, it would focus on several of DC’s female heroes and villains.

Details are being closely guarded but names such as Batgirl and Birds of Prey have surfaced, although in what capacity, it’s not clear. Warner Bros. isn’t commenting. 

There is also a scribe penning the script but those details, too, are being kept secret, although it is known that the writer is female...

Sources say that Robbie was the impetus for the project, adding that when she got the part for the movie, she dove deep into the comics to learn as much as possible about the character. In the process, she fell for DC’s female characters. She brought on the writer to help develop the project and brought it to Warners, which snapped it up.

Birds of Prey v. Gotham Sirens, anyone?

[Trini]

So... Gotham Girls, but on the big screen? I'm down for that! Except maybe I shouldn't start comparing this to GG, since I will almost definitely be setting myself up for disappointment.

[xaxat]

On 4/16/2016 at 7:34 PM, Rick Kitchen said:

The next 35 super hero movies opening between now and the end of 2020:

I was really hoping that sentence was a headline from The Onion.

Venom? Really?

[dusang]

On 4/6/2016 at 0:05 PM, Bruinsfan said:

I have plenty of critical things to say about Snyder, but he is actually surprisingly good when it comes to the casting and treatment of women in his films. Amy Adams as the first live-action Lois Lane who's smart, hyper-competent, and has real agency (and is also the older woman love interest to Clark); Diane Lane as the Martha Kent who's responsible for her son's desire to help people despite his father's isolationist childrearing; Antje Traue as Faora-Ul, the one GOOD villain he's come up with in a DC movie; Lena Heady as a Queen Gorgo who grabs the reins of power herself and puts her enemy down rather than depending on the protection of her absent husband; Sarah Polley as the quick-thinking, capable protagonist of Dawn of the Dead. And in the most recent movie, both Holly Hunter as the no-nonsense Senator Finch and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (the best part of the movie, IMHO).

Interesting take.  I hear Zac Snyder I think Sucker Punch, which I do not consider a masterpiece of gender equality, if you will.

[Bruinsfan]

I took a pass on seeing that one, but if it does fall down on its treatment of women (I've heard both viewpoints from reviewers) it's the exception rather than the rule for him.

[HoodlumSheep]

They seem very confident in their Harley Quinn. 

Edited May 17, 2016 by HoodlumSheep

[ribboninthesky1]

20 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

I took a pass on seeing that one, but if it does fall down on its treatment of women (I've heard both viewpoints from reviewers) it's the exception rather than the rule for him.

I've not seen Sucker Punch, either, but I still agree with your view on Snyder's treatment of female characters.  It's ultimately why I don't have the hate for him as a director that many do.  He seems to be one of the few male directors who generally seem to like and regard women as human beings AND adults (no infantilization, thank goodness), at least through the camera lens.  But then, I'm also not a comic fan, and thus don't have that level of attachment to the characters.  I prefer Nolan's visual style, but I've said for years that Nolan has no idea what to do with women beyond "antagonist." I truly cannot imagine what Wonder Woman would have been reduced to under his direction. 

I thought Batman vs Superman had some interesting ideas, but tried to do too much in one film.  I know it's hopeless to wish otherwise, but it's a primary example of why WB should have taken their time in setting up their universe instead of trying to compete with Marvel. 

[Zuleikha]

I thought Batman vs Superman had some interesting ideas, but tried to do too much in one film.

This is why I don't understand why DC has given Snyder so much influence over their universe. He does have interesting ideas, but he doesn't seem to have a great track record for executing them. I'm glad he's not directing Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, or Aquaman, but I really wish he'd gotten pulled from Justice League after Dawn of Justice's critical reviews.

Back in Dawn of Justice's opening weekend, I said the real question would be how much the negative reviews affected sales. Based on the steep drop off in ticket sales, it's clear that the reviews did have a negative effect. If Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman go well--as I REALLY hope and pray that they do--the DCCU may be fine. But I'm pretty worried about Justice League still being attached to Snyder.

[Matt K]

31 minutes ago, Zuleikha said:

Back in Dawn of Justice's opening weekend, I said the real question would be how much the negative reviews affected sales. Based on the steep drop off in ticket sales, it's clear that the reviews did have a negative effect. 

It really did.  I was looking at the numbers recently because of Civil War and Deadpool ended up earning more money domestically than BvS (although BvS earned about 200M more internationally) and Civil War is about to overtake BvS after only 2 weeks.  I'm also surprised there's been no changes from WB considering two of the most recognizable characters in the world in a movie together should have done better than Civil War (and definitely Deadpool) just based on character recognition.  The fact that Civil War is destroying BvS despite both having some similarities (i.e. heroes vs heroes) should be a sign that what killed the movie was it being awful (whereas Civil War received a lot of good reviews).  I wonder if DC might course correct now (based on the comparison with Civil War's box office take) or in a few months (if Suicide Squad does poorly).  

I would imagine that if SS does poorly, then DC might rethink the whole thing but if it does well perhaps they still might rethink the Justice League movie.  

 

As for Snyder, the only movie of his I saw was Sucker Punch and dear god that was a terrible movie (and boring too).  I honestly will never see another movie from him again because of it. 

[stealinghome]

It looks like the WB is phasing out Snyder.

[Bruinsfan]

O frabjous day! Thank you, Russo Brothers!

[greenbean]

Quote

Jesse Eisenberg’s performance of Lex Luthor is nothing short of hideous. Instead of a real Lex, we get Jesse Eisenberg doing a horrid mashup of Heath Ledger’s Joker and Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network.

As soon as I saw Jesse in that dry wig, I knew I'd never see the film. Horrible casting.

[xaxat]

On 5/17/2016 at 8:00 PM, HoodlumSheep said:

They seem very confident in their Harley Quinn. 

After seeing the Suicide Squadron trailer on the big screen, I think they are smart in betting on Margot Robbie's ability to carry a solo superhero film.

I think Harley and Wonder Woman represent an area where DC has a competitive advantage over Marvel. Gal Gadot was a scene stealer in BvS and it looks like Robbie might do the same in SS. Meanwhile, Marvel's first movie featuring a female super hero hasn't cast their star and they start from behind on the anticipation scale.

[Bruinsfan]

In theory DC also had an advantage in that Superman and Batman have been household names throughout most of the developed world for decades, whereas the Avengers characters really hadn't up until 2012. Snyder & Co. managed to squander that advantage quite handily, though by some miracle Wonder Woman actually came out of the movie looking well-handled and building heat for her solo movie.

[Kromm]

On 5/18/2016 at 2:11 AM, stealinghome said:

It looks like the WB is phasing out Snyder.

And yet as bad as he is (and that's nightmarishly bad) I don't know that putting in place this huge bureaucratic chain is going to be much better. Making movies by committee has it's own set of problems that's different from one asshole with a bad vision making them, and it's hardly clear sailing.

Expect to hear about lots of delays, compromises, and a lack of originality in final products. A lot of formulas being followed. Which at first blush might seem a better alternative than the "original take" we got in BvS (except it wasn't original--it was a badly mangled version of Frank Miller, using the worst parts of that but littel of the artistry or greater context). But it won't be. It'll probably be the other extreme.  

[Kromm]

Lets game this. If you want to play along, simply quote this at the head of your message. If you were going to try and fix the DC films, what would your plan be? It has to be more specific than "write better scripts" or "hire better directors", although that can be part of it. I'll probably reply to this myself later with my own "plan", but would like to hear others. 

 

(Oh, just to be clear, I think we have to assume that Suicide Squad AND Wonder Woman are both coming out "as is", as they've already been filmed, in the existing Synderverse, so I guess any plan has to either work off of them, or start after them. "Justice League" is an issue too. In theory it's in production right now, so either you plan to do a quick change up on it, or your plan starts after it.)

Edited May 24, 2016 by Kromm

[Perfect Xero]

Tag scene at the end of Wonder Woman (set in WWI, IIRC) where we're shown that BvS was actually the gods giving her a vision of the future so she can change it because otherwise they'll fall to Darkseid. Justice League starts with Wonder Woman showing up and cutting Zod's head off before the fight in Metropolis can really get going. She then finds Bruce and tells him that Superman's mom's name is 'Martha'.

Boom, new timeline where Supes does things other than naval gaze and Batman isn't a psychotic murderer?

[Captain Carrot]

Quote

Lets game this. If you want to play along, simply quote this at the head of your message. If you were going to try and fix the DC films, what would your plan be? It has to be more specific than "write better scripts" or "hire better directors", although that can be part of it. I'll probably reply to this myself later with my own "plan", but would like to hear others. 

I want to start off by saying that I am not a fan of Zack Snyder, and will celebrate on the day that he and WB part ways.

That being said the disappointing box office for BvS is not his fault. He was hired to make a Zack Snyder Batman/Superman movie, and he gave the executives at Warner Brothers a Zack Snyder Superman/Batman movie. And Zack Snyder fans loved that movie. The problem is that he is an extremely divisive director, and too many people dislike his movies for something with the budget of BvS do well. (When looking at the net profit). A Zack Snyer movie with a smaller budget would do very well.

In my opinion the WB executives have no faith in any DC character other than Batman, and think that the Dark Knight did well, because it was Batman being dark and gritty. (It did well because it was a good movie featuring a popular character). My plan would be to fire Snyder and Goyer before they do any more damage, then clean house at the executive level. Replace the current executives with people that will hire good screen writers and directors to make movies that fit the character. (For example Superman movies should be hopeful and idealistic).

[Trini]

3 hours ago, Kromm said:

... If you were going to try and fix the DC films, what would your plan be? It has to be more specific than "write better scripts" or "hire better directors", although that can be part of it. I'll probably reply to this myself later with my own "plan", but would like to hear others. 

Get the fundamentals of the characters right. Who is this person without superpowers? ...out of the costume/mask? How has this person been changed, or how is this person different with this power/identity? What are this person's core values? ...boundaries? What is most important to this person? [Also, why do fans like this character?]

Once that is figured out, find a way to show it. Then you can throw the characters into whatever crazy situation, and they can act accordingly. Figure out if the situation will change the character (and by how much) and vice versa.

Respect the source material. That doesn't mean following it exactly; but be aware of the history/legacy for characters that have been around for a while..

Edited May 25, 2016 by Trini

[Bruinsfan]

Step 1: Convince Bruce Timm and Paul Dini to take over producing and either writing or choosing writers for DC's live action movies. I'd trust them in a role analogous to Kevin Feige's at Marvel.

Step 2: Pink-slip Snyder's and Goyer's asses, stat. Buy out their contracts and stop taking their calls.

Step 3: Hire experienced, critically acclaimed directors whose style is suited to the specific tone of the project in question. My pick for the Justice League movies is Joe Johnston. For Aquaman, maybe someone like Chris Columbus or Rob Tapert who's done gonzo mythological work. I'd move James Wan from that movie to The Flash, which I'd feel more comfortable matching with his frenetic dazzling style than untried director Seth Grahame-Smith. I'm more than OK with leaving Patty Jenkins on Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck on the Batman solo movie.

Step 4: Meet with the existing casts to reassure them that they're valued and wanted to continue in their current roles with the new tonal direction the DC Cinematic Universe is taking. Except Jesse Eisenberg. Schedule him to appear at San Diego ComicCon, lock him in Hall H alone on stage with Batman v. Superman playing on the screen in front of 6500 comic fans instead of the upcoming movie trailers they were promised, and hire Bryan Cranston to take over the role of Lex Luthor afterwards.

[Kromm]

3 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

Step 3: Hire experienced, critically acclaimed directors whose style is suited to the specific tone of the project in question. My pick for the Justice League movies is Joe Johnston. For Aquaman, maybe someone like Chris Columbus or Rob Tapert who's done gonzo mythological work. I'd move James Wan from that movie to The Flash, which I'd feel more comfortable matching with his frenetic dazzling style than untried director Seth Grahame-Smith. I'm more than OK with leaving Patty Jenkins on Wonder Woman and Ben Affleck on the Batman solo movie.

I don't want to pick apart anyone's suggestions in this too much, but I have to point out that Grahame-Smith isn't doing Flash anymore--he walked over creative differences (presumably with Snyder). And Jenkins job is done, since filming on Wonder Woman has already wrapped, so even though you've expressed being okay with her, it would be moot anyway if you hadn't been. 

Based on his other directing work, in theory the idea of Affleck directing the next Batman sounds okay... except I've lost a lot of confidence in relation to his instincts with superheroes. I mean I get that Snyder was the employer and Affleck the employee on BvS, but Affleck talked up how great he thought the film was, and if he wasn't being a total company man and lying and actually thought that? That hurts my trust in terms of his instincts here. And for all that his Batman was the second best character in the movie after Wonder Woman, it's hard to forgive him going along so swimmingly with the idea of a Batman who was steps away from being a psycho. All I can do is hope and pray he thought it was total bullshit and he spent a year or so biting his tongue about it. 

I'm a bit iffy on Chris Columbus doing any more effects movies. Quite arguably he did the worst Harry Potter films. He did what is likely the worst major studio film of recent years (probably even including BvS), Adam Sandler's Pixels. He did that Percy Jackson film that nobody really liked all that much--I know that's likely where you're getting the "gonzo mythological" thing, but it really wasn't that great. Really the last great film he did was Mrs. Doubtfire (not even an effects film) back in the early 90s.

Oh, did you mean Sam Raimi instead of Rob Tapert? Tapert is a producer, not a director. Raimi was the guy doing most of Tapert's hands on. 

Edited May 25, 2016 by Kromm

[Bruinsfan]

11 hours ago, Kromm said:

I don't want to pick apart anyone's suggestions in this too much, but... ∞

I meant Tapert, based on some Xena episodes he directed that I'm fond of. Raimi's directorial work in the last decade has been on a real downward trend IMHO, and even when he was good I don't think I'd have picked him as a good fit for Aquaman (though I enjoyed his first two Spider-Man films).

Hadn't heard that Grahame-Smith dropped out, but that's probably good news. I don't think a big super-hero spectacle in an interconnected franchise is the best place for a newbie director to start out. Particularly when there's already the friction with a popular TV version running concurrently.

[BetterButter]

‘The Flash’ Lands ‘Dope’ Helmer Rick Famuyiwa; He Will Direct Ezra Miller As Fastest Man Alive

[Trini]

8 minutes ago, BetterButter said:

‘The Flash’ Lands ‘Dope’ Helmer Rick Famuyiwa; He Will Direct Ezra Miller As Fastest Man Alive

It's an interesting choice; his filmography is on the sparse side, and he hasn't done anything that's in the action or superhero genre. Nothing that has involved big budget special effects/CGI.

[MarkHB]

I haven't seen anything by him, but at least he has some idea what he's doing.  He's not a complete first-time director.

I noticed that Deadline didn't give Batman-News any credit for this story from Saturday, where they noticed Famuyima had started following a bunch of DC Twitter accounts, and Geoff Johns had followed him back.  :-/

[Bruinsfan]

I find the choice somewhat encouraging. We've seen the product of a director who's a whiz at action scenes and special effects but has no clue how to handle characterization and coherent storytelling. I suspect the mirror image of that situation will result in a more enjoyable film.

Also, Famuyiwa has helmed several films, so I don't think there's much potential for a Josh Trank-style overwhelmed meltdown like there might have been with the previous newbie director.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Bruinsfan

[MarkHB]

Last month, I referenced a rumor that Jason Fuchs, who wrote the Wonder Woman movie, was working on a script for a Lobo film.  Yesterday, he Instagrammed this...

[millennium]

Can someone briefly explain to me how and when Captain Marvel made the leap from his universe to the one currently occupied by the Justice League? 

When I regularly followed comic books (70s-80s), Captain Marvel *never* crossed paths with any of the other DC Superheroes.   I remember there was an issue of Superman or Action (I forget which) where Superman went head-to-head against a guy who looked like Captain Marvel (but it really wasn't, just a similar uniform and haircut) and DC billed it like "the battle you never thought you'd see," etc and then you buy the comic and find out, haha, it's not really the Big Red Cheese. 

If I recall (because I never followed the Shazam comic) Captain Marvel lived in some universe where there were talking tigers and other Golden Age-type characters.   He was even drawn differently than other DC heroes, more like the art you'd see in a Dick Tracy comic strip if you know what I mean.

I was really confused then when he turned up in the Flashpoint animated movie as an inhabitant of the Batman-Superman universe.  I've also read posts where people suggest Captain Marvel should be in the Justice League movie.   Isn't CM kind of redundant in a world where Superman exists?

On 4/5/2016 at 0:34 PM, JessePinkman said:

With DC certain to make a new Batman movie starring Batfleck, do you think they'll cast Catwoman and dare to make her age appropriate? I'd love to see her but I worry that they'll cast someone on the cusp of 30.

I heard they're trying to sign Jennifer Garner.

 

(kidding)

Edited June 10, 2016 by millennium

[Perfect Xero]

2 hours ago, millennium said:

Can someone briefly explain to me how and when Captain Marvel made the leap from his universe to the one currently occupied by the Justice League? 

When I regularly followed comic books (70s-80s), Captain Marvel *never* crossed paths with any of the other DC Superheroes.   I remember there was an issue of Superman or Action (I forget which) where Superman went head-to-head against a guy who looked like Captain Marvel (but it really wasn't, just a similar uniform and haircut) and DC billed it like "the battle you never thought you'd see," etc and then you buy the comic and find out, haha, it's not really the Big Red Cheese. 

I believe it was simply that Crisis on Infinite Earths happened, and then there were no longer infinite Earths, so everyone ended up in the new main DC Universe.

 

As to why have Cap in the same world as Superman, because there are different stories you can tell with a tween/teenage boy who transforms into someone with the power to rival Superman or Wonder Woman, both in how he deals with navigating the world of superheroes while appearing to be an adult and in how the others react to finding out that one of the most powerful people in the world is really a kid/teen. There's a good comic where Superman finds Captain Marvel crying, is a little confused, so Cap transforms back into Billy and lays the whole "Champion of Shazam" story on Supes, the next scene is Superman at the Rock of Eternity yelling at the Wizard for choosing to put that pressure/responsibility on an 11 year old.

Also, it allows Black Adam to be used as a villain, for other DC characters/teams, and that's great.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Perfect Xero

[Bruinsfan]

DC Comics basically sued Fawcett's Captain Marvel books out of business in the early 50s over copyright infringement of Superman, then licensed the characters back from them for publication in the 70s. He was kept on his own parallel earth making only occasional appearances until 1985 when all the DC settings were merged into a single world.

[MarkHB]

@Perfect Xero and @Bruinsfan are right.  DC developed a policy of keeping the characters it acquired on their own Earths: the Fawcett characters lived on Earth-S, the Quality Comics ones, or at least the Freedom Fighters (since DC never seems to know what to do with Plastic Man), on Earth-X where WW2 never ended, and the Charlton Comics characters (Blue Beetle, the Question, etc.) on Earth-4 (which was never shown until Crisis).  Those three Earths, plus Earth-1 and Earth-2, were the ones that merged into a single Earth at the end of Crisis on Infinite Earths.  I believe it was after Flashpoint that Captain Marvel was finally renamed Shazam, and had his powers modified to be more electrical (and less like Superman).