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Superheroes on TV
Superheroes used to exist only on the page. Sometime within the last twenty years, they took over the big screen. Most recently, they’ve been trying to take over the small one.
During the premiere of 24: Live Another Day, FOX aired its first promo for their upcoming “Gotham,” a TV show about Commissioner Gordon’s start in the Gotham Police Department. Watch it below:
The internet exploded, first with huge view counts and overwhelmingly positive comments, and then with the news that Fox (the movie studio, not the TV channel), was looking into bringing one of their superhero properties to the small screen. Potential names being thrown out included X-Force, Fantastic Four, and even Deadpool.
With two superhero shows already on TV (Agents of SHIELD and Arrow), two currently in production (The Flash and Gotham), and Marvel’s five-series deal with Netflix, could TV become the new medium of comics? It’s possible, especially with shows like Agents of SHIELD holding continuity with movies as well. There’s always the chance, however, of these universes becoming too convoluted, or maybe people simply becoming overexposed to the world of the superhero.
For now, however, I think we’re good. Any addition to the superhero world on television is a good one to me.
Zack Snyder to Direct “Justice League”
In a relatively low-key move, DC and Warner Brothers have announced that Zack Snyder will, in fact, be directing their future “Justice League” movie, due to premiere sometime after 2015. While this is relatively unsurprising, it sets in stone a few things for the DC movie-verse:
1. It will be under the creative control of Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer, who has written the scripts of “Man of Steel” and “Superman vs. Batman,” as well as contributing to the Batman Nolanverse. Unlike Marvel, who has Kevin Feige at the helm behind-the-scenes, planning and organizing before passing his web down to individual directors, these two will have total creative control. Is this bad? Not necessarily. It means a lot less complexity and a lot more consistency. Those can be good or bad, depending on how this next movie hits with audiences.
2. DC will be taking its properties much more slowly than Marvel has been. If they are set on using one director for all of their properties (as this implies), it means that there need to be a few years between each movie– no chance of two or three stand-alone films between each team up. Each movie will have to really build off the other, which means:
3. Wonder Woman? Probably not getting a solo movie any time soon. Neither will Batman, though he’s already had three in the past few years, and is headlining this next DC project.
4. I don’t have a clue how DC plans to move their universe forward from this Justice League movie. After The Avengers, we had three solo movies dealing with the fallout and repercussions for each of our heroes, PLUS a brand new property to be introduced. DC can’t do that, so what comes afterwards? Another Superman movie? Finally that Wonder Woman movie? If they’ve only got room for one or two movies between each Justice League film, will they bother introducing new characters, or pick 2 characters out of their lineup that they consider “most important?” Or create more “teamup” films that feature two big names. We’ll have to see. Marvel’s formula has worked thus far, and they plan to keep it working through 2028. We have no proof DC’s will fail, but it seems odd to break a formula that’s worked so well for the competition.
Spider-Man Press Tour Highlights
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opened across America this weekend to some middling reviews but great box office numbers and fan reaction, once more supporting Sony’s position that this reboot was a good idea. One of the best parts of this set of Spider-Man movies, however? The bubbly, hilarious cast of Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Jaimie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, and all the others involved. Stone and Garfield in particular (who are dating in real life) have been having an absolute blast on this press tour. Check out some highlights below:
Emma and Andrew on Saturday Night Live:
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/spiderman-kiss/2779008
Emma Stone kills it in this lip synching competition:
Emma has a serious question for Andrew:
X-Men Director Steps Down Due to Allegations
Bryan Singer, director of X-Men, X2, and the soon-to-be-released X-Men: Days of Future Past, has stepped off the publicity trail after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused a 17-year-old boy.
While calling the accusations “a sick twisted shakedown,” it has been decided that he halt promoting the film, and has suspended all work on the sequel X-Men: Apocalypse until further notice.
The public is split on whether or not to support the movie– some say they will not see his work since this news broke, others say that nothing has been proven, and that it takes more than one man to make a movie. Either way, the future of the X-Men on the screen will probably be affected by this through box office numbers or a change in creative control.
The claim is still under investigation.
Batman vs. Superman Casting
Despite the slew of Marvel news that has been gracing the internet for the past few weeks, DC has been very tight-lipped about their properties and the future of their cinematic universe. This could be simply because, in comparison to Marvel, they are just beginning their journey to a multi-superhero juggernaut, rather than right in the midst of it. However, the hope of their new franchise seems to be resting on the fate of Batman vs. Superman, to be released in 2015, as they are packing it full of superheroes that will eventually inhabit the Justice League.
Wonder Woman, Lex Luthor, Alfred Pennyworth, and several other minor characters have already been casted, but the newest announcement is that Cyborg will also be making an appearance in the movie, played by Ray Fisher.
But wait– I thought that this was supposed to be a Batman/Superman team-up film that led into the Justice League– not a Justice League movie itself. Why cram all these superheroes into one movie if it’s not for a team-up?
Apparently, DC plans to have them all cameo in different parts of the movie, in order to familiarize the audience with them without bogging down the script with too many heroes. Will it work? We’ll see. Personally, I like Marvel’s solo-films-building-into-team approach more than DC’s add-on tactic, but to be fair, this movie hasn’t actually come out yet– it hasn’t even started shooting!
We’ll have to wait until 2015 to see how successful Batman vs. Superman will be as it goes head-to-head against Captain America 3, both premiering on the same day.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Post Credits Scene is WHA
Marvel (the Disney portion of it, anyway) has perfected the art of the post-credits scene. When people leave the theater before the credits stop rolling on any of the Avengers properties, you know they’re doing it wrong. The other factions of Marvel (Fox’s X-Men and Sony’s Spider-Man) have tried following suit, and to some extent even succeeded. It’s just a little more difficult when you only own one property, as opposed to the many that make up The Avengers.
You would think that these properties would use their post-credits scene to prop up future events in their own timeline. For example, the post-credits scene of The Wolverine was a pump-up piece for X-Men: Days of Future Past. The last Amazing Spider-Man movie teased the appearance of the Green Goblin. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is supposed to be building towards a potential Sinister Six movie, so you think that one of them would show up in the post-credits scene, right?
Wrong. According to those who have seen the movie overseas, the post-credits scene isn’t promoting anything Spider-Man. Instead, it’s a clip straight from X-Men: Days of Future Past– a film from an entirely different studio and Marvel franchise! But don’t get too excited– this isn’t build-up to a crossover between the X-Men and your favorite webslinger. This is just a straight promotional clip, and probably part of the contract that Marc Webb has with Fox that allows him to hop over to Sony to make these Spider-Man films.
While I know this is just a straight business deal, I’m a little upset. Post-credits scenes are supposed to be secret Easter eggs that help build a universe and give the loyal audiences a treat. Why should I stay for footage that I’ll be able to see, in context, just two weeks after The Amazing Spider-Man 2 airs? If you’re not going to tease something new or mysterious in your post-credits scene, don’t trick the audience into staying.
Super Advertising?
Carl’s Jr, a burger chain popular on the west coast and distributer of some controversial ads, has just released a new ad campaign for their double bacon burger that features characters from the X-Men Universe. They are… lazy, to say the least:
The first one, featuring Quicksilver, has some pretty simple special effects that makes me nervous about the portrayal of the character in the movie (I’m not really a fan of the costume, either. It looks like just that: a cheap, bright, shiny silver costume rather than something a superhero would legitimately be wearing in this universe). I get the concept, but I’m not a huge fan.
The second one is, in my opinion, even worse. They couldn’t even get Jennifer Lawrence to play her own character! They took a random actress and put her in the costume, hoping we wouldn’t notice. Newsflash: everyone knows that isn’t her, and it weakens the advertisement.
These aren’t very effective in promoting either the burger or the movie, as they look sloppy and ill-put-together. I think Fox dropped the ball on this one, and should have passed on the Carl’s Jr. team-up.
My Comic Con Adventure
Ever wonder what it’s like to go to Comic Con International in San Diego? Check out my slideshow below to see my experience at the con:
And if you want to see that full Robert Downey, Jr. entrance, check out this link!
Captain America Easter Eggs: Who’s Next?
Spoilers below for the recently-release Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was released this past Friday, opening to rave audience and critic reviews alike. The film is fast, action-packed, and sets new stakes for the movie universe being assembled by Marvel. Not only does it lay the groundwork for the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron, but the film drops hints about what may be coming in “Stage Three” of the Marvel Universe.
In particular, there was an explicit mention of “Stephen Strange” from Agent Sitwell (as well as one of a high school valedictorian– Peter Parker, perhaps?!). Stephen, otherwise known as “Dr. Strange,” is one of the more popular Marvel superheroes, and one whose movie has been in development for quite some time. Could this mean we’ll be getting a Dr. Strange movie in Phase Three? Perhaps, especially because it seems that Marvel Studios is moving towards a more magically and cosmic experience with the introduction of Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver for the second Avengers movie. We’ll probably find out soon, but it’s an interesting tidbit to look into!
Keep a lookout for my full review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier!