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.
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.
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.
Ray Fisher has been cast as Cyborg
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.
Arrow season two introduced the audience to Barry Allen, otherwise known as “The Flash,” in preparation for the superhero to get his own TV show. A couple weeks ago, we got our first image of the new costume, set to be worn by Grant Gustin as he stars in the CW show. Now, set images from the actual shoot have started surfacing on the web.
So far, I’m not in love with the costume from the front. The helmet looks like it has antennas, and since Ant-man is also dressed in red, that’s the first thing I jump to. And as someone who happens to be a track runner, the outfit looks both too hot and too stiff to run in comfortably. But maybe I’m being picky. Take a look for yourself below:
And check out more set photos here. The Flash is set to premiere later this year on the CW.
Female fans of comic book movies have been under pressure for a long time; there’s yet to be a (serious) female solo film from any of the major movie houses, despite the fact that 40% of megablockbuster The Avengers‘ audience was female. If they do get their own films, they are disrespected or oversexualised, bogged down with bad plots and worse writing. Yet despite these facts, female fans do exist, holding out hope for a comic book adaptation that doesn’t demean their onscreen idols, but rather holds them up to the same standards that men are held to.
Female fans unite! Jordan (center, dressed as Hawkeye), and me (right, as Black Widow) at San Diego Comic Con 2012.
I interviewed a close friend, superhero lover, and feminist, Jordan, about these very topics. Jordan was immersed in comic books by her father at a young age and grew up watching DC cartoons, including Teen Titans and Justice League. Recently, however, she’s turned her favor towards Marvel. “They have more interesting stories; more complex characters, especially women. So far, DC has a lot of angst– a lot of men whose parents die and they have to come back for justice… DC does television better, but Oliver Queen” (Arrow) “is basically another Bruce Wayne.”
Be that as it may, isn’t DC home to one of the most iconic female characters of all time: Wonder Woman?
Jordan agrees: Wonder Woman is a great character, and with Gal Gadot set to play her in the upcoming Batman vs. Superman film due out in 2015, will probably be a big hit. “Still,” she says, “she’s not the main focus; she’s a side character. The movie is called Batman vs. Superman, even though no one really cares about Superman… Take him out and put in more Wonder Woman!”
That’s not the only female superhero that Jordan thinks should make the leap to more screen time. “The X-men are full of great female characters. Wolverine now has two spinoff movies… why not give one to a character like Storm, or Rogue?” Why not, indeed? Scarlett Johansson’s turn as Black Widow in The Avengers has redefined the female superhero… and she did it without any powers. What could a fully-powered heroine do to the silver screen?
Still, these movies are only dreams stuck “in development” for the moment. We may be on the brink of a turn, but we have yet to reach it. In the meantime, what adaptations would Jordan recommend for the near future?
“Definitely Guardians of the Galaxy. It could be a huge flop, but it could also be great. It’s new and so different from what Marvel’s been putting out lately.”
The past week has seen some exciting news for the DC Universe currently planned for television. Two major announcements have been made this past week, one about the CW’s spinoff of Arrow revolving around The Flash, and the other concerning the future production currently titled “Gotham.”
The Flash
On Friday, DC released the first image of the Flash’s costume for his upcoming TV show (starring Grant Gustin in the title role). Notably, the costume has a red color slightly muted from the comics, and the lightning bolts are flat to the helmet, rather than sticking out (a nice touch of realism– having them stick out makes it way too easy for supervillains to grab your helmet). Take a look:
Gotham
The new DC endeavor doesn’t have a lot of information beyond a concept at this point, but there has been some new casting news. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (later known as Batman and Catwoman, respectively), will be played by David Mazouz and Camren Bicondova. The actors will be playing childhood versions of their characters, as the show will be taking place around the time of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne’s death– long before Bruce Wayne dons the cape and cowl.
