Batman in front of the camera

[sherkahn]

The L.A. Times has the news about what is coming up after Nolan's 3rd film.

I have to order my "ye angry villagers" tools, as mine have been worn to the handle from so much use.



From the article:

The president of the Warner Bros. motion picture group, who recently sat down for an extensive interview with The Times, discussed his long-term strategy for DC beyond movies already in the works, such as June’s “Green Lantern” and next year’s “The Dark Knight Rises” and Superman movie.

The first priority for the man with the ultimate say on what films get made at Warner Bros.: Finally getting the Justice League, DC’s team featuring all its top characters, on the big screen in 2013. The picture had been very close to production in late 2007 and early 2008, but was killed by the Writers Guild of America strike, tax credit issues in Australia, and concerns by some at Warner about presenting a competing (and conflicting) version of Batman while director Christopher Nolan’s films were breaking box office records.

Those of us who were on here back on version 1.0 and remember this remember echoes about what the story and script were. What the article isn't saying is that it's still the same story, with nothing that Nolan nor the comics that have come out 5 years later will influence the project.

It may be good, it may be bad, but it will be May instead of May Not getting made, (unless Green Lantern is a disaster and heads roll).

For legality.

Comments

[richardak]

I am very doubtful that they are going to be able to make a good Justice League movie. Assuming that they do finally make any Justice League movie. The fact is that it requires a large cast of superheroes, such that there isn't likely to be time within a feature film to really develop any of the characters, and each character has his or her own mythos and concept that doesn't necessarily work with the mythos and concept of the other characters. I expect this to be a debacle.

[zenbro]

there isn't likely to be time within a feature film to really develop any of the characters, and each character has his or her own mythos and concept

Which is why the X-Men films made me so very hopeful and yet so very sad. I'm convinced now that a good group dynamic onscreen requires either an Ocean's 11 type approach where everyone has unexpected moments to shine as a specialist, or intentionally keep everyone a bit of a mystery to entice the film-goer to go back to the source material and complete their own enjoyment of the mythos.

[richardak]

The X-Men worked, as did, to some extent, the Fantastic Four because every member of those two groups has the same mythos and basic background, and the same villains. Both of those were groups before they were individual characters. Pretty much only one X-Man, Wolverine, has ever sustained a solo title for any length of time.

The Justice League, however, were mostly all individual heroes with their own stories, backgrounds, and supporting casts before they were ever in a group.

I think the Ocean's 11, group-of-specialists-who-have-all-been-recruited-for-a-job approach also has a problem with a group like the Justice League: too many of them have the exact same specialty: hitting people really hard.

I'm not saying it can't possibly work. I just wouldn't bet on it.

[lilacsigil]

I agree - the X-Men and Fantastic Four are *primarily* team books. I will be very interested in how the Avengers movie comes together, and I bet DC will be, too!

[recognitions]

It would work if the major heroes are all established well enough by that time so we know their personalities. Batman we should be good with, Superman and GL we'll see, and maybe they can quickly intro us to WW, Flash and GA so that the plot gets rolling without too much exposition.

[grazzt]

Personally, I don't think any of the Big 3 should be in a Justice League movie. They're all not only too different from each other, but each should be big enough to support their own franchises, which will conflict with a JL movie.

[jarodrussell]

the Big 3

Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern?

[grazzt]

Yeah, yeah, Wonder Woman can't get sales. We all know that. It still doesn't change the fact that she has more of a cultural cachet than any of DC's other properties, barring Batman and Superman.

[jarodrussell]

My hatred of he cursed Amazon aside, my point was this: to make an Avengers movie, Marvel pretty much had to give every member (save Hawkeye?) a movie first to set it up. Given that there are no plans for a WW in the pipeline, if we got a Trinity movie, it would likely be those three.

Unless a JLA movie was WW's intro film, but even that supports he statement in your retort that the only way to get a WW movie is to have it co-star Bats and Supes.

[grazzt]

Ah, I understand now. Sorry, I just assumed it was a snide comment and acted uncivilly. My apologies.

As for WW needing Batman and Superman to get a movie, I didn't mean it that way. I just meant the Batman and Superman were merely bigger stars than she was, not that she could only support a movie if they were on board.

However, on further reflection, I do believe that you're right about Wonder Woman not supporting her own movie...in the current climate at least. After all, there have been a bunch of action movies with female leads in the last few years that have bombed (mostly with good reason), and that would probably make everyone leery about another one.

[janegray]

Yeah, yeah, Wonder Woman can't get sales. We all know that.

Except for the part where Wonder Woman's animated movie sold better than Green Lantern's animated movie. Yes, Wondy's movie sold poorly at first (possibly because of poor advertising), but then the sales caught up and it sold pretty well, neatly outselling Green Lantern.

Yet Green Lantern is the one getting a live-action movie now, because despite being proven wrong with the animated movies, the producers still keep insisting that Green Lantern sells better than Wonder Woman.

[turtlefu]

Except for the fact that Green Lantern is the "hot property" right now because of Geoff Johns' writing, with its own franchise starting, and the main GL book vastly outsells the WW book.
No, that has nothing to do with it.

As much as I wish it wasn't true, GL DOES outsell WW. In every way EXCEPT for the animated movie.

[janegray]

Key words: "right now". Comic book sales are flimsy things. One year a book is selling very well, the next year it's barely staying afloat.
Even Batman, which is the book against which other books' sales are measured, for a couple of decades was outsold by romance and horror comics.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but as far as I know it's relatively new for Green Lantern books to sell this well, it only started a few years ago.

Also, comic book fans are much, much, MUCH less numerous than movie goers/renters/buyers. Only a tiny, minuscule percentage of the people who watched The Dark Knight read Batman comics.
The fact that the WW animated movie outsold the GL animated movie means that, while right now comic book fans prefer spending their money on GL, non-comic-reading people are more likely to spend their money on WW.

[grazzt]

In what other ways could GL possibly outsell Wonder Woman, besides animated movies and comic books? Do you seriously claim to possess merchandising figures for each of them?

[grazzt]

I was unaware that WW movie did that well (comparatively, at least). Of course, I was only referring to comic sales, but good news is good news, right?

[janegray]

A lot of people think the movie did poorly because the Wikipedia article and other sites report only its sales of the first week. The movie did sell poorly at first (apparently because the marketing was terrible, it seems that many people learned of the existence of the movie only by word-of-mouth), but the sales kept going and after a few months it made half a million dollars more than the GL movie.

Speaking of Wonder Woman..

[steverodgers5]

A little off topic, but have any of you seen the pics released of the filming of the new WW tv show?

Because it looks like somebody actually listened to some of the online criticism of the costume:-

http://www.sfx.co.uk/2011/03/30/so-what-does-the-wonder-woman-costume-look-like-in-action/

The blue boots are now Red! (Yay!) and the trouser pants now seem to be made out of something a little less shiny at least..

Still wish they'd lose them altogether, but I guess we'll never have an authentic looking live action WW costume again. Not sure what comic book producers have aginst showing a little skin. Kinda bugs me a little that Thor doesn't have his bare armed look anymore either..(I mean it's not like the actors aren't fit enough, or that the rest of the costumes are any less silly..)

Re: Speaking of Wonder Woman..

[karunya]

What I don't get about this variant on the WW costume is that I'd definitely fall out of the bustier as soon as I started to even walk a little fast. If the goal is practicality, this is still ridiculous. So why not give us the pretty legs too???

[superfangirl1]

[richardak]

Good luck getting a Justice League movie funded without Superman and Batman. I don't disagree with you, but it'll never happen.

[grazzt]

You are, of course, completely right.

[flash_fan]

Maybe a JLA movie could be successful if it served the same purpose as the original JSA comic. Get lesser known heroes and heroines out there until they get their own flick. The sequels wouldn't feature anyone who got their own movie. Just thinking out loud here.

[jarodrussell]

Times like these, I need a "Fund it!" icon. Anyway, I will pay good money to see Christian Bale as Batman and Michael Shanks as Hawkman having a growl off on screen.

[his_spiffynesss]

Filming in Australia? If they do a Justice League movie they need to use this place for some of the exterior shots.

[espanolbot]

"Hey, the Nolan movies have made us millions of dollars as well as being critically acclaimed... let's redo the films in a different style after the one that is currently in production!"

[kashmirkong]

To be fair, Nolan decided that the end of the 3rd movie is the end of Batman. As in Batman retires/dies at the end of the movie.

The studio didn't want him to end it like that, but Nolan has final cut in his contract so they came up with the compromise that Nolan will help oversee the reboot in a similar role he has with the upcoming Superman movie.

Honestly, I wish they did that with comics; tell the story of Batman for a decade and reboot it so he's not bogged down with 30 years of continuity and 24 ex-Robins.

[bradhanon]

I can see one good way for this to work: if it hits the ground running and never slows down. Establish right off the bat that everything is up for grabs, and anything is possible. "Some people just have superpowers, multiple different alien species are real, Batman is plausible, Amazons have always lived on a secret island, and Martians can read your mind. If you have a problem with any of that, go ask for your ticket money back. Everyone else, hang on, because Vandal Savage, the Joker, Lex Luthor, and Amazo are also all real, and you're just going to have to roll with that."

[droolfangrrl]

But can anything really beat "Legends of the Superheroes"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zRQzHdAt2c

[karunya]

Heh. True dat.