DC Comics Movieverse

*Originally published on 7/10/09



I already wrote about what I think regarding the idea to make a Justice League movie now. While Marvel has come out with a clear cut plan and timeline for the movies they will be releasing in the near future, DC has been twiddling their thumbs and trying to make up their minds. Youtube celebrity Itsjustsomerandomguy parodied this fact with his first video. The sad thing is that even in the months since that video, nothing's changed in regards to DC's slate of upcoming movies.

The big question is whether or not to tie it into the Nolan franchise. My original thought was to go ahead and do it. You've already established him, why not use that? The argument that Nolan's take is too realistic does have some merit, but keep in mind that the Batman in the comics goes back and forth between gritty urban avenger and Justice League alien fighter as well. I think that his street level take would make for an interesting dynamic compared to the other heroes. With Nolan unsure of whether or not he's going to return for the third film, a Batman/Superman movie is the best way to tie in his world with the greater DCU.

Back before Batman Begins was made, there was talk of a Batman/Superman movie. I love this idea. The two characters play off of each other well and it would be a guaranteed hit. Even non-comic fans wouldn't be able to resist the urge of seeing two iconic comic heroes on screen together.

First though, something needs to be done with Superman. They've been stalling on this franchise trying to figure out whether a sequel should be made or if the franchise should relaunch. At this point I don't care. If you want to go with Singer's Man of Steel follow up or if you want to go with Miller's 8 hour epic Superman trilogy. Either one could turn out to be really good if done well, so just make up your minds already and pick one.

Wonder Woman scripts have come up quite frequently ,but none have made it past the early stages. The common criticism is that a super heroine can't carry her own movie. I say phooey on this. Yeah, I know Supergirl only works in that so cheesy it's fun way and both Elektra and Catwoman bombed, but you have to remember that those were both just flat out bad movies. People thought that the comic book movie had died with stinkers like Steel and Batman and Robin. They were clearly wrong as they're one of the biggest moneymakers today. The thing is to treat the characters with respect and come up with a good story. The animated Wonder Woman direct to video movie was awesome, do you hear me? Awesome. All the people who think that Wonder Woman can't carry a movie need to see that. While we're at it, Megan Fox should watch it as well, just so she can see how utterly wrong she was when she said Wonder Woman was lame.

Flash has been long overdue for a movie as well. Executives think that making comic movies darker will result in more money and this was one of the franchises that came up. I don't know about that. Flash is a fairly upbeat hero whether you go with Barry Allen or Wally West. However, the darkness can come from the villains because while Flash's Rogues Gallery seems corny at first, upon further examination they're one of the best in comics. I'd suggest going with Zoom as he is one demented psycho. Grodd is a great villain, but I don't know if the movie-going public is ready for super intelligent talking gorilla villains who wear mind control helmets.

Like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern is going to have his own animated movie; also like Wonder Woman, he deserves a big screen release. With special effects being what they are today, I see no reason why a GL movie wouldn't look awesome. You could go with Hal or Kyle. I'd say have Kyle be the new recruit and have the other three (Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner) already be present in the corps. Kyle can be one of the many across the galaxy who gets a new ring when the corps doubles it's size to battle Sinestro, who has created an army of his own.

The HBO show, Entourage, had a recurring arc where the characters were making an Aquaman film directed by James Cameron. I know, Aquaman's a punchline, but I'd be very glad if such a project did come out. The general consensus is that he's not as cool as Namor, but the DCAU and Batman: The Brave and the Bold can only do so much to cleanse Aquaman of his lame stigma. An epic movie focused solely on the king of the seas would do more to change the general public's perception than the two cartoons combined.

The characters and stories are there for the taking. DC just needs to stop siting on its hands and get to work. They dominate the animated market with the highly revered DCAU as well as the direct to video animated movies, but they need to step up their game if they want to compete in the major film market.