Are We Headed For Superhero Over-Saturation?

So, an interesting tid-bit has emerged that involves DC and Warner Brothers and their plans to build their Cinematic Universe. The Schmoes Know broke the story yesterday, (which you can find here,) about The WB's upcoming slate of films and their potential release dates. Now, as the article states, this information hasn't been confirmed by anyone and should be taken with a grain of salt, as the source may be slightly questionable. Regardless, it makes for interesting speculation.

So, according to Nikki Finke, formerly of Deadline.com, at this years Comic-Con in San Diego, Warner Brothers and DC are set to announce the line-up of films that they have planned in regards to their Cinematic Universe. The list is as follows:

May 2016 - Batman v Superman
July 2016 - Shazam
December 2016 - Sandman
May 2017 - Justice League
July 2017 - Wonder Woman
December 2017 - Flash/Green Lantern Team Up
May 2018 - Man of Steel 2

All I can say is, holy ambitious, Batman!

First off, what strikes me about this list is the fact that DC and Warner Brothers look to be going balls to the wall in regards to this whole thing. For the foreseeable future, their plan is to release three movies a year. Apparently, they're hell-bent on making up for lost time. The report also goes on to state that the reason that BvS was pushed back a year was not, as speculated, because the WB wasn't ready to move forward with the film, but was in fact because they were still trying to get the members of the Justice League to sign on the bottom line. Apparently, the actors will be making cameo appearances in the films leading up to the big one and they wanted to make sure that everyone was on board. (I'm not exactly sure if Sandman fits into the DCU or not, as it doesn't seem like it would, but then, I don't really know a whole lot about the character and where he fits in the comic book universe, so I can't say for sure).

The second thing that stands out, is the inclusion of a Wonder Woman stand-alone film on this list. Rumour has always been that Warner Brothers was gun-shy in regards to a female-led superhero flick, even though that female superhero in question is iconic and extremely recognizable. I would love to see a Wonder Woman movie, and given how, recently, female-driven films seem to be killing it at the box office, I can understand the WB's about face in regards to this project. I still have my doubts about how well Gal Godot is going to be able to pull off this character, however. It would have been nice if they had hired an actual actress, instead of an underwear model, but whatever. I guess the jury's out on this one until we see what she does in Batman v Superman.

The inclusion of Shazam on this list is also very interesting. He's not an extremely well known character, although, speculation is that this could be the role that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has been hinting about, making it all the more intriguing. How they're going to pull this one off, I'm still not sure, but it will be interesting, to say the least. The fact that Shazam (or Captain Marvel as he was formerly known... although you can see where that could get really confusing, really fast!) spends half his time as 12-year-old Billy Batson (or 15-year-old, if you're going by the New 52 timeline), seems to be a waste of The Rock's talents. Another rumour has Johnson playing Black Adam, Shazam's arch-nemesis, turned member of the Justice League. Either way, it makes for an intriguing prospect.

I think the biggest surprise of this list is the exclusion of Batman. While the Caped Crusader will have a large part in Batman v Superman and will definitely be part of the Justice League, I am surprised that there are no plans for a stand-alone Batman movie, or franchise just yet. Either the WB thinks we're Batman'd out and doesn't want to compete with Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, or this has something to do with Ben Affleck's schedule. Either way, I find it interesting that there doesn't seem to be an immediate plan for one of their most iconic characters. This leads me to believe that Affleck's Batman will be the main character in the upcoming Batman v Superman film, his character arc needing to be relatively well developed for them to move forward.

But, overall, what does this mean for the Superhero genre as a whole? Now that both Fox and Sony have also thrown their hats into the Universe building ring, are all of these comic book adaptations going to flood the overall market? By the time that 2018 rolls around, will we be so sick and tired of Superhero movies that the bottom falls out of the whole genre? I mean, if all goes to plan, then we will be getting probably somewhere between six and seven comic book movies released every year. I guess it's possible that there could be some fatigue, although I do think it's highly unlikely. With the exception of The Amazing Spiderman 2 (let's hope that Sony has learned it's lesson, although it doesn't look like it, as there is a report out that says, while they're pushing TASM 3 back to 2017, it's only so that they can shoehorn their Sinister Six movie into its 2016 release date! Did they learn nothing with TASM2?), comic book movies just keep getting better and better. The studios are raising the bar with each subsequent release. The Winter Soldier and Days of Future Past are arguably the best Superhero releases to date... moving beyond just great genre films and into the realm of great films, period. If the studios continue to release great movies, I think that audiences will continue to flock to them. The idea of solid, strategic Universes, built around characters that we have come to know and love is very appealing. As long as the end product is entertaining, what difference does it make if it's based off a comic book or not? Besides, it's very cool to see the heroes that we grew up with on the big screen, in a manner that is fitting to their stature. It's nice to be a film fan at a time where, technologically, film makers are able to bring these larger than life characters to life on the big screen, without it looking hokey or fake. These days they are able to pull images directly from the page and transport them to a movie screen near you. It really is great to be a geek!

I guess what remains to be seen is whether or not Finke's "scoop" is actually true or not. With just a little under five weeks until Comic-Con in San Diego, we don't have long to wait and see what comes of this whole thing. It will be interesting to see how on the money she was. And what else Comic-Con has in store for us. I can hardly wait!

May 6, 2016...

So, I'm going to start off with a disclaimer:

                                                                ***************

I am a MARVEL fan-girl! I don't hate DC or anything like that, but, I just lean more heavily towards Marvel properties. I collect more Marvel comic book titles than I do DC, and I will admit, that I like what Marvel has done with their properties, in regards to their Cinematic Universe way more than anything that DC has done, including Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy.

While I don't detest Nolan's films (it actually takes a lot for me to truly hate a movie. I can usually find something redeeming about just about anything!), I honestly don't see the big deal. I think maybe it's because I don't like my superheroes so firmly grounded in reality. I mean, isn't the point of being a superhero not being a regular guy or gal? To me, while The Dark Knight was a good movie, I feel that both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises are way over-rated. Okay, granted, I have only seen all of them once, but for me, it was enough. (That doesn't stop me from owning them, but that's a completely separate issue!) And don't get me started on Man of Steel... Again, I feel that this was just an all right movie. Nothing special. While I think that Henry Cavill makes a beautiful Superman, I was not impressed with Amy Adams as Lois Lane (which is crazy, cause it's AMY ADAMS for goodness sake!) or the overall story arc. And it has nothing to do with Kal-El killing Zod... I get that part, and I think that it was a very powerful moment... even though it was cut a little short. My main problem was that more than half the movie was people punching each other through buildings and watching things blow up. I mean, if that's what you were going to turn your Superman into, then why didn't you just get Michael Bay to direct it?

Anyway, I digress... this post is not supposed to be about what I dislike about DC movies...

This post is my thoughts on this game of chicken that DC and Marvel are playing over May 6, 2016. For those who are reading this (you know, the 2 of you that aren't my mom) and don't know what the heck I'm talking about, I'll explain. Marvel had scheduled an as yet to be named title for release on May 6, 2016,  a while ago, which has now been revealed to be Captain America 3. Well, during all of this crap that's been going on over at Warner Brothers in regards to this Man of Steel sequel, the WB decided to push back it's release date from the summer of 2015 to May 6, 2016. (Don't get me started on the debacle that this Justice League World's Finest Man of Steel sequel is turning into!)

Looks like we've got a bit of a conflict of interest here, gentlemen! And a seriously high-stakes game of chicken to boot.

As of now, it seems that neither Marvel nor the WB is looking at moving their movie. Kevin Feige has actually come out and said that Marvel is not moving, period, (granted, Mr. Feige is not the be all and end all over there at Disney, so what eventually happens remains to be seen), and the WB, while not quite as adamant, doesn't look like it's going to make a move any time soon, either.

So, what does this mean?

Well, for starters, it means that 2016 is shaping up to be an interesting year for movies! It also means that, if, on the very highly unlikely chance that neither of these guys blink, that May 6, 2016 is going to be a very busy day for me! :)  But honestly, what it really means is diminishing returns for both of these films, a hit right in the box office, if you will. And all because the respective heads of each of these companies have decided to have a pissing contest. Yes, there are many fans out there, like me, who would do a double feature and see both on the same night, or maybe both on the same weekend. But let's face it, we, as sweaty movie nerds (copyright to @JohnCampea over at AMC Movie Talk), are in the minority when it comes to these sorts of things. It's expensive to go to the movies here in Canada ($12.95 for a regular ticket, more if you want to do Ultra AVX, 3D or Imax) and there are a lot of people who are very selective in what they choose to see. It makes this whole thing a no win situation, no matter how you look at it.

Even though they had the date first, if I was up to me at Marvel, I would move the Captain America movie, probably forward, into April 2016 (a release date similar to the Winter Soldier date this year). First off, it makes you look like the bigger man, because even though you had the date first, you're acknowledging the significance of Batman vs. Superman, without actually coming out and saying it. Cause let's face it, even though I'm not super excited about it, the Man of Steel sequel is going to mop the floor with anything else that is released along side it. Secondly, you just proved, with the fantastic Captain America: The Winter Soldier, that as long as you make a great movie, it honestly doesn't matter what the release date is (with a few exception, of course!). Cap 2 has just recently become the highest grossing movie ever released in April. Why not see if you can beat that record by making and releasing an even better movie 2 years from now?

Anyway, that's my 2 cents on the whole thing. If you want to hear other opinions on this topic, below are a couple of links to my two favourite places for movie news: AMC Movie Talk and the Schmoes Know Movie Show. I encourage you to check these guys and gals out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBvjdS7g6hs  AMC Movie Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ccVyyDk440 Schmoes Know Movie Show