Ben Affleck is the New Batman- Page 4

[Jon]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 7:17am

I look forward tot he Justice League movie. Can't wait for the Wonder Woman casting mania.

Can they get Vincent Chase to reprise his role as Aquaman?

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 7:41am

The Nerd sites are saying that Matt Damon is being considered for Aquaman.

Wonder Woman for me would be easy. Gemma Arterton. She was in that Hansel & Gretel: With Hunters film and she held her own and from the moment I saw the trailer I thought she would make an excellent Diana. If they want to go with more of a "name" I think Olivia Wilde or Jessica Biel would be fine, but I'd prefer Arterton.

For Flash it depends on which version they go with. If they go with the current comic Wally West then I think Neil Patrick Harris would be perfect. If they go with someone more like Barry Allen then NPH could work too or possibly Ryan Gosling.

Green Lantern - recast him. Forget about the Green Lantern movie with Reynolds. I think Nathan Fillion would be a very strong choice here.

Martian Manhunter - For me this has to be Lennie James. I think he'd be absolutely perfect.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 8:04am

I think one of the biggest problems with the DC vs. Marvel movie mega-franchises is that, outside of the comic book fan world, the Marvel characters hadn't been as exploited in film or TV shows. They existed on a lower plane of familiarity.

Marvel was able to take their stable of recognizable characters that a lot of movie goers didn't know every single detail about and turn each one into sub-franchises that led to the Avengers multi-franchise series. (God, it sounds just as robotic as it actually was/is.)

DC has Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, with each one already receiving multiple exposures as films and reboots of films, or TV shows and reboots of TV shows.

Can audiences really watch yet another film that tells them the exact same way Batman became Batman or Wonder Woman became Wonder Woman? This last Superman movie made decent bucks at the box office, but most people thought it sucked. Not exactly the best way to kick off a multi-picture franchise within a mega-franchise.

I think they've sold us the same food one too many times. If I were them I would focus on the characters that haven't been overcooked, like Aqua Man. If they can get that off the ground, they stand a better chance of pulling audiences into the whole thing.

But focusing on the "old warhorses" like Batman and Superman, over and over again, is not a great idea, IMO.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 8:28am

That's a great point, best.

Also, I'd give Marvel credit for their often-brave choice of directors. Branagh brought a regal majesty to Thor, Favreau gave Iron Man a wisecracking smarminess, and of course Joss Whedon who made The Avengers work on just about every level as only he could.

And they've kept it up, too. Alan Taylor doing Thor: The Dark World is a great step up for him. The Russo brothers directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier? Really curious to see how that plays out. James Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy and Edgar Wright on Ant-Man? Yes, please.

That DC picked Zack Snyder is not inspiring. Marvel has gone for character, DC has gone for blockbuster, and IMHO made the wrong choice.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 8:32am

I agree with that, but I think the studio feels that testing the waters with their "anchors" is a good way to go about setting that foundation.

The problem is everyone will go see a Batman or a Superman film and the box office return of that isn't remotely indicative of what an Aquaman or Flash film would bring in.

Green Lantern might be the best most recent indicator and it only did $219M worldwide. It did do $53M opening weekend which is a fairly strong non-holiday opening so I'd say terrible word of mouth about a terrible film is what stunted the growth.

It will be very interesting to see the studio's next move after all the batlash that the Affleck announcement has received. It'll tip their hand as to their long term plans I'd imagine.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 8:40am

The problem is everyone will go see a Batman or a Superman film and the box office return of that isn't remotely indicative of what an Aquaman or Flash film would bring in.

Exactly, but that means they actually don't know if they have another "mega-franchise" until they start stepping out of their comfort zone.

Until then, it's just the same old "new and improved" stories being told again and again.

Marvel started with Iron Man. I'm not a comic book fan, and I had no idea who he was until the film series. I knew Captain America. I was aware of Thor, although I was too old for the Saturday Morning cartoon. And I definitely knew the Hulk. As for the fringe characters (so far) Black Widow, Hawkeye, etc. Again, I had no idea until the films.

They stepped out of the comfort zone of "tried and true" and succeeded in a huge way.

DC can't begin to do that until they try something new.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 8:42am

It will be very interesting to see the studio's next move after all the batlash that the Affleck announcement has received. It'll tip their hand as to their long term plans I'd imagine.

I honestly think half of the backlash toward Affleck is really a backlash toward "not another Batman on the big screen, please."

They don't want to see anybody else do it right now.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 8:56am

Yeah, I mean Iron Man was a success because it was cast absolutely perfectly and it's a character that is enjoyable to watch. Robert Downey Jr was/is perfect as Tony Stark.

There really isn't anyone like Iron Man in the DC universe. By default DC has always been grittier and more visceral than Marvel so it's hard to pick out something they could start with in that matter.

I think they wanted Green Lantern to serve that role, but it failed miserably.

It's the curse of trying to replicating lightning in a bottle vs just lucking out and catching it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 9:11am

I think Captain America comes closest to the DC superheroes, and Marvel did a great job of bringing him to the big screen and adding just enough grit to the story without betraying the origins of the character. Then they brought him into today's world.

One of the really great thematic ideas that the Marvel series latched onto was the World's Fair as an "ideal destination" where possibilities are born. It plays heavily into Captain America and most definitely into Iron Man.

But having this location (in 1939, 1964, and in a fictional modern world's fair) also helped establish the tone and mindset of how these characters came to be. I also love the debate they continue between a character like Thor, who is born out of legend and religion or "faith" and Iron Man and Captain America, who are born out of science.

They seem to have tapped into the larger ideas that created these characters.

So far, with Batman and Superman, I just see "smaller" stories being told (and I'm not referring to how many things blow up or how much money they spend).

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 9:47am

That's a great point. Marvel exists in our world. It's easier to buy into that. DC has their own Metropolis/Gotham City/Bludhaven etc that aren't real in our minds.

One of my prized comic pieces is the Spider-Man comic that was released after 9/11. It's signed by the artist John Romita Jr. and he even did a little Spidey sketch on it for me. They way that Spider-man was seeing the destruction in New York is something that really connected worlds together and something that DC would have never been able to do without it seeming forced.

The picture isn't my exact copy, but it's pretty close to how many looks. I'm hoping to catch Stan Lee at a con and have him sign it and then get it framed away.

[jnb9872]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 9:51am

Another thing that DC will need to do; appoint a caretaker for the DC Cinematic Universe, the way that Marvel has done with Kevin Feige. This article in Wired goes a great way towards explaining the success of Marvel's franchises since they became their own Studio.


How Marvel Unified Its Movie Universe (And Why That Won’t Be Easy for DC)

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 9:57am

They're have been countless Batmans and Supermans, but only 4 actresses have played Wonder Woman and yet no other actress has been able to match or even better Lynda Carter.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:02am

Countless Batmans = 9? (Counting the two more prolific voice actors who have covered him) 10 if you go ahead and count Affleck.

More actors have played Doctor Who than Batman. :)

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:03am

Still 10 is a lot, don't you think a lot more than say 4 for Wonder Woman within the last 35-40 years.

[Patronus]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:03am

But yeah I know what you're saying about Wonder Woman. She's just so campy unless you find someone to treat the material just right. If the Lynda Carter version were filmed today the pilot wouldn't be picked up. It's a tough one to pull off without much camp.

Which is why she may only have 4 actress to her credit, but she has countless drag queen tributes! :)

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:06am

I loved Lynda Carter as the character. I think she got better as the series progressed and really embodied the character. I can't watch the series as a whole though, the plot lines really were dreadful.

As far as Batman and Superman go, I am just so over those characters and the endless re-boots. I could really care less at this point. It's just all one great big yawn to me. Updated On: 8/25/13 at 10:06 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:08am

Wonder Woman is a tough one to pull off without getting campy.

But that's what I loved about "Captain America." He became part of his own campy propaganda when he was doing those cheesy USO shows. I loved how they addressed the campiness rather than ignored it or struggled to downplay it.

They wrote it into the story.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:15am

Yes. The really succeeded with CAPTAIN AMERICA, in that respect. At this point I am more psyched about the Marvel characters than the DC ones.

I'm impressed at how they are making these characters come to life on the big screen and the actors they are choosing to play them.

[best12bars]

Posted: 8/25/13 at 10:24am

It may be their biggest advantage that the Marvel gallery of superheroes and villains isn't as well known as the DC gallery.

They are able to introduce mass movie audiences to them, and they feel fresh and new. Not like warmed-up leftovers from a few years ago.

Where the DC folks really fail is rebooting a series without really rebooting it. Hiring new art directors and blowing more things up isn't a reboot. Changing the mindset of the characters, their circumstances, and modifying their stories is a reboot.

The best thing to come out of the recent Batman movies was Heath Ledger's Joker. That was a reboot and a reinvention in the best possible way. It also served to show just how dull the rest of it was. Even the endless chase sequences were dull.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 1:24pm

This last Superman movie made decent bucks at the box office, but most people thought it sucked.

That could be said of every Superman movie since 1980.

When will we finally get a Dazzler film? Or the character at least introduced in an X-Men film? The potential for this character is HUGE, especially if handled similarly with Iron Man. A sense of humor, sexiness, bright colors, brilliant effects, and a dash of camp could turn her into the pop icon she was always envisioned to be.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 2:00pm

"The best thing to come out of the recent Batman movies was Heath Ledger's Joker. That was a reboot and a reinvention in the best possible way. It also served to show just how dull the rest of it was. Even the endless chase sequences were dull."

This. God in heaven -- THIS!

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 6:26pm

Is everyone more excited about the possibility of Bryan Cranston playing Lex Luthor?

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/26/13 at 7:00pm

Ooooh I remember Dazzler. She was the pop singer mutant.

[romantico]

Posted: 9/14/13 at 11:29am

Oh Crap!

http://www.deadline.com/2013/09/justin-bieber-robin-superman-batman-man-of-stee/

I know it can't be true but still, the very thought makes me ill.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 9/17/13 at 11:43am

Here is Ben talking about the backlash.


Ben Affleck explains to Jimmy Fallon how he first discovered Batman backlash