Comic book properties being transformed into cinematic spectacles are here to stay, with traditional superheroes leading the way while other properties follow suit. The massive worldwide success of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and Joss Whedon’s Avengers are the crown jewels of the harmonious union of cinema and comic books. Their success has spurred on iconic characters to be ripped from the pages and in extraordinary fashion leave us breathless as we sit on the edge of our seats.
This is not to say that every cinematic foray into the world of panelled comic strips has been heralded as a success. In most cases the original efforts are hugely entertaining whilst a clearly evident drop off occurs as studios desperately try to milk the cash cow’s teat for that one last drop of money; see Superman III & IV, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine etc.
In other efforts, moviegoers and fanboys were robbed of a clear vision of their beloved characters entirely. This insulting blindness to the character’s original narratives caused people to be forced to suffer through Green Lantern, Catwoman, Judge Dredd (1995), Daredevil, and Jonah Hex, all of who are characters that are legends in the pantheons of comic lore.
In 2015, there will be a heavyweight-boxing match between DC and Marvel. Each has waged war for the hearts and minds of people across numerous mediums for decades, but in 2015 each company’s most illustrious and profitable properties will be in theatres as the massive sequel to the billion dollar Avengers will be released within the same calendar year as DC’s Justice League movie. Alas, the Justice League is already doomed for failure, and no, not at the hands of Brainiac, Darkseid, or even Lex Luthor - but at the hands of ticket purchasers.
Why It Will Fail
1. Reacting, Not Planning
It would be easy to talk about how The Justice League needs to take the Iron Man approach and use a singular character to introduce the larger world, but this article is outlining how DC has already failed – not what they should be doing.
The Justice League movie was announced following the critical and financial success of Marvel’s Avengers. Their first step was already a step behind; Marvel had already had their showcase and DC was still picking out their underwear.
Now, there are rumblings that despite The Justice League movie having so much momentum, the fate of the project still relies upon the success of this summer’s blockbuster, Man of Steel. Zach Snyder teams with an all-star cast lead by the likes of Henry Cavill, Michael Shannon, and Amy Adams, and the film has positive buzz heading ever closer to the film’s release so, why sit here and wait for the box office receipts?
DC should be well into the script, working on casting, finding a superhero-educated director, and just genuinely pulling out all the stops to get it right. Now, there is not a prerequisite for a film to be “good” in order to make enough money to turn heads; ask Michael Bay. Warner Brothers should have trust in these characters and the stories they have the potential to tell. These characters are decades old with pages and pages of history.
Stop reacting and start taking the initiative; have the confidence to become fully invested in the potential of a Justice League movie. The one thing DC should take from Marvel is their unrelenting and unforgiving approach.
Kevin Feige has masterminded Marvel’s Cinematic Universe (MCU) and has done so in a way that has seen controversy (Iron Man 2, Edward Norton) but in the end, his and Whedon’s vision was never going to be comprised for any reason. Warner Brothers, DC take notice – do things correctly, these are already proven commodities.
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10 Comments
Personally, I think starting with a Justice League movie is the best way for DC to go at this point. Since the Dark Knight trilogy is done and GL has already had a movie that came-and-went, their strategy of using Man of Steel as a fresh introduction to the universe and then plunging in with JL makes the most sense. This is especially true for Batman. What better way to reboot the character than a fresh appearance in a movie that establishes his place in a world of superheroes (a first for the movies not counting the silly shout outs to Superman in the 90s movies). It would be a much more intriguing intro for a character that has been in cinemas for decades now rather than yet another solo origin film. Also, this gives WB/DC a chance to try something different and skip over the obligatory origin movies for Wonder Woman and Flash. As good as the Marvel films were, one of the reasons The Avengers was such a fun movie was that it wasn’t spending all its time telling how these heroes came to be. How exciting would it be if the first Wonder Woman film jumped right into a story of saving the world rather than her growing up on Paradise Island? GL was an origin movie and look how that turned out (on the opposite side of the coin, Iron Man 2 wasn’t an origin movie and…well…it wasn’t much better than GL). Regardless, bring on the Justice League!
I have to agree with all four points.
Marvel did everything write leading into the Avengers and made house hold names of Iron Man and Thor.
Personally I’m glad both Wolverine and Spidey weren’t in the Avengers. It would have taken to much focus away from the other heroes.
Also I would rather see a Superman Vs Batman Movie than Justice League Movie.
Being compared to, and more importantly being better than The Avengers is no hard feat.
I love this! Completely agree
These concerns are spot-on, and the upcoming “Superman” film really does mean so much to the “Justice League” – If “Superman” fails, I’d not be surprised if articles like this have to talk about how to save the newly delayed “Justice League” film instead….
The fact that we think there even needs to be a Justice League movie shows a weird herd mentality. The Avengers has set the bar so high, so instead of thinking of a way to top them, why not just focus on excellent solo films (something we haven’t seen from WB outside of the Dark Knight trilogy in decades)? Who cares if it’s a team-up? I believe your box office can be just as strong as the Avengers for an excellently made Superman trilogy. There really isn’t a scenario in my mind where Justice League can overcome Avengers, and a team-up, despite what everyone in the community is saying, really isn’t mandatory.
Can’t we please just give some superheros a rest already? It’s becoming overkill and rebooting Batman after Nolan made the best superhero movies of all time is already a guaranteed failure
I agree that DC is reacting and not planning. I do think that since they are putting all their eggs reportedly on the Superman movie then that means The Man of Steel (MOS) will create the tone for the Justice League. I think if it is REALLY successful then the DC universe will become the NOLAN Universe. So by reacting to the MOS, it could be a gamble that could secure one of the great modern producer/directors to helm a collective vision for the DC brand.
I totally agree with the growing graveyard of DC. I cannot understand the dearth of talent when it comes to developing their characters. Referencing my above response, I think a unified Nolan universe could bring seriousness to the source material that has been lacking. It is my belief that the more cartoonish the movie the more likely it was a flop…that goes for Superman 3&4, Batman 2, 3&4, Catwoman, Green Lantern and on the Marvel side Ang Lee’s Hulk (remember the Gamma dogs), and Spiderman 3 (at least a critical flop).
I disagree with the idea that you cannot reboot Batman. They rebooted the Hulk TWICE, and Catwoman twice and no one batted an eye. Everyone accepted it as long as the newest one was not worse than the one previous.
There are ways to get around the almost certain comparisons to the Avengers, but it does not have to be a fatal flaw. I think if Nolan does wind up creating the shared universe he would introduce deep social commentary and broad themes and try to build character focused stories. Even if the settings seem similar, that angle would differentiate the two brands. The experience of watching the Dark Knight Trilogy has a completely different tone than almost any other Superhero film that I can think of. It reminds me of District 9 and Avatar. Both movies are identical in a LOT of ways. I liked District 9 better because it was darker, felt as though something like that could actually happen and was supported by a very strong character driven story. Avatar was like the Avengers, a fun visually stunning movie with a very simplistic plot and a lot of action.
DC isn’t failing. DC isn’t even doing anything with the movie. It’s being made by Warner Brothers not DC.
Good article anyway, some strong points here.
Being completely honest;
Wonder Woman as a character has never been done right since the first comics… remember when she was a warrior, intellectual and cured cancer?
Aquaman has had his role removed from the film – mostly because they just cant handle his character with the respect it deserves.
The Superman film is weak and bland and will likely not do as well as they hoped… personally hoping it fails.
Batman has had enough films at this stage, he needs a break.
Everyone knows the reason why they are pushing for a 2015 release is so they can get it to compete with Avengers 2 and get some fan support/audience support by convincing them that its essentially the same film (Its not a coincidence that Darkseid was revealed as the main villain after the reveal of Thanos in The Avengers)
I hope the Justice League movie fails because they are rushing it. At this rate it does not even sound like a script is ready, they just know that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and The Flash will be facing off against Darkseid.
Considering that Superman essentially is as speedy as ‘The Flash’ and that the Green Lanterns would no way fit with the real world scenario – especially considering that Wonder Woman and the Amazonians have not even been introduced in any series of recent films… its going to flop. Maybe it will be lucky and Avengers 2 will help get it some attention when the trailers are released and people realise that the Justice League film is simply Avengers 2… but i highly dislike that they are only doing this for the cash.