7 Predictions for the Future of the Comic Book Movie
The Bubble Bursts
Thinking practically this will happen eventually, nothing lasts forever. It could well be that we hit the goldilocks zone this summer as far as superhero films are concerned. With 'The Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' we saw the fruition and conclusion, respectively, of two movie projects that have set the benchmarks for ambition, scale and cultural worth for superhero movies.
It's because these movies were so good and difficult to match, let alone better, that we may see either a sudden or slow decline in superhero flicks.
A sudden decline could be brought on by, simply put, bad movies. If standarda starts to slip then fans will know it. There are also other factors that could contribute; some of the cast members contracts are coming to an end (e.g. Robert Downey jr.) which could lead to bad casting or the audience simply not taking to a new Tony Stark the same way no matter who it is.
A slower decline could be brought on by people becoming bored with the bombardment of the same old characters and too many z-list new ones. I would credit this type of decline to the general public rather than the all out fan, who will surely stick around. Everyone and their parents/girlfriends/boyfriends/distant cousins went to see the avengers and seemingly loved it which means more money and means more superhero movies which could result in more than people actually want to see.
However and it's a big 'however' many of our favourite superheroes haven't been given their big screen chance or are due a big fat second chance (Gambit, Venom, Green Lantern). Also there's still so much to come from each individual avenger and, although we may be through with the Dark Knight for a while, the next Superman shows a lot of promise. Add to that the next avengers film (more Joss Whedon, good move) and whatever happens with the JLA film.
So there you have our 7 predictions for the future of the comic book movie genre. Anything you'd care to throw in? Don't be shy now.