Warner Brothers announced a slew of films yesterday morning, essentially challenging Marvel with their upcoming movies. So what’s all on the table? Aside from the previously slated Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (now to be a trilogy), here’s what we can expect through 2020 from WB.
2016
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
We’ve been privy to several released photos and plot lines from Zack Snyder’s gritty, filtered upcoming movie featuring a grizzly, buff, Batfleck and the chiseled jaw of Henry Cavill for some months now, yet I’m not alone in feeling blah toward the upcoming flick, even with the addition of Gal Gadot (whom I adore) as Diana of Themyscira. Inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, we can probably expect something a bit darker than what we’re used to!
Comic Recommendation: Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books, or maybe Kingdom Come for a slighter older take on the Trinity
Suicide Squad
Again, gritty seems to to be the word of the year over at the studio, so who makes up the roster of this flick of bad guys directed by David Ayer? Deadshot seems to be the obvious choice, but my money is on Harley Quinn making her first ever movie appearance, as well as Black Manta, and the Wall herself, Amanda Waller. I’m all up for bad guys tearing shit up, but as long as there’s some FUN to it!
Comic Recommendation: Keith Giffen’s or Adam Glass’s Suicide Squad
2017
Wonder Woman
FINALLY. It’s been an unforgivable amount of years, but thank the old gods and the new, that our warrior is finally getting her own movie. Sure, it’s two years away, but it’s HAPPENING. Gal Gadot will again be donning the tiara as she battles her way through who knows what, but with the rumors swirling around that Diana’s origins will be in line with her New52 ones, we can except some amazing battles. Hopefully Brian Azzarello or Gail Simone will be on hand to assist with the script, so we can get the Wonder Woman we deserve. PLEASE DO NOT FUCK THIS UP, WARNER BROTHERS.
Comic Recommendation: Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman
C’mon, guys. A whole movie of this? Solid gold.
Justice League
There’s not much to be said about this ensemble film. Will it rival the Avengers? Who knows. Will Martian Manhunter make his appearance? I fucking hope so. Will it be along the lines of the Justice League: War animated film, so our team spends the film sputtering insults at each other? Pass.
Comic Recommendation: Brad Meltzer’s Justice League of America
2018
The Flash
It’s not news to some that this cinematic Flash would be different from CW’s Flash, but for some it was quite the nasty shock that Ezra Miller (of Perks of Being a Wallflower fame) will be donning those red tights. No word yet on what sort of story we might see, but MAYBE we can get a different Flash instead of Barry Allen, since he’s basically covered in the television show. Mayhaps a twist on The Flash: Rebirth!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s The Flash: Rebirth
Aquaman
I had tons to say about Aquaman, but when I found the photo above my wits left me. We know Jason Momoa will be outfitted in the green and gold of DC’s “lamest” superhero, and I personally wish to see the New52’s storyline on the big screen. It handles all the misconceptions about Aquaman, while rendering him a certified badass. This is definitely in my top two “must see” flicks on this list so far, simply because it was getting lonely being the only Aquaman fan!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Aquaman
2019
Shazam
We got confirmation that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be wearing that shiny, white cape of Billy Batson’s alter-ego, but this is the movie I’m least excited to see. It has potential for laughs, as Shazam gets the job done with a child-like wonder, but my main concern is how strong the story will be. There’s so many questions too, such as will the rest of the Marvel family appear? Will he just be called Shazam, or will we know him by Captain Marvel (not to be confused by Marvel’s Captain Marvel), if the copyright is still in place? Will Black Adam be the big bad?
Comic Recommendation: Jeff Smith’s Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
Justice League 2
Again, there’s not much to go one, except rumors, but if rumors are all I have, so be it. Speculation places Darkseid as the blue-faced villain of the first Justice League movie (joining other blue faced nemeses like Apocalypse, from Fox’s X-Men, and Thanos, from Marvel’s cinematic universe), so I will use my tiny bit of internet to plead for Starro or Amazo or Vandal Savage! There’s so much out there, just waiting to see a tiny slice of the general population. So much. It’d be amazing as a comic fan to see some of it played out in all its glory.
Comic Recommendation: Mark Waid’s JLA: Tower of Babel
2020
Cyborg
Of all the people in the DC Universe, I was most surprised by this announcement. Victor Stone isn’t a character that you normally see solo (normally he’s on the Teen Titans roster), but a teenager with a genius level intellect will be a nice addition to all the burly men (and one woman) we will so far be seeing! Ray Fisher doesn’t have much under his belt aside from a handful of Broadway shows, but he’s set to make his first appearance in the Batman v. Superman movie, giving us a peek at what we can expect in 2020.
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Teen Titans or Judd Winnick’s Titans
Green Lantern
As much as I would love this Green Lantern movie to feature John Stewart (cause let’s all admit, 90% of the Ryan Reynolds GL was trash), I think that would be hopeful to the point of foolishness, given DC’s track record of being wholly ignorant of what we, the fans, want. TWO blockbuster filmed led by black men in the SAME YEAR, would be absolutely mind blowing, and tons of people are already fans of John Stewart, having grown up on the animated Justice League series. Let’s make this happen, DC. Representation matters!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Green Lantern: Rebirth or John Starlin’s Cosmic Odyssey
Overall, this is exciting, and I’m very much cautiously optimistic of what the future holds. There’s still stand alone Batman, and Superman films that haven’t been announced yet, so with these PLUS all that Marvel is bringing to the screen…well, let’s just say my wallet is going to be a lot lighter, assuming I like what I see from trailers, and so forth. My only thing is…I hope both studios think of the younger people, and involve some of the teenager teams, like Teen Titans, and the Runaways or Young Avengers.
What movie are you most excited for?
Editor’s Note: Leia will be glad to help you find the comics referenced above, just tweet at her (@ladyvader99)!
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Dear DC Comics and Warner Brothers,
Allow me to begin my letter with a fact: You guys are missing the point.
What caused this random letter to be penned in the first place? My reading of Catwoman #0 and the constant “news” of your Justice League feature film endeavors. I’ll begin with Catwoman.
DC, I am one of your few female fans of the recently rebooted leather clad anti-hero after you bravely (some say stupidly) went where only fanfictions went. Selina was slowly becoming a character one could relate to, a vulnerable woman inside of a tough shell, and then Catwoman #0 happened. I don’t pretend to know what goes on in your offices, so I don’t know how much of that story was written when handed over to the all female creative team. I also don’t know who the hell told you the tentative cover art was wonderful enough to release to the public, or that the subsequent attempt at righting the wrongs was better.
Catwoman is an overtly sexual character. We know this. She is already in a body hugging leather suit so there is NO NEED for her to pose in a way that is not only physically impossible, but in a position that prominently displays her chest and ass. To be fair, you guys attempted to rectify these anatomical issues so the pose was more believable, but kept the idiotic pose. My question is why couldn’t she be leaning against a building without a care in the world? Was it such an outrageous idea that she pet a black cat, or held a jewel, or even whirled her whip overhead?
Ripped to shreds by the internet, several prominent artists rendered their own versions of the cover to the point where it got mass media coverage, most notably from Comics Alliance.
Kudos for listening to only part of the outrage, DC!
Again, to be fair, you guys tried to go one step further and allowed women to write the book, starting with the offending issue. As stated earlier, I have no idea how much of the story was written prior to this, and while a lot of the comic community cheered at this development, I felt alone in my disdain for it, for the writing was truly abysmal. I’ve never been invested in a character less and that says a lot, seeing as I read almost half of the DC52. I felt a sense of kinship with the writer of this tumblr post, who put their thoughts far more eloquently than I did here in this letter that will not come to your attention, for I am but a girl on the internet.
I get that the run is not on Brubaker’s level or some other creators, but just because you get a woman to write a female character does not automatically mean you’re going to have an improvement. Bad writing is bad writing, no matter what gender, race, politics, etc.
– Tumblr user comicbookwomen
Comics aside, I wearily turn my attention to the other offenders, to whom this letter is also addressed.
Warner Brothers…I honestly don’t know where to begin with you.
I understand COMPLETELY that you guys feel the need to compete with Marvel Studio and understand that the time is right to begin welcoming viewers into this wonderful universe with films that interconnect.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT MAKE THESE MOVIES JUST FOR THE SAKE OF GIVING MARVEL COMPETITION.
I cannot stress how much we the fans (while, admittedly, more than half of which would see any movie put out by you guys) would love some quality in your films. There is so much story material out there, ripe for the adapting in which viewers (both fans and newcomers) could get on board with. Following Marvel’s lead is not a bad thing and if the internet rips you a new one for it, so what? It’ll quickly dissipate once you blow our mind holes with a flick leaving us begging for more. Nolan’s trilogy had its flaws, as did Green Lantern and Superman Returns. I wish I could say optimism was high for Man of Steel, but I ask…who the hell told you Henry Cavill can act well enough to be Superman? Did no one see The Immortals? Sure, he’s aesthetically pleasing, but that is not everything. I urge you all to choose directors who are fans of the source material, much as Jon Favreau was for the Iron Man series.
Aggressive Comix’s Geekgasm series echoed our feelings about impending movies as well.
Please, hear the cries of many and do not rush into starting a Justice League movie.
I don’t doubt for a second that another Batman story is in the works and you know what? I’ll even help you with that in my next article. I’m going to dream cast a new Batman movie and pick a story that could be wonderfully adapted and segued into a Justice League ensemble.
I feel better now that some of this is off my chest…I only hope that someone will bring you guys to your senses before fans become alienated further.
Sincerely,
Leia
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #4
Review | The Lost Path by Amélie Fléchais
Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #2
Top 10 Comics of 2017
Operation Early Bird, the mysterious website associated with The Dark Knight Rises, finally hit its countdown to zero and crashed. That’s right – a whole lot of people must have been waiting to see what it would reveal. After it was back up, it was a geo-tagged display of IMAX theaters that would be screening The Dark Knight Rises Prologue.
The Prologue was screened early for bloggers and journalists in Universal City, California and was personally introduced by Christopher Nolan himself. He joked about not knowing the ending because he had just begun editing the film. He also confirmed that the preview will be shown in front of select viewings of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol later this month.
This is what you’re missing out on. The screening will show six minutes of The Dark Knight Rises, and will primarily focus on a scene with the villain Bane that leads into various clips of the movie. For those of us who aren’t reporters and lucky enough to snag a seat through Operation Early Bird, or for those who weren’t early bird enough to have grabbed a seat, this is what you can expect to see. More details and SPOILERS after the jump. (more…)
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