Anyone else fear 'Man of Steel' is the final chance for success in the film industry?

[db85usa]

Superman fans have been through a lot. We've dealt with so many attempts to put the definitive Superman on film. We survived so many reboot/restarts, scripts, ideas that were put on the shelf. It took 19 years for a Superman movie to finally be released and for most (myself included), it wasn't exactly the ideal story we had envisioned. I truly feel like this is the final chance to put a successful Superman on the silver screen. If this colossal film fails, WB will scramble to reboot the next Batman in 3-4 years and we might not see a Superman movie for another 20 years or more. The pressure on the studio, Snyder and Co. has got to be insane. I like the approach so far and can only hope this version is the one we'll remember for a long time. It'll be exciting to follow for the next 11 months!

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by db85usa

Superman fans have been through a lot. We've dealt with so many attempts to put the definitive Superman on film. We survived so many reboot/restarts, scripts, ideas that were put on the shelf. It took 19 years for a Superman movie to finally be released and for most (myself included), it wasn't exactly the ideal story we had envisioned. I truly feel like this is the final chance to put a successful Superman on the silver screen. If this colossal film fails, WB will scramble to reboot the next Batman in 3-4 years and we might not see a Superman movie for another 20 years or more. The pressure on the studio, Snyder and Co. has got to be insane. I like the approach so far and can only hope this version is the one we'll remember for a long time. It'll be exciting to follow for the next 11 months!

Depends if you feel that Superman is on thin ice when it comes to popularity, or whether he'll always have some sort of ticket-to-ride because of his veteran status and distribution.

[C. Lee]

Superman has been on the screen for 64 years now. Even if the upcoming movie is terrible and the worst thing ever made....there will be another Superman movie.

[Tanin]

I think Superman will be fine if they just get the right creative team together. That is all any movie needs to be good, no matter how many bad movies come before it.

[MOS2013]

I share the same fear.

But as someone else said, even if it did fail, there'd no doubt be another attempt anyway. But to get his popularity up again I feel like this has to work.

[thegameq]

Originally Posted by KalMart

Depends if you feel that Superman is on thin ice when it comes to popularity, or whether he'll always have some sort of ticket-to-ride because of his veteran status and distribution.

This.

I think there will always be an audience for Superman, regardless of his popularity. The size of the audience and popularity is another story.

Superman is, and always will be about awe and wonder. Those two things do not get old and are not generational.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by C. Lee

Superman has been on the screen for 64 years now. Even if the upcoming movie is terrible and the worst thing ever made....there will be another Superman movie.

I don't think this character can constantly be rebooted with a fresh story over and over at the box office. Before Returns, we had nothing on film. How can you be so sure that if MoS is not a success, we'll see another film right away? I don't see it happening. I feel like this is a critical opportunity at success.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by thegameq

This.

I think there will always be an audience for Superman, regardless of his popularity. The size of the audience and popularity is another story.

Superman is, and always will be about awe and wonder. Those two things do not get old and are not generational.

That's true but none of this justifies the near 20 year gap on the silver screen. I love Superman like you guys do but, if we step out of our fanboy shoes for one minute, we have truly only seen TWO quality Superman films in the last 30+ years, right? I certainly don't want to see another one and done film and then go back to the drawing board to recycle the character yet again.

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by db85usa

I don't think this character can constantly be rebooted with a fresh story over and over at the box office. Before Returns, we had nothing on film. How can you be so sure that if MoS is not a success, we'll see another film right away? I don't see it happening. I feel like this is a critical opportunity at success.

Lemme ask you this....what if there WERE no more Superman movies, but everything else was still there.....would that make him any less of a superhero, or somehow not worthy of being someone's favorite?

Originally Posted by db85usa

That's true but none of this justifies the near 20 year gap on the silver screen.

Does it need justification? The question is are movies the true measure of a superhero character?

[C. Lee]

Originally Posted by db85usa

I don't think this character can constantly be rebooted with a fresh story over and over at the box office. Before Returns, we had nothing on film. How can you be so sure that if MoS is not a success, we'll see another film right away? I don't see it happening. I feel like this is a critical opportunity at success.

I didn't say you would see one right away. I said there would be another one in the future. I just don't think it will take 20 years like you do.

You sound pessimistic about his future....I'm not. But then I am most likely quite a bit older than you...I have seen more ups and downs in his history. I don't get worried about things like this.

[KalMart]

GL, on the other hand.....

[C. Lee]

Originally Posted by db85usa

That's true but none of this justifies the near 20 year gap on the silver screen. I love Superman like you guys do but, if we step out of our fanboy shoes for one minute, we have truly only seen TWO quality Superman films in the last 30+ years, right? I certainly don't want to see another one and done film and then go back to the drawing board to recycle the character yet again.

Oh no....only TWO quality films.....in the last 30 years!!!!!!

My number one favorite character is Doc Savage (one of the fathers of Superman)......and since his creation in 1933.......there has been 1 movie made of the character (that's 79 years)....and it is a piece of crap. I would love to be able to complain that there are only two quality Doc Savage movies (and several other dubious quality movies, not to mentioned multiple live action and animated Tv series).

[thegameq]

Originally Posted by db85usa

That's true but none of this justifies the near 20 year gap on the silver screen. I love Superman like you guys do but, if we step out of our fanboy shoes for one minute, we have truly only seen TWO quality Superman films in the last 30+ years, right? I certainly don't want to see another one and done film and then go back to the drawing board to recycle the character yet again.

That may have more to do with WB than anything else. Superheroes are an expensive and risky proposition for a studio with myriads of safer IPs--fantasy or not--to mine for films/profit.

Takes off red knee high boots....

Also, combined with the above...I don't think WB quite new what to do with Supes. The Donner films are a huge legacy to overcome or tamper with. Factor in the fact that like all studios WB tends to follow current trends and you could see why another Supes film just wasn't a compelling argument for WB at the time.

[DoomsdayApex]

Originally Posted by KalMart

GL, on the other hand.....

That depends though...

If Man of Steel is a success, and if WB pulls off Justice League, then Green Lantern could be on screen again 3-4 years later. From the present however, a Green Lantern relaunch/reboot could be nearly a decade away.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by KalMart

Lemme ask you this....what if there WERE no more Superman movies, but everything else was still there.....would that make him any less of a superhero, or somehow not worthy of being someone's favorite?


Does it need justification? The question is are movies the true measure of a superhero character?

Yes because seeing Superman on film is the pinnacle of entertainment (for me anyway.) I'm not dissing the character. What is disappointing is how WB has handled the way they have approached it.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by C. Lee

I didn't say you would see one right away. I said there would be another one in the future. I just don't think it will take 20 years like you do.

You sound pessimistic about his future....I'm not. But then I am most likely quite a bit older than you...I have seen more ups and downs in his history. I don't get worried about things like this.

Hey I may have not been around as long as you but S:TM was my thing growing up still though, I can't imagine what would happen if MoS is not a successful or critically acclaimed film. He's the grand daddy of all superheroes and should be treated as such as far as movies go don't you think??

[KalMart]

Originally Posted by db85usa

Yes because seeing Superman on film is the pinnacle of entertainment (for me anyway.) I'm not dissing the character. What is disappointing is how WB has handled the way they have approached it.

I guess I have it a bit easier because I'm not really a comic reader nor do I favor any character over another in particular. I just want a good film to watch whichever comes out and it really wouldn't bother me if there never was another movie of any one character again. I guess I'd feel bad for some fans of the character feeling 'left out of the party' to some extent, but I don't see them reaching movies as the pinnacle of their capabilities of entertainment...and not reaching it a failure of some sort. Not everything has to be in movies.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by KalMart

GL, on the other hand.....

Please don't go there, lol.

[Thundercrack85]

Originally Posted by C. Lee

Superman has been on the screen for 64 years now. Even if the upcoming movie is terrible and the worst thing ever made....there will be another Superman movie.

Agreed. But let's do it this decade.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by KalMart

I guess I have it a bit easier because I'm not really a comic reader nor do I favor any character over another in particular. I just want a good film to watch whichever comes out and it really wouldn't bother me if there never was another movie of any one character again. I guess I'd feel bad for some fans of the character feeling 'left out of the party' to some extent, but I don't see them reaching movies as the pinnacle of their capabilities of entertainment...and not reaching it a failure of some sort. Not everything has to be in movies.

Well this is the movie forum, so that's why I brought up the concern. I think its a huge measuring stick when it comes to Superman. He is a legend in the comics, I'm just hoping that MoS can portray that on screen with incredible success and if it doesn't, I just have a difficult time seeing WB take another risk so soon if we have two failures in SR and MoS. This is pretty much do or die time is it not?

[UaalaDan]

Originally Posted by C. Lee

Superman has been on the screen for 64 years now. Even if the upcoming movie is terrible and the worst thing ever made....there will be another Superman movie.

This.

Superman will live on.

[db85usa]

Originally Posted by UaalaDan

This.

Superman will live on.

That's the obvious and easy answer. Of course he'll live on -- whether it be in the comics, cartoons, TV shows, action figures but with everything considered, we've seen at least IMO 5 decent Batman films in the last 23 years and only 2 for Superman. That to me is unacceptable for this character who is easily considered the most legendary of them all.

What I'm trying to get at is if MoS is a downer, the franchise could possibly could end up to be like the Boston Red Sox/Chicago Cubs curse of movies. I apologize if there are any Red Sox or Cubs fans here, lol.

[Frontier]

I think even if this film fails - which I doubt it will, if they promote it properly - they'll still be Superman on the big screen via Justice League films, which WB has wanted to begin doing for years.

[Joe]

I hope this movie is what Iron Man was to Marvel. Since Nolan's trilogy decided to not get involved with the Justice League, this is a chance to start fresh with it. Make MOS the jumpstart, come in with a Flash movie in a few years. Then give us a real Green Lanturn, then bring on Bats!

[JosephCAW]

unlikely, Superman 3 was one of the worst of the bunch, yet not long after we got Superman 4 which was better but not by a hell of alot (we atleast got a few fights in that one lol).

Ppl tend to forget that even though its pretty well agreed on that Superman Returns was a really bad movie, it still generated more than enough at the box office to warrant a sequel, the studio just choose not to.

So yea, Man Of Steel will do just fine, even if it turns out to not be all that great....but personally I dont think thats going to be a problem lol