Geoff Johns to help bring Metal Men to big screen?

[Double Down]

From MTV's Splash Page:

Now that he’s done “Smallville,” comics scribe Geoff Johns told MTV he wants to take a flying leap and do more adaptation work of his favorite comics… much more.
“I love the DC universe,” he professed — which is no surprise to comics fans, of course. Johns has either written himself or had a hand in the scripting of many of DC’s most popular series, events and reboot projects of the last few years.
If “Smallville” extends into a ninth season, he’d love to write for that, he told us. If the CW had gone ahead with plans for “The Graysons” television series he would have been happy to write for that, too. But if the Superman or Flash filmmakers would just knock on his door, “I would love a crack at Superman or the Flash for a feature,” Johns said. (And he already has Richard Donner in his corner for the Man of Steel.)
According to Johns, he has tons of ideas to share… but with them, not us.
“I’d rather keep my ideas in a drawer, in case I get a chance,” Johns explained. “But I would love to be involved. It was my dream job to see the Legion come to life on ‘Smallville,’ to get to work with the director, to work with the actors, and I would love to do do more of that, just to introduce more DC characters to the world.”
Johns said that by doing more adaption work for TV or film or video games (such as he’s doing for DC Universe Online), you’d be exposing the characters to a much larger audience than the comic book readership ever could.
“You get to capture the magic and get that on film and show other people,” he enthused. “If I could do what I did with ‘Smallville’ on a bigger level, and bring it life beyond the comic books in various ways, that would be my dream.”
And it’s not only the top-tier characters that he’d want to expose. Some of the more obscure ones, like “Metal Men,” are already on his plate (he’ll be executive producing that one with Lauren Schuler Donner — but more on that later). But more than just the characters, Johns is interested in “the mythology and the morality and the hope” of the DC universe, he said. At Marvel, the heroes are more “grounded and gritty.”
“The Hulk is smashing through buildings,” Johns said. “DC is just a different place to be. The DC Universe represents overcoming your fears and doing the right thing. It’s like you can’t wait for the heroes to come, and you cheer when they fly, and they’re epic and huge. So to get something out there about how wonderful and how vibrant and how many different layers they have, that would be something to show.”

 

[Evil Twin]

I think there is a market out there for quirky shapeshifting robots. Really, of all the properties that DC owns, it seems like one of the most natural for a cartoon.

That said, while I do understand the appeal, the Metal Men have never done anything for me. It could be a fun, kid friendly, special effects showcase, but it'll never get me really excited.

 

[Double Down]

It could be a fun little movie, or it could be a kids movie. Johns' involvement makes me interested, though.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Im not a fan of the Metal Men, as in I have never really read them. I checked out that mini they had and their Batman/Superman arc, they can be fun.

A movie of theres might not be so bad.

 

[04nbod]

The only experience I had with them was when the Legion met them and Brainiac 5 used one of their parts to create a new computo. There was a wonderful banter about what makes someone a person.

 

[Jay Lifestar]

I wonder if this is slated to be live action of one of those Pixar/Jimmy Neutron/3-d animation type of deals (which would actually be pretty cool for certain DC characters like Metal Men, Angel and the Ape, Plastic Man and others).

 

[Motown Marvel]

i never read much metal men, but i can understand the appeal, they're fun. and they can support a really fun movie, one that both kids would really enjoy and adults would enjoy taking their kids to. movies like that have potential to do huge numbers because the appeal can transcend the age of viewers.

 

[deathshead2]

I liked his comics for awhile until they became to sliverage to my taste. Don't know if I want him working on this since his Blade show was terrible.

 

[OwlBoy]

Johns is one of the best writers working in comics today he has a way of playing with the wide concepts of characters in a way no one else really can. You can't really complain about his being too "silverage" on a project like this as its property that's going to be inherently hokey regardless think of it being along the lines of Men In Black or Galaxy Quest in terms of tone and humor.

 

[Double Down]

I like the idea of making it along the lines of Men In Black. Nice call.

 

[Tonicky]

I like the metal men and they be great in a movie for fans, still I don't really like Geoff Johns right now having Barry come back is so lame Wally owns Barry he did it to Kyle Rayner and know Wally next its the first Cap. Boomerang and Mirror Master back then Harold (who remembers Harold), anyway he can't bring any of the Metal men back its been done (by him). but if he wrote their stuff in 52 he'd be great

 

[dnno1]

This project should definitely be CGI.

 

[Wesley Dodds]

Sam Neil for Doctor Magnus... That'd be something.

 

[Double Down]

He could be cool, but that might be the role that could get the "big name" actor.

 

[Evil Twin]

I'd probably shoot for some combination of motion capture/actors in face paint for a Metal Men movie, if I wasn't going the full animation route. I think accentuating the humanity of the characters would be a good idea. I think emphasizing the comedy would also be a good idea and give you a niche in the movie market.

With that in mind, some casting ideas.

Doc Magnus - Tim Robbins
Tin - Andy Serkis (Steve Carrell?)
Lead - John Goodman
Platinum - Anna Farris
Mercury - Owen Wilson (maybe Jay Baruchel?)
Iron - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?
Gold ??

I don't know, that's just a first cut. I think that's along the lines of what you could expect. Some names, but no A-listers.

 

[protocida]

I like that.

I agree that The Metal Men should be more ligh-hearted and funny, but i'd still use a "edgy" plot, with the Metal Men gathering together to save Prof. Magnus of a secret governamental agency that kidnapped him and led him to create the Uranium man.

 

[Sun_Down]

I really only know the Metal Men through 52 and I loved their little part. I also really dug Will Magnus, so he could be a good human anchor.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I agree that The Metal Men should be more ligh-hearted and funny, but i'd still use a "edgy" plot, with the Metal Men gathering together to save Prof. Magnus of a secret governamental agency that kidnapped him and led him to create the Uranium man.

I like that idea

 

[Ben Breeck]

Personally, the way I would write it would be as X-Men meets I, Robot. I always thought that there was execellent potential for social commentary, and gripping philosopical questions on what measure is nonhuman.

But one part of me think any chance I'd have I'd louse it up six ways from Sunday, and end up with a worse travesty than the Halle Berry "Catwoman."

 

[Ben Breeck]

But more than just the characters, Johns is interested in “the mythology and the morality and the hope” of the DC universe, he said. At Marvel, the heroes are more “grounded and gritty.”
“The Hulk is smashing through buildings,” Johns said. “DC is just a different place to be. The DC Universe represents overcoming your fears and doing the right thing. It’s like you can’t wait for the heroes to come, and you cheer when they fly, and they’re epic and huge. So to get something out there about how wonderful and how vibrant and how many different layers they have, that would be something to show.”

I think Mr. Johns is looking at the DCU through rather rose colored glasses there. Consider:

DC has plenty of "gritty and grounded" characters. There's Batman, who was badly adjusted from the very begining of the Golden Age. There's Huntress (Either One) There's the Mike Grell and afterward Green Arrow. There's The Question. There's Dick Grayson as Nightwing (When he's written properly). The List goes on...

And even among the superpowered set, not everything is hunky-dory either. Green Lantern Guy Gardner grew up in a trailer in West Virginia. Green Lantern John Stewart grew up in the Harlem of Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson and Frank Lucas. Green Lantern Kyle Raynor grew up in Alphabet City back before the great gentrification wave that force CGBG to close. Raven needs to keep a siezure dog around her at all times so that Trigon doesn't take her over at an inconvenient moment. Heck, even Wonder Woman snapped somebody's neck relatively recently and they haven't retconned that away.

Mind you, in the DCU, matters are a little more black and white and a little less shades of gray, but it's not that much more so...

 

[DChero]

I have to say that I'm not all too familiar with MM. What really gives me faith is Johns' involvement. He's been doing some great things with DC characters, so something new to me would be great. I mean, how many comic movies come out that we don't already know the stories to?

 

[Double Down]

I have to say that I'm not all too familiar with MM. What really gives me faith is Johns' involvement. He's been doing some great things with DC characters, so something new to me would be great. I mean, how many comic movies come out that we don't already know the stories to?

Not many, it seems.

And Johns is on fire of late.

 

[Ben Breeck]

I have to say that I'm not all too familiar with MM. What really gives me faith is Johns' involvement. He's been doing some great things with DC characters, so something new to me would be great. I mean, how many comic movies come out that we don't already know the stories to?

With the exception of the likes of CINO, I suspect that that would be a rhetorical question here on this site.