I'm Reading Your Stuff: General News and Discussion Thread

[whoknows]

I don't think any of the cast of man of steel had any part in audiences showing up, modern kick ass action superman movie was what got it an opening weekend over 100million.
I don't know this magically, but none of the leads were box office draws when mos was released, it's been awhile since russell crowe was a draw, and the others, although famous to a degree, were never box office draws, apart from kevin costner, and he had a besmirched name before he got the mos gig.

 

[BatLobster]

I've been a broken record about this on the Superman board but: It's a DC movie, which no one in the GA cares about outside of Batman. It's a Superman movie specifically, a character the audience has struggled massively to connect in the modern era (for a variety of reasons but there is still a bias against the character himself). A cast with zero star power to big up the fact its a property the GA doesn't care about, people say star power is dead and while it isn't how it used to be if you look at most of the recent successful, big blockbusters that aren't Avatar and you'll notice they're bursting at the seams with popular actors - that isn't a values judgment of the Superman cast, Corenswet/Brosnahan/Hoult are all super charismatic and will be great in marketing, but I do think it is a factor working against it simply because "Superman" is a near meaningless hook for marketing so it needs all the help it can possibly get.

I also think it'll depend on how much it feels like a big, cool, exciting Special Thing like the blockbusters that have been connecting lately or if it winds up having too much of a sense that it is, ultimately, a pilot episode for a shared universe. If it is too obviously a project that exists to chase MCU glory way too late in the genre's life cycle.

I hear what you’re saying, but I am giving Gunn the benefit of the doubt that he knows this has to be something special in order to get people invested in the character again. Whether or not he succeeds, who knows, but I have to imagine that he’s swinging for the fences.

You have to remember that even during the heyday of the MCU, people were doubting that the movie with the talking raccoon would work. Today, there’s a Guardians ride at Disney World.

I’m not even necessarily the biggest fan of his films outside of the first Guardians, but I can’t deny that he’s got an impressive track record, so it’s hard for me to bet on him missing with the the biggest/most important opportunity of his career. And from a marketing standpoint, I do think “From James Gunn…director of Guardians of the Galaxy” has some value.

 

[whoknows]

Yeah, i think the name that got people excited about MoS was christopher nolan, not the actors, i personally imagined it was gonna be as definitive for the characters as tdk was for batman, only with zach snyder's skills at shooting action.
We didn't exactly get that, but we did get the all out action that we imagined we would, well i did anyway.
and it'll be the same with james gunn, his name didn't bring in the bucks for the second suicide squad film, but the audience was burned badly by that first one not living up to the promise of the trailers, so didn't go.
We have three superman films that were pretty good, smtm, smii and mos(i liked most of it anyway), so the audience can imagine that now the character can be nailed just like the marvel characters were nailed by gunn, and others of his ilk, due to them being passionate about the comics.

 

[Captain Tired]

That's funny because Nolan having his name attached in any way was a hint to me that you weren't going to be getting the definitive Superman tbh. Nevertheless, I liked MOS.

 

[whoknows]

well, he got batman right, and goyer knows his comics, so i guess i had my hopes up, but i didn't mind them experimenting a little, or a lot, with his motives for helping humanity, it'll at the very least be a unique take on superman, i liked it quite a bit, but i like the whole superman mythology, so they had enough that it was faithful to some degree.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

Currently, The Batman: Part II and my Hot Toys The Batman 1/6 figure are in a race to see which arrives first.

My money's on The Batman: Part II, at this rate.

 

[OnLeatherWings]

I'm still holding out hope they'll change the title to something more creative.

Shadow of the Batman
Fear the Batman

Something along those lines. So many possibilities.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I hear what you’re saying, but I am giving Gunn the benefit of the doubt that he knows this has to be something special in order to get people invested in the character again. Whether or not he succeeds, who knows, but I have to imagine that he’s swinging for the fences.

You have to remember that even during the heyday of the MCU, people were doubting that the movie with the talking raccoon would work. Today, there’s a Guardians ride at Disney World.

I’m not even necessarily the biggest fan of his films outside of the first Guardians, but I can’t deny that he’s got an impressive track record, so it’s hard for me to bet on him missing with the the biggest/most important opportunity of his career. And from a marketing standpoint, I do think “From James Gunn…director of Guardians of the Galaxy” has some value.

Agreed. I also don’t really agree with the sentiment that audiences aren’t interested in Superman as a character. I think the opening weekend of MoS proved that people (not just comic book fans) were interested in a new take on the character. If the movie had been better, I think it wouldn’t have seen such a steep dropoff after that. Now, that was 11 years ago and after a lot of big Marvel movies, superhero fatigue seems to be really setting in now. So, perhaps a new Superman movie won’t generate much interest, I’m not sure. And perhaps the last iteration of Superman left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth and they won’t check out this new version. But I think there is enough name recognition there that people will show up IF the movie is good and IF they aren’t feeling burned out by superhero movies (and specifically Superman movies).

 

[solidsnake86]

Agreed. I also don’t really agree with the sentiment that audiences aren’t interested in Superman as a character. I think the opening weekend of MoS proved that people (not just comic book fans) were interested in a new take on the character. If the movie had been better, I think it wouldn’t have seen such a steep dropoff after that. Now, that was 11 years ago and after a lot of big Marvel movies, superhero fatigue seems to be really setting in now. So, perhaps a new Superman movie won’t generate much interest, I’m not sure. And perhaps the last iteration of Superman left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth and they won’t check out this new version. But I think there is enough name recognition there that people will show up IF the movie is good and IF they aren’t feeling burned out by superhero movies (and specifically Superman movies).

I think superman as a character has a lot of potential for the general audience but the modern takes on film have been making weird choices in order to make superman "relatable". First in superman returns they make him disappear and give him a kid. Then in MoS they bypass the whole Clark Kent persona and make him kill Zod.

Some of the most interesting aspects would be the Clark and Lois relationship in a modern setting and that keeps on getting tossed aside. Im hoping that's what Gunn goes back too. I know some people hate to hear it but this take needs to not stray too far from the core concepts and I think it will hit big.

 

[TheSmoothKnight]

I see comments about Rob being 40 when this movie comes out. Funny thing is that he is at the perfect age to be the DCU Batman lol

Seriously, I think there is a lot of pressure on James Gunn. He is going need to hit a home run with his Superman movie. I know he is the CEO and all, but with the recent streaks of DC movie flopping at the BO, they’re going have to get this back on track fast. On the opposite, I don’t think Matt Reeves should feel any pressure. Outside of the Joker, it’s one of the only DC movie that has performed well since 2019. So, I’m not worried about it being canned, they would be crazy to do that. Especially if The Penguin series does great.

 

[solidsnake86]

I see comments about Rob being 40 when this movie comes out. Funny thing is that he is at the perfect age to be the DCU Batman lol

Seriously, I think there is a lot of pressure on James Gunn. He is going need to hit a home run with his Superman movie. I know he is the CEO and all, but with the recent streaks of DC movie flopping at the BO, they’re going have to get this back on track fast. On the opposite, I don’t think Matt Reeves should feel any pressure. Outside of the Joker, it’s one of the only DC movie that has performed well since 2019. So, I’m not worried about it being canned, they would be crazy to do that. Especially if The Penguin series does great.

I think your correct, Rob is the perfect age for the DCU batman and he is an excellent actor so it becomes harder to hire someone in the same age range because there will be a comparison.

As for the timing of it all, Gunn was hired in 2022 and announced his slate in January of 2023. It just so happens that 2023 had some of the biggest misfires in comic book films so I'm sure when they thought of doing two separate batman movies that was with the lense that the market could sustain it. The flash hadn't even come out yet and I truly think they were shocked it flopped so badly. Having Michael Keaton and the nostalgia factor, along with Ben Affleck and the pretend audience people on twitter thought he brings to the box office just by being batman. I'm sure that whole situation has given Gunn some pause about the slate.

What he can control is making sure he makes a great superman film and once it comes out you will be able to readjust accordingly.

So Reeves is really in the best position with this delay. If superman is bad and flops at the box office, no harm no foul, his batman was always separate. If it turns out to be an excellent movie, maybe Reeves wants to bring a bit of that momentum to his franchise since there is a 4.5 year gap.

 

[Sawyer]

 

[Gothamsknight]

It just makes me so happy that we have something else in this universe dropping soon. It looks fantastic!

 

[Boom]

Oh I didn't realize we were feasting today. Neato.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Do we know if Reeves is planning for multiple seasons of The Penguin, or is this a limited series? And has he said any more about other spinoff shows? I know that he was initially considering shows on the GCPD and Arkham but I don’t think either are happening now (though the Arkham show is supposedly part of the DCU now if it happens).

 

[TheGDBatman]

Do we know if Reeves is planning for multiple seasons of The Penguin, or is this a limited series? And has he said any more about other spinoff shows? I know that he was initially considering shows on the GCPD and Arkham but I don’t think either are happening now (though the Arkham show is supposedly part of the DCU now if it happens).

I’m fairly certain it’s just a limited series.

 

[emielaen]

Do we know if Reeves is planning for multiple seasons of The Penguin, or is this a limited series? And has he said any more about other spinoff shows? I know that he was initially considering shows on the GCPD and Arkham but I don’t think either are happening now (though the Arkham show is supposedly part of the DCU now if it happens).

Well we don't know which of them are happening. It likely depends on the success of this and Part II. If they blow the doors of the hinges, then he may get his next spin off and Part III.

 

[Sawyer]

Oh how I yearn for the day when I see him post a casting confirmation.

 

[Lily Adler]

Oh I didn't realize we were feasting today. Neato.

The only thing that'll make this day better is Matt Reeves was given the reigns of the DCU from Gunn.

 

[Sawyer]

The only thing that'll make this day better is Matt Reeves was given the reigns of the DCU from Gunn.

So you’d rather Matt has to deal with a whole slate of projects than just focus on Batman? Wow.

Lily Adler wants Part II canceled indefinitely CONFIRMED

 

[Lily Adler]

So you’d rather Matt has to deal with a whole slate of projects than just focus on Batman? Wow.

Lily Adler wants Part II canceled indefinitely CONFIRMED

 

[DeadlyWest]

WE'RE SO BACK

 

[TheSmoothKnight]

DC bossman approves Matt Reeves’s The Penguin Series.

 

[Kane52630]

This is like asking Tim Cook if the iPhones are good. lol

 

[Lily Adler]

This is like asking Tim Cook if the iPhones are good. lol

Asking Steve would be a more difficult task...