Justice League Will this franchise still attract and keep to acting talent?

[semper]

Do people really want to be part of what is percieved to be a sinking ship?

Even Laurence Fishburne sounds way more excited about moving onto the Ant-Man sequel with Marvel than sticking with the DCEU franchise as Perry White.

Actors will always want to work and get a paycheck, but I get the feeling that maybe Wonder Woman aside, an actor booking a gig in a DCEU movie is seen as a cash grab, while it's actually seen as a honor to be chosen by Marvel.

 

[Matt]

I opined a bit on this yesterday, and it is a valid question to ask. And I took it a step further. Do the currently attached actors want any part of this?

Is it really that simple though? I think there is one big red flag that everyone is ignoring. Ben Affleck. Why is he important? Because everyone keeps saying "what will the studio do?" Has anyone stopped to ask: what will the actors do?

Affleck has straight out said, doing press for JL no less, that he is looking for an exit strategy from the DCEU. Do you think he is the only actor who feels this way? Of course not. But he can say it because he is Ben Affleck and his career is on much stabler grounds than Cavill, Stevens, Miller, Momoa, etc. But, for that precise reason, he can't be the only actor who wants out.

These movies continue to get savaged by critics and underperform at the box office. That isn't good for the career of a young actor. Ask former Hollywood it-boys like Sam Wentworth and Emile Hirsch how being the face of big budget, high profile, under-performances worked out for them. It sets their career back years (sometimes doing irreparable harm). These people signed up for this thinking it would do for them what the MCU has done for Evans, Hemsworth, and Pratt (make them household name A-listers). All it has done is drag down their profiles by association. That's why Affleck wants out. He clawed his way back to credibility following his Daredevil through Gigli run. He doesn't want the DCEU taking away what he worked so hard to rebuild. And as I said, the other actors are already on much shakier grounds than Affleck. Affleck has credibility to lose. The others don't.

Just because Affleck is the only one publicly saying that he wants out, doesn't mean at least a couple of the other actors aren't telling their agents "get me out of this."

The only exception is Gadot, who seems to have been the only real beneficiary of the DCEU (well, her and Harlee Quinn Halloween costume makers).

 

[semper]

I opined a bit on this yesterday, and it is a valid question to ask. And I took it a step further. Do the currently attached actors want any part of this?

I agree with most of what you said in your big post. If you are an promising up and coming actor, do you really want to be tethered for up to a decade to a franchise that's actively disliked and despised.

If you are an established actor, used to acclaim and respect, you'd think twice about attaching yourself to the DCEU. People talk about Jake Gyllenhaal replacing Affleck as Batman. But why would Gyllenhaal want to be a Batman stuck in this hated franchise. Maybe a director like Matt Reeves is a good enough honeytrap. But being contractually obligated to appear in all the other dud DCEU movies might be soul crushing.

 

[DeadlyDiarrhea]

Of the JL cast, only Gal has found critical success and truly positive reception, but keep in mind that even she (in her GQ interview) would only play the Wonder Woman role if she thinks the story is good.

As for the rest, I don't know. It's hard to gauge just how enthusiastic the actors are for their roles just from public statements. As far as I know, Cavill came out on record stating that he felt the portrayal of Superman in the DCEU hasn't been proper. But on the other hand, given that Snyder is practically guaranteed to be gone, it might boil down to actor/director relationship at this point.

 

[semper]

Of the JL cast, only Gal has found critical success and truly positive reception, but keep in mind that even she (in her GQ interview) would only play the Wonder Woman role if she thinks the story is good.

She'll play Wonder Woman as long as they keep paying her. Or until she actually proves she can succeed as an actress in anything else.

Gadot isn't a good enough actress or a proven enough commodity to start acting like she can give up WW whenever she feels like, and that the industry will still be dying to cast her in stuff.

 

[DeadlyDiarrhea]

She'll play Wonder Woman as long as they keep paying her. Or until she actually proves she can succeed as an actress in anything else.

Gadot isn't a good enough actress or a proven enough commodity to start acting like she can give up WW whenever she feels like, and that the industry will still be dying to cast her in stuff.

I think it has more to do with her language barrier than anything else, though I'm personally also not convinced of her acting talent yet. Looking at her casting prior to Wonder Woman, she was basically type-casted as some foreign spy. She would've been a lawyer if she wasn't picked by Snyder to be WW.

As much as I love Gal, I don't think her language/accent leaves her with many other options at the moment.

 

[Arachnerd]

Depends where the DCEU will go from here. If Aquaman is successful both critically and at the box office, I could see more big names gaining interest in them.

 

[storyteller]

Do people really want to be part of what is percieved to be a sinking ship?

Even Laurence Fishburne sounds way more excited about moving onto the Ant-Man sequel with Marvel than sticking with the DCEU franchise as Perry White.

Actors will always want to work and get a paycheck, but I get the feeling that maybe Wonder Woman aside, an actor booking a gig in a DCEU movie is seen as a cash grab, while it's actually seen as a honor to be chosen by Marvel.

People don't understand sinking ships when it comes to Hollywood.

Actors tend to praise every role they take. No one wants to say "it's a meh role".

Fishburne Perry White right now doesn't get a to do much also. He probably did a weeks worth of shooting for both films. He's a minor character.

Marvel?

It's an honor if you get to play the lead character. It's very different for those playing side characters. Thor basically dumped the majority of it's cast. Three of them got like 30 seconds of screen time.

Actors need to work to make money. Very few actors turn down gigs because it's beneath them in these types of projects.

Really what i'm trying to say. You are overestimating the appeal of Marvel. Getting to be a lead in either series is a big draw. Past that, it really doesn't matter. A gig is a gig. That gig might be you another.

 

[Boom]

I think attracting talent will depend entirely on the directors and how much control they are given over their respective films.

Warner Brothers no doubt offered Bale a boatload of cash to stick around after TDKR, but Bale made it very clear he had no interest in continuing with the character without Nolan.

If I'm Jake Gyllenhaal, I'm looking at Matt Reeves' filmography and feeling confident in at least meeting with the guy to discuss things.

 

[semper]

People don't understand sinking ships when it comes to Hollywood.

Actors tend to praise every role they take. No one wants to say "it's a meh role".

Fishburne Perry White right now doesn't get a to do much also. He probably did a weeks worth of shooting for both films. He's a minor character.

Marvel?

It's an honor if you get to play the lead character. It's very different for those playing side characters. Thor basically dumped the majority of it's cast. Three of them got like 30 seconds of screen time.

Actors need to work to make money. Very few actors turn down gigs because it's beneath them in these types of projects.

Really what i'm trying to say. You are overestimating the appeal of Marvel. Getting to be a lead in either series is a big draw. Past that, it really doesn't matter. A gig is a gig. That gig might be you another.

I disagree. A gig is a gig for some actors, but many other actors are very careful about what they want to associate with. Some actors will take any role for a check, but quite a few treat themselves as a "brand" and don't want their brand tarnished by appearing in a critically despised franchise. How many Oscar winners do you see in the Transformers movies, despite those films making billions of dollars? A lot of top talent were willing to associate with the DCEU in the early stages because Snyder still had somewhat of a reputation as a visionary fillmmaker (which is gone. He's now considered a hack) and Chris Nolan's name was still being thrown about as an executive producer to give the DCEU a feeling of prestige.

Cate Blanchett is one of the most acclaimed actresses in the world. She was offered a role in Wonder Woman (that eventually went to Robin Wright). Blanchett turned it down. When Marvel came calling and offered her Hela for Thor:Ragnorok, Blanchett accepted. Neither were lead roles, but Blanchett turned down DC for Marvel (granted Wonder Woman turned out well, but it's looking more like an exception). This is the type of top tier talent I'm talking about. They've got plenty of options if they want to earn a check, because they are so in demand for the credibility they bring with them as actors. These type of actors will almost always choose Marvel over DC.

Someone like Nicole Kidman is a huge get for DC in Aquaman, because she brings that type of credibility that someone like Blanchett does. But again, Kidman said she only did it because she's friends with the director James Wan, a fellow Australian. Without that personal connection to the director, I suspect the DCEU would have held little interest to her. I don't think she'd need a personal connection to accept a decent Marvel role.

 

[Boom]

To be fair, Antiope was a bit part compared to Hela.

 

[semper]

To be fair, Antiope was a bit part compared to Hela.

Blanchett does not mind taking small roles in big projects. She's done 6 Lord Of The Rings/Hobbit movies and is little more than a cameo in any of them.

And to be honest, Hela's screentime is more spaced out than Antiope's, but in terms of actual screentime, Hela is probably only bigger by about 5 minutes.

If DC actually had a clue they'd have made Hippolyta the big role to offer to Blanchett or Kidman (who turned down Antiope after Blanchett was asked). Most of the actresses don't know that in comic book canon, Hippolyta actually gets to take on the role of Wonder Woman at some points. That's a pretty cool carrot to dangle an older actress of note. That they could play Wonder Woman in a future movie. Even then I don't know if they'd say yes. But they've already got Connie Neilsen as Hippolyta, who isn't a big enough name for anyone to get excited about her potentially playing Wonder Woman, so that's another opportunity lost, due to DC's lack of planning.

 

[jmc]

I think a lot is going to depend on the directors they attempt to get. But yeah, this franchise is starting to become a stain on careers. Gal Gadot is the only one who has come out unscathed out of all of this.

 

[Legendver2]

You guys really are overreacting lmao. When Marvel started, who were the big names? Nobody. They were all just a bunch of good looking guys and girls who were chosen for the role. Of course NOW, the lot of them have become a household name, and they're starting to get bigger name actors/actresses for the side and supporting roles.

Right now, the biggest name in DCEU is Ben. If he leaves, well there's really nothing you can do about it. So far all the actors picked for the role made their debut in a publicly perceived divisive film. Is it bad? yea, depends on how hyperbolic you want to be. But is it gonna ruin careers? I highly doubt that. Gal is the most successful in terms of DCEU, but Jason, Ray, and Ezra didn't even make their marks fully as their character yet. And outside the DCEU, I wouldn't say they have a bonkers career also. If Aquaman is a hit, that pretty much drowns out this conversation of DCEU being toxic, in indeed the new guard overlooking the DCEU can bring it's rebirth. Henry himself seems to love playing Superman, so I honestly don't think he'll turn down another opportunity to play the character, especially with his most recent take on it is highly praised even though the film was lackluster. The only bi factor is Ben, and that can go either way, although I, myself, am not optimistic that he stays. But what can you do, it is what it is.

None of the actors in DCEU aside from Ben are household names, and only half the league has been associate with this universe long enough to even have their careers tarnished. And so far, none of those 3 have to any extent. Yes, Marvel does have the brand prestige, but they've earned it. But if you tell me Cate Blanchett was up for a role in a Thor movie during it's phase 1, or even phase 2, era, then you're just lying to yourself.

Now that the old guard is dead, if the next 3 films go through a smooth production and all hit homeruns, then this conversation is a moot point. Half the actors in Justice League barely made their character debuts. To say that one film, where the cast and portrayals are praised despite the film itself being lackluster, is going to ruin careers is just being hyperbolic.

 

[semper]

You guys really are overreacting lmao. When Marvel started, who were the big names? Nobody. They were all just a bunch of good looking guys and girls who were chosen for the role. Of course NOW, the lot of them have become a household name, and they're starting to get bigger name actors/actresses for the side and supporting roles.
.

Huh?

Marvel were getting big names and hugely respected actors from the very start. Edward Norton for the Hulk (long before he was recast for the also respected Mark Ruffalo). Downey jr may have been a risk (because of his drug abuse history) but he was a household name and one of the most respected actors of his generation. Once they secured Downey for the first Iron Man, they were able to surround him with a cast of Oscar winners and nominees (Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard. And Samuel L Jackson, who admittedly isn't super choosy).

For Thor and Captain America, it much more important to cast actors who could physically embody those roles, than miscast Oscar winners. But even so, they cast correctly with both Hemsworth (who has proven to be very talented at comedy) and Evans (who showed he was a much more talented actor than people thought, by being able to perfectly play two such different characters as The Human Torch and Cap).

Marvel were attracting top talent from the start. They managed to keep it up by not dropping the ball, and soon actors that might not have considered doing a comic book movie, wanted to do a Marvel movie.

 

[sup101]

Why is this a thread?Actors, actresses is not the issue with the DCEU.

 

[semper]

Why is this a thread?Actors, actresses is not the issue with the DCEU.

Ben Affleck is trying to leave. It's clearly an issue.

 

[Legendver2]

Ben Affleck is trying to leave. It's clearly an issue.

That's one guy lol.

 

[semper]

That's one guy lol.

And by far their biggest star, playing their most important character. Him wanting out sends a pretty negative message to other top tier talent.

 

[sup101]

Ben Affleck is trying to leave. It's clearly an issue.

They'll find someone to replace him. You think the character will die without ben?

 

[sup101]

And by far their biggest star, playing their most important character. Him wanting out sends a pretty negative message to other top tier talent.

Silly overreaction!

 

[Legendver2]

And by far their biggest star, playing their most important character. Him wanting out sends a pretty negative message to other top tier talent.

Again, still just ONE guy. And let's not even talk actors. You got a big name like Reeves, Jenkins, and Wan being the creative heads of the upcoming films, if the script is good, you can be sure good talent will still be attracted. One of the reasons Gal is so praised is because she has the unique status of the ONE actress/character that's keeping the DCEU affloat. If you can come in on a good script, good direction with a competent director and team, with the possibility of being named the person who's character saved the DCEU from hell, you can bet someone will take that mantle.

And again, I reiterate, Henry's Superman has been heavily praised in JL, and Henry himself seems to have an affinity towards the character, so I doubt he's leaving. Jason is about to get his solo, and if that bats a home run, you can bet Aquaman two is going to attract slightly bigger name talents, and Kidman is going to want to stay regardless. The franchise as a whole is going to be fighting a slightly uphill battle, but it's not impossible.

The lot of you guys seem to think this is a one way ticket to hell, when there's already signs, like WW, the first *mostly* Snyder-less production, and the reworked characterizations of the 2 big characters in JL, were praised, point towards a possible, and very real resurgence. A ship can be righted, as long as WB keeps a steady hand and learn. You can say WB is stupid, but that's only based off of their mishandling the DC franchise up until now. Keep in mind, WB as a whole is #1 in market share on their film gross in 2017, so yes, they know what they are doing in terms of the big picture. They just need to handle the DC property better.

 

[Greenlite]

So if Jake signs on for Batman, is the poster creating this thread gonna harp on about how this franchise is a career-killer?

Henry got to do MI6, Gal's hot now, Margot Robbie's hot now, GA now know of Ezra Miller, Jason might be hot like Gal next year, and I'm sure Amy, Diane, Russel, Shanon, Irons, Pope, Morrison, Kidman, Defoe, Wilson, Levi, Will, Viola etc their careers are/will be ruined.

Oh, and Brolin did Jonah Hex, now he's Thanos and Cable, career definitely F***ed after a poor received CBM.

 

[Greenlite]

Huh?

Marvel were getting big names and hugely respected actors from the very start. Edward Norton for the Hulk (long before he was recast for the also respected Mark Ruffalo). Downey jr may have been a risk (because of his drug abuse history) but he was a household name and one of the most respected actors of his generation. Once they secured Downey for the first Iron Man, they were able to surround him with a cast of Oscar winners and nominees (Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard. And Samuel L Jackson, who admittedly isn't super choosy).

For Thor and Captain America, it much more important to cast actors who could physically embody those roles, than miscast Oscar winners. But even so, they cast correctly with both Hemsworth (who has proven to be very talented at comedy) and Evans (who showed he was a much more talented actor than people thought, by being able to perfectly play two such different characters as The Human Torch and Cap).

Marvel were attracting top talent from the start. They managed to keep it up by not dropping the ball, and soon actors that might not have considered doing a comic book movie, wanted to do a Marvel movie.

Lol and he left, his career ruined and Marvel sunk.

 

[StormC]

Gal is an interesting anomaly. She's like an inverse Hugh Jackman circa 2009; her solo is well-received, but her team-up movies are not.