As hard as it is to keep up with superhero lore in movie news, it is also intriguing to observe over time. Updates on development, creative choices, and casting can read as nothing more than “leaked” reports or merely suggest insight from otherwise unnamed “sources” and frankly, it’s all just bullshit to take with a grain of salt until the trade reports are published, the IMDb pages get updated, stills are distributed and a trailer is released. That’s the approach I’ve taken, although I rarely speak on superhero films until I feel like throwing my hat in the ring, and so before we segue into a new year, after one in which we’ve now born witness to some of the most divisive events on a corporate level to ever affect consumers on a massive scale since the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, I thought I’d chime in.
At least before the pandemic, hype generally helped Hollywood’s four-quadrant blockbusters thrive – something I think we have to consider nowadays given the outlook of James Cameron’s Avatar franchise since its sequel release, or, to be more headline-specific, the DCU in the wake of Jaume Collet-Serra’s Black Adam. Watching and witnessing how things have evolved at Warner Bros. through its new branding into Warner Bros. Discovery has been quite a trip. Barring the numbing effect of 2016’s Suicide Squad, Zack Snyder’s Man Of Steel felt like the beginning of a new era for me since the heyday of Christopher Reeve’s success as Superman, and while Matt Reeves’s most recent take on the iconic Dark Knight himself remains fruitful, it bears noting that Ben Affleck’s Batman is still one of the freshest portrayals of the character as seen beginning in Batman VS. Superman: Dawn Of Justice and onward. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman co-starring in that film, followed by her 2017 standalone led to one of the last decade’s most memorable depictions of the celebrated Amazonian, topped with a music score that is nothing short of electric, followed by Jason Momoa’s commanding entry as Aquaman which further served as a staunch mile marker for representation as a non-white actor.
All these and more should have helped propel the previous DCU into fruition, topped by actor Ray Fisher’s iteration of Cyborg along with Ezra Miller’s delivery as The Flash; I loved spotting viral footage of both actors getting along on set, and it is also that type of camaraderie that fans enjoy witnessing. Needless to say, the downhill turn this franchise took since the hopeful heyday of the Snyderverse stands to be one of the most disappointing, at a studio and cast level, and I won’t go into the nasty details of all the reports and quotes here. If you follow trade reports, blogs, and rumor mills, and you happen to frequent Twitter’s superhero movie spaces, then you know enough to know just what the heck I’m talking about. By this measure alone, you have a pretty good idea of the kind of energy that gets taken up in superhero fandom – the kind of toxicity and entropy that so often pervades the fun and enjoyment of going to see superhero movies, which is exactly what the new DCU heads Peter Safran and James Gunn had to endure from a lot of fans who counted on a major studio like Warner Bros. to deliver on its yesteryear promises.
I’m no studio-level insider and I don’t always get quotes from on-the-level sources, but I do read reports and in between the lines enough to know that oftentimes those prospects fall short – even more so on an independent filmmaking level; A quick Wikipedia search will show you just how far back a lot of these projects go, from initial announcements made decades earlier, to the cyclic changing of hands with directors and actors “in talks”, and eventually with enough alignment, funding, development, and pre-production, and actual filming. This at least describes the better part of the last twenty years it took for Black Adam to finally get its big screen inauguration with none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – one of the industry’s most bankable stars since leaving his mark on audiences with films like The Mummy Returns, The Scorpion King, The Rundown and Doom and later upping the ante in the G.I. Joe and Fast franchises.
I watched Black Adam about a week ago and liked it. I didn’t love it, but it held my attention for most of its duration, and Johnson nails the part. Similarly, I watched this film, having already begun resigning to the reality of the studio’s collective ixnay of all preceding DC movie aspirations as a Snyderverse continuation. Snyder’s bittersweet departure from the studio, cosigned with the gargantuan four-hour epic that is Zack Snyder’s Justice League, as transformative and signature it is, also rung the first death knell of all things Snyderverse despite all the multi-tonal demurral from fans – coupled by the fallout from Ray Fisher’s public allegations and case-building against WarnerMedia. Agreeably, the final sign-off couldn’t have been any more clumsy with Johnson riding on his influence to bolster hopes of Henry Cavill’s return to the DCU, only to be curtailed with the induction of Safran and Gunn, and the annulment of any hopes for another Man Of Steel chapter just after the actor stepped off Netflix’s “The Witcher” series.
It’s not an easy reality to accept, for me. However, compared to the problems of all those making WAY more money than I am, and the problems I have faced in the past and continue to face to this day, I’ve endured a whole helluva lot worse. This is also to say that I have not forgotten all of the galvanizing done on Gunn’s behalf back when a right-wing troll nearly destroyed his career over old Tweets, as fond as many of us grew for what he accomplished in bringing Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy to life, and giving new life to Redbone’s “Come And Get Your Love” in the process. That said, obviously, Gunn, Safran, and whoever else they bring into the fold for the DCU’s future – apart from the ongoing undertakings by Robert Pattinson, Joaquin Phoenix, and Xolo Maridueña, and the aforementioned and very publicly cumbersome Miller – have their work cut out for them in crafting the next era of superhero movie lore. The grim, brooding allure of the Snyderverse was a worthwhile step forward until the bittersweet end, and so while we may continue to critique and weigh in on Hollywood’s big money moves with its superhero IPs, much credit should go to Marvel for establishing itself back in the day with Iron Man as the first thread with 2008’s The Incredible Hulk for its widespread cineversal tapestry leading up to Marvel’s The Avengers.
Realizing this fact makes it even clearer that Warner Bros. was never going to achieve the level of greatness it aimed for back in 2014 when Snyder’s Justice League was designated as a two-parter in its forthcoming lineup at the time. As much as many of us came to love some of its aspects and elements, and a lot of the pieces that were put in place, they simply were not enough to counteract all else that’s been going on to negatively affect this franchise. We can mourn, sure. Grieve as long as you need to, sure. Still, know that now is as good a time as any to fix what is broken, including and especially any mapping of DC’s future on the big screen. And for that matter, nobody is saying we have to like it. We do, however, have to deal with it for what it is, and by the time Warner Bros. Discovery delivers its first DC movie, my only hope is that for at least a momentary breath or more, we can stave off adhering to the usual vitriol that so often plagues the online fandoms. Love the new DCU or hate it, if anything, let your wallets decide its fate, which I think is more constructive and healthier than so much of the kneejerk vexation that makes being part of superhero movie dialogue so exasperating.
I hope these two cents helped. Happy Holidays everyone! And now, a word from Redbone…
“A Case For Better…” is a column I usually dedicate to discussing action films. In this case, I tweaked it to discuss superhero films to suit the piece.
