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Warner Bros., DC Comics Look to the Future of Superman and Batman

When it comes to comic book supremacy at the box office, it's still pretty clear that Marvel has done a better job manufacturing hits than has its rival, DC Comics. Even with the towering success of The Dark Knight, there have only been four DC films to ever gross over $200 million in the U.S., and two of those feature Batman and the Joker. Marvel, on the other hand, has four franchises that have posted a total of seven $200 million flicks since 1997, in the form of Spider-Man, X-Men, Men in Black, and Iron Man.

There has been some question for a while about what DC Comics will do moving forward; Superman Returns was not what everyone thought it could be, and that franchise may now be in for another retooling. Anne Thompson at Variety says that Warner Bros., which has enjoyed all of this Batman success, may want to similarly freshen up The Man of Steel. "Today I was told that it is a priority at the studio to find the right direction and if Bryan Singer is willing to do that, fine, but if he gets in the way, he may not stay on the project," reports Thompson. She also reveals that there are currently no writers attached to the project.

I'll say it now so I don't have to put up with a dozen comments later: What about Kevin Smith's script?

There. Happy?

Anyway, the point is Warner Bros. may want to take a mulligan on Superman, the same way Marvel did with The Hulk. Although you'd have a hard time convincing anyone that the New Coke version of the Hulk made a noticeably deeper impression with audiences.

Do you find it surprising that they can't figure out what to do with Superman? I don't.

I've been of the opinion since seeing the Bryan Singer flick that Superman is just not a contemporary hero. We don't like superhumans, or super-Kryptonians, or whatever the hell you want to call Clark Kent's alter-ego. We like 'em real, flawed, and dark these days. And Superman is not those things. His weakness is a rock. On the plus side, he can reverse the rotation of the planet. See? We don't respond as well to God in a cape as we used to.

Yes, there are dark corners in the DC canon for Superman to pursue, but will that please enough people? Maybe it's just best if DC bides its time with Superman and searches for another more complicated hero instead.

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Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 12:46AM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Superman, Batman, DC Comics, Dark Knight, Marvel Comics, Christopher Nolan |

Tom Cruise, Sam Raimi Teaming Up for DC Comics' 'Sleeper'

There's bouncing back from adversity and then there's what Tom Cruise has managed to pull off in the past two weeks. In the middle of a fairly brisk period of headlines for the former top star in the world, his longtime friend and producing partner Paula Wagner bailed on their joint project of running United Artists. He has also seen his name scratched off above the title of the CIA flick Edwin A. Salt (only to see it replaced by the name Angelina Jolie), and his WWII film Valkyrie, which moved from late 2008 to early 2009 a couple months ago, has now moved back to 2008.

And then there's the matter of his borderline brilliant cameo in a recent comedy.

But the news keeps on coming for Cruise, who, separate from his deal with United Artists, has now expressed interest in three upcoming projects operating at rival studios. The Spyglass thriller Tourist was first, followed by the Universal/Working Title comedy Food Fight, and now there's the DC Comics adaptation Sleeper, which will be produced by Sam Raimi and his Star Road Entertainment.

The Hollywood Reporter has all the details, but we'll give you the highlights: Sleeper is a sci-fi comic that ran from 2003 - 2005. Should Cruise star in the film (and it's his interest that is reportedly moving the business end of the deal along), he would likely play "an operative whose fusion with an alien artifact makes him impervious to pain and allows him to pass it on to others through skin contact." That's right: He has Impervious Cooties. We all knew this day would come.

Here's another hot little detail: The film is the property of Warner Bros., which is in the news for its arm wrestling match with Fox over the rights to Watchmen. Because the studio may look at this as a franchise opportunity, they will probably be a lot more careful when it comes to the language of the contract.

The project sounds really interesting. Raimi has an eye for quality material, and frankly, the movies Cruise has chosen to do over the past few years all sound interesting at first; it's when you actually see a Lions for Lambs or a Vanilla Sky that things start to fall apart. Hopefully, the combo of Raimi and Cruise can attract a top-flight writer who understands the comic and how to transfer it to the screen, and then they can hope to find a director who can create the world that story needs to succeed. It's not enough to have a big name star wanting to do a movie anymore, particularly one with the names Marvel or DC etched on the side.

Posted on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 01:51AM by

Colin Boyd in Casting Couch, Tom Cruise, Comic Book Movies, DC Comics, Sci-Fi, Sam Raimi |

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Warner Bros., Fox in Legal Wrangling Over 'Watchmen'

Warner Bros., which has been riding high this year thanks in large part to The Dark Knight, received some potentially bad news today, when a judge refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by rival studio 20th Century Fox over the rights to make a film adaptation of Watchmen.

Variety reports that, through a confusing set of circumstances, Fox has retained their original rights even after a 1994 turnaround for the project with producer Larry Gordon. At the time, Fox was to receive a buyout amount plus a cut of the profits if a movie was ever made. Fox has never received any cash, and this is where it gets dicey for Warner Bros.

One very messy solution is Fox attempting to block the release of the film in March of next year. They have, apparently, already filed a motion for an injunction to that effect. More than likely, though, Fox and WB will agree to a financial deal that would allow Fox to essentially sit back and let WB make the best movie they can, waiting for the truck of money to show up.

Cinematical points out that Warners was in a similar situation with The Dukes of Hazzard, although if they had played that one smart, the studio would have made the movie then forced people to pay them to keep it from being released. Not only would that venture have made them more money then, they'd probably still have some reserves to help pay off Fox now.

I'm not sure the release of Watchmen is really going to be threatened; studios tend to need each other from time to time and if there's a way to just siphon some of the profits - which I'm personally not sure Fox is entitled to at this point (the judge clearly disagrees) - then the lure of money will probably be enough to settle this.

Posted on Monday, August 18, 2008 at 05:55PM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Zack Snyder, Lawsuits, Watchmen |

Carla Gugino Talks About "Brutal" 'Watchmen' Rape Scene

OK, so we know Iron Man now has a foursome between Tony Stark and three hotties thanks to a deleted scene, and that's something new for a comic book movie. Well how about Watchmen's attempted rape?

Uh-huh, you heard me. Carla Gugino, who plays Sally Jupiter/Silk Spectre in the adaptation, told MTV that filming the scene in which her character is attacked by the Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was "brutal." Hooded Justice ultimately saves the day and prevents the rape, but certainly the intention is there. And director Zack Snyder wanted that intention to be very clear.

“That was one of the things Zack said to me from the start: ‘I really want this to be incredibly brutal. It’s not a turn-on kind of story. It’s bad.’ It’s important that we did that," said Gugino. "I think hopefully it will be really powerful.”

Showing the depth of the original graphic novel, the scene is not just there for effect and it simply can't be thrown out, according to the actress. She later has consensual sex with the Comedian, has their daughter down the line (who's also vital to the film), and the rape greatly and appropriately influences the psychology of Sally throughout the rest of her story.

“It’s so informative of so many things thematically in the movie and certainly in the graphic novel," Gugino argued. And while it represents the kind of daring and maturity that sets Watchmen apart from nearly everything else in the medium of superhero comic books, I have to admit I'm a little surprised they are keeping it in the film, at least to the degree that it appears they are. The movie is going to attract its legion of fans, of course, but the buzz and the look of the film and its characters will also make it a must-see for teens. I'm just a little surprised that Warner Bros. is giving it the go ahead.

Then again, whether or not it stays as-is remains to be seen, I guess. The studio could always clean it up for a theatrical run after getting the results back from test screenings, and then put the storyline back for the DVD release. I mean, look at the innocuous Iron Man "sex" scene. Nothing brutal about that one. I'm not advocating any kind of cut, but studios have been known to do strange things from time to time. We'll find out for sure how it's handled on March 6th.

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 11:46AM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Zack Snyder, Watchmen, Carla Gugino |

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Deleted 'Iron Man' Scene Every Man's Fantasy

With Iron Man hitting video shelves on September 30th, Marvel and Paramount have leaked a deleted scene from the film to generate a ton of free publicity. And here's the best part: They were holding out on us. This scene actually rocks.

Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow are the featured performers, however, I can't take my eyes off their co-stars, and I think that's by design. Billionaire industrialist and bad boy Tony Stark takes home three ready and willing brunettes in the scene. That's right: It's our first Marvel foursome ever captured on film. Or the build-up to that, anyway.

It also provides a much-needed plot point, transitioning Stark from the West Coast to the Middle East. The scene takes place at Stark's home in Dubai, which just adds to the whole billionaire-who-could-score-a-foursome mystique of the character. But Marvel has never had a hero with this kind of sexual appetite before, so cutting the sequence out for theatrical purposes makes some sense, too.

Still, if it debuted on Access Hollywood, I think it would've been just fine to leave it in the film.

Again, an all-the-bells-and-whistles Iron Man is coming to DVD on September 30th, and you just watched the best commercial for it money could - but did not have to - buy. (Thanks to Trailer Addict for the video.)

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 03:54AM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Video, Iron Man, Marvel Comics, Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow |