J.J. Abrams and Ta-Nehisi Coates Superman reboot

[thunderbolt]

Cavill has contacted Marvel studios. Cmon Captain Britain.

[Hector]

Cavill has contacted Marvel studios. Cmon Captain Britain.

He could also play Hyperion, Marvel’s version of Superman. Captain Britain is great too.

[EMCE Hammer]

Geez. Just what the world needs... ANOTHER Superman reboot. To me, this is symptomatic to what the actual problem is - Warner Bros' inability to understand the material, which in turn makes them second guess every decision they make. I've never sensed they have any real investment in this genre. They were prodded for years to get the Superman franchise up and running again. Then the Marvel properties came on the scene and started world building through their various movie projects. By the time they got to the Avengers, only then did WB truly take notice (because of the money it made) and then of course everything was fast tracked to try and duplicate that success.

People forget the foundational films like Iron Man and Captain America: First Avenger were successful, but not these monster hits like Avengers. Even Thor was only a modest success. It was a slow build, but the studio believed in its mission statement and invested in the story arc that got them to what Avengers became. WB does not have any measured expectation with the DC heroes. They want Avengers success immediately or they cast doubt on the whole project. They expect the public to simply buy into whatever promotional campaign they feed to the media. And if they don't get the internet reaction they want, then those projects mysterious rot on the vine. So here we are again. Back to square one. A slew of projects promised, and countless talents (actors, directors, writers) on and off again. No wonder people quit on this studio. WB does not believe in this genre. It just feels like they want to make a cheap buck and move on.

It's frustrating. WB has serviceable if not great actors, great characters, and decades of great stories upon which to draw. They just can't get it right and seem to have no desire to do so.

Marvel embraces the passion of their fans; WB seems to mock it. Any grumbling or concerns voiced by the fans is dismissed as nerd rage. I really want to like the films, but the best I can usually do is pick bits and pieces that are good, or at least not horrible. For me, WW84 is just another example of trying to find the chocolate chips in a coconut black licorice pie. But hey, WB sold a lot of pies and some people ate the whole thing, so next movie get ready for some avocado liver cake with steak sprinkles.

My analogy sucks as bad as the movies.

[monitor_ep]

It is mainly the directors and writers to the movies. After Snyder the other DC movies (Aquaman, Wonder Woman & Shazam) have embraced the "Marvel" way of doing the movies. The problem comes when the director want to "ground the movie into reality" that begins to mess up the movie. Who in there right mind would dress up as a Bat and can afford to do what Batman does, there is no reality so stop trying to make it a pulp-era movie.

[Wee67]

I doubt they'd do it but I want to see them adapt Superman For All Seasons.

I would LOVE that. That story was wonderfully full of Superman optimism yet grounded in the reality of what it would be like for a person to deal with the responsibility Clark feels being Kal El. I am generally not a huge Superman fan, but Superman for All Seasons created a Superman to whom I could relate and sympathize with.

Marvel embraces the passion of their fans; WB seems to mock it.

I am a bit apprehensive given Coates' past derision of DC characters. Most of the better superhero work comes from people who hold a reverence for the source material but also know enough to realize it's not sacred. That said, Coates is a good writer and I would be very interested to see a take on the Super savior character from a Black perspective.

[thunderbolt]

Well it’s supposedly not Clark Kent or Calvin Ellis. It will be an entirely new character. Why call it Superman? It’s another case of wb forcing a successful films ideas into other projects. The Joker did great so why not redesign Superman from the ground up too?

[WannabeMego]

I'm hoping it evolves into an 'Icon' (Milestone Universe) Movie that can stand on it's own merits and be a Gateway for it's other Characters.