WB boss announces film slate

[thunderbolt]

Now that I've seen the Flash (along with the Wonder Woman miscasting) casting, I see it all crashing and burning.

[Bionicfanboy66]

WB's decision to completely ignore their TV properties when it comes to feature films shows how little faith they really have in Arrow and The Flash.

[monitor_ep]

I was under the impression that that the Shazam was not part of the DC Cinematic Universe since it was a "not series movie".

[madmarva]

WB's decision to completely ignore their TV properties when it comes to feature films shows how little faith they really have in Arrow and The Flash.

I think the decision has to do with logistics and business. If the Flash TV show is in production at the same time as the JL or solo Flash movies there would be a conflict. Plus, if both or one or the other turned out to be hits, the salary considerations could be affected. Plus if JL isn't a huge hit, there likely won't be a Flash film

Since I like the Flash show, I'm glad the fact there are plans for a Flash film isn't keeping the TV show off the air or making it Central City: Before Flash.

[hedrap]

^Going by past WB legalities, Flash is a rights isse. See, in a sane world, the rights to "The Flash" would be for the entire history. But, as we know from the film/tv life of Green Lantern, WB actually used to break the rights down to characters. So Joel Silver sat on Hal Jordan for decades, leaving Dini and Timm to use Jon Stewart or Kyle Raynor. While the assumption has been WB stopped this practice, they've also back-tracked on making everything one shared universe.

So I think Ezra is Wally, outside chance of Bart. And the new GL will be Stewart...but there's always an outside chance they contemporize Alan Scott. It's a multi-culti diversity quotient race between Marvel and DC/WB. Suffice to say, they're putting identifiers before character and when it doesn't pay off, both will just fold up the publishing shop.

[hedrap]

^Going by past WB legalities, Flash is a rights isse. See, in a sane world, the rights to "The Flash" would be for the entire history. But, as we know from the film/tv life of Green Lantern, WB actually used to break the rights down to characters. So Joel Silver sat on Hal Jordan for decades, leaving Dini and Timm to use Jon Stewart or Kyle Raynor. While the assumption has been WB stopped this practice, they've also back-tracked on making everything one shared universe.

So I think Ezra is Wally, outside chance of Bart. And the new GL will be Stewart...but there's always an outside chance they contemporize Alan Scott. It's a multi-culti diversity quotient race between Marvel and DC/WB. Suffice to say, they're putting identifiers before character and when it doesn't pay off, both will just fold up the publishing shop.

[madmarva]

^ you may be right, but in an interview with Didio, Johns and Lee, the trio commented on the desire from the WB to streamline the characters back to their most recognizable and simplest to explain form in the comics so there would be synergy with the films, cartoons and what not. The indication from Johns, whose job is to coordinate through the various mediums as well as other duties, was that the film versions would be the most recognizable and simplest to explain versions of Flash and GL was Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. It may be debatable whether those versions are the most recognizable, but those were the two that were mentioned.

Didio said you have to have Barry to explain Wally and Jordan to get to Stewart and Kyle, from WBs standpoint.

Obviously, such decrees can change on a whim. And a big part of the problem at the WB is without a doubt indecisiveness.

The stated reason Jordan wasn't used in the JL and JLU toons was a desire for diversity on the team from the Cartoon Network. At the time, Kyle Raynor was the GL in the comics and had been for five or more years. Jordan was the Spectre or maybe still Paralax. If it wasn't diversity driven, it seems they producers would have gone with Raynor, who had been introduced previously in the Superman cartoon. Around the time the cartoon premiered, Stewart, who had been crippled in the comics, got his mobility back and took Raynor's place in the comic to sync with the cartoon.

During the same time period, Jordan was used as GL in a Daffy Duck cartoon and Jordan did make a cameo in a JLU episode that dealt with time shifts.

But, I know the general public doesn't always get the full story, so rights could be the issue, there, but it wasn't as cut and dried as Hal Jordan GL couldn't be used at all.

the producers of the Flash TV show have said that Wally West is going to be a part of the TV series eventually, so evidently the TV shows does have access to the character.

Similarly, Gotham isn't using Batman, but it is using characters Such as Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Jim Gordon and a number of villains, who will be used in Batman vs. Superman and future solo Batman films.

In those instances, it doesn't seem like the rights are broken down as you suggest or at least not stridently.

[hedrap]

Those are good points. I know directly that Hal was a rights rights issue for the Animated stuff. They made Kyle look like Hal in the Superman episode as a workaround cause Silver wouldn't give. They may have then decided to go with Stewart for the contrast, which only worked caused they really defined the character.

You then have all the old issues with Superman on Smallville, which was a combination of the movie, the Salkinds and Siegel/Shuster.

As for Johns and Dido, I think they're full of it all the time, I mean, we're now hearing a female Robin for BvS so how does that jive with what they're saying? Combine that with a Nightwing-centric Titans show in the works and it makes me think WB wants to let the movie rebrand Robin as female.

I guess if you want to pin somebody, look to Diane Nelson and all the 52 stuff. I think the two are going to be uniform when BvS comes out.

[madmarva]

^in that interview with Johns and Didio, it seemed as if they were talking about marching orders from on high, but things change. From what I've read, it sounds like Snyder and Affleck want to do a version of batman as close to Miller's Dark Knight Returns as possible without it being a straight up adaption. And they will probably will be allowed to use whatever versions of the characters they want, regardless of the directives given to DC publishing. But Johns is in a position to know what's going on, although he seems to be much more active on the TV side of things.

Also Carrie Kelly has been introed into DC New52 continuity of late which is probably a reaction from knowing she's going to be in SvB.

I'm a silver age and Bronze Age fan, so I want to see Jordan and Allen in whatever medium GL and the Flash are used, no matter the reasons, but they aren't making the films for me. With that aside, I just want the films to be good.

It is disheartening to learn that a Captain Marvel/Shazam film probably won't get made and that it could be keeping The Rock out of a role in JL. He's the closest thing to a ready made super hero out there, and he would have injected a bit of life into what is shaping up to be a pretty sedate cast.