Interesting article over on Yahoo! today about how Man of Steel holds the key to the future of DC Comics movie franchises. I have to agree with the point of the article about how we should expect more superhero movies out of DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. if the new Superman movie does well. There are a few points that the article did not touch upon which should be mentioned.
Man of Steel Must Carry All Weight
We have talked about Guillermo del Toro’s Justice League Dark project with Constantine and other members of the group, but even that might not come to fruition if Man of Steel falters. The project is the closest one to a definite on the Warner Bros. docket outside of a sequel to Man of Steel. The studio can talk all it wants about movies about the Justice League, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Batman, and anyone else all they want. If the Man of Steel does not shatter the box office this weekend, the execs at Marvel are going to laugh themselves to sleep.
A History of Planning
We all know about how many years DC Comics, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. have dragged their feet when it came to creating a Justice League movie or exploiting other potential movie properties other than Superman and Batman. We all know how they have planned this movie and that movie just enough to get fans to roll their eyes whenever an “announcement” comes about another movie franchise. Is it fair to rest all of this past planning on one movie? It should rest on the shoulders of the planners who could not exit the board room without a deal.
A History of Failures
The last Superman movie was horrible. Green Lantern was not much better. The “I-lift-things-up-and-put-them-down-on-my-knee” version of Bane in the last Batman movie was a disaster. If we take a look back over the past franchises, DC Entertainment has a strong history of not being able to make more than two good movies in a row. Superman 3 – whatever were all fluff as where any Batman movie which had a number higher than two attached with it. Can Man of Steel erase all of those failures and the history of discouragement?
My Hope
I have made it clear on this site and in our Detroit area comic shop that I am not a fan of Superman. I do hope, though, that Man of Steel is a resounding success. I hope that it redeems DC Comics, DC Entertainment, and Warner Bros. in the minds of comic book fans and of the general public. I want to see great movies in the future from DC, and if I have to push strong in support of a Superman movie in Man of Steel to get a Justice League, Justice League Dark, Wonder Woman and other movies…I will.
