Discussion: Possible DC Universe Movies

[ChrisMWaters 0]

My favorite superhero is Superman and after watching "Superman Returns" I vowed that I would never watch that movie again. It doesn't exist in my mind.

 

Routh was good as Clark but he didn't inspire as Superman. He looked like Reeve but was not built like him. For Superman you need a larger than life person. I would seriously cast Dwayne Johnson as Superman if I were making a Superman movie.

 

Bosworth as Lois was not a good choice.

 

However the thing that bugged the shit of me was the portrayal of Lex Luthor. He needed to be the Lex from "Smallville", from the animated series, and from the "52" comic book series. The evil business man that is basically the smartest, heartless, richest, most powerful person in the world.

Well, the thing is with Returns...they were still using the backstory of Superman I and II.

 

So Lex would have been hard to turn into that businessman thing...though they did start the rich part with getting the inheritence from that old lady at the start.

 

As for your opinion on Superman...see, the thing is, I kinda liked how not TOO built Reeve, Routh and Cain were. Because it made their Clark Kent identity at least a LITTLE more believable. You have this super muscular guy as Clark, it doesn't really work that well. One of the VERY few things I didn't find right in the 90s Superman toon...Supes/Clark was a little TOO broad shouldered for my liking.

 

Another example of a perfectly built Supes for me is the one shown in the movie version of "Justice League: The New Frontier".

 

EDIT: Also, just making sure...just because you're saying "Superman Returns" doesn't exist in your mind...are you also saying you perfer "Superman III" and "Superman IV: The Quest For Peace" over "Superman Returns"?

[DarKnight 0]

Oh god, Superman 4 was UTTER SHIT!!! I remember watching that one day on TV, and I couldn't believe what I was watching. It makes Batman & Robin look like a classic compared to that. I've never even bothered to watch Superman 3, after watching that. By the way, does anyone remember those horrible casting choices Warner Bros. wanted for Superman Returns? Beyonce as Lois Lane, and Johnny Depp as Lex Luthor? You can obviously tell this was the same braintrust behind Catwoman.

 

 

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Oh god, Superman 4 was UTTER SHIT!!! I remember watching that one day on TV, and I couldn't believe what I was watching. It makes Batman & Robin look like a classic compared to that. I've never even bothered to watch Superman 3, after watching that. By the way, does anyone remember those horrible casting choices Warner Bros. wanted for Superman Returns? Beyonce as Lois Lane, and Johnny Depp as Lex Luthor? You can obviously tell this was the same braintrust behind Catwoman.

Don't forget about the now 10 year old idea of making Nicholas Cage into Superman.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Yes if I were forced to watch any of those three movies, I would rather watch Superman III and IV than Superman Returns. Its is not about a movie being good or bad it's about how disappointed I was in "Superman Returns".

 

Using the backstory of the first two Superman movies was a horrible idea specifically because they wouldn't be able to use the businessman Lex.

 

 

 

[DarKnight 0]

Don't forget about the now 10 year old idea of making Nicholas Cage into Superman.

 

You want to know something funny? Cage actually did get paid $20 million for that. I mean, I would have loved for that to happen to me! Get paid $20 million to NOT do a movie! I also remember for that same movie, Warner Bros. wanted Chris Rock to be Jimmy Olsen!

[King Kamala 0]

Fun fact about Superman III; they cast Richard Pryor in that movie after The Salkinds saw him on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, talking about how much he enjoyed Superman II.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Oh god, Superman 4 was UTTER SHIT!!! I remember watching that one day on TV, and I couldn't believe what I was watching. It makes Batman & Robin look like a classic compared to that. I've never even bothered to watch Superman 3, after watching that. By the way, does anyone remember those horrible casting choices Warner Bros. wanted for Superman Returns? Beyonce as Lois Lane, and Johnny Depp as Lex Luthor? You can obviously tell this was the same braintrust behind Catwoman.

 

Superman and Catwoman are my two favorite comic book characters.

 

So you can imagine how much I hate Time Warner owning DC Comics.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Oh god, Superman 4 was UTTER SHIT!!! I remember watching that one day on TV, and I couldn't believe what I was watching. It makes Batman & Robin look like a classic compared to that. I've never even bothered to watch Superman 3, after watching that. By the way, does anyone remember those horrible casting choices Warner Bros. wanted for Superman Returns? Beyonce as Lois Lane, and Johnny Depp as Lex Luthor? You can obviously tell this was the same braintrust behind Catwoman.

 

Superman and Catwoman are my two favorite comic book characters.

 

So you can imagine how much I hate Time Warner owning DC Comics.

Well, if you do decide to get the game (which I don't know about you enough to know if you will or won't), at least I know the two characters you'll be playing as in "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe"...

 

[ZGangsta 0]

Don't forget about the now 10 year old idea of making Nicholas Cage into Superman.

 

You want to know something funny? Cage actually did get paid $20 million for that. I mean, I would have loved for that to happen to me! Get paid $20 million to NOT do a movie! I also remember for that same movie, Warner Bros. wanted Chris Rock to be Jimmy Olsen!

You should check out this old thread if you want to see the fuckups that came before Superman Returns.

 

And as for Lex, I prefer the Superman: Birthright version of the character because he was both a crazy mad scientist AND an evil industrialist businessman.

[Craig Th 0]

I have never liked Superman either. Why should I care about a superhero who can't be hurt, and his archenemy is a guy who can't do anything to him? I also think Superman Returns flopped because Superman is just an outdated character. I mean, he just screams old timey to me. Batman is a timeless character because he is the most realistic superhero, and has dark and psychological stories.

Superman Returns didn't flop; it made $120 million. It didn't do as well as everyone would have liked, but it still did well.

[ZGangsta 0]

I have never liked Superman either. Why should I care about a superhero who can't be hurt, and his archenemy is a guy who can't do anything to him? I also think Superman Returns flopped because Superman is just an outdated character. I mean, he just screams old timey to me. Batman is a timeless character because he is the most realistic superhero, and has dark and psychological stories.

Superman Returns didn't flop; it made $120 million. It didn't do as well as everyone would have liked, but it still did well.

Are you talking about profit? Cause no one ever knows how much profit a movie makes since there's so many costs to factor in.

If you're talking about box office then it made $200 million domestic and about $400 million worldwide. Don't know where 120 came from.

 

And no that is not a flop. Like I said, it did better than Batman Begins.

[DarKnight 0]

Superman Returns had a production budget of $270 million though, so making $200 million is pretty much a flop. Batman Begins had a budget of $150 million, and it made $205 million, so it was more profitable. It was more critically acclaimed too, which helps development for a sequel.

[King Kamala 0]

Sure it made a lot of money but that doesn't mean it's a massive, undisputed success. Hulk made $245 million and almost everybody I know hates that one.

 

 

I think Superman Returns was a victim of high expectations. After a nineteen year layoff filled with aborted productions, people were expecting the quintessential Superman film. You had all of the right elements; a talented director well versed in making good superhero films, an unknown in the lead (ala Christopher Reeves in Superman), and an Academy Award winning, incredibly talented actor as Lex Luthor (OK, I'll grant you that almost everyone of Kevin Spacey's films post American Beauty have sucked hobos for quarters but he's still got a reputation). What we ended up getting was a solid single up the middle instead of the grand slam everyone expected. I actually kind of like the movie but people were expecting much more than a solid *** movie when they went in to that one.

 

Let's face it; we're living in the age of great superhero movies. I'm not sure if there will ever be a time better than now for them. The bar is set way higher for superhero movies than they were ten years ago.

[ZGangsta 0]

Superman Returns had a production budget of $270 million though, so making $200 million is pretty much a flop. Batman Begins had a budget of $150 million, and it made $205 million, so it was more profitable. It was more critically acclaimed too, which helps development for a sequel.

RottenTomatoes.com has Batman Begins with a Top Critics rating of 62%

RottenTomatoes.com has Superman Returns with a Top Critics rating of 73%

 

And so what about the budget. About the same amount of people in North America saw the two movies (more WW for SR).

All I'm arguing is that the Superman series doesn't need a reboot. That doesn't make any sense when you look at the facts.

 

PS I like Batman Begins way more than Superman Returns

[Jingus 0]

I don't understand all the hate for Superman Returns. Yes, the two leads were too young and rather bland, and the movie was a bit slow. But that's pretty much the only things I can really complain about. It had a few truly spectaculer setpieces, most notably the one with the rocket plane: that was one of the few times in movie history where a guy with super-strength was treated somewhat realistically in what he could do; he couldn't just grab the plane and stop it, since whatever part he grabbed would just get torn off. It also had a nice supporting cast, Frank Langella was a perfect Perry White. Hell, for my money it had a better main villain than Batman Begins did; Spacey's Luthor >>>>> Neeson's Al Ghul. So in the end "it wasn't completely awesome" is about the strongest criticism I can throw its way.

[Kurt Angle Mark 0]

Superman Returns had a production budget of $270 million though, so making $200 million is pretty much a flop. Batman Begins had a budget of $150 million, and it made $205 million, so it was more profitable. It was more critically acclaimed too, which helps development for a sequel.

RottenTomatoes.com has Batman Begins with a Top Critics rating of 62%

RottenTomatoes.com has Superman Returns with a Top Critics rating of 73%

 

And so what about the budget. About the same amount of people in North America saw the two movies (more WW for SR).

All I'm arguing is that the Superman series doesn't need a reboot. That doesn't make any sense when you look at the facts.

 

PS I like Batman Begins way more than Superman Returns

 

I agree Superman doesn't need a reboot, someone just needs to make a good movie about him. Everyone in the world knows Superman's origin so that doesn't need to be retold.

 

By the way " Superman: Birthright" is another Superman story that doesn't exist in my mind.

[Blade2kxx 0]

Superman Returns... me and a friend at work used to argue this movie a couple times a week. He believed, like alot of people do, that it should have been a reboot...

 

Yeah, no, not working for me. Fact is, Superman: The Movie is probably THE best Superman origin story that could possibly be filmed, and even with the bad effects and laughable Lex, it's still a grandiose, reverent take on the character. Superman II... not as much, but it's still a great great film. My issue with doing a reboot is simple... Why bother? Superman I was SO good that any reboot on the character would have to tell the origin again, or do the movie in medias res like the original Batman. And, by telling the origin again, it's going to bring about an unfavorable comparison to the original, and remember, people's memories make movies out to be ALOT better than they really are.

 

Routh was fine for the role... Maybe a little too lanky, but that CAN be fixed. I still don't like Bosworth as Lois, especially since, hey... There's Zooey Deschenel and MY GOD SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE MARGOT KIDDER.

 

Give Singer another chance with The Man of Steel (Which, after TDK's massive performance, they may drop Superman out of the title just to make it fit in better). I still like Returns as, while it WAS angsty, it kept the same feeling I got from Superman I and II.

 

Also...

I thought that The Rock was going to play BLACK ADAM, not Captain Marvel.

 

[Golgo 13 0]

I can't wait for the Captain Marvel movie. Though I'm hardly familiar with DC (mainly through the DC:AU) I really like Black Adam and want to see him on screen. I love Fate, also, and have thought of an Etrigan movie, but I don't know how well either would translate. Of course, I'd like to see more Vertigo, but that's a long shot. Regardless they should focus on getting their big guns out the door and doing it right first. It seems like they've finally realized what the public wants, but you never know.

 

I don't think you have to do another origin story if you reboot Superman. Enough already know the origin and can piece it together themselves, so there'd be no real reason. Start off in Metropolis right away with Kent already working at the Planet, etc., and it'd be fine. Explain again in vague detail if you really need to.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Watching coverage of Comic-Con right now...

 

A DC character that we didn't mentioned here is getting a movie.

 

Doc Savage.

[Ravenbomb 0]

I wouldn't mind a movie about The Question.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

I wouldn't mind a movie about The Question.

Original Question or current Question?

[AndrewTS 0]

Ones I'd most like to see at this point:

 

Green Lantern (and not freakin' Jack Black)

New Gods

 

Wonder Woman: With an upcoming animated movie release coming out, I'm starting to wonder if it's finally time for Hollywood to get its act back together to give the Amazon princess a live-action movie of her own. For a first installment, I could easily see them focusing more on the ancient Greece aspect of her character rather than the contemporary villains she faces in "man's world". The only trick would be finding the right woman for the part...

 

I pretty much think the "production" on that movie is an ongoing bad joke. I bet Whedon could write a Kevin Smith style stand up skit with all the grief he had to put up with when he was briefly on the project.

[Blade2kxx 0]

I wouldn't mind a movie about The Question.

 

Yeah, The Question would be awesome... I don't even mind the new one, as 52 was an awesome book.

 

[Craig Th 0]

I have never liked Superman either. Why should I care about a superhero who can't be hurt, and his archenemy is a guy who can't do anything to him? I also think Superman Returns flopped because Superman is just an outdated character. I mean, he just screams old timey to me. Batman is a timeless character because he is the most realistic superhero, and has dark and psychological stories.

Superman Returns didn't flop; it made $120 million. It didn't do as well as everyone would have liked, but it still did well.

Are you talking about profit? Cause no one ever knows how much profit a movie makes since there's so many costs to factor in.

If you're talking about box office then it made $200 million domestic and about $400 million worldwide. Don't know where 120 came from.

 

And no that is not a flop. Like I said, it did better than Batman Begins.

 

Superman Returns had a production budget of $270 million though, so making $200 million is pretty much a flop. Batman Begins had a budget of $150 million, and it made $205 million, so it was more profitable. It was more critically acclaimed too, which helps development for a sequel.

 

The budget was $270 million and it made $200 million in the US. HOWEVER, it also made $191 million overseas, which brands its grand total to $391 million. $391 minus $270 equals $121. The movie had $120 million.

 

It was a flop in the US, but not a flop worldwide. And when it allll comes down to it, making money is what the studios wan the most. Which it did.

[Anakin Flair 0]

The only reason you could call Superman Returns a flop is because it was in production for years, and spend tens of millions of dollars before the final script was handed in. If it had jus had a budge ot $100 million, nobody could say it was a flop. But instead it had to put up with all of the crap that came before it.

[Ravenbomb 0]

I wouldn't mind a movie about The Question.

Original Question or current Question?

 

Justice League: Unlimited era Question.

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Ones I'd most like to see at this point:

 

Green Lantern (and not freakin' Jack Black)

New Gods

Eh, they've been pretty much using Darkseid in Superman properties recently...so I have a feeling if they wanted to incorporate anything New Gods, they'd put Darkseid as a foe for Supes in a future movie.

[DarKnight 0]

The budget was $270 million and it made $200 million in the US. HOWEVER, it also made $191 million overseas, which brands its grand total to $391 million. $391 minus $270 equals $121. The movie had $120 million.

 

It was a flop in the US, but not a flop worldwide. And when it allll comes down to it, making money is what the studios wan the most. Which it did.

 

Yes, but ANY movie shouldn't flop worldwide, since there are many markets to add to the total. But the movie didn't make back its budget ( no telling what the marketing costs were) in any market. In the US, it made $200 million, which didn't make back the budget, and overseas it made $191 million, less than the US gross. What I'm trying to say is, that neither market had that much interest in the movie. See in total worldwide gross, Batman and Robin was sucessful, but its considered a flop since it didn't make back the budget in either market.

[Jingus 0]

Yes, but ANY movie shouldn't flop worldwide

tell that to Eddie Murphy

[Anakin Flair 0]

The budget was $270 million and it made $200 million in the US. HOWEVER, it also made $191 million overseas, which brands its grand total to $391 million. $391 minus $270 equals $121. The movie had $120 million.

 

It was a flop in the US, but not a flop worldwide. And when it allll comes down to it, making money is what the studios wan the most. Which it did.

 

Yes, but ANY movie shouldn't flop worldwide, since there are many markets to add to the total. But the movie didn't make back its budget ( no telling what the marketing costs were) in any market. In the US, it made $200 million, which didn't make back the budget, and overseas it made $191 million, less than the US gross. What I'm trying to say is, that neither market had that much interest in the movie. See in total worldwide gross, Batman and Robin was sucessful, but its considered a flop since it didn't make back the budget in either market.

 

 

I thought Batman and Robin was considered a flop because it sucked.