News and rumors keep popping up with each passing month, both drawing up interesting and angering people at the same time. Its expected at this point, but it can be confusing to those who don't seem to get why. Why do some people get so upset over it? Well, the answer is pretty obvious once you look at the movie making history of DC's Superheroes.
Between 1978 and 1997, Warner Bros have been releasing lice action movie series revolving around the seperate adventures of Batman and Superman. They never met on screen before, but did develop a following through their films outside of the comics. Superman was prominent during the late 70s and early 80s, as Batman took over through till the late 90s. Funny enough, both characters had four movies released around them, yet the last two would be critically panned and fallen out of favor. Add the release of the box office bomb of 'Steel' and Warner Bros laid off the movie superheroes for nearly a decade.
'Catwoman' came out in 2004, so the less said about that, the better.
It wasn't until 2005/2006 that both characters would be reintroduced to the audience on the silver screen. 'Batman Begins' came out in 2005 and turned into a rebooted trilogy for the caped crusader that won a few Oscars for itself. 'Superman Returns' came out in 2006 and was sort of a rehash/continuation of the old 80s Superman stories. The former gave the Batman even more popularity, while the latter dropped Superman live action movies off for nearly a decade.
Then came 'Green Lantern' in 2011 and that didn't survive much as well. The idea of 'light-hearted superheroics' seemed to dwindle in Warner Bros/DC's plans for their cinematic universe.
Two years later, the reboot of Superman, 'Man of Steel', hit theaters with a barrage of mixed reactions, both highly positive and negative. Some praised for its updated take on the Superman story. Others hated it for taking the character too dark and serious. Other praising and complaints (cause opinions are weird like that) include the cinematography and scripting.
And now we're fast approaching 2016, where not only we'll get 'Batman V Superman', but also 'Suicide Squad'. Why am I bringing up that movie in a post involving the two most iconic superheroes in the business? Cause the 'Suicide Squad' is becoming a part of the DC Cinematic Universe. As such, it is giving us a fair share of what to expect from the universe.
All I can see is dark, depressing, deranged and destructive imagery after seeing that trailer. I know BvS won't be anything like that but it doesn't exactly build a pleasant image of their Earth. Those possessing skills and abilities greater than any normal being are quickly feared and distrusted by the regular folk. In the trailers, we already see Superman either being worshiped by people as a savior or demonized. Its a bit of how Marvel tended to go about their stories in the comics.
To explain, many people (myself included) believe that DC and Marvel have a different ideology to writing their characters. DC is more of characters you look up to, while Marvel is characters that you can relate to. This isn't entirely true, as you can relate to someone in DC while look up to someone in Marvel. Another thing, something I picked up awhile ago, is how many of marvel's characters are subversions of 'power fantasy'. To make a long story short, power fantasy is the belief that when men get power, they can use it for good without consequences. While it may not seem intentional, Marvel has created characters whose abilities and skills have consequences for their lives, like Spider-Man ended up losing not only his uncle, but also his girlfriend in the early comics.
How does this relate to the current coming of 'Batman V Superman'? I believe that DC has been trying to go along the same lines as Marvel by trying to make their characters more relatable, but end up going the route of 'dark' and 'edgy' material. After all, this was the same company that had the Joker's face ripped off and stapled back to his face.
I'm certainly in the camp of people who have mixed feelings about Jared Leto's Joker portrayal.
Interviews for the movie certainly paint a positive picture from many of the cast and crew. Zack Snyder, director of the movie, has similar thoughts as well. Though, with remarks like how 'Ant-man' was simply flavor of the month of Marvel movies, shows he might be developing a grudge against the company. 'Ant-man' was a movie fraught with troubled production that released a product that was fine in general and not that much of a flop. An easy target to call out on compared to major hits like 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Avengers'.
Snyder's own praise for his work seems pretty straight forward and expectable, like how Batman was going to need more screentime for audiences to learn where he fits in the universe. Digging a bit, I learned how Snyder brought up 'mythology' when describing the Batman and Superman universes. From what I know about mythology, it comes a lot from word of mouth written on marble, granite, or paper from ancient civilizations. It tends to change a bit from area to area, whether it be large or small alterations. Given the nature of comics, 'mythology' is a rather appropriate term, but one Snyder may run into the ground if he keeps referring to it like an easier answer than straightforward.
No offense to anyone in 'Batman V Superman', but they still need to tread water carefully with their work. A couple stinkers and negative reactions have lead to this movie being one watched carefully. Many things could go wrong (or go right) for this movie. It all comes back down to whether not people will be buying what Warner Bros/DC are trying to sell. Many certainly would go to see it, but depending on 'word of mouth' and online reactions, it may help or hinder the movie to become a success.
As always, it comes down to the public to decide if the movie truly succeeds or fails.
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