The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown: The Future of Superhero Movies

[TheGlyphstone]

My first thought was that his face was too narrow - for some reason I thought Punisher's head was more square-ish. But after a look in Google, not so much, so I think he can pull it off just fine.

[SapphireStar]

Apparently, Jason Statham is against doing Marvel movies. Saying anybody can do them including his grandmother. That he prefers to do "real" action movies. Okay, so then the reports of him being courted for Bullseye must be false.

[Mathim]

Apparently, Jason Statham is against doing Marvel movies. Saying anybody can do them including his grandmother. That he prefers to do "real" action movies. Okay, so then the reports of him being courted for Bullseye must be false.

Anybody can do Marvel action. Right. Well I never gave much of a crap about Statham before and now I really don't care. I think his only movie I watched all the way through was Death Race and I thought it was terrible so no big loss I suppose. It's getting to the point where, unless it's a comic book movie, the action is difficult to appeal to a broad audience. Wouldn't it be amusing if he and others who share that sentiment end up eating their words if they can't get work in anything else?

[SapphireStar]

It's interesting that he made that statement as his Expendables co-star, Dolph Lundgren did two comic book movies. He played He-man and he also played the Punisher. Comic book movies aren't like the early ones, they've gotten pretty sophisticated with both CGI and action sequences. With some of the stars appearing on tv, the stigma that was associated with doing tv shows has pretty much disappeared. Before to do tv was considered the last stop before obscurity.

[Mathim]

It's interesting that he made that statement as his Expendables co-star, Dolph Lundgren did two comic book movies. He played He-man and he also played the Punisher. Comic book movies aren't like the early ones, they've gotten pretty sophisticated with both CGI and action sequences. With some of the stars appearing on tv, the stigma that was associated with doing tv shows has pretty much disappeared. Before to do tv was considered the last stop before obscurity.

Well that last bit is still true in some cases. But in others it's a slim chance to get recognized again and end up back on the big screen (a la Denis Leary as Gwen Stacy's father in TASM).

Who are some actors that have yet to be gobbled up by either the MCU or DCCU or other comic book properties (X-Men, Spidey, F4, other DC/Marvel miscellanea) that you'd like to see be inducted?

I know Charlie the Ron (Charlize Theron) is a popular choice for Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel and even though I'm not really into her at all, she was in Hancock so she's played someone with godlike powers before. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is already appearing in Civil War so no need to put that on the wishlist. Simon Pegg would be a definite favorite near the top of my list. I'd like to see Jet Li or Jackie Chan too, they were sort of my ideal Wong and Ancient One if they were able to use prosthetics to make Chan look like an old man and Li still looked pretty young as of The Forbidden Kingdom so he wouldn't look out of place beside Doctor Strange who is supposed to be older than Wong (although that one Spider-Man episode where he was voiced by George Takei made me think he was older).

[SapphireStar]

The young actor from The Kingsman movie, I think his first name is Taron? He said he would be interested in playing a young Wolverine.

[Deamonbane]

He's a decent actor. I wouldn't be against seeing him take on the mantle, especially as a reboot to the character.

[CuriousEyes]

I must have missed the context - when/where did they say they're looking to go with a "young" Wolverine? I would have thought they'd missed the opportunity to introduce one short of some deus ex machina type thing.

Seeing as even in First Class they used Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in a cameo, and essentially indicated he had already reached adulthood by that point. I don't know how far back they'd have to go to make a Young Wolverine film.

[Deamonbane]

There is a series of Comics on Wolverine's/James Howlett's origin story. A lot more badass than shown in the movie. I would be on board for that.

Even then, it's not them planning anything. It's just the guy saying that he wouldn't mind doing it.

[TheGlyphstone]

So since there's no real better place to bring it up and all the superhero enthusiasts are here anyways, what do people think of the new Justice League: Gods and Monsters animated canon?

It's a darker, alt-universe take on the JLA, using new what-if/elseworld versions of the characters a la silver age Green Lantern/Flash.
http://www.wired.com/2015/06/gods-and-monsters-bruce-timm/

Two animated shorts are out already, followed by an animated movie, then digital comics and more shorts.

GaM Batman: 'Twisted' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpu6yPAFHrs

GaM Superman: 'Bomb' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYSxN4ezhO4

My takes, after watching

Batman's Shayamaladingdong twist at the end didn't impress me at all, since otherwise the short was just Batman in a weird costume. This take on Harley was far more interesting, and it's a real shame Vampirebatman killed her.

Superman, on the other hand, I liked a lot. Between the Goatee of Evil, the way he delayed the nuke, his singleminded ignorance of the trapped people to focus on his mission, and the end, I really got a sense of a character who is distinct and darkly different than his primary canon, but still ultimately heroic.

[SapphireStar]

It is possible they might cast a young Wolverine since Hugh Jackman has stated that he is done playing the role. In the first Wolverine movie, they showed snippets of his life through time as he fought in different wars. Using a younger version, they have a lot of room to play with different plots. Maybe even do an AoA plot or something. As long as they actor taking up the role can pull off the role decently, I'm all for it.

[Mathim]

It is possible they might cast a young Wolverine since Hugh Jackman has stated that he is done playing the role. In the first Wolverine movie, they showed snippets of his life through time as he fought in different wars. Using a younger version, they have a lot of room to play with different plots. Maybe even do an AoA plot or something. As long as they actor taking up the role can pull off the role decently, I'm all for it.

Well yeah, if they're rebooting soon they'll want someone who isn't going to be the same age as Jackman at the end of his tenure. There could be any number of ways for them to make him younger, being frozen Captain America style, someone's mutant power de-aging him or whatever else they come up with. He should still be old enough to be an imposing figure, someone who legitimately looks down on the younger X-Men for being so green.

Ant-Man Update: This latest TV spot/trailer looks so awesome. I can't fucking wait for this movie.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfTcx_TwXq8

[SapphireStar]

It has been reported the actor who starred in Twelve Years a Slave has been cast as Baron Mordo in the Doctor Strange movie.

[TheGlyphstone]

Well yeah, if they're rebooting soon they'll want someone who isn't going to be the same age as Jackman at the end of his tenure. There could be any number of ways for them to make him younger, being frozen Captain America style, someone's mutant power de-aging him or whatever else they come up with. He should still be old enough to be an imposing figure, someone who legitimately looks down on the younger X-Men for being so green.

Ant-Man Update: This latest TV spot/trailer looks so awesome. I can't fucking wait for this movie.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfTcx_TwXq8

"The first thing we should do? Call the Avengers."

Finally, a superhero with some goddamn common sense; you have a perfectly viable hero team who has saved the world Twice already, maybe let them at least know there is a problem?

[Mathim]

It has been reported the actor who starred in Twelve Years a Slave has been cast as Baron Mordo in the Doctor Strange movie.

Wow. Just wow. A black actor portraying Transylvanian/European-ergo historically Caucasian-(as far as I can recall, that was supposed to be his country of origin...could be mistaken but too lazy to look it up) Baron Mordo, AND a white female actress who isn't even in her 60's is supposed to be playing the aptly-named and historically Asian-descended ANCIENT One. Is Marvel trying to make fans hate them? I honestly can't tell. It's like they caught the ridiculous-decisions disease from Sony. I mean, this is as out of place as the casting choice for Gwenivere on that show Merlin. I feel like Sheldon Cooper when he was pointing out historical inaccuracies at a Renaissance Fair.

"The first thing we should do? Call the Avengers."

Finally, a superhero with some goddamn common sense; you have a perfectly viable hero team who has saved the world Twice already, maybe let them at least know there is a problem?

LOL, yeah, there is a lot of self-referential/self-deprecating humor in Ant-Man, so why not go ahead and ask the question everyone's been demanding an answer to in every solo movie after the first Avengers film? I wonder if they'll actually try to answer that rhetorical question. But the fact that he's referencing them seems to indicate he'll be interested in meeting/joining them!

[TheGlyphstone]

Wow. Just wow. A black actor portraying Transylvanian/European-ergo historically Caucasian-(as far as I can recall, that was supposed to be his country of origin...could be mistaken but too lazy to look it up) Baron Mordo, AND a white, female Ancient One. Is Marvel trying to make fans hate them? I can't tell. It's like they caught the ridiculous-decisions disease from Sony. I mean, this is as out of place as the casting choice for Gwenivere on that show Merlin. I feel like Sheldon Cooper when he was pointing out historical inaccuracies at a Renaissance Fair.

It was definitely mentioned up-thread the last time this came up, but people said the same thing about a black Heimdall, and Idris Elba knocked that role out of the park. Can we at least give them a chance to see if they can be a good more-than-skin-deep adaptation of the characters before getting upset?

[Mathim]

It was definitely mentioned up-thread the last time this came up, but people said the same thing about a black Heimdall, and Idris Elba knocked that role out of the park. Can we at least give them a chance to see if they can be a good more-than-skin-deep adaptation of the characters before getting upset?

Heimdall was sort of an ambiguous figure in the comics from what I read, like he didn't have a normal form like the other Asgardians, he was just sort of a dark figure, which I actually thought was clever and creative to cast as a black actor (and frankly having someone else in blackface, even if CGI'd and not with makeup, would have really been awkward). Plus Hogun of the Warriors Three is of the Asian persuasion so that makes it difficult not to ask, "Okay, so if there IS diversity in Asgard after all, what's the sense in having just one minority face in a sea of whiteness?"

But with Mordo, like I said, Eastern European history doesn't exactly scream 'our royalty/nobility here is black' so that's just eyebrow-crinklingly bizarre. Plus if you replace, say, Chow Yun Fat (who would probably be perfect for the Ancient One) with Tilda Swinton, then not only are accusations of whitewashing (as my understanding, it's defined as replacing minority actors with white ones in a deliberate effort to minimize exposure to minority actors - and I repeat, I am against this in either direction so this is not rooted in racism) in Hollywood going to be pretty well justified (and justifiably rebuked), but then we also lose that whole Karate Kid dynamic Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita had, which is so iconic.

[mia h]

It was definitely mentioned up-thread the last time this came up, but people said the same thing about a black Heimdall, and Idris Elba knocked that role out of the park. Can we at least give them a chance to see if they can be a good more-than-skin-deep adaptation of the characters before getting upset?

Why would you want to give them a chance, when you can have an over the top, knee-jerk reaction to everything that isn't exactly the way you'd do it?

[Mathim]

Why would you want to give them a chance, when you can have an over the top, knee-jerk reaction to everything that isn't exactly the way you'd do it?

Well when the idea is to see our favorite comic book characters leap off the printed page and onto the screen, that fantasy sorta dies when it's someone entirely dissimilar who's playing them. I mean, I thought this sentiment was already understood but now that these movies make more money than the nerds who nurtured their roots alone can cobble together, they just go further and further in forsaking us so they can make a deluded attempt at pandering to an even wider audience.

[SapphireStar]

Saw a few reports regarding Spider-Man. Apparently, Sony and Marvel are at an impass as to who to cast. A new list was reported to be circulating. On the new list is Charlie Plummer, Matthem Lintz, Charlie Rowe and Tom Holland. Seriously? Spider-man is going to perpetually be in high school just to sell merchandise to the young kid to teen crowd.

[Mathim]

Saw a few reports regarding Spider-Man. Apparently, Sony and Marvel are at an impass as to who to cast. A new list was reported to be circulating. On the new list is Charlie Plummer, Matthem Lintz, Charlie Rowe and Tom Holland. Seriously? Spider-man is going to perpetually be in high school just to sell merchandise to the young kid to teen crowd.

And as we already know, that shit don't work. Not like they want it to anyway. Defeats the whole purpose of Sony begging Marvel for their help to stop fucking up with it.

So this whole thing with the Punisher now being on Daredevil has got me thinking. Are there any plans to give him his own show/movie or is it going to depend on fan reception? I mean, I know Marvel has a pretty solid mapped-out plan for how they want both the movies and shows to proceed but I know fan outcry does have a certain amount of power. I'm not sure if that was the reason they decided to introduce the Punisher now and in this fashion (on someone else's show and not his own) but I'm still excited to see it in action. This could mean the roster of the Defenders might be closer to the size of the first Avengers team rather than just being the four primary members who are having their own shows. Also, just started watching Season 2 of Agents of SHIELD on Netflix and I recall Skye mentioning a fellow hacker-type friend, 'Micro', which is usually the tech guy helping out Frank Castle. I mean, did they intend for that to lead into the Punisher so soon or was that just a little easter egg that happened to pay off way sooner than expected due to Daredevil's popularity and acclaim and potential for expansion?

[SapphireStar]

Having the Punisher appear on Daredevil for a few guest spots sounds like a good plan to eventually spin him off into his own show. The last movie, Punisher: War Zone, I don't think did well in the theater. It might do better in a more episodic format. I'm not sure about the guy they picked. I liked Thomas Jane in the first one. And, it wouldn't have been hard to have him appear in the tv show since he was starring in a show on HBO.

Looking back over old reports, Lucy Griffiths had been in the running to play Wonder Woman. She kinda looks like Lynda Carter. Gal Gadot would've been good to play Artemis.

[CaptainNexus616]

I'm curious if Elektra is going to pop up in Daredevil next season. I have a strong feeling that the next season will be dealing with the Hand and she was trained by them.

It would give them a chance to do more flashbacks with Murdock in College meeting her and forming a relationship. Then we can get a chance to see him pushed to his moral limits instead of his physical ones for a change.

[SapphireStar]

She was trained by them, and after Bullseye killed her The Hand resurrected her. Then later on, Daredevil became a Hand Warlord reigning over territory in New York. It will be interesting seeing who they cast and what characters they bring in. I wonder if they will also bring in Typhoid Mary as well. She was another big Daredevil antagonist.

[DominantPoet]

I'm curious if Elektra is going to pop up in Daredevil next season. I have a strong feeling that the next season will be dealing with the Hand and she was trained by them.

It would give them a chance to do more flashbacks with Murdock in College meeting her and forming a relationship. Then we can get a chance to see him pushed to his moral limits instead of his physical ones for a change.

Her and Bullseye are supposed to be in next season. Hadn't heard about Punisher myself but that would be awesome as well.

I'm sure Matt will have a lot of moral choices to be making in the next season, especially since they've set up a lot of very bad things to happen that occur in the comics already (Karen Page being one of the big ones)