I'm glad WB are taking the lead on the small screen front at least, and using that to move to something bigger on the big screen. That's smart. At this point it would be silly just copying Marvel's formula.
Right. I don't get why people think you only need solo movies to lead up to a big ensemble one. Did X-Men do that? Oceans 11? Seven Samurai? I understand JLA is a whole new beast, but all that is required is a coherent story.
If the JLA is successful, this will spin out the solo movies, which should be more successful than if spinning out them first.
X-Men is different. it's at it's heart a team book, whereas with Justice League, it's about a bunch of solo heroes coming together.
Individual movies would be more sensible, tbh. Otherwise when JLA comes along, someone is going to end up unhappy that their hero didn't get enough screen time.
It doesn't mean you can't have a consistent story that could work in a film, though. Just because you have solo movies, doesn't guarantee the movie will be good or bad.
Even in the X-Men, you had actrors complaining about not having enough screen time. The movies (First two) were still good.
Some of the Avengers felt the same way, but the movie was still good. Consistency is key.
Avengers and JLA are about prominent solo characters coming together to become something larger than the sum of their parts.
Marvel didn't invent the crossover film or shared continuity, so why WB is going out of their way so as to not copy Marvel is silly; by that same logic Marvel wouldn't even have bothered making the Avengers to begin with because it would be "copying" the Justice League.
Going straight into a JLA can work if they have a solid script and cast. They can have a good script but actors that plays their role well enough is another story. With every solo movie, Marvel had time to focus on finding good actors that fit the particular role. The Hulk casting had problems as we all know. But Hemsworth is the perfect Thor. Downey is a perfect Tony Stark. Evan's pulled off Captain America even though I had doubts. Then you got Jackson and Hiddleston who were both fantastic. The aside from building continuity and a shared universe, a lot of the costumes and elements were already there.
Warner Bros is tasked with finding a cast to fit these roles and build these sets and costumes in a short amount of time. If the script is good, the cast could prove to be the weak link of this movie. Right now all they have is Superman and possibly GL cast. And Reynolds doesn't due GL justice.
But I totally agree. You just need a good script, DIRECTOR to make it work, and a good cast, which has good chemistry.
By no means am I saying this movie is going to be good, but they already chose a screen writer who has chops and even Mark Millar acknowledged that this will be a "thing of beauty".
One thing I do worry about, though, it the executives or whoever changing the script. From what I hear, the story isn't going to follow the formulaic model of heroes teaming up to save the earth, but something totally different.
Take this with a grain of salt, but here is what Millar said not too long ago:
Last edited by Senor Cage on Dec 1st, 2012 at 08:08 PM
I'm not saying it would necessarily be bad; just that these characters need to be established before sticking them in a movie and expecting it to do as well as avengers, which WB will expect it to, and if it doesn't, it's the fans that pay the price.
I think with the long established careers the JLA has had, it won't matter. Most people have a sense of who the Flash is, Wonder Woman is the most recognizable female character EVER, there was just a GL movie, and Aquaman is also a house hold name.
Not to mention the cartoons on Cartoon Network and other various media outlooks.
The Avengers was somewhat different. They didn't have as much exposure as the DC characters and weren't as well known.
Millar says he believes Millarworld will be the third company of comics "Big Three", implying he thinks all of his work is more over than the likes of Image and Dark Horse and countless other independent publishers. That and he one day believes that characters such as Kick-Ass and Superior will be as popular as Spider-Man.
Yes, Millar is full of himself, but Millar isn't giving his own opinion on the script, but what he heard from one of his pals or something. Going all dark and real world isn't a surprise, since Nolan established the mood of a super hero movie could be and it looks like Man of Steel will follow suit.
Yes, that is their plan. Or at least that is the RUMOR. WB is hoping for the JLA to ultra popular, thus once they spin their solo movies after JLA, the solo movies will benefit from it.
As for a Nolan JLA, I think the tone will follow Man of Steel. Let's wait and see how MOS is before we judge it. It's too early to tell.
It's risky, nobody is disputing that, but I don't like to jump to conlusions and automatically think it's going to fail.
What has been popping up on the net is that this is being rushed. That is somewhat false. The script has been in the works for well over a year. And the movie isn't coming out until 2015. WB has more than likely planed well ahead, since their 2 blockbusters have come to a close. Harry Potter and Nolan's Batman.
To me, Man of Steel has a whole new feel to it. Something fresh and not in the same vein as the previous films. I think it's going to be way better than the last one and even the Christopher Reeve one.
It's not jumping to conclusions. WB has a long history of not knowing what the **** they're doing with their properties. This whole JLA thing feels very much like a knee-jerk reaction to Avengers.