Tag: DCE

Five Projects for DCE to Jump On, Day 5: ‘Justice League of America’

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In 1960, a group of stealthy super heroes joined together to form one of the baddest gangs on the planet. The justice league, or Justice League America contained the DC trinity of epic super heroes: there was of course the DC trinity of superheroes, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.   Plastic Man, Hawkman, Atom, Black Canary, Plastic Man and the Green Lantern were also some of the man super beings involved. We should also quickly thank this team for inspiring Stan Lee to write the Fantastic Four… the comic… not the movie including a really bad actress who shall remain nameless, but gave us the movie Honey!

Personally, if I lived in munchkin land and had the chance to run around pint size with these legendary heroes, I totally would. Justice League started in 1960, in The Brave and the Bold #28. Since then , it has taken they have made their appearance through the Super Friends animated series from 1973-1986, a live action Justice League America series that never made it to air, and Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, which were their latest projects. In the 1950’s, DC asked Gardner Fox to help them re-introduce some of their older characters to a newer audience. The title quickly went from Justice Society of America to Justice League America, and gained a significant amount of popularity. The original lineup included Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter, with Atom, Green Arrow and Hawkman to quickly join in. They had their super nifty hideout (as every super hero does) in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, where their one lackey aka sidekick Snapper Carr use to hang out, often coming along on missions. Anyone else find it odd that super heroes often surround themself with one person who has no powers, and often gets them into even deeper trouble rather than helping out? Is this the same concept as the pretty, popular girl hanging out with the ugly duckling to make herself feel better?

Shortly after they realized that they were too cool for ground club houses, they acquired a satellite hang out. With 12 members that could never have overlapping powers, they were yet again a force to be reckoned with.   They did soon let go of their strict 12 member, no duplicate power rule and let others into their elite club-o-powers. Despite new, evolving characters, they decided to go back to basics by the mid to late 90’s. The threats were bigger, but since they had the biggest and best super heroes on the planet back in the league, there was nothing that they couldn’t handle.

Long story shourt, as much as they tried to reinvent the JLA, they never quite got the same charisma as the original lineup. As of right now, other than the animated series and the 1997 made for television epic failure, there has not really been a decent live action portrayal of the super awesome gang. There is a Justice League: Mortal movie in development for 2011, but nothing has been revealed.   There is a bit of speculation about the casting of this film, but from what I have read, it hasn’t been anything too exciting. (Adam Brody, Common, and a ton of amateurs that honestly do not look too impressive are rumored to portray the bunch). This is the epitome of super hero idol-ism, and if this isn’t done well, then it will be sure to break the hearts of comic book lovers everywhere. This movie could be AWAZING (awesome and amazing) if done well, and while new actors could be great for this movie, I am not impressed by a single person rumored to be in the upcoming cast. Bottom line, if you are going to attempt this movie, then make it with eyes open and go all out. This is one that cannot be half-assed and still sell tickets just because of the awesome subject matter. So, to the production company… In the words of my brother “If you’re gonna pull your pants down, f@#$! ” In other words, if you are going to do it, FREAKING GO ALL OUT AND DO IT!

Five Projects for DCE to Jump On, Day 4: New ‘Superman’ Film

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Superman has had both a wonderful and rocky career on the big screen. The film commonly referred to as Superman ’78 by nerds like myself set the high mark for how good not only a Superman movie could be but a comic book movie in general It’s sequel, while having major problems due to infighting and a switching directors, is loved by a lot of people. Sadly after Superman II the drop of is dramatic. I don’t need to go into the details, but trying to sit through Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, is really difficult to do.

As we all know Superman Returns was supposed to be the return to greatness for the franchise and while the movie isn’t terrible, it’s not the film fans had waited decades to see. To make a boring drawn out story about how Superman is dealing with coming back to Earth after years away isn’t exactly the action packed good time the franchise needed to cement itself into the public’s consciousness.

Luckily DCE is here and they have the opportunity to really do something special with Superman. As a fan of Superman, some one who was named Kent in honor of the character and who fondly remembers wearing both a Superman t-shirt and a belt while running around with a towel as a cape, this is what I want to see.

Superman needs a relaunch. A start from scratch, but not in the way you might think. Superman hasn’t needed an origin story for decades. The character is firmly cemented into all our minds as the alien from the dying planet Krypton who was destined to save us all. Great. Now let’s use today’s special effects and give Superman an adventure worthy of the big screen! Completely recast the series and for this first film back, less Clark Kent, more Superman! But Superman is nothing without a villain to fight.

NO MORE LEX LUTHOR. I’ve had it with that bald douche! He’s the villain that studios have relied on for their Superman films four times now, and he’s come close to winning ONCE. I thought Superman II showed us how weak Lex Luthor really is when compared to the villains from Krypton or Superman himself. Superman can turn back time in movies. What can Lex Luthor do to mess with that?

There are two new obvious choices for villain this time around and Brainiac seems like the most logical choice. He’s been around forever, is now closely tied to the destruction of Krypton and it’s history, and is just a cool villain. Brainiac is a villain with many different looks over the years so almost anything works. I say almost because on Smallville the character was played by James Marsters of Buffy fame. Bad choice.

Brainiac can bring a lot as a villain. He can either be a Terminator or Matrix like machine mind that simply doles out orders to destructive robots and machines that could really wreak some havoc on Metropolis and the rest of the world. Or he can be a physical villain, a machine himself, powerful enough to take on Superman. He can also appear as partially humanoid and play on Superman’s sympathies regarding the history of Krypton and his true parents. There’s a lot of choices you can make. The key to writing Brainiac is taking all the best parts from comics 0ver the decades and finding a perfect mixture for the big screen. I’d like to see him as a super intelligence, the virus version of Brainiac that threatens to control the world’s computers and send us into a dark age. But I also want Superman to have to punch something. The writers can find the math on that one.

The other villain that they can work with is Darkseid. Darkseid is a conquering warrior king from the planet Apokolips. His goal is to simply change the entire universe to fit in his image and remove everyone’s free will. This is of course everything Superman stands against. Darkseid is almost as strong as Superman and has an army of warriors working with him, a whole planet’s worth. This would be a battle the scope of which no one has ever seen on film. It would be complete chaos in the streets, people fighting off demon looking creatures all over earth while Superman and Darkseid rumble with Earth’s fate in the balance. What’s great about this story is that it could easily lead into tomorrow’s article The Justice League film.

In the end all I want is a Superman film that is fun and action packed. All these rumors about The Wachowski Brothers wanting to direct (none of which are proven) make me all tickled pink and giddy. They’d surely get the idea and let’s face it… The Matrix’s Neo is Superman. A fresh start is what this character needs.

… Or a Smallville movie…

JUST KIDDING!

Five Projects for DCE to Jump On, Day 3: ‘Shazam’

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It didn’t matter that DC Comics sued Fawcett Comics in 1953 for copyright infringement due to Fawcett’s Captain Marvel looking too similar to Superman.   DC would end up owning everything Captain Marvel in the early ’90s, implanting the character firmly into the DC Universe, and making various attempts over the year at reviving the character in their own series.   Of course, in the interim, Marvel Comics trademarked their own Captain Marvel, and the title of DC’s character was changed to Shazam!.   Regardless of what you call the character, he’s a square-jawed throwback to the old-school superhero look that, with all the nostalgic love for the ’50s going around, would be a perfect character to supplant in to the world of film.

New Line agrees with this assessment.   As early as 2002, New Line was in negotiations with DC to bring the Captain Marvel/Shazam! storyline to the big screen.   Quotes from, then, DC President Paul Levitz even expressed enthusiasm in getting the property moved to the film world.

We’re pleased to be developing one of the gems of our library with one of our sister companies.

Both being owned by Warner Brothers didn’t hurt the negotiations in getting the deal done.   In March of 2003, it was announced two-time Oscar winner William Goldman had come on board the project to adapt the comic into a feature film screenplay.

Said Goldman at the time:

I started collecting comics in 1938.  I was a lunatic comicbook lover, and I had everything. (This project) is a big deal for me. I hope I don’t screw it up.

New Line production prexy, at that time, Toby Emmerich said the film was “the ultimate kid wish-fulfillment movie.”  The film was slated for a Christmas 2004 or Summer 2005 release.  Of course, ‘Shazam!’ didn’t make those dates, and a number of screenwriters were brought in to take passes on polishing and rewriting the film.  Among those screenwriters were Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, the writing duo behind ‘Toy Story’,’Money Talks,’ and ‘Garfield.’

At this time, several directors were being considered to helm the ‘Shazam!’ adaptation.  One such director, Sandy Collora, was one of these directors.  If you don’t recognize the name, surely you will recognize his early, independent work.  He’s the guy behind the short ‘Batman: Dead End’ that pits Batman against not only the Joker but Aliens and Predators, as well.  Collora also directed a faux trailer for a films called ‘World Finest,’ a Batman/Superman crossover film.

On a message board recently, Collora spoke on his days of being considered for the director’s chair for ‘Shazam!’

I was given several scripts to read, including Shazam and Creature From the Black Lagoon . The industry term for that, from what I can gather, is called ‘being considered to direct’. I was very interested in both of those projects and had several meetings at New Line and Universal respectively, to talk about my thoughts on the scripts and how I would approach each of those projects. It was all very exciting… I had a lot of interesting ideas regarding how to achieve cinematically, what I’d read in those scripts. The William Goldman script I was given for Shazam was excellent. I really felt that movie literally jumping off the pages at me. It hit all the right notes and was exceptionally well written. It had kind of a Norman Rockwell innocence to it. Very Americana. Very Spielbergian. I would have loved to have done that film as a post World War 2, period piece… Late 40’s or early 50’s.

Collora did not get the job, and it was announced in 2006 that Peter Segal had stepped in as director of the film.  Having helmed such films as ‘Tommy Boy,’ ‘Anger Management,’ and ‘The Longest Yard,’ it wasn’t hard to realize New Line was going for a much lighter tone than your typical, comic book fare.  It was at this time that ‘Titan A.E.’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ screenwriter John August was announced to be on board to rewrite the screenplay once again.  It was also with the announcement of Segal coming on board that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be on board the film to star.  There were rumors back and forth whether Johnson would be playing Captain Marvel or his arch-nemesis Black Adam.  In fact, in September of 2007, Johnson told MTV News that it would be “up to the fans” which of the two character he would play.

During this time in pre-production, New Line was swallowed entirely by sister company, Warner Brothers.  After the monster success of ‘The Dark Knight’ and the disappointing failure of ‘Speed Racer’ at the 2008 box office, Warner decided they wanted ‘Shazam!’ to take on a much darker tone.  August would even go so far in early 2009 to say the film was “dead.”  There is a monster article August posted on his blog around this time.  You can still check it out, but here is the gist:

By “dead,” I mean that it won’t be happening. I don’t think it’s on the studio’s radar at all. It may come back in another incarnation, with another writer, but I can say with considerable certainty that it won’t be the version I developed.

It was announced last month that Bill Burch, an actor who has appeared in shows like “90210” and “CSI: Miami,” had stepped into the screenwriters seat.  Long-time DC writing mainstay, Geoff Johns, would serve as consultant and co-writing with Burch on the project.

And, this is where the long and winding road of a ‘Shazam!’ motion picture leaves us.  Peter Segal is still set to direct.  Burch and Johns are still on board as screenwriters, though, I’m sure, by now, they are all but done with the script.  As far as anyone can tell, Johnson is attached, though his ultimate role in the film will be anyone’s guess at this point.

With Segal firmly in place as director, I guess there isn’t much merit in trying to determine who would make a good director.  The intentions of DCE should, if they want to make megablockbusters, be to mimick everything Marvel is doing right.  At this stage in the game, that is hiring serious directors and serious actors to make their comic book movies have the look and feel of adult motion pictures.  From what we’ve seen so far, Segal is not the choice that is going to give them that.

Neither is Johnson if he is to fill the part of Captain Marvel.  However, as Black Adam, you couldn’t have a much closer resemblance than The Rock.  It’s not like Johnson is a typical, wrestler-turned-actor musclehead, either.  The guy’s got charisma, and, in his hands, the part of Black Adam in the film could be a grand success.

This leaves the quandery of who should be playing the lead role.  You have to go back to who inspired the look of Captain Marvel in the first place.  Hollywood stars like Fred MacMurray and Carey Grant wore the faces that inspired the artists behind Captain Marvel’s look, and the people behind the new film should not shy away from that ’50s, chiseled look one bit.  The person to don the red suite and white cape should not be a big star.  Casting someone like George Clooney would be like Ben Affleck in ‘Hollywoodland,’ it would just look like Clooney in a Captain Marvel outfit.

Say what you will about it being a bit of pigeon-holing, but I think a perfect choice for Captain Marvel would be Jon Hamm.  As the star of “Mad Men,” he has the perfect look of an everyman living in the ’50s.  Of course, this would mean the film would have to center on Captain Marvel in his later years.  Hamm is approaching 40, and the ‘Shazam!’ story would begin when the character is 12.  Hamm could pull off a younger age, maybe not teenage young, but younger than his own, current age.  Plus, Hamm is on the cusp of being a breakout star, and his presence wouldn’t overshadow the Captain Marvel suit.

Jake Gyllenhaal’s name has been bantered around for the role, one of about three dozen superheroes the star has been pencilled into by fans and, probably, producers alike.  He certainly has the look, the acting ability, and the age to play a young Billy Batson, but you have to wonder if Gyllenhaal isn’t too big a star to play the part.  Also, it would seem more likely producers would want someone who, as far as appearances go, is around the same age as the film’s villain.  Gyllenhaal is eight years younger than Dwayne Johnson, but he even looks younger.

Regardless of who steps into the Captain Marvel suit, they will have come to the end of a long and storied history.  Of all the projects we are commenting on in this five-part series, ‘Shazam!’ seems the least likely of actually getting made.  The main character is very similar to Superman.  There is a reason DC sued Fawcett all those years ago.  Also, Captain Marvel/Shazam! is the least well-known out of all of these.  Look for DCE to step into ‘The Flash’ and ‘Wonder Woman’ before turning their attention to ‘Shazam!’.

Five Projects for DCE to Jump On, Day 2: ‘Wonder Woman’

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Wonder Woman! The most popular superhero costume for a woman on halloween and one of DC’s three consistent characters since 1944, Wonder Woman has been a staple in our culture for generations. She burst onto the scene in 1941 in All Star Comics #8 and hasn’t looked back since. Wonder Woman was created by Willaim Moulton Marston with the intent of being a feminist role model. Her (Wonder Woman aka Princess Diana aka Diana Prince) background consists of being one of the Amazon people sent here to spread the message of love, sexual equality, and peace in a world that was being polluted by the hatred and anger of men. Who knew that a comic from so long ago would have been such a messenger before it’s time, only to carry on after the feminist movement of the 70’s? Not to mention hold the title of being a memer of the trinity of DC comics? (The other two are Batman and Superman).

William Moulton Maston, creator of Wonder Woman, first came onto the scene with an article in a 1940’s Family Circle regarding comic books, and using them as an educational tool. His article caught the eye of Max Gaines, a comic publisher, and hired him as an educational consultant for both National Periodicals and All-American Publications. These companies would soon merge into DC Comics. With the comic scene being dominated by all men, Maston’s wife Elizabeth first thought of the idea to make a female superhero while he was in development. The goal was to create a character that thrived off of love and not violence. She was a propaganda tool of sorts to show women how their role was evolving, encouraging them to be strong and independent in a time when that message was not realized. He wanted to show just how superior to men that women could be, and point out the qualities that he admired most in women.

In 1943, Marston was quoted in The American Scholor, a literary quarterly for Phi Beta Kappa chapters:

“Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don’t want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”

Keep in mind, that this was the 1940’s. Evolution takes time. Even as she was placed into the Justice League comics, she was placed as their secretary, despite the code that characters with their own comic books were given a hire, more respected placement. Even so, she was meant to spread Marston’s message of female empowerment, and she continues on.

And how does she carry on such a task? Wonder Woman carries the abilities of super speed, strength, tactical warfare, a keen relationship with animals, and stamina. Oh yeah, she can fly too! She also brings alongside her the Lasso Of Truth, which forces its captors to tell the truth once wrapped around them, and of course, her indestructible bracelets to shield off bullets and other attacks. Her brain waves delivers super charged energy to her muscles and limbs, and even onto objects with her mental telepathy powers. If all else fails, then she can just hop in her invisible plane and take off! Not to mention that she is considered one of the most attractive female super hero’s of all time.

She also fought for her country, including many supervillians from the World War II era. Wonder Woman also maintained her girlish figure by jumping through the pages of Justice Society, and Justice League. She has even transcended the pages and jumped onto the television screen with her own Wonder Woman TV Series from 1975-1979, being played by Linda Carter, the Super Friends cartoon, and also the Justice League cartoon.

In 2001, talks of a screenplay started to emerge. Producer Joel Silver approached Todd Alcott to write the manuscript, with Silver Productions backing it. Since then, the production company has switched writers several times. Gossip quickly ciculated about who would play this super heroine. Beyonce Knowles, Rachel Bilson, and Sandra Bullock have all been named at one time or another. All I do know is that I am wicked glad that when former wrestler Chyna was expressing interest in the role, no one took her seriously. Yikes! That would have been scary! In 2005, Joss Whedon was brought on, and after two years and no final draft, he left the project behind. His concept was to shoot in Australia, covering Wonder Womans origins and her love interest/supporting P.I.C. (partner in crime) Steve Trevor. Silver Productions did purchase a script in 2005, but mainly did so that they could maintain the rights, but the script will never see the light of day because it is a period piece, set during World War II.

In 2008, with DC property films, there was new discussion. The film is listed on IMDB as in developement, but no big parts have been cast. There are spoof posters going around that the all american hero will be played by Megan Fox, but that has been shot down by many sources. The thing that I hope they preserve with whomever they cast is the characters body style. Wonder Woman is strong, but curvy at the same time. If they put some skinny little waif who can’t even pick up a piece of wet cardboard into the role the movie will be ruined. There is a womanly dignity to this character. She is about empowerment, love, and showing women that they are strong, beautiful creatures that can do anything. I don’t want them to go all emo about it, but I will be very disappointed if this point is missed completely. So I guess we shall see what happens with our Queen of the leotard… take that Lady Gaga! (and yes, I know Wonder Woman is only a princess!)

Five Projects for DCE to Jump On, Day 1: ‘The Flash’

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On the surface, The Flash may seem too simple of a project to make into a decent movie, but it’s that simplicity of the character that has always intrigued me. As a superhero, The Flash is not complicated. Regardless of which of the four incarnations you reference, The Flash embodies superhuman speed, agility, quick-thinking and intelligence and even the ability to defy certain law of physics, such as being able to vibrate so fast he can walk through walls or leap to alternate dimensions.

For the sake of argument, and popularity, we’ll focus on the most popular incarnation of The Flash. The story of Barry Allen began back in 1956, when DC Comics made the successful decision to modernize it’s most popular characters. In this re-imagining of The Flash, scientist Barry Allen is exposed to some powerful chemical agents when lightning strikes his lab, resulting in an exponentially-enhanced metabolism and physical ability.

A version of Barry Allen’s story line has appeared “on screen” with the 1990 Emmy Award-winning TV mini-series THE FLASH, starring John Wesley Shipp. I personally loved this TV series, as did many, but it really only barely touched the surface of the character. So, crazing to see more, I’ve followed the long and arduous process of getting The Flash on the “big screen” fairly close, reeling every time the project experiences setbacks or obstacles.

This has been one of those DC Comics/Warner Bros projects that has been in developmental Hell for what seems like forever, right up there with Wonder Woman. If there’s one reason above all else that I feel THE FLASH “needs” to be made into a live-action feature film, it’s because it’s one of the few greats that is totally feasible, especially with today’s technical capabilities and vast amount of comic book and special FX talent that is out there ripe for the picking. Compared to other projects like JUSTICE LEAGUE and even the X-MEN, THE FLASH would require far fewer of the big budget bucks, but still offer a great story and a popular franchise platform to run with.

Honestly, if THE FLASH is done respectfully and not ruined by the studio, I see it being just as big a hit, critically and financially, as the IRON MAN franchise is shaping up to be. The Flash is one of the few great DC heroes, aside from Batman, that aren’t bogged down with a God-like story line or   premise that people in general (not just comic book fans) can actually relate to. So, what’s the story going to be? From what I’ve gathered, THE FLASH is likely to be based on the Wally West version, who becomes The Flash while visiting the same crime lab his uncle (Barry Allen) worked. Allen, in this story, has died during an epic battle. [In the Final Crisis storyline, however, Allen returns to life.] I’ve even heard that he becomes The Flash in the same way Allen did, which perhaps seems a bit too convenient.

Regardless, Wally West takes on his uncle’s superhero persona, but finds himself struggling with diminishing powers and rumor has it, possibly also dealing with the mentally unstable Hal Jordan, a long-time friend and incarnation of Green Lantern. Again, I strongly emphasize… THESE ARE MERELY ONLINE RUMORS. I have no validation for these plots points.

The Flash has had his roles in animated projects, including SUPERFRIENDS, TEEN TITANS and JUSTICE LEAGUE. He had a regular part in the 1978 series CHALLENGE OF THE SUPERFRIENDS and had occasional guest appearances on the TV series SMALLVILLE. (Speaking of which, there’s a popular forum debate online lately over whether Superman is faster that The Flash. Not in my opinion, especially when it comes to endurance.)

I believe it was about 2007 when news broke that Warner Bros had tapped Shawn Levy (THE PINK PANTHER, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM) to helm the big screen adaptation of The Flash. I have to say that I get frustrated when director’s with zero experience in films even remotely connected to the genre are considered for major titles such as THE FLASH. This is a project that should be handled seriously, not dumbed down and made into a comedy or a kid’s movie. One of the more recent names to hit the Internet (around 2009) as a potential director was David Dobkin (SHANGHAI KNIGHTS, WEDDING CRASHERS) and, once again, the project is potentially handed over to someone likely to ruin the franchise before it gets started… a la Brett Ratner, who ruins a franchise just by looking at it.

So, who do I feel would be a positive choice for directing THE FLASH?

This one is really tough. First of all, there are many very talented filmmakers out there, many of whom are very versatile. I’ve already ruled out Bryan Singer and Christopher Nolan. No, not because they couldn’t do it! I actually think any three of them could do well. Hey, quit picking on Singer over SUPERMAN RETURNS already. It wasn’t that bad, and he did just fine with the first two X-MEN Movies. No, I rule them out because I find it unlikely they want to pigeon-hole them selves into this genre much more than they already have. Darren Aronofsky almost always comes up in my mind with projects I am interested in, but he can’t do everything and I wonder if he even has any interest in making a superhero movie?

Another factor to consider in this debate would be what the story is and how it’s being approached. This makes a difference. For example, if THE FLASH were to be a PG-13/R-rated comedy, Kevin Smith would be perfect, especially considering his comic book knowledge. However, that’s not where the film is going… RIGHT? OK, that question was directed towards Warner Bros, so please… don’t make that mistake. If they move in a darker direction like David S. Goyer’s script suggested, that combined with a more sci-fi based origin story makes me think Alex Proyas could do THE FLASH justice. The combination of Proyas/Goyer on THE CROW was epic!

Let’s get creative, shall we? What about a younger filmmaker with lots of talent, but hasn’t dipped into the superhero pool yet? As soon as I considered this, the name that came to mind was Rian Johnson. He has the right style, the right ratio of drama to humor and a talent for telling good stories that are smart as well as accessible to broad audiences, even if his films generally aren’t distributed as broadly as they should be. Finally, as I was eyeballing my DVD collection, SHOOT ‘EM UP caught my eye. This was written and directed by Michael Davis and had a very good comic book feel to the movie. I’d love to see him make a superhero movie, but part of my also thinks he’s more suited to direct DEADPOOL.

Perhaps one of the greatest losses this project has endured over time was that of it’s writer. David S. Goyer had been one of the earlier parties involved, which was great because, despite his uncertainty as a director (BLADE: TRINITY, THE UNBORN) he’s an outstanding writer who truly understands what it takes to adapt good comic books into feature films. I present my evidence, exhibits 1-6: THE CROW, BLADE trilogy, BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT. Goyer also has the following prjects in development: X-MEN ORIGINS: MAGNETO, Y: THE LAST MAN and SUPER MAX.

Goyer’s screenplay was said to be “too dark” for Warner Bros, who followed up by saying they also had no intentions of making the film a comedy. I certainly hope not. With Goyer off the project, it’s unclear which scribe (or scribes) will finally get creds for the finished film. Dan Mazeau was attached back in 2009 for a bit, after Warner Bros read his screenplay for JONNY QUEST. Following this, Geoff Johns wrote a new treatment for the film. This was promising, as Johns is actually a comic book writer who has written for The Flash since 2000 and also been an integral writing force within the Green Lantern universe.

Ah, the heated and much-anticipated debate over who shall portray The Flash on film. Well, the popular studio golden boy right now when it comes to superheroes is certainly Ryan Reynolds, who has recently signed on to play Deadpool in his own spin-off (a good choice) and to play Green Lantern (a terrible choice, IMO). He’s played a vampire hunter in BLADE: TRINITY, which was sort of a possible precursor to what we may expect from DEADPOOL. He did bulk up and get ripped for these roles, but The Flash is NOT a character I connect with Ryan Reynolds… at all! Then again, some feel that if the story follows that of Wally West, Reynolds has the right personality, but that’s not enough for me. Besides, he’s already signed to play Green Lantern, so you can’t exactly have the same actor play two superheroes that existed withing the same era of the DC universe. It just wouldn’t be right!

In the past, some very “interesting” names have emerged, including Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie?) who actually voiced The Flash in the animated film JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER, and Scott Porter (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) who, surprisingly, struck me as a good choice in terms of appearance and relative low-key stardom. Neil Patrick Harris is a long-shot that might actually work, given the story is properly written, but I just can’t imagine Warner Bros giving NPH a starring role in a big budget project such as THE FLASH.

So, who do I think would be an appropriate casting choice for THE FLASH?

Personally, I though John Wesley Shipp was great as The Flash, but clearly that’s not an option. I’ve toyed with Bale in the past, but he’s a bit too serious and he’s also Batman, so the previous argument I applied the Reynolds knocks Bale out, not that I was serious about him anyway. As much as I hate to say it, Matthew McConaughey could make a decent Flash, but this is all assuming we have to go with a major star. As I mentioned earlier, I like digging for the rising stars for superhero roles. Jensen Ackles lost in the battle for Green Lantern as a popular underdog, so maybe could have a shot at The Flash, but I don’t think he’s quite right.

I saw Jerry O’Connell mentioned on a forum somewhere, which made me laugh, but then I thought about the idea of someone like O’Connell or even Jason Bateman. After all, the character is supposed to be a really smart scientist dude, but funny also… either of them would be good choices, but they would have to buff up a little to make the costume look good. Finally, Brad Piit keeps getting mentioned for virtually every new superhero movie that arises… Thor, Captain America, etc, etc… ENOUGH! Pitt should NEVER play a superhero. He’s too big, and more importantly, too damn talented. I want to see him do other kinds of movies, not comic book movies.