The reason WB executives refused to delay the original JL and work on it more was that they were at the time in the process of merging with AT&T, and they would lose out on personal bonuses if they didn’t have a big movie to fill that slot before the end of the quarter.

I’d say that likely factors into why they rushed to it in the first place. Probably saying they were actively working on their own Avengers-style movie would have been a strong selling point during negotiations.

 

So... the Peacemaker show on HBO max is shockingly great. Typical James Gunn stuff in terms of plot and humor, but John Cena actually has impressive acting range and it's blowing my mind.

 

I was worried about a two things going into it: that the dialogue would be too James Gunn juvenile dick-jokes, and that they wouldn't have much to do with a character that was basically a comic-relief foil to another bruiser mercenary type in The Suicide Squad. Like, where do you go with a spin-off of such a one-dimensional character?

For the dialogue, it's not quite as bad as I feared -- definitely within my tolerances. For "what do you even do with this character," though, they've really knocked it out of the park so far. The plot is actually good, it looks like we're getting actual character arcs, and you're right, Cena can actually act.

Also his sidekick character is a better satire of the vigilantism of superheroes than full movies or TV shows that were devoted to the concept. And yet I love him and he steals just about every scene he's in.

 

Another really good theme for Batman. The film itself is 2 hours 44 minutes long without ending sequence.

 

Apparently the previous video wasn't official and it's too late to edit the post. This one is official.



Additionally, the scene from the film.



I'm a little conflicted about this Bruce. On the one hand, I like the intensity of him, it's different from other versions. On the other, there is a point that in public he acts as a worry free billionaire to not connect him to the Batman. This guy totally could be considered to be the Batman by pretty much anyone.

 

Personally I’m still getting over the fact that Pattinson is playing Batman and looks good doing it

 

Uhhh.... but what about the whole Darkseid plot?

 

So is James Gunn supposed to be DCU's Kevin Feige?

 

Yes, but he may also sorta be their fall guy. WB is like 40 some billion in debt and they risk having to chop something really expensive out of their portfolio in order to get back in the green.

It'll probably be Lord of the Rings movie rights, but there's also a chance it will be DC.

I feel like they brought him in as "DCU CEO" as a wild card. If he works out and DC stuff starts popping off again, they'll chop LOTR and keep Gunn on as their Feige. If his first few ideas flop, they'll toss DC and blame him for everything.

 

Hmm. Specific thoughts below for those interested, but it's an odd mix of characters and stories. I respect that they seem to be trying something different with at least some of them, even if the specifics of the interpretations don't appeal to me at this point, but overall I'm not super hyped much of this to be honest.

Spoiler

Creature Commandos didn't resonate at all until I looked them up, and while I'm not going to claim to be especially hyped for it, I'll admit that "Suicide Squad with the cast of Universal Horror movies" is a hell of an elevator pitch.

Waller - sure, why not. Not something I'm personally that enthused by, but Waller's a cool character and Viola Davis is a good actress.

Superman: Legacy - I'll reserve judgement until we've seen more detail, but on DC's twitter they mentioned it being about Clark trying to balance his human upbringing and kryptonian heritage, which doesn't exactly sound like a hugely innovative take.

Lanterns - so, I'm not super familiar with the Lanterns beyond the film and their appearances in the Justice League cartoon, and I've not seen True Detective beyond certain clips that tend to circulate the internet. However, taking the Space Cops who beat people up with the power of imagination and making an Earth bound film inspired by what seems to be a pretty dark, intense crime drama sounds like a pretty bold take. Time will tell if it's a good one.

The Authority...is based on a comic that I've heard of. No comment.

Paradise Lost - Wonder Woman meets Game of Thrones sounds awful to me personally, but then I was never a massive fan of GoT, so maybe take that with a pinch of salt.

The Brave and the Bold - no strong feelings beyond relief it's not going to be another origin story.

Booster Gold...is based on a character that I've heard of. No comment.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow - the comic it's going to be based on was pretty good, so fairly optimistic about this tbf.

Swamp Thing...see Booster Gold and the Authority, above.

 

I'm really annoyed by the Batman route. Jumping straight to Damian means it's unlikely we're ever going to see a solid Dick Grayson/Jason Todd/ Tim Drake era. There's so much character growth and development that's lost there as a result.

Also, Gunn calling Damian his "Favorite robin" doesn't fill me with hope that he gets DC.

 

I doubt we will even get Batman movie series long enough to make Robin eras, but maybe one day we will finally get a prestige TV Show that could do that. I'm actually surprised that it hasn't happened yet since you can easily get a quality 10 episodes season with a budget of other big TV Shows especially if you focus on his detective person instead of an action hero more.

As for the plans, I like the variety of them. Gives them a bigger chance that something will be exactly what the audience wants and a big hit. The only problem will be if the first projects aren't really that popular. WB probably will panic and cancel them even if they aren't that bad. They simply don't have money right now to risk. I wouldn't be surprised if they will either sold DC or at least movies and TV Shows' rights to someone else then.

 

I'd dig an HBO Batman series. Make it DC Elseworlds or something.

 

This actually doesn't look bad.

 

I'll watch it just for Michael Keaton.

 

NGL that looks legit dope and I look forward to seeing it in cinemas.

I still miss Cavill as Supes tho.

 

That looks really fun to be honest.

 

Looks good enough that I'm even more annoyed about whole Ezra Miller thing. At least the Hawaii memes are funny, if somewhat dark.

The fact that this movie, which is supposed to set up the new chapter of the DC films, borrows so heavily from Man of Steel definitely feels a bit awkward in light of Gunn deciding not to bring Cavill back. That movie deserved a sequel, I still think the Smallville fight (especially the part with Faora, who I hear is back for the Flash) has some of the best superhero fight CGI and choreography in a movie to date. If the Flash takes inspiration from that for the Kryptonian action scenes, I might have to check it out in spite of the whole repeated assaulter main actor thing. Probably not though, would feel a lot more comfortable doing so if they announced they weren't going to be bringing them back for sequels.

 

I think you can give it a chance for all the other hardworking and talented people who also worked on the movie.

I understand the main actor has a lot of issues. But why should one dipshit diminish the work of every other person who putting in work on this movie?

 

I do agree, but I have reservations because Ezra Miller literally had highly publicised video footage of them choking a stranger in a bar well before shooting for the film ever began. That isn't the responsibility of the cast and crew who don't get a say in such matters, but it is that of the movie studio who will be primarily the ones profiting if the film does well. They knew what they were getting into with Ezra.

I guess my reservations might stem from somewhere that's a little outdated in 2023 when we're getting superhero movies from guys like Jared Leto, but I'm just not a fan of putting someone so flawed into a role that will be marketed towards children and depicted as a hero. Especially with a DC hero where they're more often depicted as moral paragons than their Marvel analogues, it just leaves a bit of a bad taste in my mouth to have the person playing Barry Allen out there committing crimes in real life. Not to mention how bad some of those crimes allegedly are, but it's hard to say what is actually true outside of the stuff they've actually been convicted for.

If WB wants people to be able to enjoy the movie and let the rest of the cast and crew receive the attention they deserve without feeling like they're helping giving someone a platform who will use it to abuse people, all they have to do is say is they won't be bringing Miller into the new universe like they did for Cavill. I guess it would make for a pretty awkward press run for the movie but whatever, the DCEU was a chaotic mess from the beginning, it will be going out the same way it seems.