MY THOUGHTS ON DC STUDIOS POSSIBILITES

 A few days ago, Jason Momoa walked out of Warner Bros Studios after taking a meeting with the new heads of DC Studios, James Gunn and Peter Safran. Momoa was gleefully excited, praising the duo and WB studio head, David Zaslav.  This was a different tone than we've seen recently from DC actors coming out of their Gunn and Safran meetings. Dwayne Johnson announced after his meeting with the studio duo they would not be moving forward with him as Black Adam at this time.  Before that, the Batgirl movie that was being made for HBO Max will not be released.  Zaslav supposedly feels the film wasn't good enough and would serve the studio better as a tax ride-off. Wonder Woman 3 is not moving forward, and Superman, Henry Cavill, is not coming back for another pass as the Man of Steel. All these things add up to the end of the DCEU that will finish with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in December.  But if Jason Momoa is no longer going to be the King of Atlantis, why is he so giddy?

Let me start off by saying I think Zach Snyder is decent director. But when he was picked to direct a Superman movie, I looked at his previous work and knew this was not the character for him. Warner Bros put him in charge of creating a cinematic universe to rival Marvel, but when the audience response didn't go how they wanted, or the box office numbers, they decided to play hopscotch with reworking The Suicide Squad and Justice League. By then, the damage was done.  In the eyes of general audiences DC's cinematic universe was less than Marvel's, despite having more heavy hitters like Superman and Batman. After years of trying to recover, and new leadership at WB, the DCU looks like it's about to get a fresh start. Zaslav's first priority was establishing its own studio for DC, much like Marvel had got years ago.  Then, putting two superhero movie veterans in charge of it, director James Gunn and producer Peter Safran. Safran has been helping make DC movies for Warner Bros the last few years, and James Gunn is a geek God with films like Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy, Suicide Squad, and Peacemaker. 

So, what could these two have planned? James Gunn is very active on social media and has been talking about the importance of both Superman and Batman in their plans. We know they are looking for a younger actor than Henry Cavill to play a new Superman, in perhaps a Year 2 storyline like The Batman was.  We also know these plans involve Jason Momoa and his mile-wide grin. And we know that Gunn and Safran are meeting with The Batman director, Matt Reeves, and his plans for future related films.  Gunn has also stated that a few (not all) things they are planning will be announced by the end of January. With a little over a week to go, I think I'm part of the group that is drooling to find out what is to come.  But here are some of my ideas.

Superman. Clark Kent. Kal-El. The Man of Steel. The Last Son of Krypton. The Man of Tomorrow. The Big Blue Boy Scout.  I think WB and Zach Snyder were right to start their cinematic universe with a Superman movie.  He's the most important hero of them all. But what they failed to do was capture the hope and fun of the character.  The only time I saw Henry Cavill smile in those three films was when he was beating up Steppenwolf, or in a bathtub with Lois.  Superman is about inspiration. He doesn't want to lead; he wants us to strive for a better world.  Hope. That's what was missing from Zach Snyder's films, and that's what a Superman movie should be about. Hope. The first job I think Gunn and Safran are going to do is put the Big Blue Boy Scout back at the top of the DC food chain. Seeing Superman reveal himself to the world will not open the door for other heroes to step out into the light, but also draw enemies to Earth to face the challenge of the Last Son of Krypton.

Batman. Bruce Wayne. The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. I'll start off by saying, I love The Batman. And I think he has a big enough rogues gallery, and allies, to stay separate from the other DC characters. And that could be what they will do with Reeves Batverse, seeing how it's grounded in a world without super-powered aliens and mythical Gods.  But my fear is that Battinson will get the ax just like all the rest.  Of course, Batman will have to mix it up with the Justice League, but it won't be Robert Pattinson, and are we going to get two Batman character franchises running at the same time? I would like to see Reeves build on his version of The Caped Crusader, but I can see how it could end for the good of starting a new cinematic universe in the DCU.

Jason Momoa. Aquaman. The King of Atlantis.  At least he will be till the end of this year.  As an Aquaman enthusiast, I understood why Momoa was cast in the role years ago. He broke the stereotype of what Aquaman was perceived as.  I get it and I liked Aquaman.  But let me put it to you like this, if Cavill doesn't get to stay, nobody does.  I think the grin on Momoa's face after his DC meeting is because they gave him another part. A meatier, juicer, part. Lobo the space bounty hunter.  Google Lobo and tell me that doesn't look like Jason Momoa.  Watch any media with the character and tell that's not Jason Momoa.  He could be the perfect Lobo, and a linchpin in a new DC cinematic universe. My introduction to the character was in Superman: The Animated Series. In the episode, Lobo was hired to capture the Last Son of Krypton for an intergalactic collector, who collects rare things. I'd say the lone survivor of a dead world counts.  Lobo could come to Earth looking for a young Sups, then drag him out across the galaxy, thus opening Kal-El's eyes to all the beings and threats in the universe.  And Lobo is the exact kind of character James Gunn loves to play with.  If Gunn is writing a Superman movie, I'd say this kind of story may be something he'd write.

And if we step out into the galaxy, we're going to run into space cops, The Green Lantern Corps. Like Batman and his supporting characters, I think the GL's have enough for their own separate franchise. They are so diverse in their membership even if you just include the Earth Lanterns.  And don't get me started on the other color corps's. This mythology is ripe for the telling. 

Kevin Feige once said that the stories of the Marvel characters already exist with decades of publishing.  He and his team just have to adapt them for the screen and the cinematic universe.  That's what Warner Bros has failed to do these last ten years. They need to find out why Superman, Batman, and the rest of the DC pantheon of characters have been imprinted onto fanboys for generations. Why do we love them, and what are their best stories that can be interpreted to reach a wider audience?  It's not an easy code to crack, and I do not envy the clean-up job Gunn and Safran have ahead of them.  But I'm cheering for them, not because I dislike what Zach Snyder did, but because I love these characters and I want more people to love them as I do. Now, everyone hold your breath, cross your fingers, and look, up in the sky.

The Batman: My SPOILER Review

 As far back as I can remember there has always been Batman fanboy outrage.  I was too young to remember the backlash when Mr. Mom was cast for Tim Burton's Batman film.  I however was one of the voices that was against Heath Ledger as the Joker for Christopher Nolan's Batman film.  But I was in favor of Ben Affleck as Batman when he was announced.  And I was also in favor of Robert Pattinson playing the Dark Knight for director Matt Reeves. Some fans were discouraged with Pattinson's casting because they only knew him from the Twilight franchise, and never bothered to watch some of his other films like High Life or Good Time.  With Matt Reeves at the helm and Pattinson starring I knew The Batman was in good hands.

It's year two of Bruce Wayne's mission to instill fear in all the criminals of Gotham City.  It's all he cares about.  This to me this is a bit refreshing compared to other movie interpretations.  It seems like Bruce is always just trying to get laid, from Vicki Vale to Rachel Dawes.  That was also one of the things I liked about Affleck's Batman, any time he was out as Bruce Wayne it was just a way to get more information for Batman.  Pattinson's Bruce was very similar but in a young and inexperienced way compared to Affleck's more seasoned Caped Crusader.  That's my favorite version of the character.  There is no Bruce Wayne, there is only Batman. In this film Bruce is still young and full of rage, thinking he must become what criminals fear, but by the end of the film he realizes he must also be a symbol of hope for the citizen of Gotham.  My only gripe about Pattinson's Batman is that he moves to freely among the people.  He walks into crowded crime scenes and rescue mobs.  I think Batman should only be seen by few and heard by less.  

Paul Dano's Riddler was one of the more terrifying Batman villains we've had on film.  But I wasn't quite sure WHY he was doing what he was doing.  He uncovered a government conspiracy and started killing everyone involved, but why did he care?  Did he actually think he was doing good for the people of Gotham (whom he later had his minions try and kill)? Colin Farrell's Penguin is said to be getting his own HBO Max series, though I'm not sure why.  I mean, I think he was a good character that can be expanded upon in future films, and I look forward to it, but there wasn't much there that had me asking WB executives for a Penguin spin-off series.  I'd rather see him stick to a reoccurring side character in the film franchise.

Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle I knew was going to have big paws to fill.  Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman is legendary, and to me Anne Hathaway was the best part of The Dark Knight Rises.  Seeing how this is still early Batman, and his rogue's gallery, I have to give Kravitz some leniency as I do Pattinson.  In this film Bruce is stilling trying to figure out the whole Batman persona and what he is going to become, and so is Selina.  Catwoman to me oozes confidence, and this version seemed to lack composure.  She was a bit irrational in dealing with the death of her supposed friend and how to deal with her crime boss father (which I wasn't a fan of that story arc).  I'd much rather see Kravitz's Catowman be a skilled burglar who uses Gotham's current condition to her advantage by stealing pretty things from petty people. No, that wasn't a typo. But I thought Pattinson and Kravitz had sexual chemistry.  And that's all we really want between the two of them, right?

The main cast was rounded out by Jeffery Wright as James Gordon and Andy Serkis as Alfred.  Serkis I felt didn't get a lot of screen time, but served his purpose as being a catalyst for Bruce's emotional journey.  I liked how Gordon worked closely with Batman to where is seemed like they were partners. He trusted Batman more than he did some police officers.  I just hope we get more personal with him in future films like we did with Gary Oldman.

The first hour of this film I think I had a smile on my face.  Batman's intro of slowly stepping out of the shadows at the train station and then beating some fools was great. As the story progressed it did start to wain a bit, and I felt like the film could have been 20 minutes shorter.  It almost has as many fake endings as The Return of the King.  The cinematography and sets were great, and I love this Batsuit best out of all of them due to its functionality. This was said to be a darker film than any other Batman film, but aside from a thumb I didn't see anything worse than what we got from The Dark Knight. 

I would like to see it again in theaters, but I still have several films to watch before the Oscars at the end of the month, plus all the TV shows I watch, and by the time I watch it again, The Batman will be on HBO Max and I will be able to pause, rewind, and study things more closely.  I may also deem it worthy to buy a physical copy of depending on its special features.  I'm a sucker for director's commentary.  I like that we got a Batman that feels like how Batman should feel.  He's a character in a dark world where bad things happen.  Though I think there may still need to be another Batman running around cinemas like in the DCEU just for a lighter, or more marketable, Dark Knight.

All the gripes I heard about this film range from not enough Bruce Wayne to having an empty story.  I think those opinions can be valid, but I appreciated the different interpretation Reeves and Warner Bros took with a character that audiences have seen so many times.  And no matter how you feel about The Batman I have no heard one complaint about Robert Pattinson.  He's no longer "that guy from Twilight." He's Batman.