New Superman Trailer Has Us Looking Up

 It seems as though my last blog post was in regard to the first Superman trailer.  Either I don't post enough, or I must really like Superman.  I think it's a lot of both.  Today the newest trailer for James Gunn's Superman movie dropped online.  This film will help kick off the new DC Comics shared TV & film universe; or DCU.  A lot is riding on this film.  Gunn is not only directing the film but is also head of DC Studios along with Peter Safran.  The ending of the DCEU left a lot of fans disappointed as the films slowly made less and less money.  This film has to bring back "hope" for the DC characters, and in the DC brand.  It has to silence the Snyder fans who think this movie sucks before they even see it.  It has to be good enough to help make the next film, Supergirl, a success.  And it has to help Warner Bros get out of the financial hole it's in.  Everyone is counting on the Man of Steel to save the day.

As this trailer opens, we see Lois interviewing Clark as Superman. We know this film isn't an origin story, but I'm curious if Lois knows Clark's secret identity when the film starts.  They discuss a situation where Superman stopped a war, but not everyone is happy about it.  This idea was present in the DCEU as well, most notably Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  Superman wants to help people, but in the modern political landscape a person cannot just cross borders and do as they like, regardless of how many people they save.  Clark seems to be upset that Lois is pressing him, but I think we all know Lois is just trying to prove a point as to how some people see him.

This also makes me think about other shots like Rick Flagg Sr. and members of The Authority arresting Superman.  The most interesting shot in the trailer to me is Superman being beaten in a cell with Metamorpho behind him.  We also see another person in the cell next to them, and another view shows many cells.  My guess is that any metahuman who doesn't want to take orders from the government is in a cell.  So, I can only dream of all the DC characters that are in there!

We see Lex and the Engineer enter the Fortress of Solitude and destroy some robots and get into a fight with Krypto.  So God help me, if anything happens to that dog!!  I'm curious to know who the guy in the golden armor is.  With some kind of blast, that might be heat vision, he could possibly be another Kryptonian, whether he/she is from this reality, I can't say.

We get a few shots of his parents, Ma and Pa Kent, who were probably the most lackluster part of the trailer for me.  I'm used to Smallville's John Schneider and Annette O'Toole being a big part of Clark's story.  I think they'll serve their purpose, but maybe not a big part in the film. I also don't think either of them will die, at least in this movie.  

We see shots of Cat Grant taking a selfie during a fight, Jimmy and Clark messing around, and Guy Gardner bitch slapping some soldiers.  Remember, this film takes place in world that superheroes have been around for a while, and most have become cynical.  Superman is coming in to show them the light and bring hope to the world. Another shot shows a citizen coming to help Superman after he fell out of the sky, perhaps inspiring people to help others.

The part of the trailer that hook me was when he said "Hey, eyes up here," and took off.  While Superman isn't a funny guy, he likes to keep things light.  One of my pros for the theatrical version of Justice League was Superman post-resurrection.  He had a happy attitude instead of brooding.  As he said, he "liked being alive."  This also makes me think Superman was trying to get the bad guy away from people where they could be hurt, another thing the DCEU never really addressed.

A big thing this trailer told me is what James Gunn has said, this film is very much focused on Superman AND Lois.  Rachel Brosnahan and David Corsenswet's chemistry looks like it'll be good.  We just had four seasons of show about Superman and Lois, and it ended too soon in my opinion. We heard John William's theme, and even got the classic Superman fonts swooshing in to let us know July 11 is gonna be awesome!!! 

 

DC Studios Plans For "A Better Tomorrow"

It's 2013. Henry Cavill is about to make is debut as the newest actor to play Superman. Zack Snyder is about to start his idea for a multi-film storyline that will tell an epic tale. And Warner Bros Studios is about to start counting their money thinking they have a cinematic universe that will rival Marvel Studios at the box office. It's ten years later, and things didn't go as everyone hoped. Henry Cavill isn't playing Superman, Zack Snyder got fired before he could finish his plan, and Warner Bros has fumbled the DC characters to where, now, it's a brand that regular moviegoers no longer trust.

Enter film maker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran. They are the heads of the newly created DC Studios, a division of Warner Bros Studios, created by WB studio head, David Zaslav, in hopes of turning the DC Comic brand into something consumers will think positively of.  Tuesday, James Gunn announced the beginning stages of their plan in regard to the DC Universe moving forward.  A plan that will include theatrical films, HBO Max series, and animated projects.  

This comes as a disappointment to some fans that still believe in the film universe Zack Snyder started, and still campaign for WB to "Restore the Snyderverse" even though I believe Zack Snyder's vision is the reason the DC characters are now held in such low esteem. Anyway, Gunn announced five films and five series that is just a sneak peak in what he has in store for the DCU, which includes some heavy hitters like Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern, but also leaves room for more fringe characters like Creature Commandos, The Authority, and Swamp Thing.  

I liked Henry Cavill as Superman, even though I wasn't as warm on the films he played Superman in.  As my favorite superhero, I didn't agree with some of the story plots. I mean, you're doing the biggest event in comic book history, The Death of Superman, in your second film? In the words of Red Foreman, "Dumbass!"  Just the description of these first few projects makes it seem like Superman could be the lynchpin to the whole universe. Superman could be the beacon of light in a cynical world that has lost its hope, and that is what Superman should be, and what makes me believe that's what we're going to get. 

One of the lesser-known titles announced, The Authority, is like a group we might compare to The Boys super team, The Seven. They are powerful, and get the job done, but they aren't nice about it. Their leaders, Apollo and Midnight, are comparable to Superman and Batman, but as I said, they aren't as nice, and they are lovers. I know The Authority, but not very well. I can very much see them being the catalyst of this universe, and its hopeless tone. But then Superman arrives, decides things need to change, and perhaps he starts to gather his own "super friends" to rival this gang of anti-heroes. 

Included in the films set to release is a Swamp Thing film, and a Supergirl film based on a recent miniseries, Woman of Tomorrow, that I started to read and never finished. The miniseries has a less happy Kara Danvers than we are used too, which again feeds into the overall theme of this universe. But why not? This teenager saw all her friends and family die when Krypton exploded. That'd be a buzzkill to anyone. As for Swamp Thing, I've never been a big fan of the character, but I hope we get some cameos from other would-be Justice League Dark members to set-up that team. 

And no, I did not forget about Batman. The final film planned is The Brave and the Bold, another storyline in this line-up based on the works of Grant Morrison. This film will see the first live-action appearance of Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's blood son, who was raised by The League of Assassins. So, as you can imagine, his morals may be a bit looser than his father's. Gunn promises something we've never seen in a Batman film to date, the appearance of the Bat Family, which hopefully includes appearances by Nightwing, Batgirl, Huntress, Batwoman, and many more.

Over on the TV side, we have the thing I'm least excited for, a Wonder Woman prequel, Paradise Lost, and also Creature Commandos, a titled I've heard of but never read. However, this seems right up James Gunn's alley as it even features a character he's put in one of his films, Weasel. A team full of monsters I believe can also be a tie-in with Swamp Thing. 

Lanterns is a series that will feature the two most famous Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart.  It's said to take place on Earth and be like a True Detective show. Green Lanterns are space cops, but they patrol space. To me, the GL's(like Batman) is a section of the DCU that can stand on its own because of its deep mythology and many characters. To me, Green Lantern is an epic space opera. To widdle it down to a TV series makes me sad because of the budget restraints that will be placed on this show. However, knowing it is connected to feature films gives me hope that the scope of the GL's will expand as this universe of characters does.

Booster Gold is another fan favorite character that DC scholars have been hoping to see on a larger scale. The character is from the future but goes back in time with future tech to make himself seem like a superhero and get famous.  If you want the 411 on BG I recommend the comic series 52, or the Justice League Unlimited episode, The Greatest Story Never Told.

I saved the series Waller for last because I think it raises the most questions about the overall plan. The Flash is said to change the DC films, and I believe that was always its purpose. But I believed it was going to be a hard reboot with different actors. However, with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom coming out after The Flash we still have Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller. Gunn also mentioned Waller including the Peacemaker cast. So, it doesn't seem like a hard reboot if we still have some of the same actors. Henry Cavill was a fan favorite. Why does he not get asked back if other actors are?  My best guess is twofold. 1) Superman is so essential to the new plan they wanted to make sure there was no comparison to the Snyderverse version of Superman to what the first film released will be. 2) We don't yet know all the pieces of this first chapter so, for now, we are left with questions that will just have to be answered later.

Overall, I like what was announced. I think there are a lot of safe choices, mixed with bold choices, to give everyone something to look forward to, and possibly make it distinguishable from Marvel. Of course, I have that fear that it could fail, but I trust James Gunn, and with the characters he has announced I can possible how they will fit into an overall story. Remember, Gunn worked very closely with Kevin Feige, and was almost handed a piece of the MCU kingdom as his own. But now he has been given his own kingdom to create.  And I wanna see what happens.