Gunn/Safran Ten Year Plan: First Impressions?

[Tommy Tomorrow]

Maybe not the right place for this thread, but it’d get buried on the media board, and there’s been a distinct lack of conversation here the over the last few days. Plus anything these two do will eventually come into Todd’s sight line anyway.

Very few details have emerged. Most everything from the previous regime, except the movies, seem to be on the way out. Seems there’s an eight to ten year “bible” being finished as we speak that will tell an overarching story from movies to TV, to animation. It’s also been inferred that DC’s gaming platforms may also be a part of this. Comics? Do they lead, or do they follow. Gunn is not yet in charge of that content, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

I’m not even sure how this works with an integrated approach to five very distinctive media platforms. Is it thematic, or actual cohesive continuity?

Anyway food for thought/discussion. Doubt we get much more than gossip until next year.

[seditionary]

I’m happy there is ‘a’ plan.

I don’t care if everything or some things are interconnected or whatever as long as they stick with their plan and let directors make the movies as planned.

I think, like comics, having a mainstream continuity and some side stories or even elseworlds is more or less commonplace in the mainstream now.

Just make stuff without producers sticking their greasy fingers into editing and responding to other movie trends or audience reactions.


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[joshsquash729]

Agreed with all of the points above. I'm glad there's finally a long-term plan in place. It can only help their storytelling, rather than it feeling very piecemeal and improvised. We know generally what does and doesn't work, and I think a big part of what could really help things take off is making them matter in the over-arching story. Not that standalone things can't be good- I'd really love for Reeves' Batman movies to be their own thing (and it's nice not having to know X amount of movies worth of story before going to see a new movie)- but lay some groundwork, introduce characters that are gonna stick around a bit and matter. Listen to the fans over the suits- the true fans that have been with the comics for a long time and know who a character is/isn't, versus how to shoehorn them into the mold other studios are doing. Don't just go after trends that are new and popular- stick to the things that make DC what it is. It'll set it apart enough to be distinguishable from all the other big name releases out there.

I know not everyone likes James Gunn, but I've liked pretty much everything he's done, and if nothing else, he knows how to balance humor and comic book shlock with action, stakes, and heart. If nothing else, his movies are FUN, and that's what the DCEU needs. Yes, DC is often generally darker than Marvel, but there's always rays of light in there. His time at Marvel and what he learned there can only help the DCEU.

[seditionary]

I agree with your point about Gunn. I like most of his movies and I think hes a great choice. He always gives his characters real heart


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[MCUCompletionist]

I'm very cautiously excited for the future, I feel like though there needs to be a complete reboot. Announce at some point that Henry will play a new Superman in maybe 2026-2027 and that he'll headline a new official DCU.

If they insist on crossing over Animation and TV aswell make sure Henry (for example) is able to lend his voice for Animation and an occasional cameo for TV if needed.

I'd let Reeves and Pattinson relax in their own world and I'd introduce another Batman again in 2026-ish through Animation, do animated films and have whoever voices him. Play him live-action in JL films or Bat-Family films.

If it was up to me solely, I'd keep everything live-action. Do TV shows for new or Street level characters like Wildcat, Green Arrow, Black Canary, or even small teams like Checkmate, or Teen Titans. I enjoy the wide variety of content DC puts out but a part of me is glad they're trimming some of the HBO and CW shows. The Batman was my favorite comic book project this year by a while but I'd potentially even sacrifice that If we could get an entire UNIVERSE of DC products of that quality. But it's not necessarily my first choice either.

All in all I'm happy they seem to be trying to approach this as a DC project and not just a Warner Film project as they have in the past

[Tommy Tomorrow]

Your average Hollywood producer is a MBA/law degree/accountant type pinhead whose main talent seems to be the ability to identify and exploit the talents of other, far more creative people. For the most part, they look down on comic books and comic fans. Yet believe they can monetize the medium. And the superhero genre.

These are the people who for years thought you could drop Spider-Man or Batman into the real world and it would work. Ya see, civilians don’t wanna see all that comic book elements. Just the name on the marquee.

I think it’s been pretty well established that the closer you can get to the source material (comic books), the better the film/TV show actually does. I think Gunn knows this.

I’m also of the belief that comics should lead, not follow. I’d really like to see Jim Lee and James Gunn form a symbiotic relationship of a sort. As the comics go, so goes the media. At least in my mind. Maybe Gunn can facilitate the return of some of DC’s heavy hitters like Simone, Tynion, Snyder, Lemire, Rucka, Winick, Brubaker and more. There needs to be a system in place where these folks can do their own thing, and still write a DC title or three. I mean if you’re gonna do some adaptations, you need the guys around for script and story consultants anyway. May as well pay ‘em some more and give ‘em a book to write occasionally.

[K_Steel]

Haha.

Don't take anything seriously coming from WBD right now.

It's all up in the air.

Zaslav wants to flip Warner Bros and sell it to Comcast in about 1-2 years from now.

So all of this is subject to drastic change.


Cavill doesn't even have a Superman contract and there's no movement on a Superman film; https://www.thewrap.com/henry-cavill-su ... dc-future/

He just filmed two brief cameo scenes (one for BA, one for Flash) around early Sept in LA.


They could easily reboot all of this in the near future.

[Bashbash99]

Yeah, i find the idea of a long-term plan right now a bit laughable, given WB/Discovery's instability. Plus Gunn's strength lies in dealing with oddball characters (which of course DC has no shortage of) and i think there will be a lot of pressure from the higher ups to focus on the A-listers. But all that said i'm more confident in anything Gunn does than whatever their previous plan was. although i did like some of the films made under Hamada's tenure

[SDcomics]

Gard:

Maybe not the right place for this thread, but it’d get buried on the media board, and there’s been a distinct lack of conversation here the over the last few days. Plus anything these two do will eventually come into Todd’s sight line anyway.

Very few details have emerged. Most everything from the previous regime, except the movies, seem to be on the way out. Seems there’s an eight to ten year “bible” being finished as we speak that will tell an overarching story from movies to TV, to animation. It’s also been inferred that DC’s gaming platforms may also be a part of this. Comics? Do they lead, or do they follow. Gunn is not yet in charge of that content, but I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.

I’m not even sure how this works with an integrated approach to five very distinctive media platforms. Is it thematic, or actual cohesive continuity?

Anyway food for thought/discussion. Doubt we get much more than gossip until next year.

This.

Use Flashpoint to start everything over completely. Throw it all out. End the Snyder/Johns/Berg/Roven era once and for all and begin again.

How about a Superman who's not conflicted about why he's here or what he's supposed to be doing? (And one that didn't kill General Zod?) How about a Batman that's not 50 years old? How about a Wonder Woman who didn't get her start in World War One? That was dumb. Bye, boyfriend (Steve). Bye, best friend (Etta). You died years ago. How about a Flash that's an actual police scientist and not a kid?

And speaking of kids, I hope Gunn and Safran embrace the idea of teenage sidekicks. I want a Teen Titans movie.

Explore the past with the Justice Society of America. Explore the future with the Legion of Superheroes.

Go cosmic with the New Gods, Hawkman and Martian Manhunter.

Espionage with Suicide Squad, Checkmate, Birds of Prey, Secret Six and The Human Target.

Street level with Blue Beetle, Nightwing, Catwoman and Green Arrow.

Supernatural? We got that. Justice League Dark, Phantom Stranger, Swamp Thing, Doctor Fate, Zatanna, John Constantine.

You have an entire UNIVERSE to play with! Do it! Shazam, Doom Patrol, Captain Atom, Supergirl, The Challengers of the Unknown, just do it!

But here's the thing: You have to be true to the source material. Obviously, it's not 1941 or 1959 anymore so changes do have to be made. I get that and it's necessary. There should be more females, more people of color and the LBGTQ needs representation. So they're going to need to change the race, gender and sexual preference of some of the characters.

But other than that: Stay true to the source material! Stick to the stories and personality traits that made these characters icons in the first place. Remember JLU? Remember what a cool little cartoon that was? Dozens and dozens of characters and they were all just like I remember from the stories I loved as a kid. There was an episode with the Seven Soldiers of Victory, for crying out loud. Superman acted like Superman. Lex Luthor acted like Lex Luthor. Green Lantern acted like Green Lantern. Someone at Warners needs to ask themselves this question: How come the cartoon guys get it but the live action guys don't?

And yes, yes, I know. In a few years someone else will own the company and things will change. But let's pretend ... just pretend for a few minutes ... that Gunn and Safran wouldn't have been offered such high salaried positions and asked to take months of their lives to come with a plan just to see it get tossed. Whoever buys Warners is also going to be buying DC. I don't believe that they're not going to want to do something with this fantastic library of characters.

Aanyway, Gard, I hope that answers your question. Thanks! That was just like old times, wasn't it?

[Tommy Tomorrow]

Hey SD, great to see you, virtually anyway. As always, a well thought cogent response, to my blatherings.

Agreed on most points, but my preference would be to see new characters created rather than change older established characters.

The main thing is to reflect the source material. Technology has now advanced to the point where SFX can accurately portray the action in a comic.

Dumbing down TV shows and movies to appeal to the uninitiated by default loses much of the appeal right off the bat. I want a New Gods movie that doesn’t involve the real world in any way.

[Ru_1977]

Swamp Thing, Lobo, The Demon, and Justice League International are always my big hopes. I'm not a huge DC person but I can appreciate a great movie no matter the source material, and the ones I named would be announcements that could potentially knock my socks right through my shoes. If they're handled well (or, you know, close to the aspects I loved about the issues I read), they'd have a good shot at being my favorite comic book movies/shows of all time.

[SDcomics]

If there is indeed a ten year plan and it does come to fruition, there is one thing that needs to happen for it to be a success: Gunn and Safran HAVE to get Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman right.

It starts at the top. The big three are DC's first, best known and most popular characters. If you lead off with great Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman films, then you're off to a great start and that will open the door to everything else.

Zaslav is right. This new interconnected DC Universe of movies doesn't need four Batmans (Batmen?). But it does need one that works.

Everything DC Studios needs is in print right now.

With Superman, I would look to the John Bryne, Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens runs for inspiration. With Wonder Woman, George Perez all the way. With Batman, Steve Englehart/Marshall Rogers or Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams.

Get those three right ... and we'll see a lot more.

[SDcomics]

Swamp Thing, Lobo, The Demon, and Justice League International are always my big hopes. I'm not a huge DC person but I can appreciate a great movie no matter the source material, and the ones I named would be announcements that could potentially knock my socks right through my shoes. If they're handled well (or, you know, close to the aspects I loved about the issues I read), they'd have a good shot at being my favorite comic book movies/shows of all time.

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Jack Kirby's The Demon, the Giffen/DeMatteis JLI and Alan Grant's Lobo are some of the best DC Comics ever produced. I share your hopes.

I love DC and Marvel equally. I was more into DC during the Silver Age and then a Marvel teen during the Bronze Age, but at the end of the day I love them both.

I really, really want DC to succeed. I want to DC to produce films that are just as good as The Infinity Saga. I want a Justice League movie just as good as that first Avengers movie.

If DC can just get their shit together, everyone will win. The fans will win obviously. Marvel will win because competition will force them to up their game. The theater chains will win because more people going to the movies will mean more revenue.

It's in the hands of James Gunn and Peter Safran now. I'm praying they don't have butterfingers.

[AdrienVeidt]

If there is indeed a ten year plan and it does come to fruition, there is one thing that needs to happen for it to be a success: Gunn and Safran HAVE to get Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman right.

Honestly, all they need is Matt Wagner.

[Ru_1977]

Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, Jack Kirby's The Demon, the Giffen/DeMatteis JLI and Alan Grant's Lobo are some of the best DC Comics ever produced. I share your hopes.

I gotta admit I've never read Kirby's Demon, but Alan Grant's run was what got me into the character. I definitely have enjoyed other DC comics, and I'm ready to love any DC movie they put out, but those are the four I'd be annoyingly particular about. Anything else they do, I wouldn't be as rigid about the source material. I just want something enjoyable.