I’m baffled this story is made yet again, so soon. There are a number of stories that could serve as scathing commentary to current events - just think Julius Cesar - so it’s a bit strange they would use Body Snatchers. If commentary was indeed what they have in mind. At any rate I think I would only want to greenlight this as a studio if it really promised to become an outstanding version.
One has to suspect that this is less about using a genre staple to comment on the current situation but instead a studio executive trying to capitalize on a library title that can be used as a pre-tested brand.
Hey, maybe they are hoping for an extended universe start… a prequel that explains the origins of the body snatchers, other planets that had been colonized, other alien races combatting this one… endless possibilities… unfortunately.
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There’s no doubt that they’re just looking to cash in on the name recognition that the title brings with it. One would just hope, though, that given the current climate being just ripe for such a commentary, that they’d opt to try to make a serious and thoughtful take on the subject matter. That’s too much to ask, no doubt, but nice to think about anyway.
Interesting news to ponder:
Looks like the rumours were right - Affleck wanted out during the problematic development of THE BATMAN, stepped down as director first, was persuaded to stay on with Reeves, but ultimately does not want to stay.
While I enjoyed his work in BATMAN VS SUPERMAN I always think it´s better if an actor wants a role and is not contractually obligated to stay on.
This whole thing is a real shame. First, the real problem with how things have gone thus far with the DC Universe has been that it’s been guided by Zack Snyder. His vision for the franchise just has not been very good. The one thing he did get right, though, was the idea of having an older Batman who has been doing the job for quite a while and is burnt out on the whole thing. Bringing in a fresh creative vision would probably solve much of what currently ails the franchise. Affleck is not the problem at all. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Second, the idea of an Affleck-directed Batman film was something that I was very much looking forward to. Now, at the same time, I can’t wait to see what Reeves has in store for it, as he’s a terrific filmmaker in his own rite, but Affleck is, IMO, one of our best directors working today. Him directing a Batman film could have been something truly special.
And, third, and perhaps worst of all, this means that we’ll probably get some young guy stepping into the role, since the rest of the Justice League is fairly young. There are so many great stories that they could go with featuring an older Batman, but I doubt we’ll get that. Even worse, possibly, we’ll see Affleck’s Batman handing the reigns over to a new Batman, much like in the comics where multiple people took up the mantle of Batman over the years. This is an idea that could work in the comics, and maybe on film if both Wayne and the new Batman had been built up over several films, but would be an absolute disaster if they tried it at this point in the DC Universe.
All around, this whole thing is just a disaster.
I agree: the older Batman was a good idea. And since he is Bruce Wayne, bringing in another character is tricky. Exchanging him simply with a younger Bruce Wayne irritiates the current timeline.
But Affleck seems to have been a cause of major troubles, due to his personal crises. I do understand that WB is ready to let him go. I also don´t consider him such a great directing talent, by the way - he has done some good films but has to prove that he is more than a servicable director for personal projects.
I found BATMAN vs. SUPERMAN not as bad as critics made it sound - but I found the ‘tired’ Batman an odd choice to introduce a new actor. The whole story wasn’t too well thought through and wasted lots of potential. That said I found Affleck pretty good in the role, fittingly seasoned, and I would have vastly preferred if the film had concentrated entirely on Wayne vs. Kent and have left the superhero personas at the cloakroom.
The problem with going ‘tired and old’ with Affleck’s Batman is that the audience gets cheated off seeing him in his prime and that you have little room left to let the character develop from there. And Affleck was good at this, more convincing - IMO - than Bale even.
Seeing Affleck go, if it’s true, is a shame - yet it’s probably for the better if he doesn’t feel well in the project. Addressing it though… Not a fan of this idea.
Affleck responded to the rumors today at Comic-Con. Could be the usual false denial thing, but he does sound pretty emphatic about remaining on board for Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN.
Hopefully he does stay on and this isn’t another denial that will turn out to be a lie later on. Affleck has been the best thing about the DC Universe so far (haven’t seen WONDER WOMAN yet, so can’t comment on it), and him leaving would kill any remaining enthusiasm I have for what they’re doing unless they really made a slam dunk casting decision in replacing him.
In terms of pure escapism, I completely enjoyed BATMAN vs. SUPERMAN . I just went to see Dunkirk yesterday, and The Justice League trailer came up. Best line was: “What’s your superpower?” “I’m rich.” Had me in stitches for several minutes. There was a similar response with my fellow movie-goers.
Not sure if this is the right place for it, but saw this earlier:
I wonder if this will be a completely new thing or if they’ll pick up where T2 ended and move on from there, crafting a new path forward and ultimately an end for the franchise, much in the same way that GENISYS rebooted the timeline while not actually being a reboot.
I didn’t follow the Terminator films after the first two, so I have only a vague idea what they did with them in the meantime. If this is meant to somehow restart the idea I might give it a try. But I suspect the attraction of the story largely rests on Schwarzenegger and without him it’s more or less a sci-fi niche product for die-hard fans.
Same here. I cannot imagine which way this franchise can still go.
A lot of the appeal does lie with Schwarzenegger. If he’s involved, I’ll be there. If not, then it’s a wait and see kind of thing. Supposedly, though, he’s on board for at least the first of the new films.
Baby Driver still hasn’t come out here so I’m looking forward to that even tho I’m not sure I’ll like it…
I’m seeing Valerian tonight.
I am definitely seeing JL as well even tho I am a sceptic for the movie
The Hitman’s Bodyguard looks fun as hell. Thor Ragnarok should be interesting.
I am sooo f-ing hyped for Kingsman!
Blade Runner looks cool as hell, and I am excited for Star Wars as well…
All this PLUS more movies. There are some Oscar movies that I’ll learn more about as we get closer to that season…
Oh I also forgot about Murder at Orient express, that looks fun as well!
The early Dark Tower reviews don’t seem to bode well…
The source material was always something that would have been best explored as a TV series, and once they announced that the film was only going to be 95 minutes, it was pretty certain that the film was going to miss the mark. Not that there’s anything wrong with films of that length, but given that they’re trying to adapt a book series that’s as long as The Dark Tower, it was either going to have to be several lengthy films (similar to The Lord of the Rings) or it was going to have to be a TV series on a premium outlet like HBO, Showtime, Starz, or something like that.
Consider the fact that they’re breaking IT down into two films. The page total for IT is just a fraction of the page total for the entire Dark Tower series, yet it’s getting two feature length films and The Dark Tower clocks in at a meager 95 minutes, despite seemingly trying to cram in a lot from the various books in the series. If it were solely based on The Gunslinger, then that would perhaps be appropriate, but by all accounts, it’s not based solely on that first book.
I knew it was a very tricky tale to tackle for film. The books themselves have several issues, two massive shifts in tone and inner logic, an episodic feel in Drawing of the Three, a slowing of time during the last two books. And all of this on top of the usual problems a King adaptation faces, only a fraction of the content and themes of text and subtext making it to the screen.
The ‘best’ option - if best is the word since it would always have been a compromise - would perhaps have been the cinema/tv combined project, though it was always doubtful if such a closely intertwined project would take off, simply because of the demands on ratings for the tv parts and box office for the films.
When I heard they were now going to start with a single film I was hoping for a Drawing of the Three adaptation. The decision to go instead just with Roland and Jake and pull lots of other elements into it didn’t bode well.
If we’re bold with the source material why not start with the Meijis part of Wizard and Glas? It would have been a fantasy film set entirely in Roland’s world and would have introduced it to us on the go. There’s a tragic love story at the core of it, there are despicable villains, there is friendship and duty and honour on the line. Chronologically it’s the earliest tale and we wouldn’t have needed to cast the old Roland or his ka-tet yet. It’s certainly stuff for the big screen and would have set the tone and atmosphere of the entire series. And depending on performance one could have switched from a fast-forward to The Gunslinger to an adaptation of Wind Through the Keyhole.
As is I suppose The Dark Tower film will bury the series for some time…
The Dark Tower opens in first place, but it looking like it’s ultimately going to bomb at the box office. I wonder how long the TV series will remain in pre-production after the film’s underwhelming debut at the box office.
Interesting. I wasn’t aware the TV series was still on the table. I always thought they could have learned a lot from the MARVEL comic and how they the started tale. From what I’ve seen of the trailers I didn’t yet get the Midworld vibe.