Will the BIG comic book movie ever be made? (1 Viewer)

[Gary->dee]

We live in a great time for comic book movies. What was once difficult to put on screen and have look right can now be done with ease. We've had Superman, Batman, Spider-man, X-Men, Daredevil, The Hulk and a few other superhero comic book movies and most of them were pretty good. Last night while watching Daredevil with a friend I imagined Spider-Man suddenly appearing in the movie as a cameo. Then a question began to brew in my mind: Will they ever make a movie in which just about every comic book character meets up in one movie? I don't mean in a Freddy vs Jason sense, although there would probably be some fighting between the heros. Imagine a huge 3-4 hour movie(perhaps 2 parts?) in which the X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil, Hulk and more are all in the same movie, possibly fighting for the same cause. Comic books do this all the time. It's common for characters to appear in different comic books.



I know the rights issue could be the biggest stumbling block in a project this big, besides the money, but since Marvel owns the most popular comic book movies I'd think it could actually be done with the right producers. I suppose it would really be asking too much to include the biggest DC properties like Superman and Batman. Then it would be really mind blowing!

So do you think we'll ever see a BIG comic book movie with a whole bunch of characters from different comic book universes in our lifetime or is it just a pipedream?

 

[Raasean Asaad]

I'd settle for an Avengers francise done like X-Men but with the established actors for the parts.

 

[Richard_D_Ramirez]

How 'about an Avengers and JLA team-up? Can imagine the legal issues with that?

8^B

 

[Matt Fig]

I would like to see something like the "Inferno" storyline back in 1989 made into a series of movies or even an ambitious made for TV mini series or weekly series. If the right people are involved in the acting, directing and designing, they might be able to pull something like this off. I, for one, would love to see something like this happen.

 

[Ricardo C]

I doubt it will be done, but I'd love to see movies done based on the two biggest crossovers of recent years: DC Comics's "Kingdom Come", and Marvel Comics' "Onslaught".

Now, before old-school Marvel fans stone me to death, think about it. The Onslaught saga is full of great moments and could work well as a film if the right writer/director team get their hands on it.

Given that Kingdom Come takes place in a fictional incarnation of a fictional universe, I think it's the one with the best chance of getting made. If only Chris Reeve could recover so that he could play the aging Supes... :frowning:

As for Onslaught, what I'd do is get through all the "introductory" movies: X-Men, X2, Hulk, The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man... In the eventual X3, I would introduce Gambit, Nate Gray and Bishop. I'd leave out all references to the Age of Apocalypse and rather make Nate a refugee from Bishop's timeline instead. The concept of the X-traitor is introduced, with Bishop spending the movie suspecting Gambit. The film's main conflict would be Magneto's ruthless assault on mankind. If you thought he was violent in the first two films, wait till you see this one. He starts a chain of catastrophes around the world, causing mass-transport accidents, destroying power plants, perhaps even going as far as blowing up a nuclear power plant.

During the film's climactic battle, he viciously extracts Wolverine's adamantium through his skin pores, causing Prof. X to fly into a rage and turn him into a vegetable. Of course, if you've read the books, I don't need to tell you what would happen in X4 Oh, I do? Well, fine. X4 would be all about Bishop's investigation into the X-traitor, leading up to the realization that the ultra-powerful mutant who's been brutally defeating key characters (no Pyslocke or Juggernaut here, so maybe he can nearly kill Iceman or Storm, or Nightcrawler) is Xavier himself.

This, combined with the movies introducing the other major characters, would lead up to the actual Onslaught movie, which would deal with the events detailed in Uncanny X-Men 334-336 and X-Men 53-56, mainly, plus the "Onslaught vs. the Marvel Universe" finale.

I know it's most likely just fanboy wishful thinking, but it COULD be made to work, if the studios were willing to take the risk together (if one of the films in the series tanked, the whole series could fall apart).

 

[CoreyII]

Hey Richard D Ramirez, I don't know how much of the comic book industry you've been keeping up with but just to wet your appetite, the long awaited JLA/Avengers crossover is coming out next month. It may not be a movie but it is the next best thing.

Personally I can't wait to see Supes/Thor and Batman and Captain America duke it out. My money is on the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight Dectective.

 

[steve_jk]

Can't see how since these characters are all licensed out to different studios.
Secret Wars would be an interesting film.

Although , if you're an old comics fan (well not THAT old),
Starlin's Metamorphisis Odyssey from Epic would make one helluva film.

 

[ThomasC]

I would think that it all comes down to money. Unless it's a dream of Bill Gates or some other billionaire to have a movie like this made, I don't think the studios would be willing to hand over the rights for a movie or two or three.

 

[Richard_D_Ramirez]

Hey Richard D Ramirez, I don't know how much of the comic book industry you've been keeping up with but just to wet your appetite, the long awaited JLA/Avengers crossover is coming out next month. It may not be a movie but it is the next best thing.

It's because of the upcoming book that I brought it up here, hehe... I've been waiting since '83 when the original book was proposed and then shelved (with 21 pages already done!). Oh yeah, I'm eager...

8^B

 

[Joshua_Y]

Kingdom Come would cost like $500mil to make...wait...just give to Peter Jackson...he'll get it done for $300mil!

 

[Seth Paxton]

I would love a 3 hour mini-Secret Wars film. I don't think they could cover all the ground from the mini-series in that time, but they could certainly pack in several characters and subplots between them. For me the drama would need to be no deeper than it was for Spidey or Xmen, if that, but rather just bring out their humanity by how they react to the physical situations. So it would be mostly action, summer popcorn, but not without an eye toward some kind of real character depth behind it.

I think that could fit into a 3hr period. No character intros, no backstory except what comes out naturally in the process, just bam here they are, here's the situation, what do they do about it.

I think that would do pretty good summer biz with decent dialog and great moments of action/drama.

 

[Gary->dee]

just give to Peter Jackson...he'll get it done for $300mil!

Ironically he's one of the first directors I thought of who could undertake such a mammoth production. He's done the fantasy genre and very well at that. I'd like to see him take on this mega comic book movie.

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

They could never make Kingdom Come unless they pared the story down to its basic elements and most familiar characters. It's too heavily rooted in the history of DC Continuity to resonate as well with casual, non-comics-reading moviegoers.

I suppose you could keep the recognizable guys (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Red Robin, Captain Marvel) as well as some of the lesser-known but still somewhat familiar characters (Green Lantern, Hawkman, Flash). You could even explain away the significance of Ibn Al Xaffasch and Nightstar (being the son of Batman and the daughter of Robin). Then you'd need the other necessary characters: the Reverend, the Spectre, Luthor, Gog, etc.. It's a lot of characters, a lot of history, and a lot of story. With only 2-3 hours worth of running time, the filmmakers would have a heck of a lot of cramming to do.

Feh.

Make it a $100 million HBO miniseries. Since HBO is owned by AOL Time Warner, they'd have instant access to whatever DC characters haven't been optioned off already, and pretty good leverage to grab those that have.

Then, HBO should immediately produce an Ambush Bug fulltime series a la Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Sex In The City, etc.. And double-bill it with a return of Not Necessarily The News with the original cast.

I do like Ace the Bat Hound.

 

[Joshua_Y]

Or Peter Jackson could just make Kingdom Come into 2-3 movies...