NEWS; Gunning down the Snyderverse UPDATE Cavill gets the Kryptonite handshake!

[AnotherGuy]

Yeah, I don't know how central "exuding threat* is central to Superman, though. Batman, sure - his persona is all about intimidation. But Superman is a farmboy and Boy Scout - his defining characterisntic is making people feel safe, not making them feel threatened.

That is fair.
I'm imagining the threat to be against far more serious opponents than those within the Batman Rogues Gallery. I'm also thinking of an older Superman, suffered more loss, less patient, with his farm boy and boy scout days far behind him - closer to Kingdom Come than The Adventure of Lois and Clark.

 

[Umbran]

I'm also thinking of an older Superman, suffered more loss, less patient, with his farm boy and boy scout days far behind him - closer to Kingdom Come than The Adventure of Lois and Clark.

The tendency to want to see optimism and values broken and left behind is part of the problem with the DC cinematic work at this point, rather than what will save it.

 

[Umbran]

Yeah, maybe it would be better described as "presence." He has a commanding presence that at once makes people pay attention, and feel safe. It's something that he hides in his schlumpy Clark Kent persona.

Yeah, I can agree to that - presence, certainly. I'd even go with him having a certain aura of strength about him. But Superman is not typically supposed to be menacing. That's Bats' job.

 

[Ryujin]

Yeah, I can agree to that - presence, certainly. I'd even go with him having a certain aura of strength about him. But Superman is not typically supposed to be menacing. That's Bats' job.

There's a term that was used by Doc Smith in his "Lensmen" series, that I think fits; The Look of Eagles. It's the sort of thing that I associate with some of the early Apollo astronauts. A commanding presence and overwhelming sense of competence.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

He's... kind of one note these days. It is all the same sort of comedy. So, I'm not at all sure he's a good leader for a stable of characters who should be handled with different styles, many of which aren't all that intrinsically funny.

Because, if he does a Justice League that is basically the Suicide Squad or Guardians of the Galaxy, that's not going to be a good thing.

In a general sense Gunn has always done basically the same thing his whole career—edgy action comedy—so saying he's
"one note these days" seems like a misread to me. The guy who did Super is the guy who did The Suicide Squad. But he's also never had this sort of position, so judging him as a producer and studio co-head based on his track record as a writer and director seems a little odd to me.

However, imo his stuff isn't as one-note as you're saying. There are shades and differences in there. Peacemaker is a pretty big departure from Guardians of the Galaxy—way more cynical about power, but also a lot more vicious in its humor and violence. And I'd argue that he knows how to do action, and more importantly action with stakes. To me, that's what's missing from nearly all superhero movies. Action without stakes is just more hazy CGI splatter.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Absolutely, MCU has pretty much cornered the Humourous Action Spectacle market and even if Gunnis willing to go R-rated, making DC Humourous Action Spectacles would be absolutely the worst idea.

...did you watch Peacemaker? About as hard-R as it gets, and that series is arguably what landed him this new role.

I feel like if we're going to weigh in on this stuff, it's helpful to know the stuff we're opining about.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

Maybe so, as I see it in light of things like the 1977 "The Amazing Spiderman" TV series and that I actually like Corman's schlock style.

In case some haven't already seen it...

TRAILER


FULL MOVIE

For sure, if Corman's FF movie had come out in the late 70's or even in the 80's I'd think it was a charming micro-budget schlockfest. But it was supposed to be released in 1994. I saw more competent student films in that era.

 

[Ryujin]

In a general sense Gunn has always done basically the same thing his whole career—edgy action comedy—so saying he's
"one note these days" seems like a misread to me. The guy who did Super is the guy who did The Suicide Squad. But he's also never had this sort of position, so judging him as a producer and studio co-head based on his track record as a writer and director seems a little odd to me.

However, imo his stuff isn't as one-note as you're saying. There are shades and differences in there. Peacemaker is a pretty big departure from Guardians of the Galaxy—way more cynical about power, but also a lot more vicious in its humor and violence. And I'd argue that he knows how to do action, and more importantly action with stakes. To me, that's what's missing from nearly all superhero movies. Action without stakes is just more hazy CGI splatter.

He also knows how to do straight-up comedy, with a patina of superhero; "The Specials."

 

[Grendel_Khan]

He also knows how to do straight-up comedy, with a patina of superhero; "The Specials."

Great point. Plus if we're going strictly by track record, when Kevin Feige muscled the MCU into existence he hadn't written or directed any movies, and his seven most recent producer credits included such winners as Blade: Trinity, X-Men: The Last Stand, those two Fantastic Four movies, and Elektra. A cold streak of epic proportions.

You just don't know what someone's going to do as a producer, but I stand by the fact that Gunn is at least an interesting creator who doesn't care about pissing people off.

 

[ART!]

It sounds like Dwayne Johnson is optimistic/hopeful about Black Adam making appearances in future DC movies, and Gunn would be a good person to take advantage of Johnson's talents beyond looking intense and imposing, so maybe there's some hope there.