Could a standalone Legion Of Superheroes movie revive the DCEU?

[semper]

It's obvious Warners won't/can't get out of the superhero movie game. It's a license to print money when done correctly (see the MCU).

Obviously Justice League was botched, and there's no general audience excitement for any versions of those characters, except for Wonder Woman.

So now that you've used your main team of heroes (DC's Avengers) and the public have shown they don't care, how can you get the general audience infatuated with Marvel heroes, to care about DC heroes?

My answer: The Legion Of Super-Heroes. One of DC's longest running brands, with thousands of issues worth of story to draw upon. Dozens of heroes spanning the galaxy. Epic sagas, teenage soap opera love triangles (even legacy heroes. Superboy and Supergirl have been members, and they've even had their own Green Lantern). Heck, they can even use Darkseid as a big bad (from the Legion's Great Darkness Saga) as he won't be needed for the Justice League sequel that's never happening.

The Legion is essentially a do-over. A second chance and a clean slate to get things right. The general public don't know much about them, so you are not burdened by expectations. It's like Guardians Of The Galaxy on a far broader scale. It's got the scale of Star Wars, but with far more characters. It's set in the 31st century, so doesn't need to tie directly into the current DCEU. But because The Legion time travel all the time and deal with time/reality warping events as well, the Legion could easily substitute for "Flashpoint" if they want to reboot the rest of the universe set in the 21st century. Just use The Time Trapper as a villain.

The only way The Leigion would work, is with a truly inspired filmmaker and creative team. And they'd have to be someone who is really immersed in the lore and history of the franchise, because it's deeper than Star Trek lore. But if they found some fillmaker to pull this off, I think it could be the gamechanger for DC.

Thoughts?

 

[BH/HHH]

I’ve been saying for ages that they should do a legion of Superheroes movie. Have them recruit a young Clark Kent as they did in the Animated show. It could be such an amazing fun movie. One that appeals to all ages. Just seems a no brainer to me.

 

[Zarex]

Love, love, love the Legion! Futuristic team of super powered young adults recruited from throughout the United Planets? With flight rings and a cool clubhouse? I'm in! The cost may be a concern, and it may be a better fit on HBO with all the relationship drama. But a movie featuring my favorite DC team would be great as well.

 

[semper]

I’ve been saying for ages that they should do a legion of Superheroes movie. Have them recruit a young Clark Kent as they did in the Animated show. It could be such an amazing fun movie. One that appeals to all ages. Just seems a no brainer to me.

Honestly, I think any first Legion movie should be a standalone. You can reference Superboy/Superman as an inspiration for the Legion, but save him for a potential sequel.

I figure they should pick one Legionnaire as an audience surrogate (basically, like Wolverine in the first X-Men). Maybe Ultra Boy. He's cool, handsome, chicks dig him. Has a great set of powers (Superman, but can only use his powers one at a time). He's a rebel gangster on his home planet, gets his powers by flying his ship into a radioactive space whale. Then he gets drafted into the Legion. At first he's this badass cynic who thinks the Legion are bunch of dweebs, but as he fights alongside them, grows to respect and appreciate them. He also has a love interest in Phantom Girl along the way.

This movie is really, really easy to write.

 

[BH/HHH]

Honestly, I think any first Legion movie should be a standalone. You can reference Superboy/Superman as an inspiration for the Legion, but save him for a potential sequel.

I figure they should pick one Legionnaire as an audience surrogate (basically, like Wolverine in the first X-Men). Maybe Ultra Boy. He's cool, handsome, chicks dig him. Has a great set of powers (Superman, but can only use his powers one at a time). He's a rebel gangster on his home planet, gets his powers by flying his ship into a radioactive space whale. Then he gets drafted into the Legion. At first he's this badass cynic who thinks the Legion are bunch of dweebs, but as he fights alongside them, grows to respect and appreciate them. He also has a love interest in Phantom Girl along the way.

This movie is really, really easy to write.

Nah I think you gotta have him that’s part of the appeal.

 

[semper]

Nah I think you gotta have him that’s part of the appeal.

Superman (Boy, whatever) hasn't appeared in a good movie since 1983. At this point, he's Mickey Mouse. An enduring brand that everybody in the world knows, but nobody truly cares about a Mickey Mouse movie.

Let the Legion stand on it's own two feet, like so many Marvel properties have done. I feel the elements exist within the Legion to become a phenomenon in their own right. And in a sequel, they could help make Superman relevant in films again.

 

[Jochimus]

At this point, never mind the DCEU - I think the Legion of Superheroes may be what it's going to take to save Superman as a film franchise in general. It's the one part of his origin story that the live-action movies have ignored, and television (leastwise those Superman TV shows that actually HAVE Superman in them ) can't really do justice to it. Plus a movie chock full of 31st-century action has the potential to get us the hell away from Luthor and/or Zod for the umpteenth time.

But it might require someone who's not only actually willing to commit to doing right by the character and the mythology - even if they're not expressly a fan - but also can impress WB enough with their approach to convince them to throw in the considerable amount of money that a Legion movie would likely require, instead of that same sneering contempt for Big Blue Boy Scouts that was already old and tiresome by the time the '90s themselves actually ended.

 

[semper]

One great thing about The Legion is that DC can introduce an "optimistic" tone, without being accused of ripping off Marvel. The Legion has had incredibly dark moments in it's history (especially the apocalyptic 5 Years Later run...), but generally they've been known for their bright, utopian optimistic outlook. Done correctly, I think audiences could fall in love with the Legion world.

 

[Zarex]

Honestly, I think any first Legion movie should be a standalone. You can reference Superboy/Superman as an inspiration for the Legion, but save him for a potential sequel.

I figure they should pick one Legionnaire as an audience surrogate (basically, like Wolverine in the first X-Men). Maybe Ultra Boy. He's cool, handsome, chicks dig him. Has a great set of powers (Superman, but can only use his powers one at a time). He's a rebel gangster on his home planet, gets his powers by flying his ship into a radioactive space whale. Then he gets drafted into the Legion. At first he's this badass cynic who thinks the Legion are bunch of dweebs, but as he fights alongside them, grows to respect and appreciate them. He also has a love interest in Phantom Girl along the way.

This movie is really, really easy to write.

If you want to use a Wolverine-type as an audience surrogate they should go with Timber Wolf. He was Wolverine decades before Wolverine.

 

[Juan1193]

Honestly, I think any first Legion movie should be a standalone. You can reference Superboy/Superman as an inspiration for the Legion, but save him for a potential sequel.

I figure they should pick one Legionnaire as an audience surrogate (basically, like Wolverine in the first X-Men). Maybe Ultra Boy. He's cool, handsome, chicks dig him. Has a great set of powers (Superman, but can only use his powers one at a time). He's a rebel gangster on his home planet, gets his powers by flying his ship into a radioactive space whale. Then he gets drafted into the Legion. At first he's this badass cynic who thinks the Legion are bunch of dweebs, but as he fights alongside them, grows to respect and appreciate them. He also has a love interest in Phantom Girl along the way.

This movie is really, really easy to write.

Wildfire would be my choice for an audience surrogate. You just have to cast a charismatic actor for the role and you're good to go. Throw in Dawnstar as his love interest and you have a couple the audience will want to root for!

 

[semper]

If you want to use a Wolverine-type as an audience surrogate they should go with Timber Wolf. He was Wolverine decades before Wolverine.

It's too one the nose. You don't want people thinking "this is an Wolverine rip-off", even though Timber Wolf came first. Funnily enough though, Ultra Boy and Timber Wolf are both from the same planet Rimbor, and both have that gang history (Rimbor is basically a criminal planet). They can both occupy that " cynical bad boy" slot, which is great for a lead character. I also think Ultra Boy's powers are more impressive (compared to Timber Wolf) for a lead character in a movie the scale of the Legion wouldd have to be.

 

[writer0327]

Forget the DCEU. Just make good movies.

There isn't a magical set of films, a particular storyline, a character or group of characters that will save the DCEU from itself. The only way to fix this is to make good movies, period. Start with one movie.

I would love the Legion of Superheroes by the way.

 

[semper]

Wildfire would be my choice for an audience surrogate. You just have to cast a charismatic actor for the role and you're good to go. Throw in Dawnstar as his love interest and you have a couple the audience will want to root for!

I think having a walking ball of energy (which would basically be a CGI character) as an audience surrogate is too distracting. Wildfire has the personality to be an audience surrogate, but you need a straight up human visual. Legion is a brand new universe for movie audiences. You don't want to weird them out (and maybe turn them off) by making them follow an energy character for most of the movie.

 

[Rorschach2012]

This could be a clever way to reintroduce Superman.

 

[Jonwo]

Legion would be good but might be seen as a rip off of Guardians. I'd rather see Doom Patrol or the Metal Men first as they can be set in the same world but not be as closely connected.

 

[Powerman34]

This might be a good way to bring in a fresh take on the mythology of Superman while establishing these new characters. I would suggest WB introduce the three core members Lightning Lad Cosmic Boy and Saturn Girl as the first super powered beings that a young Clark met like STAS did. And book end that with the future Legion team responding to whatever time anomaly is being caused in the past. If I were the casting agent for this movie I would get every

 

[TheFlamingCoco]

Forget the DCEU. Just make good movies.

There isn't a magical set of films, a particular storyline, a character or group of characters that will save the DCEU from itself. The only way to fix this is to make good movies, period. Start with one movie.

I would love the Legion of Superheroes by the way.

Yeah, in the past I'd have said a good JL movie could have done it, but honestly DC needs to have some distance.