I'm Reading Your Stuff: General News and Discussion Thread

[Gothamsknight]

Finally realizing this and Superman Legacy are the only DC films I actually am excited for, with this being my main one. I still see brave and the bold as such an unnecessary movie.

 

[DeadlyWest]

Finally realizing this and Superman Legacy are the only DC films I actually am excited for, with this being my main one. I still see brave and the bold as such an unnecessary movie.

Same boat, honestly. I'll watch Brave and the Bold if it looks good but I'm ride or die Reevesverse and Legacy. Legacy I was sold on the moment they used All Star Superman as the main image to represent it when announced and it sounds like the exact type of Superman movie the world needs right now.

 

[Sawyer]

Finally realizing this and Superman Legacy are the only DC films I actually am excited for, with this being my main one. I still see brave and the bold as such an unnecessary movie.

I don’t really think it’s unnecessary, it’s only natural to want Batman to exist within a shared DC Universe and I think taking Morrison inspiration is a good way to set it apart from what Reeves is doing.

I just think its best to kick that can down the road a bit while Reeves and Pattinson are still doing their thing.

 

[Gothamsknight]

I don’t really think it’s unnecessary, it’s only natural to want Batman to exist within a shared DC Universe and I think taking Morrison inspiration is a good way to set it apart from what Reeves is doing.

I just think its best to kick that can down the road a bit while Reeves and Pattinson are still doing their thing.

Speaking personally, if I don't see Batman interact with other heroes for the next 20 years I wouldn't complain. I don't like the idea of 2 Batman franchises running at the same time. I trust Gunn, but I think the last thing DC should be concerned about right now is trying to connect everything. They need to focus on making a very good Superman movie.

 

[Kane52630]

For those who follow the Trial by Content pod, they're doing a Bat Royal and the poll is up for the best 21st century Batman. Only two get to move on and so far Bale is definitely going in but right now it's between Pattinson and Arnett for 2nd place. Just vote so Affleck doesn't get in.

 

[antsman41]

Will Arnett… seriously people?

Pattinson or bust.

 

[Kane52630]

Hey, I'm fine with Arnett if that means it's not Affleck. The Lego Batman f**kin rules. But yeah, please vote for Pattinson.

Also in case you guys haven't listened to the pods:

 

[squeekness]

I’m gonna need Mora to do promo art for Part II and any sequels we get after that.

Nice. Fantastic art.

 

[Sawyer]

Cruising-influenced storyline in Part II or I riot.

 

[Kane52630]

Part II is just the plot of Killer Joe but with Batman.

 

[Kane52630]

Only a few hours left to vote for Conroy.

 

[Invader Joker]

Literally not even out yet.

Now it is. The GA have made it loud and clear they don't care about anything DC unless it has Batman or Joker in the title. Superman will remain to be seen but it's no wonder they'll be doing two Batmen. They've got no choice. Even with lower budgets they still massively flop

 

[Kane52630]

Hard to market the movie when SAG is on strike.

 

[Invader Joker]

Hard to market the movie when SAG is on strike.

Shazam 2 didn't have SAG striking and it flopped the same way lol DC as a brand is dead especially with lesser known heroes.

 

[Boom]

They're not doing well at marketing these movies as must-see theater experiences. Nothing shown in the Blue Beetle trailers made me think I was getting something that I couldn't otherewise watch at home in something else.

The movie was originally made for HBO Max, and they put minimal marketing into it. Combined with the fact that the movie seems like another formulaic superhero movie in a long line of formulaic superhero movies, it's no wonder to me that this is the outcome.

 

[Lily Adler]

Shazam 2 didn't have SAG striking and it flopped the same way lol DC as a brand is dead especially with lesser known heroes.

Let's all renounce our labels as DC Fans. From now on this place shall be known as Marvel/Batman Hype.

 

[C Prometheus]

They're not doing well at marketing these movies as must-see theater experiences. Nothing shown in the Blue Beetle trailers made me think I was getting something that I couldn't otherewise watch at home in something else.

The movie was originally made for HBO Max, and they put minimal marketing into it. Combined with the fact that the movie seems like another formulaic superhero movie in a long line of formulaic superhero movies, it's no wonder to me that this is the outcome.

While I do think this is likely a factor, I would argue that we are most likely also in the midst of a paradigm shift for the CBM genre as a whole and its standing with general audiences. It's not just that Blue Beetle bombed or the other DC(E)U films that have released so far this year have bombed IMO, it's that we are also seeing the MCU continuing to struggle by and large at the same time.

Obviously it isn't like the genre is entirely dead and that audiences have lost all interest in superheroes suddenly; both GotG Vol 3 and Across the Spider-Verse did really well this year, as did The Batman last year. But I think we might well be at the point where the CBM bubble of the past decade or so has finally popped a bit and the point where general audiences no longer have much interest in full-blown cinematic universes where every new CBM is connected to a larger web and has to go see a superhero they know nothing about yet.

The pendulum might just be swinging back around to where it was in the 90's and 2000's, with audiences primarily wanting self-contained CBMs that primarily focus on well-known and established superheroes.

 

[Gandhi]

Now it is. The GA have made it loud and clear they don't care about anything DC unless it has Batman or Joker in the title. Superman will remain to be seen but it's no wonder they'll be doing two Batmen. They've got no choice. Even with lower budgets they still massively flop

The DC brand has been dead on film outside of Batman since 2019 tbh. After they made such a mess of their cinematic universe, they chose to go with stand-alone films and lesser known characters. However, the first Wonder Woman and Aquaman showed that other characters can make money.

My biggest concerns with the DCU are: 1) Should there be more of a break between the end of the DCEU and the start of the DCU? As of now, there’s going to be an 18 month gap for movies but I think at least Creature Commandos is due to release next year. 2) Is it a good idea for something like The Authority to be one of the first projects released? If it’s part of the shared universe and you’re telling one story then it gives people a reason to go. But as they’re such unknown characters and there’s only going to be a couple of DCU projects prior to their introduction, is anyone going to care or be invested enough to want to go and see it? I do wonder whether they’d be better served prioritising the main characters (Justice League etc) immediately. Although purely from a creative standpoint, I do like and think Gunn is going to provide something different.

 

[RokMeAmadeus]

Only a few hours left to vote for Conroy.

This is what I mean when I say that Battinson doesn't get the amount of love/recognition he deserves. He has his fans, sure, but then there are people who HATE him.

 

[Venom 1988]

This is what I mean when I say that Battinson doesn't get the amount of love/recognition he deserves. He has his fans, sure, but then there are people who HATE him.

A vote for Bale doesn't mean that person hates Patterson. It just means they prefer Bale, that's it. Also he's one percentage away from Keaton, you're gonna tell me people hate Keaton too?

Also it's a Twitter Poll.

 

[RokMeAmadeus]

A vote for Bale doesn't mean that person hates Patterson. It just means they prefer Bale, that's it. Also he's one percentage away from Keaton, you're gonna tell me people hate Keaton too?

Also it's a Twitter Poll.

Fair points but I feel like y'all are trying to gaslight me into thinking what I've seen with my own two eyes ain't real lol. As I said on the B&TB sub forum I see people hating on Pattinson on social media literally all the time. Laugh reacting posts of him, saying things like "he ruined the character", "too skinny", "too emo", "worst Batman" etc etc etc. So no, people legit hate him even after the fact. And it sucks because I genuinely loved him in the role and he's my favorite Batman.

 

[Bayne]

While I do think this is likely a factor, I would argue that we are most likely also in the midst of a paradigm shift for the CBM genre as a whole and its standing with general audiences. It's not just that Blue Beetle bombed or the other DC(E)U films that have released so far this year have bombed IMO, it's that we are also seeing the MCU continuing to struggle by and large at the same time.

Obviously it isn't like the genre is entirely dead and that audiences have lost all interest in superheroes suddenly; both GotG Vol 3 and Across the Spider-Verse did really well this year, as did The Batman last year. But I think we might well be at the point where the CBM bubble of the past decade or so has finally popped a bit and the point where general audiences no longer have much interest in full-blown cinematic universes where every new CBM is connected to a larger web and has to go see a superhero they know nothing about yet.

The pendulum might just be swinging back around to where it was in the 90's and 2000's, with audiences primarily wanting self-contained CBMs that primarily focus on well-known and established superheroes.

The 'struggles' of the MCU are largely exagerrated.

Yeah, Ant-man was one of the worst reviewed cbms in a long time and performed accordingly (albeit, still better than every DCEU movie since Aquaman). We could argue that's a significant change if we believe the MCU used to be 'critic proof' or that critics used to be so moonstruck with Marvel that they went easy on equally bad movies. But that's at best a highly subjective argument.

The rest of Marvel's post-pandemic movies have been clearly succesful. They haven't been phase 3 succesful - but it was total insanity for anyone to expect that to continue uninterrupted after Endgame, and that's without even taking into account the major differences in both Chinese box office (caused by purely political reasons) and Worldwide box office (caused by economic problems related to pandemic aftereffects as well as the war in Ukraine). Compared to phase 2, though, they're still doing damn good. Marvel would've been thrilled if The Winter Soldier had performed as well as Wakanda Forever or if Vol 1. had done the numbers of Vol. 3 or IM3 the numbers of NWH. Dark World doing Love and Thunder numbers would've blown everyone's minds.

 

[Boom]

Every day the AMPTP keeps us from news.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Anyone else have a hard time picking a favorite Batman? Like, right now, I don’t know who is my favorite. Keaton will always hold a place in my heart because seeing Batman ‘89 changed my life when I was a kid. Before that, Superman was my guy and Batman was somewhere behind He-Man and Optimus Prime. But that movie changed all that and suddenly Batman was the ONLY superhero I cared about. Now, my enthusiasm for the film has since waned considerably but I still very much love his portrayal and I think he (arguably) had the best Batman voice and costume in that film. Where he falters a bit is in the fighting (probably more due to the stiff costume than anything else) and not being the hulking colossus that comic book Bruce Wayne is.

Christian Bale was probably my favorite Bruce Wayne; he had the right balance of intensity and idealism that really encapsulated the Bruce that I’ve always wanted to see. And in BB at least he was jacked to the point of looking like he stepped out of the comics, and he was a good fighter even if some of the editing and choreography in the Dark Knight films left something to be desired. Where he falters a bit is with the much-mocked bat voice; there are times when it works but other times he sounds like he has emphysema or something. I wish he had stuck with the voice he used in BB when he first encounters Gordon (before he fully suits up as Batman). His voice was perfect in that scene.

Pattinson was all around great but I think I need to see him evolve a bit more into the fully formed Batman/Bruce Wayne before I can crown him the winner. I understand why he’s not there yet in The Batman and I think it was a good choice because it allows him to have a broader arc in future films. I like that his Batman is the one we see doing the most detective work, and also the one who appears most committed to his relentless crusade. I think he’ll probably take the top spot when all is said and done but for now I have all three of these guys as somewhat even.

Conroy is amazing and I love TAS. His voice might be the only one that surpasses Keaton. RIP.

The rest don’t even register except for Adam West, though I kinda put him in a category all his own since it was such a wildly different era and take on the character. Affleck, Kilmer and Clooney were all abysmal.

 

[Invader Joker]

I read this book, "A Shameful Life" by Ozamu Dasai about a month ago and these particular paragraphs struck me as an interesting way that Matt could approach the Bruce Wayne persona in this sequel if he does decide to go the playboy route which quite frankly I really hope he does as seeing how recluse emo Bruce can go from that to playboy businessman seems like an interesting arc. This idea that he can't understand any of the people around him to the extent it basically leaves him dumbfounded, so he decides to craft this entirely fake persona of charisma in order to try to disarm them and to essentially hide in plain sight, as he remains extremely disconnected from everybody in a way that continues to torture him.

"It was to be my final attempt at courting humanity. Even though I lived in abject terror of people, I couldn't abandon them entirely. (...) On the surface, a grin never left my face, but on the inside I was locked in a desperate struggle, walking a tightrope, bathed in sweat, the danger of disaster ever imminent as I entertained them"

You can practically read that in Battinson's voice.


Also seeing how Matt used Kurt Cobain as inspiration for Bruce's portrayal in the first movie, the second one has a really obvious direction he can go, especially given the comparisons he's given towards wanting Bruce to feel like a member of the Kennedy family or the royals:

John F. Kennedy Jr. - Wikipedia