What's the next stage of superhero movie evolution?

[kedrell]

Ok, so for all intents and purposes superhero movies as we now know they were born in 1978 with the first Superman movie.

Then in 1989 the Batman movie franchise landed and brought a darker tone to the genre and proved that there actually WAS a genre and not just one single character who was by himself in being movie-worthy.

Then the next big milestone was either Blade in 1998 or X-Men in 2000 which basically enabled Marvel to finally start making real movies and broke the DC monopoly at theaters.

Then the next logical step started in 2008 with the beginings of a interconnected cinematic universe.

And in 2012 the first big time superhero mash-up will occur.

My question is, what will be the next stage(if there is any) of evolution of this genre in film?

I don't think a JLA movie will do it. It'll be important, sure but it won't be revolutionary since TA got there first. So what WILL be seen as another notch on the evolutionary ladder?

Maybe the first inter-company crossover on film?

What say you?

 

[Airwings]

Moving from regurlar superhero stuff, to more mythology-based and larger-than life adventures (following the trend of fantasy and fairy tale films the last ten years) maybe?? It could be a logical step because the superhero film, as we know it, is more or less always taking place in a major American city. The heroes to be adapted in the next superhero trend, are Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Hawkman. Atleast that is how I see it.
But that kind of superhero film is already out there, it started this year with Thor and Green Lantern.

 

[Lord]

Maybe TV shows with superhero characters set in the same universe as the movies universe?

 

[kedrell]

Maybe TV shows with superhero characters set in the same universe as the movies universe?

Actually I was going to post this aspect as well, although it looks like this is already in the works at Marvel and I was more wanting to try and see even further ahead to what we may not even have been thinking about right now.

 

[Lord]

Yeah, i hope they end up conecting their hulk tv show with the cinematic universe, they said it was unlikelly before but recently it seems like they're actually going to conect them.

If that's not the next step maybe the next step is a comic book adaptation movie that wins a Best Picture oscar, or maybe it's when short stories from forgeted Antology comics from the 30s-70 begin to be adapted or used as inspiration in big movies

 

[Quasimod0]

An underwater superhero movie, superhero movie in space. I dont count green lantern

 

[cherokeesam]

Maybe TV shows with superhero characters set in the same universe as the movies universe?

I agree with this.
To me, TV is a natural for superheroes, whose very nature is episodic in monthly comic books, as opposed to sporadic film serials that get new installments every coupla years or so.

The only problem is the dog-eat-dog nature of TV, which gives the vast majority of shows a very, very short shelf life.

 

[DrCosmic]

There's two possible ways to go with this. We already have genre sliding, with Thor's fantasy setting, Green Lantern's sci-fi setting, Jonax Hex's western setting, we even have comedies, dark as they may be like Super and My Super Ex Girlfriend.

I think the next leaps you're going to find are small successful other genre superhero movies. It may be because of technology and such, but we'll get away from small movies being comedies about non-powered guys and have some simple mutant stories. I think that'd be fun, where superheroes become not just a genre, but a spin you can place on any genre, from romantic comedies, to faux documentaries (Chronicle, coming out this year), to action adventure quest-driven stories (as opposed to good guy vs bad guy stories) and so on.

The other logical step would be to include the outlandish high concept things from comics without apology. Parallel universes, magic and technology side by side, time travel, clones, these types of things. We don't see them in films because the public can't handle them, but I'd like to see them one day integrated into superhero films.

 

[kedrell]

I agree with this.
To me, TV is a natural for superheroes, whose very nature is episodic in monthly comic books, as opposed to sporadic film serials that get new installments every coupla years or so.

The only problem is the dog-eat-dog nature of TV, which gives the vast majority of shows a very, very short shelf life.

I wouldn't say that's the only problem but that's one of them. Also, TV has yet to meet up with the kinds of budgets & SFX required to do the genre justice(unless you just stick to the more easy to handle properties...like Punisher for example). The new Hulk show is gonna be a real test for how far TV has come in this arena. I personally hope they keep the episode count low and focus on each having all the money/time/sfx/effort they need to be great. I don't need 20+ episodes in a season. 10-12 would be just fine, IMO.

 

[Godzilla2014]

There's two possible ways to go with this. We already have genre sliding, with Thor's fantasy setting, Green Lantern's sci-fi setting, Jonax Hex's western setting, we even have comedies, dark as they may be like Super and My Super Ex Girlfriend.

I think the next leaps you're going to find are small successful other genre superhero movies. It may be because of technology and such, but we'll get away from small movies being comedies about non-powered guys and have some simple mutant stories. I think that'd be fun, where superheroes become not just a genre, but a spin you can place on any genre, from romantic comedies, to faux documentaries (Chronicle, coming out this year), to action adventure quest-driven stories (as opposed to good guy vs bad guy stories) and so on.

The other logical step would be to include the outlandish high concept things from comics without apology. Parallel universes, magic and technology side by side, time travel, clones, these types of things. We don't see them in films because the public can't handle them, but I'd like to see them one day integrated into superhero films.

I agree.

 

[prabap61]

i am bored of the super hero type of movie.because the story will be almost same.want to see some new movies

 

[kedrell]

Well there are other genre's of movies out there.

 

[jrd550]

I think ultimately the films will become more standard films that happen to feature a super hero. So for instnace, TDK won't be seen a super hero film but instead a crime drama. X-Men First Class leans more towards a spy thriller than a typical genre film.

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[OsGom]

Television should definitely be a big factor. I envision maybe a Marvel Comics Presents or Marvel Knights type show where they can introduce more diverse characters into the MCU. I would prefer these to find a home on cable rather that network. I'm really looking forward to Cloak & Dagger.

If they do get DD rights back, they should develop a serial adventure/drama around him. Law & Order : MCU Make it dark, gritty and violent. After seeing what they've done with The Walking Dead, I am convinced a DD series could be equally disturbingly awesome.

How about a comedy from the supervillain henchman perspective? I really liked everything they did with this idea in Venture Brothers and always thought the idea had solid legs.

I would personally like to see something special done with Pixar (ala Disney merger). Silver Surfer, Power Pack, X-Babies, Guardian's of the Galaxy (or just Rocket Racoon) but something that takes advantage of that relationship. I think motion capture in the vein of Avatar would be spectacular.

I would like to see them also developing lesser known Marvel characters and stories.

Strikeforce: Morituri - could be incredible.
Longshot - Mojoverse and Spiral in film = Epic. This has the makings of a great superhero black comedy.

 

[Lord]

DC: Earth Two (based on DC's golden age era of Superman, batman, etc)
A series about that would be great, make it set in the 30s and have no fear to try new things, so many possibilities

 

[OsGom]

I had suggested adapting the New Frontier as a launching point for a Justice League movie but it didn't seem well received on DC threads. DC fans are mostly still dreaming of a unified DCU similar to Marvel where Bale, Reynolds and Cavill all appear in a JL movie. I just don't see that happening.

 

[Lord]

Unfortunatelly, unless DC doesn't start their oun films studio instide Warner Bros that will never happen

 

[Red Mask]

I'm hoping superheroines can grow into the next trend.

 

[OsGom]

I'm hoping superheroines can grow into the next trend.

Amen!