With Warner Bros. and D.C. Entertainment uniting to produce a number of superhero properties stuck in development limbo, everyone’s wondered what the status is regarding previously mooted titles under the WB. The studio has got moving on a couple of offerings, with “Jonah Hex” slated for next summer and “Green Lantern” poised for a 2011 bow. However, all is quiet on the “Batman” front regarding director Chris Nolan, and the studio has even been testifying in court that they have next to zero interest in another “Superman” installment. With George Miller’s “Justice League: Mortal” also grounded, where does that leave some of DC’s other flagship characters?
Producer Charles Roven (“The Dark Knight”) recently spoke to IGN about his long involvement in “The Flash.” Regarding the Scarlet Speedster: “I was involved at one point with The Flash. And Warner Bros. came to me and said, ‘The work that you’ve been doing hasn’t yet resulted in something that any of us, including the filmmaking team, feel could be greenlit as a movie. We’re trying to accomplish something that takes into account the entire, rich D.C. character world, and we’d like to pull it back. That doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to be a part of it. We just want to take a different kind of approach. Do you mind if we try that?’ If we had something that was really working…”
He says more at the link, including how an original script from David Goyer, with current Green Lantern Ryan Reynolds attached, was shitcanned (surprise face) and how an attempt to come up with an original pitch by director David Dobkin (“The Wedding Crashers”) likely fell on deaf ears. Roven’s statements seem to cement the fact that DC is attempting the world-building currently happening at Marvel Studios, and none of the approaches to “The Flash” are consistent with any ideas the studio has for “Lantern” or any other in-development projects (“Lobo” perhaps?).
We think the problem with this consistent onscreen DC universe, in comparison to Marvel Studios, is one befitting the translation. Since day one, the Marvel universe could pride itself on continuity and science as its touchstones, featuring characters who often interacted regularly, and background stories borne of ludicrous, made-up but still explicable superpower origins. As such, the Marvel Studios films seem to be using military technology, specifically the WWII-developed Super Soldier Serum, as a plot device to introduce audiences into the outlandish world of the characters. Not only has DC been a source of more fantastical beginning stories (many characters come from different worlds, universes or realities) but the comic stories, and probably the films, are hamstrung by retroactive continuity, where standalone stories were re-framed to allow for unrelated stories to be part of a characters’ legacy.
To wit, in the comics, there were a couple of characters who could tap into the Speed Force as the years went on, allowing for multiple characters to don the famous red Flash costume. Because DC was unable to let go of mythology, the Speed Force allowed deceased characters to also travel through time, allowing for further complications towards who could be a definitive Flash. While the mantle of the Flash being passed down naturally lends itself to a franchise, that storytelling device is already being used for “Green Lantern” as Ryan Reynolds plays Hal Jordan, the first of a series of Earthbound Lanterns. It’s the same problem facing Marvel’s “Ant-Man” — will audiences be confused by multiple interpretations of the same character?
As of now, there are no sure things over at D..C Entertainment. “Green Lantern” is slated for a summer where it will compete with “Thor,” “The First Avenger: Captain America,” “Transformers 3,” “Spider-Man 4,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” “Kung-Fu Panda 2,” “Cars 2” and potentially “The Hangover 2.” If the Martin Campbell-directed actioner can’t find an audience, the onscreen D.C. universe might be grounded before it can ever take flight.
Update: Maybe not so fast? And or damage control? You decide. Current screenwriter, Dan Mazeau had to drop his two cents in to make sure the negative spin doesn’t get out of control.
“Just to chime in on your latest article: The Flash has not been hobbled. Everything is moving forward as planned. I’m still writing the script. Geoff Johns is still consulting. Flash fans have no cause for concern, and — IMO — lots to be excited about.”