Current Events > Could an original shared superhero film universe work? No comic source material.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Let's say hypothetically that Universal wanted their own DCCU or MCU. They're not licensing out a third party comic company. They're hiring people to create brand new superheroes exclusive to the silver screen.

Two male heroes, one female hero to start. Each receives his or her standalone film with no crossover characters beyond snobbish newscaster from 24-hour American cable news channel and Madam President. The heroes and villains only crossover in the sequels. And the producers want more than just recolors of Batman or Captain Marvel. They're looking to recapture some of the magic of when films like Spider-Man (2002) or Superman: The Movie (1978) were big events to take notice of.

Could it work if the studio played their cards right?

No shared cinematic universe will ever work again.

Not for decades, at least

They had the chance to do this with Unbreakable but blew it

It could absolutely work. In fact, I think they'd have some advantages over Marvel and DC, both of which are a bit hamstrung by not being able to take really big risks with their characters.

it would take decent and creative writers. you'd have to create heroes with staying power, unique enough from what came before to stand out and popular enough to drive success. you'd also have to give them a villain or villains with personal conflicts. the scale can't start too big.

plus, i think you'd have to confidently tone shift away from the current superhero movie flowchart. not every scene needs to have a joke or an explosion, and we don't need 20 supporting characters explaining every little thing. let the moments hit without jerking the audience around.

Donomark posted...

It could absolutely work. In fact, I think they'd have some advantages over Marvel and DC, both of which are a bit hamstrung by not being able to take really big risks with their characters.

That's an interesting thought. A movie made by DC could never kill off Batman halfway through a movie and make Batgirl the new point of focus. An original property could.

LinkDaLunatic posted...

it would take decent and creative writers. you'd have to create heroes with staying power, unique enough from what came before to stand out and popular enough to drive success. you'd also have to give them a villain or villains with personal conflicts with those characters that won't leave the audience wondering 'yeah but couldn't superman/spider-man have just showed up and taken care of this?'. the scale can't start too big.

plus, i think you'd have to confidently tone shift away from the current superhero movie flowchart. not every scene needs to have a joke or an explosion, and we don't need 20 supporting characters explaining every little thing. let the moments hit without jerking the audience around.

Yeah. Current superhero movies (with some exception) have gotten lazy, formulaic, and stale. Given their weaknesses, I think there's an opportunity. The advantage Marvel and DC have is audience investment, brand recognition, and nostalgia. But that can be taken for granted, which is what we're seeing now.

DarkBuster22904 posted...

No shared cinematic universe will ever work again.

Not for decades, at least

Universal Monsters

FortuneCookie posted...

That's an interesting thought. A movie made by DC could never kill off Batman halfway through a movie and make Batgirl the new point of focus. An original property could.

Exactly. Also, modern superhero films can't really tackle politics, which is something the Watchmen comic did well. Like, how cool would it be to see real left-wing, right-wing, communist, anarchist, etc. characters, without the studio pulling any punches? That would be interesting.

Something like Chronicle would work.