[Editor's Note: This is actually a guest article I did for our friends over at NFamousGamers and I am simply posting it here for our readers who may have missed it.]
Batman Beyond
I honestly didn’t even hear about this one until about a month ago and it made me so damn sad. After the debacle that Batman & Robin was, Warner Bros was eager to try and reboot the Batman franchise and make it profitable again (and not just the butt of jokes). So when Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans) pitched them on the idea of a Batman Beyond movie they said go for it. Paul Dini and Alan Burnett were brought on to help write the script and in 2001 they turned it in.
It immediately got shot down. The problem (and beauty of it) was that it was a very R-rated script. WB just couldn’t get on board with that, since they were wanting to kick off a new franchise that would appeal to a larger audience. Yakin dropped out of it not wanting to deal with the headache, but the writers staid on to make a new script while WB continued moving forward with the project. With Keanu Reeves rumored to play Terry McGinnis (the new Batman) and Paul Newman as an elderly Bruce Wayne, it looked like the film might go through. In the end they put the script aside and ended up going with Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins instead.
In the end, they probably made the right choice, but it still sucks. Batman Beyond has always been one of my favorite Batman comics. It follows a younger kid who literally stumbles into the role of Batman. Since it takes place in a future with flying cars and what not, there are some really neat and fresh takes on the Batman dynamic that the current comics just can’t do. Plus, being R-rated would allow the darker side of the Batman universe to shine a little more.
All-in-all it would have been a very unique approach to a franchise in need of a reboot. There still may be some hope though. Apparently Warner Bros still has this script under lock and key, meaning they could still use it if they wanted. And with them already saying they want to do a reboot after TDKR, it might be time to dust it off.
Green Arrow: Escape from Super Max
Does this one not sound familiar to you? Perhaps you may have heard about it from it’s original title which was just Super Max (it got changed in 2008 because of another movie taking the name), and when it was first announced back in 2007 (also the same time they announced plans for a Justice League movie), it had everyone excited.
David Goyer (yeah the co-writer on Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises, and Man of Steel) and Justin Marks penned a script for the film back in 2007 and WB was all but ready to go on it. Everyone who got a peak at the story gushed about the brilliance of the script and how it twisted the same old comic book movie formula into something unique and engaging. The premise is that Green Arrow gets framed for a crime and is placed into a Super Max prison for super-villains (many of whom he helped to put away). So he has to escape this inescapable prison in order to help clear his name.
By far, this film really would have gone a long way towards tying the DC movies together, in that villains like Lex Luthor, the Riddler, and even the Joker were set to make cameo appearances as fellow prisoners. In all, it sounded like an epic take on the superhero genre that could have really taken off, and led to films like Justice League and a more interconnected movie universe (similar to Marvel’s).
The problems started with the writer’s guild strike, which killed the Justice League movie at the same time. The strike put the film on the back burner and when it was over, WB became more focused on The Dark Knight (which was coming out later that year), then Green Lantern, the Superman reboot, and now of course Dark Knight Rises. But there’s still a chance this movie will see the light of day.
Just as early as last year, David Goyer was still saying that the film was being developed, but that other DC properties were priority. Hopefully, this may still happen, as it’s easily the most unique take on a superhero film and would provide a much needed breath of fresh air to the genre.
Shazam
Like many other comic book heroes Captain Marvel (hero of the Shazam comics) has been tyring to get a move made for years. Back in 2003 William Goldman (Princess Bride) even wrote a script for it, but it never got picked up. The latest attempt though happened back in 2007 when John August pitched New Line with a script for it.
They loved the take (which was almost like Big but with super powers) and were set to put the film into production. The story would follow the tale of Billy Baston, a comic loving teenager, who inherits super powers from a wizard, and thus transforms into Captain Marvel. Pete Segal was attached to direct the project, and rumors were that Dwayne Johnson was set to play the villain Black Adam.
Then there was the writer’s strike (I feel like a broken record on this one). Once the strike was over, the project was suddenly over at WB instead of New Line, and they differed on the more light-hearted take on the property. Still John August did a darker/edgier re-write that still sounded awesome that WB liked. Then for seemingly no reason at all, the project just died. It’s not even on the radar anymore. I have a strong feeling that Man of Steel had something to do with it. While Captain Marvel is awesome in his own way, he is very similar to Superman. In fact, if you weren’t a comic book fan, you’d more than likely wouldn’t know the difference between the two and the things they do. Warner Bros probably just decided that they didn’t need both doing essentially the same thing on the big screen.
It’s a shame, because if handled correctly, a Shazam movie could be amazing and would be distinguishable from Superman. Oh well, with this last script shut down, it’s not likely going to happen for several more years, if at all.
Y: The Last Man
If you’re unfamiliar with this comic book series, it follows the character of Yorik as he treks across the country and the world searching for his fiance in a world gone to Hell. Turns out he’s the only survivor of a plague that killed off every single creature with a Y chromosome (meaning he is literally the last man on Earth). While some guys may consider this some sort of fantasy being the only man in a world of women, but it turns into a nightmare.
Comic books and the apocalypse go hand and hand in Hollywood, so this seemed like a no brainer. In fact for a long time, it was pretty much a sure thing. D.J. Caruso had been signed on to direct a script from the comic’s creator Brian Vaughn with even a few cast members being announced.
New Line Cinema (who was handling the property) is who actually killed this project. Not because they didn’t like it, but because they wanted to try and cram it all into one film adaptation. Caruso planned the film as a trilogy in order to better fit the entire story, but the studio wasn’t keen on committing to something like that. Because of those differences Caruso eventually walked away, and New Line hasn’t looked at it since.
It’s sad too, because it’s a far different take on the ‘end of the world’ than what we normally get. Since there are still millions of people left in the world (only women) it’s not a straight up apocalypse movie, but it has a lot of the same elements. It’s a very character driven story that’s deeply engaging. In all, it could have been an epic trilogy of films.
Superman: Flyby
I know, I know. With Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel movie about to begin production I shouldn’t include Superman on this list. However, I desperately wanted to see this Superman film come to pass. First of all it was written by J.J. Abrams...Yeah, that should be enough for a lot of people to get excited. Secondly it featured a very unique story that had never been seen before in the Superman films.
Flyby took the origin of Superman and turned it around. Instead, Krypton never blew up and is in a state of civil war. Jor-El sends his son to Earth in order to fulfill a prophecy and to protect him from Jor-El’s evil brother. The rest of the origin is kind of the same. He’s raised on Earth, falls in love with Lois and once he reveals himself to the world as Superman, Jor-El’s evil brother sends 3 Kryptonians to take him down. In all, there are so many wonderful things that could have been done in this story. The idea of the civil war could have been played out over an all new franchise, and the unique take on the Superman story would have been fun to see.
Warner Bros was actually really gung-ho for this film. They even greenlit the film, hired Brett Ratner to direct (glad that didn’t happen though), and set a Summer 2004 release date. Several people were cast for this film and things looked on track to actually get made. Then Brett Ratner left the production and was quickly replaced by McG. When McG left, J.J. Abrams asked if he could direct it (why didn’t this happen!)...but eventually the studios chose to go with Bryan Singer. Singer of course ditched the J.J. Abrams script and created Superman Returns.
This film had so much potential and if it had happened, may have resulted in a much stronger Superman franchise. Let’s just hope Zack Snyder can bring everything together for Man of Steel.
Well there you have it. While a couple of these films may very well still come to pass, it’s not going to be any time soon. Which is a shame because just based off of the story elements revealed previously, they sounded pretty damn awesome. With studios still latching onto the comic book world for more films, it’s hard to say what will happen next, but I think we can all agree that these films didn’t really get the chance they needed to shine.
-Jordan
