Wonder Woman Will Fly Again

ALERT: We have Wonder Woman! I repeat, we finally have Wonder Woman!

Let’s talk about how much of a big deal this is. Wonder Woman first debuted in 1941 in All Star Comics #8. She was the brainchild of William Moulton Marston and Elizabeth Holloway Marston. The two psychologists wanted to create a superhero who used love AND brawn to fight the bad guys. Elizabeth brilliantly insisted that this superhero be a superheroine, making our girl Wonder Woman the very first female superhero. She got her own comic series in 1942. 

Since then, Wonder Woman has appeared in almost every form of media…except film. Until now, Diana Prince has never showed up in our cinemas. This has developed into a point of contention for many (me included) considering that almost every other super-successful superhero has graced the big screen (some have even appeared too many times…I’m looking at you, Superman). All of these superheroes are male. We have yet to see any female superhero have their own stand-alone film or franchise. Until now. 

Gal Gadot was just announced as Wonder Woman in Zach Snyder’s Batman vs. Superman film, the next feature in Warner Brothers and DC Comic’s Superman re-boot. At long, long last, our Wonder Woman is here….only to be put in a supporting role. It’s certainly a slight setback for many Wonder Woman fans, but it’s not altogether surprising. So here’s where I stand on this matter right now: 

1. WONDER WOMAN IS GOING TO BE IN A FILM….endless excitement
2. Frustration because she’s secondary to the boys club (they have yet to call it Batman vs. Superman vs. Wonder Woman, for a whole host of obvious reasons)
3. Trying patience because she might have a larger role than expected
4. More excitement because Wonder Woman is going to be in what will likely be a major success
5. Even MORE excitement because this could ultimately garner Diana Prince and Gal Gadot her own film (if they are attempting to rival Marvel’s cinematic universe plan)

Yes, Wonder Woman has mostly been written by men, and yes, she has had a difficult history heavily steeped in sexism and very little clothing, but she’s evolved. At this point, she is the strongest woman in the universe and an inspiring feminist and I’m excited to see what Warner Brother’s vision is for this. Despite some uneasiness, I’m going to choose to look at Gal Gadot’s casting and Wonder Woman’s inclusion as an empowering step in the right direction. I have never seen any of Gal Gadot’s work (which mostly includes the Fast and the Furious series) but I am excited for her. It’s the role of a lifetime, and I would like to support her rather than tear her down (as other bloggers have quickly done). So, bring on filming! This film has some problems to work out, but I’m so thrilled to see them moving forward. 

Superman vs. Batman: The Next Big-Budget Joke?

Justin Bieber gave me the scare of my life the other day. He posted the image above on his Instagram account. What seems like an obvious joke is complicated by the presence of a script. It’s the real script, people. Justin Bieber has the real script for the Superman vs. Batman flick… And then, of course, came the purest form of relief: it really was a hoax, part of a (truly brilliant) prank from Funny or Die. Justin Bieber will not be taking on the role of Robin. The world can resume spinning.  

As we continue to thank God every day that Biebs will not be destroying the beloved Robin, this prank still leads to something that has been on my mind recently: stunt casting. Perhaps the most horrifying part about the Bieber prank is that it didn’t totally surprise me. The Superman vs. Batman film has been struggling and I wouldn’t put stunt casting past them. Though they won’t admit it, Warner Brothers must be re-considering their audience. They lost fans from the poorly Man of Steel, they made skeptics of an entire audience with the Affleck casting, and they continue to be out-done by Marvel (see my past post about this). Warner Bros would likely argue that they have a market for this film regardless of these blunders, and perhaps they are right. But you know that they will consider every option to make their film desirable, even if that means reaching into an untapped market for their audience. That audience could very well be the teenage audience, and namely the teenage girl audience. Hence, Bieber.  

So, we can breathe a sigh of relief that that is not happening, but who’s to say that it won’t happen with another teenage idol or even another star with too much baggage to his or her name? The brilliance of the Funny or Die joke lies in the shaky grounds of the Warner Bros wannabe superhero juggernaut. Superman vs. Batman is already a joke that our entire culture can get behind. Snyder’s latest project has faced too much bad press and speculation and it’s barely in pre-production. His only shot to redeem his Man of Steel debut and the entire Warner Brothers/DC credibility is if he reveals a masterful second act: a Superman that does not kill and has a real story to tell, and a Batman that does not replace Christian Bale but instead forms a powerful alternate to a story we all know too well.  

Right now, a masterpiece does not seem very likely. While I wish studios would focus on building a strong story and an excellent film, I know better: they want box office money first, critical success second. And again, we are lead to stunt casting. There are few better ways to ensure box office success than combining a big budget superhero flick with a high-earning star. This is why Bieber’s prank is both hilarious and saddening: we know the nature of the industry too well to view it as an immediate joke. This is exactly the sort of terrible move that a studio with an unpredictable big-budget film would make simply to gain viewers and ensure financial success. 

More and more, we’re seeing big-budget films that seem to be on a fast track to top spot opening weekends are actually missing their mark by serious degrees. We’ve got The Green Lantern, The Green Hornet, After Earth, Elysium, The Lone Ranger, The Mortal Instruments, and many more. These films all hit the right notes with their subject, but they are late additions to stacked categories. We’ve seen all of films before. Studios forget that originality can get you somewhere, and thus we are subjected to formulaic productions that we have seen time and time again. Superman vs. Batman is following this equation a little too closely for most fans liking. By placing Batman into the mix, they are very literally pulling the formula from one film to another. Though I’m hoping for an intriguing story, I already know that nothing I see will surprise me. It’s going to follow the same linear progression of every big-budget film we’ll see in 2014 and 2015. By the time its released, we’re going to be exhausted by this mold. 

I know that my arguments here are a little all over the place, but what I’m ultimately trying to suggest is that Snyder and Warner Brothers need to be incredibly careful as they move further into production. Though stunt casting might seem like a great way to ensure an audience, don’t do it. Though formulaic mega-movies might seem to guarantee box office success, look at some recent flops and don’t assume that your Superman and Batman film will not apply to these errors. This film is already on the fast track to Green Lantern-type mockery. Many are expecting the worst. I’m willing to give them a chance, but every step from here on out will be severely judged by die-hard comic fans and non-interested TV viewers and tweeters. Everyone has an opinion of this film, and it’s up to Snyder and the studio to spin that into positive favor. Both Superman and Batman have the most incredible legacies and Warner Brothers must honor that. 

Superman vs. Batman: The Great Warner Bros/DC Comics Conundrum

If you were on Twitter on August 22nd, you probably saw the first few posts from Entertainment Weekly and Variety and the like announcing that Ben Affleck had been cast as Batman in Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel. If this assumption is true (that you were on Twitter, keeping up with the latest tweets), then you probably saw the immediate (literally immediate – it was so instantaneous it seemed like the whole world was in on it and just hovering their finger over the ‘send’ key until it was announced) response and backlash. It was intense and seemed to obscure pretty much everything else. 

Since the announcement, a lot has been discussed on the topic, but I would like to add my two-sense simply because there’s a few points that I don’t feel have been adequately addressed. Whether Affleck will be a good Batman or not is essentially a moot point. What we must ask instead is why on earth does Affleck even have the chance to play Batman? Because Christian Bale was only signed on for three films with Christopher Nolan. Since both are out of the equation, DC and Warner Bros had to do some quick casting. This, my friends, is the problem. Warner Brothers are playing with the Marvel/Disney equation but they are already too far behind the starting line. Marvel had a vision for their film series – not a single film was produced that did not fit within their multi-phase, epic Superhero adventure. DC/Warner Bros. planned out the Batman series but is now trying to pick up the pieces to fit into a semblance of Marvel’s incredible structure. Though we’ve had multiple indicators all along suggesting their disorganization, this casting is like fitting a puzzle piece from a puppy puzzle set into a Van Gogh puzzle. It will never work both on the surface and internally. 

So the problem then arises: how do DC and Warner Bros. start over? By having to cast another actor as Batman, they are essentially admitting (on some level) their failure. It silently shares that their series concept was not as well-planned as their competitor and that to stay afloat they must re-brand with a new vision. This is not bad, and on some level, it is actually redemptive. Like in their comics, Batman and Superman get to try again. The issue lies further in our emotional appreciation of Batman’s narrative. It seems to be an almost universal truth that we will miss Christian Bale as Batman and Christopher Nolan as his director. The two created a Batman that reflected our times and our worries, giving us a fictional dark hero that provided an honest and strangely real level of support and protection. Warner Brothers claims that Affleck’s Batman will be “an entirely new incarnation of the character,” but Bale’s version still feels too fresh and too present in our collective cultural imagination. 

Superman and Batman are essentially the comic equivalent of Bonnie and Clyde, but DC and Warner Brothers needed to better evaluate the emotional ties to the Dark Knight Trilogy and perhaps waited on putting this famous duo back together on the big screen. I truly believe there is a time and place to explore their heroic stories but I don’t think it’s now. Snyder could have helped expand the DC Universe by bringing around a few characters we haven’t seen in a while. Where’s Wonder Woman (I think I ask this everyday)? Where’s Aquaman? Where’s Green Lantern (please, please, please do not say Ryan Reynolds)? Batman was not the answer. We do desperately need a re-imagined Superman that provides some sense of a hero in our 2013 psyche. And while Man of Steel delivered on very few aspects of this need, his ability’s don’t speak for the needs of our generation. He needs Batman to succeed today, but we’ve already committed ourselves to a different version of Batman. 

So what do we need to see a Superman and Batman film that satisfies all viewers? We need Snyder to re-boot his own series (yes, even after just one film). Man of Steel, though visually stunning, hit very few notes. It lacked an enduring and interesting storyline and saw Superman break his only rule, developing a new Superman that few were actually on board with. We need this Superman to find greater responsibility for the sake of his city and his people. We need him to find his partner in Batman not necessarily because they have similar skills but because they have similar goals. Snyder, DC, and Warner Brothers have an incredible task to deliver that could follow a myriad of different directions. The only way they can succeed is if they stay true to who these characters are and look to re-brand not with the intention of shock value and big box office but with characters that fans know and love.