Realism and the Superhero Movie/Movement or Why Teen Titans won't be a live-action feature film
The predominating cinematic trend for superhero movies has recently been one of realism; this especially true for DC films. Marvel films tend to be a little tongue-in-cheek making them enjoyable for (i.e. marketable to) the whole family, while DC’s films have been gritty, dark and at times esthetically breathtaking.
The few characters that have gone slightly against the grain on this have been the Green Lantern and the Fantastic Four franchise, which neither of those fared as well as the Dark Knight trilogy. The Superman reboot wasn’t as profitable either; however it was a definite cinematic change from the days of Christopher Reeve.
So considering this trend for the DC Universe, what does that mean for other characters or groups? Will the Justice League movie happen? Marvel has already assembled the Avengers, but with comedy and snarky comments thrown in the mix. The only comedic relief that would work character-wise for the Justice League (based on the old cartoon series and comic books) would be the Flash and is it possible enough to make him realistic with a splash of humor a la Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. I don’t know. I’m not sure, and who in the world could they get, I’m biased but I’m thinking the voice actor who played him in the 90s cartoon show, Michael Rosenbaum. Still, I sincerely doubt it will happen because you would need to throw in some wit and charm and DC films are not really adept at doing this.
I think it would be in DC’s best interest to follow in Marvel’s footsteps. Give each character in the Justice League its own film and then bring all those legendary, classic superheroes together for a box office explosion. I hope it happens because I would totally watch every character’s film in anticipation of clues and Easter eggs that will lead up to the big team film. If they can pull off the Justice League then they will almost certainly be able to pull off a Teen Titans franchise following the same formula.
A Teen Titans movie franchise would be amazing. The origin stories of Beastboy, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg would be so much fun to watch. Most everybody knows Robin’s backstory so, eh to his, but I’d still go see it. Then getting all of them together to fight a super villain would be amazing! DC! Please! DC is stubborn though, which is admirable, but that won’t put seats in the theaters or money in their pockets. Oh Teen Titans movie…you’re nothing but a geek’s feverish dream.
