Round 2...FIGHT!

So, 2008 was actually a weird entry into the ongoing Marvel vrs DC battle but this time in movie form: The Hulk and Iron Man vrs Batman. Difficult to say who won, probably a score draw if we're honest.

2010, however, is where the shit will go down. Marvel have unveiled their release schedule, as have Warner Bros who own DC. Here it is:

Iron Man 2 (Marvel) : May 7th, 2010
Twilight: Eclipse (Warners) : June 30th, 2010
Thor (Marvel), Inception (Warners, Christopher Nolan's next film) : July 16th, 2010
Jonah Hex (DC/Warners) : August 6th, 2010
Green Lantern (DC/Warners) : December 17th, 2010
The First Avenger: Captain America (Marvel) : May 6th, 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 (Warners), The Avengers (Marvel) : July 15th, 2011

Obviously, the big one is Potter vrs The Avengers. It will be interesting to see if either studio moves the release date for those films, Iron Man/Thor/Captain America are supposed to bulid towards The Avengers so that could have huge heat. More that Potter though?

Bet none of them get any Oscars.

Because THAT'S a good idea.

So, we're all pretty much agreed that Superman Returns didn't quite hit the mark.

But does it really need to be re-booted as a dark version of Superman? Really?

That's not what Superman is about. It should be about wonder and heroics. The best Superman story in the last ten years is Grant Morrison's All Star Superman and that doesn't have to rely on the tired grim and gritty approach to Superheroes. All it does rely on are the core Superman concepts and good writing.

So none of this gritty nonsense please. That's what we have Frank Miller for.

Another fine mess Warner Brothers is dragging us into

So. Warner Brothers have announced the director for the upcoming Justice League movie.

Hmm.

Not sure if this is a good idea. If we take Grant Morrison's JLA as the team benchmark that means this film will star Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and the Martian Manhunter at least. Now, Supes and Bats are sorted out, everyone knows them. Wonder Woman had a TV Series, as did the Flash, but they were cult at best. The others, apart from the Aquaman thing in Entourage, no one will really know about. So let's say you dump GL and the Manhunter and cite budgetary reasons, that's still 3 major origin stories to tell and two recaps in a 2 hour film.

Have these people not seen Spider-Man 3? It's not going to work. Too much story, too little time. They should take a leaf out of Marvel's book with the potential Avengers movie. They've stated that they'll do individual films for the characters first and then, once audience is aware of the characters, make the Avengers film. That's why you've got Iron Man out next year, a Thor movie in the works and a Captain America movie after that.

It makes sense to me.