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I Like the New Lanterns Trailer
Yesterday, we got our first trailer for the new Lanterns TV show, about Green Lanterns Hal Jordan and John Stewart. I’m very excited for this show, because I’m a big fan of everything James Gunn is producing for the DCU. But the trailer looks very odd for a Green Lantern TV show, see if you can spot why.
So yeah, not much Green Lanterning in this supposed Green Lantern TV show. And you know what? I’m fine with that. Doesn’t bother me at all. As much as I enjoy the space cops and the rainbow Lantern corps, I don’t need that in every adaptation. We had that with the Green Lantern movie and it was weird. So if the showrunners and producers want to go in a different direction with this TV show, I’m perfectly fine with that. I am more than willing to let them cook.
The actors come off very well, I really like that snippet of Hal Jordan flying, and I’m confident this will be a good show.
Lanterns is coming to…whatever remains of HBO in August.
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Our First Look at TV’s Green Lanterns
Yesterday, James Gunn shared our first look at Hal Jordan and John Stewart from the upcoming Lanterns TV show. And I think they look great! Kyle Chandler looks awesome as Hal, and Aaron Pierre is a wild kind of intense.
I am fully on board with this being a more grounded show. We saw what a CGI heavy Green Lantern was like on the big screen. So I’m fine with making a grounded, Earth-based detective show in which the main characters also wield these power rings, and occasionally go into space. There’s definitely a way to balance it all, and my faith in James Gunn remains unwavering, even though I know he’s not making Lanterns.
I like this look! And we better get a crossover with Guy Gardner at some point during the first season, is all I gotta say.
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We Have Our TV Green Lanterns!
Rumors have been swirling for weeks now, and yesterday we got final confirmation that Kyle Chandler will play Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre will play John Stewart in the upcoming HBO show Lanterns. Solid casting!
I have very high hopes for this TV show. The Penguin has been awesome so far, largely because it’s a gritty crime drama that just happens to be about the Penguin. So I’m hoping we get a gritty cop drama that just happens to be about the Green Lantern Corps. Granted, it’ll hopefully be more colorful and cosmic than a gritty crime drama, but I have faith that they will make it work. And this is a good cast to make it happen!
And don’t forget Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner in the Superman movie!
We’ve got a good Corps on our hands. Here’s hoping we get even more characters, and even more of the rainbow corps!
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6 Thoughts on DC’s Gods and Monsters
Last week, DC Comics, Warner Bros., James Gunn and Peter Safran announced the opening slate of Gods and Monsters, the first phase of their new DC multimedia campaign. I’m excited. I’ve long felt that DC’s movie catalogue has been mediocre at best, and a new direction and a somewhat clean slate were clearly in order. And I can’t imagine anyone better prepared to handle this new creative endeavor than James Gunn.
At first, I thought of doing a list of the characters I’d like to see going forward. But I don’t think that’d be any fun. I like a lot of what I see, and I’m sure everybody I might suggest has been considered. So I think I’ll just do a List of Six expressing my general thoughts on this opening slate. What am I excited for? What could I care less about? What will I be watching? What will I be skipping? There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s get to it.
Join me after the jump for my thoughts on the new DCU slate of movies and TV shows! And feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments down below.
Read the rest of this entryThe New DC TV and Movie Universe is Here and It Looks Great!
Today was the big day for DC Comics, Warner Bros and the new co-CEOs, James Gunn and Peter Safran. There has been so much swirling around since the pair were announced for a new, slate-clearing take on the DC Universe, all leading up to today: the announcement of the first 10 projects in the new cinematic universe.
Well those projects are here and they look great! I am fully on board with everything announced and look forward to watching all of it in the years ahead! You can check out the official DC on their website, and read my rundown of the projects below. Apparently, all of these movies and shows will have the chance to intermingle actors and characters, which is neat, obviously. They’re also going to be separate from existing projects, like Joker 2, The Batman 2, the Harley Quinn cartoon and those various Teen Titans cartoons.
More power to James Gunn, Peter Safran, DC, Warner Bros. and all of them!
Superman: Legacy – Movie
This is the big ticket item that everything is going to depend on, I bet. The next big Superman movie, focused squarely on Superman. That’s the right way to go, in my opinion. Gunn has indicated that he’s using All-Star Superman as inspiration, and that’s a great idea. That’s the greatest Superman story of all time, in my opinion, and it gets Superman exactly right. So that is the right way to go.
Superman: Legacy will focus on “Superman balancing his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. Superman represents truth, justice and the American way. He is kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old fashioned.”
Gunn is writing the script, will hopefully direct, and it’s already scheduled to come out on July 11, 2025.
Creature Commandos – Show
I’m in. This one looks weird and special, and I am totally in. A cartoon series on HBO Max about a bunch of funky creatures going on military operations? Like Frankenstein and Bridge of Frankenstein and Weasel from Gunn’s Suicide Squad? Count me in without a moment’s hesitation!
Creature Commandos is already fully written by Gunn — awesome — and is already in production for seven episodes.
Waller – Show
Viola Davis is going to return as Amanda Waller to do her own series in between seasons of Peacemaker. So obviously Peacemaker, and perhaps even Gunn’s Suicide Squad, will be part of the new DCU. That’s fine by me. I loved both of those projects and would hate to lose them in this shakeup. And if Gunn needs time to come back for Peacemaker season 2, having the characters spin-off into an HBO Max show about Amanda Waller sounds fine by me.
Lanterns – Show
A big, live action Green Lantern show has been in the works for years with very little to show for it. So Gunn and co. probably took the reins on that and have turned it into Lanterns, a True Detective-style mystery procedural starring Hal Jordan and John Stewart as space cops.
I love the world of the Green Lanterns, and I would love a gritty, live action TV show about them doing cop stuff. So bring it on!
The Authority – Movie
This one should be really interesting. I’ve never read any of the original Authority comics, so I have no real connection to the characters or the team. But they’re a pretty bold choice for another big DC movie in this era. Will audiences be able to just get on board? Will it be too much too soon? Obviously I’m confident they’ll pull this off, but i think this one is their biggest swing in this slate.
Paradise Lost – Show
This is the one I’m least sure about. They’re promising a Game of Thrones-esque show about the birth of Themyscira and the world before Wonder Woman. What were their politics like? How was the society of Amazons formed? These are interesting ideas, but I’m not entirely sure they’ll be able to pull it off. It’s just such a nebulous concept without any real established story behind it.
Remember when DC did the show Krypton? About the politics of Krypton during the time of Superman’s grandfather? Yeah, I don’t either. No word on whether or not Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman is still part of this new slate of projects.
The Brave and the Bold – Movie
I love Robin, you all know that. But I dislike Damian Wayne as Robin, even if he’s apparently James Gunn’s favorite Robin. So this is a mixed bag for me. Obviously, I’ll take any live acton Robin I can get, especially if this is the start of a really Bat-family heavy movie Batman continuity. We’re still going to get The Batman – Part II starring Robert Pattinson; that’s going to be in its own continuity. But The Brave and the Bold will be Batman’s big debut in the new DCU, with a focus on Damian Wayne. Does this mean we’ll get a Dick Grayson as Nightwing cameo? Maybe, who knows.
But yeah, I’m on board. I will gladly watch a movie focused on Damian if it also means we’re getting a movie focused on Robin.
Booster Gold – Show
Yeah, baby! This is one to get really excited about! Booster Gold is going to get a live action TV show on HBO Max and that’s brilliant. It’s going to focus on a “superhero’s imposter syndrome” and that’s a great focus for a show. Booster Gold is such a fun and easy concept to understand. He’s a hapless schmuck from the 30th century who steals a bunch of future tech and travels back in time to the 20th century, where he can use that tech to seem like he has super-powers. Booster Gold should have gotten his own project a long time ago, but in the hands of James Gunn, it should be better than ever possibly anticipated.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow – Movie
Jumping right into a live action Supergirl movie is an interesting choice, though I suppose it’s not that big of a deal, considering we’re jumping right into a Superman movie. They should work well together, especially in establishing shared continuity. Give the new Superman actor an immediate place to show up again before his sequel.
This is going to be based on the recent comic by writer Tom King. I read and enjoyed the first few issues, and then picked up the whole thing in graphic novel form. It’s next on my list for bedtime reading, so I best get to that right away.
Swamp Thing – Movie
Last, but not least, is a new Swamp Thing movie. I don’t have any real connection to the character, so I’m not particularly interested or concerned. There has been a ton of great Swamp Thing content over the years — so I’ve heard — so I’m sure they can come up with a really great story.
Whew! And that is the whole list of shows and movies. They all look pretty great, they all look very diverse is style and superheroes. I’m definitely excited. It’s going to be called “Gods and Monsters,” which is a pretty simplistic title, if you ask me. And it’s also subject to change, if need be.
Whatever happens, I’m on board for all of it!
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Henchman-4-Hire 