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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

GL Movie News!

Aw. I was really, irrationally, hoping they'd go with a John Stewart movie. Still This IS good news.

And Hal does have the easiest/simplest origin to get on film. And is the big cheese with the name recognition and all that. :-) So it really is the best idea. Still I really think a John movie would have been awesome.

I hope they go the same route as Iron Man really. Not storyline, but I really liked how they made the movie really emphasize all of Tony's better traits while still not forgetting that the man can be a total moron sometimes. :-)

Hal better get at least TWO concussions. At LEAST. Or it's not Hal Jordan!

posted by kalinara @ 7:35 AM  

9 Comments:

  • At September 30, 2008 8:07 AM, Blogger LurkerWithout said…

    I don't really see Hal as being the GL with name recognition. While Hal was the GL in "Super-Friends" that was twenty, maybe thirty, years ago. John was the GL for all of "Justice League" and "Justice League Unlimited". Hell, the first GL introduced in the DCAU was Kyle...

    *shrug*

    But either way it doesn't really matter. Outside of comics, how big a name was Ironman before the movie went and made a bazamillion dollars...

    Or even other more obscure comics-to-film projects taht were box office successes like "Men in Black", "The Mask" or "Hellboy"...

    But really as long as they manage to make Hal "2nd Most Boring Silver-Age Character" Jordan interesting I'm all for this. I'm sure it be done. I mean "The Flash" tv show managed it with Barry Allen and he's like 54% more boring than Hal...

     

  • At September 30, 2008 9:37 AM, Blogger SallyP said…

    Please don't screw this up...please don't screw this up...!

    I wonder if they'll introduce the Corp at the end of the movie? That could lead to all kinds of exciting sequels.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 9:42 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I was hoping for a John Stewart movie as well. :(

     

  • At September 30, 2008 12:49 PM, Blogger Avalon's Willow said…

    John's black. I have no idea why you had any enthusiam at all for the hope of a John Stewart movie. Hollywood has SAID it doesn't believe the American public can follow a main character who isn't at least half white.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 2:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Willow -- There was hope because the mainstream Justice League properties--the stuff that appeals to kids outside of comic book stores--are based off the Cartoon network JLU show, where John's the Green Lantern.

    And I can't believe I'm saying this as a Hal fan, but I think going with him is a mistake because of this. Most of their GL merchandise outside of the direct market is John. Casual fans think of John when they see GL.

     

  • At September 30, 2008 2:05 PM, Blogger kalinara said…

    To be fair, there IS a difference between making the Green Lantern black in an ensemble show and making the lead of the Green Lantern movie black. At least in the eyes of Hollywood.

    I still think a John movie would be awesome though. :-(

     

  • At September 30, 2008 2:22 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    John would be awsome. However, Hal does have the most cohesive origin story already in place that would be easy to use as the basis for a movie. With any of the other human Green Lanterns, it would be too easy to get lost if they chose to stick with something close to their comic book origins. Of course, if they decided something entirely different... that's another matter entirely.

     

  • At October 01, 2008 2:17 AM, Blogger Duskdog said…

    If they've got an eye towards sequels -- and let's be honest, I'm sure they do -- it makes sense to start with Hal, anyway. And he already has a pretty movie-ready origin in place. I think it's just a matter of picking what's easiest to adapt.

    I'm glad they're going with Hal instead, not because I don't want to see a John movie, but because of the unspoken rules governing main characters in hero movies. I think that John as a main character would end up losing all the cool quirks that make him John Stewart (much as I felt the cartoon did occasionally, but that's just my opinion) and turn him into something flat and boring and predictable.

    Hal, of course, might fall into the same trap, but if they're smart they can pull a Tony Stark with him because really, he and Tony are similar characters in a lot of ways. I don't think the same approach would work with John.

    Start with Hal, introduce the Corps at the end of the first movie, and then bring John and Guy into the sequel. Somehow. Please?

     

  • At October 03, 2008 6:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I'm very optimistic for a Green Lantern movie and have been ever since I saw Iron Man. When I walked out of Iron Man, I had a vague feeling that I had just seen the first example of a new and different type of superhero movie that could have a larger appeal to general audiences. Then something clicked inside my head and I realised why I felt that way:

    Tony Stark is an adult.

    Before the movie even starts, he's established, he's successful, he already knows who he is and what his life is about.

    Before now, almost all superhero movies have been stories about adolescence and growing up.

    Peter Parker learns that sometimes selfish choices have unintended consequences and you have to take responsibility for them.

    The X-men learn how to find acceptance in a world that often seems to fear and hate them.

    Bruce Banner learns that you have to control your temper in order to function in society, rather than letting your anger control you.

    These are life lessons that we all have to learn as teenagers in order to grow up and fit in to society. I would argue that even Batman, though an adult, is rooted in the emotional struggle of a nine-year old boy to come to terms with the death of his parents.

    I think Iron Man showed that superhero movies don't have to be about adolescence and growing up, they can be about something else.

    Tony Stark doesn't become Iron Man because his parents die, leaving him on his own. Tony becomes Iron Man because he learns that HE is going to die. He wakes up one morning with shrapnel in his heart and realises that he has fewer days ahead of him that he has behind. He's closer to the grave than he is to the cradle, ...and he hasn't done all the things that he wants to do with his life yet. That is something that most teenagers don't spend time worrying about, but older people in their thirties, forties, or fifties do thing about. Tony doesn't become a superhero as part of his adolescence, he becomes a superhero as part of his mid-life crisis.

    I loved Iron Man, and I walked out of it thinking that it is also a movie that my dad, who is much older would love too. If all superhero movies continue to tell origin stories and all those origin stories are about teenagers "discovering who they are" and "finding their place in the world", the genre risks becoming repetitive and losing the interest of the general viewing public.

    However, if superhero movies can break out of the mold and mix things up but telling stories about more adult characters who already know who they are and become superheroes for other reasons, I think they will be able to appeal to a broader, more mainstream audience.

    So, what does any of this long-winded, tangential rant about Iron Man have to do with a Green Lantern movie? This:

    When I walked out of Iron Man, I suddenly had a very strong urge to see movies about three specific characters who fit the same mold, even though I had never had any interest before that:

    1.) Hal Jordan: Established & Successful Test Pilot
    2.) Dr. Stephen Strange: Establish & Successful Surgeon
    3.) Col. Nick Fury: Establish & Successful Soldier

    So, Woot! Go Green Lantern Movie!

    Honestly, with the amount of top-notch creative story-telling material that Geoff Johns and DC are churning out for the Green Lantern franchise right now, it would be criminal degligence on WB's part if they don't exploit it to make a kick-butt Green Lantern movie. Between Rebirth, Recharge, Sinestro Corps War, Secret Origin, plus the upcoming War of Light and Darkest Night, there's enough material in there to fuel about six really good Green Lantern movies.

     

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