The Flash (2022)

[Slash Man]

Not lauding the idea of a reboot so soon, however I do think Flashpoint provides the perfect impetus for a reboot. At face value, having a reboot that still retains some continuity seems counterintuitive. But then I remembered how that idea was used to great effect in the aftermath of Crisis on Infinite Earths. I'll readily admit I'm biased because the early years of post-Crisis Batman were some of my favorite Batman stories of all time. And this all just spun out of an excuse to refresh all the comic lines, but selectively keep everything that they liked and worked. It also presented an opportunity to bring new creatives onboard.

Despite being a strong concept, some of the early decisions aren't really working. To start, I think a "Crisis" should have been the conclusion of this first phase of DC movies; it feels incomplete with all that Snyder alluded to in Batman v Superman.

Also, with the aforementioned reboots, you would have an in-universe excuse to recast characters that weren't working well, while keeping those that were. Keeping Miller and ditching Cavill is just laughable.

I'm also still concerned about how this would impact Keaton's legacy as Batman. Here we have cinema icon Michael Keaton playing second fiddle to one of the most unlikable actors still getting screen time. I'm sorry but it's been taxing to separate the art from the artist (as much as I keep hearing that the movie is that good).

[The Dark Knight]

I'm also still concerned about how this would impact Keaton's legacy as Batman. Here we have cinema icon Michael Keaton playing second fiddle to one of the most unlikable actors still getting screen time. I'm sorry but it's been taxing to separate the art from the artist (as much as I keep hearing that the movie is that good).

You raise an interesting matter of perspective. Who is really getting the majority of the attention here? Yes, Miller has been behaving like an animal and that garnered headlines. But have those headlines sunk in to the public consciousness in a deep way? I'm not sure. There's so much raw sewage being pumped out these days that a lot of people are numb to the nonsense or have already tuned out. But regardless, the stories are out there and will always be associated with the production's history.

However, the movie is called The Flash but the buzz has almost exclusively been about Keaton returning after 30 years. He has effectively commandeered another character's film - regardless of whatever his runtime ends up being. I don't think his legacy is at risk. I'm sensing a feeling of completion and celebration, and I get the feeling that will be evident when the trailer hits this month.

[Slash Man]

I just wonder what the average "normie" thinks when considering the marketing of the Flash. Do they care about a powerhouse veteran actor returning to a beloved role, or are they more concerned with the general spectacle of a new superhero film starring fresh faces? Love it or hate it, that general audience is what's going to make or break the movie - us Keaton fans can only take it so far.

The Batgirl film overall hurt my confidence. Back in the day, Keaton was extremely selective with his roles, turning down a literal fortune because he believed Batman Forever was not up to the same standard as the previous films. Flash forward to Batgirl and the story goes that he agreed to appear in a movie that was so bad, releasing it would hurt its studio's brand beyond its potential monetary gains. I know that's probably an oversimplification of things, and it's probably more about him having fun nowadays than living up to being a global phenomenon.

[The Dark Knight]

The Batgirl film overall hurt my confidence. Back in the day, Keaton was extremely selective with his roles, turning down a literal fortune because he believed Batman Forever was not up to the same standard as the previous films. Flash forward to Batgirl and the story goes that he agreed to appear in a movie that was so bad, releasing it would hurt its studio's brand beyond its potential monetary gains. I know that's probably an oversimplification of things, and it's probably more about him having fun nowadays than living up to being a global phenomenon.

If we're talking exclusively about creative merit, it seems the initial pitch for The Flash is what first attracted Keaton back in the first place. If the movie is as good as claimed, his judgement was sound. As for the supposed declining quality that came afterwards with Batgirl, I put that down to the reality of signing up to a long term appearance contact. At the time, The Flash was not a one and done prospect. If Keaton wanted to come back, it had to be via a package. Each different project had its own director with their own vision, and the end product of Batgirl reflects on those creators rather than Keaton. If your name is down for a sizeable number of films your control is going to be reduced to some degree. You're a bit piece in a machine.

I just wonder what the average "normie" thinks when considering the marketing of the Flash. Do they care about a powerhouse veteran actor returning to a beloved role, or are they more concerned with the general spectacle of a new superhero film starring fresh faces? Love it or hate it, that general audience is what's going to make or break the movie - us Keaton fans can only take it so far.

The marketing of the actual content hasn't started yet. Those questions can begin to be answered when the publicity tour hits. What drives up a box office is repeat business and word of mouth, and not many films have that special appeal to me. Content like Black Adam is serviceable but ultimately forgettable, and that was reflected in its end tally. Money is a precious commodity to WB right now, and money can be burned unnecessarily in promotion. But if I were running things, I'd go hard in that direction. There's no point believing your movie is good but not having it seen by as many people as possible. Your actions need to match your words.

[The Laughing Fish]

The Authority movie, the Booster Gold show and the Swamp Thing movie are the only announced things that sound like they have some kind of potential to me. I'm willing to give those projects a day in court. Because they do sound interesting to me.

I find it very hard to believe most of these announcements - such as these - are going to get made when the studio is currently struggling with a huge debt. In fact, naming a dozen of these productions come across as a huge bluff. Not even the MCU put all of their eggs in one basket when they started Phase One - they waited to determine how the first Iron Man turned out before announcing a sequel, Captain America, Thor and Avengers. Their habit of announcing projects like an assembly line only began once the brand was established and extremely lucrative. This DCU nonsense doesn't even have that luxury. Besides, all it takes is for one movie to fail and it's back to the drawing board again.

But the Snyderverse is smithereens. There's not much anyone can do about that anymore.

What I'm about to copy and paste from this article may not bring the Snyderverse back, but it's something to consider if you're troubled by the red flags surrounding Gunn. It was written when TSS came out, but it's just as applicable to the future.

At the end of the day though, the decision is yours.

Should you watch "The Suicide Squad" this weekend? It depends of the kind of person that you want to contribute to, and what kind of behavior you want to enable. In an era where victims take decades to come out due to fear of retaliation (retaliation that is happening right now to negative criticism of The Suicide Squad) it might take years for him to see any accountability.

Only time will tell.

https://r-alejandro-mendez.medium.com/the-uncomfortable-friendship-of-james-gunn-and-huston-huddleston-c1e920258516

[The Laughing Fish]

Also, with the aforementioned reboots, you would have an in-universe excuse to recast characters that weren't working well, while keeping those that were. Keeping Miller and ditching Cavill is just laughable.

This is made even worse when Gunn announced he is sticking by Miller in the press the other day, spinning PR crap about how he needs support. What can I say? Creepy people support each other.

As it's said before, Gunn is hijacking DC based on nepotism. I read earlier today that his brother Sean is expected to play the Weasel again. Apparently, he played him in TSS. And of course, his wife plays Emelia Harcourt, who is outrageously getting more screen time than Cavill, Affleck and Fisher.

I'm also still concerned about how this would impact Keaton's legacy as Batman. Here we have cinema icon Michael Keaton playing second fiddle to one of the most unlikable actors still getting screen time. I'm sorry but it's been taxing to separate the art from the artist (as much as I keep hearing that the movie is that good).

I find it irritating that a chance to get a proper Keaton Batman follow-up, whether it would be a sequel to BR or a Beyond spin-off, got squandered for a Flash film. Which let's face it, they're using Keaton and Affleck as pawns for their own half-assed reboot agendas. Worse, as you correctly pointed out, he is playing second fiddle to another actor who has gained such enormous notoriety.

As far as the movie being "that good"? How many times have we heard shills hyping something up and it's nowhere near what it's cracked up to be? In this case, the bitter taste of alienating the fanbase will be miraculous for this movie to overcome. Not that it would deserve such success.

[eledoremassis02]

The Authority movie, the Booster Gold show and the Swamp Thing movie are the only announced things that sound like they have some kind of potential to me. I'm willing to give those projects a day in court. Because they do sound interesting to me.

I find it very hard to believe most of these announcements - such as these - are going to get made when the studio is currently struggling with a huge debt. In fact, naming a dozen of these productions come across as a huge bluff. Not even the MCU put all of their eggs in one basket when they started Phase One - they waited to determine how the first Iron Man turned out before announcing a sequel, Captain America, Thor and Avengers. Their habit of announcing projects like an assembly line only began once the brand was established and extremely lucrative. This DCU nonsense doesn't even have that luxury. Besides, all it takes is for one movie to fail and it's back to the drawing board again.

But the Snyderverse is smithereens. There's not much anyone can do about that anymore.

What I'm about to copy and paste from this article may not bring the Snyderverse back, but it's something to consider if you're troubled by the red flags surrounding Gunn. It was written when TSS came out, but it's just as applicable to the future.

At the end of the day though, the decision is yours.

Should you watch "The Suicide Squad" this weekend? It depends of the kind of person that you want to contribute to, and what kind of behavior you want to enable. In an era where victims take decades to come out due to fear of retaliation (retaliation that is happening right now to negative criticism of The Suicide Squad) it might take years for him to see any accountability.

Only time will tell.

https://r-alejandro-mendez.medium.com/the-uncomfortable-friendship-of-james-gunn-and-huston-huddleston-c1e920258516

Correction, the first Iron Man was done my Paramount and was a sleeper hit. Iron Man 2 is when all the MCU stuff started to form, to the point John Favreau would get constant notes regarding the MCU and it would get increasingly frustrating (hence one reason he did not do 3)

[The Dark Knight]

Word around the campfire is that Gunn has deleted the ending component which featured Keaton. I'm guessing this is the sequence where he emerges from the car, meets Barry and asks him what happened. Because the film no longer leads in to Batgirl I can see the logic in this decision, but alas I'm still disappointed and a tad nervous. Especially if there wasn't another scene shot after Keaton's presumed to have died in battle. That's not the note I'd want his tenure to end on.

[Gotham Knight]

Word around the campfire is that Gunn has deleted the ending component which featured Keaton. I'm guessing this is the sequence where he emerges from the car, meets Barry and asks him what happened. Because the film no longer leads in to Batgirl I can see the logic in this decision, but alas I'm still disappointed and a tad nervous. Especially if there wasn't another scene shot after Keaton's presumed to have died in battle. That's not the note I'd want his tenure to end on.

This is my worry as well. I don't want the last I see of the character to be an ignominious fate. Frankly, though I've never met this Supergirl, I don't want that for her either. I hope they can put together some b-roll or some minor reshoots to convey that these characters are okay now in their own universe, especially since I'm still convinced Flash will be very successful riding on the back of Keaton and I can see the character being in demand again. Say what you want about the previous DC film administration, they understood Keaton coming back would wet appetites. I can see people being now more interested in the 'multiverse' than the DCU now. That's where most of the good stuff is anyway.

[The Dark Knight]

Grace Randolph has stuck her head up to claim a former Batman makes an appearance at the end of The Flash, and could even take the ongoing DCU role. She's hinting it's either Kilmer, Clooney or Bale. If she's credible, I can't see it being Kilmer due to his voice issues. Bale has his loyalty to Nolan, and I wouldn't want his trilogy expanded upon honestly. It's fine the way it is. I'm guessing Clooney, especially if The Brave and The Bold is a lighter, more fantastical style film. Absolutely out of left field bizarre to think that could happen. But the thought of Clooney, if it's him, getting a shot at redemption would have my interest.