It’s only a matter of time before any superhero who ever graced a comic book will have a movie to call his or her own.
Just not Captain America. Please.
If memory serves, Captain America was killed off a little while back in the comics. Superheroes tend not to stay dead long, though, witness Superman’s return from beyond the grave. But I can’t imagine what the current minds in Hollywood would do to the star spangled hero.
Oh, wait … here’s one screenwriter (”Watchmen” scribe David Hayter) who can. Be afraid. (hat tip: Dirty Harry).
I would just hate to see the movie become an excuse for America over-reaching, torture, whatever. You know to have Captain America shilling for the phone companies spying on you would be pretty disgusting to me.
I can see it now - good ol’ Captain America smiting the bad guy, then hustling over to the UN to apologize for the damage his fists cause and a quick speech about the “root causes” behind the evil doers’ actions. Feh.
But a Captain America movie may be too late to stop. ComingSoon.net, the go-to source for comic book flicks, reports the movie’s tentatively gunning for a 2011 release. And they’ve got a Captain in their sights. although nothing is locked down yet.
(Photo: Reb Brown starred in TV’s incarnation of “Captain America” in the 1970s)
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
jic 07.28.08 at 9:06 pm
I’ve heard that they are planning to set the movie in WWII, which would make a Hayter-style version less likely. Although the idea that mainstream Hollywood is only willing to make a patriotic movie if it’s set in the past is pretty depressing…
chase 07.29.08 at 4:38 am
Plus, you already know, a Watchman film is due next year
whiskey 07.29.08 at 8:18 am
Marvel does stuff in their comics they know wont’ sell, because they comics only account for about 11% of revenue.
Ponder that. Only 11% or so of revenue (you can check out Marvel Entertainment’s SEC filings and see for yourself btw in their annual reports).
Instead, almost all of Marvel’s revenue comes from … tada! Big Budget movies. Either direct Marvel Studios productions like Iron Man or Hulk 2, or licensing to Sony for Spider-Man and of course toys!
Now, how well would an anti-American Captain America apologizing do in theaters and DVD rentals and sales? Not well at all!
The plan for Marvel Studios is a Captain America WWII movie, a Thor Movie, an Ant Man movie! (yes, I know, Anti-Man) culminating in an Avengers movie with Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Ant-Man fighting some menace.
You have to remember, Comics today are in huge, huge trouble. They draw in a bunch of 40+ (no, really, that’s the demo, see Marvel’s Annual Report) readers who pay big bucks (comics $5 and up) for comics only available in Comic Shops (due to distribution deals with Diamond Distributing).
The movies are done off either original work done in some cases in the late 1930’s to early 1940’s, to at best the late 1970’s to late 1980’s. That’s at least twenty years ago. Current comics DO NOT appeal to kids or a young audience (though they used to). They cost too much, have ultra-adult themes (aimed at wealthy, uberliberal, but I repeat myself, men).
Marvel so far has taken care to prevent these themes from polluting the movies save the second Fantastic Four movie which tanked.
cftoto 07.29.08 at 2:17 pm
Actually, a Captain America movie which apologized for US sins would capture a certain crowd stateside and do smashingly overseas in all the countries that curse our name but won’t lift a finger to fight evil.
But very good info regarding Marvel as a whole! Really glad you posted that material here. And keep the quality comments coming.
Mad Minerva 07.29.08 at 10:34 pm
At least Captain America gets to keep his name of “Captain America,” I suppose!
Things could be worse, after all. Are you familiar with the European propaganda figure — I mean, wannabe superhero — named “Captain Euro? I kid you not.
http://www.captaineuro.com/
(Click on the “Intro” button.)
He’s out to spread “truth, justice, and all that stuff” (an egregiously horrid corruption of a line from an egregiously horrid flick, BTW). Captain Euro is out to spread soft power, socialism, and UN-speak throughout the globe!
Here’s a taste of it:
http://www.captaineuro.com/images/story/13_CES.gif
I suddenly feel the need to rush off and see Batman again, especially after Kyle Smith’s recent article…
jic 07.30.08 at 12:07 am
Whiskey, I couldn’t find any reference in Marvel’s anual report (http://www.marvel.com/company/pdfs/10-k_as_filed_3-25_00054158.PDF) to most of their readers being in the 40+ demographic. Could you please pinpoint exactly where it is?
However, I’ve long suspected something similar. When I was about ten years old, every boy I knew (and many of the girls) read comics. When was the last time you saw a ten year old boy reading a comic? It’s easy to say ‘oh, that’s because they’re all playing video games’, but we had those too. The fact is that the comic book publishers abandoned the kids and the newsstand market to chase fanboys, which means that comics as we know them could well die with Generation X. At this point, I’m not even sure I’m upset by that thought any more.
chase 07.31.08 at 2:29 am
the last “old style” comic book movies I caught, Rocketeer and Dick Tracy … neither floated my boat. The Rocketeer was from an Pacific Comics “add on,” a few pages each episode of another comic I used to get (something about a space pirate) … it was just plain dull.
I think I’m comic booked out … say, how about some more gangster movies?
cftoto 08.01.08 at 2:37 pm
Great link Mad Minerva … and JIC — the fanboys are older and have more disposable income, so it’s smart to target them. Frankly, I haven’t picked up a new comic in ages, but looking back at my old, yellowed comics is still a nostalgic treat.
James Frazier 08.01.08 at 4:16 pm
Hayter should stick to doing the voice acting for totally awesome video games.
cftoto 08.01.08 at 4:39 pm
James - is that Hayter’s side gig? I know nothing about video games beyond Colecovision’s heyday (yes, showing my age)
jic 08.01.08 at 5:34 pm
“the fanboys are older and have more disposable income, so it’s smart to target them.”
If you’re only interested in shot-to-medium term profits, yes.
If you are interested in ensuring the existence of future generations of comic readers, or maybe even expanding the market, then no. The fanboys are going to start dying out (literally) in the next 20-30 years or so, and there will be nobody to replace them. There’s no reason not to make comics to appeal to fanboys, but most major publishers have focused their attentions almost solely on them, and the other parts of the market may be lost forever.
James Frazier 08.01.08 at 6:57 pm
Hayter provides the voice of the protagonist in the Metal Gear Solid series. Arguably the best game series ever, the story line and scope of it all is easily well above 99.9% of all movies out there.