Warner Brothers and director Zack Snyder invited selected writers, bloggers and superhero fans to the set of the now filming Justice League. There they were given a look at some costumes, sets, props, storyboards and got to toss some questions to Sndyer, Ben Affleck and others involved in the production.
The funny thing is how clearly this meet and greet was meant to regain the confidence of fans for this DC Cinematic Universe that has started. It’s no secret the reception to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was a bit chilly. Man of Steel wasn’t as well received either. So now Snyder is at bat a third time and he and WB must know they can’t afford to strike out again.
So the invitees (many who were harsh critics of Batman v Superman apparently) were treated to a set visit and listened to everyone try to pump them up and convince them that a course correction has taken place. They want to assure fans that Justice League will not disappoint.
Reading over a lot of the reports that have come out this just sounds like a a desperate attempt to limit the damage control that two, TWO movies have done to this wannabe DC movie franchise. The main thing I’ve read is how Snyder and wife/producer Diane Snyder kept on reiterating that Justice League is going to be more ‘fun’ than the others. That they now believe “people don’t like seeing their heroes deconstructed”.
Man of Steel was meant to reboot Superman and it was bad. Instead of doing a Superman sequel they decided to make a Batman/Superman fight movie leading into a two-part Justice League movie. But fans weren’t crazy about the Batman/Superman fight movie either.
Now a course correction again – only a few months after Batman v Superman got ravaged by fans and pretty much everyone else, they’re saying they revamped and fixed the problems and Justice League will be a winner.
They told us in 2014 Justice League was going to be a two-part movie, now it’s just one stand alone movie with a sequel later. So forget about that ‘Part 1’ and ‘Part 2’ stuff we said. It’s going to be much more fun! The grim tone that came before was a necessity, now it will be lighter and they’ll be a fun team!”
“Hey, here’s the movie logo! (wow, exciting logo) Wonder Woman will have some brighter red in her costume! All the costumes will be cool! Everyone is going to love Flash ’cause he’s so funny! Watch this scene we’ll film for you! See how cool it looks! The story is really good too! Here’s Ben Affleck in his batsuit he’ll tell you! Now go write about all this cool stuff and start spreading the word! Oh no, we’re not going to give you any footage or photos you can show people! We already gave you that nifty title logo.
I think they’re making this up as they go.
I’m not going to bother recapping any of the ‘news’ that this set visit revealed about Justice League. There’s plenty of sites that are drooling all over the little tidbits and soundbites that came out during it. I’ll just say nothing I’ve read about it has restored my confidence in this Justice League project.
I’m not convinced they’ve done much to salvage this movie universe, or at least this Justice League movie. This sounds like a whole song and dance they’re putting on. ‘Snyder has learned from his mistakes, this time it’s going to be fun!’ They haven’t ignited any optimism in me. Maybe it will turn out ok, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ll wait until I see a trailer to see what they did with this one before I say, “Oh this one looks like it could be pretty good.”
What’s the old saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, then I’m a complete idiot for believing your desperate damage control hype.
Here’s a picture of the new Batmobile though. I guess they felt confident enough to release that. Eh. Whatever. Looks pretty much the same as the one we saw last time around. I do think it’s kind of weird it has a yellow reflector on the front of it. The things all black, all armored up and it has a little yellow reflector on it. Strange design decision.
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if in a year and half we’ll be hearing this song again.
I loved Man of Steel, and was disappointment by BvS, but I'm glad they are trying to do some damage controlled with regards to the reception the BvS got. I don't necessary need the film to be more fun, I just need them to tell a great story and have awesome action. I actually wanted the Batman/Superman fight, but their setup and motivations was done poorly, and the fight itself wasn't as good, and as a whole, it was a letdown.