The May 2024 BOF Mailbag

By
Bill "Jett" Ramey
-
223

Have you heard anything about other Elseworlds projects besides THE BATMAN crime saga and JOKER 2? Are we still getting that JJ Abrams Superman movie? I hope that James Gunn is sincere about greenlighting more Elseworlds projects.

JETT SAYS: Someone asked James Gunn about the JJ Abrams Superman project and he said it wasn’t dead…but I’m kinda not believing it.  Look, as someone who thinks everything DC on film/streaming/animation/etc. should be “Elseworlds” — meaning, all projects should be their own thing in their own worlds/universes — I truly hope that the Elseworlds banner remains at DC Studios after JOKER 2 and THE BATMAN SAGA…but I’m not holding my breath.

JETT SAYS: The film is over 2 years away right now, so I don’t think anything is imminent.  However, I suspect that around the time THE PENGUIN begins airing, we’re going to get some news.  That’s later this year in the Fall and THE BATMAN: PART II is supposed to begin filming in early 2025, so yeah, later this year makes sense.

JETT SAYS: As far as your first set of questions, they suck.  I don’t think they have to suck, but right now, they do…other than the Batman stuff under the BLACK LABEL banner.  There’s some damn good Batman BLACK LABEL stuff that’s been released. If you haven’t read any of them, they are definitely worth buying and giving a read.

As far as changing my mind on JOKER 2, that happened once I heard it would be a musical and Lady Gaga would play Harley Quinn.  This is the type of DC films — hell, the entire comic book genre — WB needs right now…not another try at a shared universe.  Like I’ve said many times, DC projects like the JOKER films and Matt Reeves’ THE BATMAN SAGA is the approach they should take for all DC stuff at WB.

I was just watching ICONS UNEARTHED: BATMAN and they mentioned that there was a sense of sadness with the absence of Heath. When you were interviewing the cast and crew of THE DARK KNIGHT, did you notice/feel the same thing?

JETT SAYS: Yes, you could feel that while they were enjoying all the hoopla surrounding the film, Heath not being there to participate with them caused sadness.  However, everyone I spoke with praised the heck out of him as a person and actor, and of course for his performance as The Joker.

JETT SAYS: I agree.  There’s no doubt that it has negatively affected the box office for many films.  Why go to the theater when you have a big-ass 4K/HD TV and a films is available to stream, rent, or buy in less than 2 months?

Family (Merry Little Batman Series), The Batman Part II & The Batman Part III. Maybe some more Black Label books. That seems about it. Nothing else to get excited about. Yep. Nothing. Right?

JETT SAYS: Well, hopefully there will be…eventually.  I’ll throw in the upcoming THE LAST HALLOWEEN series from DC Comics which will make THE LONG HALLOWEEN saga a trilogy.  And lest we forget, we’ve got BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER — the new animated Batman series which will air on Amazon Prime — coming in just a few months.  That’s exciting.  I will look at it positively in terms of live-action Batman since it will be another half decade before it ends with PART III. Hopefully, DC Comics will get the Batman legacy titles back on track and I’m pretty sure (*wink*) that CAPED CRUSADER is getting a season 2.  So yeah, looking at it that way, I’m OK. (PS: I do not care about the new DCU or THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD/DCU Batman…so I’m ignoring all that!)

I’m excited for THE PENGUIN, but I’m curious what the general public will think, especially if they might view it as “homework” for THE BATMAN: PART II. I think we can all agree we’ve seen how that’s shot the MCU in the foot since they started doing their series. As someone who has railed against connected universes and wants films/TV to be their own thing without that baggage, do you see THE PENGUIN facing that problem with the mainstream audience?

JETT SAYS: I think most of those in the general audience who saw THE BATMAN and have MAX will certainly watch THE PENGUIN.  I don’t believe anyone will HAVE to watch THE PENGUIN to enjoy and not be lost when seeing THE BATMAN: PART II.  And no, I don’t see THE PENGUIN having issues like the MCU has had with everything overlapping so much, becoming so convoluted, and unable to follow.  THE PENGUIN is part of a shared universe, yes, but it revolves around one character — The Batman — and that particular world.  So, I’ve got no worries at all.

JETT SAYS: If SUPERMAN doesn’t do well, then this new DCU is in trouble…and I already believe that they have a very tough task ahead of them.

See, this is one of the reasons why Warners shouldn’t have tried the shared universe thing again with their DC properties.  The future is so tied to SUPERMAN being a success, that if it fails, it hurts everything that’s already planned.

What the hell is wrong with still forming DC Studios yet only making standalone DC movies and other projects that don’t have to connect to everything else (other than the BLACK LABEL stuff…if that survives after THE BATMAN SAGA)? If SUPERMAN was a standalone Superman movie with only Superman characters in a self-contained Superman world, then it would have a chance to be a BATMAN BEGINS — meaning it’s well-received by fans, critics, and the general audience and wouldn’t have to make a boatload of money to be considered a success.

People think because I’m against this new DCU shared universe and don’t want any films other than Batman ones.  Not true. Let’s make (relatively) a lot of DC stuff that’s not Batman…just don’t have them all have to connect.

JETT SAYS: I’m quite sure they will…they usually do, right?  I’m sure most of it will be on September 24th during BATMAN DAY 2024. HERE is the official Batman hub for DC Comics/Warner Bros. to keep up with B85 stuff as it’s announced.

As far as BOF is concerned, yeah, I’m quite sure there will a few B85 tribute articles as well as podcasts before the end of the year.

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