Whether you love or hate Kevin Smith, the writer/director of
Clerks, Chasing Amy, Mallrats, and most recenently,
Tusk and
Yoga Hosers, he's always got an opinion. This time, it's about the current state of comic book movies, specifically what's been going on with the DC Extended Universe.
Never one to stray too far from the media's spotlight, Smith sat down with the folks at Screen Rant to discuss the comic book movie climate just ahead of the
JUSTICE LEAGUE release next month. While WB is planning a solo Joker origin story set outside the shared universe, and the fate of the
DCEU is somewhat unknown, Smith says:
I'm a 47-year-old man, so I grew up in an era where there were no comic book movies. And then every once in a while you'd get one, and it was like water in a desert. You'd get Batman in 89, or Blade or something like that. So now, we live in an era where they're like, "Hey, we're not even gonna do an interconnected DC Universe. We're just gonna let Martin Scorcese produce a flick where Leonardo DiCaprio might play The Joker." That's exciting. So to me, I'm like, the more the merrier.
Smith also stated that he enjoys every comic book movie regardless of character, studio, or universe:
"All of 'em are good. There's no such thing as a bad comic book movie. Even the ones that people say are quote-unquote bad are better than no comic book movies."
The filmmaker and podcast host went on to discuss the idea of the concept of the shared universe as a whole:
I’m a purist, so I love when things are interconnected, as well, but I grew up in an era where there was a Batman movie, there was a Superman movie, and they didn’t really reference each other. One time George Clooney was like, "This is why Superman works alone" and we got our nipples hard, we were like, "Aaah, they know each other." So now we live in a world where these movies can cross over and stuff, I’m happy to get the ones that can, but if they don’t cross ‘em over that’s totally okay with me. As long as they’re good, as long as they try.
And think about—some people get kinda crappy, like, "Come on, man, these cats, they don’t know comic books." Comic books and characters have been handed to so many creators over the years. You never know what you’re gonna get in the hands of any particular person. I still get crap for making Batman pee his pants in a Batman book once, which is, you know, kind of reducing it to something it wasn’t, but still, regardless, you gotta respect the fact that a creator can come on, maybe take that character [to] a place that you’ve never seen that character be taken. And I gotta imagine, if Martin Scorsese jumps onto a Batman movie, we’re gonna see some sh*t. Not bad sh*t, the good sh*t that we all dream about. Goodfellas in a DC universe movie? I’m there, take all my money.
While there is something of an unknown future with the DC films, plans after
JUSTICE LEAGUE include solo films for
AQUAMAN (December 21, 2018),
SHAZAM! (April 5th, 2019), and
CYBORG (April 3rd, 2020), a sequel to
WONDER WOMAN (December 13th, 2019), and
THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS. (July 24th, 2020).
Are you as optimisitic about the future of the WB/DC movies as Kevin Smith is? Hit the comments section to leave your thoughts.