I know many of may say "What is the point of this article?" well okay here comes the point. These days Comic Book Movies are stronger than ever especially with the past decade being dominated by Marvel Comics. In 1998, when Blade arrived at the box office people witnessed a new kind of action, but not only action Comic book type action done in a new way. Then in 2000, Marvel's X-men arrives which did quite well and to follow Spider-man which raised the bar for comics.
I myself love Marvel and commend their job. They had proven their success unlike the days when Marvel were not involved in their characters films such as teh 80's Punisher. When the 2000's arrived that all changed and Marvel had some success but then there was the other big label, DC Comics. In 1978, "Superman the Movie" started the mainstream comic book films and was successful.
Superman the Movie was successful and starred a new up and coming actor named Christopher Reeve and also launched a successful sequel "Superman 2." Then in 1989 WB had released "Batman" directed by Tim Burton starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as The Joker. Many people had mixed emotions about the film at first because of Batman being played by a comedic actor. That changed big time later as Keaton showed just why he is a talented individual that was meant for the role.
DC had seen success but as the late 90's came around, WB had failed attempts as their projects and in the 90's it was Marvel's time. WB had released a few successful titles but not as successful as Marvel. However in 2005, The Batman franchise was rebooted and reintroduced under the direction of Chistopher Nolan. Nolan's "Batman Begins" was a film that showed a comic book movie can be done seriously and successfully and did quite well. Then of course their was another film WB released again under the direction of Chris Nolan called "The Dark Knight."
The Dark Knight became the highest grossing comic book film of all time.The rivalry was renewed with The Batman played by Christian Bale and The Joker played by Heath Ledger. The film in many people's eyes is arguably the greatest CBM to date and rightfully so for its quality storyline, acting and filming. But even Batman needs a little help somtimes and now WB seems to want to get Batman some help as in, at the box office. Now as said before you all have heard all of this before as in, all of this history.
Think about this Batman is back and better than ever, and up until now he had only had one Justice League team member at the box office, but now things are about to change. WB is set to debut the live action Green Lantern movie this summer, The Dark Knight Rises summer of 2012 and in Winter of 2012 comes the Man of Steel. Pretty impressive start in the new decade. The Flash is preparing for 2013, Wonder Woman TV pilot this fall on NBC, WB is putting together Green Lantern 2 in 2014 and Aquaman in 2015 or 16. Now again you may say what is the point of this article, well I will tell you again.
The point is the future of comic book movies. Think about it, it is always good to have an alternative whether it is DC or Marvel and now it seems that DC is headed in the right direction. The great thing is that WB is releasing some of the most beloved characters ever along with Batman and Superman. DC admitted to Marvel inspiring them to do more. I think that is big of DC to admit that and I agree.
Fans want more and sometimes they want different characters whether old ones in a new way and new characters can be a good thing.I wish both Marvel and DC Comics the best. I myself remember mainly only having Batman and Superman growing up but as much as I love those characters, I love the fact they and other characters are hitting the box office these days. I think the future is bright for DC as long as they be the best they can be.It's not about competition, its about making quality films and entertaining the movie goers the best they can.
Christopher Nolan has showed that and I hope others follow his example. What do you all think about not only DC's future but all of CBM's future? Looks bright to me :)