A DC Animated Film based on The Question (and Huntress)?

[SG-17]

I was rewatching Justice League Unlimited and The Question by himself seems like he could have a film all on his own, if the Huntress was added it would be even better.
Do you think that there is enough "stuff" for there to be a Question centric film? We've mostly seen these DC Animated Films based on major players in the DC universe, The Question isn't that big but if they would make a movie based on him I think it would be successful, especially if voiced by Jeffery Combs.

 

[23skidoo]

Definitely, especially since the Question plays into the whole conspiracy theory fad. I agree Jeffrey Combs would be the ideal choice. Or Jackie Earle Haley if you really wanted to play with people (since Rorschach was based on the Question).

However I would much rather see the Question paired with Renee Montoya, who was his partner in 52. They had a great relationship, and remembering that the movies don't have to connect with each other -- try connecting the Wonder Woman movie with, say, JLU -- they could do some sort of standalone following some of the story beats of 52 but going off in a different direction.

Alternately, now that Renee is the Question in the comics, they could focus on her and get someone like Gina Torres to do the voice.

Alex

 

[Christopher]

I don't know if The Question could warrant a full 70-minute movie, but he could show up in one of the DC Showcase shorts that have begun accompanying the movies (starting with the Spectre short along with Crisis on Two Earths).

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

The Question is one of Bruce Timm's favorite characters and he's said he'd love to do an animated film featuring the character, but it'll never happen. Warner Home Video has to sign off on each DTV and they're only going to greenlight movies featuring better known characters. Timm said in a recent interview that they developed a Green Arrow script, but that WHV won't give them the go-ahead yet since they think it won't sell well enough. If they have qualms about a Green Arrow DTV then the Question has no shot at all.

Paradoxically, it's actually easier for a lesser known character to get a big live action feature film than an animated DTV since the former has the benefit of a big marketing campaign while the latter are a niche product, released with very little promotion, that need built-in name recognition to sell well enough to justify their expense.

I'd say there is a good chance, though, that the Question will be featured in one of the Showcase shorts (as Green Arrow is going to be).

 

[23skidoo]

I actually enjoyed the Spectre Showcase more than the JL movie (which I thought was a little underwhelming).

I find it puzzling that Warner doesn't think a Question movie would sell, yet they authorized a live action Green Lantern movie - and Green Lantern is hardly a well-known character outside of comic fandom, either. Or at least he's on par with Green Arrow since the two have been linked since the 60s.

Actually, that Spectre Showcase turned out so well I think there's potential for a TV series to be made out of the idea. Remember the rotating series of the early 1970s? That's when they'd have Columbo one week, McCloud the next, then McMillan and Wife the next, then Quincy, and then it would be back to Columbo. A Showcase series could do the same thing, maybe having the Spectre every 6 weeks, the Question every 6, maybe a Power Girl installment, a Checkmate or Outsiders story, etc...

Alex

PS. This is my 16,000th post to TrekBBS, boosting my rank to full Admiral!

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

I find it puzzling that Warner doesn't think a Question movie would sell, yet they authorized a live action Green Lantern movie - and Green Lantern is hardly a well-known character outside of comic fandom, either. Or at least he's on par with Green Arrow since the two have been linked since the 60s.

Like I said, it's actually easier for characters who aren't famous to the general public to get big live action features than animated DTVs. With big feature films the properties are sold to the general public with a marketing campaign that runs into the tens of millions, plus you have the benefit of the movie stars you cast drawing attention to the films.

The animated DTVs, on the other hand, are very low budget, receive very little marketing support, and so have to rely on built-in popularity and awareness to sell well. They like to have some stunt casting of name actors to help sales, but that's of limited utility since there's not a big marketing push to make the general public aware of the movies in the first place.

Warner Home Video obviously consider Green Lantern to be more famous than Green Arrow as they gave the go-ahead to Green Lantern: First Flight. Green Arrow's level of fame has certainly been rising, especially because of Smallville. If the Green Arrow live action film gets the go-ahead then an animated DTV probably would, too.

 

[AviTrek]

A Green Lantern film got a green light because it's a big space based sci fi movie. The animated movie was made to start promoting the film. That's also why a second Green Lantern animated DVD is probably in the works to release around the time of the movie.

But if you look at the sales of these animated DVDs in general the big sellers have been Superman and Batman. Expect to see more big name projects unless there is a movie tie in to exploit.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

A Green Lantern film got a green light because it's a big space based sci fi movie. The animated movie was made to start promoting the film. That's also why a second Green Lantern animated DVD is probably in the works to release around the time of the movie.

The live action feature getting the nod certainly would have played a part in the animated GL movie getting the go-ahead, as would the increased sales and visibility of the Green Lantern comics. It's all about name recognition with the DTVs really. Superman, Batman, and Justice League will dominate. Green Lantern and Wonder Woman will get some attention. Flash should definitely get a movie at some point. Aquaman probably will, too (there's a script in development for one).

 

[Christopher]

I find it puzzling that Warner doesn't think a Question movie would sell, yet they authorized a live action Green Lantern movie - and Green Lantern is hardly a well-known character outside of comic fandom, either. Or at least he's on par with Green Arrow since the two have been linked since the 60s.

I think that anyone who grew up watching cartoons in the '70s and '80s is familiar with Green Lantern, since he was a regular on Superfriends. Green Arrow and the Question were not. I've known who Green Lantern was my whole life, but I never heard of Green Arrow until I got into comics, and the Question was all but unknown to me until JLU.

 

[Greg Cox]

I find it puzzling that Warner doesn't think a Question movie would sell, yet they authorized a live action Green Lantern movie - and Green Lantern is hardly a well-known character outside of comic fandom, either. Or at least he's on par with Green Arrow since the two have been linked since the 60s.

I think that anyone who grew up watching cartoons in the '70s and '80s is familiar with Green Lantern, since he was a regular on Superfriends. Green Arrow and the Question were not. I've known who Green Lantern was my whole life, but I never heard of Green Arrow until I got into comics, and the Question was all but unknown to me until JLU.

Agreed. Green Lantern may not be a household name on the level of Superman or Batman, but he's several orders of magnitude more famous than the Question, who, forgive me, is pretty obscure. (And that's coming from someone who likes the Question and has even written two novels with the character.)

Even forty years ago, when I was just a kid, I was able to buy a commercially-produced GREEN LANTERN Halloween costume at my neighborhood grocery store. And had a GREEN LANTERN record album that I listened to all the time. And that was long before SUPER FRIENDS or any of the more modern animated series . . . .

The QUESTION is cool, but he/she is not even famous by comic book standards.