A character would have to be consistent to be realistic Superman could be explained away with Star Trek science, deflector shields could make him bullet proof, a warp drive could make him fly faster than a speeding photon, there was an episode of people who moved faster than the blink of an eye. Throughout the various episodes each of the various abilities of Superman have appeared in different characters. The Borg for instance had their own personal deflector shields.
They are going ahead with a Justice League movie
- Thread starter Flying Spaghetti Monster
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A character would have to be consistent to be realistic Superman could be explained away with Star Trek science, deflector shields could make him bullet proof, a warp drive could make him fly faster than a speeding photon, there was an episode of people who moved faster than the blink of an eye. Throughout the various episodes each of the various abilities of Superman have appeared in different characters. The Borg for instance had their own personal deflector shields.
They could have Bruce Banner go on an eating binge every time he gets angry and have the Hulk make a trip to the Bathroom when he changes back.
But not in a fixed or equal ratio. The makers of the Ant-Man movie are not going to be somehow compelled to use a certain percentage of Ultimate stuff whether it's a good idea or not. Naturally, like the creators of any adaptation, they have the freedom to reinvent the character however they choose, drawing on whatever elements of past portrayals they like and disregarding the rest. Nobody's holding a gun to their heads and saying "You have to include 50% Ultimate content."
The Ultimate creators' choice to latch onto a single mistake (on both the character's and creators' part) in Hank Pym's life that got blown hugely out of proportion in fandom and base their entire characterization on it served their purposes, their goal to create something extremely dark and edgy and... well, whatever the hell Millar and Hitch were trying to do. But comics today tend to have a fairly limited readership so they're more prone to be targeted at a particular niche. Naturally a tentpole motion picture is going to be created with a much broader audience in mind, and naturally if Ant-Man is the sole hero of the film rather than a supporting character as he was in the Ultimate comics, they'd want to portray him sympathetically. So they'd have zero reason to make the same creative choice that Millar and Hitch made with the character. More likely they'd base their version of the character on the more appealing aspects of the 616 version, and ignore that one unfortunate, accidental moment with Jan.
Just seeing this thread now. Can't say I'm surprised, given the success of the Avengers movie. Few queries/observations though:
- Isn't Christian Bale done with Batman? If so, who the hell is going to play Bruce Wayne/Batman?
- Henry Cavill probably doesn't have a choice in the matter. He's doing the film, since Warner Brothers will have likely contracted him for 2-3 sequels should Man of Steel be a box office hit (which it will).
- No movies currently for Flash/Wonder Woman/Aquaman/Martian Manhunter/and so on. That's going to be pretty hard to pull off, surely?
- Michael Phelps should play Aquaman.
- Isn't Christian Bale done with Batman? If so, who the hell is going to play Bruce Wayne/Batman?
- Henry Cavill probably doesn't have a choice in the matter. He's doing the film, since Warner Brothers will have likely contracted him for 2-3 sequels should Man of Steel be a box office hit (which it will).
- No movies currently for Flash/Wonder Woman/Aquaman/Martian Manhunter/and so on. That's going to be pretty hard to pull off, surely?
- Michael Phelps should play Aquaman.
This will be a new continuity, a new version of Batman unconnected to Nolan's films. Naturally they'll recast the role as they've done many times before. Bale was the seventh actor to play Batman in live action on the big screen, and he certainly won't be the last.
There are conflicting rumors about whether the JL movie will be in continuity with any of WB's solo superhero movies. It's been hinted that they might set them all in separate continuities, in contrast to Marvel's approach. But that's only a rumor at this point. We don't really know anything for certain at this stage.
He looks more like Namor, especially the Golden Age version.
Why? Glenn Close would make a better Aquaman than Phelps, what makes you think he would be a good choice?
Because he could do all his own stunts, and he really is a superhuman swimmer.
If they use Aquaman, they should go with the Batman: The Brave and the Bold version. "Outrageous!"
But he's not an actor. And even though he may be able to do all his own stunts, they wouldn't let him; if the main actor gets injured doing a stunt, the movie is held up for months while he recovers.
Aw, they can just get him a dialogue coach for the "talk to fish" scenes.
There are a number of movies where the lead actors do, in fact, do most of their own stunt work. For instance, Tom Cruise genuinely was climbing on the outside of the tallest building in the world in Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol (though he was on wires that were digitally erased in the film). Most of the actors in the Matrix films did the majority of their own stunts, as did the cast of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, as well as Jennifer Garner and Will Yun Lee in Elektra. Chris Evans did a great deal of his own stunt work in Captain America, and indeed it's mentioned in the DVD commentary that he had to do all his own running because he has a very distinctive run that nobody else could mimic.
Of course, in most of these cases we're talking about people who were actors first and then trained to do the necessary stunts. Not a lot of people start out as stunt performers and then become actors, though it's been known to happen (e.g. Jock Mahoney, Doug McClure, Ann Robinson, Zoe Bell, and of course the ultimate stuntman, Jackie Chan).
How about all those musicians who receive roles in movies, despite no prior experience? A person doesn't have to be an actor to pull off a critically acclaimed performance.
Many roles are assigned based on a performers experience or occupation. Jet Li, Bruce Lee, Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme, were all competitive martial artists who have all been cast in movies as martial artists. Aquaman swims at standards which far exceed any normal person - Michael Phelps swims at standards which far exceed any normal person.
The fighting and dangerous underwater work could be done by pro-stuntmen, the special FX will be done with CGI, and Phelps could easily do the rest, should he show an aptitude for acting.
Maybe I'm just looking for realism in a very fictional role.
It doesn't make any sense. If you only need him for swimming scenes, then hire him as a swimming double. The first priority in casting the main actor for the role will presumably be his acting ability, or at least his onscreen charisma and suitability for the character as written, not to mention his chemistry with the other actors. There are too many considerations involved to base the casting decision on something as peripheral as a physical talent that you could just hire a double to do anyway.
That's the optimists view. In reality, superhero movies often feature mediocre actors in the lead roles.
Thank you, Governor Romney, for quoting me out of context to twist my words. You left out "or at least his onscreen charisma and suitability for the character as written, not to mention his chemistry with the other actors."
Christian Bale, George Clooney, Michael Keaton, Chris Reeve, Robert Downey Jr, Eric Bana, Ed Norton,Tobey Maguire ....the mediocrity just goes on and on.
That's the optimists view. In reality, superhero movies often feature mediocre actors in the lead roles.
You severely understate his abilities. Could an average man swim 400 meters, using 4 different techniques almost flawlessly and then finish in under 2 minutes? If you know of anyone who can, then they should immediately drop everything and compete in swim medley competitions.
I'm just screwing with you all about the Phelps thing. Although, I did consider the possibility that people might be chasing him for a potential Aquaman film, to capitalise on his success.
One thing I still stand by is that more often than not, a superhero movie has featured either a mediocre actor or a mediocre performance by an otherwise good actor in the lead role. Nerys gave the list of outstanding performances, so here's the list of mediocre performances:
Michael Jai White - Spawn
Ryan Reynolds - Green Lantern
Nicholas Cage - Ghost Rider
George Clooney - Batman (although I regard Clooney as a pretty decent actor, and despite the fact he was assigned to the good list - in this movie, he was awful)
Chris O'Donnell - Robin
Alicia Silverstone - Batgirl
Josh Brolin - Jonah Hex
Shaquille O'Neil - Steel
Ben Affleck - Daredevil
Jennifer Garner - Elektra
Chris Evans - The Human Torch
Ioan Gruffudd - Mr Fantastic
Jessica Alba - The Invisible Woman
Ray Stevenson - The Punisher
Of course, this is all subject to my opinion, although popular opinion of numerous critics and reviewers alike, agrees with me.
If a JL movie is made, you can guarantee that Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash, will be the leading characters of the movie, despite it being an ensemble feature.