Considered “the best superhero film of all time”, the flash instead planted its face in box office ignominy, falling short of its lofty expectations that Ezra Miller’s vehicle seems destined to rank alongside DC and Warner Bros. all time. catwoman and that of Ryan Reynolds The Green Lantern.
As postmortems continue to pour in on what went wrong with the meta-multiverse movie, which reunites screen versions of DC characters dating back to the 1950s, a real-life look at the storied history of the iconic comic book publisher is about to unfold. Max’s original three-part documentary Superpowered: The DC Story explores the company’s nearly nine decades of history, from its founding in 1934 as National Comics Publications to the present day.
Speaking to Yahoo Entertainment after a screening, co-directors Leslie Iwerks and Mark Catalena, who previously collaborated on the 2019 Disney+ documentary The story of imaginationoffered candid comments on the mixed success of the DC-based adaptations and shared their thoughts on what might be in store under James Gunn’s new direction.
From comics to cinema
Working on the documentary allowed Iwerks to rewatch every DC movie and TV show from the original Superman soap operas from the 1940s to the current DCEU. It gave him a new perspective for both the adaptations and the characters themselves.
“I loved seeing how the DC movies were influenced by the original comics, which is a no-brainer,” Iwerks says. “But how they transformed, how they evolved, how they reflected ‘today’ and how the effects improved. And ultimately how the characters themselves have changed. It’s just fascinating to see it from the prism of time.
Catalena specifically quoted Richard Donner Superman as a benchmark for DC cinema, and also shared an aside on the historical film’s influence on Marvel.
“The original Superman, I think without it, none of this happens,” says Catalena. “I don’t even remember who told us that, which is not in the [documentary]but Kevin Feige even shows the original Superman to all of its Marvel filmmakers. It’s like, ‘This is the plan. It’s the tone.
DC vs. Marvel
Superpowered doesn’t hesitate to dive into DC’s rivalry with Marvel, even when the fight has turned in Marvel’s favor.
“We get into the highs and lows of the battle between Marvel and DC through all three episodes,” Iwerks explains. “First the business history of DC not taking Marvel seriously, then Marvel finally becoming this powerhouse that DC has to worry about.”
“Marvel vs. DC are written about more often than not at the box office,” adds Catalena.
“But if you look at TV, video games, and animation, DC is way up on Marvel in a lot of ways. We wanted to talk about it, but we didn’t want it to be a story of rivalry. »
The Green Lantern‘light
While Superpowered don’t dwell on the tastes of catwoman (2004) or The Green Lantern (2011), Catalena says the filmmakers leaned into Reynolds’ epic box office blunder; however, the segments ended up on the floor of the editing room.
“We were more focused on the big swings they were taking,” the filmmaker explains. “Look, we asked people about The Green Lantern. We have the stories, we just choose not to focus on them. When we had so much to consider, and so much material that was really good, these [bad films] just kind of naturally fell off.
A new Legacy
Last year, Gunn and Peter Safran were hired to be the new co-CEOs of DC Studios. Gunn then announced plans to write and direct Superman: Legacy, the first film in a new chapter for the DC Universe. (Gunn David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as the new Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane.) Although Gunn is only briefly present in SuperpoweredBoth Iwerks and Catalena express optimism.
Iwerks praises the “new regime” and its work so far, saying “they really know what they’re doing.”
“I think they will continue to be brave and take bold turns,” added Catalena. “It’s not in the show because it happened after we were done, but James Gunn is already tying what he’s trying to do in film to the comics. It wasn’t necessarily done before, and I think that’s the key. Ideas start in the comics and then bloom elsewhere. He accepts that, because he’s a fan himself.
Catalena says it’s Gunn The Suicide Squad is proof that all of these supporting characters can work. … I have great confidence in him that he’s going to be able to pull it all together.
Superpowered: The DC Story premieres July 20 on Max.