So The Rock is Playing Which DC Character?!

 

For months now Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been teasing fans the world over of his involvement in the DC Cinematic Universe and now we may finally be closer to finding out just who he might be playing!

Although earlier this year the rumors began to fly that perhaps The Rock would be playing John Stewart, one of the other Green Lanterns, and would be joining the cast of the jam packed Batman v Superman and ultimately be a part of the Justice League movie, but that does not seem to be the case after hearing Johnson’s recent comments.

In a recent interview with Total Film,  Johnson hints that Shazam , a movie already heavily rumored, just might be his chosen superhero  and we could have an announcement at this weeks San Diego Comic-Con!

But don’t take my word for it..read what the Brama Bull had to say…

“I will say this. There’s a character out there that we’re going to announce very soon that I’m going to play, and I’ll just say this: This character has the power of Superman, he can throw down. Just say the word. That’s all I’m going to say.”

Power of Superman? Shazam it is then

A first look at Batman

‏@ZackSnyder
I shot this with my @Leica_Camera M Monochrom. #Batman #Batmobile #Gotham http://imgur.com/3hRU6px pic.twitter.com/p5DEf6fLzJ

We said HEISENBERG….not EISENBERG….

 

And let the debate begin….

As the clock struck11 am EST on the last day of January, 2014, the announcement we’ve all been wai…uh…wai…wait what? Did I read this write? Eisenberg to star as Superman’s greatest foe, Lex Luthor. Must be a typo…right? I mean…COLUMBUS was gonna go from fighting Zombies to fighting Supes? What..the…Fuuuuuuh…ooooh lets review this decision before making a final opinion shall we?

Jesse Eisenberg, one of Hollywood’s brightest shining stars. An up and coming indy guy with movies such as The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, Zombieland, Candy Land (OK I made that one up) and of course, The Social Network where he played the bastard who all gave us Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, Mark Zuckerberg. Certainly an actor who’s shown promise in the films he’s selected and built himself a niche following with Zombieland, but let’s be serious here and while we’re at it, honest with ourselves, does this guy seem Lex Luthor material?

Alexander Joseph “Lex” Luthor, the archenemy of Superman. A wealthy, power hungry, high intelligent mastermind whose ultimate goal in world domination and the death of the Man of Steel. Lex Luthor, who is ranked 4th on IGN’s Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time. A character whose legacy is so coveted that there are many who believe the casting of Luthor was actually more important to a successful film than Superman himself. Certainly this type of role would be secured by a megastar with a screen presence that’s second to none, rather Warner Bros opted for a wild card with little track record to show their decision to be valid.

But this isn’t to say that Warner Bros hasn’t found a gem in a pile of glass….I present exhibit A

Gene Hackman’s portrayal of Lex Luthor in the late 70s and 80s was fantastic and on par with what comic book fans came to know of Luthor at the time. The writing for his character was toned down as much of what went into comics during this time and what we received is an amp’d up version of a tame comic book villain. Hackman was charismatic and funny and menacing all at the same time. His acting complimented the characters strengths and toned down the weaknesses while also being able to play the character with a comedic side. A perfect mixture for the films that were made.

Hackman is the benchmark, but would a repeat performance of this character’s portrayal be what these new films need? I for one don’t think so.

Kevin Spacey added to the legacy of this character with his portrayal in Superman Returns in 2006. Spacey evolved the character from Gene Hackman’s performance but added an edgy side which coincided with the comic book portrayal of the time. With every change in writer and artist, each wants to leave their mark on a legendary franchise like Superman, so as the times change, so does the content of comics and film. So long was the campy, toned down Superman and what replaced it was an era of Superman which would see violence amplified, deeper character back story exploration, and a rivalry between Luthor and Superman that would ultimately lead these characters down dark paths.

Spacey brought his version to the screen with a calm intensity and we watched as his mental game of cat and mouse unraveled in front of us. Bryan Singer took these characters farther into the darkness, but pulled back once he realized the world wasn’t ready for that film.

And then of course there’s Michael Rosenbaum’s fantastic portrayal of Lex Luthor on the CW television show Smallville. A valiant effort from a virtual unknown who was confined to portray his Luthor on a very restrictive media, television, and did his best to leave HIS mark on the character.

For me, Rosenbaum was a welcome surprise. A new take on the character which was allowed to develop over the course of seasons rather than hours and gave us a detailed description of what made Lex Luthor tick and how we would ultimately see the man we’ve all come to loathe (or love) depending on your allegiance.

There are many who championed for Rosenbaum to continue his portrayal into the film world, fans hoping for a chance to see their choice in Superman Returns but ultimately left saying “maybe next time”…well, next time has come…and next time has went..

Which leads us to now…

Can Jesse Eisenberg leave a lasting impression like these other actors have? Of course he can, but its a gamble that Warner Brothers is playing and Jesse is holding all the cards…

Your deal…

Ben Affleck: The New Batman

To say I was not surprised by the selection of Ben Affleck to star as the Caped Crusader in the upcoming Superman/Batman movie (July 17th, 2015) would be an understatement. I am not a fan of this decision. I am on record as saying that Christian Bale is my Batman and I very much wanted him to continue but if this wasn’t an option then my choice would’ve been Michael Fassbender. I also would not have minded seeing Andrew Lincoln as Bruce Wayne either. But of course I don’t work for Warner Bros and I am not in a position to chose my Batman so we get Ben Affleck. But why did we get Ben Affleck? I mean his run as an actor hasn’t warranted consideration for one of the most coveted roles in all of Hollywood.

Why did Zack Snyder, or Warner Brothers for that matter, chose Ben? My guess is one of the following:

1) Warner Brothers wanted to reward Ben for the Best Picture win this year by giving him their signature franchise. (I know…maybe a stretch)

2) Warner Brothers is setting up Ben Affleck to DIRECT Justice League and they figured the best way to get him to do it was to let him star as Batman. (a little more plausible)

3) Warner Brothers forced this upon Zack Snyder, knowing Christopher Nolan would be taking a backseat to this production (he will be working on a new movie Interstellar) and Warner Bros doesn’t TRUST Zack to be in charge all by himself of their tent-pole movie for 2015, so add an Oscar winning director to lend his expertise. (I’m leaning towards this one)

I mean, lets be honest, Zack Snyder hasn’t been the most reliable director of recent memory. His vision is impeccable, but sometimes his execution is lacking. Enter Ben Affleck, award winning director, suspect actor, who adds instant star power to the film for which, we’re still being honest, right?, Henry Cavill isn’t that star…yet. Need proof? Why did Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan and the entirety of Warner Bros feel the need to cast Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner and position them in nearly 60% of the scenes with Henry Cavill? Hmm….

Now, can this movie work? Of course it can. Can Ben Affleck surprise everyone and be an amazing Batman? Of course he can…but his track record doesn’t SHOW US THAT and there in lies the issue. I present the following to the court:

Opinion 1- The problem I have with Ben as an actor is that he doesn’t have a presence that commands the audience to watch his every move. Ben Affleck’s acting in (insert your movie here) could’ve been replaced by any other A list actor in Hollywood and the role would’ve been done as good or better than Ben’s. I have thought for days on this topic and I can’t come up with one iconic role that Ben has played that I have said, “Man, Ben killed it in that movie. I can’t see anyone playing that role but him.” Can you?

Fact 1- The geek community has a hard time forgiving Ben for destroying the Daredevil movie (along with his now wife). I’ve heard before that Mark Johnson is to blame for his horrible directing style. I cant argue with that considering he went on to make the equally as horrific Ghost Rider movie, but that’s when the actor need to step up his game and carry the movie, and Ben couldn’t do that. Colin Farrell did, but his role wasn’t enough to save the film.

I don’t want to delve any further into his back acting portfolio, not cause I can’t, but because I’m not in the mood to attack the man for all his sins…we all have them and he deserves to be able to outlive them. So I will simply say, I am unhappy with the decision to cast Ben as Batman, but I will remain hopeful that I will be pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Now…onto my next victim…Warner Brothers and DC Comics union. Is there a more unhealthy union that these 2? Lets do a count..and please help me with this one. How many DC Comics has Warner Brothers been a part of that were actually GOOD…anyone? Lets go franchise by franchise:

Superman

Superman and Superman II were great but

Superman Returns and Man of Steel were just OK

Superman III and Superman IV and SuperGirl were SHIT

Batman

Batman and the Nolan Trilogy were great

Batman Forever and Batman Returns were just OK

Batman and Robin and Catwoman were SHIT

Misc DC/WB entries

Constantine and V for Vendetta were great but

Green Lantern and Jonah Hex were SHIT

So as you can see this union is either HIT or MISS and if it wasn’t for the Nolan Trilogy would be more MISS than HIT. This is where my non confidence truly lies..Warner Brothers. Seeing their past mistakes (most all too recently) make me cringe when I think they are making the decisions on this one.

So Ben….I wish you luck and I’m praying I am wrong about you…but the math tells me otherwise unfortunately.