Action movies have always done well, and so have comics. So it was a surprise to virtually no one when superhero movies began not only its only subgenre, but a colossal one at that. While these movies have been around since the early 1940s, not much unlike what the audience sees in the first “Captain America.”
From then up until the 1990s movies about Batman and Superman were at the helm of this money making franchise, until the early 2000s with the rise of The X-Men and then of course the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), arguably one of the most recognizable and successful names in not only comics but in movies as well.
But jumping back to dear old Batman and Superman, as you probably have heard, they did a movie together recently entitled, unsurprisingly and unoriginally, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Though this movie is not based off of anything other than the characters and as a semi-sequel to the 2013 “Man of Steel,” fans were obviously still pumped. I was particularly excited about this mostly because it would mark Wonder Woman’s first appearance in a live-action motion picture, which is way too damn long if you ask me.
However, the movie, despite it’s commercial success, did very poorly with the critics. While Henry Cavill (Superman) states what many hardcore fans believe, they made the movie for the fans and that’s what matters, this news spawned one of the best video memes this year: Sad Ben Affleck. And for that, I will be forever grateful for their measly 29% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
But obviously there were a lot of people who were underwhelmed by this film. Have no fear! I’m here with a pretty abbreviated list of what superhero movies are to come!
Captain America: Civil War (May 6, 2016)
As you have probably guessed by now, I am more of a Marvel girl; always have been, most likely always will be. So I am beyond psyched for this movie. It is a sequel to the first “Captain America,” and takes place right after “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” There are obviously a lot of facets to this one due to so many characters but that basic plotline is that the American government wants to make a law that would force every superhuman to register with not only their powers but their alter ego. Disney has also added the element of Bucky Barnes, a wildcard to say the least. My favorite Avenger is Iron Man, and I am a little biased to his side for that very reason, but I am interested to see how they will treat certain events from not only the comics but from character developments we have seen thus far in the MCU.
X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27, 2016)
While being a Marvel comic, the “X-Men” movie franchise is owned and produced by Fox rather than Disney, so these movies have always been a little darker with a different feel. These movies started in 2000 and this movie is a conclusion of the most recent trilogy involving these characters. Following the group of Xavier’s team from their earlier years (the first two took place in the 1960s and 1970s), they encounter an entity known at The Apocalypse, an ancient mutant that could bring about the end of the world. These movies have always held a special place in my heart – my first PG-13 movie in theaters was “X2” in 2003 – so I am excited to see how the X-Men handle this seemingly winless battle.
Suicide Squad (Aug. 5, 2016)
Taking place in the DC Extended Universe (the same one as “Man of Steel” and the recent “Batman v Superman”), this movie follows a group of death row supervillains who are offered release on the account that they now join the “good” side to perform black ops missions and be pardoned for their crimes. To say that this is a diverse group of “unique” characters is an understatement. Half of them are crazy (in the comics, they work out of Belle Reve Penitentiary) and all of them are evil. That aspect along with the the amazing cast (Will Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as a very unsettling Joker, Margo Robbie as Harley Quinn, and many more) will make this a very different, yet successful, superhero villain movie.
Lego Batman (Feb. 10, 2017)
If “The Lego Movie” is any indication at just how good these animated films can be, then “The Lego Batman” movie will be one of the best cartoon movies of 2017. The original film about Legos was clever and not overly annoying. And this one looks to be doing what it does best: make fun of Batman. I’m not a Batman hater by any means, however Lego Batman, voiced by Will Arnett, points out Bruce Wayne’s biggest flaws and twists them into great lines. The trailer had me laughing within the first 30 seconds. Plus, with co-stars Zach Galifianakis as The Joker, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl and Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, this is definitely one to mark on your calendars.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (May 5, 2017)
The movie that made Chris Pratt into a household name will be something I am forever in debt to. With the first movie being wildly popular, it’s no surprise that it got a sequel. The cast is currently in Georgia filming, so there isn’t much known about the plot other than Pratt’s character Peter Quill will find out more about his (supposed) intergalactic father. We can guess that Groot is still growing into his former humongous self and that Star-lord and Gamora could possibly be growing closer (although someone is bound to mess that one up). There will also be even more eluding to infinity stones, a near constant plot point throughout all of the MCU since “Captain America: The First Avenger” featuring the Tesseract. We’ll have to ponder on this one a while.
Wonder Woman (June 23, 2017)
As stated before, IT’S BEEN TOO DAMN LONG. Why did it take so long for Wonder Woman to not only appear in a full-length live-action movie, but her own movie? There have been too many Batman adaptations to count (some that seriously were not even necessary) and the same goes with a lot of other male superheroes. Yes, a lot of male heroes get snubbed from movies (Uh hello, what about sassy Nova? Or Static Shock?) or get movies but they’re done poorly (still cringing from The Green Lantern circa 2011), but it’s also obvious that when a superhero is made, it’s about a male protagonist.
The movie is unsurprisingly going to act like an introduction/origin story since, ya know, we haven’t seen it on the big screen yet. Diana Prince is going to be shown as a younger version that becomes “one of the greatest warriors of all time.” Awe yeah!