Franchisography

It’s a Betweenisode!

Join Nick & Scott as they discuss/rank the Superman franchise, talk about next year’s Superman from director James Gunn, and announce our next mini-series!

Next week: Our next franchise begins!

FRANCHISE POTENTIAL: Black Adam (2022) episode now available on PATREON!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

Believing they had struck gold, Warner Bros wasted no time putting JUSTICE LEAGUE into production with Zack Snyder at the helm once again for a release the following year, before Batman v Superman was even released in March of 2016. Meanwhile, the need for a DC creative head was finally filled by new Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, a comic book writer who had began his career as an assistant to Superman the Movie director Richard Donner, and a man whose own idea of what the DC Cinematic Universe should be was in direct opposition to the vision of its current architect.

When Batman v Superman was finally released, the box office for the history-making superhero film wouldn’t be considered a disaster by any measure, but the reaction to its dour tone and and edgy, complex plot left many viewers and critics with a bad taste in their mouth, leaving behind a brutal 29% Rotten Tomato score. Seeing the reception as an opportunity, Johns took control of the Justice League set, leading to on-set rewrites, reshoots helmed by Avengers director Joss Whedon, and digitally-erased mustaches.

The final film released in theaters in November of 2017 was a shell of its filmmaker’s intention and literally half its length, but the reception… was nearly just as bad as Batman v Superman the previous year. Warner had accomplished nothing, and the backlash among fans of the so-called “Snyderverse” was severe and almost immediate as the #ReleaseThe SnyderCut movement began. While it would take nearly 4 years to accomplish its goal, the launch of HBO Max and a lull in productions due to the pandemic lead Warner Bros to finally greenlight the completion of Zack Snyder’s original version of the film, or at least the closes thing to it.

Join Nick and Scott as they discuss the drama behind the scenes of the film that eventually became the 4 hour epic, ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE, that taught Warner Bros what happens when you give a mouse a cookie.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

The general reaction to the destruction of Metropolis in Man of Steel made director Zack Snyder and co-writer David S. Goyer feel like a response was necessary in the sequel. As a result, they felt that there was only one natural choice for a DC character that could be used to force Superman to pay for his crimes against humanity: Batman. But where Snyder and Goyer saw story potential, Warner execs saw a shared cinematic universe that could lead to the kind of financial success they had been dreaming about since Nick Fury introduced audiences to “The Avengers Initiative” in 2008.

Shifting the film’s focus from a Man of Steel sequel co-starring an antagonistic Batman, to a backdoor pilot for a Justice League movie, Warner Bros forced in as much set-up to the team-up as possible… then removed 30 minutes from the film for its theatrical release in March of 2016. The result was a film that was was lambasted by critics while simultaneously igniting a groundswell of support from fans that deeply connected to the film’s tone, philosophy, and approach to the characters.

Join Nick and Scott as they come to terms with the highs and lows of BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, a film with a lot of good ideas but ultimately struggles under the weight of too many conflicting expectations.

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After the Superman Returns failed to be the relevant reboot that Warner Bros had hoped it would be, they turned to their current cash cow Christopher Nolan, hot off of the overwhelming success of The Dark Knight, to take a crack of the Big Blue Boy Scout. It would be Nolan’s repeated collaborator David S. Goyer, however, who would have the idea that would finally sell the character to Nolan and Warner Bros: by presenting Superman’s origin as an extraterrestrial first contact story.

While Christopher Nolan would develop  and produce the film, even co-writing the story with Goyer, he would not direct and dozens of big name directors were considered. Ultimately, Zack Snyder would get the job and hit the ground running as Warner wanted their new Superman film out only a year after Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy capper. But while Snyder was entirely focused on his MAN OF STEEL, the executives at Warner Bros were looking at the Marvel Cinematic Universe with envy in their hearts… and dollar signs in their eyes.

Join Nick & Scott as the cinematic journey of Superman continues with the film that started a cinematic universe… for better or worse.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After over a decade of false starts, Warner Bros was nearly ready to accept that maybe Superman would never return to the big screen. That is until Bryan Singer, fresh of the success of X2: X-Men United, pitched a concept for a Superman movie that would use the first two Christopher Reeve films as a starting point, and bring the Man of Tomorrow into the modern world of today.

Singer would bring along his X-Men collaborators Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty to write the script with Kevin Spacey in mind for Lex Luthor. Brandon Routh, an unknown actor who had tested for the role on a previous iteration of the project, was cast to take over the iconic role of Clark Kent/Superman from Christopher Reeve.

The film would be an expensive endeavor, with an over $200 million budget that had purportedly taken on the burden of lost development costs from unmade Superman films; and when SUPERMAN RETURNS hit cinemas in the summer of 2006, with months of hype and internet speculation behind, the film was received with a collective shrug from audiences.

Joining Nick and Scott to discuss the ways in which a Superman movie could seem to have so much on its mind, without having anything to say (or does it?) is DC Cinematic Minute host Mark Ybarra.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

We interrupt our regularly scheduled mini-series with a BONUS FEATURE as we return to the X-Men franchise for a look at the latest film from Marvel Studios that attempts to garner nostalgia from the mutant mayhem of 20th Century Fox, it’s 2024’s DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE.

It’s been 6 years since Deadpool saved everyone via time travel and, after being rejected by the Avengers, Wade Wilson is a used car salesman who has hung up his alter-ego for good. But when the TVA inform him that his entire timeline is being eradicated, Deadpool will look for the only mutant in the multiverse who can help him: Wolverine.

Join Nick and Scott as they discuss how the first R-rated feature from Marvel Studios stacks up, how well the cameos and hidden supporting characters work in the context of the film, if there was a better way to handle the character arcs that would feel more “Deadpool”, and what superhero movie this movie rips off… without Deadpool bothering to call it out!

Next Week: SUPERMAN RETURNS!

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After 1984’s SUPERGIRL failed, the Salkinds were ready to get out of the Superman movie business and sold the rights to Golan & Globus of Cannon Films. Eager to get to work on the sequel, the producers went to star Christopher Reeve with an offer he couldn’t refuse; agree to star in Superman IV and they’ll produce any other movie he wants to make before making the sequel. He would also have story approval, and Reeve wanted to focus on a topic that he felt was of the utmost importance at the time: nuclear disarmament.

So, while Reeve when to work on the Oscar nominated Street Smart, the Cannon producers brought back stars Gene Hackman and Margot Kidder; they found a screenwriter, a director, and made a deal with Warner Bros to make the next Superman movie for a budget of $40 million… but when SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE was released in theaters in the summer of 1987, it became obvious that only $14 million of that budget was ultimately used for production of the film.

Join Nick & Scott as they continue Superman’s silver screen journey a film that started off with the best of intentions but is remembered as an unfortunate low point in the legacy of everyone involved.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

After the box office success of Superman II, the Salkinds wasted no time developing a story for the next entry in the cinematic saga of the Man of Steel. Ilya Salkind created an 8 page story outline for a third film that involved Brainiac and Supergirl, but it was ultimately rejected by Warner Bros for being too expensive and complex. It wasn’t until the producers saw Richard Pryor on a late night talk show talking about how much he’d like to be in a Superman movie that they chose a creative direction.

Offering Pryor $5 million to star in the film, they returned to Superman II reshoot director Richard Lester to make the Superman film of his dreams: a campy comedy for children. Christopher Reeve would return, but Margot Kidder’s role as Lois Lane would be drastically cut in retaliation for her public remarks about how the Salkinds’ treatment of Richard Donner. She would be replaced as Clark’s love interest in the film by Annette O’Toole as Smallville sweetheart Lana Lang.

The resulting is 1983’s SUPERMAN III, a film not entirely without merit (mostly in the form of Reeve and O’Toole) but to call it a “mixed bag” would be generous.

Join Nick & Scott as they continue the story of Superman’s silver screen journey with the sequel that forced fans and critics alike to rethink this whole superhero movie thing.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

With Superman: The Movie turning into a massive success (the highest grossing movie in Warner Bros history at that point), everyone was anxious to get back on set and finish production on the remaining 30% Richard Donner’ sequel.

However, to the surprise of the cast and Donner himself, the producers would choose to hire British director Richard Lester to complete the film instead, resulting in a sequel that was an wildly entertaining mixed bag of comedic sight gags, earnest drama, and superhero action that was often compared favorably to the original when SUPERMAN II was ultimately released in theaters the Summer of 1981.

But the sequel’s legacy was always complicated by the intention of its original director, and the possibility of what could have been; until twenty-five years later, when Richard Donner would get a second chance at fulfilling his vision for the film.

Join Nick & Scott as they continue the story of Superman’s cinematic journey with the first time fans learned that demanding a studio release a new cut of a superhero movie… could actually work.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra

In a time before superhero movies, at the birth of the blockbuster, a father/son producer team met with DC and Warner Brothers to discuss a radical idea: what if Superman was made into a movie?

Agreeing upon a negative pick-up deal, that put the Salkind team in a precarious position that left them ultimately responsible for the comic book adaptation’s finances, the pair immediately went to work protecting their investment by hiring the biggest movie stars, famous screenwriters, and successful directors they could find. And while this strategy would ultimately pay off… it would also result in the most expensive movie ever made.

Join Nick & Scott as they begin a new mini-series with the story of SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and how it’s iconic status taught the world that superhero movies could fly.

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Patreon Associate Producer: Matt Bennett & Mark Ybarra