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Jason Momoa Very Enthusiastically Hypes Upcoming DCU Announcement (screenrant.com)

People are speculating this isn't an Aquaman thing but actually Lobo.

fujishig

I was going to say why have Booster Gold when you're not going to have Ted Kord (I'm assuming because the Blue Beetle movie is Jamie, right?)

RocShemp

I did see a video that made a good (albeit disappointing) point if it is Lobo. Such a movie stands a chance of bombing harder than Black Adam, given Lobo might be even more unknown to general audiences (despite appearing in Krypton and JLU). But then, how well known were The Guardians of the Galaxy before their movie?

Runaway

I will never understand why they have such over-sized budgets. Lobo can be very profitable, if they don't spent 200 million on it. Deadpool didn't have to make 780 million to be a success, it would have been a hit at 200 million. Of course Deadpool didn't have the skybeam or an alien invasion, but there wasn't a need for a big spectacle.

RocShemp

There I agree. I think the problem is that WB (regardless of who's in charge) believes all the DC properties should be mega hits that bring in The Dark Knight or Avengers: Endgame money. As you pointed out, smaller can be better, given certain characters. DC needs to start small and then build up. Of course they are starting again with Superman (even if they don't show his origin in the new movie, they are still reintroducing the character) and I'm sure expecting nothing short of billions.

Runaway

Even The Batman was made on a $ 200 million budget. It's more or less a serial killer thriller.

Mike86

I would be interested in Momoa as Lobo. Seems like a better fit for him than Aquaman in my opinion.

RocShemp

It's interesting that Momoa was originally chosen for Batman. But he claims he intentionally tanked his audition because he assumed the role would go to a white guy. When Snyder saw what was happening, he pitched Aquaman to Momoa.

Mike86

Glad he wasn’t chosen for Batman. I don’t see that at all.

PhantomStranger

Warner believes Booster Gold is their Deadpool. They've put a lot of development into the property already, which is why I think it's a fait accompli under Gunn.

Josh-da-man

If that is the case, then I fear they're already in trouble. It's difficult to just manufacture a Deadpool out of thin air, or arbitrarily decide that this C-list character is our Deadpool. Deadpool had already gained a cult status before the movie was a gleam in anybody's eye. Not to mention Deadpool's attachment to the already popular X-Men franchise.

Though if anyone can pull it off, it's Gunn...

Michael Corvin

Gunn is going to fail miserably if his strategy is starting with a bunch of characters the general public doesn't know or give a shit about when they have Batman, Superman, WW, Flash, et al in their corner.

Marvel had to go that route because they didn't have the big guns in house at the time. DC doesn't have to forge that same path.

Mike86

I really know very little about Booster Gold but what I know of him I don’t really see the parallels between him and Deadpool. Honestly if anyone fits that role I see it more as Lobo.

Josh-da-man

I only really remember Booster Gold from Giffen's old Justice League America series. He and Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) were pretty much just a couple of BFF goofballs who played off Guy Gardner and the other heavy hitters. Not sure what is current status in the DCU is.

RocShemp

Pretty much the same. I love Booster Gold but he is not analogous to Deadpool. Sure, he's been in many great adventures and has actually grown into a legitimate hero, but all his best stories tend to involve his enduring (and sometimes tragic) friendship with Ted Kord. He is more analogous to the MCU version of Star Lord than any iteration of Deadpool.

fujishig

Why would you audition if you're going to intentionally tank it? Obviously it worked out ok but if I were interested in him then saw him tank an audition, I'd probably move on.

Runaway

That's just folklore. Either he just had a bad audition and later said it was on purpose or his audition went fine, Snyder liked him, but not for the part and they decided to tell the version of the tanked audition.

Hokeyboy

And yet Marvel proved you could be successful at developing completely unknown properties (to the general public, anyhow) if you combined great storytelling with engaging talent.

If Gunn can do the same, it won't matter what characters he uses if he focuses on quality, casts engaging and likeable leads, and can market it to audiences.

Peacemaker was a nobody and that was the superhero show people buzzed about most last year (at least in my anecdotal observations).

Hokeyboy

In any case, Booster Gold is not DC's Deadpool. It's this guy, and he came long before...

fujishig

I mean Deadpool is really just Deathstroke mixed with Spider-man then getting great comedic writers to bring him to prominence. Blue and Gold and the entire bwah ha ha Justice League would have a similar irreverent comedic tone as Deadpool so I get the comparison (you don't even have to change your Shazam), but I'd think Gunn would have to have a metric ton of pull to even entertain doing a non big 7 Justice League movie.

RocShemp

There's also plenty of Leaguers beyond the Trinity that Gunn could use.

IBJoel

Alternatively, you can use smaller IPs with smaller budgets to test waters for what works and what doesn't before settling on tone and talent for your premiere IPs. No idea if they'll do that, but it would be my strategy here. It also gives the public a break from the big ones and gives them more development time.

mndtrp

I'd appreciate some time spent on establishing characters outside of the well-known ones. I had no idea who most anyone was in Black Adam. I don't necessarily need a solo movie for every C-league person. I'm playing the Lego DC Villains game with my kids, and I have no idea who most of the villains are either. Just like Marvel, there's a lot that could be represented on the screen, so I hope they can pull it off in some way.

RocShemp

This would work best. Keep the tent pole stuff for the Trinity and other core Leaguers. Treat the rest as more modest affairs that exist in the same universe without the need to go all "skybeam" on us. While watching Copshop I kept thinking how a simple name change could have turned Alexis Louder's character into Maggie Sawyer. No need for Superman or any metahuman villains. And you could also do stuff like that with characters like The Question, or make a modest budget Pan's Labrynth-esque horror/adventure film featuring Etrigan the Demon.

Michael Corvin

Obviously there's nothing wrong with showcasing lesser heroes. I'm just saying Gunn can't kick off this shiny new universe with a Black Canary or Mister Mxyzptlk as your leadfeature. He needs to kick this off with a bang that puts asses in seats.